Transmigrating Through the Heavens: Starting with the Silly Pillar of the Courtyard

Chapter 329 The Blacksmith Shop

With money and food, Wu Tao felt that he could do something extraordinary in his life.

He's done it all—from wealthy businessmen to powerful cultivators.

It seems like I could try being a great general or at least sit in that chair for the last time in this lifetime.

Wu Tao doesn't have any grand ambitions. No matter how great the future may be, his priority now is to live a good life.

Wu Tao went to Xicheng to recruit strongmen today, but he actually had another purpose.

Whatever he plans to do in the future, he will definitely need a lot of manpower.

If you want to do something, you naturally need some trustworthy people to help you.

West City is a slum, and if the people there meet a wise ruler, they will naturally know how to give.

Chen Wu, Wang Liu, and the other four are just the starting point; Wu Tao will later develop other side businesses.

He will then cultivate a group of trusted subordinates through his side businesses, and seize the opportunity when the time is right.

After understanding the current situation of the Great Yan Dynasty, Wu Tao knew that the dynasty would most likely perish within ten years.

He's not a saint, and he won't try to save anything. He just needs to protect himself and maybe do something significant along the way.

"Sir, dinner is ready."

Just as Wu Tao was sitting in his study deep in thought, a shout suddenly came from outside.

"Bring it in, come and eat with us."

Chen Wu, Wang Liu, Zhao Si, Niu Er, and Qian Hu entered the house one after another.

Wu Tao invited them to sit at the octagonal table. A large pot of stew smelled delicious, and a large bucket of steaming rice made their mouths water.

Chen Wu, Wang Liu, and the others had already been secretly swallowing a lot of saliva, but they still didn't dare to steal a single bite.

The fact that Wu Tao found them today made them all realize that their fates had been changed.

Born in the West City, they dreamed of escaping from there since they were young.

While others choose to do bad things for a bite to eat, they stick to their principles.

They knew that many large families would investigate the character of servants beforehand.

Those whose reputations are already ruined will certainly not be accepted by them.

After all, no one wants to bring a traitor into their home, and now the five of them have finally seen the light at the end of the tunnel.

These are not servants; according to the master, they will become elite guards of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

Even if it's just temporary, they can still act with impunity in Songjiang Prefecture.

They will never be poor again, and they will never have to worry about being bullied again.

As for the dangers that might arise from being a member of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, they were nothing to them.

They felt that dying in battle was the most comfortable death, rather than starving or freezing to death in the wild.

"Eat up. From now on, we don't need to follow too many rules when we're together."

Since he wanted to win people's hearts, Wu Tao didn't mind putting on a humble and respectful demeanor.

Of course, he said that because he knew the other party wouldn't.

Sure enough, in the following days, the group behaved themselves very well.

Through careful observation of various details, Wu Tao concluded that these five people were generally trustworthy and capable of being reused, and that was enough.

When Wu Tao led five men into the Hundred Households Training Ground, the ten newly recruited captains had now become more than thirty men.

It seems that the captain is not short of money; he has not only hired two strongmen.

As a junior officer, Wu Tao wished he could recruit five strongmen for each of his men.

It has been said that the Imperial Guards suffer heavy casualties, so in case of danger, having one more person will definitely provide more support.

"Alright, everyone, this is our first meeting. I'm your superior, Junior Officer Wu Tao. I hope you'll all train hard and endure hardship in peacetime so that you won't bleed in wartime. We, the Embroidered Uniform Guard—"

Wu Tao's words of encouragement and spurred everyone present to a fever pitch.

Wu Tao looked at them, unsure how many would survive to the end.

Wu Tao left Chen Wu, Wang Liu, and the other three at the training ground for training.

Veteran soldiers are in charge here. When there are no missions, they can train here. Even junior officers have to do drills from time to time.

Only those at the rank of colonel or above are exempt from training, provided they can escape if they encounter danger.

The strongmen also had clothes, which were ordinary samurai uniforms, and at first glance they looked similar to the uniforms of the constables.

They also had embroidered spring knives, but their materials were inferior to those of the official Embroidered Uniform Guards.

Wu Tao would report to the Hundred Households Office at 7 a.m. every day and return home at 11 a.m. In the afternoon, if he had nothing to do, he would either lead a group to patrol the streets or simply rest at home.

The Imperial Guards only needed to report to the Hundred-Household Office in the morning, and they would give orders when there was something to do.

If there's nothing else to do, the afternoon is for patrolling the streets and free time.

Patrolling the streets doesn't actually require a whole squad of flag bearers; they aren't responsible for maintaining order—that's the job of the constables from the yamen (government office).

Their street patrols are purely for collecting money and for wandering around aimlessly.

The original owner used to like to take people for walks around the streets when he had nothing to do. After all, young people always love excitement.

When it was Wu Tao's turn, he was too lazy to go out on the street. At this time of year, the streets and shops were incredibly shabby, dirty, and chaotic.

The main reason is that Wu Tao has recently started thinking about his side business, and is also considering training subordinates, as well as some other reasons that cannot be discussed.

Wu Tao eventually decided to open a blacksmith shop, so he found a courtyard facing the street on the street he was in charge of.

Even if he were a member of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, he would still have to pay rent for such a place.

The shops on Songjiangfu Street had already been taken over by those powerful families many years ago.

They have a complex web of connections behind them. If you think you can control them just because you're a member of the Imperial Guard, you'll really run into trouble.

The Embroidered Uniform Guard is formidable and frightening, provided you have leverage over them.

Or perhaps he offended someone, and his superiors wanted to punish him.

Otherwise, if the commanders of a thousand or a hundred don't give the order, and you, a mere flag officer, arrest someone, you're really asking for death.

The entire Great Yan Dynasty had long had its own rules, which were not written down or illustrated, but were clearly etched in everyone's hearts.

Wu Tao had no intention of bullying the weak, so he rented the courtyard at the normal rent of thirty taels of silver per month.

The rent of one or two taels of silver a day is actually about right.

Let's calculate based on the protection money they collected as their flag bearers:

The thousands of shops in Songjiang Prefecture, based on their size and the amount of business they did, each needed to pay two thousand taels of silver to the Jinyiwei Thousand Household Office every month.

On average, each shop received between one and several taels of silver, not only from the Imperial Guards but also from the constables and yamen runners.

They weren't as domineering as the Embroidered Uniform Guards, who only dared to accept half, but still charged several hundred coins.

Add in taxes, which amount to several taels of silver, plus expenses for rent, labor, materials, and other costs.

A shop that earns tens or hundreds of taels of silver a month, and can save a few to a dozen taels after deducting all expenses, is considered to be a well-managed business.

The Imperial Guards and constables knew exactly how many customers each shop could keep each month.

They wouldn't force the other party to close down; otherwise, they couldn't very well start their own business.

However, we won't force you to close down, nor will we let you actually make a fortune.