Chapter 48: Hundred Household Officials
"That person refused to say anything. He said that Captain Yang recommended him to come to you, sir. We need to meet you to discuss the matter in detail." Li Quan shook his head.
So Tang Wen went straight into the reception room.
I found a man in his thirties sitting in the hall. He was wearing a light blue cloth robe and had a round face. Although his clothes were very ordinary.
However, when he sat on the chair, he gave people a sense of majesty without even getting angry, as if he was someone who had been in officialdom for many years.
"Sir!" When he saw Tang Wen coming in, the man was slightly stunned at first, then stood up and saluted with his fists.
"What's your name?" Tang Wen nodded and asked.
"My name is Li Liao. I'm Yang Yun's classmate and good friend. We both passed the imperial examination and became military scholars. This is the letter he wrote. Please take a look first." Li Liao said as he took out a letter and handed it over.
Tang Wen took it, tore open the letter and started reading.
Hello, my Lord Earl!
Li Liao is my good friend, he is from Haisheng City, we were classmates for ten years, and both of us were from Wujin in the same year.
One year we encountered bandits and we fought side by side and killed eighteen of them.
We became sworn brothers that year. However, after passing the imperial examination, he went to Yuzhou Prefecture and rose through the ranks to become a hundred-householder in Yuzhou Garrison Prefecture, a sixth-rank official, which was higher than mine.
Unfortunately, he offended Yuzhou Dusi Chen Wangde the year before last and was framed, dismissed from his post, his property was confiscated, and he was imprisoned for half a year.
Come to me after you get out of prison, but it’s not convenient for me here.
Therefore, I wrote this letter of recommendation to see if I can get a job under the Earl.
This person is an upright man. He offended Chen Wangde last year because of a girl named Song Yuanyuan from a musical instrument studio who only sold her art but not her body.
Chen Wangde fell in love with that woman, but Chen Yuanyuan refused to obey him even at death. It was only after my brother stepped in to rescue her that the current situation came about.
Of course, if Sir Alex accepts him, he will take risks.
After all, Chen Wangde hated him to the core, and he left Yuzhou to come to our Linghai in order to prevent Chen Wangde from continuing to take revenge.
Although they belong to different provinces, the officials are colluding with each other. My lord, please consider carefully before making a decision.
However, Li Liao is very good at Kung Fu, even better than me.
The title lacks a commander who can lead the personal guards, and he is suitable.
Please think twice, sir, so as to avoid causing unhappiness between you and me.
After reading the letter, Tang Wen gently placed it on the table and said, "Master Li, please take a seat."
"I am no longer a captain of Yuzhou. Please call me Li Liao, sir." Li Liao said.
"Brother Li, please sit down." Tang Wen said again.
"My Lord Earl, please give me a straight answer, okay? If not, I will turn around and leave." Li Liao said.
"Do you have any family?" Tang Wen asked.
He opened the popularity eye and glanced at the popularity above Li Liao's head, and found that the popularity was standing straight up to the sky.
Tang Wen could even sense a hint of disdain from his popularity.
It seems that this person looks down on me.
After all, he was once a centurion of the sixth rank and commanded thousands of soldiers.
"Yes! My wife, children, the elderly, and thirty-six men who follow me, Li Liao, wholeheartedly. All of my men are skilled and have fought on the battlefield and killed enemies." Li Liao nodded.
"Where are they now?" Tang Wen asked.
"The one who came with me is outside." Li Liao said.
"Li Quan, please invite them in!" Tang Wen said.
"I'll go." Li Liao said as he went out, and soon came in with a group of people.
"My father is Li Xian, my mother is Wei Ying, my wife is Zhang Qin, my eldest son is Li Hui, my second daughter is Li Xia, my third son is Li Tao, and this is Song Yuanyuan, the girl from the Qinfang I saved. She must follow me.
She is sixteen years old this year, so my wife adopted her as her adopted daughter.
The remaining one is Wei Guang, the former commander of the Yuzhou Garrison, my wife’s younger brother.
This is the head of the external affairs committee, Chen Guang...
All of my men have ninth- and eighth-grade skills.
They are all brothers who were implicated because of my affairs and are willing to follow me." Li Liao introduced them one by one.
"Song Yuanyuan, you are very brave." Tang Wen said.
"Thank you for the compliment, sir. I am not worthy of it." Song Yuanyuan stepped forward and knelt down to greet him.
"Well, you are all good. However, to join my Tang family you have to sell your body." Tang Wen nodded.
"Selling yourself?" Upon hearing this, Li Liao and his subordinates and family members all frowned.
“This is the master’s rule, everyone here belongs to the Tang family.
However, Master Tang is very kind to his servants.
We were provided with food, clothes, pocket money, and a room for each of us," said Li Quan.
"Sir, we don't want too much salary. We can join your personal guards and help you." Li Liao said.
"Okay! Let's not talk about selling your bodies for now. You can help me with the work first, and after ten days, if you feel it's not worth selling your bodies, you can leave.
When the time comes, I will give you each ten taels of silver, two dou of rice, and send a carriage to take you off the island."
Tang Wen said, and then said to Li Quan, "Give them a few rooms, take them downstairs to bathe, settle them down, and have lunch with us at noon."
"Sir, you don't have to waste your time. We will never sell ourselves! We won't cause you any more trouble. We will leave now." Li Liao said with a cold face.
"You will definitely regret it if you leave." Tang Wen said.
"I regret it. Haha. The world is so big, is there really no place for me, Li Liao, to stay? With my martial arts skills, I can make a living anywhere." Li Liao sneered.
"Although the world is big, I only have one copy of it. Brother Li, don't talk big. Just come with me first and then decide whether to stay for ten days." Tang Wen smiled.
"Then I'd like to see what the Lord can do to keep me here?" Li Liao was also provoked and snorted.
"Let's go to the bathroom first to use the toilet and wash our faces, and then walk around." Tang Wen said, so Zhan Dongwen and Li Quan acted as guides and took them for a walk.
"Your toilet is really nice." After coming out, Li Liao sighed.
"The toilet still smells good, it's a wonder in the world." Wei Guang nodded.
"It's very convenient to use water. The mechanism called the faucet is very easy to use. Water comes out when you turn it, and it closes when you turn it back on. The water is also very clear and tastes good." Mrs. Zhang Qin said.
However, when Li Liao and his gang saw the huge stone crusher and sand crusher roaring.
Huge pieces of stones were dumped onto the conveyor belt by trucks. After being crushed, the conveyor belt outputted gravel of similar sizes and fine sand, which was astonishing.
"This mechanism is so powerful that it can even crush rocks."
"If a person were thrown in there, he would probably turn into a pile of blood and flesh immediately."
"What are you going to do with all this gravel and sand?"
…
Li Liao's men began to discuss.
When they arrived at the edge of Wolong Lake, everyone was stunned by the grand scene.
"Dad, look, that iron horse is so awesome. It can dig up such a big rock and it will roll down."
"And that one, you see, can lift rocks weighing tens of thousands of pounds."
"These iron wires are woven into a net, and some mud is poured on it..."
"Dad, I also saw something called an electric light. It lights up when you press it, and goes out when you press it again. It's much easier to use than a candle and it's so bright."
…
Anyway, Li Liao and his group were all like Granny Liu entering the Grand View Garden, full of curiosity and amazement.
"Sir, I heard that all these iron horses and iron cattle of yours were shipped back from the West?" Li Liao asked.
"Of course." Tang Wen nodded, and then looked at the popularity above Li Liao's head, and found that his popularity was no longer straight, but was shaking slightly.
Tang Wen sensed a hint of surprise in his popularity, which indicated that Li Liao's attitude had changed slightly.
As long as there is change, this person will have the possibility to strive for it.
"Sir, you are a man of great ability. I admire you." Li Liao said with a fist salute.
"These are just the beginning. There will be more strange and bizarre mechanical iron horses brought back in the future." Tang Wen said with a smile.
"I just borrowed the swords from your men and looked at them. They are all made of fine steel, better than the ones we use in the barracks." Wei Guang said.
"Especially those small bows, although the arrows are small, they are very powerful.
Moreover, there are some mechanisms on it to make aiming easier.
The chance of hitting the target is greater and the distance is longer." Chen Fei said.
"Things from the West are good. I used to follow the Marshal on the Western Expedition and saw him use something. They call that thing a telescope. You can see things more than ten miles away when you put it on your eyes, and very clearly." Li Liao said.
"That should be a single cylinder!" said Tang Wen.
"Yes, it's a single-lens one and can only be seen with one eye. However, I heard from the Marshal that it was a gift from a Western merchant to the royal family and it's very expensive." Li Liao nodded.
"Li Quan, bring the telescope." Tang Wen said.
