The end of the military era

Zhou Rui nodded calmly, "Second uncle, this opportunity is rare, if the coastal defense fleet has this armored cruiser, not only will the overall strength of our Zhou family rise to a higher level, but it will also be able to guard against increasingly rampant pirates at sea.

Just relying on dozens of coastal defense guns on five forts, it is impossible to guarantee the safety of Ganyang City at sea.

For example, once a large number of pirate ships block the sea passage, the Fengwu Jiedu Mansion will probably force our Zhou family's coastal defense fleet to leave the port for its own benefit. "

"However, we have already spent 32 silver coins to rebuild the First Infantry Regiment and reorganize the two companies of the Guard Battalion, and now there are only less than 20 silver coins left in the garrison brigade's account, and we have to keep the military pay.

In order to issue pensions to the officers and soldiers who died in battle, the mansion seemed to be emptied.

Major General, you don't want to sell property and land, do you?

These industries in the city, as well as the fertile fields outside the city, have been saved by the general with great difficulty, so they must not be sold! "

The Zhou family owns a textile factory, a garment factory, a flour mill, a brewery, seven grain shops and six cloth shops in Ganyang City, and has more than 4 mu of fertile land on the outskirts of the city.

"Hehe, second uncle, don't worry, I don't need to sell the house or land, I can buy that armored cruiser."

Zhou Xiaorong frowned, "Major General, you can't mess around, not to mention our Zhou family, the entire Fengwu Army, and even the entire Han and Tang Empire, can't afford to provoke the Chihu Empire."

"Second Uncle, why am I so careless, I'll buy it with real money!"

"Major General, where did you get the money?"

"Hey, Second Uncle, I said I found a big treasure, do you believe me?"

When Zhou Rui was about to leave, he suddenly lowered his voice and said to Zhou Xiaorong: "Second Uncle, there is one thing, you should check with someone you trust, Maitreya Buddha seems to be connected with the Cui family."

When Zhou Xiaorong heard this, his face immediately turned serious, "Young General, this is not a joke."

The Cui family in Ganyang is a famous family that has been entrenched in Ganyang City for hundreds of years. The Ninth Division of the Fengwu Army and the Third Independent Brigade of the Fengwu Army currently stationed in Ganyang City are all under the control of the Cui family in Ganyang. inside.

As for the Zhou family and the Cui family of Ganyang, because of Zhou Rui's mother, they have been fighting openly and secretly with each other for these years, and have developed a lot of hatred.

In the previous life, the Cui family was also one of the murderers who led to the destruction of the Zhou family.

"Second Uncle, if I'm not sure about something, I won't say it.

Now that my father is seriously injured, it is inevitable that some people will become cautious. "

"Don't worry, Major General, if someone really dares to betray the Zhou family, I, Zhou Xiaorong, will never let him go!"

In fact, Zhou Rui didn't know whether Jia An had colluded with Ganyang Cui's family at this time.

But even if the second uncle Zhou Xiaorong didn't find out, Zhou Rui was still going to find a chance to get rid of Jia An, a hidden danger in the Zhou family.

When Zhou Rui returned to Zhou Mansion with four bodyguards and a dozen soldiers from the guard battalion, it was almost dark.

"Brother, did you buy me something delicious today?"

Just as Zhou Rui walked into the gate of Zhou Mansion, a petite figure flew over and threw himself into Zhou Rui's arms.

"Niu Niu"

Holding his sister Zhou Yue in his arms, Zhou Rui couldn't help but shed tears.

Zhou Yue, nicknamed Niu Niu, is just six years old this year. She is very cute, with a small round face, a pair of big watery eyes, and her hair is tied into two small braids.

In the previous life, on the way to flee, Zhou Rui saw his younger sister stabbed to death with a bayonet by soldiers under Wei Jie's command. Zhou Yue was only eight years old at that time.

"Xiao Rui, what's wrong with you?"

This is a voice that haunts Zhou Rui's soul.

Zhou Rui raised his head suddenly, and cried out, "Mom!"

Seeing his mother and sister again, even though Zhou Rui had made sufficient mental preparations before, he still couldn't help but burst into tears.

Zhou Rui's mother, Wen Yu, is 46 years old this year, but time doesn't seem to have left many traces on her body. It seems that Wen Yu is only in her 30s, and she can still be called a peerless beauty.

"What's wrong? Tell Mom, what happened?"

Seeing her son crying suddenly, Wen Yu couldn't help feeling tense.

You must know that Zhou Rui has been fearless since he was a child. Except when her husband was seriously injured and her eldest son passed away, Wen Yu hadn't seen her son cry for many years.

Little Zhou Yue didn't know why her brother was crying, so she quickly wiped Zhou Rui's tears with her small hands, "Brother, Niuniu doesn't want to eat, brother, don't cry."

A few words from Zhou Yue made Zhou Rui feel as if his heart was about to melt.

Niuniu, don't worry!

In this life, brother will never let you suffer any more harm!

"Mom, I'm fine, hehe, I'm so happy to see you, I'm crying with joy!"

Wen Yu suddenly sighed: "Xiao Rui, tell me! How much do you owe this time? Which casino is it?"

"Mom, I don't owe gambling debts! I"

Before Zhou Rui finished speaking, the bodyguard Song Shenghe who followed Zhou Rui coughed several times.

Zhou Rui looked back at Song Shenghe in surprise, "Big head, what's wrong?"

Song Shenghe said with some confusion: "Second young master, you owed 3000 silver coins at Yongfa Casino a few days ago, but you haven't paid it back!"

Song Shenghe's words made Zhou Rui choke and couldn't help coughing.

The slap in the face was like a slap.

After all, more than ten years have passed since he was reborn, Zhou Rui will inevitably forget some things.

Hearing Song Shenghe's reminder, Zhou Rui remembered that if he hadn't been reborn, he would still owe more and more in Yongfu Casino. Two months later, he even owed a gambling debt of up to 10 silver coins.

Later, it was mother Wen Yu who secretly sold more than 3000 acres of fertile land in the suburbs to help Zhou Rui pay off his gambling debts without letting Zhou Rui's father Zhou Xiaozheng know about it.

And the major shareholder behind that Yongfu Casino is Ganyang Cui's family.

Seeing Zhou Rui coughing, Wen Yu hurried over and hugged little Zhou Yue from Zhou Rui's arms.

"Okay, Xiao Rui, don't get angry. If you lose 3000 silver coins, you will lose. During the Chinese New Year, you lost more than 5000 silver coins in one night, and it didn't matter how much you cared.

I will ask Zhou Fu to pay 3000 silver coins to the account of the mansion in a while to help you pay back the money owed. "

In fact, Zhou Rui's ability to become a well-known playboy in Ganyang City was mainly due to Wen Yu's habit.

Sometimes Zhou Xiao wanted to control Zhou Rui, but Zhou Rui had Wen Yu's backing.

Later Zhou Xiaozheng put more energy into cultivating his eldest son Zhou Kang, and as a result Zhou Rui developed a domineering personality under Wen Yu's doting.