Northern Prefecture Rivers and Mountains

Chapter 142 Money Goes
On the second day, cartloads of money were transported from the port to the city. Each cart had the character "Liu" affixed to it. Zhao Lunzhi took out Liu Daogui's letter of credence, but the soldiers didn't even look at it and let it pass.

Then baskets of money were sent to the front, back, left and right departments.

"It's time to share the money!" Several soldiers at the front were carrying money and were overjoyed.

The soldiers rushed forward one after another.

"Whose money? What money?"

"Don't grab it, don't grab it, General Liu gives us the regular money every month!"

"What? There's such a good thing? General Liu is our adopted parent..."

"How dare you! How dare you take money of unknown origin?" A sudden shout rang out.

The soldiers turned around and found that it was Sima Yuan Can and a dozen of Yuan's descendants. They were stunned.

Yuan Can's face turned ashen. "This is an attempt to buy off the troops. Liu Daogui has ulterior motives. Come, take all the money and don't distribute it."

But he shouted loudly, but no one took action.

The soldiers all stared at him blankly.

Zhou Zheng winked at the brothers Jiang Qi and Jiang Xiu standing beside him.

Jiang Xiu immediately stepped forward with a few veterans. "Brothers, we've been through such a hard time. It's rare that General Liu is so righteous and lets us have a few full meals."

"Don't forget, you are serving our Yuan family. How can you eat his family's food?" Yuan Can said sternly.

It would have been better if this hadn't been said, but as soon as it was said the soldiers' faces showed anger.

The soldiers in the front were from the Huan family, many of whom were from the Jingzhou West Palace Army and settled in Guangling. The Yuan family had only been in control of the front for a year, and the people's hearts had not yet been won over.

If they were from the Huan family, they might be able to suppress them with their prestige of twenty or thirty years.

It would be bad enough if the Yuan family didn't give any benefits to the soldiers, but it's even harder for them to prevent others from giving them money.

"Whose food is not food? Whoever takes this money is destroying our jobs and killing us!"

Immediately, several more people jumped out, drew out their ring-handled swords, and their eyes were bloodshot.

"You..." Yuan Can was also a child of a noble family. He had lived a life of luxury and had never experienced such a scene. He was so frightened that he was speechless.

"Just be your Sima, and don't meddle in our affairs from now on, otherwise don't blame us for being rude."

More and more soldiers rushed up, surrounded the Yuan family members, with murderous eyes.

When the Huan family was in power, they could still get a share of the profits and military supplies were given priority. But when the Yuan family took over, these benefits disappeared inexplicably.

Before Xun Xinzhi died, the grain and treasury were in his hands, so naturally he would not favor the front troops anymore.

"I... I will go report to Sima Yuan..." Yuan Can held it in for a long time before he finally uttered this sentence.

However, this made the soldiers look even more contemptuous. Many of them had participated in the Battle of Feishui and they respected the strong. The Yuan family had neither any achievements nor prestige, so naturally they could not suppress these arrogant and powerful generals.

"Hmph!" Seeing that he couldn't scare everyone, Yuan Can stomped his feet and walked away with his butt twisted.

The soldiers burst into laughter.

Zhou Zheng waved his hand and said, "Come on, continue to share the money. You will get it every month. Remember who gave you the money!"

"Can't forget!"

The soldiers roared like thunder.

The other camps were also filled with laughter, as if it was New Year's Day.

Although five hundred coins are not a lot, they can buy one or two buckets of grain, so that the whole family can have a few full meals. The key is that it is a long-term income that can be obtained every month.

The soldiers had no choice but to be grateful to Liu Daogui. No one could resist money.

Where there is mutual interest, interest groups will automatically form.

Even the soldiers at the front were grateful to Liu Daogui.

Whenever he went out, no matter where he went, people would bow and scrape, respectfully calling him "Liu Canjun"...

Words spoken are more effective than military orders.

Military affairs that could not be solved before can now be easily resolved by just asking Xu Changming to convey a message.

As long as Li Damu's ships had the Chinese character "Liu" on their backs, they would sail freely through Guangling Harbor. Not only would no one stop them, but a special area would be designated for them to dock. A group of soldiers from the conquering forces stood guard on both sides, and any unauthorized people or ships were kept out...

"From now on, we voluntarily join the army and become its subordinates!"

More than a hundred old soldiers from the Northern Palace knelt on one knee in front of Liu Daogui.

Some of them were from the right wing, and some were from the front wing. After they heard through various channels that they could receive three strings of money every month after becoming a member of the army, they came to us in a hurry.

Looking at their solemn promises, Liu Daogui felt a little complicated. He had lived through hard times before and knew the difficulties involved.

A penny can make a hero fall. In this era, the least valuable thing is human life. No matter how powerful a person is, he still needs to eat and drink water to survive.

The wages of avarice is death.

This is a good thing for both parties. They have a support system, and Liu Daogui has gained a group of confidants.

There are laws in the Jin Dynasty law that specifically restrict the military officers and servants. Once they become military officers, the power of life and death will be in the hands of Liu Daogui.

However, the necessary sense of ceremony should still be maintained.

Liu Daogui asked someone to bring some wine and then cut his arm lightly. "From now on, Daogui and you will be brothers in life and death, and we will never leave each other!"

"I am willing to die in the service of my lord!"

One hundred and twenty-seven people stabbed their arms with knives and swore an oath of allegiance

Liu Daogui temporarily handed them over to Xu Changming and Gou Zhong for management, and asked them to return to their respective departments and not make it public for the time being.

After counting the money on hand, he found that he had only spent 3,100 coins. "Each household under the jurisdiction of the military government will receive an additional 300 coins!"

Liu Daogui made up his mind and decided to do the whole thing.

The military households were even more pitiful. Whether it was the flood or Wang Gong's garrison at Jingkou, they were the most unfortunate. They could only keep less than 10% of the grain they grew, and they had to endure heavy corvee labor. They couldn't pay the rent for their land, so they had to sell their children...

This kind of life is worse than that of a slave, and people look down on you.

It has been more than a hundred years since the Cao Wei Dynasty.

The poorer a person is, the more he needs a lifeline.

"That's seven or eight thousand households!" Liu Zun opened his eyes wide.

There are seven or eight thousand households, three hundred per month, which is less than thirty thousand strings of cash a year. Adding the twenty-five thousand strings of cash per year for the central soldiers, it is only fifty-five thousand strings of cash a year.

"Then increase it to five hundred coins per household. They have such a large family, three hundred coins is too little. If you don't sacrifice your children, you can't catch a wolf. When you are doing great things, you can't be stingy with your life, and you can't be stingy with money."

Anyway, there is no use keeping the money. Liu Daogui doesn't like luxury houses, and he doesn't like being drunk on Wu Shi San and fine wine, so he might as well give it all away.

It would be a great deal if this money could stir up this stagnant water.

If there was enough money, Liu Daogui would have gone to Jingkou Beifu Army to spend money.

"You are so cruel! You don't leave any way out for yourself." Liu Zun gave a thumbs up.

Liu Daogui glanced at him and said, "Are you stupid? Only by spending this money can we have a way out."

Liu Zun was stunned, but with his intelligence, he needed some time to figure out the reason.

"General, is General Liu here?" someone called out outside the government office.

"What's the matter?" Liu Daogui walked out of the house and found that it was Zhao Liangzhi, the doorman of Sima Yamen.

"Sima Yuan summoned me to join the army." Zhao Liangzhi said respectfully,

"Thank you for making this trip. I'll go right away." Liu Daogui shook his sleeves.

"Yuan Canzhi just went to the government office to file a complaint regarding the money he had just received."

Before Liu Daogui could ask, Zhao Liangzhi told him everything.

"Thank you." Liu Daogui had been waiting for Yuan He to come to him.

Just as he was about to rush to the Sima Yamen, Zhao Liangzhi suddenly grabbed Liu Daogui's hand and said, "General, we can't go to this Yamen..."

"Huh?" Liu Daogui was stunned.

This old guy Yuan He still dares to play tricks?

(End of this chapter)