After setting off again, Liu Bei said quietly: "Brother, I have left the people behind according to your wishes, but the court will definitely not pay the soldiers I recruited. I am fully responsible for the food and grass, as well as the weapons and armor.
The batch of weapons that were eliminated before is still there, but there is still a gap of more than 500 people. Do you think we should send people to other places to purchase another batch of weapons?"
Lu Zhi's 30,000 Northern Army was a regular army. The imperial court issued military pay and was responsible for food, grass and food. The soldiers Liu Bei originally recruited belonged to local miscellaneous troops and were not regular troops. They did not receive supplies. However, when Lu Zhi opened his mouth, Liu Bei's 500 troops immediately
Suddenly, he became the direct descendant of the ace in the regular army.
But Liu Bei himself did not have the power to expand the regular army, because he already had a fixed number of men and horses, only 500 men per song. If he wanted to expand the army, he could only be responsible for the food, grass, weapons and equipment himself.
Since Chen Mu could write and calculate, Liu Bei handed over all the financial and logistical powers to him, so Liu Bei came to him to discuss the purchase of weapons and equipment.
"This is natural." Chen Mu responded: "I will take care of this matter, so brother doesn't have to worry."
"I can rest assured that my fourth brother is doing things."
Liu Bei glanced at a wooden box hanging on the left side of the horse and said with a smile.
Although Zhang Fei's family property is not as rich as the hundreds of millions and billions of dollars, he still has a lot of ancestral land and millions in liquidity. After selling all the real estate, he purchased a large amount of weapons and equipment, and even
Several soldiers' meetings were held in Taoyuan, and five to six hundred people drank and ate meat together. After various expenses, there are still more than 10 million yuan left.
This money was an important fund for the four brothers to start their own business. Because they had to travel lightly along the way, a large amount of five baht coins was inconvenient to carry. After Zhang Fei sold his assets, Chen Mu exchanged them for equivalent items such as gold, silver, and jewelry and placed them there.
In the box tied up on the side of the horse.
In addition, he fought more than ten battles, large and small, and seized a lot of supplies, which were all sold at low prices to local powerful people. He also had millions of dollars, so Liu Beijun's finances were barely sufficient.
But this is based on their small number. War means burning money. This is an eternal truth in any era.
Once the army expands to more than 10,000 people, let’s not talk about the issue of paying soldiers. Just talking about the monthly daily expenses of an army of 10,000 people, people can eat and chew horses, and they can consume 40,000 to 50,000 dan of food and grass. Even if they are all infantry, there is no
The cavalry, not counting the cost of horses, costs nearly tens of millions of dollars. This means that with Liu Bei's money to support an army of ten thousand people, Liu's Straw Shoe Company would have to file for bankruptcy in one month.
Therefore, Chen Mu had to find a way to borrow chickens to lay eggs.
For example, spending a lot of money to bribe the quartermaster can be used to exchange for a large amount of weapons and equipment at a small price, thereby saving money.
He didn't tell Liu Bei about this, because he was afraid that Liu Bei would try to be a moral model. Although a man who could be a hero would not be so rigid about trivial matters, whose wool was Chen Mu trying to steal now?
Lu Zhi’s wool.
Even the money does not belong to Lu Zhi, but to the court. But once the incident comes to light, even if Lu Zhi wins the battle, Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty will probably put him in jail for questioning. Moreover, Lu Zhi himself is a domestic official.
The great Confucian had a good reputation, but his disciples engaged in py trading, which also damaged his reputation.
If Liu Bei felt that this would harm the division commander and forced Chen Mu not to allow it, all the efforts in the army expansion plan would be in vain.
Therefore, there are some things that the boss does not necessarily need to know everything about. As long as the employees are sincerely doing good for the company, even if they receive kickbacks and turn a blind eye, they have to pretend not to have seen it.
The sky gradually darkened, the last ray of sunset in the west disappeared into the night sky, and the world became dark, so the team had to light torches and march at night.
Night blindness is a common problem in ancient armies. Even if there is a moon, many soldiers cannot see the road clearly.
Fortunately, torches are a necessity in the army. They are equipped on cavalry horses. Each cavalryman lights a torch with flint. More than 50 torches light up the day and night, so that all soldiers can see the direction clearly.
In the distance, across several hills on the plain, one can already see the endless fields and the vague city at the end of the road.
"We're almost here in Yiyang."
Liu Bei's face was filled with joy, and he said with joy: "Fourth brother, after defeating Yiyang, we will send our troops northward and take Guangping directly. If we can break through Guangping and capture Zhang Jiao alive, then this troubled world can be calmed down, and the people can live and work in peace and contentment.
Enjoy a peaceful life.”
Do you take this for granted?
Chen Mu thought to himself.
Liu Bei was still too naive and did not realize that the Eastern Han Dynasty had become corrupt and was on the verge of collapse. Simply putting down the Yellow Turban Rebellion was not the end, but the beginning of a nightmare.
However, the changes of an era are full of ups and downs. At the end of the Western Han Dynasty, some people thought that the Han Dynasty was coming to an end. As a result, Liu Xiu, a son of another dimension, appeared to continue the Han Dynasty. The authorities were confused by the onlookers, and they themselves stood from the perspective of future generations.
Looking at the problems of the predecessors is simply hindsight and should not be taken seriously.
If Liu Bei can see now that the Eastern Han Dynasty is going to perish, then it is not Chen Mu who is here as a counselor, but Liu Bei himself who is so wise that he is almost a demon, sweeping the world by himself, and defeating Guo Jiaxun, You Jia Xu, Xun Yu, Zhuge Liang, Sima Yi, Pang Tong and all other military advisor alliances
.
"Zi Gui would like to ask, what is my eldest brother's wish in life?"
Chen Mu thought about it for a moment before asking.
Liu Bei thought for a while and replied: "At the beginning, my wish was to sell my shoes in the market, marry a wife, and support my mother. Later, when the world was in chaos, I wanted to take advantage of the current situation to raise troops to conquer the bandits from all directions for the imperial court. After the world is peaceful, I can
Being the governor of a state, supervising hundreds of officials in a state, and helping the world and bringing peace to the people is enough."
In fact, Liu Bei never thought about being a governor at all in the beginning. When he first came from Zhuoxian County, he thought that if he could achieve military exploits, he would be very happy as a county magistrate or a lieutenant.
As a result, after arriving at Lu Zhi's place, he got an official status of 600 dan without doing anything.
It was so easy to get this official position, which made Liu Bei's ambition grow. He thought that now he had six hundred shi, and if he could make some great contribution in attacking Zhangjiao, he would be lucky and his teacher Lu Zhi would help recommend one or two, and he would get another six hundred shi.
Baishi's appointment as governor shouldn't be a problem, so he had this wish.
Unexpectedly, Chen Mu said: "Can a mere governor satisfy my elder brother?"
A mere governor?
Liu Bei thought that his younger brother was really inflated. Although the governor was only six hundred shi, his official position was relatively large. There were at least seven or eight county governors in a state, and as many as ten or more county governors, but there was only one governor.
Even though his power is not as great as that of the county magistrate, he still has the responsibility of supervising the county magistrate and the county magistrate. Therefore, with six hundred dan to command two thousand dan, he is a low-level official.
Unexpectedly, the fourth brother didn't even pay attention to the governor. Did he think he could be the governor?
Liu Bei asked tentatively: "Then...the governor of one side?"
"hehe."
Chen Mu shook his head: "Too young, too young. If my brother's ambition is just this, I will underestimate him."
Is the prefect worth two thousand stones still young?
Liu Bei was shocked. You must know that the county governor is already a high-ranking official in the Han Dynasty. Many people think that the governor is more senior than the county governor. In fact, the official position of the governor is very small. It has relatively great power and can have the responsibilities of impeaching the governor and county magistrate.
Not to mention that it has the ability to do whatever it wants in a state, that is the power of the state pastor.
Therefore, the governor's only power was to impeach prefects and county magistrates. He had no military power, no local management power, and was not even qualified to intervene in local government affairs.
As the highest official of a county, the prefect not only has the power to govern the local area, but also has the power to appoint and remove local officials and take charge of the local army. In terms of actual power, compared with the prefect, the governor is on earth and in the sky.
In the Western Han Dynasty and the Eastern Han Dynasty, many officials' career experience was that they were first promoted as Xiaolian, then served as secretarial officials such as Langzhong, Yilang, Shangshu, Lingcheng, etc., and then transferred to local counties to serve as county magistrates.
After achieving the results, he would become the governor of a state, and then become the local governor.
The promotion of many officials in the Han Dynasty can also be used as evidence to support this conclusion.
For example, during the reign of Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty, Taiwei Li Xian, one of the three princes, was promoted as a filial and honest person. In addition to being a doctor, he was promoted to minister of the state of Wei, appointed magistrate of Gaomi County, then promoted to governor of Xuzhou, and then governor of Yuyang.
, General of the Liao Dynasty, moved to Yin, Henan, and then transferred to the central government to serve as a minister, and he will be a great craftsman, great agriculture minister, great Honglu, Taipuqing, and Taiwei.
It can be seen from this experience that the turning point in Li Xian's promotion was from the governor of Xuzhou to the prefect of Yuyang. Since then, his official position has been maintained at around two thousand stones, and finally returned to the central government as the minister of thousands of stones. Soon
He became one of the Nine Qing Dynasties, Da Si Nong, and gradually climbed to the position of Sangong.
Therefore, going from governor to prefect is a big jump in official positions, a bit like being promoted from chief minister to deputy governor. Some people cannot cross this hurdle and will remain middle-level officials such as county magistrates and governors for the rest of their lives. After crossing this hurdle, they enter the next level.
It’s not a dream for the central government to be Jiu Qing.
As an official with a non-Xiaolian background, Liu Bei would be considered worthy of being a prefect, let alone holding an official position above the prefect, which is almost impossible.
Could it be that I think I can be the ninth minister or the general of the fifth mansion?
I would never dare to dream of such a thing.
Liu Bei trembled and said: "What do you think, Brother Xian, should reach the level of Brother Yu's ambition?"
What does your ambition ask me to do?
Chen Mu cursed in his heart, but he also knew that ambition is not something that can be achieved overnight and needs to be sublimated step by step. When Zhu Yuanzhang was a beggar, he was only thinking about how to have enough to eat, and he would never think about becoming an emperor in the future.
Win the world.
If you take too big a step, you can easily pull off the egg.
So Chen Mu thought about it and explained: "I heard a story from the pre-Qin period. There were three people in the Song Dynasty. The first one was very ambitious and wanted to reach the sky in one step, so he went to a neighboring country to seek an official position."
"The second man was born into a noble family and had an official position assigned to him by his parents, so he was lazy and idle all day long, wandering around without doing anything."
"The last person also wanted to be a high official, but he did not immediately seek a position. Instead, he studied under a teacher and cultivated his knowledge."
"Soon, the first man went around looking for an official position, but because he had no skills, he was not reused. He only got a small official position. He felt insulted, so he resigned and went home."
"The second person, after his parents died, his official position was quickly taken away by others, his family property was exhausted, he lived on the streets, and his later life was miserable."
"The last man studied for many years and finally achieved something, so he also traveled around the country and sought official positions. But he met a monarch who had no talent and only gave him a minor official."
"But the third person didn't dislike it. He started from a low-level official position, step by step, and finally achieved his goal and became the prime minister of a country, with power over the world."
"What did brother see from this story?"
Chen Mu asked finally.
Liu Bei was thoughtful and suddenly said: "I understand, my dear brother, you want to tell me that you can set your ambitions lofty, but you must first become strong yourself. If you don't have the corresponding talents, you can't be a high official. Even if you can be a high official
Officials will also end up miserable because they have no skills."
Chen Mu nodded and said with a childish look on his face: "Yes, now my brother only wants to be the governor of one county. Then my future development is limited to this. If my brother wants to be the three public officials and nine ministers from the beginning,
So when your brother becomes the county magistrate, you have to think about how to be promoted to the governor. When you are promoted to the governor, you have to think about how to be promoted to the prefect. In this way, you can strengthen yourself step by step and do things you once dared not imagine.