His Majesty is plotting a rebellion? Quickly, summon the Imperial Advisor!

Gong Zhonghou had grown much stronger, and he looked like a tiger with the power to swallow mountains.

His eyes, in particular, gleamed with a sharp light, giving the impression of boundless energy and boundless vitality.

This is the effect of long-term consumption of rice.

The armor Gong Zhonghou was wearing was an ordinary wooden armor. In fact, when he served in the Imperial Guard, he had a very good wing guard armor.

However, as he followed Xu Bing, the armor he wore was taken back by the court officials.

"Reporting to the Imperial Preceptor!"

"The seventeen hidden points and watchtowers set up around Fukuda have been half completed."

"The two granaries near Futian have just been completed, but they are just wooden granaries with limited storage capacity. The soldiers are all rough men and not good at delicate work."

"Because of a shortage of manpower, the secret passage in Tan Village has only just begun and is still under comprehensive consideration."

As he reported, Gong Zhonghou presented a blueprint with both hands.

Xu Bing took the blueprints and glanced through them.

The drawing on the map shows the terrain of the surrounding mountains. Some places marked with red dots are where watchtowers and defenses were set up.

In general.

Xu Bing is fairly satisfied with the progress made in the past few days.

"By the way, how's the recruitment of soldiers going?" Xu Bing asked.

"Reporting to the Imperial Preceptor, there are already seven hundred men, but..." Gong Zhonghou hesitated, wanting to say something but stopping himself.

"Were we discovered?" Xu Bing frowned.

"No," said Gong Zhonghou. "I have been conducting this in secret, and it has not been detected yet."

"However... as the number of people increases, their skill levels become uneven, and there are also more and more trivial matters in the military."

Upon hearing this, Xu Bing roughly understood the reason.

As the number of personnel increases, the difficulty of overall coordination will also increase exponentially.

Fights and brawls, and mutual dislike are common occurrences.

Mutinies among soldiers have been a common occurrence throughout history.

It requires a certain break-in period.

"Here's what we'll do: focus your efforts this week on increasing the army's size to one thousand men."

Xu Bing gave the order. Once the private army reached a thousand men, he would be able to complete the system task.

When the time comes, we'll issue "loyalty stamps" to each soldier, and then we won't have to worry about mutiny.

Gong Zhonghou nodded in agreement. The Grand Preceptor must have his reasons for doing this.

After leaving Futian.

Xu Bing continued along the mountain path.

Looking at the guard posts along the way, there was no sign of them being lax.

……

A horse-drawn carriage was parked at the side gate of a mansion.

I waited for a few breaths.

The side gate of the mansion was opened a crack, and a man dressed in black and wearing a hood peeked out and looked around.

Seeing that no one was around, he picked up his robe and quickly ran to the carriage.

Once inside the carriage, the curtain was drawn back.

A strikingly handsome man was sitting comfortably, his right hand supporting his chin, his long, deep eyes watching him with great interest.

The man in black unhooked his hood, revealing a scholarly face.

He looked at the Grand Preceptor and thought to himself, "These rumors are misleading people!"

There have always been many rumors about Xu's illness in Da Xi City.

But most of them are bad rumors.

Some say he was a huge fat man weighing several hundred pounds, with a face covered in foul-smelling sores and a terrifying, ferocious appearance.

Some say he was power-hungry and used Taoist magic to bewitch the emperor, making him the culprit behind the chaos in the world.

His reputation is practically rotten to the core.

however…

The true face of this imperial advisor.

So far, only a handful of people have actually seen it.

Under the intense visual impact, Bai Shangxue realized just how outrageous the rumors were.

This supposedly foul-smelling fat imperial advisor is not only impeccably handsome, but also exudes an air of nobility and arrogance in every gesture.

In addition, there was that aggressive and sinister look.

Bai Shangxue sighed inwardly, but he did not forget his mission.

He needs to report on the week's business performance and profitability.

Overall, the week went very smoothly.

After taking over, Bai Shangxue followed Xu Bing's instructions and sold 100 catties of rice every day, earning 2,000 taels of silver daily.

Furthermore, under his management, the daily revenue of Qingmeng Inn reached 150 taels, with a profit margin of 50%.

The daily turnover of the rice shop reached one hundred taels, with a profit margin of 50%.

However, by the time Bai Shoucheng took over, half of the week had already passed.

Roughly calculated, it would be a little over ten thousand taels of silver.

Xu Bing looked at Bai Shangxue, a slight smile playing on his lips, and brought up the industry dashboard.

【Love Dream Restaurant】

Daily turnover: 150 taels

Profit margin: 50%

……

【Cage Rice Shop】

Daily turnover: 100 taels

Profit margin: 50%

……

Xu Bing nodded slightly, it seemed that Bai Shangxue had indeed not lied to him.

It's not that I don't trust Bai Shangxue.

I just checked it out of the blue.

Xu Bing patted Bai Shangxue on the shoulder, smiled and offered a few words of encouragement, then invited him to lunch at his residence that evening.

Bai Shangxue was flattered and trembled with excitement.

Bai Shangxue rose from humble beginnings and only decided to visit the Imperial Preceptor on a whim. To be honest, before meeting Xu Bing, he also looked down on this Imperial Preceptor.

It is evident that his views underwent a significant change after that.

……

Back to the mansion.

Xu Bing instructed his servants to prepare a banquet, setting up two tables in the front courtyard, where each maid and servant would have a share.

The aroma of the food wafted into the backyard.

A woman sat listlessly on her bed, her stomach rumbling incessantly.

There was a strange resentment in my heart.

"Haha, no need to be so formal."

During the banquet, the servants and maids all appeared somewhat reserved.

They were of low social status, and according to the laws of Da Xi, people of low social status were not allowed to sit at the table when eating.

However, since Xu Bingdu had given the order, they dared not disobey.

"Shangxue, if you fancy any girl, just tell me."

"I'll arrange a marriage for you."

Xu Bing said.

Bai Shangxue was flattered and his gaze swept over the maid, his heart pounding.

Although these maids were not exceptionally beautiful, they were all pretty and delicate.

She has a lovely appearance.

His gaze lingered on Qiu, the maid.

For some reason, I always felt that this maid was the most charming.

Song Si and Bai Shangxue's eyes met, and for a moment they seemed to realize something, a hint of anticipation flashing in their eyes.

If she could be chosen by Bai Shangxue, she would be able to leave the mansion and deliver the message smoothly.

Unfortunately, Bai Shangxue turned his head away again, his gaze falling on Xia, who was standing next to Song Si.

Xia is a generous and frank person. She has also taken a liking to Bai Shangxue.

It wasn't that Xu Bing wasn't handsome enough, but rather that he was too handsome. Her remaining rationality told her that she had better get out of this vortex as soon as possible.

Bai Shangxue, despite being seriously ill, was given important responsibilities.

With a bright future and guaranteed wealth and prosperity, isn't this the best choice?

The two gazed at each other for a long time; he was in love, and she was interested in him.

Xu Bing chuckled, his gaze shifting between the two, and decided to play matchmaker, urging Bai Shangxue to treat Xia Shinu well.

After all this...

Bai Shangxue was even more convinced and drank three large cups of wine.

He also composed a poem to express his joy.

Song Si observed this, a glint of shrewdness flashing in her eyes. From the perspective of winning people's hearts, Xu Bing's actions were simply impeccable.

She looked down at the rice in the bowl.

He glanced at Xu Bing again, and after a slight tremor of his mind, his mood became even more somber.

"More than ten days... When the clouds and mist obscure the moon, I will revert to my true form..."

Song Si murmured to herself.