Chapter 18 Liu Xiang didn't read books
Chapter 18 Liu Xiang didn't read books
In the afternoon, two hundred new recruits from the right battalion lined up at the training ground to receive their first month's pay.
A pile of silver was lying nearby, guarded by several logistics soldiers urgently selected by Le Sen, while Shao Quanzhong stood behind the table.
Shao Quanzhong wanted to completely control these 200 soldiers, so he had to pay them personally. The loyalty of the soldiers was related to the life and property of the warlord, so he could not be bothered by it.
As soon as Shao Quanzhong stretched out his hand, Le Sen next to him handed him two small ingots, one weighing one tael and the other two taels, a total of three taels of silver.
That's right - isn't the monthly salary 45 cents? That includes food expenses.
When cooking in the village, eight cents of rice, seven cents of vegetables, meat and charcoal were deducted for a month, and the total salary was three taels.
This is quite a lot. The Green Camp soldiers only receive one tael of silver per month, and the county magistrate only receives forty-five taels per year. The remaining three taels of silver from the monthly salary are enough for a family of five to live a well-fed and clothed life.
The laborer who eats the most lives and eats in the weir. His money has already been deducted. Three taels of silver is only needed to support four people, so he can still save some.
Besides, other people in the family can’t just sit and eat every day, right? Their lives will immediately improve from poverty to prosperity.
The first soldier who was receiving the salary stared at the two silver ingots with shining eyes. He was about to take them with trembling hands when Le Sen, who was standing next to him, suddenly interrupted and said, "Wait!"
The soldiers were stunned, even Shao Quanzhong was stunned. What was Le Xiucai doing?
Le Xiucai stared at the soldier and asked, "Let me ask you, whose salary are you taking?"
The soldier scratched his head and thought for a long time, "From the imperial court?"
"wrong!"
Le Sen swung his sleeves and said, "The imperial court's Green Camp soldiers only get one tael of silver as salary. Who gave you this four taels and five cents?"
The soldier grunted for a long time, and suddenly realized, "It was given by Captain Shao!"
"That's right. Whose soldier are you serving?"
"From Shao Tuanzong!"
This time the answer was much smoother.
"Who are we helping?"
"Help Shao Tuanzong!"
Le Sen waved his hand, "Okay, take it!"
The second soldier was smarter than the first one. With the previous example in mind, he stood in front of the table without Le Sen's reminder and immediately shouted loudly, "Take Shao Tuanzong's salary, serve Shao Tuanzong's soldiers, and work for Shao Tuanzong!"
Now I got three taels of silver at the fastest speed.
Shao Quanzhong just smiled and distributed money without interfering with Le Sen.
It seems that Le Sen is a smart man, not just a bookworm.
Although I don't have the talent of Zhuge Liang, I know what I need. I can't bring this up myself, so it's just right that Le Xiucai is willing to take the lead.
Le Xiucai certainly didn't have this awareness at first, but a couplet he wrote woke him up.
After the salaries of the 200 men were paid, the officers' salaries were paid separately: 20 taels for the deputy regiment commander and 9 taels for the captain, all of which were based on the salaries of the "Xiang-Huai elite" and the Xiaozhan new army in Shao Quanzhong's memory.
The platoon leader is 6 liang, and the shed leader is 4 liang and 8 qian. They haven’t been selected yet, so there’s no rush.
After receiving their military pay, everyone felt the hard silver in their pockets and smiled.
Just be loyal to General Shao, and you will be paid your military salary as soon as you arrive.
Everyone knows that the salaries of regular Green Camp soldiers are delayed by two months, and most of them are not paid in full, and may be delayed further...
Shao Quanzhong stood with his hands behind his back, facing the 200 new recruits, and began his first speech.
“Brothers, you are my soldiers, you are paid by me, and you must obey military law.
I will talk about it during the military training. Now I will emphasize one point: even if you have money, you are not allowed to smoke opium. If you are caught, you will be punished by military law, beaten with a stick, and kicked out. You will never get this high salary again. Do you understand?"
"I understand."
There were few responses. Shao Quanzhong raised his voice, "Do you understand?"
"I understand!"
"Okay, dismiss. Have a good rest today and start training tomorrow!"
After everyone dispersed, Tian Xing came over and gave Shao Quanzhong a thumbs-up. "You are the only one in the militia that is not allowed to smoke opium. Just because of this, you don't look like an official of the Qing Dynasty."
Emperor Xianfeng took the lead in drawing the longevity ointment, and he had no control over the people below.
In the seventh year of Emperor Xianfeng's reign, in order to raise military funds for the Jiangnan camp that was besieging the Taiping Army, the imperial envoy went to Shanghai to collect taxes on opium, twelve taels of silver per box, and then they could sell it at will.
In the ninth year of Emperor Xianfeng's reign, Zhejiang Customs had begun to levy taxes directly on opium as imported goods. There were more than ninety high-speed clipper ships transporting opium from India to the East China Sea, and opium flowed into the Qing Dynasty in an endless stream.
Most of the Qing army were "double-gun generals", and only the Taiping Army did not prohibit smoking opium. Shao Quanzhong was very suspected of "collaborating with bandits" by doing this.
Tian Xing hoped that Shao Quanzhong would really be in collusion with the bandits, and strongly supported Shao Quanzhong in banning opium in Youying.
Le Sen said, "My Lord, you should emphasize loyalty first. It is difficult for the Qing Dynasty to ban smoking, and it is not necessary."
Shao Quanzhong gritted his teeth and said, "You have never been harmed by opium.
Damn it, I had a son who smoked opium in my previous life. I was not at all relieved to leave the world to him. He couldn't close his eyes until he died."
Le Sen has just joined the Shaw team and is not used to Shao Quanzhong's way of speaking. He feels that his lord speaks in a very imaginative way. Does he ever use examples from his past life?
However, Tian Xing and Zhang Siwen, who knew Mr. Shao well, knew that he was probably not making an analogy.
“Well, tomorrow will be busy, so today I invite you to come into town for a drink and get together.
First, to welcome Brother Le, and second, we four brothers have never had a drink together since we became sworn brothers, so let’s get drunk today.”
Shao Quanzhong pulled Song Laosan over and said, "Brother, you will be responsible for distributing the swords, guns, sticks and clubs in the armory to everyone for temporary use, and then arrange for people to stand guard on the city walls and warehouses."
There were not only grains but also silver in the warehouse. Shao Quanzhong did not take a penny of the military pay delivered today and put it all in the warehouse, which was completely different from Yang Yong.
Song Laosan obeyed the order and left. Shao Quanzhong and his four brothers, together with Le Xiucai, walked to the nearby city.
Tian Xing deliberately lagged behind and chatted with Le Sen, "Brother Le, when the second brother was distributing the salary just now, you did a really good job. I immediately recognized you as one of my own. Let's have a few more drinks later."
Le Sen smiled bitterly, "I was just woken up.
I have always prided myself on being talented, and thought that with my talent and knowledge as a scholar, wouldn't it be more than enough for me to join a militia?
When I first arrived, my lord was testing me, and I pretended to be an expert and offered three strategies: best, middle, and worst. Now when I think about it, I feel so ashamed.
The lord's couplet is not well-written, but it is obvious that he is a true warrior, and his noble spirit is vividly expressed on the paper.
Today I know that "Shandong was in turmoil before the ashes of the pit had cooled down, and it turned out that Liu and Xiang were not well-educated."
My three strategies are nothing more than an opportunity to help my lord gain a title of nobility, they are too narrow-minded.
My lord has great ambitions, but I don't have the talent of Guo Jia. I can only play the role of Hua Xin and be loyal to my lord."
The five of them feasted in Mingyue Tower until late at night, but Le Sen didn't drink much, as if he had something on his mind.
Coming out of Mingyue Tower, Le Sen bowed to Shao Quanzhong and said, "My lord, I will be living in the military camp from tomorrow and will not come out unless necessary.
I have to say goodbye to someone now, so I won't stay for a while. You guys go back first."
Tian Xing drank a little too much, "Say goodbye so we can stay a little longer, let's go together.
It's so late, there's already a curfew, and you can't leave the city without Lao Er, a sixth-rank officer, accompanying you."
Le Sen hesitated for a while, "Then I'll trouble you all."
Everyone followed Le Sen, turning around in the dark alley. When Le Sen stopped, Shao Quanzhong suddenly discovered that this was Wu Wenxi's hive garden in front of them.
However, this is not outside the gate, but the east wall of the Zhe Garden.
It’s so late, who did Le Sen make an appointment with to say goodbye by the wall?
Le Xiucai raised his head and looked into the stingray garden.
It was so late, and the Hound Garden was pitch black. There was only a small dim light on in a two-story attic called Laiqing Pavilion.
(End of this chapter)