flstandardbreds Chapter 319
Chapter 319
Once freed from constraints and obstacles, everyone soon witnessed just how capable Yu Hai was.
An hour later, after Zhou Chu obtained all the evidence of Xu Yong's crimes, he looked at Yu Hai and the money confiscated from the Xu family.
"You're a real talent."
Zhou Chu couldn't help but sigh.
No wonder Lu Wanshan strongly recommended this person to me; his ability to get things done is indeed exceptional.
"Thank you for the compliment, sir."
Yu Hai chuckled.
"Go and call over all the soldiers who reported Xu Yong before."
Zhou Chu said to a centurion beside him.
"Yes, my lord."
The man accepted the order and left without daring to delay.
At this time, Zhou Chu had already put the entire military camp on high alert, and even arranged for the Imperial Guards to guard it closely, in order to prevent the centurions and chiliarchs who had embezzled the money from running away in desperation.
If someone escapes, they will most likely head straight for the grasslands, attracting the Mongols. Although Zhou Chu is not afraid, he does not want to be distracted by dealing with the Mongols before he has dealt with this matter.
"This humble servant greets Your Excellency."
Soon, the soldiers who had reported Xu Yong came before Zhou Chu and bowed respectfully.
These people looked at the money in the box in front of them, and seemed to realize something; their eyes were filled with extreme excitement.
"Xu Yong's crimes have been verified. This money was confiscated from Xu Yong's home. According to the statistics, Xu Yong has embezzled a total of 45,720 taels of silver in military pay over the years. Of this, 20% is 9,144 taels, which will be distributed among the five of you."
Zhou Chu looked at the five people in front of him and said.
Upon hearing this, the five soldiers could no longer hide their excitement. In this way, none of them would receive nearly two thousand taels of silver.
This was a huge sum of money for them; they became rich overnight.
“It’s not easy for the five of you to divide it this way. I’ll take the liberty of rounding it up and adding a few more taels, so that each of you can get 1,830 taels.”
Zhou Chu smiled.
"Your Excellency is truly a just and upright official."
Upon hearing this, the group immediately knelt down and kowtowed to Zhou Chu.
"My request is very simple: after you go back, just spread the word about the rewards you have received. I want others to know that I mean what I say."
Zhou Chu said seriously.
"Rest assured, sir, we will make sure the whole camp knows about this."
The leader hurriedly assured him.
He was clever. If only the five of them took the money, it was definitely not safe. But if others were like them and received huge rewards for reporting, their money would become less significant.
"Yu Hai, distribute the money to them."
Zhou Chu looked at Yu Haidao.
Upon hearing this, Yu Hai took out five empty boxes and began filling them with silver for the group.
Each person would receive nearly two thousand taels of silver, which was very heavy. If they were asked to carry it back by themselves, they would not be able to lift it.
These people looked at the silver in the box in front of them, their eyes shining, but at the same time they were somewhat troubled.
"Yu Hai, send some men to help them carry this silver back."
Zhou Chu naturally knew what was troubling them, and said...
"Thank you, sir."
The group looked at Zhou Chu with gratitude on their faces.
"I can grant you half a day's leave in a moment. It's not safe to keep this money in the military camp. You can deposit it in a money exchange."
Zhou Chu smiled.
"The adults have considered things very thoroughly."
Yu Hai, standing to the side, flattered him.
Upon hearing this, the men wished they could bow down to Zhou Chu. This commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard was always thinking of them. They secretly vowed to help him accomplish this task.
The leader of the five men was Zhang Chao. Yu Hai assigned two Imperial Guards to each of them to help carry the boxes. Although it was a bit of a struggle, the boxes themselves were not very big, and no matter how many people there were, they couldn't move around much.
"Thank you for your trouble, gentlemen."
Zhang Chao was a shrewd man; he took out two silver ingots from the box and gave one to each of them.
These are all official silver, after all, they are used to pay military salaries. They are usually ingots of ten taels each, but there are also small silver ingots of five taels and one or two taels. This is because the annual military salary of soldiers in the Ming Dynasty was about eighteen taels, and it would be difficult to pay ingots of only ten taels.
Zhang Chao was a generous man, and he gave each of the two Imperial Guards a ten-tael silver ingot.
The two men took the silver ingots and immediately smiled, feeling that their help in carrying them all the way had not been in vain.
“Brother, if you want to leave the military camp later, the two of us can help you. You are carrying so much money by yourself, and you are afraid that someone will target you. The commander has already instructed us to escort you well.”
One of the Imperial Guards laughed.
After taking the money, their attitude naturally changed.
"Then I'll have to trouble you two adults."
Looking at the vast amount of silver before him, Zhang Chao felt uneasy. In all his life, this was the first time he had ever seen so much money, making him feel as if he were in a dream, as if it were unreal.
He wouldn't dare sleep tonight if he didn't deposit the money into the bank as soon as possible.
Not only Zhang Chao, but the others had similar thoughts. After leaving the military camp, they all deposited the silver into a money exchange. Just in case, they deposited it in registered silver notes.
After finishing all that, Zhang Chao followed the Imperial Guards back to the military camp. By the time he returned, it was already getting dark. With over a thousand taels of registered silver notes in his pocket, Zhang Chao felt lightheaded as he walked.
He never dreamed that he would one day make such a windfall.
"Thank you both for your trouble."
Upon returning to the military camp, Zhang Chao saluted the two Imperial Guards who had escorted him all the way.
"No need to be so polite, it's just my duty."
The two Imperial Guards left with smiles.
After Zhang Chao returned to his tent, the soldiers in the same tent surrounded him.
"I heard you struck it rich?"
Zhang Chao's squad leader came up to him and said with an envious look on his face.
"They certainly made a fortune."
Zhang Chao said with a smug look on his face.
After saying this, he took out the silver notes he had just acquired from his pocket and showed them to everyone.
"See that? That old bastard Xu Yong embezzled over 40,000 taels of silver, and the commander gave each of us over 1,800 taels."
Zhang Chao said with a smug look on his face.
These banknotes were all registered, so he wasn't worried that people might have designs on them.
"How many?"
Upon hearing this number, not only the sergeant's eyes turned red, but everyone else's eyes also reddened.
“One thousand eight hundred and thirty taels exactly.”
Zhang Chao said, enunciating each word clearly.
"Damn it, I didn't expect the commander to actually keep his word. No way, I know that old bastard Sun Yongyuan isn't clean either. Brothers, who wants to do a job with me?"
At this moment, the corporal was blinded by money. He had never been so excited. The opportunity to make a fortune was right in front of him. If he missed it, he would regret it for the rest of his life.