knife

Chapter 711 must be rebuilt as soon as possible.
The Cui family mansion is a city in itself.

A city that is more fortified and wealthier than Boling County.

Before Linghu Zhishu became the governor of Boling County, the Cui family mansion was the political and economic center of the entire Boling County.

In the last two years, the Linghu clan has risen to power and controlled the entire Central Plains. The political center of Boling has shifted to the county seat, but the economic center is still undoubtedly the location of the Cui family mansion.

The best workshops, the best craftsmen, and the best industries in Boling are all concentrated in the Cui family mansion. The owners behind them all share the same surname: Cui.

Since the local area does not produce goods and must rely on imports from other places, the first stop after arriving in Boling will inevitably be the Cui family mansion, and then the goods will be transported from there to various places.

Even large shipments heading to the border regions would have to pay the Cui family a toll if they passed through Boling; otherwise, they wouldn't be able to leave Boling.

Despite its name, it was actually a city, with over 100,000 people living within the Cui family mansion's grounds.

However, the Cui family mansion in winter was shrouded in gloom, just like the weather.

Snowflakes dancing in the air and white banners fluttering everywhere form the main color scheme of the entire Cui family mansion.

At this time of year, the Cui family mansion would be at its most bustling, with countless goods gathering there to make final preparations for the annual Spring Festival.

The business done in the twelfth lunar month can be equivalent to half a year's worth of labor. Anyone who misses the business opportunities in the twelfth lunar month will almost certainly lose money for the whole year.

But this year, there is nothing here but deathly silence and sorrow.

The best-selling items on the market are funeral service shops, because the demand is so high that the existing few funeral service shops cannot meet the demand at all, and the reservations have been booked all the way into after the holiday.

Five thousand armored soldiers and countless young men perished beneath Yangguan Pass.

The able-bodied men were one thing, but the vast majority of these five thousand armored men lived within the Cui family mansion. Even if they weren't surnamed Cui, they were families with intricate connections to the Cui family.

"The Cui family has had its backbone broken!" Cui Shu sat cross-legged on the carpet. Beneath the exquisite solid wood floor was a layer of fine white marble, and below that was a fire dragon. Heat emanated from the white marble and solid wood flooring, creating just the right temperature.

The five people sitting around Cui Shu were all surnamed Cui.

In the past, this room could easily gather a dozen or so people with the surname Cui of the same social standing.

After Cui Shu returned from the Great River severely injured, only seven or eight people came to visit him. After his defeat at Tiger Roar Plain, only two or three people remained who frequently came here. This time, five people came because Cui Ming returned severely injured and collapsed in bed upon returning home. His injuries appeared to be much more serious than Cui Shu's.

Cui Ming is getting old and will soon pass away. Once he falls ill, Cui Shu will be the only remaining master of the Cui family. Although Cui Ming once said that Cui Shu would fall from his current level in the future and it would be difficult for him to maintain his mastery of the innate realm, he has not fallen yet and is still the strongest member of the Cui family.

As a result, two more families gathered here.

Of the twelve branches of the Cui family mansion, after Cui Shu became a master of the Innate Realm, all but the eldest branch had sided with him. Now, however, less than half remain.

The reason for this is that Cui Cheng, the eldest son of the Cui family, is doing quite well in Dongdu. Although he suffered a few defeats in Nanyang, they were not serious. Now, Cui Cheng is recruiting soldiers and horses there, preparing to attack Xiangyang again before the end of the year.

"The third and fifth branches of the family sent all their eldest sons to Luoyang a few days ago, taking a large sum of money and their retainers, saying they were invited by Uncle to go to Nanyang to make a name for themselves! Bah!" Cui Tu of the fourth branch of the Cui family said bitterly, "Right now, we are short of manpower near the manor. We have lost five thousand armored men, and we must rebuild immediately. Otherwise, before Li Dachui can even attack, Li Guohua will devour us alive. But at this time, they are pulling away the ladder!"

“That’s right!” Cui Peng from the sixth branch said, “Second brother, today I received a document from Li Guohua, demanding that we collect 100,000 shi of grain, 1,000 sheep, 1,000 pigs, and 100 dan each of chicken, duck, fish, meat, salt, and other dried goods within ten days and deliver them to the county seat. Heh heh, the document says that if we don’t pay on time, we will be punished according to military law. He’s really turning his back on us as fast as flipping through a book!” “This is a test!” Cui Shu said, “to see if we still have the guts and resources to stand up to them. Sixth brother, we have to deliver the goods, because we can’t turn against them right now, but we absolutely cannot deliver them all.”

"How much will you give?"

"Thirty percent!" Cui Shu said, "Tell them that my Cui family is about to rebuild the armored men, and that money and food are in short supply. Also tell them that after my father rests for a while, he will personally explain this matter to him!"

"Father is in such a state now, how can he recover anytime soon!" Cui Peng said. "It will definitely take at least a year or two for his injuries to fully heal. If he's not careful, I'm afraid... I'm afraid..."

"After Father returned, he didn't go to the county town but went straight home, precisely because he didn't want Li Guohua to see through our plans! He wanted to buy us time!" Cui Shu said. "Therefore, we must rebuild the armored army in the shortest possible time!"

"Even if a new army is rebuilt, how can its combat effectiveness compare to that of the past?"

“This time, let’s not hold back anymore. Include all our own nephews, nieces, and retainers!” Cui Shu said.

"Huh?" The people in the room all looked hesitant.

“If you are unwilling and want your own family to take this capital to Dongdu, I will not stop you!” Cui Shu said, “My elder brother is also a member of the Cui family. It’s good for him to start a new business in Dongdu. However, we will lose our old home in Boling. It will just benefit Li Guohua!”

“That won’t do!” Fourth Brother Cui Tu shook his head repeatedly: “If we really leave Boling, we’ll be like a tiger fallen into the plains, vulnerable to being bullied by dogs. Is Eldest Brother really doing so well in the Eastern Capital? Heh, I don’t think so. Second Brother, even if we put all our capital in, it’s still far less than the five thousand armored men we had before, and we don’t have Father to back us up anymore…”

"I'm still here!" Cui Shu said coldly. "As long as I'm still at the Innate Realm, I can naturally protect you. No matter what, we must protect this family business. If Li Guohua wants to swallow us up, he'll have to ask me for my permission first!"

The people in the room all nodded silently.

"As long as we all work together and rebuild the armored men as quickly as possible, Li Guohua will not dare to act rashly. He cannot hold Boling without us." Cui Shu said, "Sixth Brother, open the public treasury and distribute the pensions to the armored men who died earlier, without missing a single penny! Also, take out another sum and distribute the resettlement money to each household of the newly recruited armored men!"

"Second brother, this will cost over a million taels of silver all at once! Should we ask Father about it?"

"Does such a small matter require Father's trouble? I still have this much power, don't I?" Cui Shu said coldly.

Cui Peng hesitated for a moment, then finally nodded.

“During this time, everyone has focused their efforts on rebuilding the armored army!” Cui Shu said. “The sooner it is built, the more confident we will be! Go ahead, the more critical the moment, the more we need to unite as one. The Cui family has faced more critical situations than today before, and we have overcome them all. This time will be no different. With me here, the sky will not fall.”

The person inside responded loudly, stood up, and walked outside.

"Second Brother, your injury?" A man walked to the door and suddenly turned around to ask.

"Don't worry, I've found a way to control my injuries!" Cui Shu said with a smile. "It won't be long before I recover. Father overestimated Li Dachui and underestimated me. Li Dachui injured me with trickery, but he is only a Xiantian (innate) cultivator, not a Shenyou (divine traveler).

"That's great!" The person who asked the question finally relaxed.

Watching everyone leave, Cui Shu walked to the bookshelf in the room, took out a small box, opened it, looked at the dusty pill inside, and remained silent for a long time.

(End of this chapter)