Adoption brings disaster

Speaking of opening the escort agency, now that we have the emperor's approval, there are fewer obstacles on the official side. The next step is to deal with the underworld and merchants, and then we can open it smoothly.

Naturally, I have never been in charge of this matter. Even though Li Er is in charge and there is support from the Zhenbei Palace, I still feel unsure about it.

Even though I was very nervous, I had already said it, so of course I had to do it. I just calculated every day whether I could support myself financially.

I was very panicked afterwards and looked at Chongguang like a weasel every day. Chongguang didn't know that I was planning to take his money, but he was shocked, happy, scared and afraid.

However, this task was much easier than imagined. Those soldiers who had no money, no power and were not good at scheming had long been beaten to a pulp by society. They were like rats crossing the street and had no pride left at all.

Now that they had a chance to make a decent living, they were naturally very active, fearing that they would lose their jobs. In addition, with Ah Da and his men making contacts everywhere, they recruited nearly 2000 soldiers in less than ten days.

This group of people was actually in a very miserable state. Eight hundred of them were so poor that they had to beg for a living. When they were found, each of them was already ragged and skinny, lying on the side of the road with cloudy eyes, and could only mechanically shout "Uncle, please be kind."

When Ah Er went to find them with the token and food from the Zhenbei Palace, they didn't care whether the token was real or not, and just scrambled for the food like dogs.

There were another five hundred people who were even more miserable. They committed crimes and were thrown into prison. Because they had no money to bribe the jailers, they were beaten all over their bodies. They ate rotten food every day, and sometimes they didn't even have enough rotten food.

When Ah Er rescued this group of people, none of them had a healthy part on their bodies. They were covered with rotten wounds, and some of them were crawling with maggots.

When they were rescued by A'er, walked out of the prison and saw the sunlight, these people who had not cried even when they were seriously injured in the battle with the Hu people, knelt at the prison door and cried loudly like children abandoned by their parents. They were really pitiful.

There were another five hundred people who were luckier. Although the bosses they met exploited them, they did not set up traps to harm them. Each of them was like an animal, dull and only able to do repetitive work.

When Ah Er found them, they were like a cat seeing a mouse, terrified, helpless and confused. On the one hand, they thought that they could have a better life by following Ah Er, but on the other hand, they were afraid that Ah Er would not be able to arrange them well and make them lose their current livelihood.

There were still more than 300 people who were living well, being highly valued by their bosses, and some even became their bosses' sons-in-law. They were living as carefree as they could be, so when Ah Er went to find them, only less than 100 people were willing to come.

Although two thousand people are not a lot, my escort agency does not want to be too big. It is just to rescue retired soldiers, so it is enough.

After I gathered these retired soldiers together, I didn't open an escort agency directly. Instead, I asked Er to settle them in the racecourse outside the city.

There were some dilapidated barracks in this racecourse, which could be renovated and made habitable. Moreover, the place was originally used for horse training, so it was extremely spacious and flat, making it extremely convenient for these soldiers to conduct daily training.

After resting for a week, these soldiers went to the mountains to cut wood. In just half a month, they built dozens of houses.

I looked at the house, which was a bit rough but extremely sturdy and retained many practical functions. I found it hard to imagine how nearly half of the people here had ended up begging. Even if they went to the docks to carry heavy bags, they could still earn half as much money as other laborers every day.

After the soldiers built the houses, they began to cultivate the fields and repair the water conservancy projects under the guidance of the teachers and students of the New Agricultural School.

I watched as the racecourse, which was originally as hard as stone, turned into ridges of fields in just over a month.

I was even more confused. Wouldn't it be better to send them to reclaim wasteland? Why did they frame him and put him in prison to torture him?

In this way, through work-based training, over the past two months, the soldiers who had been like refugees have recovered to almost normal levels.

Although they cannot be compared with when they first came to the capital, compared with those men in the capital who are so popular, these burly and fierce-eyed former Northern Territory soldiers still give people a great sense of security.

I saw that the soldiers had almost recovered, and the shop owners over there were also ready. The Taoist priest calculated an auspicious day for me, and the "Bu Fu Escort Agency" that I had been planning for a long time was about to open.

The day before the opening, I went to the racecourse to give a speech.

This group of retired soldiers have lived a good life with me for two months. They respect me as their bread and butter. In their hearts, I am almost like the King of Zhenbei.

As soon as they heard that I was going to give them a lecture, they all held their heads high and chests puffed out, afraid that I would see any signs of fatigue in them, and that their hard-earned good days would be ruined again.

I looked at the soldiers standing in neat rows below and said, "Before, you served in the Northern Army, and your job was to defend our country and drive out the Tartar invaders. Now I am your boss, and all you have to do is do what I assign you to do. As long as you do your job well, I will not treat you unfairly."

In fact, most of these soldiers have nowhere to go. No matter whether I paint a rosy picture for them or not, they can only work hard for me. Besides, following me, I can't say it will be very good, but it will not be worse than living in the Northern Army.

"Yes." The soldiers' coordinated voices echoed throughout the racecourse, making me feel a little uneasy.

I calmed myself down and said, "We're in the business of an escort agency. What is an escort agency? It's about delivering people or things safely and intact to the place designated by the client. That's your job."

When these soldiers arrived at the racecourse, many of them were confused and had no idea what they were supposed to do. Now that they know they are to be bodyguards, they are both happy and scared.

I was happy that being a bodyguard was a serious job and I could live a decent life without doing evil things. But I was afraid that I didn't understand the rules of the social world and that I might cause trouble. What should I do then?

I saw some of the retired soldiers had confused eyes, so I coughed lightly and said, "The work assigned to you is military orders, and escorting is war. You are all veterans of the Northern Army. You should know that military orders are like mountains. War is either victory or death."

Although they had endured countless hardships, they were still passionate at heart. Hearing these words, it was as if they had returned to the Northern Army. A leading escort leader stepped forward and said, "The escort survives, the people survive. Failure to escort the people will lead to death. We are betting on the honor of the Northern Army and swear to deliver every escort."

After the escort leader finished speaking, everyone shouted it again in unison, which made people's blood boil.

Seeing everyone's realization, I added, "But now you are no longer in the Northern Army. Instead, you have reunited at the Baofu Escort Agency and become one family. As the saying goes, every family has its own rules. Today, I will set three rules for you."

After hearing me set the rules, everyone stood even straighter. They were all afraid of missing something. If they broke the rules in the future and angered me, they would lose their hard-earned livelihood.

Seeing that everyone was listening intently, I paused and said, "First and foremost, reputation is paramount. It's like what I just said: people can die, but the darts must not be lost. As long as we can achieve a single delivery without any loss, we can charge more, and everyone can earn more money."

These people have experienced how a penny can make a hero fall, and now when they hear about money, their eyes light up and they wish they could escort the caravan every day so that they can have endless money.

I saw that everyone was not unhappy, but rather faintly excited. Naturally, I was happy and said, "The second thing is unity. We must be united externally. As for internal conflicts, as long as both parties agree, any solution is acceptable."

My words left everyone confused as to what I meant. Then they heard me say, "I heard that if a conflict breaks out in the Northern Army, they'll set up a fighting arena and decide who's right and who's wrong based on who wins and who loses. I think that's great. As long as the conflict is resolved fairly, it's fine. But remember one thing: we're family, and we can't hurt the harmony."

The way these soldiers deal with problems must be simple and clear, without too many twists and turns, otherwise it will be easy for them to fall apart internally.

"As for the third point, we are an escort agency, not an army. You are escorts now, not soldiers. Our primary goal is to make money and shout out the name of our escort agency."

"Suddenly rich."

"Suddenly rich."

"Suddenly rich."

"So you need to put aside your complacency. You can help the weak within your means, but it must not affect our business." I said sharply, "If anyone's helping others affects the reputation of the escort agency and reduces its business, they will be fined at the very least, or fired at the worst."

After giving them a lecture, I personally picked out twenty good-looking, well-built and handsome men, and dressed them in clothes that I designed myself. It is true that clothes make the man, and I wonder how many girls will be fascinated by them after they put on these clothes.

I looked at them with satisfaction and arranged their first job in Baofu Escort Agency - image security.

Tomorrow they only need to stand at the door of the escort agency with swords in hand. If anyone dares to cause trouble, they will be thrown out. This job is very easy for these soldiers who are good at obeying orders.

Everything was ready. Early the next morning, the twenty escorts stood at the entrance of the escort agency with swords in hand and a dignified demeanor.

Because they had distributed flyers and done publicity early on, there were quite a lot of people coming to the entrance of the escort agency to watch. However, when they saw the twenty escorts, they did not dare to get close and could only surround them from a distance, forming three layers inside and three layers outside, and watch.

Li Er took the manager of the escort agency out to greet the guests. Only then did the stewards of the wealthy families and officials dare to enter the escort agency, but they were still trembling with fear, fearing that the escorts would suddenly attack and hurt people.

Everyone took their seats. I cleared my throat and said, "Thank you all for taking care of our escort agency's business. For the first month of opening, as a token of gratitude for your trust, all fees will be discounted by 20%."

"Your Highness Qianqiu, my master is not short of money. Whether or not we get a discount is actually not important. What is important is how you can ensure the safety of us and our belongings. Your Highness has done little business, so I'm afraid you don't know why there are no escort agencies in Beishang. Isn't it because they can't afford to compensate for the loss of the darts?"

This guy is a shill I arranged. He performed his arrogant and domineering act very well. I must give him a chicken leg after the show to justify his exaggerated acting skills.

"Of course, everyone who comes to our escort agency is well-off, and your master isn't the only one." I said, "As for your question just now, it's a very good one. Please look at the door."

Everyone looked towards the door, and the twenty bodyguards at the door turned around like machines and shouted "Kill", which scared everyone so much that the timid ones fell under their chairs.

Everyone was still in shock when they heard me say, "The escorts in our escort agency are all soldiers from the Northern Army. They have honed their martial arts skills by fighting against the Hu people, and they are able to defeat a hundred people with one. The Hu people who were defeated by the Northern Army are willing to marry us. These escorts really don't care about mere bandits."

"The soldiers from the Northern Territory are naturally skilled in martial arts, and a mere bandit escort agency would probably not take them seriously. But how can Your Highness guarantee the safety of these escorts? Haven't these soldiers caused enough trouble in recent months?"

This person wasn't a shill arranged by me, but I had thought of this problem a long time ago, and it's something most people are afraid of, so of course I've also thought of a suitable explanation."

I looked at him arrogantly and said, "I think you've made a mistake. These escorts are only there to protect people and property, and they won't serve you. In fact, for your own safety, you have to obey them."

"Is it possible that I should be treated unfairly even if I spend money?" The man said with a smile, squinting his eyes.

"You came here today because you weren't sure you could safely reach your destination. Choose between fate and injustice."

After that, I softened my tone and continued, "Of course, we're open to doing business. What matters is integrity. Everything can be negotiated. As long as the price you offer is high enough, you can go wherever you want without being wronged."

I saw that no one seemed to have anything to say, so I asked Li Er to lead the shopkeeper to greet these people.

Although these people were still very afraid of these soldiers, they also knew that these were soldiers, not bandits, and as long as they did not provoke them, their safety could still be guaranteed.

Besides, everyone understands how good these people from the Northern Army are at fighting. If they encounter bandits and they cannot guarantee their own safety, then all the guards they have at home will be dead no matter how many there are.

Everyone understood this principle, and business naturally flourished, so ten orders were signed that day.

After arranging the escort, he sent someone to take gifts and follow the know-it-all recommended by the Taoist priest to visit all the mountain gates along the way.

Although the one who supports me is the King of Zhenbei, and even the great hero Li Qing has widely sent out invitations to heroes, asking the heroes in the world to take care of Baofu Escort Agency, there will always be people who are short-sighted and come to provoke me. I will use this person or the people from this force as a sacrifice to let everyone know that my Baofu Escort Agency is not to be trifled with.

The Baofu Escort Agency has been opened, but starting a business is difficult. To know what difficulties may arise in the future, please stay tuned for the next episode.