"Shixun, from the day I met you, I treated you as my own brother. Later, as your reputation grew and you became a source of suspicion, I was sent by the royal family to monitor you."
He Ji didn't know what stimulated him, and even said the word "surveillance".
Zhang Shixun quickly stopped him: "Brother He, be careful with your words. Walls have ears."
He Ji didn't care at all and continued, "I come from a family of generals. My father was the Chief of the Infantry Department and was highly regarded by the government. When you joined the First Army for training, the court initially took it lightly. Gradually, they began to worry, and that's why they sent me to the First Army as your deputy... Alas! A so-called deputy is actually no different from a military supervisor. I have to report your every word and action to Prince Yun."
Zhang Shixun chuckled, "I can tell everyone what I have done. It is all for the Song Dynasty and the people. I can be honest with myself."
"For the Song Dynasty, for the common people, why don't you mention the royal family?" He Ji curled his lips. "As a brother, please stop saying these empty words. I have been aware of some of the things you did in private, but I just pretended not to know."
"I……"
"You don't need to explain." He Ji waved his hand. "I know you care about the world, and nothing you do is for personal gain. So, after you leave the capital, I will selectively report your every word and action to the emperor, and only pick out the good things to say."
Zhang Shixun bowed and said, "Brother He, thank you very much."
"Shixun, there are some things that even if I don't tell them, the imperial court will know about them. I can't hide them... Let me ask you, where did Li Moulue and the thousand or so old and weak soldiers go?"
Zhang Shixun's expression froze, and he evaded the question, "Li Moulue didn't want to be an official, so he left. As for the old, weak, and disabled soldiers, I dismissed them all."
"Okay, let's put that aside for now. Let me ask you again, why are the initial statistics on the food and weapons we seized so different from the later ones?"
"After a war, there's chaos and it's normal for the statistics to be inaccurate."
"Half a difference is not normal."
Zhang Shixun opened his mouth and was about to answer, but He Ji stopped him, saying, "You don't need to explain. I'm not blaming you, but I want to tell you that if you treat me as a brother, you shouldn't hide certain things from me. Over time, brothers will become estranged."
"Brother He, listen to me."
"Okay! Go ahead."
"Some things I haven't told you are actually for your consideration. As someone sent by the government, if you know something and don't report it, you would be committing the crime of deceiving the emperor."
He Ji was about to continue speaking when Han Shizhong arrived.
Zhang Shixun looked up and asked, "Commander Han, do you want to talk to me?"
Han Shizhong said, "The silver we seized this time is worth tens of thousands of taels. The soldiers must have worked hard, right?"
He Ji said with a stern face, "The seized silver, no matter how much, must be turned over to the court."
"Let's just report less."
"Commander Han, do you know what the consequences of doing this are?"
"What's the result?"
"Chop off the head."
"As long as no one says anything, the court won't know."
"There's no such thing as an impenetrable wall. The First Army has thousands of people. Can you guarantee that no one will leak anything?"
"this……"
Zhang Shixun looked at the two of them with a smile without saying a word.
Han Shizhong said to him with a red face: "As the leader of an army, please don't be silent."
"What do you want me to say?"
"Of course it's about the money. We've all been with you through thick and thin, fighting bloody battles. You can't just leave them with nothing, right? If you do that, it'll chill the hearts of our brothers."
"Oh! When did Uncle start speaking so elegantly? He's been through the open air, fighting bloody battles... Who taught you that?"
"No one taught me. I learned it from the storyteller in the tile house."
Zhang Shixun laughed, "It seems that listening to books can also help you learn knowledge."
Han Shizhong said, "Knowledge is useless, money is useful... Tell me clearly today, do you dare to give money to the brothers?"
"We have no right to give it out," He Ji said. "We won the battle and captured so much loot. The court will definitely give us some kind of reward."
Han Shizhong blushed and said, "Don't you know what kind of people those people in the court are? Once the money falls into their hands, it's like throwing meat buns at a dog. It's gone forever."
Zhang Shixun saw that he was about to get angry, so he asked him, "Uncle, how do you want to divide the silver?"
"The soldiers should get at least one or two taels, and those above the rank of captain should get at least fifty, sixty, seventy or eighty taels."
"Tsk!" Zhang Shixun curled his lips. "Uncle! People still call you Han Powu, but this is all you can do."
"What...what do you mean?"
"Each soldier receives ten taels, and meritorious service earns another ten taels. Banner chiefs also receive ten taels. Those above the rank of captain receive between one hundred and three hundred taels."
Han Shizhong opened his mouth wide and looked at him in surprise.
My nephew is really awesome as a military leader.
It's impossible not to admire it.
"No!" He Ji hurriedly stopped him, "If we do this, the court will definitely punish us."
Zhang Shixun said nonchalantly, "Old He, just be at peace. If the court blames me, I will bear the responsibility alone."
He Ji said decisively: "No, listen to my advice, don't divide the silver."
Zhang Shixun ignored him and asked, "How much gold and silver were seized in total?"
"Over 13,000 taels of gold, 125,000 taels of silver... Shixun, you must not divide them."
Zhang Shixun laughed and said, "Old He, you come from a family of military commanders, you shouldn't be so timid."
"This... this is not something you can be brave about. It's a violation of the law and a capital crime."
"The imperial court doesn't know how much we've captured. After distributing it to the soldiers, the rest can be handed over to the imperial court. We've wiped out the rebels, and they should be overjoyed to receive so much gold and silver."
"this……"
Zhang Shixun pulled him out of the tent and said, "Stop nagging. Let's go and distribute the silver to the brothers."
Han Shizhong grabbed his other arm and said casually, "General He, let's go quickly. The brothers are all waiting anxiously."
On that day, the military camp was filled with cheers, and everyone's face was filled with smiles, whether they were soldiers or officers.
"Keep your mouths shut! If anyone dares to tell anyone about the division of the silver, I, Han Powu, will chop off his head and kick it like a ball."
"The military commander risked his life to distribute this silver to everyone. Anyone who dares to tell others about it will be killed!"
…
Han Shizhong and the officers went into different tents and told them to keep their mouths shut and keep the secret.
The soldiers gained great benefits, and everyone swore to keep the secret.
They also reminded each other that anyone who dared to go out and talk nonsense would be killed by the people in the first battalion.
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