"Brother Pang Xian, you and I must advance and retreat together."
The West Stream not far from the Nantaipu Temple is picturesque. Xu Ziqiang stood on the big stone facing the wind, his red cloak flying in the air. He looked at the river flowing in the West Stream and said seriously.
On the day the two arrived in Chuzhou, there was a report that bandits were looting in the Zhulong Bridge area, causing a panic outside the city. The news of the bandits also aroused Xu Ziqiang's worry. His camp did not even have walls, in case of bandits.
After crossing Qingliu Pass, it really became a battle, so I didn't want to go further north, so I met Pang Yu to discuss it by the river.
Pang Yu stood on another big stone nearby, pressing the handle of the knife with his left hand like a sculpture. He also looked at the river and said seriously, "Brother, don't worry, we are all loyal and brave men in our camp. How can we allow a bandit to jump off the beam?"
If they dare to cross the border, we will kill them all in order to report the favor to the emperor and the common people."
In the solemn atmosphere, Xu Ziqiang raised his left hand and calmly took a bite of the watermelon in his hand.
"You and I are of the same mind, how can that bandit dare to cross Qingliu Pass? But that's not what my brother is talking about, but the money and food of King Qin. The so-called advancing and retreating together means only advancing and not retreating!"
When the red melon juice flowed down from the corner of his mouth, he turned around and looked at Pang Yu, his eyes gleaming, "We have traveled thousands of miles to serve the king, shouldn't we give some money and food? In Chuzhou, we forced the thieves to retreat.
Shouldn't there be some reward? The whole world has no reason to ask for soldiers to go back after their pay is paid. We can't continue to support the king by ourselves!"
Pang Yu nodded repeatedly. Now Mr. Ma has arrived and brought a formal edict. The entire army has stopped in Chuzhou and is preparing to return to Puzikou. In other words, the performance is over, and the next division of the box office will be another melee.
Pang Yu raised the watermelon in her right hand and took a bite. The watermelon soaked in the river was cold and sweet, which temporarily offset the sweltering heat of the heat.
"Brother is right. I will definitely confirm that I have given it to the generals and will never take it back."
"This matter must be of one mind, and no one can let go." Xu Ziqiang said confidently, "I am not afraid of Feng Yuanbiao, but Master Zhang is at Puzikou. If I go back now, I will definitely be summoned by Master Zhang. He will spit out the money and food if he can't.
Let’s just stay in Chuzhou. Mr. Zhang has a lot of urgent matters in Suzhou. Depending on who can use up the energy, we will definitely kill him and we won’t refund any money or equipment.”
This time the thieves were operating near Zhulong Bridge, and King Qin's army just arrived. The locals thought they were sent by Governor Yingtian to respond. The gentry organized a labor force the next day and sent some food, vegetables and meat. Xu Ziqiang and Pang Yu
When we were together, we felt that we had strong troops and strong horses, and there was Qingliu Pass in front of us, so we were not afraid of the rogue bandits at all. Chuzhou had food and drink, so we were not afraid of competing with Zhang Guowei.
Pang Yu nodded firmly and said, "That's it, no retreat at all!"
…
"Mr. Ma, you can get all the food back, and you can get all the clothes, but there are some problems with money and equipment."
In the large tent of the military camp, Pang Yu diligently took a cup of tea and delivered it to Mr. Ma personally.
"The silver..." Mr. Ma said calmly, "General Pang said it was given to the generals, but there is no place to use it along the way. Feng Daotai's intention is naturally still with the generals, so the generals can take it back."
Pang Yu sat down and said, "It has indeed been sent to the generals. Mr. Ma has also been with Du Ye in the army for many years. He took money from Qiu Ba in the camp, just like taking their lives. If he didn't do it, he would cause trouble. Now
I'd like to ask Mr. Ma to explain it to Master Zhang on your behalf."
Mr. Ma did not push him. After a moment of pause, he said, "I have known each other for a long time with General Pang. General Pang is also very supportive of the matter of refunding money and food this time. It's not like Xu's stubbornness in self-improvement, which made me very angry."
Embarrassed. Normally, the general should be accommodating with the general about the money. However, due to the pressure from various government offices in Nanjing, Mr. Zhang also found it difficult to deal with it. Before coming this time, he had an agreement with me. If he refused to withdraw, it would be deducted from the military pay. Finally, he made a plan.
Coming down, wouldn’t it be the same as going back?”
When Xu Ziqiang was mentioned, Mr. Ma was quite angry. It was obvious that Xu Ziqiang had no intention of spitting it out, which made Mr. Ma, who was doing the work, suffocated.
Pang Yu can understand Mr. Ma very well. Dealing with people like Xu Ziqiang is a headache for anyone. Moreover, Mr. Ma not only handles the accounts of Nanjing, but also the money and food for the ten prefectures in Jiangnan. The two accounts are mixed together when disbursing
Together, now they have to be cleaned separately, which is enough for Mr. Ma to have a headache.
At this time, he said that it would be easiest for the yamen to directly deduct the military pay from behind, but it would be very unfair to the military leaders. Pang Yu was not anxious after hearing this. He had already expected it, because it was difficult to get money but easy to deduct money. Zhang Guowei had it in his hands.
With the power of Zhezi, he can deduct the money and food at any time, and maybe even the excess money will be deducted, so it is always a bad idea to refuse to pay it back. Unless several military leaders unite and let Zhang Guowei use a rat weapon, it is possible to deduct King Qin's money and food.
He swallowed it, but Xu Ziqiang was not very reliable. Instead of waiting for Xu Ziqiang to sell himself, Pang Yu planned to sell Xu Ziqiang at a good price first.
"Mr. Xu is not as stubborn as he is today. When it comes to money and food, he has always been driven by the wind and cannot be pulled out. I tried to persuade him several times but was scolded by him." Pang Yu sighed and added, "Mr. Ma is not an outsider.
I told you openly that the total amount given by Nanjing was 21,100 taels, but I only received 5,000. Even if the soldiers retreated, this money would be circulated around the governor's yamen and then returned to various yamen in Nanjing.
Can there be 2,000 taels left? Mr. Zhang deducted it from the military pay, whether it was 2,100 taels or 5,000 taels. In the end, Nanjing would not receive this amount. It is always a confusing account."
Mr. Ma smiled and did not answer. They all knew what was going on in the yamen. It was normal for money to be passed through hands and plucked out of feathers. Prince Qin's silver might be worth thirty thousand taels when it comes out of Nanjing, but when it crosses the river and reaches Puzikou, it becomes 20,000 taels.
One thousand taels. Pang Yu's troops accounted for nearly 70%, and he should have received 14,000 taels. However, the people in the governor's office said that they would not be paid until they saw the soldiers. Pang Yu made many activities, and before leaving for Chuzhou, the soldiers and horses were
It only reached 1,100, and the household account was issued with 9,000 taels, but Pang Yu actually only received 5,700 taels, half of which was official silver and half of other scattered silver, but the quality was much worse. In fact, the silver taels were probably
He was only over 4,000, which was more than one tael per person based on the 2,700 troops. This was still the case when neither Pang Yu nor the subordinate generals drank the blood of soldiers.
Of course, Pang Yu didn't have that many soldiers. Even including the sailors on the ship, he only had more than 2,100 soldiers. King Qin's army had about 1,400 soldiers. The main force was the Marine Warfare Department, the Guards Department, and some of the troops.
The three divisions and the directly-affiliated troops. But even so, they can only be divided into three or two.
Now I have to go through the reverse process again and ask the soldiers to refund the money. The money eaten in the yamen is more difficult to spit out than the soldiers. Even Zhang Guowei can't do anything. I'm afraid the money that can be returned to the yamen in Nanjing will not be enough.
20%. So whether Pang Yu retreats or not, it will definitely be a bad debt.
"How does General Pang think this matter should be settled?"
"It is true that the money in the hands of soldiers and generals cannot be recovered due to confused calculations, and Nanjing cannot take it back in the end, but they can think of ways in the middle. The people who are chasing the money and grain are the officials of the Yamen. They said it will be settled, but they can make a fuss about it.
The most conspicuous among all items is silver. It just so happened that Liu Ruogu gave me the next sum of silver, which can be used appropriately. Some of the things given by various yamen in Nanjing are really useful to us. Since they are out of the treasury this time, we might as well trade with them.
They have benefited, and we can benefit from it so that Mr. Ma can take over his errands."
Mr. Ma looked at Pang Yu and said thoughtfully, "General Pang still wants to give you the money, but you need to exchange some supplies back. The accounts of supplies are more convenient for the Yamen to handle."
"That's right." Pang Yu lowered his voice, "Just like when we received the armor that day, we only wrote "armor armor" when handing over the armor. The five hundred armor armors can be tattered cotton armor or chain armor.
, the Ministry of Industry, and the Central Military Governor's Office have them. They are useless in their hands, but they are useful in my hands. It doesn't hurt to give them money, so that the money account can be settled."
Mr. Ma nodded. What Pang Yu said was a method, which was equivalent to another transaction in the transaction. Pang Yu gave the money to the Nanjing Yamen officials, but the armor had to be replaced with usable armor.
The price of a piece of armor is basically more than 20 taels. Pang Yu exchanged 5,000 taels for 500 pieces, which is about 10 taels per piece. It is a very profitable business. When the yamen officials get silver taels, it will naturally muddy the waters of the accounts and make people confused.
The accounts were in chaos, and everything disappeared without a trace in the yamen on both sides of the river.
Pang Yu made armor, and the government officials made money. As for Mr. Ma, as long as Nanjing does not continue to pursue the case, the errand is settled and everyone is happy. In the end, it is Nanjing's public accounts that suffer.
Among the things given by Nanjing were 500 pieces of armor. When registering, Pang Yu specially came to tell them not to specify the type of armor, but only to write down the armor. It turned out that they were waiting here.
Mr. Ma thought for a moment and said, "The total number of armors in their warehouse is still less than 500 pieces. The quantity is indeed not a problem. Some tattered cotton clothes are also armored. But they need to replace all the tattered armors with qualified armors. I don't know yet.
Is it possible?"
"Sir, don't worry. If they want to get money, they will definitely find a way. In addition to the armor, the good horses from Nantaipu Temple can also be discounted. You can trade as much as you want."
Mr. Ma frowned and thought for a moment, but it seemed feasible, but he still raised a question, "What if the yamen in Nanjing are still unwilling?"
Pang Yu came closer and whispered, "There is a way here."
"General Pang, please speak."
"As long as Mr. Zhang returns to Suzhou, all the yamen in Nanjing will definitely be willing."
"Good idea." A smile suddenly appeared on Mr. Ma's face. As long as Zhang Guowei left Puzikou, Nanjing would have lost its goal, and the cost of going to Suzhou to collect the debt would have doubled. Yingtian Yamen would definitely have to pay it back, but when he arrived in Suzhou
, Yingtian Yamen is fighting at home, and the one who owes the debt has become the boss, and the person who wants to pay will be delayed to death, and Nanjing has no choice in the delivery. The plan in front of him is both convenient and profitable, so the choice of Nanjing Yamen is obvious.
.
"That's it."
When Mr. Ma was leaving the account, Ponting handed over another banknote. Mr. Ma didn't even look at it. He took it in his sleeve and strode away.
When Mr. Ma walked away, Pang Ding whispered, "Master, is this deal with King Qin a good deal?"
Pang Yu was stunned for a moment and shook his head, "Who knows, but the young master knows another thing."
"What's the matter?"
"Recently, it seems that everyone is smarter than the young master and I, but today the young master knows that when it comes to business, I am the smarter."
Without waiting for Pang Ding to answer, Pang Yu turned around with a smile and returned to the tent.