si-mexico Chapter 1103 Go home!
Chapter 1103 Go home!
But Li Che continued, "Qiu Bai, write down this person's name and appearance. When he comes to report later, bring him directly to see me."
Qiu Bai cupped his hands and said, "Yes."
Li Che turned to Wang Jiang and said gently, "If the situation is still not resolved after the imperial court's support arrives, then come and find me."
Wang Jiang stammered incoherently, "Yes...yes, Your Majesty."
Wang Jiang retreated in a daze, followed by a Sima surnamed Zhao, who was in charge of distributing provisions to some of the camps.
"Your Majesty, the situation with grain is even more complicated. The figures on the books never match the actual amount received."
"I understand that the laborers transporting grain need to eat and that the carts and horses need to wear and tear, but... but the difference can't be that much!"
"Once we got to the camp, it was common for millet and wheat to be mixed with sand and chaff. Even if the bean feed was moldy, we didn't dare to throw it all away. We picked and picked through it. We were even afraid of something going wrong when feeding the horses."
“In winter there is a lack of salt, and in summer there is a lack of vegetables. Many brothers have fallen ill as a result.”
"The imperial court's pay is skimmed off at every level, and by the time it reaches the soldiers, how much rice can they buy? Your Majesty, soldiers are human too; they need to support their families!"
Towards the end, his voice choked with emotion.
"Your Majesty! Soldiers! We're desperately short of soldiers!" another captain exclaimed. "A frontline outpost should be manned by fifty men, but we're lucky if we can muster thirty who are still able to move!"
"Many beacon towers are guarded by only seven or eight old soldiers with a few half-grown children. The Tibetan cavalry come and go like the wind, but our men can't be spread out and can't defend them all!"
"The best soldiers from within the pass are unwilling to come, and the local military households are almost exhausted. If this continues, we will collapse on our own without the Tibetan army even having to attack!"
"And there's compensation!" the captain with the missing leg also spoke up.
"Your Majesty, you see us old and crippled ones, but there are many more brothers who died in battle, and their remains are never recovered!"
"The imperial court's compensation is said to be twenty taels, but by the time it reaches the widows and orphans, they're lucky if they get ten taels."
"So many orphans and widows can't survive, some remarry, some sell themselves into prostitution... Your Majesty, our brothers are bleeding and fighting on the front lines, and what they care about most is their families behind them!"
"If we can't get over this, who would be willing to risk their life?"
Once they started talking, the generals poured out their pent-up grievances as if a dam had burst.
Some say the border laws are harsh but unfair, some complain that the lack of hope for promotion has chilled people's hearts, and some bluntly say that civil officials despise and harass the border troops.
What they said may have been somewhat disorganized, extreme, or even tinged with personal emotions.
But Li Che just listened quietly, his eyes deep and unreadable.
Yue Yun looked solemn and exchanged a glance with Ma Zhong beside him, both feeling relieved.
Fortunately, they were following His Majesty.
Since joining the army, there has never been any trouble at home; His Majesty will handle these matters perfectly.
There had been corruption in the Fengtian Army before, but Li Che's methods of dealing with it were extremely decisive, and the practice of drinking soldiers' blood never happened again.
They never even imagined that the Northwest Army would be in such a situation; now it seems they are extremely fortunate.
Ma Jing didn't add much, but when some generals became too emotional and overstepped their bounds, he would whisper a reminder.
Seeing his comrades-in-arms shed their usual restraint and pour out their grievances to the king like wronged children, he felt a pang of sorrow in his heart.
But at the same time, he also felt a sense of relief.
If His Majesty is willing to listen to these things, the Northwest Army may truly be saved.
The conversation lasted for nearly an hour, and the atmosphere in the study gradually became heavy, changing from initial excitement and exhilaration.
By the end, several female generals were in tears.
After the last general finished speaking, the study fell silent.
"Have you finished talking?" Li Che asked.
The crowd nodded silently, or wiped their eyes.
"it is good."
Li Che stood up, walked to the window, turned his back to everyone, and looked out at the dark night.
"I heard everything you said, and I've taken it all in," his voice came from the window. "Food supplies, weapons, manpower, pay, pensions, military intelligence... a thousand and one issues, but in the end, it all boils down to two words..."
"unfair!"
He turned around, his gaze sweeping over the crowd like a cold star: "Some people sit amidst luxury, sucking the people's blood and sweat, and embezzling the wages of soldiers who risk their lives on the front lines!"
"Some people hold positions without doing their jobs, treating the border as a daunting task and the border troops as worthless, and shirking their responsibilities!"
"Some have even forgotten who is protecting this land and its people!"
“I will settle these accounts with them one by one.”
Upon hearing this, the generals felt their pent-up emotions ease, and a flame of anticipation ignited in their eyes.
However, the emperor's next words surprised them slightly.
“But,” Li Che changed the subject, “all I’ve heard from you is what you want.”
He paused, his voice lowering slightly: "Has anyone considered what those old soldiers, coughing up blood in their dilapidated huts and shivering in the cold wind, want?"
The study fell silent, and the generals looked at each other, somewhat bewildered.
They naturally cared about their soldiers and thought about how to get them more food and benefits.
Isn't what I said exactly what the soldiers wanted?
Ma Jing hesitated for a moment, then said carefully, "Your Majesty's compassion for the soldiers is something we deeply sympathize with."
"What the soldiers desire is nothing more than enough food and warmth, adequate pay, and peace at home..."
“No.” Li Che gently shook his head, interrupting him.
He stood up and walked over to the one-legged old captain.
"Tell me, what have you been longing for deep in your heart all these years?"
The old captain trembled, his lips quivering a few times.
"Think carefully, don't rush," Li Che said patiently. "It's not about your duties as a soldier, but about yourself... what do you want?"
Looking at the emperor's face so close to his own, a thought that had been buried deep in his heart for decades burst forth uncontrollably:
"Go...go home..." he murmured softly.
Li Che tilted his head and asked, "What?"
"Go home! I want to go home!"
"I want to go home to see my mother's grave, to hear if my grandson can still call me grandfather, and to see how many of my fellow villagers are still alive."
Before he could finish speaking, two streams of tears rolled down his cheeks.
This tough guy, who hadn't shed a single tear even after losing a leg on the battlefield, was now crying like a child.
Li Che patted his withered hand, slowly stood up, and faced the generals:
"Did you hear that? What the soldiers want is not an ever-filling granary, nor an ever-sharpening sword and spear!"
"What they want is to go home!"
"How can there be soldiers in the world who cannot return home for twenty or thirty years?!" Li Che's voice was filled with suppressed anger. "They left the best years of their lives under the border wall, their parents died while waiting for their return, and their wives and children grew up in endless waiting!"
"This is their suffering, the blood and tears of the Daqing border troops, and even more so, my shame! The shame of the court!"