"Nonsense," Zhou Shixiong scolded. "If we're short on labor, I'll just go capture more. You just need to hold down the fort here, and I guarantee I'll have a thousand mu of fertile fields ready for you by spring."
Gu Wenheng knew that Zhou Shixiong was truly angry this time. "It won't happen again," he said.
'Those bandits probably aren't stupid enough to walk right into the line of fire every single time,' he thought.
"Later, I'll send two more men to be your personal bodyguards," Zhou Shixiong said, glaring at him. "And you are not to refuse."
"Qi and Ah Ba, the guards the Empress assigned to me, are already excellent," Gu Wenheng replied. "I couldn't possibly accept your men as well, Brother Zhou."
"Besides, you're the one constantly on the move out there. You need them more than I do."
In the end, Gu Wenheng found himself with two more guards anyway. For as long as he remained in Lu City, the two men were ordered not to leave his side.
***
