Today is a day off.
Zhao Hu woke up in his room and splashed a basin of cold water on his face.
Given his status, he could have easily bought a courtyard house next to the Marquis's mansion and hired a few maids to serve him.
But he didn't, because he didn't want to.
Zhao Hu felt that he didn't have the same perseverance as his teacher, and that he could not lose himself amidst wealth and honor.
They clearly held the power of life and death and could have lived a life of luxury.
But their own teacher still liked to fool around with the little girls every day.
The only enjoyment I get each day is that I eat a little better than others.
They did not exploit the people, nor did they amass wealth.
Thinking of this, his respect for his teacher grew even stronger.
The teacher seems to be researching opening a general store lately, and told him to go home and check it out in the next couple of days, otherwise he won't have this much free time in the future.
Zhao Hu actually really wanted to go home.
After joining the Embroidered Uniform Guard last year, I haven't had time to go back to my village, and I don't know how my parents are doing.
He dressed in a flying fish robe, with two knives slung at his waist.
Two embroidered spring knives, one long and one short.
This outfit, along with the embroidered spring knife, is something only those with a rank of battalion commander or higher are entitled to possess.
This is the signature attire of the Marquis's personal guards.
Captains like Zhao Hu and Chen Da can also receive two Marquis's Mansion tokens.
Made of pure gold, each token costs around fifty taels of gold.
It hung heavily on the waistband of the pants; if the belt of the flying fish suit hadn't been of good quality, it probably wouldn't have been able to stay on.
That bastard Chen Da is always showing off in front of others, saying that the token is too heavy and uncomfortable to hang on.
His smug look made the other veterans roll their eyes.
The new recruits were extremely envious.
One token is worth fifty taels of gold and more than five hundred taels of silver.
If you have such a token, you'll be rich for life.
Unfortunately, the conditions for recruiting soldiers were too harsh. Li Chang'an only brought a little over five hundred personal guards with him to the entire Chengxi Village.
He plans to recruit some soldiers from Lantian County after a period of time to form his own personal guard.
As for whether anyone will come, Zhao Hu is not worried.
Five taels of silver a month, plus free room and board every day, with meat and eggs at every meal, and unlimited rice.
Under these conditions, anyone would come.
It should be noted that even in the capital city, the wealthiest city in the Ming Dynasty, the average annual income for a person was only about ten taels of silver.
The wages offered by the Marquis were equivalent to a year's wages for just two months.
Moreover, meals and accommodation are provided, along with annual bonuses and subsidies. There are also extra rewards for going out on business.
Even a minor officer in the Embroidered Uniform Guard wouldn't enjoy such treatment.
Thinking about his wages for this month, Zhao Hu reached under the covers and began to search.
Then he took out a bag of silver and a bag of gold.
A total of eight hundred taels of silver—this was the income he had earned after following Li Chang'an for several months.
He earns over a hundred taels a month, and he can even get an advance.
The Marquis told him that for anything under ten thousand taels of gold, he should just inform his apprentice, Xiao Ping'an.
Speak anytime, give anytime.
He doesn't care what you do, as long as you're not doing anything bad.
For anything involving more than ten thousand taels of gold, just ask him for it and explain the purpose.
Among all the personal guards in the Marquis's mansion, only Zhao Hu received such treatment.
Chen Da could only control one thousand taels of gold.
As for how much the Marquis's apprentice, Miss Ping An, could control, he didn't know.
However, I heard that Miss Ping An, in order to repay Miao Qingqing for teaching her martial arts, specially made a bed out of gold so that this vice leader of the Divine Dragon Sect, who loves gold, could lie down and sleep on it.
He wasn't quite sure how heavy it was, only that more than twenty personal guards couldn't lift it.
Even Grandmaster Miao Qingqing couldn't lift it.
Luoyang, still a land of immortals, carried the bed back to his room.
The two sisters argued for ages over this bed.
The Marquis was truly generous, having a golden bed made for every servant in the backyard.
It looks sparkly.
This scene spread throughout the Marquis's residence, and everyone wished they could try even harder.
I strive to be the Marquis's most loyal lackey, not for any other reason than...
I just wanted to experience what it felt like to lie on a golden bed.
Even if it was just for one night, they were content.
Now, everyone in the entire mansion is looking at Li Chang'an with affection.
Especially at the training ground, every time the Marquis came, hundreds of naked, burly men would frantically flirt with him. The sight of them made Zhao Hu want to gouge out his own eyes.
Remembering the marquis's disgusted expression, Zhao Hu smiled, took a bag of silver, and walked out.
Today I'll go to the market to buy things first, and then go back to the village.
The market in Lantian County is not far from the Marquis's residence.
The people in the market smiled when they saw Zhao Hu dressed in a flying fish robe.
Since this lord arrived, Lantian County's tax revenue has decreased by 30%.
In the entire Ming Dynasty, only Lantian County was allowed to pay only 20% of the taxes.
The Marquis originally didn't want to accept it, but that damned emperor said that all the people under heaven must pay taxes.
So there's no other way but to take 20% as a token gesture.
Thinking of this, the people in the market gritted their teeth and couldn't help but think to themselves: If only the Marquis could become the emperor.
Their lord not only gave them money, but also reduced taxes and killed many corrupt officials.
More importantly, with the arrival of the Marquis, Lantian County now has a just and upright official.
The soldiers under the Marquis's command rarely haggle when they come to buy things.
Moreover, they were exceptionally polite, unlike those city guards who were loud and boisterous and refused to give money.
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