Seeing Li Chang'an stand up, the group of military officers had a bad feeling.

They hated it most when the civil officials talked on and on at banquets, and only then could they start eating.

Halfway through the meal, they even played drinking games to liven things up.

They're fine with finger-guessing games, but when it comes to drinking games, they're completely clueless.

Apart from the two most talented writers, Lao Yue and Lao Xin, who could write some poems, the others could only produce poems like "Lotus flowers float in the lotus pond, and a male toad embraces a female toad's waist."

Some people don't even know many characters, yet they spout off brothel doggerel like "a ditch three feet off the ground, with water flowing all year round."

So the group of military officers wore bitter expressions, preparing to listen to the long-winded discourse of this divine disciple.

Li Chang'an, holding a bowl of wine, said, "First of all, there's plenty of food, so everyone must eat well!"

"Secondly, there's plenty of rice wine, so everyone should drink to their heart's content."

"And lastly, everyone must eat and drink well."

"I've finished speaking. Who agrees? Who disagrees?"

The military officers were taken aback for a moment upon hearing this, then burst into cheers: "Well said, Lord Marquis!"

"Yes, yes, yes, I think that's much better than what those civil officials said."

"Me too!"

Li Chang'an picked up his wine cup and drank it all in one gulp: "Since everyone agrees, let's begin the feast!"

As he announced the start of the banquet, all the military officers beamed with joy, each feeling that this Marquis was easygoing and approachable.

General Pan Feng, holding a chicken leg in one hand and a wine glass in the other, was drinking enthusiastically with his colleagues.

"I'll do it, everyone else can do as they please!"

He downed the wine in his bowl in one gulp, then peeled off the bottom of the bowl, proudly looking around to show everyone that he had drunk it all, which drew cheers from the crowd.

Hearing the cheers, Pan Feng sat up for a moment, his expression somewhat serious. He looked at Xing Rong, who was sitting next to him, and quietly gestured for him to look up.

"What's wrong?"

Xing Rongdao looked around but didn't find anything amiss, so he couldn't help but ask.

Pan Feng whispered in his ear, "Look at those people wearing flying fish robes."

Upon hearing this, Xing Daorong looked up at Zhao Hu, Chen Da, and the others. Only then did he notice that the group of Marquis's personal guards, dressed in flying fish robes, were eating in a rather strange manner.

Everyone ate with their heads held high and chests out, quietly, unlike others who would boast or play drinking games.

Furthermore, they take food in a very orderly manner. Only after one person has finished taking food will it be the next person's turn. With nine people at the table, there will never be a situation where two people take food from the same plate at the same time.

There was wine on the table, but no one drank it.

They would only drink the wine in their bowls when the Marquis came to offer them a toast.

The one pouring the wine on the table was Zhao Hu, the newly appointed General Longxiang and the Marquis's student.

At each table, the person pouring the wine was the highest-ranking official.

Xing Daorong watched for a while, and his expression also became serious.

He always felt that the Yue Family Army under General Yue was the most disciplined army in the Ming Dynasty.

However, when he looked at Li Chang'an's personal guards, he couldn't help but make comparisons. Then he realized that the discipline of Yue Family Army when eating and drinking was completely incomparable to that of the others.

Pan Feng looked at the guards of the Marquis's mansion in front of her with a hint of envy in her eyes.

"Do you understand? I heard that the Marquis's personal guards get five taels of silver a month, with food and lodging provided, and plenty of meat and fish every day. Apart from the strict schedule and daily training, there are no other requirements."

He also wanted to train such a force, but he didn't have the money or the ability to do so.

Upon hearing this, Xing Daorong whispered, "That's not all!"

"I heard that when a bodyguard is promoted one rank, he becomes a squad leader, and his income increases fivefold to twenty-five taels of silver a month. In addition, there are all kinds of subsidies. Each of his children can receive five hundred catties of rice a year, as well as various subsidies such as lard, eggs, and salt."

"Based on this calculation, a squad leader can actually earn about fifty taels a month."

Upon hearing this, Pan Feng sneered, "Fifty taels? Don't you think too highly of this Marquis Anping?"

"In the case of Yan Song, his personal guards were distributed according to their merits. Because there were not enough people to carry out the executions, they borrowed one of their men from me."

"Do you know how much money was distributed when an official was executed by slow slicing?"

Pan Feng and Xing Daorong unconsciously raised their voices, attracting the attention of the other military officers: "How much?"

They were also very curious, having all heard that Marquis Anping was a generous spender, lavishly giving money to his subordinates.

However, they couldn't find out the specific income; they only knew that Li Chang'an was recruiting soldiers recently, with a monthly salary of five taels of silver.

Seeing everyone surrounding her, Pan Feng, slightly tipsy from the alcohol, exclaimed, "Oh dear, how come this bowl of wine is empty?"

The military officers who were closer to him quickly filled his cups: "Old Pan, you're well-informed, tell us what's going on."

Pan Feng picked up his wine cup and took a sip: "One of my men borrowed the wine for half a day, and the Marquis rewarded him with fifty taels."

"Whoosh!"

The generals were in an uproar, as those who could attend the banquet were mostly generals of the fifth rank or above.

The salaries of military officers in the Ming Dynasty were not high. A first-rank military officer only received 500 taels of silver a year. Their main source of income was still from receiving salaries without actually working.

However, this "ghost salary" wasn't so easy to come by, since the amount of military pay issued by the imperial court each month was decreasing.

A fifth-rank garrison general like Xing Daorong only received ten taels of silver a month. With the addition of the salary for those who didn't actually work and other expenses, he would receive a maximum of thirty taels a month.

They even risked their lives to earn this income, which was earned through receiving a salary without working, and the Ministry of War would split the earnings 30/70.

They also had to flatter the civil officials in the Ministry of War and watch their faces to make money.

It's almost like begging on your knees, and yet many people still rush to kneel and beg in front of the military department.

One of Pan Feng's men, who had only been out working for an afternoon, received fifty taels of silver, earning more than Pan Feng, a fifth-rank garrison commander, and without having to kneel.

This made the other generals somewhat envious, even jealous.

"The case of Yan Song, one of the Marquis's personal guards, should be worth several hundred taels of silver."

Pan Feng downed the wine in his bowl in one gulp, letting out a series of cold laughs: "Several hundred taels of silver, heh heh!"

"The Marquis of Anping distributed the 95.27 million taels of silver confiscated from the Yan family to the people of the entire capital."

"So he ran out of money, and then this immortal disciple gave my subordinate a reward of fifty taels of gold."

"Holy crap—"

Xing Daorong couldn't help but exclaim in surprise, then quickly covered his mouth: "Five hundred taels of silver, that's five years' salary for me!"

He clasped his hands together and asked, "Old Pan, we're all brothers who eat from the same pot, you can't lie to us."

Pan Feng lowered his head, gathered the military officers around him together, and whispered, "If I lie to you, my whole family will die. Anyway, I've made up my mind. After this meal, I'll see if I can find a way to seek refuge with this Marquis."

"As long as the money is right, I'd be willing to do anything for this marquis, even if he rebelled."