After the three-way war drum beat, the army was assembled and waiting for orders.
There is a wooden platform in front of the army formation, which is usually used for giving lectures, giving orders, etc. There are many generals standing there as usual, but the difference is that there is a person sitting in the middle, wearing a Minghuang Emperor robe, a bit bloated, and a pair of
The eyes were so fat that they were narrowed into slits, but there was a sparkle inside. It was none other than the current sage, Li Tai.
The Taiwei stepped forward quickly, cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, the army has been assembled and is waiting for instructions."
"Let's roll call, come up one by one to receive your pay." Li Tai said indifferently, unable to tell what he was thinking.
Taiwei Lu Chengqing's heart skipped a beat, his eyes flickered, and he was a little panicked, but he quickly controlled his emotions and shouted loudly: "Roll call, pay."
A civil servant hurried forward, followed by several people. No one was holding a roster with the registration information of each soldier. The civil servant glanced at Taiwei Lu Chengqing, and after receiving tacit approval, he shouted: "Your Majesty
I will personally pay the bills, and you will be waiting for the great event of the smoke coming out of the ancestral graves. Please keep quiet and come up quickly to whomever is called."
The army remained silent, but a surprise spread.
"Li Erniu!"
"Wang Laosan!"
"Wei Wuzi!"
"..."
A famous soldier came forward and lined up, looking at Li Tai secretly and nervously.
Li Tai came here just to win people's hearts. He stood up and stepped forward to the bag where the silver was stacked. He signaled the clerk who was about to pay him to step aside, picked up a handful of silver and asked, "Tell me, how much is it?"
The civil servant hurriedly replied: "Back to your Majesty, ordinary soldiers are paid a monthly salary of one silver. To make up for the previous month, they need to be paid for two months at a time, which is two silver coins."
Military pay is stipulated. It will be higher during wartime and lower during peacetime. When Li Tai saw that the amount was consistent with the information he had, he didn't say anything. He picked up two silver coins and handed them to the person who came.
When the other party saw that His Majesty was personally handing out the salary, he was immediately greatly honored. He took it over excitedly, knelt down with a bang, kowtowed solemnly and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty for the reward. Long live Your Majesty!"
"Work hard and strive to kill the enemy and make meritorious service. I will not hesitate to be a general and a marquis when the time comes." Li Tai said with satisfaction. He came all the way to get this effect.
"Thank you, Your Majesty. I will fight to the death to repay you." The other party stood up happily, his eyes shining, thinking that what he did today would be a honor to his ancestors, and he would be able to boast about it for the rest of his life.
Then one by one went up to the stage to receive their pay, kowtowed to express gratitude, and said words of loyalty.
Li Tai couldn't help but smile from ear to ear with satisfaction. He sent hundreds of messages in a row without feeling tired.
Li Tai knew how to win people's hearts since he was a child, and now he is so proficient that he is far ahead of his ministers.
Taiwei Lu Chengqing's face looked ugly when he saw this scene, but he did not dare to show it. He had to squeeze out a smile to accompany him. The anger in his heart was already boiling like a volcano.
Prime Minister Kong Yingda was also there. He looked at this scene with great disdain. The emperor is so noble. How could he associate with the lowly Qiu Ba?
But when I thought of Li Tai's tough attitude when he came, I held back.
Time is lost unconsciously.
It was not until dusk that less than one-third of the military pay had been paid, and the school grounds were crowded with people. Li Tai had a sore back, so he took the time to straighten up and stretch, and suddenly found someone quietly returning to the school grounds and queuing up again.
Li Tai suddenly narrowed his eyes and looked to the other side.
According to regulations, those who received military pay need to go back to the barracks to wait, and are not allowed to run around. It must be strange to rejoin the team. Li Tai calmly wrote down the approximate number of people, without making any mistakes, and continued to pay.
Not long after, a paid person came back to the stage. There were so many people that I can’t remember it clearly, but Li Tai saw this person re-entering the ranks with his own eyes. He couldn’t have mistaken him and asked calmly: "Your name is Tie Wa, right?"
,where are you from?”
"Go back to your Majesty, little Yingtian."
"It's Yingtianfu's accent. How old are you?"
"Little twenty."
"When were you born?" Li Tai continued to ask.
The other party was startled, a flash of panic flashed in his eyes, but he still said bravely: "Five...no, June."
"Exactly what month, please tell me clearly." Li Tai's tone became colder.
The other party hesitated for a moment and said in a panic: "It seems to be May, I have a bad memory."
"How many months will it take to give you another chance?" Li Tai asked coldly. He had asked so many questions to catch the thief and take away the stolen goods, but he had been waiting for this moment.
To pretend to be a leader is to eat empty pay and drink the blood of soldiers. This is an unspoken rule in the military and is also a taboo.
I don’t know if it’s okay, everyone is doing this, and once exposed, the crime will be serious.
Lu Chengqing panicked and wanted to step forward to rescue him.
At this time, Li Tai glanced over with a cold gaze. Lu Chengqing was speechless for a moment. Li Tai grabbed the roster from the clerk's hand and found the relevant information. It clearly stated that he was from Yingtian Mansion and was twenty years old. These two points were correct.
It can be seen that they are familiar with each other, but their origins are written in September.
People who are acquainted can remember the name and age, but generally cannot remember the month of birth.
Seeing that the other party couldn't answer, Li Tai shouted: "Come here!"
The emperor's guards rushed forward.
"Tie this man up and keep him under strict supervision." Li Tai gave the order coldly. After he was taken away, he looked at Lu Chengqing and continued, "Lieutenant, should you give me an explanation?"
"this?"
Lu Chengqing panicked.
Lying about the number of people and paying for the soldiers' blood has long been a means for the imperial generals to make money. Lu Chengqing did not expect that Li Tai would come in person to pay the soldiers. He was not tired for several hours, and he did not expect that he would be found out.
Kong Yingda also realized that he would miss the opportunity to suppress the Taiwei's rights. He stepped forward and said: "Liu Taiwei, I finally got the money to recruit, what do you want to do?"
Lu Chengqing looked very embarrassed. He had been caught and had no excuse.
Li Tai also needed Lu Chengqing to fight Kong Yingda in front of the stage to help him share the pressure. What he wanted was to take back his military power and shouted: "The captain will stay, and everyone else will step down ten meters from the stage. Pay will be suspended."
"Your Majesty, this..." Kong Yingda did not want to miss the opportunity and was very unwilling to do so.
"Why, I don't have any rights anymore?" Li Tai's eyes turned cold.
"I don't dare. I'll retire first." Kong Yingda didn't want to publicly contradict him, which was inconsistent with his reputation, so he retreated.
Soon there were only two people left on the stage.
Li Tai stared at Lu Chengqing and asked: "Liu Taiwei, tell me the truth, how many people are you free to pay?"
"More than 50,000 people." This became clear upon investigation, so Lu Chengqing simply stopped hiding it.
"More than 50,000 people?"
Li Tai laughed angrily and said coldly: "The army of 300,000 is actually only 250,000. I'm afraid this number is not accurate, right? Is this how you do things?"
"Your Majesty, I can't help it. It's true that the materials allocated by the Prime Minister are often in short supply. The price of grain in Luoyang has skyrocketed recently. The soldiers can't eat enough. It's true that I have empty pay, but I'm not greedy. I use it all to buy grain.
." Lu Chengqing's face turned bitter.
Of course Li Tai would not believe this and said coldly: "Should I ask the Prime Minister to confront you?"