Zhu Ci looked at him and then looked at the place where the rocket had exploded, saying nothing more.
Zhu Ci took him on a tour, Zhu Ci discovered that these people were not only obedient but also extremely grateful to him.
He hesitated for a long while before asking, "What did you give them?"
Why are they all acting so incredibly devoted?
Zhu Ci said, "I gave them land."
Jiang Quan, following by Zhu Ci's side, could not help but say, "The Young Master distributed all the confiscated land, leaving nothing for himself."
Even now, the only land in Zhu Ci's hands was that small portion the Empress had given him years ago.
Zhu Ci was somewhat surprised. "You aren't keeping any for yourself?"
Zhu Ci looked at him and said, "Remember, if you want these soldiers to risk their lives for you, you must give them something worth protecting. They have nothing; why should they fight to the death for you? Just because of that little bit of money?"
Zhu Ci said subconsciously, "They are all commoners, so of course.."
Zhu Ci waved his hand. "You can be considered a commoner now too. Everyone only has one life; if you want someone to risk it for you, you have to pay the corresponding price."
Zhu Ci opened his mouth. Although he had been displaced and wandering all this way, the education and ideology he had received over the past decade and a half were not so easily changed.
Even in his state of destitution, he tried his best to maintain the dignity of the imperial clan.
When Zhu Ci said even now that he was a commoner, it was like a sudden blow to the head, making him realize certain things.
Zhu Ci brought him back to the prefectural office and said, "I have already made the arrangements. I'll help you pack some luggage later, then I'll send you to Huzhou. Once you arrive in Huzhou, you must act with caution and remember to hide your identity."
Zhu Ci looked up, his gaze more resolute than ever: "I'm not leaving."
Hmm?" Zhu Ci was somewhat surprised. "You're not leaving?
Zhu Ci seemed to have made up his mind: "I'm not leaving. I.. I want to kill Alna!"
Zhu Ci looked at him for a long while and smiled, "Then let's get to work."
Zhu Ci immediately followed Zhu Ci to the study, then he discovered.. there really were many things to do.
Zhu Ci looked at the documents before him, then looked at the scribbled, nonsensical characters upon them, asked with difficulty, "Do you not have.. any decent people under your command?"
Zhu Ci naturally knew what he was talking about, said with a hint of guilt, "Isn't there Gu Rouqian?"
Zhu Ci looked at him with melancholy. "How could one Gu Rouqian be enough? Are there really no others in this place?"
Of course there are, but do you dare use them? When the Tartars attack, they run even faster than you, people over in Jiangbei have already begun surrendering.
Zhu Ci..
If he had a greatest hatred, it would certainly be for those surrendering generals, with Wu Sangui being the most prominent among them.
Zhu Ci looked at him and said, "Everything is still in its infancy right now, so endure a bit of hardship. If we let important things fall into other people's hands, there will be factional struggles again once the time comes. Those literati who escaped are good at nothing else but internal strife; I've finally managed to stabilize Suzhou, so let's not cause any more trouble."
Zhu Ci could only bury himself in various documents, the more he read, the more shocked he became.
He had thought Zhu Ci was being short-sighted when he made the deal with Fu, but seeing the supplies obtained from the trade, he now deeply understood why Zhu Ci had agreed so readily.
That many rocket blueprints could be exchanged for so many things; it was simply inconceivable.
He couldn't help but look at Zhu Ci and ask, "You knew Fu before?"
“Counting the last time, we have met twice in total, but it wouldn't be quite right to say we don't know each other at all.”
At least Fu should be quite familiar with the situation here.
Zhu Ci looked at him, then looked at the accounts in his hands and said, "It must not have been easy for you to get these things from him, right?"
Zhu Ci thought for a moment. "It wasn't that difficult; I just spoke, he agreed. The Marquis of Huating is truly generous."
Zhu Ci looked incredulous. "Generous? He is a typical profiteer; he'd have people thanking him while he sells them out."
Zhu Ci certainly didn't doubt that Fu was a profiteer; how else could he have become so successful without a few tricks up his sleeve?
He spread his hands. "But at least he was very generous during this transaction."
This was also something Zhu Ci did not understand; this was different from the Fu he knew.
Never mind Fu; in a normal trade, it would be difficult for anyone to exchange such a large quantity of supplies for just two blueprints, even if those two blueprints were extremely useful.
But in the current situation, isn't grain, medicinal herbs, horses all vital supplies?
Zhu Ci even saw a Fuchuan on the record, he asked subconsciously, "Why are you buying a Fuchuan? Are you planning to head out to sea?"
Zhu Ci said casually, "Oh, Fu Huaizhang gave it to me."
Gifted.. gifted?
Zhu Ci wanted to ask him again what his relationship was with Fu Chunsheng.
This gift is worth a million taels; even one's own father couldn't be more generous than this, right?
Zhu Ci truly had no way to connect the person who sent the Fuchuan with that Marquis of Huating.
One had to realize that when he fell into Fu's hands, he had suffered quite a bit. This suffering was, of course, not physical, but mental; the other party wanted nothing more than to squeeze out every bit of his only value.
Zhu Ci couldn't help but start to reflect: could it be that he truly lacked the virtue required for his position?
To Fu, his status and Zhu Ci's status were roughly equal; they were both Crown Princes, for Zhu Ci, he was even a rebel; regardless, Zhu Yousong was his cousin's father.
But Fu's attitude toward Zhu Ci seemed incredibly warm.
Strange, it's too strange.
Was there something happening here that he didn't know about?
Zhu Ci originally wanted to ask a few more questions, but he was soon held in place by a sudden influx of matters. Zhu Ci was happy to have someone help him handle things; the person simply handed over a bunch of trivial matters to Zhu Ci and then patted his hips and ran off.
Oh, his explanation to Zhu Ci was that he was going to inspect the factory and see if there was anything else that could be improved.
Facing those messy affairs, Zhu Ci found that few people could help him; he only felt a headache, a massive headache.
However, he still didn't dare to stop Zhu Ci; what if Zhu Ci really had a new idea?
Swarm of Bees, Fire-Dragon Water-Spout, Single-shot Rocket, Bursting Arrow, Grenade all proved that he indeed possessed this ability.
Zhu Ci could only sigh and began to focus on sorting through all the supplies; he had to admit that his younger cousin's operations were somewhat chaotic, both in terms of personnel and logistics.
The troubles brought by rapid expansion in the short term must be cleared away, otherwise they will only plant seeds of future trouble.
Fortunately, although he has all sorts of flaws, at least he truly grew up with an imperial education, so he understands many things intuitively.
And it wasn't that Zhu Ci was truly trying to evade his work; his frequent trips outside were mainly to select a group of elite soldiers, whom he personally trained every day.
Zhu Ci felt relieved leaving things in Zhu Ci's hands, but some people were not so reassured.
Lord," Gu Rouqian said hesitantly, "Is it.. perhaps inappropriate that so many affairs are now being handed over to Crown Prince Chongzhen?
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Author's Note: Zhu Ci: Crown Prince? What about the Crown Prince? Even if the Crown Prince comes, he has to work for me! Evil kitty waves its whip. jpg
Next update at 12:00 PM~
Chapter 82
Finally, he couldn't hold it back anymore.
Zhu Ci thought to himself.
Lately, whenever Gu Rouqian saw him, he had a look on his face as if he wanted to say something but hesitated, so Zhu Ci knew he was about to speak of these things.
However, as long as Gu Rouqian did not speak, he would pretend not to know.
When Gu Rouqian spoke, Zhu Ci looked at him with a half-smile. "What? Did he not do it well?"
It wasn't that he did a poor job; he did it too well, even being more efficient than Zhu Ci himself.
Although Zhu Ci possessed advanced vision, he had never managed so many people before; the gangs he had mixed with in the past were nothing compared to the scale of things now.
He was also learning, but before, he had no reliable people by his side, so even when he was learning, he could only fumble his way through. Now that he had Zhu Ci, he could actually learn a great deal from him.
Gu Rouqian said bluntly, "Not necessarily, it's just that I feel that as time goes on, it's not certain what surname this Suzhou will have."
Oh," Zhu Ci said, drawing out the word, "Doesn't he share my surname?
Gu Rouqian nearly lost his composure, the expression on his face changed.
Is that what he meant?
He wanted to ask if Zhu Ci was willing to hand over his life's work to someone else!
Zhu Ci saw that his expression was about to contort with rage. He laughed loudly, patted his shoulder, said, "Don't worry. If he could take it away so easily, I would be far too useless."
Gu Rouqian could not rest easy, but seeing Zhu Ci's nonchalant attitude, he felt that the man might have some trump card up his sleeve.
The young man before him was no naive innocent; he wouldn't simply trust him completely or pour his heart out just because Zhu Ci was pitiable and his cousin.
He always felt that this person must be planning something big.
Soon he knew why Zhu Ci was so at ease. While Zhu Ci was certainly skilled at this, he was not facing the Ming court or his own subordinates, but rather a mob of "rabble."
Zhu Ci was able to win the hearts of this rabble because he truly knew what these people needed, he was truly generous in providing them with those things.
He didn't even place himself on a high pedestal; he would personally inspect the camps to listen to the soldiers' needs and would also resolve their difficulties.
The legend in the military camp was that besides being unable to help them find wives, the Young Master could solve any problem.
However, when Zhu Ci handled matters, he naturally occupied the position of a superior; he would not consider what these people needed, he even felt that whatever those people did was only natural.
Even though Zhu Ci had told him before that if he wanted people to risk their lives for him, he had to give them something sweet in return.
Zhu Ci threw all the logistics matters to Zhu Ci, as a result, his subordinates rebelled.
Of course, this rebellion wasn't that serious; most of them were just the personal guards within the prefectural office refusing to work.
Zhu Ci had been training outside all day, when he returned covered in dust and grime, he happened to see Zhu Ci in a standoff with his guard unit.
Leading them was none other than Jiang Quan.
Zhu Ci froze when he entered the room. He looked at Zhu Ci and then at Jiang Quan, unable to help but mutter to himself: How long has it been, his dear cousin has already caused trouble?
He sighed, truly not wanting to come and resolve problems after being exhausted to death, yet he had no choice but to deal with it. The scene appeared tense and on the verge of conflict, since everyone was standing with Jiang Quan, Zhu Ci appeared terribly isolated and pitiable.
He walked over and tossed the riding crop to Jiang Quan, Jiang Quan caught it instinctively.