My eunuch godfather

Qiu, the nun, presided over a nunnery in Linqing for over a decade, accumulating considerable wealth.

Real estate such as houses and land, which were difficult to liquidate, were all given to the Linqing Prefecture government so that the government could give an account to the Prince of Lu's Mansion.

Silver notes, gold and silver, copper coins... approximately 34,000 taels, not including jewelry and antiques whose prices are uncertain!

Thirty thousand taels!

The first phase of the river work camp only had a budget of 50,000 taels of silver. They needed to recruit 5,000 river workers and dredge the moat outside Xuanwu Gate!

This sum of money is enough to feed the more than 200,000 disaster victims in Linqing City for two months!

Zhang Kun plans to allocate the funds as follows:

The prefectural government will give 10,000 taels as a reward for their cooperative stance with the river works camp.

Chen Jizong received two thousand taels of silver, and Zhou Zhong received one thousand taels, as a reward for their support of this operation.

Three thousand taels of silver were allocated to the soldiers involved in the operation, and two thousand taels of silver were allocated to the skilled personnel who organized the disaster victims and the transport troops.

The remaining 18000 taels all belong to Zhang Kun!

Of course, Zhang Kun also had to offer tributes to his eunuch godfather, and even through his eunuch godfather, offer tributes to the Wanli Emperor.

Otherwise, what right does your eunuch godfather have to back you up, just because you can cause trouble?

Even after deducting tribute, Zhang Kun could still earn several thousand taels of silver.

Land speculation, tampons, printing shops... you won't have to worry about start-up capital for these businesses!

Linqing Prefecture Government Office.

After listening to the kneeling Master Qi recount the events, the prefect spoke:

"Your testimony has been recorded by the scribe; now sign and acknowledge it!"

Master Qi got up, signed and pressed his fingerprint on the testimony, and was about to leave when he heard the prefect say sternly:

"Take it down!"

"Your Excellency, what is the reason for this?"

"The bandit leader, Qian Wu, usually stays at the docks. If he wanted to kill his master and rob him, how could he not have an inside accomplice in the nunnery?"

The prefect gestured to his confidants with his eyes while sneering at Master Qi:

"Why did Qian Wu spare your life after killing Qiu? It's clear that you two had been in cahoots all along!"

Now that Qian Wu has failed, you're trying to protect yourself by testifying!

Master Qi tried to protest his innocence, but the prefect's confidant grabbed his chin and dislocated his joint.

"Use torture!"

The prefect's cronies and the yamen runners pinned Master Qi to the ground, pulled down his trousers, and began to beat him with a board.

Master Qi, whose jaw was dislocated, was unable to utter a word. After receiving dozens of blows, he passed out.

"Such stubbornness! Drag him away and lock him in jail!"

After Master Qi was taken away, the prefect ordered the bailiffs to bring several thugs to the court.

All of them were hired by Zhang Kun under the name "Fifth Master Qian" by Wei Sengteng to spread rumors everywhere.

Seeing that Master Qi had been beaten so badly that his skin was torn and bleeding, the group quickly revealed the name of Master Qian.

"This case..."

With the cooperation of Zhang Kun and the prefect, Qian Laowu became the mastermind behind the nunnery uprising.

In order to kill Protector Qiu and seize his money, Qian Laowu spread rumors among the disaster victims.

It is claimed that the prostitutes in the nunnery did not abide by the precepts, angered the Buddha, and exacerbated the disaster.

They incited the disaster victims to surround the nunnery, and then had Qiu, the protector, transfer Qian Laowu and his cronies into the nunnery.

The refugees stormed the nunnery, and after driving back the refugees, they also killed the nun Qiu.

As a result, they encountered Zhang Kun leading the guards of the river work camp. When Qi Yuanwai realized that his plan had been exposed, he reported Qian Laowu to Zhang Kun.

Zhang Kun led his troops to kill Qian Laowu and his confidants, while Qi Yuanwai was giving his testimony when the prefect saw through his scheme.

After being tortured, Qi Yuanwai died in prison from an infected wound.

......

The 2,500 river workers recruited by the river work battalion in Linqing have completed basic military training.

After purchasing supplies such as grain, clothing, and bedding, the river engineering battalion set off northward.

The river workers walked on both banks, escorted by cavalry of the guards, while the boat fleet carried the river workers' families and prostitutes from the nunnery.

Zhang Kun used the guise of "laundry women" to force these prostitutes into service in the river work camp.

Only a small number of river workers have families; the majority are single, young, and middle-aged men.

If their needs in this area are not addressed, something bad is bound to happen.

Of course, Zhang Kun wouldn't force the laundry women; he just paid them very little for their laundry work, barely enough to make ends meet.

"...There's a courier station over there."

A cavalryman found several river laborers who had deserted their post. After offering them a few words of advice, he gave each of them a string of copper coins and pointed out the way:

"Get there before dark, don't stay here, you might run into thieves!"

The river engineering battalion had only been in Dezhou for six days when more than 500 people left the team.

Some fled voluntarily, but Zhang Kun didn't care.

Some were simply unable to hold on any longer, and Zhang Kun would send cavalry to find them and leave them travel expenses.

In Texas, the river engineering camp stopped again to recruit a thousand men.

To speed up the process, Zhang Kun stopped training newly recruited river workers and directly incorporated the newcomers into the ranks, using experienced workers to mentor the new ones.

Eight days later, they arrived in Cangzhou, where more than 500 people had left the group.

Less than 100 of them were recruited from Linqing, and the remaining 400 or so were recruited from Cangzhou.

Zhang Kun instructed Chen Jizong and Zhou Zhong to recruit 500 men in Cangzhou, while he himself led the men to Hejian.

The thousand river workers in Hejian trained for a full forty days after Zhang Kun left.

Their average quality was even higher than that of the Linqing River Workers who had been eliminated through forced marches.

Sun Jing of the Sun family truly lived up to his reputation as the founder of the family business. With the assistance of the prefect, the guerrilla commander, and Zhang Kun's confidants such as Yang Desheng and Cao Meng, he achieved great success.

Not only did they manage the temporary camp in an orderly manner, but they also successfully disposed of all of the Sun family's assets without any mishaps.

The Wang family of Zhuangxi.

"Grandpa, it's getting late, we should get going."

Seeing the reluctance in his grandfather Wang Liangdong's eyes, Zhang Kun, who was standing beside him, tried to comfort him.

Uncle Wang Fusheng came over and helped Wang Liangdong up. "Dad, there are many people outside waiting for you!"

Wang Liangdong sighed and followed Wang Fusheng toward the carriage.

Zhang Kun rode his horse to the carriage of his stepmother's family and raised his eyebrows in surprise:

Sun Jing's daughter, Sun Shuyun, was actually in the car, talking to her mother.

"This humble girl greets Lord Centurion."

When Sun Shuyun saw Zhang Kun, she remembered her father's instructions and quickly got out of the car to greet him.

"Your complexion is much better than before."

Zhang Kun looked Sun Shuyun up and down, then nodded and said:

"You've overcome such a difficult situation in your life; you have a great spirit."

Sun Shuyun bowed respectfully to Zhang Kun and said:

"If it weren't for Lord Centurion's two rescues, my daughter wouldn't have made it through."

With his own family and the Sun family by his side, Zhang Kun led a thousand river workers he had recruited in Hejian and set off to leave.

The city gate tower of Hejian City.

As Guo, the scholar, leaned on his cane, his eyes followed the dark blue flag as it receded into the distance, a faint sense of satisfaction rising within him.

Zhang, you were so arrogant and domineering, but in the end you still had to run away with your family in a sorry state.

Thinking of his son who had been studying diligently at home all this time, Guo Juren smiled:

A gentleman takes his revenge, even after ten years! You just wait, you surnamed Zhang...

"Master, something terrible has happened!"

Just then, a servant of the Guo family rushed up the city wall, knelt before Guo, and said urgently:

"The government suddenly sent people to arrest the young master from his home and take him to the government office!"

"What did you say?!"

Supported by his servants, Guo, the scholar, left the city gate and rode in a sedan chair to the government office to request an audience.

Upon entering the government office, they discovered that the prefect, a fourth-rank official, was sitting in a side seat.

It turned out to be a seventh-rank official dressed in a blue official robe, sitting at the head of the table!

"I am the Imperial Censor in charge of Education in Zhili Province."

The Imperial Censor, looking down at Guo, the successful candidate in the imperial examinations, said coldly:

"Guo Xiaolian, the Prefect has already reported your son's misdeeds to me..."