Jiuxi

Chapter 379 Chapter 377 [The first fire]

The problem of military pay arrears has existed since ancient times.

In fact, this situation occurs not only for the Beijing army, but also for the border army to pay military salaries in full and on time. After all, the Rui Shi battalion led by Lu Chen is just a special case.

It’s not that Xiao Wangzhi or Li Tianrun also have the bad habit of drinking soldiers’ blood, but it’s just that the imperial court was not so active in allocating salaries. Last year, if Xue Nanting had not personally raised food, grass and military salaries under great pressure, Left Prime Minister Li Daoyan would not have had too much If they interfere and provide certain support, the Huaizhou Governor's Office may not be able to prepare for the Northern Expedition.

What faced Lu Chen was such a realistic problem.

If you want the horses to run, you have to feed them. If he wants to hold these three Beijing armies in the palm of his hand and transform them according to his expectations, the first thing that must be resolved is the arrears of wages for the soldiers.

There has never been a situation in this world where tens of thousands of people would worship you as soon as you let go of your domineering aura. In the final analysis, it is all about profit.

If Lu Chen could easily solve the soldiers' difficulties, then they would not be forcing him to surrender, but would be cheering and worshiping him from the bottom of his heart.

vice versa.

Of course, if the situation suddenly develops to such an intense level, someone must be secretly fueling the situation, and Lu Chen knows this very well.

Le Qinyi, the Minister of Household Affairs, and the Le Minghong in front of him both came from the Xingshan Le family. Even this relationship could not make Le Qinyi relent. It can be seen that the decision to default on the military pay for the Beijing army was not Le Qinyi's decision alone.

The next moment, everyone from the capital commanders such as Le Minghong to the mid-level generals such as Luo Lelin to the more than 30,000 soldiers on the school field suddenly changed their expressions.

Zuo Yushan wanted to laugh in his heart, and was a little curious whether Lu Chen would believe this.

Le Minghong didn't understand what he meant, while Zuo Yushan and Yan Bing also looked confused.

Lu Chen did not immediately reply to Le Minghong's suggestion. He just looked at the capital commander calmly.

It was the two thousand cavalry that Lu Chen brought back from the border.

Although there were only 2,000 cavalry, the more than 30,000 people on the campus simply did not have the courage to fight against them.

If money and wages were so easy to come by, wouldn't those gentlemen in Beijing become Buddhas?
If the young prince truly believed what Le Minghong said, he would undoubtedly suffer defeat in the Privy Council and the Hubu Yamen. Does he still have the courage to bloodbath the Hubu Yamen?
Yan Bing, who was standing on the other side, wanted to remind Lu Chen, but he had already been warned sternly by Le Minghong's eyes just now, so he could only remain silent now.

Lu Chen thought these issues carefully, so he said to Le Minghong: "General Le, there is no need to go to such trouble."

He couldn't help but hurriedly alert himself, and then stepped forward and said sincerely: "General, why don't you take us back to the capital, go to Privy Guo first and then to Yue Shangshu, maybe we can get the salary. In this way It can also give an explanation to the soldiers."

Le Minghong stepped forward to dissuade him, as did Zuo Yushan and Yan Bing.

These people thought that he was a young boy who was ignorant of officialdom, but they did not know that he had been a man for two generations. Even if he had never eaten pork, he had seen pigs running around. He was well aware of the deniability of those old bureaucrats.

When Le Minghong was secretly proud, he met the deep look in Lu Chen's eyes.

After a while, bursts of muffled thunder sounded in the west of the earth.

The imperial court's tax revenue is relatively fixed. If it continues to increase support for the border troops as it did in the past two years, it will inevitably need to tighten expenditures in other areas, such as the salaries of the Beijing army, the salaries of imperial officials, and providing relief to victims of disasters and supporting people's livelihood.

At this moment, they were all covered with murderous aura, and under their crotches were tall horses that kept neighing. Just this terrifying impact right in front of them made the soldiers of the Beijing army tremble.

Seeing these fierce cavalry rushing from both sides, surrounding the three Beijing armies, Le Minghong couldn't help but have an absurd thought in his mind - didn't the general want to treat them as enemies?
"General, calm down!"

I saw smoke billowing as two thousand cavalrymen galloped forward without any hindrance, rushing straight into the Zhenwei Army camp, then splitting into two and galloping toward both sides of the school grounds.

There are two problems involved. One is that the imperial court has been unable to make ends meet in the past two years. The treasury has gradually dried up and it really cannot produce enough money.

This cavalry came from the Ruishi Battalion, and a considerable number of them followed Lu Chen and fought with the Yanjing coalition outside Guangling City. They can be called the elite among the elite.

The second is that someone is secretly working to use this method to arouse dissatisfaction among the soldiers of the Beijing Army, thereby forcing the upper echelons of the imperial court to modify national policies, appropriately reduce support for the border troops, and transfer part of the resources to the Beijing Army. This is essentially The cake distribution problem.

Lu Chen looked at them with a strange expression and said calmly: "Why am I so angry?"

The three of them were startled at the same time, and soon they saw Lu Chen walking to the edge of the high platform and saying to the soldiers below: "Actually, before I came to the military parade today, I already knew that you are owed three months of salary. This is nothing. Top secret matters are recorded in Nanya."

After hearing these words, the school grounds finally became completely quiet. Perhaps another reason was that the momentum of the cavalry was really intimidating.

Lu Chen continued: "I know that it is difficult for soldiers to support their families. This salary is even the only income of some soldiers' families. Therefore, I specially reported this matter to Your Majesty. Your Majesty said that both the Beijing army and the frontier army are Da Qi's. How can your good son make everyone bleed and shed tears?"

As soon as the last five words were spoken, many of the top soldiers on the school field were stunned on the spot.

Lu Chen said sincerely: "Soldiers, the imperial court is indeed in difficulty recently, but His Majesty does not want everyone to suffer, so he asked the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue to squeeze out some money, and also took it from the palace treasury, which was not well-off. A sum of money is enough to cover everyone’s salary for three months. Let me bring it here today and give it to you on the spot!”

Le Minghong, who was standing behind, looked slightly pale.

There was silence between heaven and earth, except for the howling summer wind.

"Long live your Majesty! Long live! Long live!"

I don't know who led the shouting, and then most of the soldiers from the Beijing Army shouted sincerely.

"Come here, bring me the money!" Lu Chen raised his voice and sounded around.

Only then did everyone notice that behind the two thousand cavalry were two large carts with several boxes placed on them.

The cart arrived in front of the general station, and as the driver opened several boxes, white silver coins appeared in front of everyone's eyes.

"Wow—"

Although only the soldiers in front could see the silver in the box, the sound of exclamation swept through the entire audience like a wave.

Lu Chen said at the right time: "Soldiers, there has always been a rule under my command that pay and silver must be paid in full, and no one is allowed to deduct a penny. I don't care what other armies do, but under my command, no one is allowed to drink troops. Blood. If anyone dares to reach out, I will cut off your hands!"

Before the words could be spoken, two thousand cavalrymen around them shouted angrily in unison: "Kill!"

There are no words to describe the mood of the Beijing soldiers at this moment. The lower-level soldiers, who accounted for the absolute majority, looked at the young prince on the general stage. At this moment, they only felt that the figure was extremely tall.

Lu Chen continued: "From now on, everyone will receive their pay for these three months in order according to the order of army, regiment and battalion. I am watching here. If anyone wants to try military law, you can let me see it." !”

Even though some people had previously suspected that Lu Chen was making a courtesy promise, they had nothing to say after hearing these words.

The school grounds immediately became lively, and the three Beijing armies began to distribute arrears of military pay on the spot according to their respective affiliations.

Every soldier who received their pay felt a little unbelievable, because this was the first time they had received full military pay since they joined the army. They held the silver in their hands or put it on their bodies, feeling the heavy weight, and looked at the young prince on the general stage again, their eyes unknowingly showing a little more respect.

No matter whether it was Le Minghong and others, or the mid-level generals who came from Jiangnan families, no one dared to openly say no even if they knew that this was Lu Chen's way of winning people's hearts.

If you really want to say that, even if Lu Chen doesn't say a word, the group of Kuhaha people with his support can tear up the people who stop them from receiving the money on the spot.

The distribution of military pay lasted for a long time and was about to end at noon.

Lu Chen stood at the edge of the high platform, calmly watching the chaotic and lively scene below. It was not until the last soldier received his pay that he took a breath and said loudly: "Soldiers, as long as I am still serving as General, as long as I take care of you for one day, your salary will be paid in full and on time, and no one can take away the money that belongs to you!"

"If one day I break my promise, you can no longer trust me as a general. No matter what I say, you can treat it as bullshit!"

It is decisive and decisive.

The more than 30,000 soldiers on the campus were stunned, and then they roared with gratitude and emotion: "Thank you, General! I am willing to die for the General!"

Perhaps in the future arduous training and fierce battles in the future, they will also feel resentment towards Lu Chen, but at least at this moment, in front of a high-ranking general who still treats them as human beings, this promise The blood contained in it is no less than that of the frontier army.

Qin Zilong watched quietly, and only now did he slightly acknowledge the Beijing soldiers below.

Lu Chen turned back to look at the three commanders, and finally his eyes fell on Le Minghong's face, and he said calmly: "General Le, can you do what I said and not deduct the soldiers' pay?"

Le Minghong suddenly felt a hint of ridicule in this young man's eyes.

At this time, he didn't understand why Lu Chen had studied the situation of the three Beijing armies very deeply. At the same time, he predicted that the first meeting would not be peaceful, and he was sure that they would make a fuss about the soldiers' arrears of military pay, intending to use this matter. It gave Lu Chen a show of strength and further damaged his prestige in the hearts of the soldiers.

However, Lu Chen has been in the military for nearly twenty years. What kind of tricks has he not seen before?

What's more, the conflict between him and the Jiangnan family has been made public, and it would be abnormal for Le Minghong and others not to cause trouble.

He could easily resolve this problem with just one move, and at the same time, he could win over the hearts and minds of the lower-level soldiers openly, and no one could find fault with him.

After Le Minghong thought about these methods, a chill suddenly surged in his heart, and he said respectfully: "General, please rest assured, the general will definitely restrain himself and the generals below, and must abide by the rules set by the general."

The other two people also quickly expressed their opinions.

Lu Chen smiled slightly and said smoothly: "That's very good, but there will be some unpleasant things next. I hope the three generals can continue to support me."

Le Minghong's heart trembled, and he said cautiously: "Please give me some instructions, General."

Lu Chen looked back at the two carts below. There was a box on top that had not been opened.

He raised his eyes and looked at the jubilant soldiers of the Beijing army, and said loudly: "I know that there are indeed some problems in the Beijing army. I don't like procrastination, so I took this opportunity today to settle accounts with some people. "

As soon as these words came out, some generals on the campus looked obviously panicked.

The same is true for Le Minghong and others.

Lu Chen's eyes were slightly cold and he said in a more serious tone: "You deceive your superiors and conceal your subordinates, embezzle military pay, grant military positions privately, and ignore military discipline. Don't think that no one knows what some of you do. It's not that you don't report that the time has not come. Today You have to figure it out clearly."

He paused slightly and raised his hand to point to the last closed box on the cart.

"Open the box!"

(End of this chapter)