IDWBE -Chapter 497 Power

He fully agreed with that statement.

In terms of skill, he and Jiang Tuhuo were not inferior; their abilities were recognized by the Ministry of War.

But the most important thing was still the platform!

If not for Lord He giving him the opportunity, he would still be the unnoticed little butcher on the street in the Lord’s estate, passionate about martial arts.

Until the day he died, people would only point at his grave and say, “Look, that pig butcher is dead.”

Besides, slaughtering pigs, making jerky, hiring a few workers—any butcher could do that.
What was there to be proud of? Without them, would the army go hungry?

Of course not!

If they lost their supplier status, who would even recognize them?

“You’re right about that.” Jiang Tuhuo paused and sighed. “Without Lord He, I might not even have a household registration in my life. I could have ended up an unregistered citizen. No matter how skilled I was, I wouldn’t have left Baiyun City.”

In Baiyun City, he was a poor butcher. Even though he slaughtered pigs, he didn’t dare eat meat casually.

All the meat was reserved for the wealthy families!

Meals were meager and tense. Nothing like now—his reputation had reached Ankang City!

Any merchant doing business would politely bow to him and greet him as “Shopkeeper Jiang.”

“Hmph,” Zhu Ruorong said casually, “You know that. Think about it—you’re a big figure now, dozens of workers, thousands of livestock. You’d just give that up? Go home to be a wealthy man—you’d be satisfied?”

Jiang Tuhuo hesitated.

Indeed!

Returning to Sanhe, he definitely couldn’t be a supplier anymore, only surviving day to day.

It looked elegant, but could he really get used to it?

Zhu Ruorong continued, “At our age, money isn’t really important anymore. As long as we don’t overexert ourselves, it’s enough—maybe we wouldn’t even spend it all before death. But look at old men like Liang Gen, Huang Daoji, Wang Cheng—aren’t they richer than us? Have they stopped?”

“For them, money isn’t important,” Jiang Tuhuo snorted, “but they’re used to giving orders, commanding respect. Turning them into idle old men? Of course they wouldn’t enjoy it.”

“So you’re still going back to Sanhe?”

Zhu Ruorong asked with a smile.

“Of course not!”

Jiang Tuhuo suddenly snapped awake.

Without the Ministry of War supplier status, who would take him seriously?

What use is money alone?

Maybe even a farming old man could defecate over him!

No, he couldn’t go back!

Besides, issuing orders to all the young workers, directing operations, enjoying their admiration—that felt pretty good!

Zhu Ruorong slapped his shoulder enthusiastically. “Good, think it through. As long as we do our work well, Lord He won’t treat us unfairly! Work hard, maybe one day we can become officials like Huang Daoji or Mo Shun.”

“Officials?”

Jiang Tuhuo shook his head disdainfully. “No chance for that now. Jiang Zhen says to be a civil servant these days, you at least need to graduate elementary school. Better drop that thought.”

“Heh, doesn’t matter—I never planned to be an official anyway.”

Zhu Ruorong didn’t seem disappointed.

He had already pinned his hopes on his son.

Although the integrity salary wasn’t much, his assets were secure!

He wasn’t short on money.

What he lacked was power!

As long as he had power, his assets could be protected!

Even for his daughter, he held the same hope.

Lord He had promoted “gender equality” across the Daliang Kingdom for years, even heavily employing women in the military and local offices.

But results were limited.

Old veterans like He Jixiang and Chen Desheng felt the pressure and directly formed a “Women’s Corps” in the army!

They even won many battles in Jinzhou!

If his daughter got an opportunity, she might achieve something significant in the future!
Maybe even surpass Jiang Zhen.

No longer would Jiang Tuhuo constantly show off in front of him.

“Good,” Jiang Tuhuo sighed, “we just weren’t destined for that.”

Zhu Ruorong laughed loudly. “Alright, don’t get so sentimental. Let’s go drink.”

Before they reached the door, a commotion could be heard.

Jiang Tuhuo stood on the threshold, watching a squad of soldiers pass straight through, and the chattering citizens on either side. He frowned. “This is serious—the city’s outer garrison has even mobilized.”

Zhu Ruorong craned his neck, looking around. Seeing no familiar faces, he asked curiously, “How do you know it’s the outer garrison?”

Jiang Tuhuo smiled, “Leading them is Jin Datong. He used to be a high monk at Baiyun Temple and often sneaked to my shop to buy meat. When Baiyun City recruited soldiers, his martial skills got him appointed as a squad leader. Later, after meritorious service in Yueyang, he became an adjutant, and now he’s the commander of the Seventh Army stationed in Ankang City.”

“Oh, so it’s him. I’ve only heard his name, never seen him.”

“He became a monk just to survive, but now he has an opportunity. Naturally, he doesn’t want to stay a monk. Quite a remarkable figure.”

“I heard this time he and Lord He are personally leading troops into Chuanzhou.”

Zhu Ruorong, with no one nearby, still whispered, “Apparently just the laborers alone number a hundred thousand.”

“Lord He personally leading troops?”

Jiang Tuhuo was shocked. His daughter was still Chief Constable, and he hadn’t heard this news.

“Quiet,” Zhu Ruorong scolded. “You don’t want others to know, huh?”

“How did you hear this?”

Jiang Tuhuo asked, puzzled.

Zhu Ruorong glared at him. “Don’t worry about that. Probably true.”

“Chuanzhou is already under Lord He’s administration. Why lead troops personally?”

Jiang Tuhuo couldn’t believe it. Wasn’t it redundant?

“Hmph,” Zhu Ruorong snorted, “In Chuanzhou, only Jinguan City is a major garrison. The surrounding areas still don’t follow orders. If it’s true, should we join the army?”

“Not joining would be foolish,” Jiang Tuhuo, no longer thinking of returning to Sanhe, said confidently, “How much money do our meat shops make?”

“Hehe.” Zhu Ruorong immediately understood!

They made their fortune how? Of course, they knew better than anyone!

Their first bucket of gold came from supplying laborers to the army!

And besides putting in some effort, there were no costs at all!

Pure profit!

Strict military discipline now forbade looting houses, but opportunities to make money were still everywhere!

Buying and selling used clothes, grain, timber, jewelry—the money was still easy!

Not a bit less profitable than being a supplier!

Besides, this was Chuanzhou, the Land of Abundance!
Generations of peace, wealthy officials and citizens—it was overflowing with wealth!

Maybe even richer than Jiangnan!