Zhutian: Starting from the Space-Time Merchant

Chapter 218 Let Zhao Gou become the Ninth Prince of your Jin Kingdom.

"Can't find it?"

"How could it not be found!"

Mizhou, on the eastern route of Jingdong, at the foot of Langya Mountain.

Enraged, Wanyan Wuzhu brandished his riding whip, shouting, "Keep searching! Search every mountain and sea to find Zhao Gou!"

With Bianliang (Kaifeng) besieged, Zhao Gou, who had been appointed Grand Marshal of the Hebei Army, gathered tens of thousands of troops around him.

But he merely arranged for Zong Ze to lead tens of thousands of people to rescue Bianliang City.

As for himself, he led tens of thousands of troops and fled all the way to Shandong.

Zhao Gou's original plan was that after the fall of Bianliang, he, as the only surviving prince, would inherit the throne.

Unexpectedly, a divine being descended from the heavens, defeated the Jin army, and lifted the siege of Bianliang.

However, worse is yet to come.

Wanyan Wuzhu refused to return north from Baimajin and instead led a large cavalry force to Shandong, hoping to regain some prestige.

They ran right into Zhao Gou's tens of thousands of troops.

Logically speaking, the Song army outnumbered the Jin army several times over.

Moreover, with a renowned general like Han Shizhong, even if we can't win, we won't suffer a crushing defeat.

However, the commander of the Song army was Huang Qianshan, an insignificant minor official.

When a civil official, skilled at flattery but completely ignorant of military affairs, is appointed as the commander-in-chief, the outcome is self-evident.

The army of 38,000 men was routed and scattered by the Jurchens in one battle.

Zhao Gou fled frantically, and Wanyan Wuzhu pursued him relentlessly.

In the chase, they ended up at the foot of Langya Mountain.

A thousand years ago, the First Emperor once viewed the sea here and built Langya Terrace.

Thousands of Jin soldiers truly searched the mountains and seas, turning over every possible hiding place in the vicinity.

"did not find?"

Upon learning that a thorough search of the mountains and seas had failed to find any trace of Zhao Gou, Wanyan Wushu cursed, "Is this man born of a dog? How could he escape like this?"

So many people chased him for hundreds of miles, even all the way to the seaside, and he still managed to escape.

Putting everything else aside, his ability to escape is truly admirable.

"and many more."

Wanyan Wushu suddenly remembered something.

Are there any animal dens on or below the mountain?

"Yes~"

"Go search! Look carefully! Even the Bird's Nest needs to be thoroughly searched."

Another round of targeted searching finally led to Zhao Gou's discovery.

This cowardly Prince Kang, the Grand Marshal of the Hebei Army, was actually hiding in a doghouse!
When Zhao Gou, reeking of foul odor, was brought over, Wanyan Wuzhu immediately covered his nose.

"What a disgrace!"

Wanyan Wushu waved his hand and said, "Drag him to the beach and wash him clean."

Zhao Gou was dragged away, and Wanyan Wushu summoned Wendu Sizhong, saying, "Go to Bianliang City."

"Find Lin Dao and tell him to exchange the Second Prince's head for King Kang of Song."

"I obey your orders~~~"

Wendu Sizhong rushed to Bianliang City.

It was captured by patrolling soldiers just a few dozen miles from the city.

If he hadn't been desperately shouting that he was an envoy and hadn't found the seal of the Grand Marshal of the Hebei Army, he would have been beheaded on the spot.

In recent days, countless Jurchen soldiers have been captured and killed in the capital region and throughout the eastern and western parts of the capital.

The scattered soldiers, having lost their organization, were so weak that they could no longer cope with the able-bodied men in the village.

Small groups like Wendu Sizhong's had long been wiped out.

Bound hand and foot, Wendu Sizhong was escorted to Bianliang City.

Just as they were about to enter the city, they saw soldiers guarding the city gate, their armor gleaming, their weapons excellent, and their spirit completely different from the Song army they had encountered before.

He was greatly surprised.

The Song people had such a powerful army!

'Since you have such a powerful army, why didn't you go to the battlefield when you fought against the Jin dynasty?'

Filled with doubt, Wendu Sizhong was led into the city.

After being reported up through the chain of command, he was finally led to Lin Dao.

"It's you."

Inside the courtyard, Lin Dao, sitting on a stool, smiled at him and said, "We meet again."

When they last met, Wendu Sizhong was full of vigor and demanded gold, silver, silk, mules, horses, and women.

His arrogant demeanor made him even more arrogant than the retired emperor.

But this time when I came here~
"Greetings, Immortal Master!"

Wendu Sizhong smiled obsequiously and immediately knelt down to pay his respects.

Lin Dao glanced at the ropes binding him, but did not call for them to be untied. "Just say what you want to say."

Etiquette is meant for those who also observe etiquette.

How did the Jurchens treat Song envoys during the Jingkang Incident?

Lin Dao has always valued equality.

Whatever the Jurchens did, he would return it to them exactly as it was.

"King Kang of Song, Grand Marshal of Hebei, and the ninth prince named Gou Zhe."

"Defeat and capture the Fourth Prince of the Great Jin Dynasty."

“This foreign minister has come on the orders of the Fourth Prince to request the return of the Second Prince’s head in exchange for Prince Kang’s head.”

"Oh?"

Lin Dao looked slightly surprised. "You arrested Zhao Gou?"

“Absolutely true.” Wendu Sizhong kowtowed again. “This humble subject carries the King Kang’s golden seal and golden helmet as proof.”

A soldier stepped forward and presented Zhao Gou with the Grand Marshal's seal and Zhao Gou's helmet.

"Isn't he pretty good at running?"

While inspecting the items, Lin Dao casually asked, "How did you get arrested?"

“Reporting to Immortal Master,” Wendu Sizhong respectfully replied, “After his defeat, he fled for hundreds of miles and hid by the sea.”

"After searching the mountains and seas, the Fourth Prince captured him in a dog kennel."

"A doghouse?" Lin Dao chuckled. "It does suit him quite well."

"Immortal chief."

Wendu Sizhong bowed again, saying, "I hope the immortal will grant my request."

"No."

Lin Dao flatly refused, "I can't exchange him." Wen Dusizhong was stunned, "This is the Ninth Prince of Song!"

If it were Da Jin, this would definitely be a top-level figure, so why can't it be replaced?
"How about this."

Lin Dao put down the imperial seal and said, "Change his name to Wanyan Gou and make him the ninth prince of your Jin Kingdom."

"He has no place to stand in the Central Plains anymore."

Wen Dusizhong was completely baffled and wanted to speak again.

Lin Dao, on the other hand, had already waved his hand, "Send him out of the city."

Not long after Wendu Sizhong was dragged away, Zong Ze arrived again.

This old man, who is nearly seventy years old, has been coming to see the immortal almost every day recently.

They immediately launched into a barrage of praise, showering him with compliments.

After praising, they reach out to ask for help.

At first, all they needed was food.

Then they started asking for daily necessities.

They then demanded weapons and armor.

Recently, they've even set their sights on the firearms of Lindao.

"stop."

Zong Ze had barely begun his praise when Lin Dao immediately raised his hand to stop him.

"Speak directly if you have anything to say."

"What do you want today?"

"Immortal Master knows me well~" Zong Ze smiled broadly, even the wrinkles on his face smoothed out. "Pengju's recruitment of soldiers is already showing promise."

"A letter has been sent back, saying that five or six thousand men have been recruited in Xiangzhou alone."

"When the news spread, many rebel armies in the north came to join them."

"I estimate that tens of thousands of troops will be able to be gathered within the month."

Zong Ze, beaming with joy, began to chatter on and on.

Lin Dao, however, remained calm and listened to him with a composed expression.

"Within three months, we should be able to assemble an army of 100,000 ready for battle."

"We also need to provide them with several times the number of laborers to support their logistics."

"As long as the laborers are fed, that's fine."

After rambling on for a while, we finally got to the main point: "But the soldiers need to be paid."

Lin Dao smiled and said, "Here to ask for money?"

"Yes~~~"

The Song Dynasty was economically advanced, and the circulation and importance of its wealth far surpassed those of previous dynasties.

The fallen Mesopotamia had a population of 20 million, and was teeming with rebel armies.

It is not difficult to mobilize 100,000 regular soldiers in three months.

But simply recruiting people is far from enough.

Leaving aside weapons, armor, food supplies, and other provisions, military pay alone is a huge expense.

According to official standards, the total expenses for a regular soldier in the Song army would amount to approximately one hundred strings of cash per year!

Grain and cloth could be used to replace some items, and in the past, paper money was even used as a substitute.

Nowadays, however, paper money has long been discredited and no one wants to use it; people have to actually take out copper coins.

The Yue Family Army was known for its strict discipline, and was praised for preferring to freeze to death rather than dismantle houses and starve to death rather than plunder.

The root cause, besides Yue Fei's personal charisma and his proper training of troops, lies in...

More importantly, the Yue Family Army received their full pay.

Corruption was rampant in the Song army.

When the military pay arrives at the army headquarters, the commanding general takes it first.

Afterwards, the lower-ranking officials, such as the commanders, officers, and lieutenants, embezzled funds through a series of intermediaries.

In the end, it would be good if 30% of them actually ended up in the hands of the soldiers.

The Imperial Guards of Bianliang City were known for their mastery of various arts and crafts, including playing musical instruments and singing. They were born with a natural inclination to do all sorts of trades.

No.

The military pay he received was barely enough to support himself, let alone his family.

In this situation, if they don't go to work, the whole family will starve to death; there is no other choice.

The Imperial Guards of Bianliang were weak in combat; their army of tens of thousands was terrified and fled at the hands of a dozen or so Jurchen cavalrymen.

They knew that even if those dozen or so Jin soldiers were each capable of fighting a hundred men, they still couldn't defeat the large army, but they still fled.

The root cause was that the Song emperors, court officials, and military families all treated them like human beings.

If that's the case, who would be willing to risk their life for these nobles?
Let's all just destroy it together!
The Song army's combat effectiveness was directly related to its military pay.

The Yue Family Army, with the most generous pay, defeated the main force of the Jin army head-on, crushing all their iron cavalry units.

The Jurchens wailed in despair; shaking a mountain is easier than shaking Yue Fei's army.
It's not that the men of the Central Plains can't fight; it's just a matter of whether they're willing to fight.

Seeing Lin Dao remain silent, Zong Ze felt a little embarrassed.

After all, asking for money is never a pleasant thing to say, especially when it's an astronomical sum.

He opened his mouth, thinking that giving more grain and cloth would be fine, and it could be deducted from his military pay.

Before he could speak, he heard Lin Dao respond.

"can."

"How much do you want?"

After a moment of blankness, Zong Ze forced himself to compose himself and spoke cautiously.

“The monthly salary of a regular soldier is one and a half strings of cash. With 100,000 soldiers, that would be 150,000 strings of cash per month. Bonuses are calculated separately.”

In the modern world, the military pays its soldiers directly in cash.

In ancient times, money was only one aspect.

For example, the Imperial Guards of Dasong, in addition to their monthly salary, also received a monthly stipend of rice, which was enough to support their families, ranging from 1.7 to 2.5 shi of rice, as well as 1 jin of salt.

In addition, various supplies such as silk, cloth, and cotton were also distributed.

As for other items, Lin Dao had already been selling them continuously.

If we were to demand copper coins directly, at 770 coins per string, it would cost 115 million coins per month.

This has only been a month.

Such enormous expenses are simply mind-boggling.

Zong Ze looked at Lin Dao with hopeful eyes.

Lin Dao did not disappoint him.

"can."

"According to the previous rules, bring something in exchange."

(End of this chapter)