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

Chapter 338 Farmhouse Outside the City

The streets were under curfew at night, but no one dared to approach the Imperial Guards and ask them any questions.

Wu Tao, Guo Wei, and Ling Tian, ​​the three officers, were sitting in the carriage, talking quietly.

"I see there are quite a few wealthy people in Cangzhou Prefecture."

"What you say is true, sir. Don't be fooled by the fact that this place is frequently attacked by the Tartars. In reality, there are countless fertile fields outside Cangzhou Prefecture. As long as the harvest can be protected, those landlords will reap considerable profits."

As a long-time resident of Cangzhou Prefecture, Commander Guo Wei naturally knew a great deal about things in Cangzhou Prefecture.

After listening to what Commander Guo Wei said, Wu Tao's heart stirred. He had always wanted to start a farm, and Cangzhou Prefecture seemed to be the perfect place.

With war raging here, the farms outside the city are the best places to hide troops.

In addition, the outside world was dangerous, so even government officials dared not easily go out to investigate. This left loopholes for some people, and no matter how big their influence was outside, no one dared to interfere.

Even the death of the former commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard outside the city intensified this sentiment. However, at the banquet today, Wu Tao did not see any fear or worry among the merchants and landlords.

It seemed as if the threat from the Tartars outside didn't exist, but Wu Tao felt there was probably something fishy going on.

But now he won't ask or investigate.

It would be better to wait until he has truly integrated into Cangzhou Prefecture before investigating any clues. Acting rashly now will only allow him to be led by the nose by those with ulterior motives.

When Guo Wei and Ling Tian, ​​the two officers, saw that Wu Tao had closed his eyes and was pretending to be asleep, they also shut up.

Junior officer Chen Chao, along with his personal guards, escorted the carriage toward the Hundred Household Office.

When the carriage returned to the centurion's quarters, the two officers, Guo Wei and Ling Tian, ​​took their leave. Neither of them lived there; they both owned their own houses outside.

Wu Tao had already entered the back courtyard of the mansion, where two concubines were waiting in the bedroom.

Hearing footsteps outside, the two concubines hurriedly came out to greet Wu Tao.

Now that there are a few more maids in the house, the two of them no longer need to do everything themselves as before.

With the help of his two concubines, Wu Tao quickly finished washing up and lay down. He had also drunk quite a bit of wine that night.

Ancient wines, though not very strong, were still quite intoxicating.

Try to analyze the other person's attitude from their expression; the first time you meet them, the clearer you can see their true attitude.

Wu Tao needs to know who he should be wary of and who he should get close to. Of course, hostility and intimacy can be faked, and the truth might be exactly the opposite.

After attending the party, Wu Tao continued to work at the Baihu Office.

He would occasionally receive guests at home. As the newly appointed commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard and one of the seven leaders of Cangzhou Prefecture, he received many gifts every day.

Xiao Qi Chen Chao, as Wu Tao's latest appointee, also acts as his steward, responsible for receiving and accepting gifts.

In just one month, Wu Tao received a congratulatory gift of three thousand taels of silver, not including some antiques and calligraphy.

It has to be said that being far from the emperor's reach, one truly appreciates the benefits of being an official here.

Each visitor paid anywhere from tens to hundreds of taels of silver, simply to become a familiar face to Wu Tao.

Wu Tao thought this was a good idea; he accepted the gift, and they were friends on the surface.

Wu Tao gradually integrated into the Cangzhou Prefecture circle, and as he became more familiar with everyone, he gained a deeper understanding of many things.

Qian Hu's blacksmith shop has officially opened for business, and he is still doing the same thing. Since everyone knows that this business was brought by Wu Tao, no one will come to cause trouble.

After the blacksmith shop got on track, it was still able to earn Wu Tao more than a hundred taels of silver every month.

Most importantly, the blacksmith shop supports over a hundred people, who can become Wu Tao's greatest asset should he need them in the future.

In a courtyard in Cangzhou Prefecture, several people were drinking flower tea and discussing something in hushed tones.

"You mean that Lord Wu, is he genuinely unwilling to investigate Commander Xu's matter, or is he also afraid of encountering danger himself?"

"Who knows? Anyway, the case is now considered airtight. Commander Xu was killed by the Tartars. If you're not satisfied, Lord Wu can go and seek revenge on the Tartars."

"Haha, I guess Lord Wu wouldn't dare, after all, the Tartars' swords can really kill."

"Perhaps Lord Wu can soften the Tartars' hearts and make them reluctant to kill him."

"Haha, that makes sense, that makes perfect sense."

Several people brazenly mocked Wu Tao, a centurion of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, behind his back.

Their attitude also shows that many people in Cangzhou Prefecture actually don't have much fear of Wu Tao.

After taking office, Wu Tao kept a low profile in the Baihu Office and did not make his voice heard.

Even when major cases occurred outside, he absolutely refused to leave the city gates. He would only send Commander Guo Wei and Commander Ling Tian out to investigate.

Wu Tao's actions led many to believe that he was too frightened to leave the city by the death of his predecessor, Xu Baihu.

Unbeknownst to them, Wu Tao's prestige within the Embroidered Uniform Guard's Hundred-Household Office had already been steadily rising.

What they saw was that Wu Tao dared not leave the city, but in reality, every time Commander Guo Wei and Commander Ling Tian went out to investigate a case, they would see Wu Tao outside the city.

The key point is that Wu Tao had clearly appeared outside the city, but no one in Cangzhou Prefecture knew about it.

In particular, Wu Tao always appears alone, seemingly unafraid of encountering danger.

In particular, on one occasion when Guo Wei, the commander, led a group to investigate a case, they were once again targeted by the Tartars.

Or rather, it's hard to say whether they were actually Tartars. Just at the critical moment, a sudden chorus of cries and screams of panic came from behind the Tartars.

Commander Guo Wei and his men only led two small squads out of the city this time, and the dozens of people had already fallen into despair.

After all, the enemy in front of them numbered nearly two hundred, and the Tartars were all mounted on two horses. Encountering such an enemy in the wild meant certain death for them.

Before the Tartars could launch an attack, they themselves fell into chaos. A figure was seen reaping heads like a demon within the Tartar ranks.

Wherever a figure went, the Tartars were thrown into chaos.

Commander Guo Wei was overjoyed and led his men to press the attack.

Of the last two hundred-plus Tartars, less than twenty escaped; the rest remained there forever.

Only then did Guo Wei, the commander, and his men realize that the mysterious killer they had just seen was actually Wu Tao, the centurion.

Wu Tao immediately ordered everyone to clean up the battlefield, bury the corpses on the spot, collect the gold, silver and valuables, and drive the nearly four hundred horses directly to a farm.

The farm is a full fifty kilometers away from Cangzhou Prefecture, and it's also the most dangerous place. The Tartars would come here whenever they needed to gather supplies.

Even the most daring landlords had long since abandoned this land.

Unexpectedly, Baihu had friends here to meet them. Guo Wei, the commander, and his men also saw many farmers and a well-equipped guard team at the farm.

Guo Wei, the head of the regiment, was unaware that this place had long since become Wu Tao's private farm; they still thought it belonged to one of Wu Tao's friends.

Wu Tao didn't explain, but simply let everyone rest there for a few days before letting General Guo Wei take them back.