Chapter 493 Unless it is a betrothal gift!
In the afterglow of the setting sun, the cavalry passed through Yumen Pass and galloped all the way eastward.
Wherever the cavalry, representing the return from a great victory, passed, the soldiers stationed or patrolling along the way all saluted respectfully and excitedly, and spread the news that the commander-in-chief had returned from the pass.
"Our army has killed all 18,000 Beidi bandits! This battle is a great victory!"
"The general has personally led the army back to the camp!"
“…”
The news quickly spread to the temporary camp of Xuan Ce's army inside Yumen Pass, and the generals in the camp were cheered up: "Quick, quickly welcome the general!"
As Cui Jing and his entourage approached the military camp, all the soldiers came forward to salute them.
"Welcome to the victorious General!"
"Grand Commander!"
The soldiers gathered around him, calling him all sorts of names, all with their eyes fixed on the young man on horseback.
The tall and straight young man jumped off his horse. The armor on his body shone coldly in the night and the firelight, and there were still dark and mottled bloodstains on it.
When he was not in battle, in order to travel more conveniently, he only wore a light armor, without a helmet on his head, and his black hair was tied up with a crown, a strand of hair fell down, diluting the sharp and cold air between his brows.
Accompanied by his subordinates, the young man walked towards the big tent. On the way, he asked the subordinates who stayed in the camp, "Has the court allocated military pay recently?"
When he first led his army to meet the enemy, he wrote a letter to the capital, asking the court to allocate military pay on time, one because of the current war, and the other to prepare for recruiting soldiers later.
The general who was asked looked less happy, and after a moment of silence, he said, "To the commander-in-chief, no."
Before the Northern Di invaded, the imperial court had already delayed paying military salaries. At that time, their army was running low on food, and it was the Grand Commander and the Anbei Protectorate that raised money from other places.
Afterwards, the Northern Di suddenly made unusual movements. The court initially took it very seriously, and even became a little panicked, fearing that the war would be delayed due to the lack of food and money. Therefore, the court finally rushed the previously delayed food and money.
But the food and money were only enough to support the army for two or three months. In the face of the letter from the Grand Commander, the court did not give a clear reply. However, a commendatory imperial edict was delivered not long ago, which said: "With the Xuan Ce Army stationed in the northern border, I feel at ease."
It sounds like they rely heavily on their Xuan Ce Army.
But if you only talk nicely but don't provide enough money and food, how can you be considered as relying on someone?
It seems that the more useful children are, the less cared for they are, and they are destined to suffer the most and receive the most worries.
After entering the tent, a straightforward subordinate said: "... With the intermittent food and wages sent by the court, it's good enough to barely feed us. Don't even think about recruiting soldiers!"
He added: "They think it's simple, as if they can win this battle and then they will be able to win every time! But this is just a small matter, the big trouble is still to come. There are hundreds of thousands of elite cavalrymen from the Northern Di who have been resting for many years waiting for us, and we only have 80,000 people! If we don't recruit soldiers quickly, how can we fight this battle later?"
"If that happens..." The subordinate swallowed the unlucky words and frowned, "We will be the ones to bear the blame!"
Some people signaled him to stop talking, while others were also frowning or dissatisfied with the court's actions.
Cui Jing took off his sword and sat cross-legged behind the desk.
At this time, another deputy general hesitated to speak: "I heard something, but I don't know whether I should tell you or not..."
The outspoken middle-aged man glared at him: "If you want to talk, just talk! Why don't you learn the good things and focus on learning those slow things?"
Seeing Cui Jing, who was sitting behind the desk, looking up at him, the deputy general said, "I heard that the court did not directly respond to the governor's request to recruit soldiers, not only because the court's treasury is empty and it is difficult to pay for food and wages..."
War has always been the most expensive, and there are many precedents of a country's finances being dragged down by war. Moreover, the current Dasheng is facing internal and external troubles, and it is already at the end of its rope.
However, wars also have priorities. For the sake of the overall situation, it is a consensus among those who govern the country to allocate money and grain to more important areas. However, everyone measures the importance of wars from a different perspective.
Many officials in the court believed that after the battle of Yumen Pass, the Northern Di would not dare to attack again in the short term, and the top priority was to resolve internal troubles in various places.
In addition, a small number of officials mentioned another concern:
The deputy general who was speaking at this time was an old acquaintance of an eunuch in Ganlu Palace. What he said at this moment was the eunuch's kind reminder: "... Several officials privately advised the Saint that the Grand Commander could easily kill the Northern Di cavalry this time, but at the same time he wrote a letter requesting massive recruitment of soldiers. I am afraid that he is deliberately exaggerating the crisis and taking the opportunity to expand his power in the northern border!"
When these words were spoken, several generals in the tent became furious.
"The Grand Commander led us through life and death here, and they are staying in the capital, yet they have such cruel speculations!"
"Which officials said this bullshit? Tell me their names!"
Cui Jing did not have too many emotional fluctuations: "Some of them may have different intentions, or they may be frightened birds. Don't pay attention to them."
He had heard these speculations many times before, but he had never cared about them before, perhaps because he himself had never considered himself a so-called loyal minister.
"We can ignore them!" said the straightforward subordinate, "But what about the Saint? What does the Saint mean now?"
Everyone had different expressions and no one answered him.
Seeing this, the subordinate sighed heavily, feeling annoyed and dejected for a moment. He half-knelt down carelessly, put one hand across his legs, frowned his thick eyebrows, and said nothing.
If he had to say something, he felt that the current imperial court, from top to bottom, inside and out, was almost completely rotten!
Sometimes he even wondered, is there any point for them to fight to the death here? But the next moment, he had the answer in his mind - they were the Xuan Ce Army.
Xuan Ce's army fought for the country and its people and would never retreat even a single step.
The Northern Di tribe is brutal and savage, and the northern border must be defended! However, how long can they hold on with such determination?
The tent, which should have been filled with cheers and celebrations for the victory, was now plunged into confusion and depression.
Until Cui Jing spoke up: "Recruiting soldiers is imperative."
Everyone subconsciously looked at their young coach.
Most of them were older than Cui Jing, but after years of fighting side by side, they had long regarded this young general as the real backbone, the leader of the army whom they could trust and follow.
Cui Jing said decisively: "This matter cannot be delayed. I still have some available funds in my private treasury. For the rest, I will discuss solutions with several Jiedushis in Longyou and Guannei."
Once he was determined to do something, he would do it and would not change his mind because of the attitude or suspicion of the court or the emperor.
Hearing this, all the generals responded, but they still felt a little heavy in their hearts. Longyou and several places within the pass were not rich, so how could this matter be so easy to solve? At this time, a voice came from outside the tent: "Grand Commander, Mr. Jiao is here to see you!"
Mr. Jiao is a strategist in Xuan Ce's army. He recently returned to the Anbei Protectorate camp to coordinate rear-end affairs. He just arrived here today. When he heard that the commander-in-chief had returned to the camp, he hurried over to ask for a meeting.
Mr. Jiao entered the tent, bowed and said with a smile: "Congratulations to the commander-in-chief for his great victory!"
However, as he finished speaking, he looked at the people in the tent and felt that the atmosphere was not right - they had just won a battle, so why did everyone have such sad faces?
The subordinate squatting on the ground snorted muffledly, half turned his body, changed direction and continued squatting.
Victory, what's the use of victory? The more capable and responsible a child is, the easier it is to be bullied in this broken family! As long as you are willing to work hard, there will be endless work. As long as you are willing to endure hardships, there will be endless hardships! All these are fine, but when you are tired and suffer, you will be suspected by others! Mr. Jiao saw this dead and resentful atmosphere, vaguely guessed something, and smiled and said: "Grand Commander, we can start preparing to recruit soldiers."
The subordinate squatting on the ground turned his head and asked: "What are we going to use to raise funds? Are we going to each carry a sack and go outside to carry back a bag of sand to chew on?"
The more he spoke, the angrier he became. He simply felt that this was what the imperial court was thinking - they wished they would just fight to the death and not eat a single grain of food from the imperial court!
Hearing this, Mr. Jiao stroked his beard and laughed, shaking his head and said, "That's a naughty way of saying it!"
"..." The subordinate's mouth twitched fiercely. Sometimes he really envied the optimism and open-mindedness of these counselors.
Cui Jing seemed to have noticed something and looked at Mr. Jiao: "Have you heard any news, sir?"
Mr. Jiao smiled and bowed again, then said, "Reporting to the Grand Commander, someone has donated 7 million strings of silver to our army, which can enable us to recruit 100,000 soldiers, and we don't have to worry about food and wages for at least three years!"
"——What?!" The man squatting on the ground suddenly jumped up: "How many strings of cash?!"
Mr. Jiao smiled and said, "A total of seven million strings of cash."
Or maybe it was too sudden. The subordinate only felt a black screen before his eyes - he had never dreamed of such a large amount of money when he dreamed of picking up money from a sack! He suddenly understood the optimism and open-mindedness of the military advisor just now... At this moment, he suddenly became terribly open-minded! The hostility that had tightly entangled him just now suddenly dissipated! The subordinate named Gong Dou seemed to have suddenly become cheerful and honest: "Military advisor, are you really not kidding? I wonder who gave this gift to you!"
"How can this be a joke?" Mr. Jiao said with a smile, "It's not someone else, it's the governor of Jiangdu -"
"Envoy Chang!" Gong Dou suddenly became more cheerful: "So it's Envoy Chang!"
"General Yuanxiang is in charge of the escort of this trip. He sent a message to the Anbei Protectorate camp earlier. It is said that Envoy Chang has asked General Yuanxiang and others to buy military rations and other supplies along the way, so the journey is slow." Mr. Jiao said, "I have sent someone to meet them."
Cui Jing was still in shock when a deputy general suddenly said, "Mr. Jiao, this is what you did wrong! You took such a large sum of money without even an explanation. It's for no reason. I say you can't accept it!"
Gong Dou was so angry that he glared and was about to ask, "Why are you so noble?" Suddenly, he heard his comrade change the subject: "Except for the extraordinary envoy to make it clear, this is the betrothal money for our Grand Commander!"
"Otherwise, we won't be able to take this money with peace of mind, right?"
As soon as these words were spoken, a burst of friendly laughter and voices of agreement suddenly rang out in the tent.
Cui Jing was stunned for a moment, and although he seemed calm on his face, his ears suddenly turned red. He slowly clenched his fist to his lips and coughed lightly, with a rare smile of joy on the corner of his mouth.
"That's wrong." Mr. Jiao smiled and said, "Envoy Chang said that this is not for the Grand Commander, but for the soldiers guarding the northern border."
When Cui Jing heard this, he didn't know what he was thinking about, but the smile on his face deepened a little.
After hearing the words "It's for the soldiers guarding the northern border", the joking atmosphere among the crowd disappeared for the most part, and everyone was moved from the bottom of their hearts.
When they were in Youzhou, most of them were already familiar with Chang Suining and had left a very good impression on him. Now that he had come to their aid, they were grateful and it was hard not to be impressed.
But, seven million guan...
The people who were dazzled by this huge sum of money that fell from the sky came to their senses. Someone couldn't help but ask: "Envoy Chang has only been in Jiangdu for a few years. I wonder where did this 7 million strings of cash come from?"
Even if it were placed in the national treasury, this would be a huge sum of money.
"This matter should not be disclosed to outsiders, but General Yuanxiang revealed something in his letter..." Mr. Jiao lowered his voice at the right time: "According to Envoy Changjie, this is the family business left by our ancestors."
"…ancestors in the family?"
Someone soon responded: "So, is there any other hidden story behind Envoy Feichang's life?"
The tent was immediately in an uproar, with everyone discussing and speculating.
Deputy General Yu was inexplicably excited and tried to interact with his own Grand Commander, but when he turned around, he saw that the Grand Commander was still calm, without any fluctuation.
Cui Jing's calmness was not without reason. After all, he knew too well who the "ancestors" that Chang Suining mentioned were - being one's own ancestor and supporting oneself with the family business left behind could no longer be taken for granted.
Hmm…so, his earlier act of giving money was probably unnecessary.
But even though it was so redundant, she still accepted it, didn't she?
Moreover, she said that this time the seven million strings of cash were not for him, but for the generals and soldiers - so it was not a return.
After everyone discussed [what kind of shocking life story Envoy Chang Jie had hidden], Gong Dou suddenly said: "Since it is given to us, we should thank the Grand Commander!"
Gong Dou said with a sincere face: "If there was no Grand Commander, we would not have the opportunity to have such an intersection with Envoy Chang Jie, and we would not have been able to have such help from Envoy Chang Jie!"
Everyone quickly agreed and looked at Cui Jing with gratitude.
Deputy General Yu was watching from the side and felt that this situation seemed like... the whole family was grateful to the commander-in-chief for finding a good family so that everyone could live a good life by benefiting from it.
Cui Jing was silent for a moment because of this subtle feeling.
He knew that this was a joke, but he still corrected her, "No, even without me, she would still be like this."
This is the connection between Xuan Ce Army and her. She cares about the safety of Da Sheng more than anyone else.
She made this choice not out of her personal relationship with Cui Jing, otherwise it would be a disregard for her contribution to this land.
The seven million strings of cash were not given to him, but she gave him something more important - choice and entrustment.
She chose to entrust the Xuan Ce Army and the Northern Territory to him.
He thought this was something only for Cui Lingan.
Good night everyone.
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