Chapter 124: Chapter 103: Prefect’s Financial Aid
Translator: 549690339
The troop marched for five days, covering nearly two hundred miles, finally entering the jurisdiction of Shaoyang Prefecture.
Wugang County was under the jurisdiction of Shaoyang Prefecture, so as the newly appointed County Magistrate, Sun Siwen naturally had to pay a visit to the Prefect of Fu City first.
The Prefect of Shaoyang was named Liang Xiwen, a middle-aged man of around forty with an elegant scholarly air. He looked just like the traditional scholar-official.
Indeed, such was the case.
Prefect Liang was well-versed in academics but not so much in governance. He had a considerable reputation in the literary world, being hailed as a learned scholar. However, his local governance was in such a mess that even Wugang County, which was under his jurisdiction, had lost control.
Not only Wugang County, but chaos also erupted in many places in the other nine counties under the jurisdiction of Shaoyang Prefecture, showing signs of losing control.
In addition, the Miao People from the mountains would often cause trouble. This all left Prefect Liang, who liked to write articles, in an extremely difficult situation. He even composed several poems, angrily criticizing the disorderly people for being immoral, shameless, and cruel to the common people.
However, that’s what scholars do.
Beyond giving their criticism, they can do little else.
The situation continued to worsen, and he received more and more rebukes from the Prefecture, the learned Prefect was already exhausted and was preparing to apply for a transfer, wishing to return to court and be a peaceful court official.
Seeing Sun Siwen bring such strong escorts for his appointment, he was surprised and then overjoyed, taking Sun Siwen’s hand and saying, “I have heard that a new academy in Changning County of Hengyang Prefecture has gathered hundreds of students, rejuvenating local education.”
And Teacher Sun, who is the director of the academy, is also a great talent in educating students. I have always wanted to meet you.
Now that I have met you, I realize that not only are you good at education, you are also skilled in military affairs.
With such a strong and formidable team, it should be no problem to pacify
Wugang County.”
Although he wanted to apply for a transfer, Liang Xiwen naturally hoped that his political achievements would not be too unsightly before he left.
If he could pacify Wugang before he left, he could also explain this when he returned to the court and secure a better position.
Therefore, he was quite proactive about this matter.
Upon hearing that this great scholar, Liang Xiwen, knew his name, Sun Siwen was pleasantly surprised. Then hearing the latter discuss work, he immediately assured, “Rest assured, Your Excellency. With me here, we will not let those bandits continue to wreak havoc in the county.”
Liang Xiwen nodded repeatedly, then took Sun Siwen’s hand and said forcefully, “You must deal with those bandits harshly when you go. These people are lawless and prone to violence. They are all evil and should not be spared.
If possible, they should all be executed to ensure peace in the region.”
The Prefect’s words were filled with murderous intent, which surprised Sun Siwen and made him understand the severity of the bandit problem in Shaoyang Prefecture.
Even a great scholar was asking him to kill the bandits mercilessly.
Referring to the plan to eliminate the bandits that was set a few days ago, he immediately assured, “Please rest assured, my lord. I will not let any bandits go. I promise.”
Prefect Liang was very satisfied with the attitude of his new subordinate, a rare smile appeared on his face. He let go of his hand and said, “If all the people under my command were as competent as you, Brother Sun, why would the situation in the Prefecture be so chaotic?
You’re about to take up your post and there’s much to be done. Do you need any help?
If you do, just let me know and I’ll see what the Prefecture can do.”
Seeing the graciousness of the Prefect, Sun Siwen immediately expressed his joy, “In fact, I do need your assistance. For this assignment, I have spent all the three thousand silver taels allocated by the Prefectural government as stipends. Furthermore, I have solicited funds from local gentry in Changning County, enabling me to recruit five hundred brave soldiers.
But now all this money has been spent. Once this month passes, we will not be able to pay the soldiers’ salary next month.
I kindly request that you could allocate some silver, just enough to cover two or three months should suffice.
Once Wugang is pacified and the region stabilized, and taxes are collected, I will be able to pay the army stipend from the county’s finances.”
Upon hearing that money was needed, Prefect Liang’s expression stiffened slightly. If the prefecture had money, he would have already recruited troops and eliminated those bandits himself, rather than waiting for Sun Siwen.
But considering the promise he just made and that he actually liked Sun Siwen, and how hateful those bandits were, he gritted his teeth and said, “Indeed, an army cannot fight without silver.
Although the prefecture is not rich, I can give you five thousand silver taels as a military stipend. You can use it to reward your soldiers.
Remember, you must kill those bandits this time.”
The issue of face, coupled with the hatred for the bandits, led the Prefect to grant half of the already scarce treasury silver.
As for whether this would create a deficit?
The Prefect, ready for a transfer, couldn’t worry about that anymore.
His successor could deal with that headache.
Hearing about such a large amount of money, Sun Siwen was overjoyed. His voice much brighter as he said, “Thank you, Your Excellency. Rest assured, I will not let a single bandit escape.”
Prefect Liang nodded, feeling that his money was well spent.
An hour later, the army left Fu City and continued south towards Wugang
County.
In the carriage, Lu Yuan listened to Sun Siwen’s recount and the sight of a large box of silver in the carriage, and couldn’t help but smile, “So, Brother Sun, you made a trip and brought back five thousand silver taels.”
Sun Siwen also smiled and nodded, “Indeed. I did not expect the Prefect to be so generous. In order to suppress the bandits, he even allocated two thousand more silver taels than the Prefecture.”
Lu Yuan laughed, “It seems that the Prefect has been driven to desperation by those bandits, hence his desire to quickly resolve the issue with money. That’s good. With this military expenditure, the soldiers’ stipend for the next three months is assured.”
According to this world’s military benefits, a soldier’s monthly stipend is five silver taels. They had recruited five hundred people this time. Deducting one hundred and fifty people who did not require a stipend, there were still three hundred and fifty people to pay.
This would amount to one thousand seven hundred and fifty silver taels in a month.
Five thousand silver taels could only support three months.
Of course, the soldiers in Lu Yuan’s camp could certainly not be compared to the real soldiers.
But the problem was that they were going to take up their posts, which was fraught with dangers, with great risks of death and injury. If he didn’t offer a higher salary, who would be willing to risk their lives for him?
‘No wonder the Da Yue court stipulated that a county can only support one hundred soldiers. I originally thought that was a little too few.
But now that I’m in charge, I realize how expensive it is to keep an army.’
Lu Yuan sighed inwardly, then made up his mind. After arriving at Wugang County, he must kill more people, confiscate more properties, and he wouldn’t stop until he made a few tens of thousands of silver taels.
And these soldiers were quite numerous.
He would look for an opportunity to send them out to suppress the bandits. By doing so, he would also reduce some of them, thereby saving costs.
He had spent all his money, it had to be worth it..