Take control of Wei Zhongxian at the start and confiscate 100 million from him!

Chapter 94: The Ming Army is dissatisfied with its pay

Amidst billowing dust, a simple, unadorned carriage, escorted by hundreds of elite soldiers of the new army, slowly entered Shanhaiguan.

The carriage curtain was lifted, and an elderly man with white hair and beard stepped out. He was the newly appointed Governor-General of Jiliao, Sun Chengzong, who was nearly seventy years old.

He was dressed in an ordinary blue official robe, without alerting any local officials. As soon as he entered the pass, he rode directly up to the city wall of Ningyuan.

At this moment, Ningyuan City, and even the entire Guanningjin defense line, was shrouded in a depressing silence.

The soldiers on the city wall wore tattered armor, looked pale, and had eyes filled with confusion and numbness.

Sun Chengzong walked step by step through every section of Ningyuan City's city wall, with Zhao Shuaijiao and the others following closely behind, holding their breath. From the old commander's calm gaze, they could read an unprecedented sternness and focus.

For three whole days, Sun Chengzong walked through Ningyuan and then rushed to Jinzhou. He remeasured the defense line that had cost the Ming Dynasty countless amounts of money and blood with his own two feet.

On the fourth day, in the main hall of the commander's mansion in Ningyuan City, Sun Chengzong summoned all generals of the rank of deputy general and above.

“The defenses are crumbling, and morale is low.” He spoke, his voice aged yet strong, getting straight to the heart of the problem. “I don’t want to hear any excuses. From today onward, the entire army will be mobilized to repair the city’s defenses. Not a single brick of the wall that needs repairing can be missing; not an inch of soil in the trenches that need clearing can be left. The remaining supplies allocated by His Majesty are on their way. Within a month, I want to see a completely new defense line.”

The generals looked at each other in bewilderment.

Repairing the city walls?
But the soldiers are starving, why should they risk their lives for you?
Seemingly seeing through everyone's thoughts, Sun Chengzong snorted coldly and clapped his hands.

The gates of the Marshal's Mansion were pushed open, and squads of New Army soldiers carried dozens of heavy wooden crates in one after another. The crates were placed heavily on the ground with a dull thud.

"Open!"

At Sun Chengzong's command, the lid of the box was pried open, and in an instant, the room was filled with golden light. The gleaming gold ingots and the white silver coins were so dazzling that everyone could not open their eyes.

"This..." Zhao Shuaijiao and the others gasped. They had been fighting in Liaodong for many years, and they had never seen such a huge amount of gold and silver being transported directly to the commander's mansion.
"This is one million taels of silver personally allocated by His Majesty from the Imperial Treasury!" Sun Chengzong's voice suddenly rose, echoing in the hall. "Before his departure, His Majesty held my hand and earnestly instructed me: 'The soldiers of Liaodong have shed their blood to defend the country's borders; we must never fail their loyalty and bravery!'"

He stood up, his gaze sharp as lightning, sweeping over everyone present: "Issue my order! From this moment forward, distribute all the back pay and rations owed to the entire army! From the general to the foot soldier, not a single penny shall be shortchanged! All pay must be personally distributed by officers to every soldier, and a register must be made. I will send my personal guards to inspect the records. Anyone found to have withheld any pay will be executed without mercy!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the whole room fell silent.

The Liaodong military tax was a chronic and deep-seated problem, an old debt that everyone thought had long been buried in the archives of the Ministry of Revenue!

Over the years, they have become accustomed to the court's excuses and the generals' empty promises; their hearts have long since grown cold and numb.

Therefore, no one believed it.

However, when the soldiers pried open those heavy wooden crates with all their might, and when the snowflake-like silver ingots gleamed dazzlingly in the sunlight, only heavy breathing could be heard in the hall.

The rumors were true!

Real gold and silver, piled up like mountains!
The news seemed to have wings, spreading instantly to every camp and fortress along the Guan-Ning defense line.

At first, there was suspicion, ridicule, and the cynical speculation that "there might be sand mixed in with the copper."

But when the carts loaded with pay drove into the camp, leaving ruts under the soldiers' watchful eyes; when the officers, holding rosters, began roll call in unprecedentedly loud voices; when strings of cold, heavy copper coins and handfuls of genuine silver coins were roughly and realistically stuffed into the dirty hands of each soldier...
The oppressive silence was finally shattered by a thunderous roar!
"Payday has arrived!!"

"Damn it, I found some silver!!"

Countless military camps instantly erupted in chaos!

Some people brought the silver to their mouths and took a big bite, leaving clear teeth marks, before opening their leaky mouths and letting out a maniacal laugh.

Even the toughest man, clutching the loose change, plopped down on the ground, first laughing foolishly, then tears streaming down his face like broken beads, and finally, clutching the money, he burst into tears like a child.

Before the cheers of "Long live the Emperor!" had subsided, squads of civil officials dressed in brand-new court robes, under the strict protection of personal guards, flowed like a clear stream into the bustling camps.

With solemn faces, they held scrolls of huge proclamations stamped with bright red imperial seals, and solemnly posted them on the most conspicuous bulletin boards in each camp amidst the astonished gazes of countless soldiers.

At this moment, everyone was stunned.

The clamor and ecstatic roar seemed to be instantly choked by an invisible hand, gradually subsiding.

It was common for the emperor to issue edicts to generals, but it was unusual for him to personally write a proclamation for these warriors who spent their days licking blood from the edge of a knife.

This is simply unheard of, an unimaginable wonder!
In an instant, countless pairs of rough, questioning eyes, tinged with burning expectation, were all fixed on the brand-new paper.

Similar scenes were playing out simultaneously in countless camps across Liaodong. In the Left Outpost Camp, a centurion with a full beard, who had been crying the loudest, wiped his face hard with his sleeve, pushed through the crowd to the front, and stared wide-eyed at the top of his lungs. Every word seemed to be bursting out from between his teeth as he loudly recited in his rough voice.

On the other side of the Divine Machine Battalion, an old captain, usually taciturn and renowned for his archery skills, smoothed out a corner of the notice with trembling hands. His cloudy old eyes gleamed with disbelief. He cleared his throat and began to read the imperial decree to the brothers around him in an aged but steady tone.

Even more remarkably, in the most remote garrison posts, the one who could read was the young clerk who accompanied the army. He was surrounded by a group of tall and burly soldiers, and he appeared somewhat thin, but when his clear voice rang out, it carried a power that penetrated people's hearts.

Their voices, whether rough, aged, or refined, were all trembling and filled with uncontrollable passion at this moment.

In an instant, the bustling drill ground and the noisy camp miraculously fell silent once again.

Thousands of soldiers, near and far, held their breath and pricked up their ears. The words uttered by the literate officers seemed to have a magical power, imprinting themselves into the hearts of every single one of them.

At that moment, they seemed to be able to see through the thin paper and truly feel the heavy and sincere gaze that the young emperor in the Forbidden City cast upon their bitter and cold land!
They instinctively clutched the silver coins in their hands; that cold metal was their only faith in the first half of their lives.

They heard every single word on the imperial edict, but when those words were strung together, they overturned the very understanding they relied on for survival.

Will the emperor admit his mistake? Will the court take responsibility? Are the promises made to these soldiers really being guaranteed by the fate of the nation?
This left them feeling even more bewildered than dying on the battlefield.

In a corner of the drill ground, an old centurion with a scar on his face, who had spent his life obeying orders, killing, taking rewards, and embezzling, had long since hardened his heart to stone! At this moment, however, his cloudy eyes were fixed on his right hand, whose joints were deformed from years of holding a knife.

He looked at it as if it were a completely unfamiliar hand.

After a long while, he slowly raised his hand, took off the sword from his waist that had chopped off countless heads, and instead of kneeling, he held the sword horizontally in front of his chest and bowed deeply towards the direction of the capital.

His back was bent like a fully drawn bow, ready to be released!

This action, though silent, carried immense weight.

The soldiers around him saw this and said nothing, but silently imitated him, unfastening their swords, holding them across their chests, and bowing.

One, ten, a hundred... and then, one square formation after another.

Immediately afterwards, another voice rang out.

"Chong-"

With a clear, resonant clang of metal, the old villager steadily returned the blade to its sheath.

The sound was like a command.

"Clang..."

"Qiang..."

The sound of swords being sheathed quickly merged into a continuous, chilling wave that swept across the entire training ground.

The clanging of metal was the result of their years of resentment and unwillingness, which were now transformed into a chilling killing intent!
When the last longsword was sheathed, the training ground fell silent once more.
Looking at the motionless army before him, Sun Chengzong, a veteran general who had seen countless battles, felt his eyes well up with tears.

The spirit of this army has returned!
Sun Chengzong's gaze slowly shifted from the grim military formation before him, finally settling on the huge wooden plaque in the distance, where the imperial edict had just been posted.

There were no elaborate ceremonies, nor any condescending pronouncements; it was simply the black and white words on white paper, stamped with the emperor's seal, that directly and simply proclaimed the truth to the world.

But what in this world could be more moving than this?
The emperor poured real gold and silver onto the soldiers' iron-clad indifference, instantly shattering the ice that encased their resentment and numbness. Then, with the most fervent vows, he reignited their cooled blood!
Every word on the proclamation seemed to come alive at that moment, leaping off the paper and echoing in the air, clearly and passionately imprinted on the hearts of every soldier.

Imperial Edict to the Generals and Soldiers of the Three Armies Outside the Pass

I believe that the greatest strength in the world lies in its military. For over two hundred years, the Ming Dynasty has stood, all thanks to you, the border soldiers, who have defended the north against the invaders, building a fortress with your blood and flesh. Your contributions are as high as mountains and as deep as the sea, and I have never forgotten them, working tirelessly day and night.

In the past, the court mismanaged the government, and the nation faced numerous difficulties, resulting in repeated delays in food and supplies, leaving loyal souls without a place to rest. This was not a fault of the war, but rather a failure of the court, and also my fault!
Today, I burn incense and offer sacrifices at the ancestral temple, vowing with my blood to declare my resolve: From this day forward, the provisions and supplies for the nine border regions will be my top priority. I will ensure that silver chests are full and millet granaries overflow. If even one soldier still cries out in hunger and cold, I will personally remove my imperial robes and don your armor! Those who slay chieftains and seize flags will not only be granted titles and mansions, but their portraits will also be displayed in the imperial edict hall; those who hesitate to fight, even princes and nobles, will have their heads displayed on white banners!

The snow-covered Liaodong plains are stained with the blood of heroes; the wind howls at Jizhou, echoing the cries of valiant warriors. Where your gilded arrows point, the Ming Dynasty's territory will be laid; where your iron boots tread, the legitimate line of Chinese civilization will be extended.

When I have rectified the court, cleaned up the bureaucracy, brought peace to the country, and filled the treasury; when your troops are strong and your spirit is high, that will be the day I personally lead the six armies to pacify Liaodong in the north!
I wear a helmet without a crown, and a sword hilt without a jade tablet. I will share snow water with you all, and lie with you in the cold frost!
In the past, Emperor Taizu drove the Mongols to the northern deserts, and Emperor Chengzu launched five campaigns to pacify the northern frontier; now I make a pact with the three armies: whenever the smoke of war points south, it means the Son of Heaven is coming north!
At that time, I will beat the drums to cheer you all on and personally shoot down the Big Dipper to signal the entire army!

If the mountains and rivers are torn apart, we will mend them with our bones and muscles; if the nation is toppled, we will hold it up with our blood. This war is not for fame or fortune, but only to ensure that the Chinese nation's traditions continue and its traditions endure for millennia to come!
Where the sword points, there lies our land! Where blood stains, there lies our homeland! I am willing to stand with you all in this national crisis!

Admire this!

　Tomorrow happens to be the day it goes on sale, a big day, a lucky day!
　　May our nation be prosperous and our people thriving, and our mountains and rivers forever secure; may our military might be awe-inspiring, and our eagles soar across the four seas!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)