Time Travel to 1859: The Iron-Blooded Soldier King

Liu Ye picked up the roster and looked at it. It turned out that Baoding Town had a staff of 4,200 people, with 4,000 people on the payroll. Among them, the front army had one battalion of 480 people and two battalions of 480 people; the left army had one battalion of 470 people and two battalions of 480 people; the right army had one battalion of 470 people and two battalions of 470 people; the central army had 480 people, the rear army had 470 people, and the general guard had 190 people.

Liu Ye's brows furrowed tightly. A full complement of 4,200 men, and a staffing complement of 4,000—isn't that nonsense? If the Qing army's Green Camp had this many soldiers, the sun would have risen from the west. A battalion was short of twenty men. How could it be possible that all these captains were so honest?

Liu Ye said calmly, "Captain Luo? Are the numbers on this roster real?"

Luo Zili was shocked. The roster was only used to deal with the inspection of the superiors. Everyone knew it well. Who knew that the battalions were short of staff? As long as they could give an explanation to the superiors, everyone would save face and no one would meddle in other people's business. It would be good for everyone. The superiors would definitely not be less respected. The superiors had never been petty. Not to mention anything else, Guo Zhiqiang alone embezzled no less than ten thousand taels of military pay in the past six months, and the rest were even more exposed. This was all common practice. As for the admiral and the governor, Guo Zhiqiang would also give tributes.

Today, the new general actually asked about the authenticity of the roster. What is his plan?

Luo Zili replied, "General, I believe this roster is accurate. Even if there are discrepancies, they are probably only a dozen or so. After all, the roster isn't updated on a regular basis, and there will be slight changes within each battalion. Rest assured, my lord, we will adhere to our military conventions. Your hard work will definitely not be in vain..."

Luo Zili hinted at Liu Ye with his words, and Liu Ye sneered inwardly. It seemed that there really was a lot of trickery going on. However, after dealing with so many people, how could he deal with more? Luo Zili was quite sensible. If he was also taken down, there would be no one left to take over.

Liu Ye turned around and asked, "Zuo Baogui!"

Zuo Baogui quickly responded and stood up, "Captain Zuo, tell me about the situation in your camp and how many troops you have now!"

Zuo Baogui said in a deep voice, "Sir, our right wing second battalion has a full complement of 500 men, but we currently have a total of 397 men on staff, leaving a shortage of 103 men!"

Luo Zili's face turned pale. Damn, he had actually forgotten that there was a stick beside the general! Zuo Baogui was a real stubborn person, always rigid. He had never been short of staff under his command. He would fill the missing one and never leave any benefits for nothing. Now all his secrets were exposed, and he was slapped in the face!

Three hundred and ninety-seven people! More than a hundred less than the full complement of five hundred, more than 20% of the vacancies. Liu Ye's heart sank immediately. What a huge gap!

Liu Ye then asked, "Guanting, where are the other camps?"

Zuo Baogui was not polite and continued, "The other battalions are not much different from our Right Wing Second Battalion, but the Right Wing Second Battalion is basically the smallest. The actual strength of the other battalions is between 350 and 390 people. I don't know the specific personnel and my responsibilities."

General Liu Ye turned around, staring intently at Luo Zili, and said calmly, "Captain Luo, there's a huge discrepancy between your numbers. According to the left captain's statistics, I'm afraid the total strength of the army cannot exceed 3,500. Do you have any explanation?"

Even though Liu Ye didn't say anything harsh, Luo Zili felt tremendous pressure. This little ancestor had just attacked a group of people. Could he be looking for an excuse to attack me again?

Luo Zili immediately began to sweat and quickly replied, "General, the left captain was only a garrison commander before and is not familiar with the affairs of the entire army. My understanding may have been somewhat biased. It was my mistake. It would be best if we re-verify it. That way, we should have a clearer idea. What do you think..."

Liu Ye snorted coldly and replied, "Captain Luo, I've said before that I, Liu Ye, came to Baoding not to make a fortune, but to train a strong army. If you don't even know how many soldiers you have, then what kind of general is he? Today I just want you to give me a real number. How many people are there? Tomorrow I will gather all the troops at the martial arts training ground and inspect them in person. I hope your number is not too off, and I hope you won't let me down!"

Luo Zili secretly groaned. If he really told the truth, he was afraid that he would offend all the captains. Cutting off someone's financial resources would be like killing their parents! However, Liu Ye was pressing him step by step. Trying to fool him was no longer feasible. He could only reveal the truth first and then work with his brothers to discuss it. He didn't believe that this general was really as clean as water!

Luo Zili quickly knelt on the ground and replied, "Please forgive me, my lord. The entire Baoding army currently has 3,412 soldiers. Although there are some deviations, they are only a dozen or so. However, my lord, my brothers have all worked diligently, fought in countless battles for the court, and traveled extensively. This little compensation is really..."

Liu Ye stood up and said, "Alright, Captain Luo, let's put today's matter behind us. You said it was 3,400 men, so that's 3,400 men. I won't ask any more questions. However, I will still inspect all the camps tomorrow and gather all the troops at the training ground. I want to see what our brothers are like!"

"twitter!"

Luo Zili quickly agreed, fortunately, today's incident was finally over, it seemed that the general had no intention of dealing with him, making money was a small matter, the main thing was to keep his job, didn't he see that even Lieutenant General Guo had been dealt with by him, this guy was young, but his methods were really cruel, he should just keep his tail between his legs for a while, don't ask for trouble!

Liu Ye continued, "Captain Luo, I know it's been hard for you brothers, but since you've chosen the path of military service, what's the point of joining the army if it's not hard work? From ancient times to the present, which prince didn't earn his throne through military exploits? Do you think they could have achieved their glory without shedding blood and sweat, fighting on the front lines? Wealth, fame, and fortune require real hard work. Although you're over a decade older than me, you're only thirty years old. It's time for you to show your abilities, but you've been blinded by just a small profit from me, hehe..."

Luo Zili was speechless with guilt. "Alright, take all these accounts away. The day after tomorrow, I want to see a real account. If you can't do it well, don't blame me for being ruthless..."