Chapter 8: Winning the Hearts of the Military (Part 1)

  He Wanquan can rob women on the street, and some people in the garrison follow him to do the same, committing crimes such as robbery and rape.

  Wu Ji was extremely resentful of this matter. Stealing chickens and dogs, Wu Ji could still tolerate it, because the soldiers were unable to open the pot, with old people above and young children below, they had no choice but to do it. However, as for rape, Wu Ji would never tolerate it under any circumstances, he was truly enraged.

  However, the soldiers would not believe it was true. In their minds, they suspected that Wu Jie had taken a liking to the woman's beauty and was just pretending in order to get his hands on her.

  Who would have thought, Wu Jie was a man of his word, with one swing of his knife, a head rolled off.

  "Ah!"

  A burst of exclamations rose from the mouths of hundreds of soldiers, each with a look of utter incredulity.

  Amidst the soldiers' cries of surprise, Wu Jie's knife fell again, and another head rolled down.

  One after another, two men were killed, and the only remaining soldier was already frightened to the point of trembling all over, his teeth chattering, making a rattling sound, his face pale, unable to utter a single word.

  "Spare Commander Wu!" The soldier's last words on this earth had barely left his lips when a flash of the sword sliced through, and his head rolled off, his mouth opening and closing as if to scream, but no sound came out.

  Three rolling heads, all with a look of astonishment and incredulity. Until death, they could not have imagined that their usual behavior would cost him his life.

  Wu Ji grasped the knife that was still dripping with blood, facing a group of soldiers, his eyes gleaming as he sized them up. Each and every one of their faces wore an expression of shock and horror.

  Beheading soldiers who violated military discipline in front of the crowd, it was the first time in the history of the Gui Xin Army. They were saying that they didn't believe it at all. However, the fact was right in front of them, and they had no choice but to believe.

  Their hearts were surging with towering waves, and their shock had already reached an unbearable level.

  "You all saw that clearly, whoever dares to violate military discipline, they will be the next one!" Wu Ji's tone was raised high, speaking loudly, so that every soldier could hear.

  "Ah!"

  Hundreds of soldiers, who had just come to their senses, looked at Wu Ji with trepidation, gazing at the blood-stained knife still in his hand. They didn't dare breathe a word, but exchanged glances that seemed to say: This commander is somewhat different from before!

  "Li Mingchu, are you going to send your wife over or let her freeze?" Wu Ji turned his head and loudly questioned Li Mingchu, who was standing there like a wooden stake.

  "Ah!" Li Mingchu suddenly shouted at Wu Ji, and with a sudden movement, his hand shook, almost dropping his wife to the ground. He hastily hugged her tightly and ran away in a flurry.

  "What's going on with the chief clerk in the army?" Wu Ji glanced at Li Mingchu, who was running away, and he was trembling with fear, almost scared to death.

  "Wu is in command, I'm here! I'm here!" A slender soldier hastily stepped forward and spoke cautiously.

  "Do you know where He Wanquan's treasure is hidden?" Wu Ji shouted loudly.

  As soon as Wu Jie's words fell, they immediately caused a flurry of discussion among the soldiers.

  "As expected, he's a corrupt official, and as soon as he arrives, he starts inquiring about treasures!"

  "When in office, nothing can be seen except money!"

  Wu Ji listened to the soldiers' discussion and didn't respond, but instead stared at the chief clerk. The chief clerk hesitated for a moment before saying: "Report to Commander Wu, I'm not quite sure. Maybe, perhaps, he's in his quarters."

  His tone was extremely uncertain, Wu Ji did not have the heart to bother him, asking him to lead the way. The clerk dared not disobey, and trotted along in front, with Wu Ji following behind.

  A group of soldiers followed behind, with a look of disdain on their faces, constantly curling up the corners of their mouths, ready to see how Wu Ji would swallow the treasure.

  The whole house of He Wanquan was at the highest point of the barracks, where the terrain is high and very dry, without a bit of dampness. Under the leadership of the chief clerk, Wu Ji came to the front of the house, took a rough look, and saw that this house was well maintained, with a large house, not a single broken hole, and no holes on the wall.

  Compared with the barracks where soldiers live, this is much better. Don't know how the interior is decorated yet.

  Pushing open the door and entering, Wu Ji couldn't help but be slightly startled. The room was decorated extremely luxuriously and magnificently. On the floor were laid out mats similar to modern-day carpets. The bright red color was dazzling and gave off an air of wealth and nobility.

  The house is tightly closed, and even a thread of cool breeze can't get in. The curtains are hung with slow screens, the colors are bright and beautiful, and at first glance, you know that the workmanship is not bad, it's very valuable things.

  Everything was complete and nothing was missing. Li Mingchu said this was a palace, although it was somewhat exaggerated, but for soldiers who had been living in the slums for a long time, this was absolutely a palace.

  "You..." Li Ming was greatly surprised when he saw Wu Ji and others coming in.

  "You mind your own business, we have something to attend to." Wu Ji didn't let him finish speaking, interrupting his words and looking around.

  Many soldiers followed, pointing and discussing. He Wanquan's room, they had long been famous for its richness and grandeur, but had never seen it before, today they finally got a glimpse, all of them were curious, speaking with great enthusiasm.

  "Ah!" Li Mingchu, who was helping his family collect the bed, suddenly let out a sharp cry and threw something off the bed frame.

  "Clang!" The object hit the ground with a crisp sound.

  Wu Ji turned his head and saw a copper rod about a foot long rolling back and forth on the ground. This copper rod was not a copper rod, its shape was exactly like a man's thing, it was actually a copper-made thing.

  "Hehe!" The soldiers' faces lit up with knowing smiles as they pointed and said things that men love to hear.

  "How can any woman stand it for so long?"

  "Your message is too unclear, this was prepared for women, but it seems to be prepared for He Wanquan himself."

  "Haven't you heard? He Wanquan likes to whip his fat butt!"

  "No wonder his butt is so big, it's for spanking!"

  Wu Ji listened to the soldiers' discussions, somewhat amused by their vivid imaginations. After a search, no secret passages or mechanisms were found, and he furrowed his brow, asking, "Who else knows about this?"

  The soldiers looked at me, I looked at them, no one spoke. In my heart, I thought, if only I knew where it was, I would have robbed He Wanquan of his wealth during the chaos.

  "Wu, Commander, He Wanquan has another mansion in the city, you can try going there." A middle-aged soldier stepped forward, saluting Wu Ji, speaking cautiously with a flattering tone.

  "What's your surname and given name? How did you know?" Wu Ji's eyes flashed with a hint of light.

  "Wu Zhihui doesn't know, it's a small matter, Shi Yuan is a returning soldier, specially for He Wanquan's return, and he knows a thing or two." Shi Yuan hastily replied, his body bowed to a 90-degree angle.

  "Are there any Huiyibing?" Each branch of the Song army had a certain number of Huiyibing, who were specifically engaged in trade and production. The money they earned mostly went into the pockets of military officers and generals: "Escort troops."

  Shang Yuan responded with a sound and hurriedly led the way forward. Wu Ji followed, and the soldiers also decided to take a look and followed.

  "Wu Zhihui, this matter can be delayed for the time being. First, let's reorganize the troops." Huangfu Song quickly followed up, reminding Wu Ji in a low voice.

  "Huang Fu Song, look at them, they can't even eat a meal, the morale of the army is unstable, how to rectify? To rectify, we must find He Wanquan's treasure and make up for the military salary, let them have a full meal." Wu Ji looked at the soldiers with pale faces and sighed.

  This is hardly an army, it's almost like a group of refugees. If Wu Ji hadn't seen it with his own eyes, he wouldn't have believed that the Song Dynasty's military had deteriorated to such an extent.

  "What if we can't find it?" Huang Fu nodded slightly and reminded Wu Ji.

  "That's also a way to get some silver, let them eat their fill first. If all else fails, I'll go find Governor Zheng and borrow some silver." Wu Ji secretly sighed in his heart, he never thought that the first thing he would do as the commander of this camp would be "relieving refugees".

  "It can't be helped!" Huang Fu also sighed: "Governor Zheng is a good official, but he has no control over this place!"

  The Song Dynasty implemented a separation of military and political powers, so Zheng Tai couldn't manage military affairs.

  Fortunately, this time they actually found He Wanquan's treasure. The amount was so large that Wu Ji's eyes widened in shock, nearly 50,000 taels of silver, a staggering sum, it's unknown how many years' worth of military pay He Wanquan had embezzled.

  Wu Ji roughly estimated that the military salary for a month was about 400 or so taels of silver, and in a year it would be nearly 5,000 taels of silver. There were almost 50,000 taels of silver here, which means He Wanquan had embezzled nearly ten years' worth of military salaries.

  What a talent!

  Amazingly good at pinching pennies!

  Wu Ji looked at these treasures and felt a little dizzy. He thought that if He Wanquan had gone into the wrong line, he would have made a fortune by stripping the skin off the ground.