Zhutian: Starting from the Space-Time Merchant

Chapter 298 Procurement of Grain and Payment of Salaries

"Prime Minister~"

"Greetings, Prime Minister!"

A group of civil and military officials of various eye and hair colors bowed in unison, creating a magnificent scene.

The person they were bowing to was none other than Prime Minister Toqto'a, who controlled all the kings and soldiers under heaven and was considered the most powerful person after Emperor Yuan.

Tuotuo, who was sitting half-turned in the main seat, put down the book in his hand and raised his eyelids to scan everyone.

"Everyone is here?"

The voice wasn't loud, but it was full of authority.

Toqto'a wore the three-pagoda headdress commonly used by the Mongols, a tight-fitting top and narrow-bottomed kisun robe, and beads around his neck.

His small eyes swept over the crowd, and no one dared to meet his gaze.

His majesty was fully displayed.

Although he is the prime minister, second only to the emperor, Tuotuo is actually only in his thirties.

His prestige was built upon his bloodline and numerous achievements.

First came the merit of following the dragon, then the opening of the river and the transformation of currency.

After the Red Turban Army rose up, he personally led troops to successively capture Xuzhou, Haozhou and other places, and wiped out many Red Turban Army groups, gaining extremely high prestige.

Moreover, he was also quite cultured and had presided over the compilation of the histories of the Liao, Jin, and Song dynasties.

"Prime Minister~"

An official stepped forward to report, "Prefect Li Siqi of Runing Prefecture has not yet arrived."

"Beat the drums to gather those who haven't arrived yet." Tuotuo, expressionless, ordered, "Execute them."

"Prime Minister!"

Chaghan Timur, the Darughachi of Runing Prefecture, hurriedly stepped forward to explain, "Li Siqi was ordered to collect grain."

“It was Benxiang’s fault.” Tuotuo immediately nodded. “I’ve forgotten about this.”

Just as Chaghan Timur breathed a sigh of relief, he heard Toqto'a continue, "During the military council, you spoke without permission and deserve to be executed."

"Considering that your words were helpful, you will receive twenty lashes after the military council."

"Leader!"

The idea of ​​loving soldiers like one's own children was utter nonsense in ancient times.

Soldiers who risk their lives, especially veterans who have been on the battlefield, are all incredibly irritable.

Without strict laws and severe punishments to suppress them, let alone leading them to war, they would be in turmoil within their own ranks.

Therefore, frequent punishments are the norm in the military.

Tuotuo was experienced, so he would punish people whenever he had the chance, in order to deter others.

Otherwise, there would be no way to lead troops.

As for Li Siqi, he had indeed forgotten about it.

But the official in charge should not forget.

Toqto'a glanced at the trembling official and calmly ordered, "Drag him out and behead him."

The Kheshig soldiers stepped forward and dragged the magistrate away.

"I've summoned you all here today to ask you, where are we going next?" Toqto'a said calmly.

Dashibadu stepped forward, and his son beside him instinctively tried to pull him back, but failed.

"Prime Minister," Dashibadulu bowed and said, "I think we should attack Bianliang."

His son lowered his head immediately upon hearing this.

"Oh~" Tuotuo said calmly, "Tell me your reasons."

"The Red Turban rebels in Bianliang have launched a three-pronged northern expedition, disturbing Dadu. We should attack Bianliang to destroy their foundation and force their northern expeditionary forces to return to their aid."

Undoubtedly, this is purely a military consideration.

Compared to Lin Dao, who remained relatively quiet, and Xu Shouhui, who was far away in Jiangnan.

From a military perspective, the Red Turban Army in Bianliang, which launched a large-scale attack, was clearly more worthy of being attacked.

Unfortunately, Toqto'a was not only a military commander, but also a prime minister.

As a result, Badu Lu took the lead and even gave the wrong answer.

Chaghan Temur also stepped forward without hesitation to salute, saying, "Prime Minister, I do not agree with Marshal Du's words."

"you say!"

"Yes," Chaghan Temur replied immediately. "After gathering troops and provisions, we must swiftly defeat the enemy at Gaoyou!"

Meanwhile, Dashibadulu, the Grand Marshal of the Dali Pacification Commission, was very dissatisfied, saying, "There is a large lake in Gaoyou, and the river network is crisscrossed, which is very unfavorable for our cavalry to maneuver."

"What's the point of wasting food, troops, and time traveling such a long distance?"

"Marshal Du."

Although he was of Naiman origin, Chaghan Temur was deeply influenced by Han culture. Instead of shouting angrily, he patiently inquired.

Do you know what the price of grain is in Dadu now?

"Grain prices?" Dashibadulu was clearly taken aback, then immediately retorted with dissatisfaction, "Why should I care about grain prices in the capital!"

His son couldn't stand it any longer and stepped forward to reply, "In most places, one shi of grain costs sixty jin of silver, while using paper money costs five thousand guan."

"If this continues, not only Dadu, but the entire Zhongshu Province will collapse, and rebels will be everywhere."

Tuotuo looked over and said, "You are~"

Dashibadulu hurriedly replied, "Prime Minister, this is my son, Bolotemur."

Tuotuo nodded without speaking, but what he was thinking was, 'Your son is much smarter than you.'

Chaghan Timur continued, "The attack on Gaoyou is to restore the Grand Canal shipping."

"In this way, grain from Jiangnan can be transported to the north."

Dashibadu muttered a couple of times, "It's not like there's no food in the north."

There is actually food available in the north.

However, the grain was concentrated in the hands of the powerful and wealthy people, including the Mongols, Semu people, and even the Han people in the north.

They were high-ranking officials in the Mongol Yuan dynasty, and they didn't even pay taxes on a regular basis, so of course they wouldn't give up their own grain to save the court.

During the Red Turban Army's Northern Expedition, their grain income largely came from seizing the reserves of these nobles, or even from directly buying them with money.

As for the imperial court, who cares what the imperial court is like?
"And that's it."

Chaghan Temur gave another reason: "The leader of the Red Turban rebels, the false Ming King, is in Gaoyou City."

"If we take Gaoyou City and kill this false Ming King, the Red Turban rebels in various places will surely be in chaos, and they may even fight amongst themselves."

"Chahan is right," Tuotuo concluded. "My mind is made up; we will send troops to Gaoyou."

"Dredge the canal and capture the false king."

"I will give you another half month. The army will set out after half a month." Unlike the Han Dynasty, the Yuan Dynasty provided its own weapons, horses, and provisions for its troops.

The only troops that actually received government support were the Kheshig troops stationed in Dadu, the Han guards, and the Tatar troops.

The remaining departments all raised their own funds.

This is also the origin of the gradual militarization of various Yuan armies later on.

After all, he had his own troops, money, food, followers, and territory. Even if he didn't want to be a warlord, he had to be one.

Toqto'a gave them time, which meant letting each unit raise its own food and military supplies.

As for how to raise the funds, that's their own business.

Li Siqi, for example, was sent by Chaghan Temur to collect grain.

They mainly extort large sums of money, or simply rob people outright.

People like Dashibadulu had their own followers and pastures, and they could draw supplies from their own tribes and families.

Of course, they would never let go of an opportunity to rob or extort.

The Yuan army that converged from all directions was basically in this situation.

Essentially, the same applies to Tuotuo.

He was from the Merkit tribe, and his direct troops were also mainly Merkits.

The reason he was so enthusiastic about opening up the Grand Canal to alleviate the predicament of the Central Secretariat was that he was the prime minister of the Yuan Dynasty.

As the prime minister, one must take charge of the overall situation of the country.

This is the sense of honor and responsibility that comes with being a high-ranking official.

If someone reaches such a position and still only seeks benefits for their own tribe and family, ignoring national affairs, then they are not worthy of respect.

Half a month, including travel time, is already very rushed.

Tuotuo had no choice; he had to finish the job quickly.

On the one hand, they were busy going back to deal with the Red Turban Army's three-pronged northern expedition.

On the other hand, as the prime minister, he could not leave the Yuan court for long, since he also had enemies in the court.

Military camp outside Gaoyou city.

Lin Dao traveled to various military camps to inspect the training situation.

According to the standards of the ancients, a training session every ten days constitutes an elite force.

It's not that I don't want to practice more, but that I lack the confidence.

High-intensity training requires sufficient resources as a foundation.

They need to provide enough carbohydrates, salt, oil, fat, and meat every day.

Worn clothes, shoes, socks, weapons, flags, etc., need to be replaced.

Otherwise, many people would die after the high-intensity training ends.

Moreover, it would greatly affect the morale of the troops and even incite a mutiny.

The situation is different here in the forest.

Regardless of the time or place, once the team is assembled, the training intensity will gradually increase.

Although it doesn't go to the level of 'monthly fire, water, wood, metal, metal'.

Training every two days is the basic requirement, with additional practice sessions as well.

I also have to attend night school in the evenings.

We dared to do this because our logistical support was adequate.

The imperial guards had meat to eat every day, while the ordinary Red Turban soldiers always ate meat on days of intense training.

Rice, flour, cooking oil, and other grains are plentiful, and you can even get salted duck eggs to eat.

Especially after the large-scale fishing of seafood began, we ate salted fish almost every day.

Occasionally, they also eat smoked whale meat.

The standard of food provided by this landlord exceeded that of an ordinary landlord and reached the level of a large landlord.

They eat well and receive high salaries.

During high-intensity training, there were naturally no complaints.

Today is payday, and Lin Dao personally oversees the distribution of rations and wages at the Imperial Guard's camp.

"The tenth squad of the Imperial Guards, led by Captain Hu Dahai, is from Sizhou."

"Monthly salary is one string of cash and six hundred coins."

"The subsidies include five dou of grain, five dou of rice and five dou of flour, one jin of salt, one barrel of oil, one bolt of cloth, ten jin of salted fish and salted whale meat, and sixty honeycomb briquettes."

The monthly salary is for the soldiers, while the support materials are for their families.

The pay for working for the forest is very high; the support materials are enough to support a family and allow them to live comfortably.

If you have no family, then everything belongs to you.

Hu Dahai stepped forward, carefully counted the money, and went to the side to collect various supplies except for honeycomb briquettes.

After the count was completed, he took the pen handed to him by the payee, signed his name crookedly, and pressed his fingerprint on it.

Hu Dahai, carrying several bags, stepped forward and bowed to Lin Dao, who was sitting in a chair.

"Thank you for the reward, Prince Ming!"

Are there any difficulties at home?

"With the rewards bestowed by the wise king, the family lived a good life."

"Since you can write your own name, you must have done well at night school. Was it voluntary, or were you forced to attend?"

Hu Dahai bowed respectfully and said, "Reporting to Your Majesty, all the brothers in the camp attended the night school voluntarily."

"Oh," Lin Dao asked with a smile, "Why is that?"

"Because the brothers all know that this is for the good of the Ming King."

Hu Dahai responded loudly, "If I go to night school to learn to read and do arithmetic, I can get promoted if I make meritorious contributions in the future."

"Even if they are injured, disabled, or retired, they can still be assigned to handle affairs in government offices in various places."

"There are benefits, so all the brothers are willing to learn."

What simple and honest words, spoken clearly and sincerely.

As long as there are benefits, we will take the initiative without being urged, guided, or called upon!
Xu Da, who was the commander of the tenth team, frowned and shook his head as he listened.

Lin Dao laughed loudly, "Good, that's how it should be!"

"You all fight bravely against the enemy, and I will promote and enrich you all!"

The soldiers were overjoyed and shouted in unison.

"Long live the Ming Emperor!"

(End of this chapter)