Your Majesty said that my life is worthless, so why are you crying when I increase my troops?

After leaving the rest of the matters to Lu Xiucai, Xia Mingyuan led his men back to Hanyang City.

In less than an hour, Lu Xiucai hurried back.

Seeing this, Xia Mingyuan waved at him and asked Wei Saner to pour tea.

"How about it, Old Lu? Have you finished the calculation? How much grain can we get next year from these 22,000 acres of land?"

Lü Xiucai took the teacup with some trepidation and said, "Sir, I've inspected the farmland in these three villages today. There are 7,000 mu of top-quality farmland, 12,000 mu of medium-quality farmland, and 3,000 mu of low-quality farmland. In total, if the weather is good and the harvest is favorable, we can harvest an average of 300 kilograms of grain per mu."

"After deducting the share given to the villagers and the losses, we can probably get three million kilograms of grain."

Upon hearing this, Xia Mingyuan couldn't help but frown slightly. The yield of 300 kilograms per mu, the productivity in ancient times was much lower than he had imagined.

You know, the three villages headed by Xujia Village have thousands of households! Even with 22,000 acres of land, the food these people can provide him with each year can only allow him to feed 3,000 infantrymen a year at most.

If the cavalry is included, it won't even last a year.

"Sir, I have something to say but I don't know whether I should say it or not." Seeing that Xia Mingyuan did not answer for a long time, Lu Xiucai hesitated for a long time and finally spoke.

Xia Mingyuan smiled and waved his hand, "Old Lu, just say what you want to say."

Lu Xiucai suddenly looked at Xia Mingyuan seriously, "Sir, I want to ask you, are you still planning to suppress the bandits in Handao Village?"

Xia Mingyuan was startled, frowned and said, "Of course we must suppress the bandits, and there is no time to lose!"

Lu Xiucai said, "But sir, have you ever considered that if we wipe out the bandits and then ask the people to pay half of their grain every year, even though they may be willing to do so now, over time, some people will inevitably become dissatisfied."

"In the long run, it seems that allowing these bandits to exist is the only way to make the people work for you forever. If I can think of this, I'm sure you, sir, have already thought of it!"

"I dare to ask you again, sir, are you really going to eliminate this bandit?"

"Lu Fengxian!"

Xia Mingyuan's face darkened, and his voice rose again, "What do you mean by that? Are you trying to persuade me to stop suppressing the bandits?"

"I can say it a hundred times, the bandits in Hanyang must be eliminated!"

Lu Xiucai raised his head, stared at Xia Mingyuan in a daze, and finally breathed a sigh of relief.

He grinned and bowed deeply to Xia Mingyuan.

"Don't blame me, sir. I'm just worried that you'll be like those officials, treating the suppression of bandits as a business!"

Xia Mingyuan glared at him and couldn't help but kick him, "You are so good, Mr. Lu, now you dare to test me!"

"Is this the kind of person I am in your eyes?"

Lu Xiucai smiled awkwardly, lowered his head and dared not speak.

Xia Mingyuan suddenly sneered and looked Lu Xiucai up and down. "If I had said earlier that I would not suppress this bandit, what would you have done?"

Upon hearing this, Lü Xiucai was horrified and quickly knelt on the ground. "Young Master, you have been so kind to me and even saved my life! I will serve you wholeheartedly. If bandits invade again, I will fight and die on the battlefield."

Xia Mingyuan grinned, understanding the hidden meaning of Lu Xiucai's words.

"You sour scholar! If my answer doesn't satisfy you, you're going to deliberately die in battle, right? Do you think I need a weak scholar like you to go to the battlefield? What I want is for you to work diligently and arrange the logistics for me!"

"Young Master...student..." Lu Xiu blushed and stammered.

At this moment, Xia Mingyuan helped him up from the ground and said, "Alright, I was just teasing you, but you took it seriously."

"Since I'm quite satisfied with your answer, I won't let you go this time. I'll fine you one month's salary!"

"Remember, since I've accepted the mission to suppress the bandits, I must suppress them."

Having said this, Xia Mingyuan took a deep breath and said, "In this world right now, I may be a bystander, but I will never help the evildoers!"

"Besides, after I've wiped out the bandits, as long as we treat the people well and ensure they have a stable income, these people will definitely continue to work hard!"

"Young Master, you are so righteous!" Lü Xiucai's eyes were filled with tears, but his gaze was firm. "I am willing to loyally assist you, and will serve you with all my heart and soul, until my death!"

"Alright, alright, why are you saying such sour words?" Xia Mingyuan waved his hand impatiently and said with a flick of his sleeves, "Besides, you're just a scholar, what the hell do you know about suppressing bandits?"

"The Poison Dragon Gang and the Frost Blade Stronghold have been holding so much silver and food for so many years. And there's also the 130,000 taels that Sun Yaozu bet me with. After we wipe out the bandits, all of this will be mine!"

"Do you really think that this young master would be interested in the trivial things of these common people?"

Lu Xiucai was about to turn around and leave, but when he heard this, he stumbled and almost fell to the ground.

It turns out that Master Xia has turned suppressing bandits into another business!

……

As soon as Lu Xiucai left, Xia Mingyuan asked Wei Saner to call Li Chun.

"Commander Xia!"

When Li Chun saw Xia Mingyuan, he was about to salute but was stopped by Xia Mingyuan.

"Commander Xia, this is the 25,000 taels of silver I extorted from Sun Yaozu and his son as you requested last time."

"A few days ago you asked me to take the silver and find a place to hide. Now it's time to give it to you."

As Li Chun spoke, he handed the twenty-five thousand taels he had obtained to Xia Mingyuan.

Xia Mingyuan waved his hand, "This is your Fengyu Tower's reward, you can take it first. After all, those two people who left Fengyu Tower will need money if they want to start a rebellion!"

Li Chun blushed when he heard this, "Commander Xia, do you know everything?"

Xia Mingyuan smiled slightly and said, "All of you have deep blood feuds. Don't put all your eggs in one basket. Everyone understands this principle. It's understandable to leave a way out for yourself."

"Letting them leave is just a casual move on my part. Who knows, it might be useful someday!"

Upon hearing this, Li Chun was immediately filled with awe and quickly bowed deeply to Xia Mingyuan.

"Li Chun, I asked you to come here to discuss serious matters with you. If I asked you to set up an organization in Hanyang City to gather intelligence from all over the world, would you be willing?"

Li Chun was stunned, lowered his head helplessly and said, "Sir, I am now a wanted criminal of the imperial court. If I appear on the street on weekdays, people will look at me twice. If I were to do this, I'm afraid I won't be able to show my face in public. At most, I can only do some petty thefts."

Upon hearing this, Xia Mingyuan burst out laughing and said, "Li Chun, don't worry about this matter. The government's wanted notice is dead, but you are alive!"

"If you die once, the wanted notice will not be issued again."

Upon hearing this, Li Chun's eyes widened and he asked, "Sir, are you asking me to fake my own death at the government office?"

"But if this matter doesn't get Sun Yaozu's approval, I'm afraid the court won't even recognize it!"