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Chapter 698: Garrison (I)

The murder of Wu'an County Prince caused a small stir in the capital, and people sighed and lamented for two days. Soon, it was diluted by new news.

The imperial guards who escorted military funds to the various garrison camps began to send back news one after another.

The first person to send the news back was Tao Da. Tao Da went to the garrison camp closest to the capital. After arriving at the camp, Tao Da summoned all the soldiers to the training ground according to the emperor's instructions. Then he distributed the military pay one by one according to the military register. In just half a day, the military pay was fully distributed to each soldier. In addition, each soldier also had a brand new military uniform and two pairs of shoes and socks.

When did the soldiers ever receive full military pay? In the past few years, they could get 70% to 80% of their salaries. In recent years, the military expenses of the garrison troops have been withheld by the court, and then exploited by layers of the government, and the amount they receive is less than 40%.

The fact that Princess Nanyang ascended the throne as the empress had little to do with the low-level soldiers. At most, they would privately mutter things like "The court officials actually nominated a woman to be the emperor, which shows that the fate of the Liang Dynasty is about to end."

Now holding the heavy silver coins, wearing the newly issued military uniforms and shoes, and hearing that the food standards would be greatly improved in the future, the soldiers' hearts immediately turned to one side, and they kept talking about "our emperor".

Compared to the soldiers' jubilation, the commander of the garrison, General Tan, felt like he was sitting on pins and needles.

Tao Da copied a list from the military register of the Ministry of War and brought it with him. The total number was 6,200. But on the day of the military pay, only 4,050 people showed up for the military exercise. A full 2,150 people were paid for nothing! They were exposed in front of the emperor's envoy.

General Tan had had dealings with the traitor Wei Xiong. When he learned that Wei Xiong was killed by the Princess of Nanyang, he began to fear the Princess.

Now, the princess sat on the throne and sent people to the military camp to distribute military pay. The fact that he drank the blood of soldiers would definitely reach the ears of the emperor.

The emperor was able to kill Wan Langzhong, banish Jiang Yuanwailang to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and dismiss Qian Yushi from his post. He was just a fourth-rank military officer, so wouldn't it be easy for the emperor to deal with him? The emperor had so many trusted guards under his command, and he could easily pick one to replace him.

Take the black tower-like sturdy man Tao Da for example, who is half a head taller than him, with extraordinary strength and amazing skills. Could it be that he couldn't subdue ordinary soldiers and become the commander of the garrison?

The more General Tan thought about it, the more anxious he became. He was even more afraid. He made up his mind and prepared a valuable gift. He went to Tao Da's tent after dark and presented the gift to him with great enthusiasm, begging Tao Da to cover up the vacancy in the military roster.

Tao Da had an incredibly loud voice, and it hurt people's eardrums when he opened his mouth: "Take it back, I don't want it."

General Tan looked embarrassed and continued to plead in a low voice: "Captain Tao, to be honest, I don't take all the salaries of these two thousand soldiers. The Ministry of Revenue withholds 10%, the Ministry of War withholds 20%, and when it comes to me, I have to give an extra portion to the military officers in the barracks. I only get about 20,000 taels every year."

"I have a 70-year-old mother to support, wives, concubines, and children to feed, and some relatives to take care of. This money is just enough for every year."

"I know I did something wrong. But as a military commander in the Daliang Dynasty, how can the salary be enough to support me?"

"Now I know I was wrong, and I will definitely correct it in the future. This time, please help me, Captain Tao. Please don't report this to the emperor..."

"You're too late!" Tao Da interrupted General Tan: "I sent the letter to the capital last night."

General Tan's face froze, and he was filled with anger and fear. In an instant, he had the dark impulse to draw his sword and kill the black man in front of him.

Tao Da was a rough man who never tried to hide anything. He used his height advantage to look down at General Tan and said, "General Tan, do you want to quarrel with me?"

General Tan forced a smile and said, "Captain Tao is joking. Captain Tao is an imperial envoy sent by the emperor. How dare I offend Captain Tao?" Tao Da said, "Don't be afraid. The emperor has long known about the garrison sucking the blood of soldiers. Before I came, the emperor told me to pay the soldiers according to the military register and return the remaining money to General Tan."

General Tan: “…”

General Tan was also shocked by this sudden incident.

Tao Da tried hard to recall the instructions he heard that day: "The emperor also said that this time, we will let bygones be bygones. However, by this time next year, we must replenish the troops according to the numbers on the military register."

General Tan heaved a long sigh of relief upon hearing this, and with tears of gratitude he knelt down in the direction of the capital, and kowtowed three times to the emperor from a distance: "Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Tao Da added: "Also, the emperor asked me to stay in the barracks for a month or two to see how your soldiers are training. If the training is not successful, I will lead the soldiers to train."

General Tan had escaped a disaster, so he wouldn't mind such a small matter. He immediately smiled and said, "The Nanyang Guard Battalion is well-known throughout the world. It is our honor to receive the guidance of Captain Tao."

Tao Dadao: "Then let's start tomorrow."

So, at five o'clock the next morning, military drums were sounded in the garrison camp.

The soldiers of the garrison were usually quite relaxed, and it was considered good if they trained once every three days. Suddenly they woke up so early, yawning all the time, and ran to the training ground, making a lot of noise. It took two incense sticks of time to line up the troops.

Tao Da led dozens of Nanyang guards and stood in a straight line. They looked at the pile of mud that could not be propped up, and everyone frowned.

Tao Da never had the habit of keeping things to himself, so he immediately said to General Tan: "The military discipline and appearance are too poor. Is this how you usually train?"

General Tan was a little embarrassed and coughed twice: "Yes. We are stationed here on weekdays, and it is relatively peaceful. The last time I led troops to suppress bandits was a year ago. We rarely go out on weekdays, and the soldiers are indeed a little lax."

Tao Da was very dissatisfied and said bluntly: "This won't work."

"Our emperor has spent a lot of money, so he can't support a bunch of losers. From now on, you all have to train hard. I will write to the emperor later and say that I will not return to the capital. I will come back when the soldiers are trained well."

General Tan had never seen a man who spoke so directly in his life. But the other party was the emperor's confidant, strong and muscular, and his eyes as big as copper bells were enough to make people tremble with fear.

Well, let's see how good Tao Da is at training soldiers. Maybe he's just good at talking, but when it comes to fighting, he's just a shiny gun.

General Tan muttered to himself, but responded readily.

Then, the following day became a nightmare for all the soldiers in the garrison camp.

By the evening, everyone was so tired that they couldn't even hold the chopsticks, and they couldn't drink the delicious broth that the kitchen had specially prepared.

……