Qiu Yizhiyuan didn't want to make things too difficult for Zhao Fuyi. After hearing Zhao Chengxiao's reassurance, he hurriedly said, "Did you all hear it? Why don't you thank General Zhao quickly!"
Only then did Zhao Fuyi realize that he had escaped a disaster. He kowtowed to Zhao Chengxiao several times and said, "General Zhao is so magnanimous. It is a blessing that I have earned in several lifetimes!" After that, he bowed to Zhao Chengxiao several more times.
Zhao Chengxiao saw that Zhao Fuyi's face was covered with dust from kowtow, but he did not feel any sympathy for him. He turned away and said to Qiu Yizi, "Sir, it's late now, and I guess you haven't eaten yet. Why don't you go to the county government office and have a good meal first?"
Qiu Yizi nodded and said, "Okay, Brother Zhao, Ying'er and Qiao'er can go together."
He turned his head and said to Zhao Fuyi who was crawling on the ground: "I am letting you go today for Brother Zhao's sake. From now on, you must behave yourself. If you commit crimes again, even if Brother Zhao is soft-hearted and forgives you, I will not let you go!"
After saying that, Qiu Yi turned around and walked out the door.
Just as Yang Qiaoer said, three banquets were already set up in the back hall of the county government office. Wu Ruofei, who was an extraordinary cook, was in charge of the cooking. Everyone ate happily and drank until the next morning at midnight, when they broke up the banquet and went back to their rooms to sleep.
The next day, Qiu Yizi slept in and did not wake up until the morning. Suddenly, he remembered that the emperor had given him a task to organize local militia, so he quickly got up, washed up, and asked someone to invite Lin Shuhan and Zhao Chengxiao to discuss this important matter in his room.
These two were Qiu Yizhi's confidants, so there was no need to be polite when talking to them. He got straight to the point and said, "Mr. Lin already knows that the emperor wants me to recruit local warriors in Shanyin County to pacify the area. However, I see that although Jiangnan is peaceful on the surface, there are undercurrents inside. I am afraid that these local warriors will not only be used for local security in the future."
The so-called "undercurrent" refers to the Japanese pirates who are now causing trouble in Jiangnan, and the second is the Lingnan King Zheng Gui who is eyeing the south of Jiangnan. However, the dispute between the current emperor Zheng Rong and Zheng Gui involves the private affairs of the royal family, and even with Qiu Yizhi's identity, he cannot talk about it openly.
Lin Shuhan needs no introduction. Although Zhao Chengxiao is kind, he is not stupid. He thought for a moment and said, "This is the emperor's trust in you! Since the emperor has issued an order - in my opinion - to do it, you must do it well and not be perfunctory."
Zhao Chengxiao saw that Lin Shuhan and Qiu Yizhi were focusing their attention on him, so he continued, "By doing a good job, I mean that this group of militiamen should be top-notch in terms of manpower, training, discipline, weapons, etc. Otherwise, how can we talk about 'doing a good job'?"
Qiu Yizi smiled and nodded, "Brother Zhao is really a man who knows military affairs. The number of soldiers, training, discipline, and weapons are the direct standards for the strength of an army's combat effectiveness. If these points are done well, and the leading generals know how to encourage and inspire morale before the battle, then they will surely be successful. However, to achieve these three points, there is another prerequisite. I wonder if Brother Zhao has thought of it?"
Zhao Chengxiao was stumped by Qiu Yizi's question. He couldn't think of an answer. He turned his head to look at Lin Shuhan beside him. Seeing him waving a fan and looking at him with a smile on his face but not saying anything, he could only scratch his head and said, "I am just a warrior who only knows how to charge into battle. Your words really stump me."
Qiu Yizi smiled and said, "Brother Zhao, you are too modest. After this militia is formed, I am afraid I will have to hand it over to Brother Zhao for command! Otherwise, Brother Zhao will be given the title of General of the Central Army but will have no soldiers under his command. Wouldn't that make him just like a general without troops in a play?"
Zhao Chengxiao scratched his head and said, "I don't know if I can handle such an important task well! Since you have such an intention, please teach me the things you just mentioned earlier. Otherwise, if I lead the soldiers astray, wouldn't I be betraying your trust?"
"I am very pleased that Brother Zhao has this heart. Brother Zhao must know about this kind of thing, and he deals with it every day, but he just didn't think about it for a while." Qiu Yizi replied, "It's nothing else but the word 'money'."
Zhao Chengxiao was stunned for a moment, then frowned and said, "I don't mean to challenge you, but fighting on the battlefield depends on loyalty and public spirit. If you only talk about money, wouldn't you be a mean person who forgets his loyalty when he sees profit? How can we win the battle with these people?"
Qiu Yizi smiled again and said, "Brother Zhao has such insight, so he can definitely lead a group of fierce and powerful soldiers! However, the word 'money' I just mentioned is also indispensable. Brother Zhao, please listen to me slowly."
Qiu Yizhi stood up and poured a glass of water for Zhao Chengxiao and Lin Shuhan, saying, "Brother Zhao just talked about four things: soldiers, training, discipline, and weapons. I think none of them is not related to 'money'. First of all, soldiers. You know, Jiangnan is the richest region in the world. As long as you find a job, you can always fill your stomach. And those who have to rely on joining the army to live are either disabled or lazy. If you only recruit these people as soldiers, wouldn't it be rotten from the root? Therefore, when recruiting soldiers in Jiangnan, the military pay must be sufficient, at least so that the soldiers can easily support their families, otherwise who will suffer this hardship?"
"The second is training. To train elite soldiers, we must strengthen training. Not to mention that well-trained soldiers will be rewarded, even the daily extra meals after hard work are a considerable expense. We can't let the soldiers train on an empty stomach just to save a few taels of silver, right? If we do this, I'm afraid the soldiers will quit after less than three days, and they might even mutiny!"
Seeing Zhao Chengxiao also smiled, Qiu Yizhi continued, "Then there is discipline. There are two rules here. One is that you must strictly follow military orders during battles. You must advance when you hear drums and retreat when you hear gongs. If the general is unclear about rewards and punishments, he will not be able to convince the people, and how can he enforce his orders? The second is daily military discipline. Soldiers always have to eat. If the military pay is insufficient, the army will inevitably rob the people. At that time, it is uncertain whether they are soldiers or bandits. Which of these two rules does not cost money?"
"And then there are weapons. This time I went to Mingzhou, and after fighting with the Japanese, I felt this even more deeply. The Japanese swords in the hands of the Japanese pirates are very powerful. Most of the official swords used by the Jiangnan Road official army are crude, and many of them were cut off by the Japanese swords. Only the Bohai swords equipped by my personal soldiers can match them. But these swords are not cheap. If you buy them at the Guangyang Horse Market, each of similar quality will cost more than 20 taels of silver. Daily maintenance is another expense. In addition, I also plan to configure the newly recruited militia according to the old Youyan Road. There must be a "Dangshi Camp", strong bows, and cavalry. These all require special equipment to form an army! This will cost tens of thousands of silver!"
Qiu Yi’s article ends here.
Zhao Chengxiao was stunned after hearing this. He was stunned for a long time before he said, "Your Excellency, what you said is true. I am short-sighted and would have been in the dark if you hadn't pointed it out to me! It seems that if we want to have a city of elite soldiers, we must have a mountain of silver!"
"That's right!" Qiu Yizi continued, "The emperor once told me that when the army was deployed in Mobei, it was ostensibly to fight for soldiers, but in reality it was to fight for money and food. If the logistics were cut off for a day or two, no matter how powerful the army was, it would fall apart."
"But the emperor has not arranged military funds for you!" The speaker was Lin Shuhan.
Zhao Chengxiao had only known Lin Shuhan for a short time, and he only knew that he was a resourceful and well-educated man, but he didn't know that he also had a habit of keeping things a secret. After hearing Lin Shuhan's "reminder", he was also panicked and said hurriedly: "The emperor was born a prince who led troops in battle, how could he forget this?"
Qiu Yizhi knew Lin Shuhan's temper very well, so he explained to Zhao Chengxiao: "Of course, the emperor cannot be blamed for this. The emperor is also very thoughtful! Brother Zhao, think about it. If the military expenses are to be paid by the court, then these people I recruit must be official soldiers, and they must obey the orders of the Jiangnan Road Jiedushi. Doesn't this violate the original intention of the emperor asking me to recruit soldiers?"
"Moreover, if we want to train elite soldiers, the military pay must be extremely generous, and it may be several times more than that of the local military. In this case, other troops in Jiangnan Road will definitely be jealous, and they will have grudges with Lord Qiu, which will cause endless troubles." Lin Shuhan added.
Zhao Chengxiao was not a stupid person. After the two of them explained, he finally understood the pros and cons. He sighed and said, "I am a rough man. I know how to fight on the battlefield with a sword and a gun, but I didn't expect that recruiting a few soldiers would involve so many twists and turns..."
Qiu Yizi smiled and said, "Brother Zhao is a straightforward person, I know that. These are things that Mr. Lin and I should consider, but I just want to tell Brother Zhao in advance so that we all know what's going on, and it will be easier to talk and do things in the future."
Zhao Chengxiao nodded in conviction.
Lin Shuhan waved his folding fan a few times and said with a smile: "My lord, please make things clear now. I have no idea where all this money comes from. But let me make it clear in advance. Although I am from a wealthy family, if my lord wants to do something big and asks me to donate one or two hundred taels, I will do so by tightening my belt. If you want more, I won't have the money!" After that, Lin Shuhan laughed.
Zhao Chengxiao didn't know that Lin Shuhan was joking, and he continued the topic: "Mr. Lin donated 100, so I can only donate 50. My lord, please don't think I'm stingy. I was a bachelor before, and only after I got married did I realize how much it costs..."
Qiu Yizi couldn't hold back his laughter after hearing this. He laughed for a long time before he came back to his senses and said, "What's wrong with everyone? It's as if I'm forcing them to pay. Mr. Lin is right. Training soldiers is a big deal and the expenses are long-term. Not to mention us poor guys, even if all the people in Shanyin County paid, they couldn't feed these two hundred mouths! In my opinion, the money, food and military pay still have to come from..."
"It all depends on Zhao Fuyi!" Lin Shuhan continued.
"What? Zhao Fuyi?" Zhao Chengxiao's eyes widened in shock, and then he changed his expression to contempt. "Zhao Fuyi escaped from Mingzhou City with only a few hundred taels of silver. Even if you pluck all the hair off his body, you can't twist it into a few strands? Rely on him? Are you kidding, Mr. Lin?"
Lin Shuhan smiled slightly: "Whether Lin is joking or not, you can ask your parents and you will know."
Upon hearing this, Zhao Chengxiao immediately turned his gaze to Qiu Yizhi's face. Seeing him nod with a smile, he knew that what Lin Shuhan said was true, so he quickly asked, "Sir, does Zhao Fuyi really have so much silver? Could it be that he has hidden some priceless treasure and let you find out?"
Qiu Yizi smiled and said, "Brother Zhao is still too honest. Let me tell you slowly like Brother Zhao." (To be continued)