"General Jiang, the imperial court issued an order the day before yesterday to mobilize a large number of troops to Taiyuan to suppress the bandits. I wonder if the troops have been mobilized at this time?" After the courtesy, and after three drinks, Wu Mengming, who had already been hinted by Chang Yu, began to talk about more serious matters.
It was unprecedented for the commander of the Jin Yiwei Guards to personally escort him with pay and money. How could Jiang Guan not have any plans in his mind? He was not just paying money, but he might have come to urge the deployment of troops and investigate military matters.
"Master Wu," Jiang Quan cleared his throat: "The last general just received the order from Governor Wang to mobilize troops the day before yesterday, and is in the process of mobilizing troops, but now there is a big difficulty."
"What's the difficulty?" Wu Mengming squinted his eyes.
"The imperial court owes Taiyuan Mansion more than half a year's pay, and the morale is not high at the moment. Many soldiers are complaining." Jiang Quan said with a pretentious sigh.
Wu Mengming smiled slightly: "I am here to resolve this matter. Mr. Jiang, how many troops does Taiyuan Prefecture have? How much is the total salary owed?"
"There are more than 100,000 troops stationed in Taiyuan Prefecture, and the annual pay for each soldier is calculated as ten taels. At this time, the salary owed is more than 500,000." Jiang Quan said with a long sigh and squinted at Wu Mengming.
Wu Mengming was startled, but Chang Yu, who had been silent next to him, almost spat out!
He knew that there were heavy troops garrisoned in Taiyuan at the moment, but the water content of a hundred thousand people was frightening. If the actual amount could exceed 80,000 or even 70,000, he would write it backwards. As for the salary, it would be calculated based on the per capita annual salary of eight taels.
It's extremely shameless.
In the Ming Dynasty, soldiers' salaries were not uniform, and there were regional differences. For example, the northern frontier troops received higher salaries than those in the south, and mobile troops received higher salaries than local regular troops. For example, when Qi Jiguang recruited troops on the southeast coast, his salary was ten taels per year, and when he went to Ji Town in the north to guard the border, his salary was ten taels per year.
The annual salary of local soldiers at this time is as follows: "Wujin County Chronicle": "One cent of Japanese silver" is only four taels, which is not enough. By the end of the Ming Dynasty, the people were displaced and had no food to rely on. After joining the army, they at least had food.
It is very easy to recruit soldiers for food, and the annual salary will never exceed four taels.
Therefore, even for soldiers in an important town like Datong, there will never be as many as ten taels. Five or six taels is the actual price, which cannot survive eight taels of silver. Jiang Quan said that greed has reached the point of shamelessness.
"So many?" Wu Mengming raised his eyebrows
"Isn't that right? The imperial court has not paid wages for half a year, and the accumulation is increasing. Soldiers have to support their families. To be honest, not only are they owed wages, but they are also short of food and grass. They live on gruel every day. How can the military morale be so unstable?
He is determined to go out and kill the enemy, so it is difficult to mobilize troops!" Han Lin took the words and said with a sad look on his face.
Oh, Wu Mengming looked slightly embarrassed: "The matter of food and grass has been handed over to Governor Wang. As for the salary, hasn't it been delivered? It's just..."
"Just what?" Han Lin narrowed his eyes and looked at Wu Mengming.
"Due to the emergency of the war, the imperial court could not raise much money at the moment. Only more than 300,000 yuan was sent this time, but the difference will be sent soon."
"That's it. I'm afraid it's still difficult to stabilize the morale of the army. To be honest, the imperial court has been giving me free speeches more than once or twice. The soldiers have long lost their confidence." Han Lin said and glanced at Jiang Yu.
Jiang Quan and a few others also quickly agreed.
Wu Mengming looked embarrassed and glanced sideways at Chang Yu.
"Chief Jiang, is Datong's one hundred thousand troops and half a million dollars worth of silver too much?" Chang Yu didn't drink, so he took a sip of tea and looked at Jiang Qian with squinting eyes, half-smiling but not smiling.
In an instant, the scene fell silent, and everyone had different expressions. It is said that there are some things that cannot be revealed after seeing through them. Chang Yu's words are actually equivalent to popping a bubble of unspoken rules.
Jiang Quan's heart sank, and he knew why the commander of the Jinyi Guards had used the commander to personally take action. Sure enough, it was clear that the commander was secretly rectifying the military affairs.
"What do you call this lord?"
Jiang Wan looked at Chang Yu and always thought that he was just Wu Mengming's subordinate, so even though he was introduced before, he didn't take it to heart. However, at this moment, it didn't look like this guy was a follower.
"We are not grown-ups." Chang Yu smiled slightly.
"Oh, this is Eunuch Chang from Dongchang." Wu Mengming suddenly didn't know what to think and actually took the initiative to put a tiger skin on Chang Yu.
Dongchang!
As expected, the expressions of Jiang Yu, Han Lin and others changed greatly. They even greeted the woman from Wu Mengming's family in their hearts. Now they asked why they only introduced her by name.
"Your Majesty, Eunuch Chang, you were so rude just now." Jiang Quan and others quickly stood up and saluted Chang Yu, but their faces were extremely depressed. They secretly thought that the imperial court had sent the commander of the Jin Yiwei and another Dongchang to come, how could it be such a small thing.
"There is no need to be polite, General Jiang. Let's continue the conversation." Chang Yu sat carelessly and did not get up to return the courtesy because he felt that Jiang Yu was not worthy.
Being so shameless and speaking straight to the point made Jiang Yan feel embarrassed, and he already had hatred in his heart, but he was an old man in the officialdom, so naturally he was not like Chang Yu, who showed all his joy and anger on his face.
"There are more than 100,000 people. We have been mobilized for many years, so there are inevitably some errors. However, the amount of salary and silver has been calculated and distributed in this way over the years. I don't know what Eunuch Chang means by this?" Jiang Quan looked like you are trying to frame me, but you can't.
Chang Yu smiled: "Since the military strength is wrong, it needs to be verified. As for the amount of pay and silver, it should be adjusted slightly from time to time."
"Is it Eunuch Chang who decides the salary?" Han Lin put a big hat on Chang Yu. The implication is, what right do you, a dead eunuch, have to set the price? You are really old and spicy.
Chang Yu secretly scolded the old dog for being cunning. He knew he couldn't do it now, but he was very unwilling to do so.
"This is not the case for our family." Chang Yu sneered: "Governor Wang will come to Datong soon. His duty is to announce the general affairs of the governor, including food, salary, and military affairs. Naturally, it will be left to him to handle it. Our family is just sent by the emperor to come by, so what?
Dare to get involved."
The big hat was not stuck, which made Han Lin a little disappointed, but he was slightly relieved after hearing Chang Yu's words. He understood what he meant. He was not supervising military affairs personally, but left it to Wang Jimo. Then things would be easier to handle.
If there are too many, just make a formality when the time comes.
"It's easy to verify the soldiers and approve their pay, but I'm afraid that even if Governor Wang comes in person, it will be difficult for a clever woman to provide food." Han Lin cleverly changed the topic after getting the information he wanted. The implication is that it is difficult to raise food and grass. This is also
The fact is, natural disasters have occurred year after year, food harvests have been lost, and sometimes even if you have money, you can't buy food.
"This matter will be discussed after Governor Wang arrives. The most urgent task now is to mobilize troops to Taiyuan. The day before yesterday, Xuanfu has sent more than 10,000 elite troops. They are on the way now. If they can reach Datong at noon tomorrow, or at midnight, Mr. Jiang, you
It will be necessary to send out troops tomorrow, and there will be at least 20,000 troops." Chang Yu looked at Jiang Quan and said seriously.
Just as Jiang Yan was about to answer, Han Lin interrupted him and said, "Eunuch Chang, I'm afraid this isn't possible?"
"Why can't it be done?" Chang Yu frowned, with anger on his face. These days, there are so many things to do about mobilizing troops. There are all kinds of excuses. Thinking about history, on March 6th, the bandit army broke the Xuanfu imperial court's order.
Tang Tong, the commander-in-chief of Jizhen, Wu Sangui, the commander-in-chief of Liaodong, and Liu Zeqing, the commander-in-chief of Shandong, immediately sent in reinforcements. However, it was not until March 30, two days before the rebel army broke through Juyong Pass, that Wu Sangui entered the pass. As soon as Tang Tong arrived in the capital, Liu Zeqing did not arrive at all.
Come.
It was such an urgent situation that day, and now these people are even more unhurried. No wonder Chang Yu is angry.
His trip to the capital was called paying, but he was actually the eyes and ears of Chongzhen. The so-called "acting according to the situation" certainly included the intention of conducting overt and secret visits to urge the dispatch of troops.
"If the issue of military pay is not resolved, we will only fear that the soldiers..."
As soon as Han Lin opened his mouth, Chang Yu couldn't hold back his anger and shouted: "Soldiers can make decisions, so why should they be generals? If a general can't even control his troops, how can he be a general?"
As soon as the words came out, everyone was shocked. Chang Yu's words were too serious, which made Jiang Yu and others' faces extremely dull. It was even a direct slap in the face. But there was no way that Eunuch Chang was such a straight-headed person. Although he knew it was not good, he could not help it.
Yi couldn't hold back her emotions.
"Eunuch Chang, Eunuch Chang, sit down and talk, sit down, why are you so angry?" When Wu Mengming saw the faces of Jiang Yu and others, the situation was so embarrassing, and he quickly joined forces to smooth things over.
Chang Yuyan said it, but he also regretted it slightly. After all, Datong was Jiang Guan's territory. He was so aggressive that he would not be able to step down. He might be in trouble. At this moment, the generals outside were no longer as loyal to the court as before, and they no longer had the fear before.
Because everyone knows that in this turbulent era, they are the favorites of various forces, and under normal circumstances, the court will not easily show their displeasure.
"Eunuch Chang's words are very true. If the army fails to obey, the general will be incompetent, but it is difficult for a clever woman to make a meal without rice. Therefore, the food still needs to be eaten and the salary still needs to be paid. If this matter is not resolved, no matter how talented the general is, he will not be able to make a living.
If you make a pot of hot porridge, you won't kill all of your men." Although Jiang Yan was furious, he was a first-rate actor, otherwise he would not have framed Wei Jingyuan as a collaborator so easily.
Finally committed suicide. At this time, after seeing Chang Yu sitting down, he smiled and said half-jokingly...
Chang Yu calmed down a little after Wu Mengming mentioned it, and nodded lightly after hearing the words: "If you have to eat, you will also be given money. However, extraordinary things are done in extraordinary times. Determining the strength, food, and pay of the troops does not happen in a day, but it is urgent to send troops."
Tomorrow General Jiang will mobilize 20,000 troops to go ahead. How about the food and salary for the 20,000 horses are paid according to the annual salary of ten taels you said? As for the rest, we will wait until Governor Wang arrives. Of course, our family will send someone to know about this immediately.
"Court".
These words are undoubtedly a step back, and they are not to push the envelope too far.
Hearing this, Jiang Qian and Han Lin looked at each other, then they lowered their heads and whispered a few words, and then said: "This matter should be feasible, but we still need to discuss it with my subordinates. How about giving Eunuch Chang a confirmation letter tomorrow morning?"
It's so fucking shameless, Chang Yu's hot temper has come back again. He adjusts the salary of 20,000 yuan to settle the salary of 20,000 people, and still pushes back and forth. No matter how stupid Chang Yu is, he knows that Jiang Yu can only use this to get him.
Take a step back, for example, just turn a blind eye and go through the motions while checking for vacancies.
In fact, if he didn't do this, Chang Yu would have turned a blind eye, but this angered him. After hearing this, he stood up and said: "If we don't send troops tomorrow, then don't blame our family for official business!"
After saying that, he snorted coldly, stood up and left the table.
Chang Yu walked away, making the scene awkward again, and everyone behaved differently. Wu Mengming told Chang Yu to leave and stood up to leave. Jiang Yu only made a brief attempt to persuade him to stay and let him leave. After instructing his servant to entertain him, he and Han Lin
Wait until the confidants enter the study to discuss secretly.