Seeing that the time was ripe, Ding Bu'er secretly took out a sound-recording stone and placed it in a hidden place.
"Lord Shen, our brothers haven't received their pay for six months. General Huang said that His Majesty intends to completely abandon us and establish a new army to replace us."
"What can we do? Our brothers in the army rely on their pay to survive. Without that livelihood, we'll all starve to death. What else can we do but rebel?"
After saying this, Lü Yue raised his glass and drank it down. The other generals also sighed, their faces full of helplessness.
After all, rebellion is extremely risky, with a success rate close to zero. It's like being caught in a game of "Eliminating Nine Clans" – a one-time benefit. No one would be willing to take such a risk unless absolutely necessary.
Upon hearing this, Shen Zhao sighed and said, "I understand your feelings, but if I may be frank, the imperial court is indeed facing some difficulties right now, but the annual military pay issued to the border troops has never been reduced by a single penny."
Furthermore, while it's true that the imperial court is training a new army and disbanding the old one, those being disbanded are mostly the elderly and infirm. Moreover, each disbanded soldier receives a pension based on their length of service, enough to buy a few acres of land and support their family.
As for your claim that the imperial court intends to abandon you, to be honest, this is the first time I've ever heard of such a thing.
Of course, the latter part, "lay off the elderly and infirm and properly resettle them," was entirely fabricated by Shen Zhao himself; he had no idea how Yu Xiyan actually carried out the operation.
But none of that matters. As long as I can fool these guys for now, what happens later is none of my business.
"Is everything you're saying true?"
Lu Yue asked, her face full of disbelief.
"Whether it's true or false, General Lü, can't you use your own brain to think it through?"
Ding Bu'er chimed in immediately: "That's right, General Lü, think about it, are those people standing in the court stupid? Don't they know the importance of the border?"
As a senior military advisor, I know the consequences of not being able to pay the military salaries. Will those elites in the court be pushovers?
Even if they owe the prefect money, they wouldn't owe the border troops their pay. Think about it carefully, which court would force the border troops to rebel against them?
The generals thought about it carefully and agreed that this made sense.
At this point, a general asked, "Where did our military pay go?"
"You'd have to ask that," Ding Bu'er said, enunciating each word clearly. "The imperial court distributes full military pay to the General of the North's Office every year. As for how the General of the North's Office distributes it to you, I don't know."
The implication was so clear that even a mentally challenged person could understand that Huang Tianhu had embezzled the military pay.
Shen Zhao seized the opportunity to add fuel to the fire, saying, "Brothers, I have come here on the orders of the Empress Dowager to thoroughly investigate the embezzlement of military funds in the border army. I thought it was just a rumor, but now it seems to be true. If you have any discoveries, you can tell me."
Everyone lowered their heads, not daring to speak, after all, Huang Tianhu's strength was not something they dared to provoke easily.
Shen Zhao continued, "This time, the court is only targeting the mastermind behind the scenes. The rest of the people will be forgiven for their past actions, and if they cooperate properly, they will be rewarded."
After saying that, he glanced at Lü Yue and said earnestly, "General Lü, you've been in the position of deputy general for decades, haven't you? The court intends to promote you, but the time is not right yet."
Lü Yue's eyes lit up. How else could he "mention" someone? Wasn't it just about promoting them to the position of General Who Guards the North?
Although there is only one character difference between the deputy general and the commander-in-chief, their treatment, status, and power are completely different!
"And you too, according to the Empress Dowager's secret decree, the treatment of border troops will be increased by 20% on the original basis, and those of you who are lieutenant generals and above will be increased by 30%."
Upon hearing this, many people's eyes immediately lit up with surprise and greed.
Seeing that the atmosphere was quite right, Shen Zhao stood up and said, "Brothers, think it over carefully. Whatever decision you make, I will support you. Just don't make the wrong choice. Some paths, once taken, have no turning back. Be careful."
After speaking, he gave Ding Bu'er a wink and strode out of the tent.
"step."
"Two steps."
"Three steps."
Just as Shen Zhao was silently reciting the fourth step, Lü Yue immediately spoke up: "Lord Shen, please wait! This humble general has important matters to report!"
Shen Zhao and Ding Bu'er exchanged a knowing smile, then Shen Zhao turned and asked, "Is there anything else, General Lü?"
Lu Yue said, "We impeach Lord Shen that General Huang Tianhu, the General Who Guards the North, has abused his power, colluded with the Northern Barbarians, and plotted rebellion!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the other officers also knelt down and bowed to Shen Zhao, saying, "We are willing to be witnesses and jointly expose Huang Tianhu!"
Done!
Shen Zhao was not surprised by the scene before him.
After all, Huang Tianhu, a guy who only wanted to hoard any benefits, would have been killed long ago if it weren't for the Pang family cleaning up his mess.
It wasn't that no one in the Zhenbei Army knew Huang Tianhu's character; they were just afraid of the Huang family's power and therefore dared not speak out.
Now, Shen Zhao has taken control of the core generals of the Zhenbei Army with just one meal, and Huang Tianhu can no longer cause trouble.
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