At the beginning, his wife came to him, and he became rich by selling kidney treasures.

"I don't care. As long as you can get me money, anything is fine." Xu Qing said calmly.

Ren Hao's cheek twitched.

Why should I give him money?

Is it because I married his cousin?

Xu Qing seemed to feel that something was wrong, and continued: "You can put forward any conditions you want. As long as it is something I can do, we can discuss it."

Ren Hao curled his lips, wanting to ignore it, but thinking of his future development path and Xu Qing's support for him, he frowned and thought for a moment before saying, "Wait a little longer, I'll find you when I'm ready."

Xu Qing didn't expect Ren Hao to help him make money right now, so he nodded and said, "Okay, take a few days off before going back."

At night, Xu Qing called Ren Hao into the room, where there were wine and food on the table.

The two chatted while drinking.

"In fact, our Xu family is not considered a noble family in ancient Han. We can only be regarded as an emerging family." When Ren Hao asked about the Xu family, Xu Qing said indifferently.

"There are so many noble families in the world. Our family used to be just merchants. It was not until my grandfather's generation that we began to select filial and honest people to serve as officials. It was not until my uncle and my father's generation that we were able to gain a firm foothold in the court."

"How does it compare to the Prime Minister?"

"It's about the same." Xu Qing said calmly.

"Ah? So exaggerated?" Ren Hao was stunned. The prime minister's power has already rivaled that of the emperor to a certain extent, and the Xu family can actually compete with the prime minister on equal terms?

In this world, sixteen taels equal one jin, so half a jin and eight taels mean the same thing.

"Don't worry, I haven't finished yet!" Xu Qing took a sip of wine and continued, "Our Xu family is half a pound of pig iron, and the prime minister is eight ounces of gold."

"It's just that our Xu family is in the military, and most of the time it won't affect the prime minister's interests. We just maintain a balance, and it's impossible for us to really confront each other."

"Don't overthink the court struggles."

Ren Hao thought for a moment after hearing this.

Although Xu Qing said it lightly, the Xu family was indeed not good enough in front of the prime minister, but in front of him, it was still a behemoth.

Xu Qing glanced at Ren Hao again and said, "Brother Ren, are you worried about whether the Xu family will recognize you?"

"That's not the case." Ren Hao shook his head.

"Oh?" Xu Qing was a little surprised. Ever since Ren Hao came here, he felt that Ren Hao seemed to be worried about something. He thought that Ren Hao was worried whether the Xu family would recognize him.

After all, how could the daughter of a prominent family like the Xu family marry an ordinary person?

Ren Hao raised his glass and clinked it with Xu Qing's. He said calmly, "I'm wondering if your Xu family can get my approval."

puff!

Xu Qing spit out a mouthful of wine and looked at Ren Hao in astonishment: "Brother Ren, are you out of your mind?"

"Although our Xu family is not a top family, it is not something that anyone can look down upon."

Although Xu Qing's words were a little obscure, the meaning was self-evident.

You, Ren Hao, are just a small upstart now. What qualifications do you have to look down on the Xu family? Does the Xu family need your approval? Who do you think you are?

Of course, Xu Qing didn't say this, but he really thought so in his heart.

Ren Hao chuckled: "Actually, what's going on with your Xu family has nothing to do with me, but I have to go back with Yating in a year, so I wonder if the Xu family will get my approval."

"Not for me, but for Yating."

Hearing Ren Hao's words, Xu Qing couldn't help but smile bitterly: "Brother Ren, forget it. Let alone one year, even if I give you ten years, you can't even surpass our Xu family's wealth, let alone our Xu family's power in the court."

"You know, the Xu family is not short of money, so even if you are rich, Third Uncle and the others will not like you."

Ren Hao laughed dumbly: "The world is still uncertain, everything is unknown."

Xu Qing patted Ren Hao on the shoulder and said, "Brother Ren, I know you are extraordinary, but if you want to get the approval of Uncle San and the others, forget it."

"You can't do it."

Xu Qing pointed at himself and said, "Even I haven't been recognized by my father and uncle. Even though I have the title of Young Marshal, I am actually just a lieutenant general."

"So, you should stop thinking about it. When you go back, I will write a letter to Uncle San and say a few good words for you."

"Or you might as well not go back, hide for a few years, and then have a few children. Then they will have to accept it."

Ren Hao's face was dark: "Don't give me any advice. If I don't go back, will Yating feel good?"

"Even if you Xu family want to kill me, I will splatter my blood on your Xu family's gate!"

"What a man!" Xu Qing gave a thumbs up. He was quite impressed with Ren Hao's courage.

However, as for Ren Hao's attempt to get the Xu family to approve of his words, he just regarded it as Ren Hao's self-flattery and did not expose it.

Next, the two talked about the topic of the God of War Pass.

Xu Qing said worriedly: "The ancient Wei is located in the north and is good at riding and shooting. These people want to invade our ancient Han all the time. Now there are 70,000 troops in the War God Pass. It is worrying to defend it."

"All the ancient Wei kings had great ambitions and tried to break through the War God Pass many times, but to no avail."

"If they can't win, they can retreat to the prairie to rest. There are fertile grass and trees there, where horses and sheep can be grazed and develop slowly. Once they are strong enough, they will come back again. We, Gu Han, can only put our army on alert again, day and night without rest."

"Not to mention the fatigue of the army, the annual military pay is an astronomical figure!"

Hearing Xu Qing's words, Ren Hao couldn't help but nodded.

The consumption of military pay is terrifying. Normally, the army can still cultivate land to support itself, but in a place like Zhanshen Pass which may be invaded by the ancient Wei at any time, there is no way to cultivate land and the army can only be on guard at all times.

This may be okay for a few years, but the daily consumption for decades is terrifying!

Soldiers of ancient Han Dynasty rarely had any concept of defending their country. After all, most of them were conscripted, and they didn't know whether their mothers, wives and children would starve to death after they left.

Most people just want to have a full meal and make some money.

After all, the soldiers who have to rely on their heads for support receive much more pay than ordinary farmers.

Therefore, once the military pay is not in place, these people will quickly lose their morale and may even desert.

War is all about money. After so many years of war, I'm afraid that ancient Han has been turned into a hollow shell!

"Without military pay, do you expect these people to show their love?" Ren Hao asked with a strange look on his face.

Xu Qing snorted, "Last year, my uncle made a further step in the imperial court. In exchange, the Xu family donated 500,000 dan of grain and 1 million taels of money to the imperial court. Otherwise, the national treasury would have been an empty shell long ago!"

Ren Hao grinned, this was truly a grand deal!