What's wrong with me, a powerful minister, supporting a few female officials?

Chapter 233 Bedroom Chat: Establishing the Power Team!
Su Mo certainly wouldn't believe Zeng Fan's one-sided story.

Scholars often belittle each other; perhaps doctors are no exception. However, Zeng Fan's words made Su Mo somewhat wary.

Money isn't the main concern; the real problem is if the treatment for Chi Wuyou fails and ends up killing him instead.

Unfortunately, Su Mo still lacked manpower.

As a centurion of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, it would be embarrassing to have to ask Lin Moyin for help if I wanted to investigate other people's situations.

The Qinghe Hundred-Household Office still needs to be properly managed.

Starting from scratch is very difficult. However, once it's established, it will be entirely your own team, making things much easier and preventing you from having to do everything yourself like you do now.

After returning to the Su residence from Fuxingfang, the bicycle once again attracted a lot of onlookers.

Wen Bi, however, didn't have the nerve to do that. He came to the Su residence and waited there, trying to get back the bicycle that Su Mo had stolen.

The Su residence had never been so lively during dinner.

When Third Uncle and Wang Xiuzhi arrived, Lin Moyin and the others all returned to their residence for a meal.

Lin Moyin even sent someone to Gufeng Mountain to summon Liu Siyun back as well.

Meng Danying, who was writing a novel at the Su residence, was also forced by Xue Yishu to stay and have a meal with them.

Meng Danying was initially a little embarrassed, and even uneasy.

Su Mo's position as military supervisor was taken over by her father, who was afraid that Su Mo would take her anger out on her.

Later, she discovered that Su Mo didn't seem to care about the matter at all, and while she was surprised, she finally breathed a sigh of relief.

She was now becoming increasingly aware of how terrifying Su Mo was.

If she holds a grudge against her father, then her father and even the entire Meng family will never have a good life.

Seeing Lin Moyin and the others dining at the same table surprised Meng Danying greatly. She secretly asked Xue Yishu and learned that the Su family had a rule that no female members could sit at the table. Her expression was full of envy!
After the meal, everyone went about their own business.

Jiang Lan cleared away the dishes, Liu Siyun continued to study the construction of Gufeng Mountain, and Xue Yishu and Meng Danying began to write furiously again.

Meng Danying's amazing memory played a huge role; after listening to Su Mo explain the outline and specific plot, she remembered it clearly, saving Su Mo the trouble of pointing it out at any time.

Wang Xiuzhi, that old rascal, also joined in and started giving pointers.

The Romance of the Three Kingdoms had indeed piqued his interest. When he got really engrossed in reading it, he didn't dare to breathe too loudly, for fear of interrupting Xue Yishu and Meng Danying's train of thought.

Sometimes I can't help but offer advice from the sidelines.

Having an old friend to guide you certainly adds a lot to the novel, and you don't have to worry about some taboo plots that young people are unaware of.

Since Su Mo didn't need to sleep with the emperor in the palace today, he naturally took the opportunity to cultivate with Lin Moyin.

This time, she supported him for a full quarter of an hour, which made Lord Qianhu look at Su Mo with new respect. He felt that the two of them would soon get married, and his pretty face turned slightly red.

Feeling smug, Su Mo recounted the events at Qinghefang to Lin Moyin.

Upon hearing this, Lin Moyin was instantly dumbfounded, staring at Su Mo in disbelief: "You have your own seal of authority, and you can report all matters directly to His Majesty without going through this guard?"

"Has this cold-hearted woman gone mad?"

"How can His Majesty allow a mere centurion's office to wield such immense power?"

As the Right Commander of the Thousand Household, she naturally understood better than others the terror of having an independent seal of authority and the power to directly petition the Emperor!
There is virtually no oversight; law enforcement can be carried out across borders at any time, and people can be arrested nationwide.

The only thing that can restrain it is His Majesty himself!
Even the current Embroidered Uniform Guard no longer has this authority.

After all, the current main officials of the Embroidered Uniform Guard are not the Empress's trusted generals, although there were such people during the late Emperor's reign.

Currently, only Fengming Si truly possesses this power!

Lin Moyin racked her brains but couldn't understand why the Emperor would establish such a Hundred Household Office and appoint Su Mo as the Hundred Household Office's Hundred Household Commander.

Even the garrison personnel were all recommended and appointed by Su Mo!
Seeing Lin Moyin's utterly shocked expression, Su Mo hesitated for a moment before finally signaling her to set up a soundproof array. He then lowered his voice and said, "Madam, do you know that Leng Xixi is none other than the current Emperor!"

Upon hearing this, Lin Moyin trembled violently, and her pretty face immediately changed color!

Several breaths passed before she recovered from her shock, staring intently at Su Mo, her voice trembling: "My lord said... cold... cold and aloof, is it the current emperor?"

Su Mo's words brought an unspeakable shock to the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard!
Su Mo nodded slightly: "Not bad!"

"However, she did not know that I knew she was the current emperor."

Lin Moyin stared blankly at Su Mo, feeling like her mind was a little slow to process what was happening.

Su Mo then added, "She thought that all I knew about her was that she was the eldest princess, the current emperor's sister."

As he spoke, Su Mo's face turned bitter, and he said with a wry smile, "But this is for the best, otherwise I really wouldn't know how to face her in the future."

"It's terrifying to even think about it. Leng Xixi is actually the current Empress. I don't know how many times I've offended her!"

He became increasingly frustrated as he spoke: "This is absolutely outrageous!"

"Who would have thought that the Great Wu Empress would disguise herself as a centurion of the Phoenix Cry Division and run around everywhere, constantly calling me 'concubine' all the time!"

Lin Moyin was speechless.

Su Mo wasn't the only one who offended Leng Xi.

It seems I've been rude many times myself.

After a long pause, she smiled wryly and said, "No wonder His Majesty appointed you as the commander of Qinghefang and gave you such power!"

He paused, then continued, "It seems His Majesty is truly desperate for money... extremely poor!"

She blinked, then looked at Su Mo with some confusion: "But didn't His Majesty earn a lot of money from the young master?"

"The gambling dens and brothels in Qinghefang are backed by countless imperial relatives, high-ranking officials, nobles, and regional governors. Why would Your Majesty still set your sights on Qinghefang?"

Baiyujing, Yanyulou, soap, refined salt, and so on, can bring in at least 30,000 to 40,000 taels of silver to the Imperial Treasury every month!
Aside from Liu Siyun, who was in charge of the accounts, Lin Moyin knew best how much profit their business was making, even better than Su Mo.

Su Mo explained, "His Majesty wants to build a new army, which will cost at least three or four hundred thousand taels of silver, and this money will have to come from the Imperial Treasury."

Lin Moyin subconsciously swallowed.

Such an important matter went unnoticed by her, the Right Commander of the Thousand Households, while Su Mo, the Commander of the Hundred Households, was the only one who knew about it.

This shows how much the Empress values ​​Su Mo!

She remained silent for a long time, then finally gritted her teeth and said, "My lord, you must become the Hundred-Household Officer of Qinghefang!"

"I will return to the Right Office tomorrow to organize the case files of various forces in Qinghefang and give them to you for careful consideration."

This task is extremely difficult and will offend a great many people!
But if this matter is handled properly, Su Mo will become another Northern Garrison Commander, rising to the top in one step and wielding immense power.

Lin Moyin naturally wanted to help Su Mo at all costs.

Su Mo nodded: "I've already agreed!"

He frowned: "We don't lack money initially, but manpower is a big problem."

"We need to find some people with no background, who are brave and capable of fighting and killing, but where am I supposed to find such people?"

The Embroidered Uniform Guard is different from the clerks and officials of the yamen.

The clerks in the government office can simply find local thugs and ruffians.

But the Embroidered Uniform Guard needs to be resourceful and capable; otherwise, how could they have made a name for themselves in the complex and chaotic Qinghefang area?

Lin Moyin thought for a moment, then made a decision: "We cannot seek help from local people in the capital, unless they are trusted by the young master, such as the sons of noble families like Zhang Xuzu."

"Young master, you can start with the local garrison."

“People from local garrisons are more eager to advance, and they have no worries in the capital. As long as you have the ability to protect them, they will definitely work for you without hesitation.”

"In addition, those nominated on the list of candidates for this Immortal Martial Arts Grand Trial may also be considered."

Those who pass the Immortal Martial Arts Grand Trial are basically admitted to the ranks of military officers.

Lin Moyin, despite achieving a respectable second-place ranking in the Immortal Martial Arts Grand Examination, ultimately only became a centurion in the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

Chi Wulei, who came from the imperial examination system and was the top scholar in the special imperial examination, directly entered the Hanlin Academy and became a court official, with a much brighter future than Lin Moyin.

Su Mo nodded: "That's what I'm thinking too."

"The only local garrisons I am familiar with are Changping and Tianchang counties."

“Tianchang is a county attached to the capital, very close to the capital. The Jinyiwei (Imperial Guards) of the garrison probably also have close ties with the capital.”

"They're fine for routine tasks, but when it comes to things that really offend powerful figures, I'm afraid we can't count on them and they're not worth considering."

After pausing, Su Mo's gaze fell on Lin Moyin, and he hesitated for a moment before saying, "I plan to transfer Xiao Xiao from Changping County to serve as the trial centurion of Qinghe."

"Also, there were a few guys in the Koshi Group back then who could be of some use."

Lin Moyin was immediately taken aback: "Junior Sister Ning?"

In the previous incident involving the Heavenly Mother Sect, Lin Moyin naturally requested credit for her junior sister, who was promoted from a captain to a probationary centurion. Being transferred from the countryside to the capital was considered a promotion of half a rank.

Lin Moyin frowned, hesitated for a moment, and then said, "It would be fine to transfer my junior sister over."

"Her cultivation of the Pure Maiden Profound Yin Technique should be nearing its bottleneck, so it would be convenient for you, my lord, to dispel the cold from her."

"But she is still young and inexperienced, and I'm afraid she won't be up to the task."

Su Mo smiled and said, "I like that she's naive and innocent. That's why she dares to do things. With a little guidance, she'll be fine."

Lin Moyin nodded: "In addition, Ma Wei from Changping County can also be used."

"This man is ruthless and extremely ambitious. If he knew the young master's current power, I dare not say whether he would offend the powerful and influential people in the capital to the death, but he would certainly have no problem dealing with ordinary matters."

At this moment, she finally remembered Ma Wei and Guo Jingyi, who had given her gifts before.

Su Mo remembered these two trial households.

One gave himself a house deed, and the other gave himself a golden Buddha statue.

He gave it to Lin Moyin himself.

Guo Jingyi is old and lacks ambition, so he will not be promoted.

Ma Wei is indeed a capable person.

That's how it is sometimes; you might not get anything out of the gift at the time, but it could come in handy at a crucial moment.

After discussing it for a while, the two finally managed to straighten out half of the management structure of Qinghefang.

Of the three trial centurions in the centurion unit, Ma Wei and Ning Xiaoxiao have taken two of them. There's no rush to leave the last one vacant. Leaving it vacant will actually give the junior officers and general officers below them a stronger fighting spirit!
As for ordinary strongmen and captains.

There are many refugees who have fled to the capital, and some can be selected from them.

In addition to Su Mo's previous team in Changping County, such as Chenjiazhai and Xianyanshan, they could barely muster half a garrison's manpower.

The list should be given to Leng Liuxi when you go to the palace to sleep with her tomorrow.

It's a good opportunity to see if Leng Liuxi can truly meet all my requirements and to test the Empress's level of trust in me.

From now on, I'll have a principle for prioritizing tasks.

Next, Su Mo and Lin Moyin were deeply in love, and Su Mo also took the opportunity to check if Lord Qianhu's eloquence had improved. Half an hour later, they fell asleep in each other's arms.

……

The next morning, with Jiang Lan's help, Su Mo changed into a fine blue robe, a gold-threaded belt, a dragon-shaped whip, a silver hair ornament, a jade hairpin, and a gold-threaded coin pouch at his waist.

What a dashing and extraordinary young man's attire!

I shouldn't be mistaken for a servant anymore.

Su Mo examined himself in the bronze mirror, then prepared to ride his bicycle to Datong Temple to test the true nature of the divine doctor.

When they arrived at the courtyard, they saw...

The bicycle is gone...

Only after asking did I learn that the commander had beaten me to it and ridden it to the right post for duty.

Su Mo was both amused and exasperated.

Xue Yishu did have one, a chain-link bicycle, which she received as a reward for writing a novel.

However, when she borrowed it, she was reluctant to part with it and repeatedly told Su Mo not to damage it.

Su Mo was both amused and exasperated.

Why not just return Xue Yishu's precious bicycle to her and have Jiang Laoshi drive the Empress's black carriage so they can travel by car?

It was Jiang Laoshi's first time traveling with Su Mo, and he was so excited that his face turned red, and he was full of energy and had a rosy glow.

"Sir, please have a seat!"

Then, with a flick of his whip, he drove the understated yet luxurious carriage away in a flash!

Datong Temple is located next to Qinghefang, on the banks of Xima River.

Jiang Laoshi drove the carriage to the vicinity of Datong Temple.

The bustling scene outside the temple surprised Su Mo greatly!
From a distance, Datong Temple appears to cover a vast area, with magnificent buildings, a rigorous layout, and an imposing presence.

Along the central axis are the mountain gate, the Hall of Heavenly Kings, the Great Buddha Hall, the Octagonal Glazed Tile Hall, the Sutra Repository, etc., with the bell tower, drum tower, and east and west wing rooms arranged symmetrically on the left and right.

Judging by its magnificent scale, it's not much inferior to the Martial King's Palace!
Nearby were official post stations and foreign quarters, with numerous residences and taverns, where one could see many foreign envoys and strangely dressed monks.

The large square in front of the temple was bustling with activity.

It was a bustling marketplace with stalls selling entertainment, tea, letters, incense and candles, fortune telling, and more.

Many magnificent carriages were parked under the shade of huge trees.

On the long stone steps in front of the temple, there were hundreds of devout pilgrims and believers waiting to enter.

However, these worshippers and believers were mostly ordinary people dressed in plain clothes.

Su Mo frowned.

The profound history of Datong Temple seems to far exceed my expectations!
With so many people lining up to give money to the temple every day, it's hard not to get rich.

Su Mo didn't know whether Datong Temple belonged to Qinghefang, but even a fool could guess that the gambling dens and brothels in Qinghefang must have some connection with Datong Temple.

Don't say that temples have nothing to do with prostitution and gambling.

There are countless temples that harbor filth and corruption.

There are truly virtuous and eminent monks, but they are few and far between, and most of them live in seclusion in temples deep in the mountains!
If they collect the management fees for Qinghefang themselves, they'll definitely be going against Datong Temple!
Seeing the look of shock on Su Mo's face, Jiang Laoshi assumed that Su Mo was amazed by the bustling scene at Datong Temple, so he smiled and said, "Master, you didn't know how lively Datong Temple was before, did you?"

"Today is really nothing."

"When it comes to the temple fair where all people trade, or when the high monks in the temple preach, or when Buddhist chants are played, that's when it's truly lively."

He took a deep breath and exclaimed with great emotion, "It was truly a sea of ​​people; you couldn't even move!"

Su Mo looked at Jiang Laoshi with some surprise: "You've been to Datong Temple before."

Jiang Laoshi immediately laughed and said, "Of course I've been here!"

"In Dawu, people revere Buddhism. It's rare to find a commoner in the capital who hasn't been to the Datong Temple Fair."

He paused, then asked curiously, "Sir, what brings you to Datong Temple?"

"Do we have to go to a temple to burn incense and worship Buddha?"

Su Mo originally thought that once he arrived at Datong Temple, he could find someone to inquire about the situation of the divine doctor, but he did not expect Datong Temple to be in such a state.

As he thought about it, he nodded and casually said, "Burning incense would be fine too."

This is a good opportunity to find out the truth about Datong Temple.

After a pause, Su Mo added, "You wait here, I'm going to queue up."

Jiang Laoshi chuckled: "Sir, if you want to burn incense, why do you need to queue up to enter the temple like ordinary people!"

Su Mo was taken aback: "No need to queue?"

Jiang Laoshi explained, "Sir, please wait here for a moment."

“For someone like you, sir, who arrives in a carriage, you are a high-ranking official or nobleman. Naturally, a monk will come to guide you into the temple to worship Buddha.”

He paused, then explained, "How could the daughters of officials and noble families who sincerely worship Buddha show their faces in public like ordinary worshippers?"

Su Mo was speechless for a moment.

So VIP wasn't something they invented themselves.

Datong Temple has a VIP access channel!

No wonder it can attract so many believers and make a fortune every day.

This way of making a living is truly extraordinary.

Sure enough, as soon as Jiang Laoshi finished speaking, Su Mo saw a fair-skinned young novice monk with a string of Buddhist beads in his hand and a solemn expression walking quickly toward the carriage.

The young novice monk walked up to the carriage, first examining its design, a slight look of surprise appearing in his eyes.

He then respectfully bowed to Su Mo with his hands clasped together, asking, "May I ask, sir, have you come to the temple to worship Buddha?"

Su Mo looked at the young novice monk who was greeting guests with some suspicion.

There was a faint aura of magic power emanating from the other party!
He's actually a cultivator!

The prestige of Datong Temple has instantly been elevated!
(End of this chapter)