Ming Dynasty: Summoning game players at the beginning

Chapter 175: Having fun alone is not as good as having fun with everyone
The news of the extermination of Duke Yansheng's clan, the defeat of the Yanzhou army, and the fall of Lu vassal state were delivered to Zhu Youjian one after another.

At first, Zhu Youjian cursed the civil and military officials of Shandong in front of the imperial desk, accusing them of being extremely incompetent. They could not protect the Yansheng clan, and they could not even protect his great uncle.

Zhu Youjian was furious and wanted to purge the officials involved in the fall of Lu Fan, but he did not expect that a piece of good news would come right after that: "The Black Flag Camp pacified the Red Turban Bandits."

He was furious but calmed down in an instant, just like a hungry crying baby who sucks milk from a pacifier and stops crying in an instant.

The victory report recorded the entire process of the victory in detail. The Red Turban Bandits made trouble in southern Shandong for ten days, successively captured prefectures and counties, defeated tens of thousands of government troops, and killed Lu Fan's entire family.

Most of Shandong was in chaos and chaos, but fortunately the Black Flag Battalion moved south in time and defeated the bandits in just three days. They killed the bandit leader in battle and captured thousands of their heads.

Several civil servants reported roughly the same thing:

They denounced the troops of Liu Zeqing and Ni Chong for watching the fall of Qufu City and for advancing rashly to seize credit, but were defeated one by one by the bandits.

These brave generals then instigated their troops in Yanzhou to seize military pay, which almost caused a major chaos. It was only because the Black Flag Battalion suppressed the rebellion in time that no serious consequences were caused.

Finally, the officials requested His Majesty's approval: to make good use of the property of Duke Yansheng and the Lu clan, and to hand over two million taels of silver to His Majesty's treasury in spring and summer.

After taking care of all the affairs of the farm, I can also pay the rent to Your Majesty regularly every year for your exclusive use.

In addition, officials requested to recruit the brave "Red Turban Bandits" and hand them over to the Black Flag Battalion, which was about to head to Dengzhou and had been renamed the "Beiwei Army", for custody and training. Presumably, they would soon be able to be transformed into the combat power of the official army.

"Well, well, well! As expected of my trusted and beloved general, Lord Li has made great contributions to me in less than a month. He even defeated a bandit force of ten thousand men in just two and a half days.

Although Yan Jizu was incompetent, he was not confused about major issues and did not hinder Li Aiqing. He was a capable person. Liu Zeqing, Wang Xiong and others caused a military mutiny and deserved to be killed. The Black Flag Battalion killed them well!

Two "heavyweights" died one after another, but the dead cannot be resurrected.

Auctioning real estate to supplement border town military expenses is indeed a good idea.

It was so good that Zhu Youjian could temporarily forget the sadness and anger of "the loss of the vassal state".

"I have granted all of Lord Yan's requests. Lord Li has performed great service. Please reward him according to the rules..."

After some discussion, the ministers decided to promote Li Mu from his original rank of commander-in-chief to the position of deputy commander-in-chief of the Central Army Commandery.

Although both are of the second rank, the former is the commander of the "provincial military region" and the latter is the honorary commander of the "Central Theater Command", and has higher welfare benefits.

As Zhu Youjian listened, his eyes suddenly turned mournful. He then lamented, in a voice only audible to him and the eunuchs around him, "Why is it that I am surrounded by corrupt, power-hungry, and incompetent villains, but not by more loyal ministers like Li Aiqing, who are both wise and courageous?"

The only shortcoming of General Li and his soldiers is that they are greedy and rude, and occasionally domineering towards the gentry and bureaucrats.

If it were any great hero who risked his life for the country, this would only be considered a "common personality trait of a warrior" and not even a stain.

If they were greedy for money, lustful, and rude, they would have made great contributions to the country. Zhu Youjian wished he had ten more such fierce generals.

Finally, Zhu Youjian ordered a "proper burial" for Uncle Lu Fan and the Yansheng Duke's family, at least hoping that they could rest in peace after death.

……

The news that the emperor approved the auction of assets quickly reached Yanzhou, and no imperial guards rushed to Shandong to arrest anyone.

This made all the officials involved breathe a sigh of relief. Thanks to General Li, they landed safely.

And "Lucky Star" himself was promoted again.

Although the Five Military Commandery had long been in name only, Li Mu still held the office of Deputy Commander-in-Chief, which was half a level higher than other ordinary generals.

Before the emperor approved it, many matters concerning the auction were prepared and promoted without prior approval.

On the day the emperor's edict arrived, the Black Flag Camp led the following events: an auction, a large "grocery" market, a concert, a human drama troupe, and an investment promotion conference.

A grocery market was set up ten miles west of Yanzhou City, forming a temporary bazaar. Any business that paid the "stall fee" could set up a stall and sign business orders here.

The merchants of the "Five Elements Trading Company" were related to General Li, and they occupied several good positions without paying a penny.

In addition to regular goods and investment opportunities, there are also heads sold by the Black Flag Battalion's death squads at stalls—

All the heads of the Red Turban bandits have been "specially pickled" and placed on the counter for customers to choose from.

Judging from the cut on the head, it was obvious that the head was killed within the last two days. Anyone who bought it could claim that it was a prize obtained while hunting down bandits.

The price of each part related to the bandits is different, such as the bandit head, flag, helmet, bandit boots... Some are sold at a fixed price, while others require public bidding.

Buying and selling heads sounds very strange, but it was quite popular in the late Ming Dynasty.

The families of minor officials and gentry who hoped to gain promotions through meritorious service, or the grassroots Ming army and militia who had no hope of promotion all came to stroll around and look at the goods.

"A bandit's head starts at three taels of silver?"

The lower-level Ming army was in a dilemma. They had no money in their pockets and it was difficult for them to even pay a tael of silver. If they wanted to buy the head of a bandit, they would need crowdfunding from at least several people.

According to the court's clearly marked price for military merit, beheading one level of a soldier usually earned a reward of ten taels of silver, or being promoted one level, sometimes the reward was as low as three or four taels of silver, while beheading a Jiannu soldier could earn a reward of thirty taels of silver.

However, these spoils will be intercepted by the superiors, and military merits are generally not obtained. It is considered good to get a reward of three or four taels.

Since these heads have been priced, officers at all levels have become active. Those with money will naturally spend money to buy military merits, while those without money are racking their brains to figure out how to get the heads.

Some people are qualified to inherit hereditary positions, but because they cannot bribe enough, they cannot fill the vacancies and can only rely on some military merits to get promoted. Such people need to spend a lot of money to bid for the head of the bandit leader, which is of extremely high gold content.

Some people just want to make quick money and are not interested in the heads. They raise a few taels of silver to buy some high-quality and low-priced goods, and then resell them on the way back home to make several times the profit.

Moreover, you can also buy the heads of ordinary bandits and earn rewards from the court. The extra difference will be regarded as the spoils of this war.

Others want fame and merit, and need sets of tokens such as heads, helmets, and flags, so that civil officials can "write" the legendary experience of hunting down the remaining bandits in the victory report, thereby increasing their chances of promotion.

Countless government soldiers were attracted to the west city market by the "grocery market", and even some former Ming troops in the city gradually left Yanzhou City just to seek fame and fortune.

Of course, it doesn’t matter if the lower-level Ming army has no money. The Black Flag Camp specially provides a “lottery mode”, where you can participate in the lottery once with just one penny of silver.

If you are extremely lucky, you may draw a "high star" bandit leader and flag, and be promoted two levels.

...Yang Zhenwu, the former deputy general of Denglai and now the garrison commander of Dengzhou, is also one of those who is obsessed with "official position".

He had heard about the "auction publicity" a few days ago and hurried to Yanzhou. On the one hand, he wanted to spend money to get promoted, and on the other hand, he knew that a Black Flag Battalion was about to rush to Dengzhou, so he came to build some relationships.

Seeing that the "conference had begun", he hurriedly changed into casual clothes and went to the temporary market in the west of the city. He walked back and forth in the "big market" area as if he was strolling in a snack street.

Thousands of Black Flag auxiliary soldiers dressed in strange costumes turned the market outside Yanzhou City into an art exhibition.

They wore spare costumes and played "characters" from ancient and modern times, both Chinese and foreign, just like otakus strolling around a comic convention, stopping and walking between market stalls.

Sometimes they would chat and laugh with fellow enthusiasts, and sometimes they would climb onto the roof of a nearby inn to show off their character traits.

Sometimes a group of people lean back with their hands in their pockets, pretending to be some fantasy adventurer with a stand.

There were also people singing and dancing between the market and the post station, completely ignoring the princes' families who had not yet been buried, as if they were dancing on the graves of the dead.

"Follow me and join the Beiwei Army. Our army is just beginning and we need your help!"

A Black Flag soldier wore a horned helmet, leather armor, his face was covered with wrinkles, and he had a thick beard, looking very much like a Nordic Viking from hundreds of years ago.

"Let us, like the Viking barbarians of the West, ride on Viking longships to cross the Bohai Sea, sail through the inland rivers and penetrate every inch of the Liaozhong Plain. The longships will serve as both our means of crossing the river and our shield for attacking cities and strongholds.

The entire Liaodong Plain is our hunting ground. We can kill a hundred today and a thousand tomorrow. One day, the damn wild boar barbarians will be completely wiped out by us!

Join the Beiwei Army in guerrilla warfare, and let the entire Liaodong burn with me!"

Yang Zhenwu thought that the man was a "Eastern Barbarian" in the Black Flag Battalion because of his crude attire. It was not until he heard him speak fluent Chinese that he realized that he was actually a combat soldier of the Black Flag Battalion.

Yang Zhenwu thought that the Black Flag Battalion was indeed as "weird" as the rumors said, and was good at finding joy in adversity.

Walking along the way, listening to the music and singing, watching the novel and bizarre "hot dances", as well as those dangerous acrobatics and parkour, Yang Zhenwu suddenly felt like he was attending a grand festival celebration and was in a happy and relaxed mood.

However, Yang Zhenwu knew that he was here to seek "military merit", so he put aside the interesting singing and dancing and turned around to go deep into the "head store".

Here, the Black Flag soldiers were shouting as they introduced the origins of their helmets, while the Black Flag auxiliary soldiers were slowly circling around, holding processed skulls and showing them to the passing government troops.

"Look, look! Just look at this! A freshly killed bandit's head. One is worth more than six! You won't be cheated or fooled by buying a bandit's head. It's truly worth every penny!"

"When you're in the officialdom, how can you avoid getting your shoes wet? The heads of bandits from the Black Flag Camp are very useful for promotions and rewards. If you've been demoted, buying the bandit heads will guarantee you promotions, wealth, and everything else..."

There were also soldiers from the Black Flag Battalion pretending to be Ming soldiers who had purchased a head. They held up a head with their tongues sticking out together with the buyer and said, "Ever since I bought the Black Flag Battalion's bandit head, my waist and legs no longer ache, I've been promoted quickly, and I feel strong all over. I can have sex with women seven times a night without any effort!"

"I buy it, I buy it!"

"No! Sell it to me! I'll give you twenty taels of silver!"

The street fighters were arguing with each other for the head of a bandit, spitting and spitting, and they were almost fighting on the spot. In the end, one of them was generous enough to buy the head for fifty taels of silver, which temporarily calmed the fight.

These catchy "advertising slogans" are like magic music that are hard to forget.

Yang Zhenwu looked at the goods of many shops and the heads of bandits with envy, and countless ways to reinstate his official position emerged in his mind.

He held a bulging purse in his hand, like a ten-year-old child with his pockets full of New Year's money. Facing the dazzling array of goods in the commercial street, he was a little overwhelmed for a moment.

"The No. 1 auction is about to begin! There will be rare goods and leader-level bandits inside! Those who haven't entered yet, please do so quickly!" The voice of the Black Flag Camp sounded dozens of steps away, which attracted Yang Zhenwu's attention.

A few bandit heads could not satisfy Yang Zhenwu's appetite. He hoped to obtain high-level merits such as beheading the bandit generals so that he could have a hope of regaining his original military position.

The black flag soldiers outside the auction tent reached out to stop Yang Zhenwu and other military officers who wanted to enter, "The entrance fee is five taels of silver."

"Here." Yang Zhenwu happily gave an ingot of silver, thinking that such behavior could also isolate those middle and lower-level officers and reduce the number of competitors for military merit.

The tent for the "A-grade" auction was not large. More than a dozen military officers of varying ranks gathered inside the tent, occupying almost 30% of the space.

Yang Zhenwu glanced around and found that there were many familiar faces in the tent, including some civil servants who usually claimed to be upright and honest.

Humph! What a hypocritical villain who pretends to be righteous. On the one hand, he discriminates against the vulgarity of warriors, but on the other hand, he openly tramples on the morality he always talks about.

Yang Zhenwu narrowed his eyes slightly and suddenly found that several people seemed to be holding cups and drinking an amber liquid.

What kind of cup is that!
It's actually transparent!
Just as Yang Zhenwu was about to go forward to take a closer look, a waiter came forward with a black tray on which were three tall glasses filled with wine. "Please enjoy your meal, sir."

Yang Zhenwu was a little confused and stood there at a loss. It was another military officer who arrived earlier who held the cup and taught him how to pick it up.

"Thank you."

Yang Zhenwu muttered softly, imitating the military officer's movements, carefully pinching the cup foot with his fingers, while the rest of his fingers and palm supported the bottom of the transparent glass cup from below.

The amber liquid is very smooth when you drink it, mixed with a hint of sweet wheat aroma, and the remaining bubbles feel like countless small thorns dancing on the tongue.

The first time you take a sip, you'll find it difficult to scrape your tongue, but if you smack your lips and savor it carefully, you'll be able to taste a light sweetness that comes after a bitter taste. In this contrast of bitterness and sweetness, you can't help but linger on the sweet wheat aroma that remains in your mouth.

Tastes awesome!

Yang Zhenwu drank the liquid in the cup in two gulps, but still felt unsatisfied.

Amber water is good water, and this transparent high-heeled glass is also a good glass!
Yang Zhenwu stared at the transparent and flawless glass cup, and was shocked to realize that this whole thing would cost at least hundreds of taels of silver.

The Black Flag Army actually took out such precious items and used them as tea sets for their guests to enjoy. This is simply extravagant!
It's said that the Black Flag Battalion swallowed up many of the palace's rare treasures. Now it seems to be true...

"The next item for auction is the Red Turban Bandits' Qianzong officer, which comes with a helmet, battle flag, and underwear!"

The soldiers of the Black Flag Camp held a head and walked ten steps to the left and right in front, showing the appearance of the bandit general to the civil and military officials in front of them for inspection.

"The starting price is two hundred taels..."

As the auctioneer gave the signal, civil and military officials began to compete to bid for two hundred taels, two hundred and fifty, three hundred taels, four hundred taels...

Yang Zhenwu panicked. He didn't expect these officials to offer such a high price right from the start!

(End of this chapter)