Chapter 137: Deep in the Quagmire

This involves a deeper level of questioning.

That is, for a monarch, is it better to be generous or stingy?

This quality, which should belong to a monarch, can influence far too many things.

For instance, when a monarch is first rising to power, being generous to the generals who follow them will naturally earn the support of these generals, and even that of the nobles. At this stage, it actually has no impact on the common people.

Conversely, if a monarch is too stingy or too petty, they will naturally not gain the following of others.

Liu Zheng believes that the Baiya Army, in its initial stages of development, must have been generous—even that kind of generosity steeped in the ways of the martial world: eating meat in big chunks and drinking wine from big bowls. It was precisely because these heroes of the Baiya Army, who rose from the grassroots, had such a popular base that the Baiya Army became famous and began to build the first horse farm of the Longyan Dynasty.

However...

Generosity is, in fact, not a weapon that works in every situation. If your generosity does not bring you praise, this quality begins to damage your interests and your reputation.

If you act with generosity in a moral and righteous way but remain unknown, you cannot escape the infamy that is the opposite of generosity. Therefore, if a person wishes to enjoy a reputation for generosity, it is inevitable that they will take on certain elements of extravagance!

For example, the "Baiya Palace" where Liu Zheng is currently staying!

It looks even more magnificent than the Taishoufu. Never mind whether this is appropriate in terms of protocol, and never mind whether this is showing too little respect to the Taishoufu. Just consider that the Baiya Army built such a palace, surely to provide a "place to settle down" for their brothers and sisters, but what do the common people think when they see it?

Let us return to the contributions the Baiya Army has made to Baiya Prefecture.

Yes.

The businesses of the Baiya Army have brought prosperity to this prefecture; they have even funded the building of roads, schools, and bridges, along with various projects that benefit the people... In the early stages, this truly won over the hearts of the people and gained the support of the masses.

But what about now?

When the common people have become accustomed to this generosity of yours, and when that group of martial artists under your command has become accustomed to this generosity of yours.

Slowly, the generosity will begin to escalate.

In the end, in order to maintain their reputation for generosity, a monarch will only exhaust their financial resources, which easily leads to an extreme... If they want to continue their reputation for generosity, they will inevitably increase the burden on the people, levying heavy taxes and extorting them, stopping at nothing to obtain money!

This must exist.

The Baiya Army is not Yinzhou.

Aside from the horse farm, the places where they can generate profit are the various taxes seized from the hands of the Taishoufu...

Thus, once this situation occurs, one can imagine the mood of the masses.

You are extravagant yourself, so you come to exploit us?

By this time, they will not care about the things you did to benefit the people; they will only see the surface reality! This luxurious palace, those high-and-mighty Baiya Army members, that bunch of silk-clad masters!

As a result.

When the Baiya Army loses the respect of the people, this generosity becomes an infamy!

And the exact opposite is true.

If Liu Zheng were the leader of this Baiya Army, he would not care about the reputation of being stingy. He would let others see the frugal side of this place; even if the income were abundant, he would be very frugal, even very stingy. This, in reality, would bring the people more sense of security. Because of frugality, there is enough military strength to deal with war, and achieving success without increasing the burden on the people—that is true generosity!

In human history, there are many such examples.

In the Middle Ages, Pope Giulio ascended to the throne of the Pope with the help of a reputation for generosity. But later, in order to wage war, he no longer cared about any reputation for generosity. The King of France, Louis XII, likewise for the sake of war, did not increase taxes on the people, but instead relied on his long-term frugality and "stinginess" to cover his extra expenses.

The Baiya Army is indeed very wealthy...

However, at a time when the world is about to fall into chaos, they still have not practiced frugality, nor have they given the people enough sense of security!

Then, at this moment, generosity has truly become a vice!

"Brother Liu, what are you thinking about? Come, come, come, the brothers know your reputation and have prepared a banquet for you. Let's drink, let's drink!"

Du Biao suddenly laughed and walked over.

Yang Ke also smiled and invited Liu Zheng.

Liu Zheng could only follow the host's lead and followed the two to a huge banquet hall. Sure enough, just as Liu Zheng had thought, the magnificence of this hall was probably about the same as those imperial palaces on television in later generations.

Luxury, extravagance, golden pillars, all kinds of palace lanterns, screens, ornaments...

Before Liu Zheng had even walked in, a group of dancing girls was already dancing gracefully inside, with the sounds of strings and bamboo playing in waves.

A feeling of peace and prosperity, of drunken dreams and death, rushed toward him.

Liu Zheng was quite unaccustomed to it, his expression displeased.

Yang Ke smiled and said: "The brothers have all been through life and death together to get where we are today. Is the Young Master not used to it? People of the martial world do not care for etiquette; the Young Master should be magnanimous."

Du Biao laughed heartily: "Brother Liu is also a straightforward person; why so many formalities? Come, sit!"

Liu Zheng smiled bitterly and said nothing.

He finally understood why this Baiya Army, while possessing the world's number one horse farm, still clung to the Refined Salt business. Even with great risk, they were determined to do it. Because their lifestyle was too short of money!

They are too good at making money, but also too good at spending it, so they are always short of money!

As the old saying goes, it is easy to go from frugality to luxury, but difficult to go from luxury to frugality. No matter how much of a grassroots background they had before, the moment this magnificent palace was built, it meant that they would never be able to return to that life of drinking blood and eating raw meat.

And this is precisely what Liu Zheng is most worried about.

The current state of the Baiya Army is already terminally ill... and it is not just one illness!

The first illness: the system is not strict, the hierarchy is not clear, they act like brothers, and the bad habits of the martial world are too heavy!

The second illness: extravagance has become a trend, they levy heavy taxes and extort, they are detached from the masses, and they are alienated from the people!

The third illness: the army was just defeated, there was no summary, and they continue to enjoy themselves without stopping. They treat the lives of the people like blades of grass. Otherwise, why did none of these "heroes" from all walks of life go when resisting the Xiongnu? Only Yang Ke led an army of seventy thousand. The reason is simple: they knew this battle would be lost, and they had no intention of fighting at all; those who went were just cannon fodder from among the common people!

Yet these "high-ranking generals" are still here drinking and making merry!

In these people, what Liu Zheng sees now is no longer the shadow of the heroes of the Water Margin, but rather the appearance of the late Taiping Heavenly Kingdom...

He pondered while drinking.

The Baiya predicament seems to be becoming increasingly difficult.

He somewhat regrets this trip to Baiya.

But since he has already come, and he has been assassinated, there is no reason to leave!

Yinzhou.

Yintan City.

Zheng Yue Ru had already rushed back.

Qingyang Shuo saw the personal letter from Liu Zheng and smiled faintly: "Is the young master not being a bit too impatient, wanting to peddle weapons at this War Horse Contract Meeting?"

Zheng Yue Ru was stunned: "Qingyang Xiansheng, isn't this the best opportunity?"

Qingyang Shuo sighed and said indifferently: "The Baiya Army has not shed its bandit nature; they are not worth working with!"

Jiang Xuan and Zheng Yue Ru looked at each other in dismay.

This Baiya Army is famous throughout the world, yet you actually say they are not worth working with?

If it were not for the fact that this Qingyang Shuo is truly a great talent, they would have already started cursing.

Qingyang Shuo continued: "The Baiya Army is gold and jade on the outside, but rotten on the inside. If the young master plots for Baiya, he is of low status and little influence, and his strength is insufficient. The Baiya Army only has twenty thousand troops left; how could the Taishoufu and the Liangzhou Prefecture not take advantage of the weakness to move in? By then, the young master would be tainted for no reason, which is truly not worth it!"

Zheng Yue Ru's expression tightened: "Xiansheng, what should be done about this?"

Jiang Xuan also understood.

After this great battle, the Baiya Army will surely become a target for everyone; even if they stir up some War Horse Contract Meeting this time, I fear it will not stop others from coveting the Baiya Army.

Under such circumstances, for Liu Zheng to intervene would be to place himself in a very awkward, and even very dangerous, position!

If he wins, he gains nothing, and might even offend the Baiya Taishoufu, the Liangzhou Prefecture, and perhaps even the Empress and Zheng Yuxing, creating a rift. Most importantly, Liu Zheng currently lacks the strength to swallow Baiya, a place comparable to the Liangzhou Prefecture.

But what if he loses?

Then he would truly gain nothing, and would also lose thirty thousand troops.

Qingyang Shuo smiled faintly: "Although the young master is a bit radical, he always has his own unique ideas."

"The matter is not without a chance of success. After all, the young master has the great merit of repelling the Xiongnu; if he can obtain a position as a Prefect, then it would be justified and honorable."

Zheng Yue Ru and Jiang Xuan looked at each other with great joy.

A Prefectural Assistant is an assistant official to a state official, of the minor sixth grade, the same level as a Prefectural Judge. But if one goes up one grade, it is the minor fifth grade, barely a Prefect. This is based on official rank. If one distinguishes between official rank and nobility, Liu Dahao's current position is only that of a Prefect, still a distance away from a fourth-grade Prefect. But Liu Dahao is already able to manage the affairs of two prefectures.

If Liu Zheng could become a Prefect, taking office in Baiya would be a matter of course.

One must know that the current Prefect of Baiya, Zhang Chengjiang, is only one rank higher than a Prefect.

Taking office one rank above one's station is not a rare occurrence in this era.

"Jiang Xuan!"

Qingyang Shuo said suddenly.

Jiang Xuan perked up: "This general is here!"

"Whether the young master can walk out of Baiya alive depends on you this time."

"Immediately take your Special Agent Squad and rush to Baiya to support the young master!"

"Yes!"

【Author's Note】

I am updating two chapters today. I still need to arrange the conflict in Baiya specifically... It is too bland, and it wouldn't be satisfying to read after all. I also don't want to pad the word count...