Chapter 53: The Art of Spending Money

“Does anyone have any objections?”

Marquis Wuyang asked as a matter of routine.

Pardoning the relatives of traitors is no small matter.

Such a heavy responsibility must be shared by more people.

The lives of Yangzhou's gentry may be of no concern to you, but the safety of Yangzhou City directly affects everyone's lives.

For a group of connected insiders, the political risk of acting on one’s own initiative has never been an issue.

“Since no one opposes, draft the proclamation and post it as soon as possible.

Recruiting able-bodied men to defend the city must also be implemented without delay.

Li Battalion Commander, you’ve been in charge of Yangzhou affairs recently and know the situation best—this task falls to you.

You have three days to recruit fifty thousand able-bodied men to defend the city!”

Marquis Wuyang’s decision did not surprise Li Mu.

Those who can do more are burdened with more, in any world.

The more capable you appear, the heavier the tasks you must bear.

“Commander, three days is too short—recruiting fifty thousand able-bodied men is impossible.

Yangzhou is a large prefecture, but its population is widely dispersed.

Remote counties are already bordering rebel forces, and every region is recruiting able-bodied men for defense; we can only recruit from the prefectural capital and its immediate suburbs.

Moreover, the treasury has limited arms and armor—there aren’t enough weapons to issue them.

The Five City Military Commission has five thousand troops, plus Yangzhou Prefecture’s garrison, the yamen’s three divisions of runners, and conscripted able-bodied men—totaling over ten thousand.

I recommend recruiting another ten thousand able-bodied men to assist in defense!”

Li Mu explained helplessly.

It’s troublesome when superiors don’t understand military affairs.

They think it’s a play—issue one order and you pull out fifty thousand soldiers.

Even ignoring logistics, managing so many troops is already a challenge.

Even recruiting only ten thousand able-bodied men would triple the forces under everyone’s command.

The actual number of soldiers assigned to each commander would increase even more.

Who among those tagging along would dare entrust troops to them?

“No!

Recruiting only ten thousand able-bodied men is too few—minimum twenty thousand.

Thirty thousand men to defend such a vast Yangzhou Prefecture is already dangerously stretched.

During the founding era, Duke Xingguo defended Yangzhou Prefecture with fifty thousand troops and still fought a brutal battle, losing three counties!”

Marquis Wuyang firmly refused, casually citing his half-baked historical knowledge.

“Your servant accepts the order!”

Li Mu gritted his teeth and agreed.

Deep inside, he was too exhausted to complain.

Comparing the warlord struggles of the founding era to today’s localized rebellion is to vastly overestimate the rebels.

Besides, back then they defended the entire Yangzhou Prefecture, not just Yangzhou City.

…

Wang Family Mansion, West City.

Wang Wenju stared at the pardon document in his hand, silent for a long while.

The efficiency was simply too high—just after delivering the gift, the matter was already settled.

Aside from not meeting Marquis Wuyang personally, everything was perfect.

“Yichen, you’ve done a great deed this time!

The Wang family has escaped this disaster thanks to…”

Before Wang Wenju finished, Wang Yichen interrupted: “Uncle, it’s not over yet.

The gifts we sent were only for the intermediaries—Marquis Wuyang’s share still needs to be paid.

We must also bribe the Eastern Depot and the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

Their prices are high: just this pardon document costs fifty thousand taels, and Marquis Wuyang’s share is another fifty thousand.

The Eastern Depot and Embroidered Uniform Guard together cost one hundred thousand taels; if we want the Emperor’s imperial pardon, we’ll need another one hundred thousand.”

Upon hearing the exact figures, the previously joyful group turned grim.

“Hah…

Thirty thousand taels? It’s worth it if it buys the lives of over a hundred members of our Wang family!

Pool funds from all branches—even if we sell the pots and pans, we must raise the money quickly.

Yichen, prepare a generous gift for your classmate—tell him we’ll pay exactly as they demand, but we hope he can introduce us to Li Battalion Commander.”

Wang Wenju laughed heartily.

A big appetite doesn’t matter—the more they demand, the more capable they prove to be.

If they only took a few thousand taels and claimed they could resolve a rebellion case, he’d be suspicious.

He’d heard of Li Mu’s reputation.

Though he didn’t know how this man got his connections, the fact that he could speak to Marquis Wuyang and broker ties with the Eastern Depot and Embroidered Uniform Guard was undeniable.

“Brother, think carefully.

This is twenty thousand taels—possibly thirty thousand.

After paying this, our Wang family will be crippled and won’t recover for years.

Why not try connections in the capital? It won’t cost this much.

Yichen, talk to your classmate again—see if you can reduce the amount.

He’s just a Battalion Commander—taking less shouldn’t matter.”

A middle-aged man in merchant attire frowned.

Officially, all branches would contribute, but in truth, his branch would bear the bulk.

No other reason—he managed the clan’s commerce and had the most liquid cash.

Large families, if they have a choice, rarely sell land or property.

Even when those assets yield far less than the clan’s trade.

“Wu, shut your mouth!

Remember: distant water cannot quench immediate thirst; the official world is not the marketplace.

Can your capital connections handle the Five City Military Commission—or the Embroidered Uniform Guard and Eastern Depot?

Or can they get us the Emperor’s pardon before they turn on us?

Doing the impossible is suicide.

Later, when dealing with officials, some payments can be negotiated—but money to buy your life must never be cut.

Our lives are now in others’ hands.

If they’re not handled with full care, even a small oversight could leave us with no burial place.

Li Battalion Commander has been decent—he gave us the imperial envoy’s pardon first; anyone else would demand payment upfront!”

Wang Wenju could no longer hold back his anger.

He had served in office—he knew the unwritten rules of the bureaucracy well.

Often, the worst thing isn’t spending money—it’s having money you can’t spend.

Previously, allying with the Yin family was meant to expand our network—but bad luck led us straight into a death trap.

“Brother is right—I was foolish!”

Seeing the family head furious, the middle-aged man immediately rose to apologize.

He was so focused on the money he forgot that among officers, there are differences.

A Battalion Commander holding life-and-death power is not the same as those village-chief-level Qianhus outside the city garrisons.

“Hmph!

I don’t want you to repeat this mistake.

The Seven Great Families of the Two Huai Provinces are the best example.

If they hadn’t been greedy beyond measure, how could they have brought upon themselves this annihilation?”

Wang Wenju spoke with solemn gravity.

He was truly afraid.

If he went out to serve and his clan caused another disaster, it would be disastrous.

Recommendation: The Great Qing Is Doomed





(End of Chapter)