The Emperor's Son-in-Law

After entering the middle courtyard of the blacksmith shop, Duan Chun looked at the blacksmith shops on both sides.

The burning furnace, and many disabled craftsmen swinging hammers hard.

The clanging sound of hammering was endless.

These dozen blacksmiths, from those in their twenties to those in their fifties, were all covered with scars.

Some were lame, some were broken arms...

There were even men with damaged eyes who could not see and could only pull the bellows.

Duan Chun frowned. He had read the account books of the three workshops.

It was clear that these three workshops could not earn enough money to support them.

The business of the workshops was so bad that I thought these craftsmen were just staying in the workshops to make a living by relying on their military merits.

Anyway, my father couldn't do anything to them, so they could eat and drink for free with peace of mind.

But now Duan Chun understood that the craftsmanship of the workshop was not bad, and the craftsmen were very hardworking.

This was a problem with the product promotion channel or the product type.

"Brothers, the general's son, our young general is here in the workshop."

"Brothers, why don't you hurry up and pay your respects."

The foreman of the workshop, Li Laosan, waved his one arm and shouted loudly.

"Young general?"

Instantly, all the blacksmiths in the middle courtyard stopped their work.

They supported their colleagues and came to Duan Chun in doubt.

"Subordinates pay their respects to the young general!"

Everyone knelt on one knee respectfully and saluted with a fist.

"Elders, please get up quickly."

"I am just here to see you today."

"Uncles, you don't need to be so polite."

Duan Chun said quickly.

"Brothers, get up."

"The young general came to see us old guys."

"Little stick, hurry up and get some money from the account office."

"Go buy some wine and meat to entertain the young general."

Li Laosan said.

"Yes."

A thirty-year-old strong man with a broken arm got up and walked to the front courtyard.

Duan Chun quickly stopped him, took out a silver ingot from his arms and threw it to Zhang Wu.

"Uncle Zhang, take the silver and buy more meat and wine."

"Today, I will stay here with my uncles and uncles to have a good gathering."

Duan Chun smiled.

"Yes."

Zhang Wu took the silver and turned away with a smile.

"Major General, how can I let you spend money?"

"Please sit down."

Li Laosan led Duan Chun to sit on the couch on one side of the courtyard.

He quickly poured him a bowl of hot tea.

Everyone gathered around curiously.

They looked at Duan Chun, and many of them were all afraid.

"Major General, do you still remember?"

"Back then, it was my subordinates who led the guards to your hometown."

"I took the late wife and the major general back to the imperial capital."

A strong man in his forties said with a smile.

"It turned out to be uncle."

"Uncle, please sit down..."

Duan Chun certainly didn't recognize this person, but when he heard what he said.

I knew in my heart that this man must be the most loyal guard officer of my father in the past.

However, this man had broken one leg, so my father could only let him stay in the blacksmith shop to take care of him.

After Duan Chun asked carefully, he finally figured out the situation of all the craftsmen here.

In the three workshops, there were more than 70 disabled old subordinates of my father, and more than 140 relatives lived in the backyard.

This was just one of the workshops, and some craftsmen went out to buy iron ore.

Most of the women and children and relatives helped with farming in the farms outside the city.

Only those with inconvenient hands and feet were left to continue working in the workshops.

These craftsmen actually all knew Duan Chun when he was young.

After all, they were all my father's close guards, but my father was too brave and always rushed to the front.

As a result, the guards beside my father fought with their lives, so there is the current Duke of Changguo.

Otherwise, my father would have been pierced by thousands of arrows or cut into pieces by the enemy!

The more Duan Chun listened, the more he felt guilty.

He only understood the situation of the workshops. If the three workshops continued to lose money,

he planned to disband the workshops and use the money to support these craftsmen and their families.

He would not leave the three workshops to continue to lose money.

Now his mind has changed...

After a chat, the craftsmen who were originally uneasy.

They were no longer so worried in Duan Chun's gentle words.

Because they all knew that the workshops were not profitable.

It was the general who was supporting them.

"Uncle Li, you have all made contributions to Da Kang."

"You were also injured for Da Kang. The court gives you at least one or two silver coins every month."

Duan Chun asked.

"Don't mention the salary, young general. We have been completely forgotten by the court."

"The Ministry of War only gives us less than a thousand yuan a month."

"Sometimes we don't see a penny for a month or two."

"We are all missing limbs. If you go to the Ministry of War, they will ignore you."

"The general has also made a big fuss about this matter several times, but they give you the money."

"It's gone again after a few months..."

"The general leads troops outside all year round, and we can't keep bothering him for these trivial matters..."

Li Laosan sighed and shook his head.

"Young general, some of my subordinates have been injured for too long."

"The court no longer cares about us..."

"Only the general and his wife still remember us."

"We are content as long as we can still have enough food."

The other broken-legged Liu Si shook his head and said.

"I understand, this matter."

"Junior must help uncles to find out clearly!"

"This time I came to the workshop because I saw that the workshop has been in deficit for several years in the account book."

"That's why I came to see it with my own eyes and think of a way to solve this problem."

Duan Chun said.

"Major General, when I was young, I only knew how to farm and fight the enemy."

"After I was disabled, I worked hard besides forging iron."

"My subordinates don't know how to do business."

"That's why..."

Li Laosan lowered his head embarrassedly.

"It's okay, we can think of other ways."

"But junior must find out what happened in the three workshops?"

Duan Chun asked.

So, after a group of craftsmen answered in unison.

Duan Chun finally understood the reason...

After the founding of the Great Kang Dynasty, His Majesty rewarded meritorious service and granted a large number of titles to the original noble families.

It was just to stabilize the situation in the Great Kang Dynasty as soon as possible.

So, there were many more merchants and shops in the whole imperial city.

Once the competition became fierce, too many things happened...

They began to suppress other peers secretly and tried their best to acquire more shops and workshops.

So, more than half of my father's 20 shops and 10 workshops have been lost so far!

This is not my father's fault. He is just a fierce general who fights in wars and does not know how to do business at all.

Moreover, the Duan family has few members and no one helps Duke Changguo to manage finances.

You know, my father was just a lonely person when he was ten years old.

He almost died in the troubled times, but fortunately he was taken in by His Majesty.

He was given the name Duan Ning, and the current Duan family was established.

The Duan family's industry was secretly suppressed by those meritorious nobles, and they were forced to sell the best ten shops.

There are only the last three of the seven workshops left.

This is because my father was determined not to sell, and would rather lose money to support his old brother.