"Your Majesty is absolutely right!" Upon hearing this, Cao Huachun immediately agreed.
Luo Yangxing in the cell saw that Emperor Chongzhen wanted to leave after giving his instructions, so he quickly shouted loudly: "Your Majesty, I don't understand why Eunuch Cao locked the general here?"
After hearing this, Emperor Chongzhen turned to look at him and said coldly: "You have done something yourself. Don't you still feel regretful about it?"
Having said this, he ordered Cao Huachun: "Give him paper and pen, one day, that's it!"
Then, he ignored the stupid Luo Yangxing, took back the eavesdropping seeds, "rewarded" them to Jiang Dong, and then turned around and left.
Although it was already dark, he still had a lot to do.
When he just left the gate of Dongchang Prison, Chen Baoting was already waiting here and informed him that the seized property had been verified and there was no problem.
After Emperor Chongzhen heard this, he began to think about it on the way back.
For Lu Xiangsheng, the earlier the arrangements are made, the better. Among the properties inspected, fixed assets, such as shops and properties, cannot be used as military pay. Even if a discount is required, it cannot be done in a short period of time. In other words, what can currently be used as military pay is actually about 390,000 taels of silver.
The Ming army now adopts a recruitment system, and the monthly salary is calculated as one tael. Not counting the military salary owed, it is still 50,000 taels.
Then if a Tatar is captured alive, he will be rewarded thirty taels of silver, and if he beheads, the reward will be twenty taels. After such a big battle, at least some people would be killed. If there are no heads of Manchu Tatars, there must be heads of Mongolian Tatars and Second Tatars. Cutting them in half is still a big expense. If this money is not paid, how can the soldiers fight bravely against the enemy?
Now that the situation is in adversity, the bounty amount cannot be reduced; only with consecutive battles and victories, and in good times, it is easier to kill the enemy, then reducing the bounty will not have much impact on morale.
There are also pensions for those killed in battle and disabled. For ordinary soldiers, they will be given five dan of food, two bolts of linen, and one thousand and two dollars of money. In total, it's about eight taels of silver. Those with official positions depend on their rank, which doubles as they go up. If there are orphans or widowed mothers left, the court will support them until the children are generally fifteen years old.
For this period in the late Ming Dynasty, these things were really not available, and this was also the reason for the low morale. Now in Lu Xiangsheng's army, the generals are all asking for this money, whether they really want it for their soldiers or for their own pockets. At least this money, only by paying it forward can the living people have no worries.
As a result, nearly 4,000 people under Lu Xiangsheng's command and Tianxiong's army alone were injured and disabled. Even if the lowest-level soldiers were counted, that would cost 32,000 taels of silver. If other armies are also counted, it will be far more than this number. It must be at least several times higher, so let's calculate it as 80,000 taels.
A rough calculation showed that in order to improve the morale of Lu Xiangsheng's army, nearly two hundred thousand taels of silver would be needed. After the army goes to war, the follow-up money must also be prepared. Calculated based on one month, it is just the military salary and silver reward, so one hundred thousand taels must be prepared. This does not include the weapons and horses, armor, bows and arrows, and horse food and grass. kind.
It can be said that fighting is really about fighting for money!
By the time he sat on the throne, Emperor Chongzhen already had a rough idea. Of the three hundred and ninety thousand taels of silver, three hundred thousand were allocated to Lu Xiangsheng. As for the rest, I can't control it for the time being. I can only let Lu Xiangsheng figure it out on his own.
The remaining 90,000 taels of silver will be used tomorrow to appease the soldiers of the Fourth Guard and the First Battalion under the Royal Horse Supervisor. After all, empty talk motivation, the so-called chicken soup for the soul, really won't have much effect on soldiers living on the poverty line.
Just like that, the newly acquired money had its home again without even having a chance to keep it warm. With a decree, he left the capital overnight and rushed to solve Lu Xiangsheng's problem.
Of course, real money cannot be brought by imperial envoys. Otherwise, it would be unsafe to send any number of troops, and if they encountered the Manchu and Qing Tatars, it would only be an advantage to them.
Generally speaking, like the silver in the army, half is given to the family members and half to the soldiers. For Jingying, it is very easy. Because even if the Beijing camp goes out to fight, its family members are in the capital and can be issued directly.
But now, King Qin's troops come from all over the country, so they can't distribute them to their families, nor can they be distributed to the soldiers. They can only write them down first and distribute them after the war.
By the time he finished this matter, it was already late at night, and Emperor Chongzhen only went to eat and rest at this time. When he took a look at the eavesdropping system, he discovered that Cao Huachun was still reviewing the case in the East Factory. It seems that the effect of today's tapping is not bad, let's wait for him to report the results!
Under the night, Fang Fengnian was wearing clothes in Fang Mansion, standing by the closed window, listening to the cold wind blowing outside, with a particularly heavy look on his face.
"Master, I haven't eaten anything tonight, but what's on your mind?" Seeing this, his wife asked worriedly.
"Alas!" Fang Fengnian sighed after hearing this: "The cold wind outside the window is biting. If the window is broken, it is unimaginable!"
Hearing this, his wife was stunned for a moment, and then comforted: "What do you mean, sir? How could the wind outside break this window? Besides, even if it does break, let the servants come and seal it again." Just one layer will do!”
"It's going to break soon!" Fang Fengnian replied in a low-spirited voice, "I can already feel the biting chill!"
Obviously, this isn't really talking about windows. His wife came back to her senses when she heard this. After thinking about it for a moment, she asked, "Sir, is something big going to happen in the court?"
"Yes!" Fang Fengnian nodded and said, "I've never been crazy before. Master, I'm afraid!"
After these words were spoken, there was silence in the room for a while. Finally, his wife broke the silence and said: "Master, if this is the case, then it is better to resign!"
Over the years, it has almost become commonplace for officials to be demoted and killed. Women are a little worried after all.
After hearing this, Fang Fengnian turned his head, looked at her and said, "I already submitted my resignation today, but the Emperor didn't allow it!"
"That's true. There are only three assistant ministers in the cabinet now." His wife nodded and said, "Then what should we do?"
After she finished speaking, the room fell silent again.
After a while, Fang Fengnian suddenly made a decision and said decisively: "A gentleman does not stand under a dangerous wall! No matter what, at least avoid the coming storm first!"
After he finished speaking, he shook his shoulders and shook off the coat he was wearing. Then he walked over and opened the door. Suddenly, a biting cold wind blew in, making his body tremble.
Amidst his wife's screams, Fang Fengnian strode out and said at the same time: "I'm really sick. Even if you are the emperor, you can't let me recuperate at home, right?"
His wife was stunned when she heard this. I didn't expect that at this age, the master would rather suffer from cold and illness than to avoid the turmoil in the court. How big will this turmoil be?
Thinking of this, she couldn't help but feel a little scared. At the same time, I am also a little relieved. The master is so wise and courageous!
However, such a cabinet minister was not very responsible for the Ming Dynasty. And this can be regarded as a common problem in officialdom in the late Ming Dynasty!
