"Report~! Sun Yingyuan fled westward!"
"how many people?"
"About a hundred riders!"
"Chase! No matter whether Sun Yingyuan lives or lives, you can get a reward of three thousand taels of silver if you capture him alive or kill him!"
The man surnamed Sun must go to the city to move reinforcements. As long as he survives for one more day, he will not be in trouble. In this case, he must be pursued relentlessly. It would be great if we could knock on the gate of the inner city.
The pursuit was left to Chen Zhe's department. As a general, Suo Yan would not personally lead his troops to chase Sun Yingyuan. Since the various departments that had just besieged him were not in the same mind, they had to inform him. Secondly, the money here has not been divided yet, so there is no intention to continue the war.
Suo Yan led his troops to launch a sneak attack. He had an advantage in strength and brought artillery to assist. Sun Yingyuan was caught off guard and was unable to parry. He could only lead his direct descendants to escape. The battle lasted less than a quarter of an hour before the winner was decided.
Under the fierce attack from the five military camps, the personal guards transferred from the Yongwei Camp by the new governor suffered more than 200 casualties. Excluding those who escaped and died in the battle, there were only hundreds of captured soldiers left.
It was a bit regretful that the person named Sun was not killed directly, but Suo Yan still showed concern for his subordinates: "Have everyone been rescued?"
This time it was a complete victory, unexpectedly smooth. Guerrilla Guo Bingfeng, who had some traces of smoke on his face, respectfully replied: "To the general, thanks to you, we have all been rescued, no less than one!"
Since everyone is fine, it's time to divide the money. Suo Yan said to Guo Bingfeng and Chen Zhe, "That's good! Let's go and see how much money Sun has left!"
Everyone said it was to save people, but in fact it was for the money Sun Yingyuan brought. Without a lot of money, who would be willing to go through life and death with you?
Among the three major camps, the Shenshu Battalion has Menggu cavalry attached to it, the Shenji Battalion mainly uses firearms, and only the Fifth Army Battalion has most of its soldiers equipped with cold weapons.
However, the horse army and the infantry army are both ready. They can fight quickly or slowly. They can pursue the fleeing enemy and confront the enemy's formation. Their tactics are changeable and there is indeed a way to advance and retreat.
However, the shortcomings of the Fifth Army Battalion are also obvious. The pursuit efficiency is not as good as that of the Shenshu Battalion, which is composed of pure cavalry, and the damage in battle is inferior to that of the Shenji Battalion, which has many firearms. It is actually a useless force among the three major battalions.
Even for this "pure chicken platoon army", the imperial court has a quota of 8,000 people. The Ministry of Household Affairs pays according to this number. If 30% of the salary is taken into account, there are still more than 5,000 people left. This part is still They are just soldiers, not handymen.
Sun Yingyuan reported a quota of 24,000 combat soldiers and 16,000 handymen in the three major battalions, totaling 40,000. Each soldier's monthly salary is one to two five cents of silver and five dou of rice, and the monthly salary of a handyman is one to two cents of silver and three dou of rice.
According to this standard, the salary of the soldiers is not low. If there are no layers to deduct, if they receive one or two and a half silver and ninety kilograms of rice every month, on average, a family can have fifty cash and three kilograms of rice every day. Supporting the family is not a big problem.
Even if the monthly salary is reduced by half, he will not starve to death. When Li Guozhen, the uncle of Xiangcheng, commanded the capital camp, he neglected training. The soldiers were lazy and inattentive, and some of his own people were lining their own pockets. He was just worthy of the 50% discounted salary. .
Counting the salaries of generals and lieutenants at all levels, the new governor brought 60,000 taels of silver to pay one month's arrears of military pay. In addition, the one month's arrears will be paid in the next month, and the rice will be paid out in the following days.
Since everyone in the capital camp did not buy into Governor Sun's account, there were still more than 35,000 taels temporarily stored in the big account. Suo Yan's territory was made up of this money. If divided equally, each person could get more than 30 taels. , but it won’t do that.
After buying Sun Yingyuan's head, there were still 32,000 taels of silver left, but this was far from enough for everyone to share. After various generals came to take advantage of the situation, it was obvious that there were more wolves than meat.
One of them took off the helmet of the prisoner the general had tied up and threw it aside. He plucked the other's messy hair and asked energetically: "Look! The one who showed off his power to us during the day has now become a lost dog. What's wrong? Your family Uncle Sun doesn’t want you anymore?”
The prisoner's arms were tied, his legs were injured, and he was hobbling. His expression still refused to give in, and he glared at the general: "You have committed a crime and deserve to die!"
The boss who was still trying to push the opponent laughed loudly when he heard this, stopped the movement of his arm, then pulled out his sword, and threatened with a ferocious expression: "Death? Master, I will let you die right away!"
Suo Yan happened to be passing by with a group of people. When he saw this, he hurriedly shouted to stop him: "Stop! Let's escort him down and keep him under guard first, and then we will argue! I have given you an order from the general. No prisoners will be killed without authorization. Those who disobey the order will be severely punished!"
These people are bargaining chips for future negotiations. They may be useful after the enemy sieges the city. If they are cut down like this, it would be a waste of resources.
After hearing the order from his superior, the commander did not dare to use force, so he had no choice but to comply, and then turned to the prisoner and snorted coldly: "You've saved a dog's life!"
Jiang Zong and the soldiers around him originally wanted to use the prisoners to vent their ill-will and let them hang out in front of him with high spirits during the day. But now they can't do anything about it for the time being. They are really angry.
At this time, more than a hundred horsemen and horses were approaching from the opposite side. Suo Yan took a quick look and saw that they were all old acquaintances. It seemed that most of the money he had finally obtained would be divided among these colleagues.
"General Suo, is this really going to make things difficult for me?"
Riding in front was Lieutenant General Ding Jian, one of the two chief officers of the Fifth Army Camp. He was awakened by the sudden sound of artillery in the middle of the night. Thinking about what happened during the day, he anticipated this possibility.
He was rarely dissatisfied with what Sun Yingyuan did, but the city government did not show it, and did not intend to take action as soon as possible. He had to make some plans before he could act. Unexpectedly, Suo Yan could not bear it anymore and took the lead in sneak attack on the governor's tent.
Suo Yan clasped his fists and saluted his superior on horseback, and said politely: "Sir, please calm down. The reason why the general took the risk was not because of his own selfish desires. It was because Sun Yingyuan bullied others and killed his brothers, thereby arousing public anger. The general couldn't stand it anymore. That's why I have to do this. If I offend you in any way, I hope you will forgive me!"
The rhetoric has been prepared a long time ago, and what he said was reasonable and well-founded. He wanted to show that he was forced to stand up for his brothers.
Shi Zhengchun, the accompanying supervisor, heard Suo Yan's explanation. He laughed in a high-pitched voice and asked: "May I ask General Suo? Just now we heard about the 'camp roar'. I believe it is a 'fake camp roar'. Why?" You are committing trouble!"
Suo Yan looked down on this kind of waste sent by the emperor. Due to his superior's kindness, he did not show contempt and responded calmly: "Master Supervisor Jun misunderstood. There is a 'yingxiao', but it was soon replaced by After it calmed down, the soldiers were angry at Sun Yingyuan because of the "camp roar". Because the crowd was so angry, the general couldn't stop it, so this happened. The general was just following the people's will and driving away thieves, and he had no intention of causing rebellion! "
Before the other generals agreed to rise up, we directly told everyone to follow me and drive the prince out. We will run the court. That would be really stupid...
Even if Suo Yan really thought so in his heart, he definitely couldn't say that. Misfortune would come from his mouth, and he might be tied up and sent to the prince in the end.
It is necessary to be forbearing under concerns, to observe everyone's reactions as much as possible, and then think about countermeasures based on everyone's different feedback.
Shi Zhengchun was also present during the day. He did not support Sun Yingyuan's rectification actions. If it did not harm him, he would not object.
But from the perspective of means, such harsh methods will sooner or later cause dissatisfaction among the entire Jingying camp. There will only be two results, either the prince will choose someone else, or the Jingying camp will be thrown into chaos.
With such chaos now, it is impossible to verify the Yingxiao incident, and no one has the mood or time to investigate the matter. Whatever the parties involved say, that is pretty much what the situation is.
Regarding Suo Yan's words, Shi Zhengchun was noncommittal. He had no power to deal with the generals and could only report what happened to the prince: "Master Ding, what do you think?"
The power of the supervisory army comes from the emperor. Now that the emperor has passed away, and at the beginning of the prince's supervision of the country, there is news from the inner court that the supervisory army will be abolished. This leaves everyone with one less channel to make money, so most of the supervisory troops outside do not want to go back.
Shi Zhengchun did not comment on Suo Yan's answer, so it was difficult for Ding Jian to explore his attitude, so he asked the person involved: "General Suo, where do you plan to go?"
Ding Jian is not willing to clean up this kind of mess for his subordinates, and there is no way to clean it up. Whoever caused the trouble should be blamed. But the consequence of handing over Suo Yan is that Sun Yingyuan may come back, just like the previous episode. It may even get worse.
Our lives may be more difficult than before. We have no money to eat, no way to buy military rations, and we may not even be able to receive the money sent from below. How can we support a large family with just that little salary? How can we continue to live a life of dissipation and extravagance?
Each and every one of these people in front of me relies on shady money. It’s just a matter of taking more and taking less. If you want to cut off their way of making money, it would be worse than killing them. Make it uncomfortable.
The situation is not clear yet, but Suo Yan still speaks cautiously: "The general just wants to seek justice for the brothers. He has no evil intentions, let alone the intention to divide. If the two adults and the generals cannot bear that Sun Yingyuan harms the soldiers in the Beijing camp, Only if you are willing to do justice for heaven can you plan for great things!"
Faced with everyone's doubts and Ding Jian's temptation, Suo Yan picked himself up very cleanly, but threw out another bait. Now this matter is not something he can handle alone. Anyway, he just participated, so he is lucky. Let’s share the joy and share the hardships.
This hint couldn't be more obvious. To "act for heaven" is to commit rebellion. First, conquer the imperial city. Whether the dynasty can be changed is another matter. Suo Yan can't do it with his troops, but with more people, he is more powerful. Half of the five The military camp can make a difference.
"you……"
Shi Zhengchun pointed his whip at this daring guy on his horse, and was shocked to the point of speaking. This guy just wanted to launch a rebellion, and he made such a high-sounding statement. He was really a rebellious beast and needed to be punished.
When Suo Yan saw the anger on the supervisor's face, he reminded him, "Sir, I heard that His Highness the Crown Prince ordered his servants to buy purple gold bonds. I wonder how many tens of thousands of taels you bought?"
News has spread from the inner court that all those who are stingy and stingy, such as Gao Qiqian and others, have been executed by the prince. Now the inner court is expanding the scope of review, and I am afraid it will not be long before it is Shi Zhengchun's turn.
"you……"
Being ridiculed in public, Shi Zhengchun's big face turned pale with anger. Fortunately, it was the middle of the night, so no one could see it.
These words were tantamount to revealing Shi Zhengchun's background. He made a lot of money as a military supervisor in the Beijing camp, not to mention thirty to fifty thousand taels, but it was not much different.
Shi Zhengchun didn't pay attention to the prince's reminder to use bonds. Although the supervisors outside were also in the Jifu area, everyone tacitly didn't buy it.
The supervisors at all levels just want to be obedient, so they should observe for a while first. After all, it is much more practical in the military camp than in the inner court. It is impossible for the prince to arrest people one by one. If one person is arrested, everyone else will know about it.
Suo Yan saw that his method of provoking the general seemed to have some effect, so he continued to speak: "Sir, please calm down. I am just telling the truth. Your situation is different from yours. If the prince tracks it down, everyone present will probably lose their heads. The fate of those civil servants is the same. When it comes to that point, should we sit back and wait for death, or should we find another way out?"
Now everyone was thinking about their own way out. Everyone had seen the prince's thunderous methods. After dealing with the civil servants, they set their sights on them, the generals.
The Beijing camp has been tired for a long time. Bringing in Sun Yingyuan for rectification is the first step. The next step may be to change the generals. Gone are the days when you can make money casually.
This kind of thing is not trivial. Fellow general Meng Shan couldn't think of any countermeasures, so he asked: "Brother Suo, what should we do?"
When Suo Yan saw other people also looking at him inquiringly, he immediately expressed his plan: "I can't control other people's affairs, but I don't want to be dealt with by Sun Yingyuan. If you're a man, I'll cut it off, otherwise you will be messed up! "
Everyone did not respond immediately and were still hesitating. Everyone knew very well that they said they were doing justice for heaven, but in fact they were launching a mutiny, which was a serious crime of confiscating their homes and exterminating their families.
Another deputy general, Han Rui, thought more carefully and asked about his worries: "It's not that we are pedantic and rigid, but our family members are still in the city. How can we be targeted?"
Once the prince finds out, he will eventually take the families of the generals as hostages. By then, everyone will be in a difficult situation.
Suo Yan realized that the other party was attracted, and immediately offered advice: "Four words - soldiers are valuable and quick! You lead your troops to attack the city quickly. Firstly, you can catch the opponent by surprise, and secondly, you can protect your family from harm. That's it. , if you are still hesitating, then you will repeat the mistakes of Yuan Shao during the Three Kingdoms!"
Hesitation is the most feared thing when leading troops in war. There are many examples of missed opportunities when hesitating. The knife is almost on the neck and you are still hesitating. These people really can't do anything important, they just eat, drink and have fun.
As the two chief officers of the fifth military camp, Han Rui was silent for a long time, and then whispered to Ding Jian. They still had to discuss it before making a decision.
"Report~! Deputy General of Water Transport Liu Liangzuo is here!"
Liu Liangzuo was known as "Fantasy Liu" because he often rode a piebald horse. He was from the same hometown as Suo Yan. The two had an irreversible friendship. They also worked in Tongzhou and were in charge of the canals in the Jifu area.
Although Liu Liangzuo held the position of deputy general, because the defense area he was responsible for was too long, he could only directly control about a thousand troops.
