Gain merit, seek capital!
Hit the nail on the head!
Jiang Xiao's words revealed Junior Leopard's thoughts.
This was the reason why he came to the Navy Barracks of Jiang City. As for the complicated interpersonal relationships in Jiang City, as well as the dark secrets of various forces, he didn't have the heart to care about them.
He came here to exterminate the water bandits and to gain merit.
That was all.
Hence, once he entered the city, he showed an aggressive stance. Without hesitation, he beat the Third Young Master of the Jiang City Garrison half to death. He even tied him up and escorted him to the County Government and charged him with rebellion. Although this charge was not established in the end, he used his actions to tell all the influences in Jiang City, "I'm here. I have a bad temper. Don't provoke me. Otherwise, be careful that I release the dogs!"
Just as Jiang Xiao said, Junior Leopard didn't care about the Magistrate and the Garrison of Jiang City. Even though his official position was one and a half ranks lower than the two of them, he didn't have the awareness of being a lower rank.
After beating the Third Young Master's son half to death, he went to the Garrison Mansion to make a report. He even fiercely complained about the unlucky Third Young Master.
Guard Ding was a smart man. How would he dare to provoke a fiend like Junior Leopard? At the same time, he was afraid that something would happen to his precious son. In desperation, he made contact with the supervisor of the Wu Family in Jiang City. That night, he invited Junior Leopard and the Magistrate to a table in the most expensive restaurant in Jiang City. He apologized on behalf of his son and asked Junior Leopard to let him off.
Junior Leopard was also a tactful person. He thought that he had just arrived and Guard Ding was his superior in name. He couldn't make the relationship too stiff, right? In addition, the Wu Family's supervisor and the Magistrate interceded. Junior Leopard did them a favor at little cost. After a round of drinks, everyone was happy. Everyone got what they wanted.
After eating and drinking to their heart's content, Junior Leopard drank a few more cups. He then rested at the Wu's branch until he sobered up the next day. Only then did he lead Little Du to the Navy camp under the guidance of a few Wu's servants.
"Subordinate Wang Cheng leads the Navy of Jiang City to greet the commander!"
What surprised Junior Leopard was that when he arrived at the navy camp, Deputy Commander Wang Cheng had already led the navy officers and soldiers to wait outside the camp for a long time. When they saw him coming, they greeted him in unison, which gave him a big shock.
Looking at the leading officers carefully, Junior Leopard was confused when he saw that they were all submissive and respectful. He had long heard that the Jiang City Navy Camp was full of unruly people who colluded with the water bandits in the river and secretly did unspeakable business. When did they become so obedient? Did the sun rise from the west?
Although he was surprised, it was not a good thing for hundreds of people, big and small, to kneel there. He hurriedly said, "Brothers, you don't have to be so courteous. I'm new here and I'm young and inexperienced. In the future, I'll need to rely on you for many things. I'm ashamed to be so courteous!"
As he spoke, he took a step forward and helped up the few officers who were kneeling in front one by one.
Just like that, the process of taking over the navy camp was unexpectedly smooth. In the beginning, Junior Leopard still had some doubts that these veterans were setting up a trap for him to walk into. However, when Deputy Commander Wang Cheng led him into the camp and brought along three captains and a quartermaster to explain the situation of the Navy of Jiang City in detail, Junior Leopard concluded that this group of people did not seem to have any resistance towards him. On the contrary, they were very cooperative.
This was completely out of his expectations. However, at the same time, it made him feel at ease.
Even though Jiang City was small and the rank of the Navy Commander was not high, he was still the leader of an army and had great power in the camp. It was a completely different concept from being the personal guard of the Admiral. If he wanted to make achievements here and complete Li Yuan's task, it would be very difficult without the help of this group of local bullies.
Originally, he was afraid that this group of veterans and local bullies would not be convinced and set up obstacles for him. He thought of several ways to suppress them. Therefore, when he was in Jiang City, he did not stop looking for trouble with the Third Young Master of Guard Ding. It could be considered as an action to establish his power and show his determination to all the influences in Jiang City.
This was an unexpected move, and it was also his first move. Now that he had arrived at the navy camp and was preparing to use his second move, he didn't know whether to laugh or cry when he realized that everything he had prepared seemed to be useless. The entire navy camp was incomparably respectful, looking as though they were waiting for him to take over.
At the same time, he felt a little regret in his heart that he did not show his means in front of his subordinates. Of course, the shock that Little Du brought to this group of soldiers was not taken into account.
"Commander, this is the income and expenditure of the navy this month. Please take a look!" Just as he was letting his imagination run wild in his mind, Quartermaster Wang Datong sent a thick account book to Junior Leopard's table.
Looking at the thick book, Junior Leopard frowned. "Your Excellency Wang, since this kind of thing has always been managed by you, then you should continue to manage it. “
"That won't do!" Hearing Junior Leopard's words, Wang Datong's face flashed with joy. "You are the Navy Commander. You must be clear about the expenditure of our camp. Otherwise, if there is a problem in the future, I won't be able to explain myself!"
"Problem? What problem will there be?" Junior Leopard felt a little strange and said sincerely, "Your Excellency Wang, you see, the reason why I am here is entirely because of the Admiral's orders. I really don't know anything about leading troops to war, money, and rations. Even if you show it to me, I won't understand it. Why do you have to force me?" “
"This …!" Wang Datong did not expect Junior Leopard to be so straightforward, directly saying that he did not know anything and putting on an expression of "do as you see fit". The words that he had originally thought of were actually useless. For a moment, he actually stood there in a daze.
"Your Excellency, you are the Navy Commander. There are some things that you have to know. Even if you don't look at the account book, you should have some understanding of the income and expenditure of our navy camp. You should have some idea in your heart!" At this time, Wang Cheng opened his mouth and said to Wang Datong, "Datong, you can take these account books back and directly report the general figures to Your Excellency."
"Yes!" Wang Datong nodded and said, "Your Excellency, our navy camp has a total of 496 people. There are three captains, 30 captains, a large group of 100 people, a small group of 10 people, and 400 ordinary soldiers. The Commander and Deputy Commander each lead a group of 50 people. In addition, there are 93 people who are in charge of military supplies, cooks, coachmen, and laborers. Each soldier receives 500 silvers per month, the small captains receive 800 silvers per month, and the senior captains and the military supplies officer receive 1,000 silvers per month. The total monthly stipend is 51000 silvers per month. In addition to the stipend of the two Commanders, it will cost a total of 55000 silvers per month, which is 55 taels of silver!"
"55 taels of silver?!" Junior Leopard said softly, "55 taels a month, then it will be 660 taels a year? Is there a problem? "
"Uh, yes, the Ministry of War allocates the soldiers of our navy camp once a year. Originally, it was allocated according to the standard of 800 people …!"
"800 people?!" Junior Leopard was stunned for a moment and immediately understood. He nodded and said, "Well, since it is the standard of 800 people, then, there shouldn't be a shortage, right?!"
"Logically speaking, for the standard of 800 people, at least 100 taels of silver should be allocated every year. However, in recent years, the amount of silver allocated by the Ministry of War to us is at most 500 taels of silver. Therefore, we can't make ends meet!" Wang Datong said with some difficulty.
"Why so little?!"
"Uh, I don't know. Although the stipend is allocated by the Ministry of War, it has been embezzled at many levels. God knows which bastards have embezzled the stipend!"
"You can just tell me that you are short of money. Why do you have to say so much nonsense?!" Junior Leopard laughed and said, "Since we are short of stipend every year, what do you do?!"
"Just demolish the east wall to pay the west wall. It's just that after a few years, I really can't do what I want!"
"That's a coincidence. Nothing happened for a few years, but when I took office, you couldn't do what you wanted!" "There's nothing we can do.
"There's nothing we can do about it. A few years ago, even though we didn't have enough money, we could still earn some extra money from the Luo River and collect some protection fees from the passing merchants. Our days were still passable. But recently, the water bandits on the river have become more and more powerful. Our brothers aren't their match at all. After going there a few times, not only did we not earn any extra money, but we also damaged the merchants' goods. After a long time, naturally no one paid the protection fees. For this matter, Commander Gao even personally led the troops to suppress the bandits. In the end, he also lost his life. Ai!" At this point, Wang Datong let out a long sigh. The atmosphere in the camp suddenly became heavy.
"So that's what happened?!" Junior Leopard began to understand a little. If he didn't come, he wouldn't know. This was too strange. This group of navy didn't collude with the water bandits. Instead, they were beaten until they hid in the navy camp and didn't dare to go out.
This was very different from what he had imagined. But then again, this was only Wang Datong's one-sided story. Although it sounded very credible, if these guys joined forces to fool him, wouldn't it be very embarrassing for him to believe it?
Thinking of this, Junior Leopard turned his gaze to Wang Cheng and said, "Commander Wang, you're a veteran of the navy camp. In your opinion, how should we deal with this matter?!"
Wang Cheng smiled bitterly and said, "What else can we do now? Either we suppress the arrogance of the water bandits on the Luo River, or we starve together. There's no other way!"
"I see!" Junior Leopard nodded and said, "Since Commander Wang has said so, I think that's the only way. I don't like to use my brain and I don't want to do such troublesome things. Although I'm a commander, I've always been doing the business of charging. All of you are my seniors. If you have any ideas, just tell me. When the time comes, I'll only be responsible for charging!"
"How can this be? You're the Navy Commander, and …!"
"Of course, I can. I'm the Navy Commander, but that was given by the Admiral. I have to agree. But if you really want me to lead troops to war, it's bullshit. I'm not afraid of it myself, but it's a deadly business for the brothers in the army. It's better to be careful!" Junior Leopard smiled bitterly and said, "Alright, it's settled. You guys decide on how to deal with the water bandits. I'll listen to you. You guys stay here and slowly discuss. Once you have a result, inform me. I won't cause any trouble for you guys!" Junior Leopard cupped his hands and left the barracks. The few people in the barracks stared at each other and could only smile bitterly.
When had they ever met a commander with such a personality?
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