Kill the enemy and get a wife? I'll single-handedly slaughter my way through the Northern Barba

Lin Feng's eyes flickered slightly as he scrutinized Zheng Tu.

"Save our brothers in the Ruzhou army?"

"Lord Zheng, do you know what's going on within the Ruzhou army? Are you willing to tell me?"

Zheng Tu raised his head, a hint of helplessness and desolation in his eyes: "You jest, sir. Although I am just a centurion who has been ostracized, I have served in the Ruzhou army for more than ten years."

"I am aware of all the sordid things that happen in the army, but no one has ever spoken up about them."

Lin Feng stretched out his hand and said, "Lord Zheng, please don't be in a hurry. Sit down first. I have plenty of time to listen to you tonight."

After Zheng Tu sat down, he organized his thoughts and began to express his grievances.

"My lord, the Ruzhou army... is utterly rotten!"

Zheng Tu poured out his grievances to Lin Feng, and the first thing he mentioned was the problem of "young master soldiers" in the Ruzhou army.

The Ruzhou Army was part of the imperial staff and received a considerable amount of rations and pay each month, making their income quite substantial.

Furthermore, due to the "tax silver" relationship, there had been no large-scale conflict between Ruzhou and the Western Regions for many years.

This made Ruzhou Army a perfect place to coast along and collect pay.

"The sons of wealthy families in Ruzhou, as well as the sons of landlords and gentry with status and influence in Ruzhou, all sent their sons to the army."

Wan Qian, listening with interest, said, "That's strange! Those rich kids aren't short of money, so why would they care about the meager wages of the soldiers?"

"Rich people are rich, right? It's foolish not to take advantage of a good deal, isn't it?"

Zheng Tu shook his head, his face bitter: "No! What they're after isn't the soldiers' pay; what they want is tax exemption for soldiers."

The imperial court stipulated that if someone in a family was serving in the military, a certain amount of taxes could be exempted.

Many gentry and landlords in Ruzhou were wealthy. If they paid taxes normally, they would pay at least several hundred taels of silver or the equivalent in grain each year.

However, with the status of a soldier's family member, the taxes they need to pay are significantly reduced.

"The sons of gentry joined the army to evade taxes, but those spoiled young soldiers would not serve in the army."

"It's just a name they're using; they want all the benefits but won't endure any hardship."

Lin Feng frowned upon hearing this and said, "If you don't serve in the military, and your attendance records remain incomplete, won't it be discovered when you report it to the imperial court every year?"

Zheng Tu sighed: "My lord, this is the second issue I want to discuss with you. There are very few good military officers in the army."

"They colluded with those gentry families and never remembered the absences of gentry children."

"The military officers received bribes from the gentry families and also exploited the soldiers."

"The monthly rations and pay issued to the soldiers by the imperial court, as well as the clothing distributed to them in spring and autumn, were all withheld."

Wang Ling was greatly surprised and said, "Lord Zheng, it's easy to deduct from rations and pay, but how do you deduct from clothing? Are you going to withhold it from the soldiers?"

"Ugh!"

Zheng Tu slapped his thigh in extreme anger and said, "They switched them! They took out the high-quality cotton from the winter clothes and stuffed in inferior cotton."

"Many soldiers' winter clothing is not enough to keep them warm. Just two years ago, some soldiers froze to death while on night watch in winter."

Upon hearing this, both Wang Ling and Wan Qian were dumbfounded.

"Damn it, these guys... are they so greedy they've lost all conscience?"

Wan Qian was furious and cursed, "They even dare to tamper with the soldiers' winter clothes? That's utterly despicable!"

Lin Feng stroked his chin and asked Zheng Tu, "Lord Zheng, in your opinion, how many military officers in the Ruzhou army have not participated in embezzling soldiers' rations and pay?"

Zheng Tu's eyes moved slightly, and after a moment he extended two fingers.

"Twenty percent, at most twenty percent."

Those who refuse to go along with them will be suppressed and bullied by that group.

"Unless they are exceptionally strong in combat and have a wealthy family background, they won't dare to offend them."

At this point, Zheng Tu pointed to himself and said self-deprecatingly, "People like me who are 'out of place' are people they wish they could get rid of as soon as possible."

Lin Feng nodded slightly, letting Zheng Tu continue.

The third problem with the Ruzhou army was its poor military preparedness, sparse training, and extremely poor combat effectiveness.

This can be seen from the performance of the Ruzhou scouts.

It's astonishing that some people who don't even know how to ride managed to sneak in.

Therefore, it is not surprising that the entire Ruzhou army was in a state of disarray.

"The military officers bullied and withheld soldiers' rations and pay, and their minds were all on making money. Naturally, no one was willing to train hard anymore, let alone want to defend the country."

Thinking of this, Lin Feng continued, "Lord Zheng, are there any other questions?"

Zheng Tu nodded and said, "My lord, it's not that Ruzhou is lacking in talented people; there are quite a few martial artists with superb skills."

"But you've seen the state of the Ruzhou army these past few years; they can't retain talent!"

"Many martial artists have gone to work as bodyguards for wealthy merchants and powerful families."

Wang Ling found this strange and asked, "Lord Zheng, what's wrong with wealthy families hiring skilled guards to protect their homes?"

Zheng Tu shook his head and gave a wry smile: "Lord Wang is not from Ruzhou, so he doesn't know. If it's just about hiring skilled guards, then of course there's no problem."

"But some powerful clans have far too many guards."

"Take the Mi family, one of the five major families in Ruzhou, for example. It is said that there are five thousand slaves in the Mi family's manor. These are all the forces under the control of the Mi family."

Wang Ling's pupils contracted slightly as he looked at Lin Feng: "Sir, this... isn't this just a private army?"

The Mi family alone had 5,000 "manor slaves," which means that other families must also have private armies.

No wonder the government of Ruzhou had to work with the people to govern Ruzhou; the power of the "people" should not be underestimated!

Lin Feng was silent for a moment, then said, "The powerful clans of Ruzhou have been keeping private armies, and the government has never made any statement about it? Have the successive commanders of the Regional Military Commission taken no action?"

Zheng Tu shook his head: "Sir, I'm just a lowly centurion, how would I know anything about the Commander-in-Chief's affairs?"

"Perhaps some commanders would like to intervene, but they can't!"

Lin Feng's fingers tapped incessantly on the table as he mentally summarized the problems Zheng Tu had described.

The matter of powerful clans keeping private armies can be a big deal or a small one.

However, this is not the most pressing issue for Lin Feng to resolve right now.

What he wanted to rectify was always the Ruzhou Army.

Whether it's "spoiled soldiers" or soldiers with poor military equipment and low combat effectiveness.

The core reason lies in the rampant corruption within the Ruzhou Army, where military officers embezzled without restraint and ostracized those who were not corrupt.

Only by removing the "rotten flesh" at the "roots" can the Ruzhou Army be reborn.

Therefore, to rectify the Ruzhou army, one must delve into its ranks.

After about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, Lin Feng finally stopped tapping on the table.

"Lord Zheng, please tell me about the current situation in the Ruzhou army camp."

"Especially among those who staged a sit-in at the drill ground, who was the leader?"

"I'll go and meet them, and teach those 'birds' who dare to provoke a lesson."

Zheng Tu's face lit up with joy upon hearing this, and he nodded repeatedly.

He had waited so long, and finally saw in Lin Feng the hope that the Ruzhou army could be improved.

Next, he recounted the stories of all the well-known military officers in Ruzhou to Lin Feng, including their temperaments and personalities.

Zheng Tu did not leave through the back door of the government office until midnight.

Zheng Tu was filled with anticipation, looking forward to Lin Feng's visit to the Ruzhou army camp the next day, where he could demonstrate his abilities...