Transmigrating Through the Heavens: Starting with the Silly Pillar of the Courtyard

Chapter 337 The Meeting of the Seven Giants of Cangzhou Prefecture

Cangzhou Prefecture was not as large as Songjiang Prefecture, and there were only a few hundred shops on the streets.

Compared to Songjiang Prefecture, there are far fewer shops, but the kickbacks are significantly higher.

Unlike Songjiang Prefecture, there isn't a complex network of relationships here, so the Embroidered Uniform Guard naturally wields a unique power here.

Even shops with powerful backers have to give the Imperial Guards a lot of face.

Of course, face is mutual, and the appropriate bribes will be less. However, compared to Songjiang Prefecture, protection fees in Cangzhou Prefecture are much easier to collect.

On his first day in office, Wu Tao was briefed by Guo Wei and Ling Tian, ​​the two officers in charge of the military. After they finished discussing the work, they each left behind a small cloth bag.

Wu Tao naturally knew what this was: the monthly allowance for the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

It has been exactly one month since Wu Tao was officially appointed as a centurion in Cangzhou Prefecture.

Wu Tao picked up the cloth bag, turned it upside down, and saw a piece of snow-white silver appear before his eyes.

When I was a junior officer in Songjiang Prefecture, I could collect one hundred taels of silver from my subordinates every month.

Fifty taels of silver needed to be handed over to the head flag officer, and the five junior flag officers, depending on the street, would ultimately need to hand over three to four hundred taels of silver to the head flag officer.

A centurion typically receives between five and six hundred taels of silver per month.

The centurion would keep two hundred taels, and the rest would be handed over to the commander of the thousand.

This is a customized amount; you can pay more, but you can't pay less. If you pay less, your superiors will think you've embezzled.

Although Wu Tao didn't know how much the Cangzhou Prefecture's Hundred-Household Office had previously handed over to the Thousand-Household Commander, seeing that the Banner Commanders Guo Wei and Ling Tian had handed over a full 1,300 taels of silver, he understood how much he should hand over.

Among them, Guo Wei, the captain, handed over 700 taels, and Ling Tian, ​​the captain, handed over 600 taels.

This also reflects the difference in the level of prosperity in their respective jurisdictions, as well as the difference in their abilities.

Wu Tao didn't need to ask; he knew that 300 taels of the 1,300 taels belonged to him, and 1,000 taels belonged to the commander.

This was the usual practice, and he wouldn't refuse, so he simply took out three hundred taels and threw it into his personal space.

He then arranged for Xiaoqi Chen Chao to take his personal guards to Songjiang Prefecture.

This is a routine procedure that must be ensured to be delivered to the chief of the household as soon as possible.

Otherwise, the commander might think you've embezzled the money.

Besides, the Commander-in-Chief also needs to send gifts to his superiors. If you are slow to deliver them, wouldn't that put the Commander-in-Chief in a difficult position?

A clean prefect for three years, accumulating 100,000 taels of silver.

Songjiang Prefecture had more than twenty counties and prefectures under its jurisdiction, and more than twenty Jinyiwei (Imperial Guard) centurions. If the average salary was one thousand taels of silver, each centurion could receive more than twenty thousand taels of silver per month.

As for how much the commander will give to the higher-ups, that's unclear.

If a commander of a thousand households had half of the power in his own hands, he could earn tens of thousands of taels of silver a year.

Wu Tao wasn't envious of that. He now received a monthly salary of one hundred taels of silver, plus a kickback of three hundred taels, which meant he could earn four hundred taels of silver every month.

With so much money, it would be easy to support a family and ten strongmen.

It was quite normal to save more than three hundred taels of silver every month.

Three days after Wu Tao took office, a manager arrived at the Hundred Households Office.

The other party immediately identified himself as the steward of the prefectural governor's household in Cangzhou.

The other party explained that the Prefect was there to welcome the Centurion to his post in Cangzhou Prefecture.

Tonight, a welcome party was specially held for Wu Tao at his private residence.

Wu Tao may have never eaten pork, but he's seen pigs run. He knows that the powerful and influential people in Cangzhou Prefecture finally couldn't resist testing him.

As the centurion of the Jinyiwei (Imperial Guard) in Cangzhou Prefecture, Wu Tao's existence would cause great concern among the upper echelons of Cangzhou Prefecture.

If they hadn't seen through Wu Tao's true character sooner, they would probably have been waking up from nightmares every night.

When facing the Embroidered Uniform Guard, most people would adopt an attitude of not deliberately getting close to them, but also absolutely not offending them.

The reason for not getting too close is that the Embroidered Uniform Guard is only loyal to the emperor. No matter how good your relationship is in private, you never know when the other party might turn against you.

It's easy to explain why you shouldn't offend them. If you offend the highest-ranking local official of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, you'll likely be watched and harassed by them every day.

That night, Wu Tao brought along General Guo Wei and General Ling Tian to attend the reception.

Prefect of Cangzhou Prefecture, Vice Prefect of Cangzhou Prefecture, Assistant Prefect of Cangzhou Prefecture, Garrison Commander of the City Guard, Assistant General, and Guerrilla General.

They were the six top military and political leaders of Cangzhou Prefecture, plus Wu Tao, a centurion of the Embroidered Uniform Guard. The meeting of the seven giants was perfect.

The seven men were all very polite to each other today, even though they were inwardly seething, they maintained a friendly demeanor. They would have many more opportunities to interact in the future, since whatever happened in Cangzhou Prefecture would inevitably involve their negotiations.

When facing wealthy merchants and landowners, Wu Tao acted both reserved and easygoing.

He maintained a respectful distance without displaying any arrogant or condescending attitude. This unfathomable aura emanating from a Jinyiwei centurion in his mid-twenties only amplified everyone's awe.

Wu Tao's debut was perfect; at least these people knew that Wu Tao wasn't some brainless idiot.

They were not afraid of a shrewd centurion, because a shrewd person would not easily do anything to disrupt the overall situation.

How to befriend Wu Tao was a later matter. Since they were all officials in the same court, probably no one wanted to have enemies all over the world.

Those wealthy merchants and landlords also developed relationships with Wu Tao. How they dealt with each other privately could be left to time.

However, some people present were gloating, seemingly because the unexpected death of the former centurion outside the city had lessened their fear of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

Wu Tao didn't try to find out anything. Not only was he unfamiliar with the place, but he also couldn't ask questions in public.

General Guo Wei and General Ling Tian accompanied Wu Tao and helped him introduce other people.

Although it had only been a few days, General Guo Wei and General Ling Tian had already discovered that this young centurion was no ordinary man.

Even Commander Ling Tian began to doubt whether he had ever truly known Wu Tao before.

Why has the other person changed so much in just a few months?

He had dealt with Wu Tao before when he was in the Qianhu Office, but he had no idea that Wu Tao was so capable.

Not only was Commander Ling Tian surprised, but Commander Guo Wei was as well.

He is thirty-five years old this year. He inherited his father's position as the chief flag officer when he was a teenager.

Almost twenty years have passed since then, and Guo Wei, a former officer in the Embroidered Uniform Guard, considered himself a seasoned veteran.

After meeting Wu Tao, she was always terrified, because every time he brought something up, it hit the nail on the head.

This truly shows that ambition knows no age; no wonder he was able to rise to the rank of centurion at such a young age.

Wu Tao simply introduced everyone tonight; whether they were testing him, trying to curry favor, or observing him silently, he didn't react.

To gain a deeper understanding of the situation in Cangzhou Prefecture, one needs to make contact with local power brokers like him. Besides, he already has other ambitions and might need to win over some people in the future.