Late Qing Dynasty Executioner

Chapter 66: Rebellion
"Mr. Wu, can you tell us about your business?" Chen Gu poured Wu Hua a cup of tea and asked casually.

Liu Er, who had been sitting in a recliner under the eaves without saying a word, said at this moment: "Please stop exposing other people's scars. They are just trivial matters anyway. What's there to ask about? People should always look forward."

Wu Hua looked at Liu Er gratefully, raised his glass to Liu Er, and said, "Thank you very much, brother."

This time Liu Er opened his eyes and looked at Wu Hua, then sighed and said, "Don't be polite, we are just wanderers in the world. This guy is rude, but he has a good heart.

Since your family has chosen to take refuge in the mountain stronghold, then just settle down. You are not needed in the fighting, so there is no problem in surviving. Although we are in the mountain stronghold, we are not short of money for the time being, so we will not break our promise to you."

"Excuse me, brother, who are you?" Wu Hua asked with a look of surprise and doubt.

Chen Gu smiled and said, "This is the leader of our village. Well, everyone seems to like to call him Lao Yao."

Rowing the handle actually means the helmsman. The helmsman has the final say on the direction the boat should go. He is actually the guide.

Wu Hua naturally understood what Lao Yao meant and couldn't help but smile bitterly. However, Liu Er's words made Wu Hua feel a little more at ease.

Although these people are from the mountain bandits and the Pao brothers, there are big and small Pao brothers. The fact that they have weapons like rifles and can spend one thousand and two taels of silver to recruit craftsmen is enough to show their strength.

Moreover, several pieces of jewelry we made have been sold, which means they have been tested by the market.

After Wu You came back from Chongqing, he became a little calmer. It was not the superficial calmness like before, but he was much more stable from the inside. Not only did he speak softly to his family, but he was also polite when interacting with other people in the village.

If you follow someone like this, you will never go hungry.

Three days later, Sanlang returned with Wu You's family. In addition to Wu You and Wu Hua, there were eleven people in the Wu family. Wu Hua had a wife and a concubine, three sons, two of whom were already married, and three grandsons and one granddaughter.

"Are you studying Taoism?" Chen Gu couldn't help but ask.

Their daily meals must include fish and meat, their clothes must be made of silk, and apart from their freedom, Chen Gu tried his best to satisfy their every need.

In addition to the five-year-old granddaughter, the eight-year-old grandson can all help with the work, because the youngest grandson has been an apprentice for three years and can already make some simple gold and silver jewelry on his own.

"Thank you, Young Master, for helping me get rid of my inner demons!" Wu You bowed solemnly to Chen Gu to express his gratitude.

It was naturally impossible for so many people to stay in the city, so that day Chen Gu had someone take them out for a big meal, and then arranged for Wu Hua and the blacksmiths to go to the mountain stronghold.

Chen Gu naturally treated such a family with courtesy. Not only did he personally escort them to the mountain village, he also gave them the best house and promised to start rebuilding a special large house for them immediately.

Before leaving, Chen Gu asked them to write down everything needed for blacksmithing, and he would arrange for someone to purchase the items and send them to the mountain village.

If Wu Hua hadn't been desperate, there was no way he could have gotten into the mountain stronghold. What made Wu Hua even more worried was that his youngest son, Wu You, had been blinded by hatred and who knew what kind of trouble he would get into in the future.

When Suan Xiucai was teaching Chen, Li and Zhang, he specifically introduced Taoism.

Other religions ask you to swallow your anger, but Taoism tells you to seek revenge when you are grudged, so as to avoid nurturing inner demons that would disrupt your practice.

Come to think of it, if there is always a knot in your heart, how can you calm down and practice?
"It can't be considered as learning Taoism, I just read some Taoist classics." Wu You said with a smile. "That means I can read and write!" Chen Gu's eyes lit up.

In fact, there were quite a few literate people in this era, but this proportion was very small among farmers and craftsmen.

Moreover, even if there were people who could read, they were only literate and could not write a complete letter themselves, let alone teach others.

Chen Gu still wanted his men to learn to read and write. Apart from anything else, as the number of people in the mountain stronghold increased, the demand for various materials also increased, and management required some knowledgeable people.

Moreover, if something happens in the future, scholars will also be needed for marching, fighting, and logistics, and Chen Gu also wants to set up a general staff.

Help yourself analyze various intelligence, formulate development directions, and dispatch personnel and materials.

To be precise, it should be called the Secretariat, but Chen Gu was born into a military family and prefers to call it the General Staff.

Chen Gu was not at ease to entrust such matters to outsiders, even if it was Suan Xiucai and his two sons. Because of their clan ties in the local area, Chen Gu was unwilling to have them join his general staff.

The best way is naturally to train a group of people yourself.

There are more than ten people in the Wu family. No matter how good Wu You's skills are, they still need someone to do the work.

"Of course I can read. In fact, I even have the title of scholar!" Wu You paused, his eyes dimmed, and smiled bitterly, "Of course, I don't have it anymore now."

"It's just a title of scholar, so don't bother with it!" Chen Gu said with a smile: "First, teach me a group of students. When we conquer the whole world, all the ministers in the court will be your students. Isn't that wonderful?"

Wu You raised his eyebrows and asked, "Young Master, do you want me to be Fan Wencheng?"

Chen Gu knew Fan Wencheng, although he didn't know him before. However, when Suan Xiucai talked about the surname Fan, he specifically mentioned Fan Wencheng.

Chen Gu was disdainful of Fan Wencheng, "Fan Wencheng is nothing, he is just a slave, he has never been trusted in his life, but you are different, we are of the same race.

You are one of those who joined my stronghold at this early stage. If you can accomplish great things in the future, you will be the number one civil official and the teacher of many loyal ministers. Just think about it, by then you will be second to none.

Moreover, you were born a craftsman, so you don’t have to worry about being overshadowed by your master, or being abandoned by your subordinates. It’s perfect!”

Wu You was almost amused by Chen Gu, "Very good, I didn't expect that the young master would make such a big promise to let me become a teacher, all right, I will accept it.

Young Master, you can now give me the list of people who need your guidance. Well, I would like to thank you for your reward."

"You don't believe what I said?" Chen Gu couldn't help but raise his eyebrows. This was the first time he clearly expressed his intention to rebel, but he didn't expect that he would be doubted.

"Of course not. If I didn't believe it, I wouldn't have brought my entire family to the village. But saying this now feels a little too vague. We'd better be pragmatic!" Wu You said.

(End of this chapter)