"My dear nephew, are you so confident that the Ministry of War will restore the silver exchange rate and wife grain payment as before?! Ahem, our influence on the Ministry of War is not as great as you think." The Duke of Wei and the others asked in fear and worry.
"Of course, the Japanese pirates are rampant in the south of the Yangtze River now, and the court is in the process of deploying troops. How can we expect the horse to run without eating grass? If we want the soldiers to fight for their lives, we must not be stingy with rewards so that they have no worries. The Ministry of War will certainly learn a lesson from the mutiny in the Zhenwu Camp today and take quick action to avoid a chain reaction in other military camps that would ruin the overall anti-Japanese situation." Zhu Ping'an explained confidently.
In addition, the Minister of War of Yingtian is Zhang Jing, which is also one of the important reasons why Zhu Ping'an is so confident.
Although Zhang Jing was somewhat stubborn and arrogant, one had to admit that he was a great talent who was proficient in both civil and military strategies and who put the Ming Dynasty first. Moreover, his current focus was on the Japanese pirates, and he was actively raising food and silver, recruiting brave men, and preparing to resist and eliminate the Japanese pirates. Therefore, Zhu Ping'an believed that after Zhang Jing learned about the mutiny in Zhenwu Camp and verified the truth, he would definitely restore the silver and wife's food to their original state.
"Well, I hope so." Duke Wei closed his eyes and thought for a long time. After opening his eyes, he sighed heavily.
"My dear nephew, will this make the rebel soldiers lay down their weapons and return to the camp?" asked Linhuai Hou.
"This is not enough to make them lay down their weapons and return to the camp so quickly. In fact, there is another crucial thing."
Zhu Pingan told the truth.
"What's the matter?" Linhuai Hou and the other two were very curious.
"It's nothing, actually. I promised them that in view of the flood disaster and the difficulty of the officers and soldiers' livelihood, I would give a reward of 30,000 taels of silver to all the officers and soldiers in the battalion!"
Zhu Ping'an shrugged and replied calmly.
"What?! Thirty thousand taels?!" Upon hearing this, Duke Wei took a deep breath and wanted to pinch himself.
"Thirty thousand taels?!" Marquis Linhuai and Eunuch He were also stunned when they heard this.
Thirty thousand taels is not a small amount. Compared with the salary of officials in the Ming Dynasty, thirty thousand taels is an astronomical figure.
"Yes, thirty thousand taels... Actually, my bottom line is one hundred thousand taels. I didn't expect that it could be solved with thirty thousand taels." Zhu Ping'an nodded, then changed the subject and said something that made Duke Wei and the others gasp.
"One hundred thousand taels?!" Duke Wei and the other three swallowed hard to suppress their inner surprise.
"In Yingtian Capital, if a rebellion of this scale can be resolved with a mere 100,000 taels of silver as a reward, it would be a huge bargain. If it were not for the recent flood disaster that makes it impossible to raise more cash in the short term, 200,000 taels or 300,000 taels would be a big deal. Not to mention, now it has been resolved with only 30,000 taels of silver." Zhu Ping'an said to Duke Wei and others with a serious face.
Duke Wei and others immediately fell into deep thought.
"Well, that's right. With just thirty thousand taels of silver, the rebellion can be put to rest, the lives of the Duke of Wei, the Marquis of Linhuai, and other families can be saved, and the bright future can continue. This deal couldn't be a better deal." Soon, Eunuch He raised his index finger and nodded in agreement.
"Old Xu, what Eunuch He and my nephew said makes sense." Linhuai Hou also nodded vigorously. "Thirty thousand taels is indeed a good deal. Think about it, if the rebellion cannot be controlled, the consequences will be unbearable. First of all, our lives will be in danger. Secondly, we will become the sinners of this rebellion. Not to mention that our titles will be taken back by the court for our crimes, and our property, fiefdoms, etc. will all be taken back. Our assets are far more than one hundred thousand taels of silver. In addition, the rebellion of Zhenwu Camp is bound to shake the capital, and the damage caused cannot be compensated by any amount of silver. If they really surrender to the Japanese pirates as they said, the harm will be even greater, and we will be blamed for our death! Now it only cost thirty thousand taels of silver to solve the mutiny. Isn't it a great deal?"
"Thirty thousand taels is not a small amount..." Duke Wei frowned. Although he had already agreed in his heart, he couldn't help but feel his heart bleeding when he thought about taking out thirty thousand taels of silver to reward the officers and soldiers of the entire battalion.
"Uncle, although the mutiny occurred in Zhenwu Camp, it is not just Zhenwu Camp that is responsible. The main reasons for the mutiny were the reduction of silver, the cancellation of wife food, and the delay in the payment of soldiers' salaries. Ma Kun, the Minister of Revenue, petitioned to reduce the silver, and Huang Maoguan, the Supervisory Minister, petitioned to abolish the monthly food for the wives of soldiers, and then delayed the payment of soldiers' salaries... In addition, the Yingtian Military Department was responsible for supervision and cannot escape blame. No matter what, the Yingtian Military Department and the Ministry of Revenue have the responsibility to share the 30,000 taels of reward silver."
Zhu Pingan reminded Wei Guo to be fair.
"Yes, nephew, what you said makes sense. Let's not talk about the Yingtian Military Department for now. The Yingtian Revenue Department is also to blame for this mutiny! They are the ones who caused the mess! They must share the thirty thousand taels of silver no matter what!"
When Duke Wei heard this, his eyes suddenly lit up and he nodded repeatedly. Zihou was right. All the government offices responsible for the mutiny had the responsibility to share the 30,000 taels of silver. I couldn't bear it alone.
Speaking of responsibility... ... Duke Wei couldn't help but secretly glance at Eunuch He... ...
"Haha, I have some savings, and I won't let you, Duke Wei, shoulder the responsibility alone."
Upon seeing this, Eunuch He understood what Duke Wei meant, and immediately covered his mouth with a handkerchief and let out a laugh.
"Ahem... How can I let you spend money? I'll ask you to help me coordinate with the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of War in Yingtian to share the 300 million taels of reward silver." Duke Wei blushed slightly when Eunuch He revealed his thoughts, but he was an old fox in the officialdom and quickly adjusted his state. Although he wanted to ask Eunuch He to share part of the silver, he didn't dare to put it into practice. Eunuch He was actually the highest military commander in Yingtian. In some aspects, his status was higher than that of Duke Wei, and Duke Wei didn't want to offend Eunuch He.
In addition, Duke Wei knew the eunuchs well. Eunuchs were cut off from having children and had no interest in women, so their interest and obsession with money was far greater than that of ordinary people. Since they had no children, only money could give them a sense of security and support. To take advantage of their money was like swatting a fly from a tiger's head.
"Haha, of course, Duke Wei, don't worry. I'll go to the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of War later."
Eunuch He covered his mouth with an embroidered handkerchief and nodded vigorously.
"Thank you, eunuch." Duke Wei bowed to express his gratitude.
"Duke Wei, why are you being so polite? After what happened today, we have all been through life and death together. Our relationship is special. How can I just sit back and watch?" Eunuch He said, raising his index finger.
Our relationship is very special... Duke Wei couldn't help but twitch his lips.