Inside the main tent, Wu Sanjia listened to the news brought back by the escort officer who had just transported grain and supplies from Mozhou City to the Tiger Army's front-line camp outside Zhuozhou City.
His usually resolute and calm face revealed a rare expression of unspeakable shock.
Wu Sanjia grabbed the escort officer by the collar, stared at him intently, and asked again, "What did you say? The imperial court only allocated one million taels of silver for salaries and pensions?"
Um!
The escort officer nodded firmly with a solemn expression.
call--
Upon receiving an affirmative answer, Wu Sanjia deflated like a wilted eggplant.
Then, he waved his hand and ordered, "I understand. You may leave now!"
"Yes, General!"
Just as the escort officer was about to leave, Wu Sanjia called out to him, "Wait!"
"Regarding the allocation of military pay and pensions by the imperial court, no information shall be disseminated within the army without my order. Anyone who disobeys this order shall be punished according to military law!"
"Your subordinate obeys!"
The escort officer left the central command tent in a hurry, leaving only Wu Sanjia sitting alone in the tent, looking lost and forlorn.
After much deliberation, Wu Sanjia finally decided to summon his deputy general, Zhao Kui, to the central command tent to discuss the matter together.
"Someone, go and fetch General Zhao for me!"
"Understood!"
Soon, a burly, strong man in armor and carrying a sword entered from outside the central command tent.
Before he arrived, his voice preceded him: "General, you were looking for me!"
"General Zhao, please sit!"
Upon seeing Zhao Kui in his armor, Wu Sanjia offered him a seat before Zhao Kui could even bow to him.
The latter was not pretentious and sat down face-to-face with Wu Sanjia in a very casual manner.
Wu Sanjia said, "General Zhao, the escort officer who just delivered the grain and supplies from Mozhou City reported that the grain, pay, and pension allocated by the imperial court to our Tiger Legion have arrived."
"What?"
Upon hearing this, Zhao Kuiteng jumped up from his chair, a look of wild joy flashing across his fleshy face.
He laughed loudly and said, "Haha, General, that's wonderful!"
"These past few days, I've been struggling to find a way to motivate the vanguard soldiers to scale the walls of Zhuozhou in one fell swoop, and be the first to seize the flag and kill the enemy generals. Just then, the imperial court's allocation of funds arrived!"
"In that case, the matter of a full-scale siege can be put on the agenda!"
"The capture of Zhuozhou is just around the corner!"
Zhao Kui was extremely excited, gesturing wildly.
Completely unaware that the imposing General and Commander-in-Chief Wu Sanjia, sitting opposite him, had a rather unpleasant expression.
Until Wu Sanjia said indifferently, "General Zhao, the total amount of military pay and pensions allocated by the imperial court is only one million taels of silver!"
brush!
These words were like a bucket of cold water poured over Zhao Kui's head, leaving him feeling utterly chilled.
The unrestrained, smug smile on his rugged face froze.
Zhao Kui could hardly believe his ears and tentatively asked, "General, what did you say? The imperial court only allocated one million taels of silver for salaries and pensions?"
"General, you must be joking with me, teasing me, right?"
Wu Sanjia shook his head and said in a low voice, "General Zhao, there is no joking in the army!"
"How could I possibly joke about something so important with you?"
Thump!
After receiving an affirmative answer, Zhao Kui plopped back into his chair, looking dejected yet with a hint of resentment, and questioned:
"General, how could the imperial court do such a dishonest thing?"
"Back when the court had no generals to use, when Prime Minister Qin visited the Ministry of War's archives three times to invite the general to come out of seclusion and lead the troops, he didn't say that!"
Unable to suppress his emotions, Zhao Kui continued, "The monthly allowance for training the new army should be two taels and two mace of silver; military merit rewards include thirty taels for each severed head; and thirty taels for each soldier killed in battle."
"These are all written promises made by Prime Minister Qin to our Tiger Army, and they are also stamped with the Emperor's jade seal and kept on file in the Ministry of War!"
"Now, the rewards for the brothers who fought bloody battles outside Mozhou City, killing and capturing more than 50,000 Longcheng rebels, and the compensation for the 30,000 Tiger Warriors who died in battle, are all gone, right?"
"A mere one million taels of silver? The imperial court and Qin Ruhui are treating our 300,000 Tiger Warriors like beggars, aren't they?"
"If the brothers in the army knew the truth, who would still risk their lives to serve the imperial court?"
Zhao Kui was agitated, and every word he uttered hit the nail on the head.
So much so that even General Wu Sanjia didn't know how to answer.
It turns out that when Wu Sanjia was appointed to lead the Tiger Army in the Ying and Mo prefectures to resist the southward advance of the Longcheng rebels, he was entrusted with a critical mission.
It was explicitly required that the salaries and military merit rewards of the Tiger Legion soldiers must be paid in full and on time.
This was a prerequisite for Wu Sanjia to agree to lead troops to fight the enemy.
Wu Sanjia, who had been sitting in the Ministry of War's archives management office for three months, had long since learned everything about the dark and sordid practices of the Great Xin Dynasty's army, including embezzling salaries and exploiting soldiers.
Wu Sanjia, who came from a military family, was well aware of the significant impact that "full pay" had on the combat effectiveness and morale of an army.
The reason why the late Emperor Zhao Mang was able to contend for the world and conquer the Central Plains with a small army was not unrelated to his implementation of a strict system of military pay and military merit.
It was precisely because Prime Minister Qin Ruhui agreed to Wu Sanjia's request with absolute certainty, and even wrote it down clearly in black and white, sending it to the Ministry of War for filing and future reference.
Only then did Wu Sanjia feel reassured and boldly ordered his deputy Zhao Kui to go to the Yan and Zhao regions, known for their fierce and valiant people, to recruit soldiers and train a new army of 100,000 elite warriors.
Furthermore, before the battle of Mozhou, the soldiers' pay was paid in full in advance, which boosted the morale of the Tiger Legion.
Ultimately, they decisively defeated the Longcheng army outside Mozhou City, inflicting the first defeat on Deputy Marshal Chang Yuchun since the start of the southern campaign.
Who would have thought that Wu Sanjia and the Tiger Army, who had just won a great victory and were on their way to the northern expedition, would be betrayed by the imperial court?
In the Battle of Mozhou, the compensation for the fallen soldiers of the Tiger Army alone amounted to a staggering 900,000 taels of silver.
If we add to that, the pension for officers of the rank of centurion or above who died in battle would be increased by another 100,000 taels.
Not to mention, there were also military rewards for killing and capturing more than 50,000 rebel soldiers in Longcheng. All in all, that amounted to two million taels of silver.
In addition, the wages owed to the Tiger Legion soldiers for half a year, totaling another three million taels of silver.
These were all spoken by Wu Sanjia, the mighty general and commander-in-chief of the Great Xin Dynasty, in front of the three armies before the army set off on its northern expedition.
The promise made to the 300,000 elite Tiger Warriors was that, before the first battle at Zhuozhou on the army's northern expedition, the imperial salary and pensions would be fully distributed to the soldiers.
Now, this paltry one million taels of silver is barely enough to compensate the fallen soldiers.
Without the incentive of pay and military rewards, can the 100,000 elite new troops outside Zhuozhou still maintain the morale and fighting power that defeated the rebel army in Longcheng during the Battle of Mozhou?
Wu Sanjia couldn't help but ask himself the same question, but he couldn't get the answer he wanted!
All he knew was that the new army was invincible if it was paid in full, but not in full!
Seeing that General Wu Sanjia remained silent, Vice General Zhao Kui, whose emotions had finally calmed down, couldn't help but offer his suggestion.
Zhao Kui said, "General, things have come to this point. In my humble opinion, if the army wants to continue the northern expedition, the only option left is to send troops to seize grain as a last resort!"
"No!"
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