Lin'an Never Night

Chapter 41: The Imperial Envoy Cleans Up the House

Mu Tiju lightly flicked his robe sleeves and said with a smile, "Everyone please stand up. Commanders, please take a seat."

After Mu En sat down in the main seat, Cao Min and Liu Shangqiu sat down on the left and right of the desk.

Some of the captains in the hall secretly speculated that it was no wonder that an extra chair had been placed on the side of the desk.

It turned out that Commander Cao had known that the imperial envoy was coming, but he didn't know what instructions he had for his visit.

Mu En was not tall. When he sat behind the desk, only his shoulder and head were exposed. On his big round head, a pair of eyes seemed to be half-closed, like those of Buddha.

However, none of the fifteen captains of a command post under the Imperial City Administration dared to look down on him.

It has only been two years since Mu En took over as the Imperial City Administrator, but he has already carried out a massive overhaul with lightning-fast means, completely transforming the once stagnant Imperial City Administration.

In fact, since the Song Dynasty moved south, its martial ethics have been somewhat boosted.

In these troubled times, how can martial virtue not flourish?

During this period, not only did many famous generals emerge, but the military discipline and combat effectiveness of the Song Dynasty army also became stricter and stronger.

However, starting from the Shaoxing Peace Agreement, Song and Jin entered a period of peace.

The Song Dynasty court seemed to feel that it could relax and unwind, and its military preparations began to slacken off again.

Especially since the Song Dynasty army can engage in business, this obviously does more harm than good.

You don't have the public spirit of General Yue Fei who spent all the money he earned on military construction.
There is no military discipline like General Yue Fei, who would execute you immediately if you dare to steal a pair of straw sandals from the people.

But they have the power to do business, the result is predictable.

As a result, not only did the Song army neglect its military preparations, but its military discipline also began to deteriorate.

Even the Imperial City Division, which was responsible for spying and monitoring the capital region, was affected, even though it was the emperor's eyes and ears.
Military discipline became lax, and they gradually lost the sharpness and alertness that the emperor's lackeys should possess.

It was this Laughing Maitreya-like Imperial City Envoy who, after taking office, carried out a major overhaul of the Imperial City Bureau, enforced strict military discipline, and assessed political performance.

Now, only two years have passed, and the Imperial City Bureau, which was originally in a state of decline, has been completely transformed.

It's like a rusted knife that has been sharpened again.

Therefore, everyone in the Imperial City Department respected and feared this Imperial City Envoy.

As soon as the imperial envoy arrived, Commander Cao Min straightened his posture.

But after Deputy Commander Liu Shangqiu sat down, he still looked lazy.

He even opened a folding fan with a "swish" sound and fanned himself gently.

On the side of the folding fan facing outward, there were only two large cursive characters: "Fushu".

The back side of the paper faintly shows through, and it seems to be a painting.

Mu Tiju narrowed his eyes and glanced at Liu Shangqiu.

At just one glance, he recognized that the two words "Fushu" were free and graceful, natural and fluent, and had the charm of a Jin Dynasty poet. They must have been written by the current emperor himself.

In this way, the "sketch" on the other side of the fan should also be written by His Majesty the Emperor.

Mu En smiled kindly at Liu Shangqiu and looked down.

"Next command post, the third city, the head of the city, Zhang Aibo, step forward."

Mu En spoke, his voice calm.

But when Zhang Aibo from the Third City heard Mu En call his name, his heart tightened.

He immediately left the post, crossed his arms and saluted: "I am the head of the third battalion of the next command post, Zhang Aibo, and I would like to meet Mu Tiju, Commander Cao, and Deputy Commander Liu."

Mu En smiled and said, "Zhang Aibo, your name is really right. It seems that you really like gambling!"

Zhang Aibo was startled and mumbled, "I... don't quite understand what Mu Tiju means."

Mu En smiled and said, "Zhang Dutou, you often go to the big tile to drink and gamble. Have you lost too much recently?"

Zhang Aibo's face suddenly changed.

Mu En said: "So you set up gambling in the capital and asked your officers and soldiers to gamble with you, right? You made a lot of money, right?"

Zhang Dutou could no longer hold back and fell to his knees with a thump.

He knew that he had exploited his subordinates too harshly and someone had reported him.

Zhang Ai Bo did not dare to argue, but kowtowed and begged for mercy, saying: "Please forgive me, Supervisor. I know I was wrong." In fact, the kneeling ceremony was not popular in the Song Dynasty at that time. People did not have to kneel when meeting an official, and even when a prisoner was on trial, they did not have to kneel during the hearing.

Only when it comes to the conviction stage will the ritual of "kowtow and confess guilt" take place.

But if you insist on not kneeling, no one will force you.

Kneeling is just a gesture, an attempt to seek leniency.

Mu En sighed and said, "Since I received the emperor's order to manage the Imperial City Department, I have been working diligently every day, fearing that I would fail the emperor's grace.

I have never been a mean and heartless person. As long as you do your job diligently and do not violate military laws, what can't you do?

"As long as you have made contributions, I have rewarded you. Captain Zhang, you really deserve it."

Zhang Dutou put his hands on the ground and bowed his head, saying: "I have failed your majesty, the court, and the supervisor. I am guilty!"

Mu En sighed and said, "Since you plead guilty, I will not punish you..."

Zhang Aibo was delighted.

But Mu En continued, "Those of your subordinates are only forced to flatter you because of your authority.

But since they are willing to participate in the gambling just to please you, their superior, and deliberately lose to you,

I am too lazy to be the bad guy, so I won't ask you to return their money."

When Zhang Dutou heard this, he became panicked.

Zhang Aibo said quickly: "No, no, no, I am willing to return the gambling money, I am willing to return it..."

Mu En did not respond to his words, and said calmly: "Withdraw, hand over the mission immediately, and report to the Lin'an Horse Delivery Shop tomorrow."

After hearing this, Zhang Dutou's face suddenly turned grim.

It's over, it's all over now.

The other four captains and ten deputy captains looked at him with sympathy.

Being demoted from the head of the imperial guards of the Imperial City Department to a wing soldier in Madipu, his military pay would be reduced by at least two-thirds.

He will also greatly reduce the various welfare benefits for soldiers.

Later generations said that the Song Dynasty suppressed military power. That was because since the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, the emperors who sat on the throne had been beheaded and usurped by military generals time and time again, and they were really scared.

Therefore, the Song Dynasty was very careful to control the power of military commanders. However, the control of the Song Dynasty was mainly to control the power and influence of military commanders.

The material treatment of military personnel is not low at all, and it can even be said to be the highest among all soldiers in all dynasties.

How well were military men treated in the Song Dynasty?
In addition to the regular salary, every soldier also receives a variety of subsidies under various names.

When you join the army, you will be given money to buy clothes. Every year, you will be given money for worshipping your ancestors. Special money will be given regularly during the three major festivals: Cold Food Festival, Winter Solstice, and Dragon Boat Festival.

In winter, they gave out money to compensate for coal, in the border areas, they gave out money to compensate for shoes, and even military rewards were given for diligent training. When they were transferred, they were given a hardship fee called transfer money...

If a soldier is injured, he will be transferred to do menial work but his salary will remain the same.

If the injury is so severe that the soldier cannot even do menial work and has to retire, his salary will be halved, but he can receive it for life.
Not only were generous funeral expenses given to those who died in battle, but their family members and elderly relatives could also receive three dou of rice each month.

The martyrs' families are also offered a quota to become civil servants, and the government will assign them jobs;
Soldiers who died of illness during the war and soldiers who died from injuries received the same treatment.

To put it in one sentence, it is "One person serving in the army, the whole family is worry-free and will never worry for the rest of their lives."

In response to the statement, "If the Manchus are not more than 10,000, they will be invincible," some people jokingly said, "If the Ming army is not fully paid, they will be invincible if they are fully paid."

Of course, when military discipline is bad, soldiers may not be able to receive these benefits in full, but under the court's open system, no one dares to embezzle all of it.

Among the armies of all dynasties, the treatment given to the Song Army was unprecedented and will never be repeated.

But most of the time, the Song army's combat effectiveness...

It can be seen that the strength of the army is never determined by a single factor. The indecisiveness of the court's decision-making, the bloated and slow bureaucracy, etc. are all key factors in victory or defeat.

The Song army had a very high salary system, and it was even more difficult for the imperial guards to embezzle or misappropriate money, so their salaries were almost always in full.

Now that Zhang Dutou has been driven out of the Imperial City Bureau, his loss is really unimaginable.

Hearing that he had begged for mercy but ended up like this, Zhang Ai Bo was so angry that he suddenly rose to the top of his head.

He suddenly raised his head and shouted in a hoarse voice: "I will not accept such punishment from the supervisor!"

(End of this chapter)