You can't only love the Qing Dynasty when you're eating the fruits of others' labor.

Chapter 379 Forcibly poaching employees!
Yuquanshan Imperial Palace.

Three steps to a post, five steps to a sentry.

A new army officer loudly reminded everyone: "Sirs, you are not allowed to bring weapons when you go up the mountain to pay your respects to the Grand Secretary. Please hand over your weapons and walk up the mountain."

"As ordered."

The warhorses were gathered nearby and fed some hay and water.

Bows and arrows, swords, spears, daggers, scimitars, maces, spiked clubs, three-eyed guns, matchlock guns, crossbows, round shields, axes, maces, and other weapons were piled up into a small mountain.

Military officers living in chaotic times are all walking arsenals.

……

The 50 military officers walked several dozen feet along the mountain path before being stopped by the elite guards of the chief minister.

"My lords, please cooperate with us for a body search."

The military officers dared not utter a sound and stepped forward one by one, opening their arms wide.

The body search was very thorough, especially the three places most likely to hide weapons: inside the boots, the sides of the waist, and the sides of the legs.

After the body search, we continued upstairs.

Upon arriving at the imperial palace, they prepared to be summoned and spoken to by the Grand Secretary in order of precedence.

A thin officer walked into the palace and knelt on one knee.

"This humble general pays his respects to the Grand Secretary."

Jiang Qingyun sat behind the large desk, and her first impression of him was not very good.

"what's your name?"

"This humble general is Xu Zhongzhen."

"Place of origin?"
"A native of Taiyuan, Shanxi."

The question-and-answer format is mechanical, boring, and devoid of any initiative.

Jiang Qingyun frowned slightly.

"Battalion commander? Military rank?"

"This humble general is currently serving as a guerrilla general in the Left Battalion of the Sichuan Provincial Military Command."

"Ah."

The scene fell into silence.

Jiang Qingyun coughed twice: "From now on, address me as your humble servant. You may leave."

"I humble my duty and obey my orders."

After bowing with clasped hands, Xu Zhongzhen left the palace.

Jiang Qingyun picked up his pen and wrote a note on the back of the roster: This person is taciturn and rather boring, lacking any military prowess. He probably doesn't have much of a future. He is already at the limit of his ability as a deputy general.

"Next!"

……

A burly military officer entered the room and slammed his knees to the ground.

"This humble officer, Dong Tianbao, a commander of the Shaanxi-Gansu Green Standard Army, pays his respects to Your Excellency the Grand Secretary and wishes you good health and longevity."

He is physically imposing, has a loud voice, and is highly proactive.

Jiang Qingyun looked Dong Tianbao up and down and couldn't help but feel a sense of goodwill towards him.

"A land of abundant resources and outstanding people! Who named you?"

"Reporting to the Grand Secretary, it was my mother who asked the village scholar to give me this name, using two catties of flour!"

"How old is your mother?"

"48."

How will you make a living?

"Making a living by farming."

"Although the salary of a captain is not high, surely it shouldn't be enough to make my mother farm?"

Dong Tianbao's eyes reddened.

“My family has five members and only 35 mu of dry land. I only manage to make ends meet by subsidizing my family with 18 liang of land each year. I am an unfilial son who has failed my mother and the court.”

Jiang Qingyun's expression softened somewhat.

Generally speaking, in ancient times, each person needed to consume 10 shi (a unit of dry measure) of grain per year.

The yield from 10 mu of dry land is only enough to feed one person.

Jiang Qingyun opened the drawer and took out a gold ingot.

"Take it back to supplement your household income."

"Grand Secretary, I dare not accept such an honor."

“I cannot refuse a gift from an elder. Gold and silver are of little use to me. If they can flow into the hands of someone more useful, that is their good fortune.”

"Thank you, Chief Minister."

Dong Tianbao took the gold ingot and felt it was as heavy as Mount Tai, holding it in both hands.

Jiang Qingyun was even more pleased with his honest and straightforward nature.

After everyone left the room, he wrote a note on the back of the roster: This person comes from a poor family, is filial to his elderly mother, and is honest and lovable. He is worth cultivating.

"next."

……

"This humble officer, Chen Xiang, a guerrilla fighter in the Hunan Green Standard Army, pays his respects to Chief Minister Chiang Kai-shek."

"Ah."

Jiang Qingyun looked up and saw that the man was somewhat refined and had the air of a scholar. His eyes were quite intelligent and rarely showed any hostility. So he asked, "Have you studied?" "Yes, I was a student in the Ming Dynasty."

Why did you join the army?

"When the world was in chaos, in order to protect our family and our hometown, my father and I spent all our wealth to organize local militia. We fought against the rebels Li Zicheng, Xian Yu, and Zuo Hou. Later, when the situation was settled, I accepted the imperial court's offer of amnesty."

Such a trajectory is quite reasonable.

What is your opinion of Wang Fuchen, the Governor of Hunan?

Chen Xiang's eyes clearly showed disdain, but he remained dutiful and shook his head, saying, "He is my superior, and I dare not comment."

Jiang Qingyun frowned: "What if I insist on letting you evaluate me?"

Chen Xiang: "In my humble opinion, a true man should be benevolent. One who is not benevolent and unjust is unworthy of being called a man. Governor Wang has the courage of ten thousand men, but he has repeatedly killed his benefactors, which is truly unbenevolent."

Jiang Qingyun nodded.

"I intend to build a military academy for officers in the suburbs of Beijing, teaching the most advanced war theories and fundamentalist Confucianism. Would you like to enroll?"

"I am willing."

Jiang Qingyun picked up his pen and wrote a note: This person comes from a wealthy family, is skilled in both literature and martial arts, is arrogant, shrewd, and courageous. We can observe his future performance.

"next."

……

"This humble officer, Wu Shaozhou, deputy general of the Tianyou Army, has long admired the Grand Secretary's name and is willing to serve him to the death."

Jiang Qingyun looked up and saw that the man had a face full of fat, a fawning expression, shifty eyes, a worn-out official robe, and a shaved head that looked out of place!
Let's take a look at their files.

He has a rich resume, having served under Yuan Chonghuan, Kong Youde, and the Longwu Emperor. He was also known as Kong Youde and Shang Kexi, but his relationship with them changed quickly.

"You're Wu Shaozhou?"

"Yes, sir."

"Well, back off."

Wu Shaozhou retreated in embarrassment.

Jiang Qingyun picked up his pen and wrote: This scoundrel is a weasel-faced, despicable, opportunistic, and utterly unprincipled person. No matter what merits he may make in the future, he will never be promoted.

"next."

……

For five consecutive days, Jiang Qingyun summoned more than 700 officers from various provinces who were nominated for promotion.

If we encounter someone we're interested in, we'll chat for a quarter of an hour or two.

If I encounter something I'm not interested in, I quickly dismiss it within a minute.

The fourth day of the first lunar month
The Ministry of War's Military Selection Department swiftly issued a document approving the promotion applications of 620 officers, but rejecting the applications of more than 100 others on the grounds that they lacked sufficient military merit and were therefore not eligible for promotion.

The Ministry of Revenue allocated 490 million taels of silver for rewards and compensation to Green Standard Army soldiers who went to war in various provinces.

The Ministry of Revenue allocated 35 taels of silver for rewards and compensation to the Green Standard Army in Zhili.

The Grand Secretary allocated 110 million taels of silver from the Imperial Treasury for rewards and pensions for the Banner Guards.

At the enormous cost of over 600 million taels of military expenditure and more than 7 casualties, Jiang Qingyun essentially nipped the momentum of various provinces attempting armed independence in the bud (except for Zheng Sen).

There are many other derivative effects.

For example:

In the Heilongjiang River basin, the war between the Eight Banners and the Cossacks continued to escalate.

On the Mongolian grasslands, the Khorchin and Chahar were hostile to each other, sharpening their knives, and war was imminent.

The massive amount of silver flowed evenly into the hands of military dependents and soldiers, creating a strong short-term consumption boom that powerfully boosted the commodity economy of various provinces.

At the same time, the Liaodong and Liaoxi regions entered a vigorous stage of large-scale land reclamation. Landless refugees from the north left the pass one after another. The honest ones became tenant farmers, while the bold ones cultivated the land themselves.

Within the imperial army, the Grand Secretary's personal prestige rose dramatically.

……

On the day.

The 3 local Green Standard Army troops stationed in Tongzhou were satisfied and returned south.

Advance by both land and water.

The soldiers escorted a large amount of silver and ashes on their journey home.

Thus, the momentous campaign to conquer Liaodong came to a perfect end! The nascent united empire gained a firm foothold amidst the bloodshed!

Yuquanshan Imperial Palace.

Jiang Qingyun frowned as he looked at the official document sent by the Ministry of Revenue.

The enormous amount of silver he had plundered from Shanxi merchants was almost gone after years of extravagant spending.

"Oh dear, the Ministry of Revenue is almost out of money."

Liu Rushi, who was massaging his shoulders from behind, said softly, "Ah~ I still have some savings that I wish to offer to the Empire."

"It's just a drop in the ocean, not enough."

Liu Rushi remained silent.

Jiang Qingyun's eyes suddenly lit up: "What day of the month is it today?"

"The fifth day!"

"I'll give you two quarters of an hour to change into men's clothing and come into the city with me. We're going to pay our respects to the God of Wealth."

"Yes."

Liu Rushi gracefully departed.

Less than a quarter of an hour later, a handsome but unremarkable scholar appeared in the study.

(End of this chapter)