It is the end of the year, and the merchants who choose to come to the capital at this time have of course prepared sufficient capital.

Shanxi merchants do not just do business in places like Shaanxi. They have always gone wherever there is wealth.

The Spring Festival in the capital can be said to be the most lively place in the entire Ming Dynasty, where consumption is the highest, and it is also the time when most businessmen make the most money.

Even though it was because the Qun Ying Chamber of Commerce swallowed up most of the chamber of commerce's profits, the soup left after eating the meat was enough to feed many people.

As for people like Lan Yu, they certainly cannot just arrest people, confiscating their property is a side effect.

"How much is the total amount after calculating it?" Lan Yu asked his adjutant without any change in his expression.

The adjutant said, "Reporting to Duke Liang, the total value of all kinds of goods is about two million strings of treasure notes. There are still some items that have not been included in the total value, and it is estimated that there are about three hundred thousand strings of treasure notes."

After hearing this, Lan Yu and Cao Zhen fell silent.

After a long time, Cao Zhen waved his hand and asked the adjutant to go out.

There were only Lan Yu and Cao Zhen in the big tent.

"These merchants are really fucking rich. They easily have two million strings of cash. That's enough to pay for so many soldiers."

"Brother, it's so cold, and the brothers are exhausted. Even those who are on leave have returned."

"Or, let's give some of the profits to the brothers. Just a little bit will be enough."

As Cao Zhen spoke, he smiled and raised his right hand, rubbing his thumb and index finger together as if counting banknotes.

If it were before, it wouldn’t have taken too long, even half a year ago.

Lan Yu would speak directly without any hesitation.

Because in the army, there is an unspoken rule for such spoils, which is that all brothers have a share.

And these spoils of war naturally constitute the bulk of the profits for these generals.

In the past, the worst that could be done was to take half of it. Some ruthless ones would even take 60% or 70% before handing over the rest to the court.

However, this time, Lan Yu hesitated.

Needless to say, the reason for the hesitation was largely influenced by Crown Prince Zhu Ying.

Zhu Ying and Lan Yu had talked many times, especially on the management of the army.

It has been clearly stated that the treatment of soldiers will be greatly improved, but at the same time, some bad habits must be corrected.

Let’s not talk about the local soldiers for now, but after the continuous infiltration of the Xuanjiawei in the capital over the past few months, the personal quality of the soldiers in all the garrisons around the capital has been constantly improving.

At least there will no longer be a situation like in the past where people would rush to rob the enemy of some gold, silver and treasures without regard for military discipline.

At this time, Lan Yu keenly realized that this was a very severe test for himself, or for all his brothers.

First of all, the corruption would definitely be known to the Crown Prince, there is no doubt about that.

Not to mention that this is the capital, even those middle-level soldiers from the Black Armor Guards would definitely tip off the others.

This matter cannot be kept secret.

Seeing his elder brother Lan Yu's hesitant expression, Cao Zhen could not help but urge him, "Brother, how do we divide this? Why don't you say something?"

"But this is the capital. It's not good to overdo some things. In my opinion, it's better to just keep 40%."

Cao Zhen was also thinking about it, but his thinking was different from Lan Yu's.

Cao Zhen was from Fengyang, Anhui Province. He followed Zhu Yuanzhang's cavalry. Thanks to the reputation of his fellow villager and his own bravery and military achievements, he was promoted to commander.

He was once a general under Chang Yuchun.

As for how high one's cultural literacy is, there is no such thing as a certain level.

In terms of military training, after so many years of fighting, there are naturally many rules, but overall, it still benefits from the situation.

He still retained his previous thoughts. Although he was very close to Lan Yu and was under the command of the Crown Prince, he actually had almost no contact with the Crown Prince, so their ideas were very different.

Seeing Lan Yu hesitating, he thought he was thinking about how much to intercept, so he opened his mouth and spoke.

When Lan Yu heard this, he shook his head slightly.

Before he could say anything, Cao Zhen said, "Brother, why don't we keep 30%? The money we have this time is indeed quite a lot, and 30% is enough."

Upon hearing this, Lan Yu continued to shake his head.

"How about 20%? 20% is fine. It's New Year's Day, it's a token of my appreciation."

Lan Yu shook his head.

Cao Zhen had a sad face and finally said, "Can we just keep 10%? 20,000 or 30,000 strings of cash is a bit too little. Give it to the brothers. We don't have much left."

Lan Yu finally spoke up and said, "Give orders that we will not take a penny of the spoils this time. Anyone who dares to embezzle a penny will be punished by military law."

Cao Zhen was completely stunned.

This, how can this be possible.

Not a penny was left for you, and you were not allowed to embezzle a single cent.

Cao Zhen didn't even need to think about it. When he reported the situation to the overall planning department, he estimated that many brothers had already secretly put some valuable things into their pockets.

In the past, we always turned a blind eye.

What the eldest brother means now is that everyone should spit out the money that has already been put into their pockets.

"Brother, this is not appropriate."

After a while, Cao Zhen spoke hesitantly.

Lan Yu stood up. He was strong and sturdy, half a head taller than Cao Zhen.

There was repression in those eyes as calm as water, and Cao Zhen couldn't help but lower his head slightly to avoid them.

"It's not that I want to cut off the brothers' financial resources, but in today's world, some of the old habits must be changed."

"The army and soldiers that His Royal Highness wants to see cannot embezzle such money. That is why His Royal Highness will provide soldiers with protection after they retire."

"I heard from your highness that after this spring, there will be a series of measures to protect the lives of retired soldiers."

“Even soldiers who are discharged due to disability will be taken great care of.”

"These are things that cannot be obtained even if you embezzle a lot of money. If the soldiers miss such an opportunity because of embezzlement, you and I will both be sinners of our brothers."

Lan Yu said earnestly.

As Cao Zhen listened, his eyes changed.

In his heart, what kind of person is his elder brother Lan Yu?

In terms of style, he almost completely imitated his brother-in-law Chang Yuchun.

They are cruel to their enemies and even more cruel to themselves. They are truly ferocious and even when they are fighting, they are often on the front line.

How long has it been? About three months.

It's like a different person.

As the saying goes: If you keep company with vermilion, you will become red; if you keep company with ink, you will become black.

Is the influence of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince on my eldest brother really that great?

Perhaps seeing the surprise in Cao Zhen's eyes, Lan Yu sighed and said, "Brother Cao, the world has changed. Your Highness, you have little exposure to it, so you don't understand many things. You will understand them in the future. I will not harm my brothers."

"If we continue to follow the previous path, no matter how many merits we make, we will gradually be marginalized by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

"When you are free, I suggest Brother Cao go to the Xuanjiawei military camp and take a look. Then you will know the way forward."

In fact, Cao Zhen is older than Lan Yu and has more experience than Lan Yu, but in terms of background, the difference is too big.

Therefore, he was always called Big Brother. Naturally, Big Brother and Big Brother were two completely different concepts in the Ming Dynasty.

And Lan Yu also generally addresses him as brother.

Lan Yu is a smart man.

If he wasn’t a smart person, he wouldn’t have become the famous general of today.

There is an insurmountable gap between a famous general and a great general.

Even in terms of political wisdom, Lan Yu was no less intelligent than any other minister in the court.

The reason why he was killed in history was that he did not expect that Zhu Yuanzhang could really be so ruthless and cruel.

Besides, even if he wanted to resist, he would not have any chance at all.

For Lao Zhu, if he wants to kill someone, that person will die.

When Zhu Ying communicated with Lan Yu, because of their blood relationship, many of the things he said were relatively direct, without any hints, allowing you to experience the meaning for yourself.

Things like embezzlement of money are clearly telling Lan Yu that I can't stand it and I can't tolerate it, so don't do it again in the future.

In addition, the current situation of the Xuanjia Guard has almost become a benchmark, and Lan Yu has also visited it.

That’s why there is such a change in thinking.

Cao Zhen listened and his throat rolled several times, but he didn't know what to say. He couldn't say that he was going to oppose His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.

It's just the pity on his face, it's very obvious.

After thinking for a long time, he said, "Brother, let's forget about it for those brothers who have already taken some."

"Now it is the Spring Festival, let the brothers be a little better off."

Lan Yu shook his head firmly and said, "This is even worse. If they take it and the brothers below don't take it, then what's the point? If they say they won't take it, then no one will take it."

After hearing this, Cao Zhen could only nod awkwardly.

He subconsciously touched his pocket, feeling quite reluctant.

That's thousands of coins and coins, and you have to give up your feelings as well.

At this time, an official came to report from outside the tent: "General, there is a fight between Captain Chen Xing and Captain Zhang Jian outside."

Lan Yu frowned and asked, "What caused the dispute?"

The officer replied: "The two had a dispute over money and are currently fighting."

Cao Zhen shouted angrily: "How dare you ignore military discipline? Where is the military discipline officer?"

The subordinates did not dare to talk, because this was their own camp, a dispute over a family matter, not wartime, and even the military disciplinarian could only try to persuade the other party.

"Let's go and take a look." Lan Yu said, taking the lead.

At this time, the parade ground was bustling with activity and it was extremely lively, with constant cheers and boos being heard.

Many soldiers formed a circle, inside which were two centurions fighting one-on-one.

However, it is obvious that the young Captain Chen Xing has been suppressing Captain Zhang Jian.

The arrival of Lan Yu and Cao Zhen caused the soldiers to scatter, and the two centurions also stopped immediately.

This is Cao Zhen’s military camp, and the two centurions are naturally his subordinates.

Cao Zhen had nothing to say, he went up and kicked each of them, cursing, "It's so embarrassing, our family members are fighting over such a small amount of money, what's the matter, after all, we are all centurions, have you never seen treasure banknotes?"

Hearing the curse, everyone's eyes became a little strange and the atmosphere seemed a little abnormal.

Upon seeing this, Cao Zhen grabbed a soldier and asked him to explain the situation in detail.

It turned out that the two were not fighting over the embezzled and confiscated money, but that Captain Zhang Jian was discovered by Chen Xing, who was also a captain, when he was hiding the money privately.

Then Chen Xing asked Zhang Jian to hand over all the money and not to embezzle it privately.

Zhang Jian, who was furious and humiliated, started to take action.

Hearing this, Cao Zhen couldn't help but turn his head and look at Lan Yu, feeling a little shocked.

Because Captain Zhang Jian was an old subordinate who had followed him for many years, this might be the reason why the military disciplinarian did not stop it vigorously but instead turned a blind eye.

The centurion Chen Xing was only recently transferred to his command.

Chen Xing’s path is very clear, his predecessor was the Xuanjia Guard.

He had made contributions, but there were no promotion opportunities in the Xuanjia Guards, so he was assigned here.

Many Xuanjia Guards joined various guards in this way.

Naturally, Chen Xing was not the only one who came with them. There were three single centurions among them.

Otherwise it would have been one-sided long ago.

After Cao Zhen knew it, he turned to look at Lan Yu.

Lan Yu nodded slightly.

Cao Zhen immediately understood and scolded Zhang Jian, "What about military discipline? You, a centurion, don't you know? I don't even know how you became a centurion, and you dare to take the lead in triggering military discipline."

Zhang Jian muttered, "That was promoted by you, General."

On weekdays, when Cao Zhen trained his soldiers, he treated them like brothers. He was very familiar with these centurions and thousand-man commanders. The youngest had followed him for more than ten years, and the oldest for several decades, and they had come all the way side by side.

That's why Zhang Jian dared to say that.

Cao Zhen felt a little embarrassed in front of his elder brother, and he shouted, "Hand over all the silver you have hidden, and go to the military court to receive twenty military sticks."

Zhang Jian heard this and said reluctantly, "Boss, the military sticks are fine, not to mention twenty, thirty is fine, but the silver... can you keep a little bit?"

Cao Zhen glared and said, "How dare you!"

"You are so disrespectful, aren't you? Just hand it over when I ask you to. Don't be so timid. Be quick."

"Someone, come and search him. Take out every penny."

Two guards walked up to the captain Zhang Jian with a grin on their faces and said, "Brother Jian, don't make things difficult for the brothers. The leader has spoken."

Another person said, "Yeah, don't hide it."

The three of them laughed and joked like this for a while, and a lot of money was found out.

However, Lan Yu's face turned pale.

Chen Xing and others who were from the Xuanjia Guard stood aside and watched coldly.

Cao Zhen also felt that something was wrong in the atmosphere, but he was asked to be ruthless to these brothers. Due to their years of friendship, he was reluctant and didn't want to do it.

"Are these still the soldiers of our Ming Dynasty?"

A cold and stern voice came from Lan Yu.

All the playful atmosphere was suddenly broken.

Lan Yu's prestige in the army was even greater, especially in the hearts of the Huaixi nobles and generals.

These soldiers who followed Cao Zhen were once Lan Yu's soldiers.

When the general spoke, the situation changed.

"Captain Chen Xing!" Lan Yu shouted.

"I'm here." Chen Xing saluted with his fists clasped.

"Thirty military sticks, immediate execution!"

"I am under the command of the general."

Chen Xing had no scruples and walked straight to the military judge next to him and took the killing stick. Immediately, another member of the Black Armor Guard brought a bench.

Chen Xing looked at Zhang Jian coldly.

Zhang Jian knew that he probably couldn't escape, so he turned his gaze to Cao Zhen, but Cao Zhen turned his head away.

Zhang Jian gritted his teeth and lay down, still saying, "Come on, Grandpa is not afraid of these."

Chen Xing snorted coldly, and after Zhang Jian lay down, he hit him hard with a stick.

Zhang Jian couldn't help but groan in pain.

This stick is not pleasant.

Normally, there would be some leniency in the punishments, but Chen Xing had just fought with him, so how could he hold back?

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

After less than ten hits, blood began to flow from the corners of Zhang Jian's mouth.

And then, there are another twenty military sticks. If they continue to beat him like this, he will be crippled if not killed.

The atmosphere in the army became extremely depressing.

Especially those old subordinates who had followed Cao Zhen through thick and thin, their eyes were red.

However, since General Lan Yu is here, who dares to be presumptuous?

Another ten military sticks came down. Zhang Jian could hardly hold on at this moment. However, from these ten military sticks, it was obvious that Chen Xing had begun to hold back.

Many people watched and felt grateful in their hearts.

The centurions who came from the Black Armor Guards had always had some conflicts with these old soldiers.

The old soldiers were dissatisfied with these new recruits who had only been in service for a few years. They had risen to high positions and were on equal footing with them by relying on the relationship with His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.

However, these soldiers who came from the Black Armor Guards also had a lot of disdain for these old soldiers in their hearts.

There are too many things to look down upon.

What else can it be besides seniority?

They are unfamiliar with various tactics, have no discipline, and many even take the lead in breaking the rules. Most of them are illiterate and cannot read. They have never heard of anything in military books.

At present, this situation is common in many guards. The Xuanjia Guards, who have the background of the crown prince, are familiar with military books and can teach tactics, so they can easily attract a group of followers.

In fact, Chen Xing usually didn't care too much about it. The main thing was that in Chen Xing's opinion, the money this time should belong to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.

Chen Xing could not tolerate anyone touching the Crown Prince's money.

As the last ten military sticks fell, Zhang Jian was still half alive.

Cao Zhen looked at Lan Yu with a hint of pleading in his eyes.

Lan Yu nodded slightly, and Cao Zhen immediately shouted: "Quick, ask the military doctor to come over."

A group of people were there, carrying Zhang Jian to the military doctor.

At this time, the atmosphere in the entire military camp had changed completely and became extremely serious.

Lan Yu walked onto the stage to select his generals.

After looking at everyone, he said, "Your Highness, please be considerate of us warriors. Your military pay will be increased again and again. The introduction of the retirement system will also relieve everyone of their worries."

"Even if he is injured on the battlefield, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince will provide for his care."

"If that's the case, why do you still want to embezzle His Royal Highness's money? Or do you think you've gotten used to it and it doesn't matter now?"

After these words were spoken, most of the soldiers lowered their heads in shame.

Once upon a time, when His Royal Highness the Crown Prince increased the military pay for the soldiers and provided a retirement system to guarantee their future livelihood, the entire military camp sang and danced to congratulate His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.

Now that I think about it, what is the difference between my actions today and those of an ungrateful villain?

There is never a shortage of passionate men in the military camp, and it is also the place with the most loyalty.

When Lan Yu finished speaking here.

Suddenly, the sound of money falling to the ground was heard among the crowd.

That was a valuable item that a soldier had taken secretly.

With the first person taking the lead, many people will naturally follow.

Soon, a large amount of money appeared on the ground of the military camp.

Seeing this scene, even Cao Zhen was deeply moved. He gritted his teeth, took out a stack of banknotes from his pocket and placed them on the table in front of him.

Upon seeing this, Lan Yu did not say anything more, but asked the military finance officer to come and make a list and store the grain.

What happened in Cao Zhen’s military camp soon spread to the palace.