Chapter 122 Taking Your Daughter as a Concubine
After saying this, the group hurriedly returned to the garrison to carry out reorganization.
That evening, Zhang Bo surprisingly summoned Lao Ma to the camp. He looked at Lao Ma with a smile that was indescribably kind.
Old Ma, standing in the middle of the tent, was tense all over. He was really afraid that he would lose control and kill this bastard. He knew why he had been summoned here today. The man surnamed Zhang was a lecher and probably had his eye on his daughter. If the man surnamed Zhang was a good person, it would be fine if his daughter became a concubine. At least she would be worry-free for the rest of her life.
If he were like Prince Qi, whose talent and appearance are unparalleled, he would be a suitable husband. At the very least, he would be like Changping, a young and talented man who is kind and honest. Even if she were a concubine, her children would not suffer. But this man, not to mention his appearance, is petty and vengeful. He has the title of commander, but he has done nothing decent in Daxing.
The most crucial point is that he is lustful. He was supposed to be on duty, but he spent all his time with the maids. It's hard to say whether he even has the title of concubine. He is clearly a lustful and heartless person. Yan Yan is stubborn and inflexible. If she marries this man, isn't she just forcing her child to die?
He and his wife were twenty-eight or twenty-nine when they had this precious daughter. Due to a moment of carelessness, the man surnamed Bai took advantage of the situation, and the child almost did not survive. He regretted it so much back then that he wished he could take his daughter with him wherever he went. Just when the difficult days had finally passed, Zhang Bo came along.
Seeing Zhang Bo threaten his daughter with his official position today, he felt like he could eat that Zhang alive.
Zhang Bo smiled kindly and poured a cup of tea for the somewhat tense Commander Ma, patting his hand reassuringly and saying, "Commander, there's no need to be nervous, it's just a small matter."
Commander Ma placed the cup aside: "Commander, I am filled with trepidation."
Zhang Bo pressed Commander Ma down into a rosewood chair: "Sigh~ Sit down, sit down. Commander, you've been working hard these days. I only called you here to have a casual chat. As you know, I haven't been here long, and my status is not as high as that of Prince Qi, so I'm naturally not convinced. But Commander Ma, I took a liking to you at first sight, so I called you here to have a chat."
Commander Ma bowed his head and clasped his hands, saying, "This humble one dares not presume. If there is anything, please give me your instructions."
Zhang Bo glanced at Commander Ma's overly respectful but not overly friendly manner and knew that this man was not so easy to talk to. However, thinking about what the guards had said, instead of replacing people slowly with their own, it would be better to directly bribe the existing commander. Commander Ma and Commander Zhang both had a daughter in their families. Commander Zhang's daughter was still young, but Commander Ma's daughter was of just the right age.
Today, upon seeing Ma San Niang, who single-handedly runs a pastry shop, he was struck by her beauty and outspoken, fiery personality. Such a fiery young woman would be a great asset to him.
Once the woman was taken in, Ma Qianhu and his family would become father-in-law and son-in-law. Everyone said that Ma Qianhu doted on his children. If this woman became his woman, not only would Ma Qianhu have to work for him, but he would also be able to take over Ma's third daughter's shop. He had heard that Ma's small pastry shop was a very profitable business in the area.
He gained a beautiful woman, a boost to his career, and some money to supplement his income—it seemed like a worthwhile deal.
Zhang Bo coughed lightly, sat back in the main seat, and said to himself, "Commander Ma, I know you are all uneasy, afraid that I will replace you in your current positions. However, I am also a person who cherishes talent. As for you, I have heard that you have been in this position for many years, and your martial arts and military achievements are outstanding. I have also developed a desire to appreciate your talent. However, you must also know the principle that a new emperor brings a new court. Today, I want to ask you whether you are willing to follow me?"
Commander Ma skillfully cut off the other's words: "Commander is joking. As the Commander of Daxing, I am loyal to you, as the Commander of Daxing."
Zhang Bo leaned back in his seat and lifted the lid: "Let's not beat around the bush. I'll just ask you one question. Would you be willing to be my father-in-law? If you give me your daughter in marriage, I'll consider you one of my own and protect you from now on. As long as I'm here, you'll be a thousand-household commander in Daxing. If there's an opportunity in the future, becoming a sub-prefect isn't impossible."
Commander Ma took a deep breath, veins bulging on his forehead, and roared, "Commander! What do you take me for? I'd rather die than sell my daughter!"
Zhang Bo stared at the already angry Old Ma with his sinister and vicious eyes and sneered: "Is your daughter more important or your family? Commander Ma, you'd better think it over carefully!"
Without waiting for Commander Ma's reply, he continued, "I heard you have two sons in the army, is that right? Don't worry, go back and think about it before giving me an answer. I will lead troops to attack Yongning the day after tomorrow. We can talk about this matter when I get back. You may leave now."
After saying that, he waved his hand, signaling Commander Ma to leave. Watching the old man leave the tent, he sneered, "Ungrateful! She's just the daughter of a fifth-rank commander; it's an honor for her to be my concubine..."
After leaving the garrison, Commander Ma felt a surge of powerlessness after his anger subsided.
He had no background. His father was just a centurion in Daxing before he died. His father passed away when he was seventeen, and he inherited his father's position as centurion after his father's death.
After years of hard work, he finally secured a stable position as a commander of a thousand households. More than a decade ago, Daxing was far from having the clean administration and strong military force it possessed today. His father died in a surprise attack by the Tartars. The commander that year was a corrupt official who embezzled most of the grain and military pay. Not only were the family starving, but the army was also starving. However, a thousand Tartars came down and killed more than three thousand soldiers in the garrison. It wasn't that they couldn't win, but that everyone was starving. The men in the army were all emaciated and pale. The food in the large pot was so thin that you could count the grains of rice. He was the eldest son in his family, and he had two younger brothers and a younger sister, all of whom died in those years.
My second brother died in a raid by the Tartars; he was already dead on the street when they found him. My third brother starved to death. My sister and mother saved their food rations and sold the only two coats they had left in the harsh winter of the northern frontier to buy him a thick set of clothes. When he returned home from hunting in the mountains, his father had already died in battle. When he received his father's thin and emaciated body from his uncles and dragged his father home, he found that his mother and younger sister had died in the house.
He carefully laid his father's body to rest. When he returned to the house, he saw the two of them wrapped in stiff, thin blankets, huddled together. His mother was holding his younger sister, who was only wearing a thin shirt, in her arms. The two of them were tightly embracing each other, their eyes closed and lifeless. His mother's arms were tightly wrapped around his sister's thin, stiff body. In the end, he didn't know whether she had frozen to death or starved to death.
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