Red Mansion: Bastards rule the roost

Chapter 58 Making a Charter
  "It's not a matter of urgency. It's a rare visit today, so I'll invite the young and old men from Baihe Village and Teal Duck Village to have a drink and let's chat while we eat." Jia Cong said with a smile, then turned around and asked in a low voice Laifu: "How much does it cost to treat them to a nice meal?"

Laifu said: "Things in the countryside are cheap, two hundred taels of silver is enough."

Jia Cong nodded, ordered Wangcai to take out 200 taels of silver, and gave it to Yan Shuangying's grandfather, Yan Fei, and said: "Mr. Yan, go and arrange for people to kill pigs and sheep, and get more drinks. I won't come back until I'm drunk today." .”

"How can this cost Third Master Cong, but I should wait until I have exhausted my friendship as a landlord." Yan Fei insisted and refused to accept it.

"If the old man doesn't accept it, then I will leave." Jia Cong said with a smile.

Laifu and Wangcai also advised: "You can just accept it. Who is the third master who cares about this little money?"

Yan Fei couldn't resist, so he reluctantly accepted it and gave it to his wife to arrange her life with the women in the village.

Suddenly I heard an old voice coming from outside.

"Young boy Yan, you are so stupid. Come down here, why don't you ask someone to inform me about such a big thing?" Several old men walked into the crowd, supporting an older man.

"Oh, Mr. Zhang, please slow down, am I not too late?" Yan Fei hurriedly followed him and said: "Third Master, this is Mr. Zhang Hu, Mr. Zhang. Now he is the only one of the personal soldiers of the old Duke Rong. He is still alive and well, and will be 98 this year.”

Oh, this is a living fossil. Jia Cong hurriedly came over, helped him sit on the stone roller, and said: "Old man, I am Jia Cong, your old body is still strong."

Zhang Hu greeted Jia Cong without being polite and said bluntly: "I heard that the third master came to recruit soldiers. I have a great grandson who has never read any books. He only knows the words loyalty and filial piety. He is quite powerful. Please, Third Master, for the sake of my old face, be sure to take me as my servant, no matter whether I live or die."

"And me, and me..."

"I also have a boy at home..."

"My grandson is not only good at martial arts, he can also write names..."

Many old men around were afraid that there would be too many favor soldiers and they would not be able to get their turn, so they hurriedly recommended themselves as disciples, causing chaos again.

"Everyone, please listen to me." Jia Cong jumped on the stone roller and pressed his hands hard to stop the noise.

"I know that the children of each family are loyal people, which is why I came here to select soldiers, but now I can only choose ten. I must have a charter that convinces everyone."

Many young and old in the village listened to him quietly, with eager gazes in their eyes. Being a soldier of the men of the Rong Mansion was the step they had longed for since their ancestors.

It's a pity that in the past few years, the lords in the two mansions have disappeared, and even if they want to become personal soldiers, they have no chance. Fortunately, now that Mr. Cong has risen, although there are only ten places, it is still better than nothing.

Jia Cong continued: "There are many young people in the village. There are three types of people who are not included in this selection. First, those who are the only son in the family; second, those whose parents and wives rely on them to support them; third, those who have bad conduct and are rapists. Those who do bad things."

Everyone nodded, these three items are what they should be.

"Third Master, how do you choose the method? Even if these three types of people are eliminated, there are still hundreds of young and middle-aged people."

"I have set three rules. First, each family is only allowed to have one person. Second, the age must be between 18 and 25 years old. If you really have a skill, you can relax appropriately. Third, you can only speak based on your ability, and no human relations will be considered. Don’t tell.”

Many people whose elders in the family had died long ago breathed a sigh of relief and echoed: "Master Cong's charter is reasonable, and we are all convinced!"

Several old men looked at each other. They wanted to send their children away based on their kindness back then. But they didn't expect Mr. Cong to put it first. Let's do it. Speak based on your ability. If you don't have the ability, you deserve to be killed. For life.

"I wonder how Third Master wants to take the exam," Zhang Hu said.

Jia Cong already had the idea that these people must not be able to ride and shoot, because he did not have this condition, so he said: "I thought about it and took the test on three skills. One, martial arts, two, strength, and three. Marching with heavy loads. What do you old people think?"

"Okay! Just these three skills." Everyone praised him.

"As for how to take the exam, can you guys teach me?" Jia Cong said with a smile.

Yan Fei said: "This is easy. When it comes to martial arts, everyone knows who is strong and who is weak. If you are not convinced, just practice. When it comes to strength, you can make several stone poles with different weights to see who can carry the heavier ones. When it comes to marching, Just let them carry a load of stones and walk dozens of miles of mountain roads, and then it will be clear."

"This method is good." Everyone nodded in praise.

Jia Cong smiled and said: "Let me ask you old gentlemen to make this judgment, so as not to show favoritism or dissatisfaction." "This is easy. Mr. Cong doesn't say anything, but I have to keep an eye on it. These old boys are not fuel-efficient lamps." .”

"You are so embarrassed, as if you are an angry little wife."

"Third Master, this old man Li is the most dishonest. I have to keep an eye on him for you."

Jia Cong hurriedly raised his hands to stop the quarrel and said: "Everyone, let me tell you the benefits of being a personal soldier for me!"

Everyone fell silent.

"According to the rules of our ancestors, soldiers' pay is two taels of silver per month, 40 taels of silver for the disabled, and 100 taels of silver for those killed in battle. Now my rule is 2 taels of silver per month, and an additional 50 taels of silver for housing expenses. The disabled will receive a pension of 60 taels of silver, and the fallen will receive a pension of 150 taels of silver!"

Everyone was shocked. The money had increased, and it had increased a lot. Now one tael of silver could be exchanged for half a penny.

"Master Cong is so righteous!"

"Master Cong is so happy!"

"I am willing to die for Third Master!"

Many young men heard this with excitement and shouted loudly, wishing they could put on their shirts and go out with Master Cong immediately.

Several old people also nodded repeatedly after hearing this. Mr. Cong is a courageous man. He not only dares to change the rules of his ancestors, but is also so benevolent and righteous. It is right to follow him.

"In this case, I would like to thank all you gentlemen. I will come and see the selection results in ten days."

"Don't worry, Third Master Cong. I will not disappoint Third Master." Zhang Hu said with cupped hands. Suddenly he saw a big black man in the crowd and hurriedly greeted him: "Yuanba, come and kowtow to Third Master Cong."

The big man smiled innocently, pushed his way through the crowd, came over, and kowtowed three times to Jia Cong.

Jia Cong saw that he was like an iron tower, extremely strong and lying on the ground like a big bear. He hurriedly barked, "Who is this?"

Zhang Hu said quite arrogantly: "This is the great-grandson of the old man. His real name is Zhang Yuan. He was born with extraordinary strength. Because he heard stories from others, he knew that there was an unparalleled general Li Yuanba in the late Sui Dynasty. When he came back, he insisted on changing his name to Zhang Yuanba. The old man wanted to change his name to Zhang Yuanba. I have no choice but to let him go. Fortunately, he has the strength to do so, and he has not insulted this name. He deserves a place among the Third Master's personal soldiers."

Zhang Yuanba raised his head, opened his mouth and smiled at Jia Cong.

Jia Cong nodded, looking like a good man, and asked curiously: "How strong are you?"

"It's big, bigger than everyone else." Zhang Yuanba said with a smile.

Zhang Hu said hurriedly: "You idiot, why don't you give Mr. Cong some practice?"

Zhang Yuanba hurriedly got up, looked around, and stared at the roller in front of him. He walked over and took off the wooden handle of the roller. He put his hands together and rolled hundreds of kilograms of stone into the roller. Hug him.

Walking out of the crowd, he shouted loudly and threw the wheel into the sky, which was five or six feet high, and caught it firmly.

"This monster..."

"Well, there were originally ten places, but now there are only nine."

All the young men shook their heads and smiled bitterly. In terms of martial arts, everyone's family traditions are similar. They are all the same as those used on the battlefield. There are no advanced tricks, they are simple and direct, and they pay attention to killing the enemy with one blow. In terms of strength and endurance, who can compare to this monster?

Zhang Yuanba threw the wheel seven or eight times in a row like a child, and then he picked up the roller and put it back on.

Jia Cong was overjoyed. This magical power seemed to be as good as his own back then. He patted his arm and praised: "He is indeed a good man. What weapon do you use?"

"The hammer is so big and long." Zhang Yuanba compared the shape.

Jia Cong laughed. With his divine power, if he used a heavy weapon like a hammer, wouldn't he die if he rubbed it, or if he touched it?

(End of this chapter)