Late Ming Dynasty: Oops, I am surrounded by the Donglin Party

"Marquis Huaining, why did you kick me?" Zhang Shikang frowned.

Asking someone how much salary he had received without working in front of the commander-in-chief was like calling a thief a bald thief in front of a monk. Sun Weifan was worried that Zhang Shikang had angered Zu Dashou.

He couldn't see Zhang Shikang's signal, so he could only kick Zhang Shikang under the table.

"Ahaha, is that so? I didn't mean it." Sun Weifan laughed.

"If you don't want to eat well, get out. We are discussing business here!" Zhang Shikang drove Sun Weifan out unhappily.

Zu Dashou still did not show any displeasure on his face, but said truthfully:

"Reporting to the commander, the registered troops of the Guanningjin defense line are 58,000, the actual number of troops is more than 41,000, and there are more than 16,000 vacancies.

These vacancies are basically deserters from the battles in recent years, as well as... some soldiers who died in battle but were not reported."

Speaking of it later, Zu Dashou could not hide his guilt on his face. The deserters had run away, but as long as he did not report it to the court, he would still pay their salaries and food according to the original number of soldiers.

But the deaths in battle were not reported, which is a bit inhumane. People died in battle and their families couldn't even get any compensation. It's really despicable to say it.

But Zu Dashou still told the truth and did not give any explanation.

"How can there be no report on the deaths in battle? What about the families of those soldiers who died in battle?" Zhang Shikang frowned, feeling that things were not that simple.

Zu Dashou was still relatively respected by the Liao soldiers, so such a thing should not have happened.

"Reporting to the Marshal, those people no longer have any family members. Their families were all killed in the massacres carried out by the Jianlu."

What is a deep blood feud? The Jianlu and Liao soldiers fought each other for decades. This is a deep blood feud.

"The price of grain in the north has been rising over the years, but the military salaries issued by the court have not increased, and there have been arrears before.

Even if the report is truthful, the court will not pay the full pension, and once it is reported, these soldiers will no longer receive their military pay.

I also embezzled some of the money. The generals from all departments took about half of the troops, and the remaining half was distributed to the existing troops to subsidize their families.

It is precisely because of these reasons that the Liao soldiers were able to maintain their combat effectiveness and resist the attacks of the Jianlu with their meager forces. "

Zu Dashou explained that he did not hide the situation between himself and his subordinates, and told the whole truth, including the part of his own embezzlement.

Zhang Shikang had actually heard about the miserable situation of the Liao soldiers a long time ago. The history of the Ming Dynasty's defeat in Liaodong was also a history of blood and tears for the Liao soldiers and the people of Liaodong.

"I have a small fortune, and I am willing to use it to offset the sins I have committed over the years.

I can also ask Wu Sangui and others to spit it out, but this may cause dissatisfaction among some people. "Zu Dashou said again.

"Forget it. The imperial court doesn't need your little bastards." Zhang Shikang shook his head.

The area outside the Great Wall is so cold and harsh, and has experienced wars for a long time. It is impossible to maintain combat effectiveness without some skill when the imperial court is financially exhausted.

It would be absolutely unfair to say that Zu Dashou has no credit at all for maintaining the current situation.

There was no need for him to make the Liaodong generals feel uncomfortable because of those trivial matters. The imperial court today really did not lack that little bit of money.

"I am aware of your guilt. This is not just your problem, it is the problem of the entire border town.

I am not an intolerant person. There are many people in the court who are more guilty than you.

As long as you are willing to cooperate with me and win Guan Ningjin's heart, I will not only not pursue your faults, but will also commend you to His Majesty."

Zhang Shikang was very satisfied with Zu Dashou's attitude, so he handed him a life-saving pill.

As he said, supporting servants and eating up the empty quotas is not just Guan Ningjin's problem, but a problem for the entire nine borders of the Ming Dynasty.

He couldn't just kill them as he did to the Donglin gentry, as that would definitely cause big chaos. After all, they were all warlords who held guns.

Of course, necessary adjustments and warnings are necessary. What the imperial court needs is the loyalty of the border towns. Other minor mistakes can be tolerated, but this one is not.

"How many cavalry are there among these 40,000 Liao soldiers?" Zhang Shikang asked again.

The Liao soldiers were good at fighting, but the most famous among them were the Guanning Cavalry, which were elite troops that could fight against the Eight Banners Army of the Jianlu without losing the upper hand.

The weapon of the Guanning Cavalry is a three-barreled musket. Although this thing is an old item from the Chengzu period, it still plays an important role in the Guanning Cavalry until this time.

The reason why the three-barreled musket has not been eliminated is mainly because although it is called a firearm, when rushing close to the enemy camp, the fuse can be lit to launch three consecutive bombardments at close range.

Then the three-barreled gun became a cold weapon. Apart from its firearm attributes, this thing was actually just an iron hammer. Under the blunt attack, even the heavily armored soldiers of the Jianlu could not withstand a hammer.

After all, this was still an era where cavalry was king, so Zhang Shikang was still quite concerned.

"You must be talking about the Guanning Cavalry. I dare not deceive you. The cavalry on the Guanningjin Line suffered heavy losses in the Battle of Dalinghe.

The Jianlu used threats and inducements on the Mongolian tribes, and many trade markets were cancelled. The imperial court had no more money or food to allocate, making it impossible to replenish the cavalry.

Now the army has more than 41,000 soldiers, and only more than 4,000 Guanning cavalry are left.

Eight hundred of them are in Jinzhou, two thousand in Ningyuan, and I have more than fifteen hundred cavalry under my command." Zu Dashou said truthfully.

Zhang Shikang frowned after hearing this. The legendary Guanning Iron Cavalry was reduced to just over 4,000 men. How shabby!

"There are too few cavalry. Wait a minute. I will find a way to replenish them after a while." Zhang Shikang could only comfort them.

The Ming Dynasty lacked war horses, especially since the middle of the century. Up to now, the Ming Dynasty's horse policy has become a mere formality. If one wants to obtain high-quality war horses, the only way is to look to the north.

The main purpose of Zhang Shikang's border inspection this time was of course to solve the warlord problem in the nine borders, but he actually also wanted to take this opportunity to see if he could contact the Mongolian tribes outside the Great Wall.

Although most of the Mongolian tribes turned to the Qing Dynasty because of the Ming Dynasty's betrayal and the coercion and inducement of Huang Taiji.

But Zhang Shikang understood that there is no eternal friendship between countries, only eternal interests. As long as he offered sufficiently attractive conditions, the Ming Dynasty would have a natural advantage in discussing cooperation with the Mongolian tribes.

Especially at this time, many Mongolian tribes had not yet completely turned to the Qing Dynasty, and there were many fence-sitters.

It's not easy for him to come to Jiubian, so of course he has to take this opportunity to see if he can get some benefits.

Zu Dashou had no idea what Zhang Shikang was thinking. He just thought that Zhang Shikang was comforting him and didn't take it too seriously.

He hesitated for a moment, and finally stood up, picked up a wooden box from the table beside him and placed it in front of Zhang Shikang.

"What is this?" Zhang Shikang asked, looking at the box.

Zu Dashou knelt on the ground again and pleaded guilty:

"These are the letters that Huang Taiji has written to me over the years."

……