Southern Ming: A boy soldier at the beginning, supporting the world

Chapter 259 ZTE Bank
The Red Army's navy won a great victory, and the area around the camp was suddenly bustling with activity. Local officials and gentry collected wine and meat to express their condolences, and more volunteers sent envoys to make contact, with messengers coming one after another.

Opera troupes, vendors, and even prostitutes all heard the news and came to try to get a piece of the action. The Red Army had won a great victory this time, so the spoils must be plentiful and the rewards must be high. Who knows, the soldiers might have been so full of gold, silver, and jewelry that they had no idea where to spend them.

In ancient times, when marching and fighting, opera troupes, vendors, and prostitutes were common in the army. Opera troupes could provide entertainment and relieve the boring life of soldiers. Vendors could provide fish, meat, vegetables, fruits, and improve the diet of officers and soldiers. Prostitutes, like gambling, have always been a favorite of soldiers.

The atmosphere in eastern Guangdong is open and ten times richer than that in western Guangdong. The opera troupes have a wide range of repertoires, including traditional famous songs and folk songs. There is a wide variety of goods, many of which are imported from Southeast Asia. The prostitutes are even more eccentric, some wearing heavy makeup, some not, and some even wearing short clothes and tight pants, pretending to be Red Army soldiers.

Most of the Red Army soldiers were from western Guangdong. How could they have seen such a glamorous world? Especially the navy, which was stationed on the water and had scattered camps, making it difficult to manage. Many sailors came from poor families, and they received high rewards in this battle, which filled their pockets and gave them the financial resources to squander.

Within a few days, violations of military discipline occurred frequently. Some sailors were deceived by prostitutes and their reward money was taken away, so they killed people in anger; some sailors were deceived when buying Southeast Asian goods, and they felt that the prices were too high, so they beat up the vendors...

On the 24th, another piece of news came, which was shocking: a high-class prostitute took a flower boat and approached the Navy Association camp at night, and hooked up with a sentry captain of the third battalion. The sentry captain was fascinated by the prostitute's beauty and took out a Dinglu-style carbine to show off. When he woke up in the morning, he found that the carbine was missing.

The navy began to equip Dinglu-style carbines around the spring. Only the first battalion of the entire regiment was equipped with carbines, and the total number of the battalion was less than 100. Losing a weapon was a serious crime, but the sentry leader still had a conscience and did not run away, but immediately reported it to his superiors.

The commander-in-chief had the authority to execute the sentry chief, and there was no need to report this to the headquarters. The Red Army was recently rectifying military discipline, and the Dinglu-style cavalry rifle was the Red Army's main weapon. Therefore, the Navy Association, in the name of the Camp Affairs Office, asked the headquarters to behead the sentry chief as a warning to others.

As a rule, if there was a large-scale killing in the army, the punishment would be severe. When the report was sent to the headquarters, the headquarters would give a lighter punishment to show its kindness.

Such small matters no longer required Danchu's personal approval. After the military system reforms a few years ago, Danchu had a replacement for everything, freed from the heavy workload and able to concentrate on planning major events.

Generally speaking, Yang Yuqi, the assistant military officer, was in charge of the headquarters and assisted Danchu in handling various military affairs, focusing on handling important military affairs. Secretary Yang Yunqing and staff officer Qian Bingdeng participated in handling military affairs. Yang Yunqing was mainly in charge of confidential documents, while Qian Bingdeng mainly drafted documents to the court and also handled daily documents.

In the past few days, the headquarters has been busy planning a land battle and preparing to mobilize various towns to attack the Qing army outside Guangzhou.

Qian Bingdeng had just returned and was deeply trusted by Danchu, so he was responsible for handling this matter. This light document would determine the life or death of a sentry captain, and a sentry captain with military merit.

He did not dare to make a hasty decision, so he came to ask Danchu, "General, should we give a lighter sentence in this case, and change the death penalty to death with a stay of execution?"

The Red Army was trying to improve military discipline, and the sentry came over to offer his life. Danchu hesitated for a moment, and the military assistant Yang Yuqi took over and said:
"Mr. Qian, you don't know the rules of the army. This is just like the imperial court's establishment of a large prison. If the death penalty can be changed to death penalty with a wait time, then death penalty with a wait time can be changed to caning and exile. Go to the frontier to guard the pass for a few years, and then make some arrangements. In a few years, you can return safely. Besides, the war is urgent now, how can we have the spare energy to escort the prisoners to the rear to wait for death?"

In the chaotic times of the late Ming Dynasty, laws were relaxed, but some were stricter and some were looser. Generally speaking, the military governors were domineering and treated the imperial laws as waste paper. Some military governors were strict in military discipline and had harsh laws, so the soldiers did not follow them, such as Yang Guodong of the Chu army. Some military governors allowed their soldiers to plunder and relaxed laws, and their commanders were even held hostage by the soldiers, such as Zhao Yinxuan of the Yunnan army and Hao Yongzhong of the Dashun army.

In contrast, the discipline of the Eight Banners of the Qing army was quite strict, and there was a common saying that "if you don't die in battle, you will die by law."

If the Red Army wants to compete with the Eight Banners for the world, it must enforce strict military discipline. Danchu resolutely said: "If you are kind, you cannot lead the army. The death penalty is inevitable. Let's change beheading to hanging. The navy has just won a great victory, and the land army is still preparing for war. We must rectify the military discipline. Gambling and prostitution are bad habits in the army. We must come up with a rule to eliminate such bad habits for the long term." This? Yang Yuqi thought for a while and said: "We must strengthen education. The Personal Soldiers Association was established the earliest and has received the longest education. The soldiers are loyal and disciplined. There are very few gambling and prostitution. The Navy Association was established later. The fourth and fifth battalions were all pirates, and their habits have not been completely changed."

After Liang Biaoxiang surrendered to the Red Army, the detachment was designated as the Fifth Battalion of the Navy Association, and Liang Biaoxiang was appointed as the commander of the battalion.

Dan Chu personally served as the commander of the Personal Guards and was the strictest in disciplining them. He lived with them day and night, so naturally no one dared to act unruly.

The Navy Association is different. There are the Inner River Navy, which is made up of Tanka people, and the Outer River Navy, which is made up of pirates. Regardless of whether they are Tanka people or pirates, they are brave and reckless, and it is not easy to discipline them.

Qian Bingdeng was very resourceful and said, "This matter is also related to the reward. The reward offered by the headquarters for this naval battle was very high. If it weren't for the prosperity of eastern Guangdong, our army really couldn't afford the reward. After the battle, in order to boost morale, we immediately evaluated the merits and issued the reward.

"When soldiers have money, they have the capital to squander. No matter how well they are educated or how strict the military discipline is, there will always be soldiers who take advantage of loopholes. It is better to do something about the military pay. Soldiers don't have cash, so they can't gamble or visit prostitutes."

Danchu suddenly became enlightened and was quite inspired.

It is naturally inconvenient for the army to pay the soldiers directly when they are on the march. In ancient times, some armies paid the soldiers' salaries directly to their families, while others paid them to the soldiers, who then sent them back home through post stations.

The commodity economy was well developed in the Ming Dynasty, which gave rise to the financial industry. There were banks in the north and money houses in the south, and the army had more options for paying its salaries.

During the Ming Dynasty, when the army marched to war, merchants often accompanied the camp to help purchase military supplies. Strong merchants built money houses in various places. The army could deposit silver in the money houses, and the soldiers could deposit their silver in the money houses after receiving their salaries, and exchange it for silver bills and return to their hometowns to exchange them.

At present, the war in Guangdong and Guangdong continues, and money houses in various places have either closed down or gone bankrupt. Industry and commerce have been damaged, silver bills lack credit, and the people are accustomed to using silver for transactions, which is quite inconvenient.

Danchu was excited and said, "Why not take this opportunity to set up a government-run bank. The army can deposit their pay in the bank, and only a small portion of the pay will be given to the soldiers every month, and the rest will be recorded in the account. When the soldiers return home to visit their families, they will be allowed to take back all the pay."

This is a great plan. Soldiers with no money can't gamble or visit prostitutes, which is good for military management. Soldiers won't easily defect from the army if their pay is kept in a bank. In the future, when they return home to visit their families or retire, they can save a considerable amount of pay, which will help them settle down.

The pressure on the Red Army's military pay will also be greatly reduced. The military pay deposited in the bank actually becomes a promissory note. Although the total amount of military pay to be paid has not decreased, the actual monthly expenditure has been greatly reduced. Soldiers withdraw their pay in small amounts, so there is not much pressure on the bank to run on it.

Danchu saw further that running a money house could also restore the role of commerce. If you want to prosper industry and commerce, you must first prosper the financial industry and run a money house. Only with a money house can you gather limited capital and accelerate the development of industry and commerce.

The Red Army attached great importance to reputation, and only when the reputation was loud could they display their power. Danchu gave the future government-run bank a loud name - Zhongxing Bank, and wrote to Yu Houji, the left councillor, asking him to handle it as soon as possible.

(End of this chapter)