Northern Prefecture Rivers and Mountains

Chapter 95 War Profits
By the third day, all the spoils were counted.

There were fifty-three sets of iron armor, one hundred and twelve sets of leather armor, more than five thousand pieces of weapons of various kinds, more than twenty war horses, and a large number of other kinds of flags and military equipment.

However, the civilians stripped the bandits of their clothes and took away a lot of their weapons and armor.

Liu Daogui turned a blind eye and thought there was no need to be so fussy. The biggest gain from this battle was still in the mountains.

The bandits must have had a lot of belongings from the merchants and refugees they kidnapped.

Liu Guangzhi, Liu Zun, Liu Heipi, Liu Zhong and Mao Dezu each led a group of troops and, with Cao's guide, pursued into the mountains.

Apart from being an official, the most profitable business these days is this kind of no-cost business.

The people in the city took the initiative to clean up the corpses outside the city. The weather was hot and if they were not cleaned up, a plague would soon break out.

Liu Daogui personally delivered the compensation to the homes of the fallen and disabled soldiers.

Behind every soldier is a family. In the past, the clans were split up, and after the men died, orphans and widows were left at home. Even if they were given land and ten strings of cash, their future lives would not be easy.

They were simply taken in, placed in the city of Qi, and handed over to Liu Zhen for care.

Six days later, Liu Guangzhi's troops came back pushing large and small carts.

Several small carts were loaded with money, food, ironware, wood, rags, various bottles and jars, and other daily necessities, and the large carts at the back were loaded with children and women.

Behind the cart were more than twenty donkeys, mules, cattle, sheep and other livestock.

"You didn't empty the entire bandit camp, did you?" Liu Daogui glanced at the other old soldiers of the Northern Palace. Their waists were bulging with money, indicating that they were carrying a lot of contraband.

But it's very thoughtful of them to still keep so many things.

If the water is clear, there will be no fish.

If you want to eat meat, you should also let others have a sip of soup. Otherwise, who would be willing to risk their life for you?
People are realistic, and Liu Daogui did not expect them to be truly selfless.

The ice is three feet thick and it didn't freeze overnight. If the top beam is crooked, the bottom beam will be crooked. There are few honest officials in the entire Zhenglu General's Mansion...

Liu Guangzhi said with a smile, "If there weren't enough wooden carts, I would have brought back the bricks and stones as well."

The soldiers burst into laughter. "General, please send someone to inspect quickly. We'll rest for two hours and then go again!"

For them, such good things only happen a few times a year, so they are very motivated.

Liu Daogui waved his hands and said, "No need to inspect. I trust you all. Come, make some broth so the brothers can eat and have enough strength."

"Join the army...for justice!" The old soldiers looked ashamed.

Two days later, Mao Dezuo led his troops back.

There were more than 30 large and small carts, followed by a group of prisoners, all of whom were strong and healthy. Each prisoner was carrying various packages or cloth bags.

He walked to the foot of the city wall and dropped the contents of the cloth bag onto the ground. They were all copper coins, brocade, leather cloaks, and some gold and silver.

The soldier looked the same when he left as when he came back, with his waist shriveled and standing straight.

Sure enough, soldiers with ideals and soldiers without ideals are completely different.

The old soldiers of the Northern Palace only wanted to take advantage of the situation, but the soldiers were innocent and clean.

This is also related to the environment in which the two are in. The old soldiers in the General Zhenglu's Mansion are accustomed to seeing their superiors bullying men and women, cheating, and being greedy. Liu Daogui is only a ninth-rank soldier with limited power and cannot change the overall environment.

However, the soldiers were a blank slate. They believed in Liu Daogui and military law, and their morals were relatively pure and good.

New things often have vigorous and healthy vitality.

It depends on the environment you grow up in.

Liu Daogui was extremely pleased. If Bazhuang continued to develop like this, its future would be limitless. The nearly fifty captives, all young and strong, most with dull and honest features, must have been carefully selected before being brought back.

Mao Dezu bowed and said, "Reporting to the general, these captives were refugees in the past. After moving south, they were captured by the bandits. In order to survive, they had no choice but to join the bandits. Now they have all abandoned the dark side and joined the light side. They are willing to serve under the general as servants."

A servant is a householder, no different from a domestic slave.

Not all the bandits in the mountains are extremely evil, many of them are just people who can't survive.

"Are you willing to surrender?" Liu Daogui secretly praised Mao Dezuo for his ability to get things done. In fact, he was desperate at the time and was also prepared to occupy the mountain and become the king.

"As long as I can have a bowl of rice to eat, I am willing to join the army and die."

The prisoners all knelt on the ground, looking extremely pitiful.

"From now on, you will be my servants."

Servants and retainers, like all other soldiers, must be subordinate to Liu Daogui.

Many people in Jiangzuo who lost their land took the initiative to rely on the noble families. This was the rule of that era, and Liu Daogui had no way to change it. If these captives did not have the status of servants, they would feel uneasy and unable to calm down.

Every rule is customary and cannot be easily changed by Liu Daogui.

These days, staying alive is more important than anything else.

"Thank you, Master."

The prisoners' voices became more relaxed.

The soldiers rested for a night and set out again the next day.

Mount Niu and Mount Meng are just the remnants of Mount Tai, stretching across the three states of Qing, Yan and Xu, with a radius of 800 miles.

The central and branch troops could only advance as far as Mount Meng at most. The situation in Mount Tai to the north was unclear and the terrain was unfamiliar, so they did not take any risks.

The bandits over there number more than three or four thousand people, and it is not something Liu Daogui can shake off now.

But even so, the gains were enormous.

For more than a month, Liu Guangzhi, Liu Zun, Liu Zhong, Liu Heibin and Mao Dezuo took turns to go north, capturing more than 600 young and strong people and rescuing more than 1,300 women and children.

Liu Daogui's servants increased to 1,157 people, and he officially became a small local tyrant.

The harvest amounted to 2,500 strings of cash, 170 dan of grain, 1,300 pieces of cloth, more than 1.7 jin of gold and silver, more than 300 cattle and horses, and tens of thousands of other pots, pans, bowls, and rags.

This was handed over by the soldiers. There are so many bandit camps on the mountain, it is impossible that they only have so little property.

The Northern Army embezzled valuable items, and only they themselves knew how much they were worth.

Anyway, everyone who saw Liu Daogui bowed respectfully and was very polite.

"Don't show off when you go back. Make a fortune quietly and keep it to yourself." Liu Daogui advised earnestly.

"Don't worry, soldiers. We won't say a word about it when we get back!" The old soldiers patted their chests and promised.

Before he finished speaking, he asked with a smile: "Now that we have defeated the bandits, I wonder when we will return to Guangling? I haven't seen my parents, wives and children for two months. I miss them very much..."

"Let's talk about it after the autumn harvest." When Liu Daogui saw their attitude, he knew that what he had said just now was in vain.

If anyone has to blame anyone, he can only blame himself for his low official rank and lack of military power.

If he could climb to Huan Hong's position as General of Conquering the Enemy Army, he wouldn't have to worry about the consequences and could focus on enforcing military discipline.

I didn't even dare to think about it before, but now that my strength has expanded, my ambitions have also grown a little...

(End of this chapter)