A son who doesn't resemble his father? Love you, old man, see you at Xuanwu Gate!

Chapter 17 Eating 10,000 Pigs a Day
The entrance to the Grand Marshal's tent was startled by the sound of rapid hoofbeats.

This place was originally the headquarters of the highest-ranking generals of the Northern Army, and its regulations were usually very strict. Today, with the highest-ranking generals of the army, including Huo Qubing, Zhao Shiqi, Gongsun Ao, Su Jian, Lu Bode, Zhao Ponu, Li Gan, and Ren An, the envoy of the Northern Army, all inside, and the guards outside on guard, it appeared even more strict.

At this moment, a cavalry was galloping through the military camp, daring to venture here. A group of personal guards immediately ran towards the direction of the sound of hooves.

Several horses appeared, and the guards recognized the Crown Prince sitting on the first horse, so they immediately retreated.

The Grand Marshal's personal guards recognized Liu Ju and hurriedly went to greet him.

Liu Ju dismounted, threw his whip at Zhao Chongguo, and asked the head of the personal guard, "Is the Grand Marshal inside?"

"exist."

The guard replied, "They're all here."

Pushing open the tent flap, Liu Ju saw that everyone was seated and silent, waiting for his arrival.

Liu Ju walked to the empty seat at the head of the large desk in the general's office and sat down. "Uncle, why the rush? What's going on?"

With a "smack," Huo Qubing, sitting opposite him, slammed his hand on the table and glared angrily at the generals, saying, "Let them speak."

All eyes turned to Ren An, but Ren An kept his eyes fixed on the door and his mouth tightly shut.

Aside from Wei Qing and Huo Qubing, the highest-ranking official was Ren An, the envoy in charge of supervising the Northern Army. Since Ren An remained silent, and the Commandant Sima An had been sent on a mission to the Huainan Kingdom and had not yet returned, everyone looked towards Gongsun Ao.

"Your Highness, I don't understand how this happened."

Gongsun Ao's face was marked with whip marks. He said in a calm tone, "Not long ago, the court suddenly sent an imperial envoy to the Northern Army to inspect various expenditure accounts. Since the envoy was led by Suo Zhong and Jian Xuan, two people who came from the Grand Marshal's office, we all thought it was just a formality and didn't take it seriously."

But today, we suddenly learned that the imperial envoy had obtained actual evidence of 'empty quotas' and 'embezzlement'. So I immediately sent soldiers to intercept him. We did manage to intercept him, but the Grand Marshal released him.

"I don't understand why they were released. Once the evidence reaches His Majesty, the Grand Marshal will certainly be unable to explain himself. And if the accounts are settled, we won't just be dismissed."

Are you even human?

Huo Qubing spoke again, slamming his hand on the table and standing up. His cold gaze swept over the group of officers and soldiers. "It's one thing to embezzle salaries, but you even embezzle the pensions for fallen soldiers. Are you so short of money? In front of the Grand Marshal and His Highness, explain yourselves!"

The generals looked at each other, their faces showing shame.

“What soldier isn’t greedy?” Wei Qing replied, “Not every general can achieve the same feats as you, winning first place in the army and being ennobled in a single battle.”

These words, spoken in a low voice, were like a thunderclap in everyone's ears, so loud that Huo Qubing's eyes widened.

Gongsun Ao and his generals were deeply moved.

The military merit system of the Han Dynasty was extremely harsh, emphasizing only "capturing the enemy's head".

It includes three aspects: first, capturing the Xiongnu king, prime minister, general, and queen; second, the number of enemies killed; and third, making significant contributions to the victory.

Apart from these three, there were no other ways for Han soldiers to gain military merit. Even when Han generals faced the main force of the Xiongnu with a small number of troops, which was several times or even ten times larger than the main force, and the strength of the two sides was vastly different, the soldiers who fought to the death in such an impossible situation would not be recognized or rewarded under the military merit system of the Han Dynasty. Instead, they would be punished for defeat.

At this point, Li Gan, the cavalry captain sitting at the end, was frozen in place, his lips trembling slightly.

His father, Li Guang, served three emperors and dominated both China and the world for decades, yet he was never granted a title and was repeatedly punished for this.

If it weren't for the Li family's wealth, which allowed them to pay 500,000 coins each time to atone for their crimes, my father would have lost all ten of his lives. Military merit is hard to come by, but punishment is easy. The higher a general in the Han Dynasty rises, the greater the chance of being imprisoned. With his meager military pay, he couldn't even save his own life, let alone support his family.

Of course, Wei Qing wouldn't take it, nor would Huo Qubing. From the moment they were born, they were the most dazzling generals, not lacking in money, and would even share money with their soldiers.

Li Guang and his son Li Ling wouldn't take it either. Born into a wealthy family, they looked down on such a small amount of money. What they pursued was to be ennobled and appointed as prime ministers.

What about the other generals?
Therefore, the generals and officers of the Qin and Han dynasties were all corrupt, corrupt from top to bottom. If you don't take it and I don't take it, how can everyone survive?
The practice of embezzling salaries and misappropriating pensions did not begin when Wei Qing became Grand Marshal and the others became generals, nor will it end when the generals are punished. As long as the military system of the Han Dynasty remains unchanged, the embezzlement and misappropriation will not end.

"How much has the Northern Army been short of funds in the past six months?" Liu Ju had no choice but to ask.

No matter how you look at it, it all boils down to money. The so-called evidence that cruel officials like Suo Zhong, Jian Xuan, and Zhou Yangyou took from the Northern Army can all be explained by money.

Even if they can't explain it, they can pay money to atone for their sins.

Wei Qing paused for a moment, then said, "A lot. At least ten thousand taels of gold."

Liu Ju nodded and looked at his generals, "How much more can you offer?"

The shogunate was silent.

It wasn't that they were unwilling to return the stolen goods, but that they were truly out of money. The entire Northern Army was eating and using the money, and from time to time, they would "donate" some of it.

For example, when learning the "three-three system," several generals managed to scrape together three hundred gold coins, a sum so small that it was laughable.

"I'll handle the money issue. You can all go back now," Liu Ju said with a sigh.

Gongsun Ao stood up, still wanting to say something.

Liu Ju waved his hand and said, "Go."

"Yes," Gongsun Ao replied, his voice slightly hoarse.

"Thank you, Your Highness."

The generals rose at the same time, bowed, and left the shogunate.

Only Wei Qing, Huo Qubing, and Liu Ju (uncle and nephew) remained.

"Ju'er, how will you pay for this?" Wei Qing thought of the Zhuo family.

Liu Ju didn't say anything explicitly, he just nodded.

The weaving workshop earns five thousand gold coins a month, which is enough for two months, and also lets the Han merchants understand what the "prepayment system" is.

Wei Qing had clearly misunderstood, thinking that Liu Ju was borrowing money from the Zhuo family, and his mind wavered. "We don't have to pay this money; His Majesty can't kill us."

"This calamity caused by the Northern Army was instigated by my father to force me to submit, with the aim of weakening my uncle and elder brother's power and prestige in the army. I bear the responsibility for it."

Liu Ju pointed out the essence of the problem: "Regarding today's matter, please ask your uncle to write a letter to the court, saying that the deficits of the Northern Army were caused by me. After I joined the Northern Army, I ate hundreds of thousands of pigs by myself, and the resulting deficits have been ordered to be made up by me."

(End of this chapter)