Chapter 158: Oily-Mouthed

At three in the afternoon, the sunlight in Shen City remained scorching. Lin Yu sat in the spacious rear seat of a black Buick sedan, playing with a silver pocket watch in his hand. This Buick had been confiscated from a fleeing foreign firm boss in the French Concession; its body gleamed, exuding the scent of fine leather.

The convoy slowly drove past the bustling Nanjing Road, pedestrians on the street stopping in their tracks, gazing with fearful eyes at this imposing force. Ten German-made armored reconnaissance vehicles led the way, their black bodies flashing a cold light in the sunlight. Lin Yu's Buick was sandwiched in the middle, with five armored transport vehicles guarding ahead and behind.

The German-equipped soldiers on the vehicles wore brand-new field-gray uniforms, their steel helmets covering young, solemn faces.

Half an hour later, the convoy slowly came to a stop before the gate of the Garrison Office. This office, originally built at the founding of Great Dry, is one of the most important power organs in Jiangnan. The Garrison Envoy, a senior official of rank second grade, senior, stands among the provincial grand officials.

Unlike the Governor and Inspector, who mainly handle civil affairs, the Garrison Envoy controls military administration, taxation, and customs of a region, especially in treaty ports, where he is a real power figure second only to the emperor and above ten thousand people.

The Shen City Garrison Office is furthermore the chief of the six Garrison Offices in Jiangnan. It not only commands the Garrison Brigade of five thousand troops, but also manages Shen City's customs duties, foreign firm taxes, and negotiations with all major concessions. The silver passing through its hands each year amounts to tens of millions of taels. Hence, the post of Garrison Envoy has always been reserved for senior ministers of the court.

Liu Xu could occupy this position not only because of his deep roots in the court, but more importantly because of his financial talent. In just three years, he raised Shen City's tax revenue by nearly fifty percent, earning deep trust from the court.

Lin Yu stood at the foot of the steps, looking up at this imposing building. The vermilion gate bore the three golden characters 'Garrison Office' shining brightly, and the stone lions before it were stern and majestic. Yet at this moment, everything was shrouded in an atmosphere of desolation.

The gates of the Garrison Office stood open, with two rows of fully armed soldiers standing straight. These were his men, equipped with the most advanced German weapons. Just yesterday, they were still fighting fiercely against the Garrison Brigade. That battle was extraordinarily brutal; although the Garrison Brigade had five thousand troops, under the firepower superiority of German equipment it only held out for half a day before collapsing.

The Garrison Office has now completely fallen into Lin Yu's hands. Those once arrogant Garrison Brigade soldiers are either dead or surrendered. Liu Xu, who once gave orders here, is now together with his worthless son, awaiting punishment in the dungeon of the Fourth Bureau.

Lin Yu stepped up the stairs, silently calculating. The power of the Garrison Office means not only military and civil authority over Shen City, but more importantly the customs revenue. With this income, he can continuously expand his strength. As for the court... he snorted, imagining that the court at this moment can no longer attend to Shen City's affairs.

"Sir." Feng An stepped forward quickly, "The interior has been cleared, all important documents have been sealed."

Lin Yu sat in the grand master's chair at the center of the Garrison Office's main hall, this chair symbolizing the highest administrative authority in Shen City.

"Tell me," he looked at Zhou Wei standing below the hall, "How have the gains been these days?"

Zhou Wei opened the ledger in his hand and reported respectfully: "Sir, the Garrison Office treasury currently holds six million taels of silver, fifteen thousand taels of gold, and various banknotes equivalent to four million taels. The granaries store six hundred thousand shi of military grain and four hundred thousand shi of civilian grain."

"And the Liu family?"

"The Liu family owns twelve mansions, eight estates, three silk factories, and sixteen pawnshops in Shen City. The seized silver alone amounts to three million taels. Besides, there are various antiques, calligraphy, gold and silver jewelry. Zhou Wei paused, then added: 'Most importantly, we found a secret ledger in the cellar of Liu Xu's study.'"

Lin Yu became interested: "Oh?"

"This secret ledger records the extra taxes and tribute that Liu Xu collected from various foreign firms and shops over the past three years. Conservatively estimated, at least ten million taels per year were not reported to the court."

Lin Yu snorted. No wonder Liu Xu managed to raise Shen City's tax revenue by fifty percent in just three years; he was lining his own pockets.

"What about the Security Command Headquarters and the Qin family?"

"The Qin family's assets have been tallied. Besides sixteen mansions, in the concessions they own twelve Western-style buildings, six docks, and three arsenals. They have about two million taels of silver in cash, and various promissory notes equivalent to three million taels. Zhou Wei continued, 'The storehouse of the Security Command Headquarters holds 1.5 million taels of silver in cash, along with various arms and ammunition.'"

Lin Yu nodded. These warlords and officials are indeed experts at lining their own pockets. Just the cash of these families alone exceeds twelve million taels; if other assets are added, it would likely surpass thirty million.

"By the way," Zhou Wei added, "we also discovered a batch of smuggled German weapons in the Qin family's secret room: 1,500 Mauser rifles, a hundred MG08 machine guns, and a large quantity of ammunition."

"Interesting." Lin Yu narrowed his eyes, "It seems the Qin family had long been preparing a retreat for themselves."

"Register these assets and manage them by category." Lin Yu ordered, "Especially those arms, they must be tightly guarded."

"Yes, sir." Zhou Wei replied respectfully.

These greedy parasites, however, have helped him accumulate a substantial fortune.

Lin Yu leaned back in the grand master's chair and began to calculate silently.

He now commands over seventy thousand troops; although these soldiers were summoned from the system, in Lin Yu's view they are flesh-and-blood warriors loyal to him.

Military pay cannot be lacking: ordinary soldiers receive two taels per month, corporals three, sergeants five, platoon leaders eight, company commanders fifteen, and regiment leaders twenty-five.

In the establishment of seventy thousand, there are already thousands of officers. Adding technical branches such as artillerymen, machine gunners, and engineers, who also need extra allowances, the monthly payroll comes to over two hundred thousand taels.

Furthermore, the food, clothing, and daily necessities for over seventy thousand personnel: each soldier needs at least one and a half taels per month for rations and side dishes; uniforms, blankets, boots, etc., consume another tael per person per month, adding nearly another two hundred thousand taels.

Not to mention the maintenance and repair of German weapons, horse fodder, camp repairs, medical expenses for the wounded... Lin Yu calculated that maintaining this army requires at least five hundred thousand taels per month.

In this era, warfare is not like later times with industrialized logistics; everything must be bought with hard cash. Bullets cost money, cannons cost money, even intelligence must be bought. A large-scale campaign can easily consume several million taels.

The properties confiscated this time from the Garrison Office, the Liu family, and the Qin family together amount to over thirty million taels. This windfall is enough to sustain him for a long time. More importantly, after taking over the Garrison Office, the customs and commercial taxes will flow steadily into his pocket each month.

Lin Yu's lips curled into a faint smile. In these turbulent times, money brings troops, troops bring territory, territory brings tax revenue—a virtuous cycle.

And now, he has taken the first step.