The Way of Controlling One's Mind

  Everyone finished their bows and the beardless Master Ma Er finally spoke up: "You did a good job during the day! I'm very happy, here are 500 copper coins, it's Master's reward for you all. However, Master can't figure out who among you made the greatest contribution, nor does he feel like bothering with such trivial matters..." He paused for a moment before continuing: "Qi Cheng..."

  Qī Guǎn Shì hastily stepped forward, lowering his eyebrows and eyes, saying: "In..."

  Second Master Ma tossed the string of copper coins into Qiguan's hands, and the clinking sound was heard as he casually said: "I'll leave these five hundred coppers with you, distribute them according to their merits, I'm too lazy to bother with this matter... Ah yes, Qi Guan! You've been a steward in the side courtyard for fifteen years now... Recently there's a vacancy for a deputy steward in the inner courtyard, if you do a few things well for me, I'll promote you to be the deputy steward of the inner courtyard."

  Qiguan Shi was overjoyed and immediately knelt down, repeatedly saying: "Thank you, Second Young Master, I will definitely do a good job for the Second Young Master." Being in charge of the side house is not as good as being in charge of the inner house. In the side house, one can only manage a group of poor long-term and short-term workers, with little to gain, and can only benefit from deducting their food. However, after being transferred to the inner house, managing the family's servants and maids, who receive monthly silver allowances, if one can deduct a little from them, it is also a lucrative job, and the status in the entire Ma family is completely different.

  Young Master Ma waved his hand and turned around to leave, with the four servants in green uniforms and small hats following closely behind him, disappearing into the distance in an instant.

  Liu Guanshi nodded and bowed to the back of Master Er's figure for a while, until Master Er was gone from sight. Only then did he raise his head, turn around, and with a sudden change in expression, his flattering face turned into a majestic and commanding one: "You bunch of good-for-nothings! Master Er is leaving, and you don't even know to send him off with a bow? You're destined to be laborers for the rest of your lives."

  Yang Chao hastily approached, nodding and bowing: "Qiguan Shi, your teachings are correct... Now, let's divide the reward first, it's rare for Master to give us 500 copper coins, we all have merits and hardships, let's share them..."

  Qiguan Shi glared at him, clearly resentful that he had brought up the matter of the reward money again, and thought he was being unreasonable. Then, he swung the string of copper coins in his hand and laughed strangely: "This time we defeated 47 people from Zhang's family in Xiguzi Village, Second Master rewarded us with this sum of money, let me distribute it. I am a fair person, always taking care of others..."

  He paused, smiled and said: "One sparrow is worth five copper coins, so forty-seven sparrows are two hundred and thirty-five coins. I have decided to calculate the reward based on the number of sparrows knocked down, and give five coins as a reward for knocking down one... The remaining two hundred and sixty-five coins are the second young master's reward to me, without my command, you can't achieve such great merit."

  "Hum!" The long workers were immediately dissatisfied, and Qi Guan, who had done nothing but stand far away and watch, actually wanted to divide 265 Wen. This was a bit too much. However, the many long and short workers, who had been oppressed by him for so long, did not dare to resist, and could only hum a few times and pucker their mouths.

  However, this remark irritated Bai Shui Wang Er. He was different from these ordinary long and short workers, but a good fellow who couldn't stand the sour smell of pickled vegetables. With a pair of fist-sized bowls, he took a few steps forward and said with a loud voice: "Qi Guan Shi, I knocked down four this time, are you going to give me twenty cents?"

  Qiguan's scalp went numb, although his status could suppress Wang Er, but the momentum couldn't be suppressed. Being pressed by Wang Er's massive body, it felt like a pair of drums beating "Boom Boom Boom" in his heart. He hastily said: "Of course not, this time you made great contributions in dealing with the Zhang family, how can we just pay five cents? I'll give you ten cents each, four enemies, forty cents for you."

  Wang Er was finally satisfied, forty-seven enemies, a total reward of five hundred coins, if calculated at ten coins each, he also felt it was a fair reward method. He stretched out his hand to accept the forty copper coins and retreated to the corner of the house.

  Qiguan Shi felt a pang of pain as he thought about the thirty cents he had given out, and suddenly his heart skipped a beat: Oh no... I was intimidated by Wang Er, and in an instant I gave him so much. Next it will be Zhu Ba's turn... What if he is not satisfied with five cents per person either, but wants ten cents like Wang Er? That would be a huge loss for me! He had knocked down twenty-five men... If the reward was ten cents each, that would be two hundred and fifty cents...

  Qiguan Shi's heart was racing with excitement, when Zhu Yuanzhang slowly walked over and bowed his hands to him, saying: "Qiguan Shi, I only need 125 wen, anyway, beating those few cowards didn't take much effort, not worth giving so much reward money."

  Zi Guan Shi was overjoyed upon hearing this: "This Zhu Ba, what a good person! He's so understanding. I'm glad I didn't misjudge him at first glance. This man has made me feel relieved time and time again."

  Zhu Ba took a step back, and Qi Guan Shi naturally also took a step back. He took out 150 copper coins and put them in Zhu Ba's hand, smiling: "125 wen was a bit stingy on my part, so I'll give you a few more."

  Zhu Yuanzhang smiled slightly and put the money into his pocket. In his eyes, a few hundred copper coins were nothing at all. This little bit of reward was just one of his tactics for dealing with people. Wang Er couldn't bear to lose out, but Zhu Yuanzhang could afford to take a small loss. He had always believed that taking a small loss would allow him to gain greater benefits in the end. Being too concerned with fairness wasn't a good thing.

  Then Qi Guan Shi gave a reward of five coins to each of the others who had made achievements, but only those who had knocked down someone received it, while those who hadn't didn't get any... Some families were happy, some worried...

  After distributing the copper coins, Qi Guan Shi called out to the cook again: "Tonight's dinner will be extra special. Everyone who participated in the fight at Xigou Village will get two pieces of meat each. I don't want people saying that someone with the surname Qi doesn't do things properly..."

  The cook's wife hastily agreed, and only then was Qiguan satisfied, pocketing the over two hundred coins he had deducted, and smiling as he walked out of the dining hall.

  As soon as the manager left, the dining hall became lively again. More than a dozen men who had participated in the fight but failed to knock down their opponents sat together with their heads hung low in shame, including Yang Chao. Meanwhile, those who received the reward sat on the other side, chatting and laughing with others, clearly forming two small cliques.

  Yang Chao and several other long workers who did not receive the reward looked at Zhu Ba, the one who received the most rewards, with jealous eyes.

  This situation, Zhu Yuanzhang had seen many times in his previous life. In the army, there were always two kinds of people: those who were capable and those who were not. Every time they assessed their achievements and rewarded them, the capable ones would receive a reward of silver and sit together laughing loudly, comparing whose reward was more or less. But the incapable ones were often forgotten in the corner, licking each other's wounds.

  As time went on, the strong and weak armies went their separate ways. The strong army became stronger, while the weak army became weaker. Moreover, the weak army would develop a psychology of jealousy towards the strong, ultimately becoming an unstable factor within the army.

  A successful commander must know how to reward and strengthen the strong troops while comforting the weak ones, narrowing the gap between them. In the next battle, the weak troops can also become strong, and the soldiers will love their commander even more.

  Zhu Yuanzhang slowly stood up, took out the 150 coins he had just received from his pocket, set aside 25 coins for himself, and then held the remaining 125 coins in his hand. He walked to the front of Yang Chao and others: "Brothers, here are 125 coins given by Qi Guan Shi just now. Take them and divide them among yourselves."

  "What's going on?" Yang Chao and the others were slightly startled, and several long workers stood up with a swoosh: "Zhu Ba Ge, what do you mean by this?"

  Zhu Yuanzhang smiled slightly and said seriously, "Yang Chao, do you still remember what happened when we fought during the day? I punched that guy with a scar above his eyebrow, and then you used a wooden stick to beat him until he was covered in bandages."

  Yang Chao said weakly: "Yes, you're the one who defeated the enemy, I'm just a person who kicks a dog when it's down."

  "Not true." Zhu Yuanzhang shook his head and said, "Although I knocked him down with one punch, he can recover in just a few minutes. If you hadn't beaten him thoroughly to the point where he couldn't get up, he would have gotten back up to deal with us. So... taking down that guy is thanks to your efforts too. I think Yang Chao should give you five cents as a reward."

  Yang Chao tilted his head and thought, "Huh? Isn't this the reason? If I hadn't beaten him up, that kid would still be getting up? I, Yang Chao, also have merit, I'm not a waste... He only felt a warmth in his heart, the suffocating feeling of not being recognized, was released in an instant, almost shedding tears.

  At this time, Zhu Yuanzhang had already stuffed the five Wen coins into his hand, then turned his head to the other side and said to another long worker: "Liu Wuge, you also come to take it, this is the five Wen coin that you should take. I remember that there was a knife scar face who was beaten down by your stick, this frame has your share of merit, if you don't take this money, my heart will be uneasy."

  "Zhu Ba Ge, this... how can you bear to... that person obviously..."

  "Nothing more needs to be said!" Zhu Yuanzhang firmly put the money into his palm, and Liu Wu's eyes also welled up with tears...

  Before long, Zhu Yuanzhang had given out all the copper coins in his hand. The group of workers who were just hanging their heads in despair suddenly perked up and, holding the copper coins that Zhu Yuanzhang had given them, squeezed into the midst of another group of people who had received rewards and sat down together with Yang Chao following after them. What Zhu Yuanzhang gave them was not just a few copper coins; more importantly, he gave them recognition - a power greater than money that can eliminate the distance between people.

  Everyone was excitedly talking about the fight during the day, you said one word and I said another, it was very lively. The original distinction between the strong and weak armies disappeared in an instant. After chatting for a few sentences, everyone found that the two words "Zhu Ba" appeared more and more frequently, and each person seemed to be talking about Zhu Ba, discussing his heroic appearance when he defeated the enemy during the day, and discussing his generosity when dividing the money just now...

  Zhu Yuanzhang smiled calmly and said that the so-called Kingly Way is the study of controlling people's hearts, and all emperors in the world are proficient in this way.

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