At dusk, the afterglow of the setting sun shines on the towering walls of Chang'an City, and also passes through the windows of shops, casting a dim yellow halo on the interior of restaurants.

A little Taoist priest dressed in white as snow held the hilt of an ancient sword in his hand. The tip of the sword was pointed at the throat of a scribe with a look of astonishment, and his eyes were staring at him like a sword.

"King Ma Bin, Pindao can give you another chance to reorganize your language..."

"Okay, let me tell the truth..."

Ma Zhou looked at Kong Qing's sharp sword-like eyes, trembled all over, raised his hands in astonishment, and answered honestly.

"Didn't I hear Master Yuan Tiangang say that I would have to suffer for at least ten more years? So I thought it was still early, so I might as well stay with the eldest lady of the Zhao family for a while, and you know, dear brother Qingwei, that someone has not yet become a

Dear, so I just want to..."

"No, actually you don't want to at all!"

Kong Qing's eyes narrowed, the Gu Chen Sword in his hand shook, and the cold air slid down Ma Zhou's neck.

"Well, I really don't want to at all." Under Kong Qing's sword, Ma Zhou immediately became clear-faced and serious, with a sanctimonious look on his face. "...Because I have already decided to find a pen and ink master first.

work, and then move out from here and become self-reliant.”

"now it's right……"

Kong Qing flicked his wrist, and the Gu Chen Sword was thrust back from the scabbard on his back like a swimming dragon, making a clanging sound.

"How can a great man be freeloading all the time?"

After hearing Kong Qing's words, Ma Zhou's lips wriggled a few times, as if he was planning to say something, but after seeing Kong Qing narrow his eyes again and touch his sword hilt with his hand, he immediately nodded seriously.

"Yes, dear brother Qingwei, you are right!"

"It's just a job of handling pen and ink. Pindao thinks it's a bit unfair to you, King Ma Bin..."

Kong Qing pulled the bear that the eldest wife of the Zhao family had just made toward him with his hand, and then imitated Ma Zhou's lazy tone and spoke.

"Pindao has a good idea here. If you can do it, it will definitely be much better than King Ma Bin working on pen and ink. I just don't know if you are willing to do it?"

"Isn't this... bad?"

After hearing what Kong Qing said, Ma Zhou looked up at Kong Qing in surprise and said tentatively, "I still want to..."

"No, you don't want to!"

Kong Qing's eyes narrowed, and his hand touched the hilt of the sword behind him again.

"Yes, I don't want to..."

Ma Zhou once again gave in easily.

"Now I think it would be good to listen to your idea, dear brother Qingwei."

"Of course, will a poor Taoist still harm you?"

Looking at the respectful Ma Zhou, the corners of Kong Qing's mouth raised slightly, and he instantly felt that this scoundrel's appearance became much more pleasing to the eye.

"Two days ago, Gao Shugui, the eldest brother of the Nancheng Rangers, suddenly disappeared, and several of his confidants also died in his mansion..."

"this……"

Ma Zhou blinked and said cautiously.

"Brother Qingwei, you know that since I came to Chang'an, I have never been out of the Zhao family's house, so the life and death of this ranger has nothing to do with X."

"I know it has nothing to do with you, but don't you think this is a good opportunity? Now those rangers are leaderless..." Kong Qing raised his head and said to Ma Zhou in a bewitching tone.

"If a smart person sneaks in at this time, it won't be very difficult to organize them..."

"No! Brother Qingwei, you are wrong..."

Ma Zhou quickly understood what Kong Qing meant and shook his head like a rattle.

"Those rangers know very well that they are just a bunch of rabble. It is very difficult to organize them."

"Okay, maybe it's a little difficult, but..."

Kong Qing continued.

"If you can do it, it means that you have a group of your own subordinates in Chang'an City, and you no longer have to rely on others. You can respond to everything when you come in and out. How majestic."

"Prestige is prestige, but the question is what can I do to support those subordinates," Ma Zhou said with a wry smile. "Do you want me to commit adultery? No, I really can't do this..."

"Pindao has already planned this for you,"

Kong Qing lowered his voice and said.

"After you control those rangers, you can take them to recruit some idle men to undertake some construction projects. Now is the time after the chaos. I believe many people will start to renovate their homes..."

"but……"

Ma Zhou looked sad and tried his best to shirk it.

"How can I recruit idle men to do this if I don't have much money at all?"

"This is simple..."

Kong Qing replied without hesitation.

"Pindao can invest thirty guan for you so that you can buy some grass, hammers, hoes, etc. Moreover, Pindao can also sponsor you some shovels made of fine steel..."

"But I just came to Chang'an and am not familiar with the place..."

Ma Zhou spread his hands and looked helpless.

"Even if I want to take on these tinkering jobs, I can't find a place to do it."

"It just so happens that Pindao knows that Mr. Pei Ji's house needs to do some good work to repair bridges and roads, and it will take at least half a year..."

Kong Qing looked at Ma Zhou with a half-smile.

"Pindao can write a handwritten letter and introduce you, Ma Zhou, to Mr. Pei's son, Lawyer Pei, the prince-in-law, to ensure that you can get enough work."

"but……"

Ma Zhou looked at Kong Qing's eyes darting from side to side, with a troubled expression on his face.

"I still think this is inappropriate."

Whoosh!

Kong Qing stretched out his hand and Gu Chen took out his sheath, and the dense white blade suddenly dazzled Ma Zhou's eyes...

"OK……"

Ma Zhou's originally troubled expression immediately became determined. "I think this is a very good idea, so the matter is settled."

"Yeah?"

Kong Qing raised the corners of his mouth and looked at Ma Zhou with a smile. "Are you really sure, King Ma Bin?"

"That's right, it's settled..."

Ma Zhou nodded as if pounding garlic.

"Then let's make an oath..."

Kong Qing turned a pool of autumn water in his hand over and held it in front of Ma Zhou's eyes. "Let's just say that you, Ma Zhou, are determined to devote yourself to the civil construction of Chang'an City. You will never be distracted until your achievements are completed."

“Isn’t it necessary to take this oath?”

Ma Zhou looked at the dense white blade in front of him, swallowed, and said carefully.

"The so-called gentleman's words..."

"use!"

Kong Qing firmly pushed the three feet of autumn water in his hand forward.

"Pindao only believes in those who swear by Gu Chen Sword..."

"..."

In this way, after Kong Qing laid out the facts and persuaded with reason, Ma Zhou finally decided to become the eldest brother of the Chang'an Rangers, and organized the Rangers to form an engineering team to devote themselves to the civil construction work in Chang'an.

At the end of the day, Ma Zhou accepted Kong Qing's thirty-dollar investment with a sad face, and then swore to Gu Chenjian that if his achievements were not successful, he would never be distracted from his care, and he would never let down Kong Qing's cultivation of him.

Kong Qing was very satisfied with this...

As for whether Ma Zhou can be a good contractor, will Kong Qing let his 30-guan investment go to waste?

Impasembo!

What should I say about Ma Zhou? Although he eats and drinks, although he has a rogue character, although he drinks too much and gets into trouble, and although he is a scumbag, it is undeniable that this guy is really a talented person.

In today's traffic rules, the issue of pedestrians walking on the right was first proposed by Ma Zhou and started to be implemented in Chang'an City. He also pioneered the requirement for speed limits when vehicles and horses are driving on the streets in the city...

When Ma Zhou proposed these things, those civilized Europeans had no concept of traffic rules at all.

Ma Zhou became an official in the fifth year of Zhenguan. He went from being a provincial official to a minor official of less than eight ranks, and finally became Li Shimin's Zhongshu Ling.

And it only took him thirteen years to do all this...

In thirteen years, Ma Zhou completed a journey that 99.9% of officials in the Tang Dynasty could not complete in thirty years.

Kong Qing believed that it would be impossible for a mere contractor to trouble a talented person like Ma Zhou...
To be continued...