Movie: Get Alpha Dog at the start

Chapter 834 No money? I can raise money on my own, right?
The delicious pig-killing dishes made the mouths of these low-level soldiers drool. Even those soldiers who were punished to run ten laps around the parade ground could not bring up any complaints against Qin Hao at this moment.

After Qin Hao served the last soldier some food, he took the bowl and went to where the soldiers were most concentrated and sat down on the ground.

"Commander-in-chief."

"It's dirty here, Commander, why don't you sit here with me?"

Qin Hao smiled and shook his head: "We were all born by our mothers and raised by our parents. You can sit here, but why can't I?"

A group of soldiers smiled innocently. They felt respected by such a commander, even if it was just for show.

"How many years have you been in the army?" Qin Hao asked casually.

"I have been a soldier for three years."

"Five years. I've been a soldier for five years."

“I’ve had five years, too.”

Qin Hao nodded and asked, "They are all veterans. How is it? Is the salary from these years of military service enough to support your family?"

After these words were spoken, all the soldiers present were silent, and those who wanted to speak were stopped by their companions.

Seeing that no one answered, Qin Hao called out his name directly: "Zhao Wu, tell me, how many people are there in your family, and how much salary do you get each month?"

Zhao Wu, who was called, stood up almost subconsciously.

"My Lord Commander, there are five people in my family. I have elderly parents at home. My wife gave birth to a baby two years ago. The monthly salary is 300 coins, plus 5 dou of coarse grain. If we eat sparingly, we can barely survive. But this salary."

Qin Hao frowned. It was not uncommon for the army in ancient times to collect empty salaries and withhold salaries. However, if the army guarding the imperial city was like this, one could imagine what the situation would be like for armies in other places. It seemed that the Qing Kingdom was not as prosperous as it seemed on the surface.

Perhaps Zhao Wu's words resonated with the other soldiers, and they began to complain.

Qin Hao just listened to the soldiers' complaints quietly. When they were tired, he said to Zhao Wu, "Go and call the quartermaster for me. If anyone dares to disobey the military order, just tie him up."

"I'll go with you."

"Yes, let's go together."

It was obvious that these soldiers had long harbored resentment towards the quartermaster, and seeing such a good opportunity, they were all eager to try, and finally they formed a small team and set off in a mighty force.

Along the way, these soldiers did not forget to tell their comrades the news that the new commander had arrived and would be in charge of them.

Suddenly, the military camp became lively.

After a cup of tea, Zhao Wu and others tied up a fat and big-eared guy. The guy was fat to begin with, and his face was bruised and swollen from being beaten. There were many shoe prints on his buttocks. It was estimated that he had been beaten many times along the way.

"Commander, the person has been brought here."

The quartermaster had his hands tied. When he saw Qin Hao, he knelt down and began to cry about the atrocities committed by the soldiers against him.

"Commander, these rascals trespassed into a military supply base and attacked me without explanation. You must stand up for me."

Zhao Wu and others hurried to explain when they heard this.

"Nonsense, we told the commander-in-chief that you should come, but you refused to do so. We had no choice but to kidnap you."

"That is, if you don't resist, can we tie you up?"

The quartermaster wanted to argue, but Qin Hao raised his hand impatiently to interrupt him.

"Okay, let's put this matter aside for now. I want to ask you, why haven't the military salaries been paid in full?"

Upon hearing this, the quartermaster cried out for justice.

"Sir, please don't believe these one-sided words. The salary has been paid in full and has never been deducted. I have the signature as proof."

Before he could finish his words, he was kicked. A strong man cursed him, "Bullshit! You make us put our fingerprints on the salary every month. If we don't, we won't get it. We are men fighting on the battlefield. We can beheaded and bleed, but we will never be wronged by you!"

"That's right, you are such a black-hearted person. You clearly withheld our salary, and you dare to deceive the commander."

"kill him."

"Kill! Kill! Kill!"

Seeing the crowd getting excited, the quartermaster also panicked and quickly crawled to Qin Hao.

"Commander, I swear to heaven that I have never withheld a cent of the military pay. This is just a matter of fact. Please spare me a moment to speak."

Qin Hao snorted coldly: "There is nothing that cannot be said to others. If you have something to hide, then tell your difficulties to your comrades in the army. Otherwise."

The quartermaster could only say with a bitter face upon seeing this.

"Everyone, it's not that I'm withholding your salary, but the salary the court pays out every month is not enough. Even if you sell these two hundred kilograms of mine, it won't be enough to pay the full amount of salary."

Upon hearing this, the soldiers looked at each other in confusion and talked a lot. Some said that the court would not do this, and that the quartermaster must have eaten their wages. Others said that slandering the court was a serious crime, and the quartermaster should not dare to talk nonsense.

Qin Hao stood up, then picked up the quartermaster and untied the hemp rope behind him.

"I will investigate the cause of this matter. If the court is indeed short of military pay, I will naturally seek justice for you. But if you withhold military pay and slander the court, I will be the first to chop off your head as a sacrifice!"

The quartermaster was in tears, having been beaten for no reason, but luckily his life was temporarily saved.

After hearing Qin Hao's promise, the soldiers shouted.

"Thank you, Commander, for making the decision for us."

"From now on, my life belongs to you, my Lord."

"I am willing to die for you, sir."

After the team was disbanded, Qin Hao called all the officers and officers of the Bingmasi to a meeting in the camp. After seeing Qin Hao's skills, these officers no longer dared to underestimate this boss who was a little too young.

After a night of conversation, Qin Hao had a deeper understanding of the situation of Bingmasi.

Including Qin Hao, the Jingzhao Prefecture Bingmasi had a total of 4386 soldiers, including cavalry, spearmen, sword and shield soldiers, archers, and the rest were miscellaneous soldiers. They were mainly responsible for maintaining the security of the capital.

Since there have been no wars around the capital for many years, the combat effectiveness of the Bingmasi is certainly far inferior to that of the border troops. The previous commanders did not take the training too seriously. They just went through the motions and looked acceptable on the surface, and they would be able to be taken out for a walk when celebrations were held in the capital.

"It's getting late, you should all go back and rest."

After sending away these officers, it was already dawn outside. Qin Hao simply didn't want to sleep and rode his horse to the court. As a fourth-rank official, he had to attend the daily court meetings.

When Qin Hao arrived outside the imperial city, there were already many civil and military officials waiting in line for inspection and entering the palace.

Qin Hao's arrival immediately became the focus of the whole audience.

Qin Hui, the cheap father, ran over happily, looked at the scarlet official robe on Qin Hao, his eyes were full of excitement, and even his voice was trembling.

"Hao'er, I heard that His Majesty ordered you to lead the Jingzhao Prefecture Military Division. Is that true?"

Qin Hao nodded nonchalantly, leaned over to his cheap father's ear and teased, "Dad, calm down and don't make fun of yourself."

Faced with his son's teasing, Qin Hui glared at him but was reluctant to say a harsh word. It took him half his life to climb to the third rank, but his son started at the fourth rank. His future was limitless and he could be said to be the hope of the family. Such a son would be cherished by every family.

Just as Qin Hao was queuing up to pass through security check and enter the imperial city, Eunuch Hou beside Emperor Qing came hurriedly.

"Commander Qin, His Majesty has summoned you."

The civil and military officials around had different expressions when they saw this, especially the older officials, who looked at Qin Hui with envy and jealousy in their eyes.

After Qin Hao left with Eunuch Hou, Qin Hui was surrounded by a group of high-ranking officials.

"Minister Qin, you will be on holiday in a few days. I have hosted a banquet for several colleagues at home. You can come and have a seat with us."

"I heard that there is a courtesan named Si Lili at Zuixianju. After Minister Qin is discharged from the yamen, how about going to Zuixianju with me to have a drink and chat?"

Qin Hui felt that he was overwhelmed. This happiness came too suddenly and he was caught off guard.

At the same time, Qin Hao followed Eunuch Hou to a side hall.

Today, Emperor Qing has changed from his previous laziness, wearing a dragon robe and exuding his domineering aura.

"Lord Qin just took office yesterday, so you don't need to attend today's court meeting. Go back and rest early."

It was obvious that Emperor Qing already knew what he had done in the Bingmasi military camp, and also knew what he was going to do in court today. It seemed that what the quartermaster said was true, and the salary issued from above was indeed not paid in full.

Perhaps in the Nanqing Army, this is not a secret, but everyone knows it tacitly.

The reason why Emperor Qing called Qin Hao over alone was to tell him not to lift the veil.

"Your Majesty, I have a question and I hope Your Majesty can help me solve it."

Emperor Qing's eyes fixed, and he said in a deep voice: "Tell me about it."

"When soldiers join the army, do they do so more to support their families or to defend their country?"

Eunuch Hou was sweating profusely as he listened, thinking that this kid was really a newborn calf who was not afraid of a tiger. So many bigwigs in the army didn't dare to raise the issue, but Qin Hao actually dared to question Emperor Qing directly.

However, Emperor Qing was not angry but sighed.

"Qin Aiqing, do you know how many troops Nanqing has?"

"A full one million. If all the money is used to pay the military salaries, half of Qing's annual taxes will not be enough to support it. I know you want to do a good job, but the treasury can't produce money."

If it were someone else, they would definitely stop after Emperor Qing said so much, but Qin Hao did not intend to go back in disgrace. There is no joking in the army. He has just established a little prestige. If he doesn't make some noise, how can he convince people when he goes back?

"Your Majesty, the treasury is unable to produce money. What if the Military Affairs Department raises money on its own?"

Emperor Qing was obviously stunned for a moment, then said with a stern face: "If you allow the military to exploit the people."

"If that's the case, the censor will report it to your majesty, and you can punish me severely according to the law. I won't even frown." Qin Hao said with a bow.

Upon hearing this, Emperor Qing looked at Qin Hao with interest: "Oh, can you also conjure up money out of thin air?"

"Your Majesty, please give me three months. I will know the outcome in three months."

"You're still keeping me in suspense. Well, in three months, I want to see how you can make money."

After Qin Hao left, Emperor Qing suddenly smiled and said, "This kid is quite interesting."

Seeing that Emperor Qing was not angry, Eunuch Hou secretly breathed a sigh of relief and agreed with a smile: "Commander Qin is indeed a young and inexperienced man, but he was a little reckless."

"Oh? You really think he's reckless?"

Eunuch Hou looked bewildered. Wasn't it reckless to lift the lid on his first day in office?
"You have been deceived by this boy. If he was reckless, how could he let me give him three months to raise money for his own military pay?"

"Speaking of which, I am really curious about how he raised this money without exploiting the people."

When Eunuch Hou saw Emperor Qing get up, he hurriedly prepared to follow him, but he heard him say something in a low voice.

"Eunuch Hou, do you think that all the officials in the court are too old?"

Eunuch Hou was so frightened that he almost fell to the ground.

After coming out of the palace, Qin Hao returned to the Bingmasi camp and walked into the general's tent amid the expectant gazes of the soldiers.

"From the looks of it, Commander Qin didn't ask for the money, did he?"

"Alas, I should have thought of it earlier. But this is not the fault of Commander Qin. The Imperial Guards are also owed money."

"I am very satisfied that Commander Qin has this heart."

It was not until lunchtime that Qin Hao came to the kitchen with a stack of papers.

"Brothers, I went to the palace today, but His Majesty said that the court is in trouble and cannot come up with the money."

Before he finished speaking, a sigh was heard at the scene.

However, Qin Hao then changed the subject.

"The court is in trouble, but I can't watch my brothers suffer. What should I do?"

As he spoke, Qin Hao unfolded the rice paper in his hand and asked the quartermaster to read it.

The contents on Qin Hao's paper were all in plain language. Although many of the soldiers were illiterate, they could all understand it. However, some new terms that popped up from time to time made them look confused. Whenever this happened, Qin Hao would stand up and explain.

After the quartermaster finished reading all the contents on the rice paper, the soldiers on the scene began to talk about it.

"Is this okay?"

"I think it's OK. We are not exploiting the people. The money comes from a legitimate source. We can feel at ease accepting it."

"Other things are fine, but I'm afraid of provoking those playboys."

"Don't be afraid, the commander said that anyone who resists the law will be arrested and brought back. He will take the blame if anything goes wrong."

The next day, people in the capital city found that wooden signs with notices posted on them were erected on every street.

"In order to maintain the security and image of the capital, from now on, all shops are not allowed to set up stalls on the streets. Violators will be fined five taels of silver. All mobile vendors are not allowed to set up stalls at will. Vendors must set up stalls in designated areas and obtain a license before setting up stalls."

"All carriages are not allowed to park randomly. Violators will be fined two taels of silver. The city will plan carriage parking areas, and all carriages must be parked in designated areas."

"No one is allowed to litter at will. Violators will be fined 10 silver coins. No one is allowed to dump feces into ponds or rivers. Violators will be sentenced to three days of corvée labor to clean the river."

Soon, the contents of these notices became the topic of conversation among the people of Beijing.

"Is this military department obsessed with money? They have to pay fines for everything they do?"

"You don't know yet, do you? The military department has a new commander, and it's obvious that he's here to plunder the people's wealth."

No matter what the common people said, the soldiers of the Bingmasi had already started drawing lines in various areas of the capital with white paint buckets.

(End of this chapter)