“You brat, are you mocking your little uncle?”
Little uncle may not understand w.a.n.g Chong’s words, but he could tell that w.a.n.g Chong was mocking his tanned skin. Thus, he lifted a finger and knocked w.a.n.g Chong’s head.
w.a.n.g Chong simply grinned in response.
“It’s a pity that your second brother can’t be here for the old master’s birthday. Actually, in the past, your second brother wasn’t like that.”
Little uncle suddenly recalled something and sighed.
“To think that the Berserker Syndrome of our clan would appear in him for your generation!”
w.a.n.g Chong fell silent. While they couldn’t speak of such matter in the hall before the old master and old lady, at here, where no one was around, there was no need to hold back their words.
There was a tightly guarded secret in the w.a.n.g Clan, and it was the ‘Berserker Syndrome’.
No one knew when it started, but this ‘Berserker Syndrome’ would be inherited by a member of the w.a.n.g Clan every alternate generation.
The moment the Berserker Syndrome in one worked up, one would be unable to suppress the killing intent raging in their blood. One’s sight would turn blood-red, and aggressive nature would flare, forcing one into a state of rampage.
And w.a.n.g Chong’s second brother, w.a.n.g Bei, possessed the ‘Berserker Syndrome’!
This syndrome was hereditary, and it was because of this that the old master and old lady felt guilty toward Second Brother w.a.n.g Bei.
“I intend to head over to the jail cell to visit second brother.”
w.a.n.g Chong suddenly spoke.
“Oh?”
Little uncle blinked before nodding his head.
“That’s good as well. Given your current capabilities and Zhao Fengchen’s aid, you should be able to meet him.”
Little uncle has been training the members of the Imperial Army at Tianzhu Mountain. In terms of connections and grasp of information, he was in no way inferior to w.a.n.g Chong
The only difference was that as a commander on Tianzhu Mountain, he was plagued with various military affairs. Thus, he wasn’t allowed to leave Tianzhu Mountain easily.
“Hehe. Speaking of which, that Wootz steel sword or whatever it is called, when do you intend to give one to me? I have countless people begging me for it up at Tianzhu Mountain.”
Little uncle suddenly smiled.
“Sure! A hundred thousand gold taels for one!”
w.a.n.g Chong chuckled and made a ‘demanding for money’ gesture.
“What! It’s that expensive?”
Little uncle was taken aback. He knew that the sword was expensive, but as he didn’t enquire too much about the matter, he didn’t know its exact price.
“Of course! I’ll sell others for hundred thousand gold taels, but since it’s little uncle… I’ve already prepared yours long ago!”
w.a.n.g Chong smiled mischievously.
“Hahaha, at least you have a conscience. This is more like it!”
Upon hearing that w.a.n.g Chong has prepared a Wootz steel sword which was worth a hundred thousand gold taels for him long ago, he immediately laughed heartily.
“Right, little uncle. I have something that I wish to trouble you on.”
w.a.n.g Chong suddenly spoke gravely.
It was rare that little uncle has returned to the capital, and w.a.n.g Chong has a serious matter to ask of him.
“What is it?”
Smiling, little uncle asked.
“I would like to ask you if you know any retired instructors on Tianzhu Mountain.”
w.a.n.g Chong asked seriously.
Weng! Upon hearing w.a.n.g Chong touch on a sensitive topic, little uncle’s face immediately turned grave.
“Chong-er, why are you asking this?”
Little uncle was alarmed. All matters regarding the Imperial Army and royal family were huge affairs and they were all confidential.
“I’ll warn you first. Even though we are a clan of ministers and generals, there are some things that are taboo for us.”
“Little uncle, what are you thinking of? Do you think that I am planning a revolt?”
w.a.n.g Chong burst into laughter.
There were a few n.o.bles who brazenly tried to expand their influence into the Imperial Army to turn it into the private army.
However, that was the Imperial Army they were trying to lay their hands on.
To make a stern warning of the matter, the previous emperor has confiscated the wealth of several clans.
However, what w.a.n.g Chong intended to do was thousands of miles away from what little uncle was thinking.
“I intend to invite the retired experts of Tianzhu Mountain to help me train a few martial artists. There is no restriction on their age, and it doesn’t matter whether they are in the seventies or eighties. It would suffice as long as they are capable of training people.”
w.a.n.g Chong spoke frankly.
Little Uncle w.a.n.g Mi was an instructor of Tianzhu Mountain, and he was in charge of training the personnel of the Imperial Army. This was a huge strategic advantage, but it was a pity that no one in his previous life thought of utilizing this advantage.
Since they were able to train the members of the Imperial Army, there was no doubt about their strength. More important than that, they had a system to groom a large amount of experts.
Thus, after his reincarnation, w.a.n.g Chong has been contemplating for a very long time how he should deal with the future dangers. In the end, his conclusion was that he should groom a group of sufficiently strong subordinates.
It wasn’t suitable for him to render the help of others every time, and there were too many rules in the military. Thus, w.a.n.g Chong decided to groom an army himself.
And in terms of grooming an army, there was no one who was more capable than the Imperial Army instructors up on Tianzhu Mountain.
w.a.n.g Chong didn’t dare to mobilize the current Imperial Army instructors, but it was a different case for the retired ones.
The retired instructors of Tianzhu Mountain have slowly increased throughout the years, and they were living idly off the pension from the royal court.
This was a huge waste of resources.
Thus, w.a.n.g Chong turned his attention to them.
If he could gather this group of people together and make good use of them, they would surely prove to be an a.s.set in the future!
What could be stronger than the powerful Imperial Army?
This was the ambition and intention w.a.n.g Chong had hidden in the depth of his heart.
Just that, w.a.n.g Chong didn’t have the connections for the matter, and those people wouldn’t listen to his words easily. Thus, in order to accomplish his plan, he needed his little uncle to serve as an intermediary.
Only little uncle was capable of accomplis.h.i.+ng this task!
“The instructors of Tianzhu Mountain are all recorded in the books, and every year, we would file those books. Furthermore, clans and individuals were strictly prohibited from hiring these instructors. If anyone were to break this rule, it would be capital punishment. However, if you don’t have high expectations and there’s no age limit, I can find a few people for you.”
“The rules of the royal court states that those who has retired for over twenty years are no longer accountable to the Imperial Army constable. However, these people are at least in their fifties, so are you fine with that? If you are, I can pick a few of them out for you.”
Frowning, little uncle asked.
“Hahaha, that would be for the best!”
Rubbing his palm together, w.a.n.g Chong chuckled. At fifty, if one didn’t break through the bottleneck in their cultivation, their fighting prowess and stamina would decrease tremendously.
However, what w.a.n.g Chong was concerned about wasn’t this. At fifty, most martial artists at fifty would have already possessed rich experience and deep insight into martial arts.
w.a.n.g Chong was more concerned with the techniques and experience they wield. After all, he didn’t need them to charge into the battlefield to slaughter enemies. If he was lucky, he might even be able to hook some incredible high-tier instructors!
“I truly have no idea what you’re up to. However, don’t blame me for not reminding you beforehand. Those people live luxuriously, and their stipend every month adds up to almost a thousand gold taels. It isn’t that easy to move them.”
Little uncle said.
“Haha, it would be much easier if it’s only a problem of money. Help me ask them that with hundred thousand gold taels for each of them every year, will they be interested?”
w.a.n.g Chong said.
“What!”
Little uncle was taken aback, and his eyes nearly popped out. With a monthly salary of 8000 gold taels, even he felt tempted by the offer.
However, considering the price of w.a.n.g Chong’s swords, the matter wasn’t entirely impossible. The current w.a.n.g Clan was different from the old w.a.n.g Clan!
“w.a.n.g Chong, have you really thought it through? Is it worth it to use so much money to hire them?”
“Haha, little uncle. This is called buying the bones of a horse with thousand gold taels. Money isn’t a problem, the issue is whether I am able to bring anyone in.”
w.a.n.g Chong said.
w.a.n.g Chong has been trying his best to earn money, but he never regarded money too highly.
Hiring an ex-instructor of the Imperial Army for a hundred thousand gold taels per year was something unheard of in this era, but no one knew more clearly than w.a.n.g Chong that the onset of the catastrophe four years later would render this money worthless.
Thus, w.a.n.g Chong would never be stingy with money!
No matter how much money he earned, as long as he could convert them to fighting power, it was worth the expenditure.
What w.a.n.g Chong needed to do now was to prepare for the onset of the catastrophe!
“Buying the bones of a horse with thousand gold taels… Rest a.s.sured, you won’t buy horse bones with this amount of money. You can pick freely among those retired Imperial Army instructors.”
Little uncle shook his head. He looked at w.a.n.g Chong with a gaze indicating that he was a profligate scion squandering away his wealth.
“Leave this matter to me. I’ll inform you when there’s any news.”
“Un.”
w.a.n.g Chong nodded his head with a smile.
…
In the hall, the old master finally calmed down. He summoned everyone in, spoke a few words, and got them to disperse.
Everyone knew that the old master’s seventieth birthday wasn’t a small affair. After the visit from the family members, it was time for the old subordinates of the old master to come knocking.
The old master always liked to groom inexperienced talents, bringing them up to positions they were worthy of. As such, the old master’s students and old acquaintances were innumerable, and they took various positions all across the empire.
Other than his standing, another reason why King Song regarded the old master so highly was because of his students and old acquaintances.
As such, even if the Yao Clan were to poach all of the men by King Song’s side, as long as the w.a.n.g Clan and the old master supported King Song, he wouldn’t fall that easily.
These students and old acquaintances had always respected the old master. Thus, every year, when it was the old master’s birthday, they would head to the Four Quarters Emba.s.sy to pay him a visit. Furthermore, today was his seventieth birthday, a major affair, so that was even less of a reason for them to miss it.
Hong long long!
In a moment, the loud rumbling of carriages sounded outside the Four Quarters Emba.s.sy, and it felt as though the entire earth was shaking. Extravagantly adorned carriages gathered together at the Four Quarters Emba.s.sy from all directions, as though they had agreed on it beforehand.
The Four Quarters Emba.s.sy should have been a ‘remote’ location, but in a short moment, it suddenly grew lively. Standing on higher grounds, w.a.n.g Chong could clearly see the people from different walks of life outside. There were white-haired elders, dependable and responsible middle-aged men, pa.s.sionate and zealous young men, those who were the same age as him, and even some who were younger than him.
But regardless of who they were, they were all extremely affluent. A strong scent of authority exuded from them, and w.a.n.g Chong could even spot a purple fish token-carrying powerful officials among the crowd!
——These people were all influential grade-1 officials in the royal court! Every single one of them possessed tremendous standing within the empire!
‘…buying the bones of a horse with thousand gold taels.’
This is an idiom with a story behind it.
Back then, when King Zhao of Yan was recruiting talents, a strategist named Guo Kui told him this story.
An emperor interested in horses wishes to buy a thousand li horse (meaning, able to travel long distance), and he offered a thousand gold taels for it. However, three years pa.s.sed, and he wasn’t able to find a single seller. Thus, a courageous servant stood forward and took on the task.
The servant was capable and he found a horse within three months. But unexpectedly, the horse died right before the sales, but even so, the servant chose to buy it for 500 gold taels.
When the emperor heard of it, he was enraged at the servant for wasting 500 gold taels for nothing. In the end, the servant explained, “When news that you were willing to spend 500 gold taels to buy a dead horse spreads, others would believe that you are a true horse fanatic, and that you keep your promises. Thus, they’ll present their horses up to you.”
And just as the servant said, other people started to offer their thousand li horse to the emperor.
[To conclude, if you treat even those with average talents well, true talents will soon come knocking.]