The box fell to the ground, scattering gold ingots and silver notes everywhere.
"What are you doing, Dad!" Park Moo-di quickly pulled his father back.
"Don't frighten the child!" Madam Park also ran over, squatted down and stuffed the gold ingots and silver notes back into the box, saying, "Acheng, don't be angry. Your uncle has been a soldier all his life, but he just can't change this bad temper!"
“I am not his uncle!” Park Gun turned around.
Zhao Cheng had considered the possibility of being rejected, but she did not expect Park Gon's reaction to be so strong.
He knew that what he was doing was not the best way to handle things, but his mind was in turmoil all night, and he could only think about how to make things better for Park Gon's family.
Zhao Cheng walked towards Park Geon, bowed deeply, and said, "Uncle Park, you watched me grow up. I may have done things inappropriately, but I have absolutely no malicious intent."
“Exactly!” Mrs. Park patted Park Geon on the shoulder.
Three-year-old Dou Dou ran over and hugged Park Geon's leg, shaking his hand and saying, "Grandpa, don't be angry, Grandpa, don't be angry..."
Park Gun remained silent for a while before letting out a long sigh and turning to walk in the other direction.
"Come with me!"
Zhao Cheng knew he was being called, so he gestured to Zhao Wu and the others not to follow, and then followed Pu Jian toward the courtyard next door.
This is a small courtyard with only a fishpond and a few dilapidated houses.
Park Gon sat down by the fishpond, sawing wood as if he were making something. Zhao Cheng watched him quietly and thought his figure resembled that of an old man who had retired from the military and was now doing carpentry.
But he's not even fifty years old yet...
Even for people from ancient times, Zhao Cheng did not feel that he had reached the age to retire.
“Dou Dou wants a rocking horse to play with. I promised him a long time ago, but I gambled with Lao Bi and Lao Song for five days and five nights a while ago, and I haven’t had time to make it for him yet.” In the end, it was Park Gyeongsam who spoke first.
"I'll help you." Taking the opportunity, Zhao Cheng quickly sat down next to Park Geon.
Park Gun didn't deny it, glanced at Zhao Cheng, and asked, "You know everything?"
“Hmm.” Zhao Cheng understood what Park Gon meant.
"Knowing this makes it even less right to do it. I don't need pity!"
Park Gon frowned and said in a deep voice, "Being poor is nothing, as long as we can make ends meet."
Zhao Cheng asked, "I just don't understand, why did it come to this?"
Park Gon didn't answer directly, but instead asked, "Do you know what kind of people your family's three hundred soldiers are?"
"I know, they were all retired from the Dragonlance class."
“Back then, the imperial court was going to cut all the soldiers in the Right Chancellor’s Office. Although your father managed to save these three hundred men, the court only allowed them to exist, but did not recognize their official status. Without official status, there was no money, so these three hundred men were supported by your father.”
"I know."
“Supporting these 300 people is supporting 300 families.”
"I know that too."
"Do you know how many widows and orphans of soldiers the Right Chancellor is still supporting outside? I'd say at least three thousand, wouldn't you say?"
Zhao Cheng fell silent.
Seeing Zhao Cheng's reaction, Park Geon realized that Zhao Cheng also knew about this.
He sighed, "Compared to the right, what we've done is nothing."
Zhao Chengquan understood.
How could a dignified General Jianzhong, a fourth-rank general, be so poor that he couldn't even afford to hire servants?
It wasn't that he couldn't afford to hire them; rather, he used the money to help widows and orphans.
The former husbands and fathers of those orphans and widows were Pu Jian, Song Cheng, and Bi Fansheng's former comrades and subordinates.
A bad soldier is just one bad soldier; a bad general makes a bad army.
Zhao Huan not only passed on his skillful fighting style to them, but his spirit of selfless compassion also influenced them.
They are all doing the same thing as Zhao Huan!
Zhao Cheng's eyes welled up with tears again. He often jokingly scolded Zhao Huan for supporting a mistress outside the home, but looking at it from Pu Jian's perspective, he suddenly realized that his father had indeed had a tough time.
If Park Gon knew that his father was also raising a thousand soldiers in Lingshan, he would probably be even more moved.
Zhao Cheng asked, "The soldiers who sacrificed their lives on the battlefield were all loyal and brave men of our Great Jing. Does the imperial court not care about their widows and orphans?"
"The imperial court has clear regulations that soldiers who die in the line of duty are entitled to a pension. If a soldier is a member of the Right Chancellor's army, he or she can receive the full amount of pension. However, this is not necessarily the case for other commanders. But this is only one aspect. The two most important points are that the imperial court's finances have always been tight. The Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of War, the Ministry of Works, and the Ministry of Rites are all short of money. When the national treasury is strained, the pension payment is often delayed until the very last minute, and in severe cases, it can even be delayed for ten years!"
Zhao Cheng wanted to curse, "Damn it... ten years have passed, even the kids have grown up!"
"The second point is that this pension is a one-time payment, and even if it is the full amount, it is not much. Once it is used up, it is gone. It is not a long-term solution at all."
"That's why the Right Chancellor set a precedent by giving monthly allowances to the widows of his soldiers. If they were elderly, the allowances would last until they passed away; if they had children, the allowances would last until the children came of age; if they didn't have children, the allowances would be given to them so they could remarry; and if they didn't remarry, the allowances would be given to them so they could find work."
Upon hearing this, Zhao Cheng finally learned something he didn't know and asked in surprise, "My father did such a detailed job?"
Park Gon laughed and said, "It seems you don't know your father well enough."
He suddenly exerted force and snapped a piece of wood in half, continuing, "The Right Chancellor spent his entire life on the battlefield, and no one ever praised his bravery or called him a war god. That's because the Right Chancellor's strength lay in his planning and strategy; no one could match his attention to detail."
"The Right Prime Minister's residence is large and wealthy, and can afford to support you, but this cannot go on!"
"Are you looking down on me?"
“That’s not what I meant. I meant that you, Uncle Bi, and Uncle Song are all too idle. You need to find a way to earn more money!”
"Hahaha!" Park Gon laughed heartily, saying, "Besides fighting wars, all I know how to do is cook and start a fire. I'm completely clueless about business. It's such a pity, such a pity..."
Park Gon's expression turned fierce. He said, "It's a pity that a foolish emperor is in power and treacherous officials are in control. The court no longer values ability when appointing officials and generals, but only connections! Look at the two commanders who were beheaded by Ye Dan before the Right Chancellor went to war. They were both lackeys of Mun Tae. They were all very good at flattering and currying favor, but they couldn't lead troops into battle at all. They deserved to be beheaded!"
"This time, Wen Tai recommended Wang Ren, which is a stroke of good luck for our Great Jing! Wang Ren is a truly capable man. If it had been some other lackey, hundreds of thousands of troops would have been wiped out in the northern desert!"
Zhao Cheng shuddered; he hadn't expected that Park Geon would suddenly start criticizing current affairs during their conversation.
He also vehemently denounced the incompetent ruler and the corrupt officials who abused their power...
Is this something I can hear?
Zhao Cheng quickly reminded him, "Uncle Park, this is the capital, please keep your voice down..."
Park Gon waved his hand dismissively and said, "My house is so poor, not even a mosquito would come here, let alone a spy!"
Zhao Cheng said, "Spies might not have come before, but now I'm here..."
Park Gon was speechless for a moment, and immediately looked to his left and right.
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