Chapter 162 I, Lan, am deeply saddened!
They were truly impressed by Lanxi's move!
There was no need for Shen Lanxi to issue any more orders; Wei Dongzhu and the others simply led their men to raid Tian Maofeng's mistress's residence.
Not only were the homes of the mistresses raided, but even their close relatives and friends were not spared.
The main goal is to uproot it completely!
"My lord, a total of 1,800 dan of grain, 1,200 jin of various dried meats, dried fish and frozen goods, 15,000 taels of gold and silver, and four large boxes of gold and silver jewelry, as well as antiques and paintings that have not yet been appraised!"
Shen Lanxi nodded in satisfaction: "This is the kind of wealth a commander of the four counties should have!"
Harada Shigemine's subordinates all lowered their heads, feeling humiliated, frustrated, angry, and embarrassed.
"Lord Lan, how did you figure out that Tian Maofeng was keeping a mistress?" someone asked.
Shen Lanxi's eyes flashed with a sharp light: "Tian Maofeng has been an official for many years, and has been deeply involved in the position of commander for a long time. He has six wives and concubines in his harem, but he only has one box of jewelry. Is that reasonable?"
Several burly soldiers with straight lines had clear question marks flashing in their eyes.
Isn't that unreasonable? Six women, that's just six heads. And there's only so much space on a head, how much stuff can they wear?
Shen Lanxi glanced at them sideways and said sharply, "The number of weapons you can store in your armory is the same number of jewels your women can wear on their heads."
One by one, the rough and reckless soldiers hurriedly explained, "How can that be the same? Our weapons are for fighting!"
Shen Lanxi: "So you all have eight arms?"
"...Well, collecting weapons is a man's hobby!"
Shen Lanxi stared at the person who spoke with a death stare!
"...Hey, Tian Maofeng is a complete scoundrel! He doesn't cherish his wife at home, but gives all the good things to his mistress. We all respect him so much, he's a disgrace to the garrison!"
"You're so stupid, you can't even tell what's important!"
“He is despicable and corrupt; we will sever all ties with him from this day forward.”
"Lord Lan, you are truly insightful and have keen eyes..."
Shen Lanxi looked at them with a scrutinizing expression and asked, "Now that everyone is here, let's discuss what to do with these grains and valuables?"
After that question was asked, there was immediate silence!
What should be done? Of course they want to pocket it!
But if the higher-ups find out about this, I'll lose my head!
Shen Lanxi looked back at Liu Yan, who immediately stepped forward and said, "The imperial court has not paid salaries for half a year. I suggest that all this gold, silver, jewels, and grain be converted into salaries and used to pay the soldiers!"
"Just now I saw that many of Centurion Liang's men were wearing thin cotton-padded clothes and had frostbite on their hands and feet."
"And then there's Commander Wang, who doesn't even have a decent suit of armor. The soldiers he leads are all emaciated and pale, their cotton shoes stuffed with straw!"
"And there's also Commander Sun Xiaoqi..."
After calling out each name, Liu Yan was so heartbroken she almost burst into tears!
"No matter how hard our lives are, we can't let our soldiers suffer; no matter how hungry we are, we can't let them go hungry; no matter how injured they are, we can't let them have any wounds on their hands and feet. You all don't know, seeing them like this, I really wish those frostbite were on my own body..." Liu Yan Hui was already in tears!
Those who were named were all well-fed and clothed, but after hearing Liu Yan's words, they were so embarrassed that they kept digging their toes into the ground.
There was nothing we could do; the higher-ups had diverted all the money and supplies.
In previous years, countless people have frozen to death in this awful weather!
Shen Lanxi was deeply moved.
"Mr. Liu, please stop. I am also deeply saddened!"
Upon hearing this, Wei Dongzhu and the others, who were initially somber, suddenly twitched their lips!
"In the end, all this money was plundered and exploited from you soldiers, so it should be used on these soldiers!"
Centurion Liang and the others were ashamed and lowered their heads after being spoken to by Shen Lanxi.
"Lord Lan is right!"
Shen Lanxi frowned, looking troubled: "This is something we can't let the higher-ups know about. You all know how chaotic things are outside right now. To put it bluntly, each region has started to act independently. From what Ma Yajiang said, we can forget about our pay and provisions. From now on, we'll have to solve all of these problems ourselves!"
Centurion Liang and his men became anxious.
"If the higher-ups don't allocate provisions, how are we supposed to feed our troops?"
Shen Lanxi lowered her eyes, concealing her gleam.
"If you don't believe me, you can go and ask General Ma Ya yourselves. We'll leave these valuables and grains untouched for now, and we can't tell anyone. The higher-ups have their own plans, and we need to plan for ourselves too. Don't you agree?"
Centurion Liang and the others nodded.
Shen Lanxi: "After you have finished your investigation, if what I said is true, I will allocate and distribute these funds to the four counties. What do you think?"
Centurion Liang and his men hadn't given up yet, but they said, "We will obey Lord Lan's orders."
The next day, Centurion Liang and his men used their connections to request provisions.
Some people were scolded mercilessly and slunk back. Others were met with cold shoulders, reprimanded, and returned with dark faces.
Some people were told outright that they had no food or pay and that they had to go back and figure out their own way!
These people gathered together that day, found Shen Lanxi, and knelt on the ground to pledge their loyalty.
"We are willing to follow Lord Lan and swear our loyalty to the death!"
Since those above don't care about their lives, they can't blame others for keeping these things for themselves!
After subduing the group, Shen Lanxi led them on a patrol of the garrison!
That night, a cold wind blew, carrying snowflakes, and before long, the snowflakes turned into a heavy snowfall!
"It's snowing again. Does God not want people to live?"
"We have enough food to last until spring, but not enough charcoal. Last month alone, more than a dozen people froze to death in our garrison. When we woke up this morning, they were frozen solid."
"What you're talking about is nothing. In our garrison, many people have frostbitten hands and feet. Without medicine or charcoal, these people are just waiting to die."
Shen Lanxi looked at Liu Yanhui, who said, "I can contact a charcoal merchant, but the price..." He didn't need to say the rest; everyone knew what he meant.
This year's coal prices are unusually high, and there is a severe shortage of coal; even if you have money, you may not be able to buy coal!
Shen Lanxi said resolutely, "Buy it. No matter how expensive it is, we must buy charcoal. I will not allow a single soldier in my jurisdiction to suffer frostbite. I don't care what Tian Maofeng did before, but now that I, Lanxi, am in the position of commander of the four counties, I will not allow any more of my soldiers to freeze to death!"
"Medicine, cotton-padded clothes, cotton-padded shoes—buy everything the soldiers need!"
"Even if it means emptying my entire fortune, I, Lanxi, will not hesitate!"
Before long, Shen Lanxi's heartfelt words spread throughout the four county garrisons.
Chang Daoyan, the magistrate of Shilihe County, had intended to remove the recruitment tents today, but that brat Lan Xi dared to deceive him. He talked about a righteous army, but it turned out to be nothing more than a scheme to advance his own power.
It's infuriating that he actually believed it and recruited hundreds of soldiers for him in just a few days. How could he face those soldiers he recruited, how could he face the court's cultivation of him? He was utterly unworthy of being a county official. After he had settled his affairs, he died to atone for his sins!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
