C47

In the morning, Gongsun Xu gently removed the jade pendant that was wrapped around his neck. With his bare feet, he jumped off the bed and turned around to smile at Liu Ninger who was sleeping soundly. Then, he donned a thick robe and walked towards the window. There were warm land dragons in the room, and even barefoot on the wooden floor they didn't feel the cold. He leaned close to the window and looked out.

The yard outside was filled with a thin layer of fog as usual. This was also the most common misty weather during winter in the Northern Lands. Gongsun Xu shifted his gaze towards the sky and realized that it was blue. Today should be a sunny day.

Gongsun Xu walked to the side of the bed and grabbed the shirt in Liu Ninger's hands, then placed it beside the pillow. He pressed her down and continued to lie down, then casually patted on the soft and smooth clothes, then pulled up the blanket with a smile: "How many times have I said it, I will wear it myself. You should go back to sleep, last night was a long time, hehe. "

Liu Ninger smiled bashfully, and pulled the blanket over his head.

Gongsun Xu was dressed neatly. When he turned his head and saw Liu Ninger looking at him through the gaps between the blankets, he couldn't help but get intimate with her again. Then, he walked out of the room under Liu Ninger's joyous and disapproving gaze.

After the door closed, Liu Ninger covered her flushed cheeks and rolled around the bed with the blanket a few times. She seemed to have thought of something and suddenly started chuckling.

On that day, after returning from the Liucheng, Gongsun Zan rewarded all of the warriors and pushed Gongsun Xu for their first meritorious service. But Gongsun Xu did not accept it, and handed the merit to One Classic, the two of them pushed each other, and in the end, got the first rank. They were both happy, and at the same time envious of the other important generals and advisors.

He had previously been a high ranked general of the Yanzhou (Remote Region) and a fourth rank general of the Left Army, but this time, he was promoted to the third rank of General An Dong (not to refer to the general stationed in An Dong, but to General Si An An, one of the four great generals of the east, west, south, north and west), and his salary increased to two thousand stones. In the future, if he were to rule this place, he would be in charge of all the military powers. Furthermore, he would have the authority to appoint and remove officials and military generals below the fifth-grade.

Before Gongsun Xu attacked the Liucheng, he was a fifth stage partial general, and this time he was a fourth stage Protector, Academy Officer Wu Huan. With one look at the name, one could tell that this position was used to deal with Wu Huan's affairs. Originally, Yan Rou had been a part of this official position before. He had helped Cao Cao Cao resist the Hu with his contributions, and because of it, he was conferred the title of Marquis. Even though it was just increase of one level, Gongsun Xu's power had increased tremendously. Academy Officer Wu Huan was able to control and transfer troops! That was to say that Gongsun Xu could now officially lead a troop and he did not need to borrow the status of Gongsun Zan's son to do so. Before this, he had attracted a lot of nagging from the White Horse Camp.

The others such as Zhao Yun and Yan Rou all received great rewards, but Gongsun Zan did not promote them to a higher position, he only bestowed them with a lot of money and silk cloth. On the other hand, Wei Dun who was in charge of the rear guard had been promoted by one rank, replacing Gongsun Xu as partial general.

When Gongsun Xu returned to the Ji County, he started to take action on this matter. However, when he understood the situation, he was greatly shocked — So it turned out that other than the size of the military officers, the majority of the ordinary soldiers did not have a salary, especially those like the Youzhou Army that were classified as county soldier, 99% of the people did not have a single cent to take! When they entered the army, they would eat two meals a day, and at the same time, they would be able to offset some taxes. Furthermore, they would also be able to snatch some wealth from the army when they fought; this was the true reason why they joined the army.

There were many taxes in this dynasty, especially during the reign of the Emperor Wu. In the early days, in order to vanquish the Huns and later years, in order to build a magnificent palace, many taxes were raised. For example, the 'word of mouth', which is to say, the tax collected according to the population, was increased from twenty to twenty-three words of literature and scenery. In the later Han Chinese books, there was a 'When going from Martial Emperor to Martial Emperor, one would add three more coins to make up for the cost of riding a carriage.' It was said that the Martial Emperor had specially added money to increase the number of horses and carriages.

Since the rebellion between Huang Wei and Dong Zhuo, the world had been in complete chaos. There were numerous nobles present, and many taxes had been raised without permission. If one could not pay taxes, they would be dragged to the government to serve as a servant, or they would be sent to jail. Often, they would lose their lives because of this, so many people chose to join the military.

The Youzhou was originally a bitter cold land, and the taxes collected every year were basically not enough to cover his expenses. It was impossible for Gongsun Zan and Liu Yu to agree to give some taxes to the White Horse Camp soldiers and pay them. Just as Gongsun Xu was wracking his brain for money, Liu Weitai, Le Hedang and Li Yizi came to his door together and offered him a million copper coins! At this time, Youzhou's income from taxes was only three to four hundred thousand a year. From this, it could be seen how large a sum this was!

Gongsun Xu asked Liu Weitai and the other two for their conditions sincerely, but unexpectedly, he received an unexpected answer: Liu Weitai requested for Liu Ninger to visit his house as soon as possible, and also promised that he would definitely pamper Liu Ninger in the future. Li Yizi also wanted to betroth his daughter, who was far away from the fortress, to him as a concubine, and say mysteriously that they would meet again when the time came.

Gongsun Xu didn't have any reason to reject her offer. He liked Liu Ninger's tranquility and gentleness very much, so he didn't have any morals or cleanliness habits. As for Li Yizi's daughter, Li Yizi had said that she was absolutely as beautiful as an immortal.

After three days, a small carriage brought Liu Ninger to Gongsun Xu's side. However, whether it was Gongsun Zan and his wife, or the Gongsun Xu siblings, they both did not see Liu Ninger as a concubine. Gongsun Zan had even specially hosted a feast at the Marquis Palace, invited a few close friends and subordinates, and it was considered giving Liu Weitai enough face.

Liu Ninger was extremely gentle in taming the beast. Blessed. The only thing that made him uncomfortable was that at the beginning, Liu Ninger actually called Gongsun Xu Master. Under his repeated requests, Liu Ninger finally changed his name and continued to call him Brother Xu.

With the money in hand, Gongsun Xu had finally planned to formally reform the military system in the recent days. He didn't dare to include the entire Youzhou Army in his plan immediately, and prepared to start with the White Horse Camp, and only waited for the results to become more apparent before persuading Gongsun Zan.

Gongsun Xu walked out of the bedroom. Liu Ninger had already prepared a warm water for the maid Liu Ninger, he washed his face and washed his mouth while teasing the handsome Su Er. After a while, he finished washing his face and rinsed his mouth. Then, he walked out of the small courtyard towards Gongsun Zan and his wife's residence.

Just as they reached the door, Gongsun Rui rushed out, and the two of them almost collided.

Gongsun Xu knocked on his sister's head, and laughed: "Rui Er, what are you doing in such a hurry?"

"Aiyah, I hate it!" Gongsun Rui opened his hand and said angrily: "Brother, how many times have I told you this? I'm already grown up! If you dare to knock me down again, I will definitely complain to my mother! "

"Haha, good, good. Big brother will promise not to hit your head anymore!" "Anyway, where are you going so early?"

"Oh, I'm going to find Cui Er to play with elder brother. I'm leaving!" Gongsun Rui's face was somewhat flustered, as she hurriedly ran out.

"Something's off!" Gongsun Xu rubbed his chin, muttering to himself: "Why don't we go back and ask Ning'er?"

"Young Master, why are you standing here?" Just then, the leader of Gongsun Zan's guards, Old Sixth walked out, and couldn't help but ask when he saw Gongsun Xu.

"Hehe, I just spoke a few words with Rui Er. Sixth Uncle, is father in? "

"Master is practicing his spear in the backyard. Young master, please come in. This lowly one has something to do."

"Alright, Sixth Uncle, please do as you please."

Gongsun Xu entered the courtyard and headed straight for the small training grounds in the backyard. Along the way, he met five or six maids and servants, and they all quickly hid to the side when they saw him. They respectfully greeted him.

"Ha!" Ha! "Haargh!" Gongsun Zan's loud and clear shout came out from far away.

Gongsun Xu passed through the crescent gate in the backyard and saw that Gongsun Zan was wearing a set of black clothes that were short for fighting. The spear in his hand danced like a silver dragon entering the ocean, and scattered the dead leaves on the ground.

"Haha, continue!" It's been a long time since father and son have sparred. Come, let's train today! " When Gongsun Zan realized that Gongsun Xu had arrived, he laughed and threw over a spear.

Gongsun Xu smiled as he received the spear. He stood still and pointed the spear at Gongsun Zan.

Gongsun Zan waved his hand: "Make the first move!"

"Alright!" Gongsun Xu did not delay either, and thrusted his spear forward.

Clang! The tip of the spear in Gongsun Zan's hand trembled, and the spear pointed at the bottom of Gongsun Xu's red tassel.

Gongsun Xu's long spear was like a snake that had been hit seven inches long, bouncing back with a 'hu' sound.

Gongsun Zan bellowed and drew out a beautiful ray of spear, his spear continuously thrusting forward, every move not far from Gongsun Xu's left shoulder.

On that day at Chang Shan Town, Mi Fang had once said that Gongsun Zan's spear skills were extremely profound and it was even using the fact that Gongsun Xu's spear skills were violent and rough as a reason, framing him for using Zhang Yan's "Wild Swallow spear skills", and not using the spear skills passed down in Gongsun Zan's family. Back then, Mi Fang's mouth was full of lies, but his words that Gongsun Zan's spear skills were extremely profound were actually true. Gongsun Zan had created his own set of 'Life Resisting Spear Technique', from the meaning of 'The two sides reproduce and live forever', and once used at full power, the moves would go through a cycle, the attacks were as dense as mercury, and the opponent would have a hard time finding an opportunity to counterattack.

Gongsun Xu's marksmanship was very ordinary, he only had an initial glimpse of the 'Life Bestowal Spear Art'. Facing Gongsun Zan who had used seventy to eighty percent of his strength, he simply did not have the strength to retaliate, and was forced to retreat step by step. The spear in front of him seemed to be weaving a huge net, one after another. Whenever he wanted to break out of the net, the net would suddenly tighten around him and he would be trapped if he didn't retreat. He had no choice but to retreat step by step. After ten breaths, he retreated twelve steps. Unknowingly, his back was only a few inches away from the wall.

The corner of Gongsun Zan's mouth revealed a faint smile as he suddenly thrusted his spear towards Gongsun Xu's chest.

Gongsun Xu was shocked, and quickly retreated.

Unexpectedly, Gongsun Zan's spear strike was a feint, when Gongsun Xu's back was pressed against the wall and he had nowhere to retreat to, the spear suddenly changed to a jab, and sent Gongsun Xu's spear flying. Then, the spear trembled, and the spear tip pressed against Gongsun Xu's shoulder.

"Your son lost." Gongsun Xu could only admit defeat.

"Haha, my son has to diligently practice the way of the spear!" Gongsun Zan withdrew his spear and laughed complacently.

Gongsun Xu bowed and said: "This child will follow father's teachings. I will definitely train in the spear arts diligently in the future."

"In the future?" Gongsun Zan frowned in dissatisfaction and berated: "Since you know your shortcomings, you should improve them immediately. How can you keep dragging it out? "Come, I will definitely teach you the way of the spear today." With that, he pulled Gongsun Xu towards the center of the training grounds.

Gongsun Xu laughed, he did not feel any resistance, but instead felt a sense of warmth, the predecessor of this body relied on his immense strength, he did not like learning spear arts at all, and was actually proficient in shooting techniques. Now, he obviously could not give up the opportunity to learn exquisite spear techniques. He wanted to build his career, wanted to fight with the powerful generals like Lv Bu, Guan Yu, Xu Zhu, using just his brute force, he had no other choice but to die!

Furthermore, from the bottom of his heart, Gongsun Xu was looking forward to being taught by Gongsun Zan. Although they had only been together for a short period of time, he could completely feel Gongsun Zan's deep feelings of love for him, and their relationship was no longer as awkward and awkward as it was before. Most importantly, Gongsun Xu did not receive much fatherly love in his previous life. Since he had the chance to experience such a strong fatherly love, he wanted to experience it for himself as well.

In the training grounds that were filled with sunlight, while Gongsun Zan was explaining the ingenuity of the spear art, he was also slowing down his moves to exchange blows with Gongsun Xu, and would stop from time to time to correct his mistakes.

It was unknown when Hou Yue came to this place, but she was leaning on the crescent gate and quietly looked at the father and son duo in the training grounds, a warm and satisfied smile on her face.