Chapter 89 Petition
The implication is: My little brother, although I have just been reinstated, the emperor thinks highly of me. Not only did he promote me, he also gave me a lot of military pay and the Shang Fang Sword. So keep your eyes open and don't mess with me!
Yuan Chonghuan was overly suspicious. Bi Zisu had always been clear about the distinction between public and private affairs, and was an honest official with the integrity of a scholar. Moreover, the Governor of Liaodong was only responsible for matters outside Shanhaiguan, and would not provoke his immediate superior without reason.

So far, I am only happy about Yuan Chonghuan's arrival.

Of course, the main reason for their happiness was that the military salaries had been settled.

The two of them entered Ningyuan City, and Bi Zisu invited Yuan Chonghuan to rest in the governor's office.

…………

At this time, the door of Yang Zhengchao's house, where a thin man was drinking millet porridge in small sips, was pushed open again.

The door slammed against the wall with a bang, shaking some dust into Yang Zhengchao's bowl.

Yang Zhengchao looked at the door fiercely, and found that the person coming was his good brother Zhang Sishun. The ferocity in his eyes then subsided slightly.

"Brother Yang, are you still in the mood to drink millet porridge?" Zhang Sishun closed the door and said in disbelief.

Yang Zhengchao said unhappily: "Even if you are not in the mood, you can't starve to death!"

"No," Zhang Sishun said, "Master Yuan is back, did you know?"

"Master Yuan is back!" Yang Zhengchao stood up, "Finally, there is someone who can make the decision for us!"

Zhang Sishun nodded excitedly and said, "We are all relocated soldiers from Sichuan and Huguang, with families to support. We are helpless and rely on this little salary to make a living, unlike Zu Dale and other Liao people who have some followers. Zhang Shirong, Su Hanchun and other corrupt officials are too greedy. If this continues, sooner or later our family will starve to death here!"

"Brother Yang, do you have the courage to come with me and ask for justice from Commander Yuan?"

Yang Zhengzhao turned his face to one side and said, "Are you talking about... a mutiny?"

Zhang Sishun was immediately shocked and said quickly, "Are you crazy? How dare you start a mutiny in front of Lord Yuan? Besides, we were just chatting casually at the beginning. If the court dared to delay our military pay, we would make trouble for them!"

"Even though the deduction is a bit harsh now, at least it's still issued, right?"

Yang Zhengchao nodded, his face seemed a little disappointed, and said: "In that case, I will accompany you! Damn his ancestors, look at my wife, she is so hungry that she has no milk!"

"Let's go!" Zhang Sisun, who was the initiator, said immediately.

Yang Zhengchao looked at the millet porridge in the bowl, and finally poured it directly into his wife's bowl. He licked the bottom of the bowl a few times and followed Zhang Sisun out of the hut.

The two men left the wooden house and went straight to the governor's office.

When they were seen by brothers from the camp on the road, they asked them where they were going during the New Year.

Zhang Sishun also told Yuan Chonghuan that he was going to complain to him, and his words were as inciting as possible.

Gradually, when Zhang Sisun and others arrived at the governor's office, there were already hundreds of people following them.

When the soldiers on duty outside the yamen saw this, they were so scared that they immediately rushed into the yamen to report.

Yuan Chonghuan and Bi Zisu, who were drinking, suddenly changed their expressions when they heard this.

Bi Zisu was helpless and worried, while Yuan Chonghuan was extremely angry.

Damn it, I just came back and you're mutinying? No way!

He walked out of the governor's office with weapons in hand, looking very aggressive. When he arrived at the door, he saw hundreds of soldiers standing outside. He immediately wanted to introduce himself to show his power.

But before he could open his mouth, these soldiers who were suspected of mutiny knelt down first.

"The superiors are cutting our military pay too much. We can hardly survive!"

"Please, Lord Yuan, please help us and let the child have a full meal!" "Please, Lord Yuan, please help us!"

Yuan Chonghuan's tense body suddenly relaxed, it turned out that it was not a mutiny.

Looking at these ragged soldiers in front of him, Yuan Chonghuan suddenly felt pity for them.

He was not unaware of the bad habit of sucking soldiers' blood and collecting empty salaries in the army, but he could not completely ban it no matter how many times he issued orders. Moreover, the forces in Liaodong were intertwined and almost everyone had a backer, so it was not easy to completely eliminate them.

But it is New Year's Day now after all. Can't these corrupt officials let the soldiers have a full meal during the New Year?

Thinking of this, Yuan Chonghuan became furious.

It was a good opportunity for me to return to my old place and find an opportunity to establish my authority!
"Tell me what's going on?"

Seeing that Yuan Chonghuan was willing to take charge, the generals and soldiers were overjoyed and started talking at once.

Finally, Yuan Chonghuan became impatient and randomly selected someone to answer, but he happened to select Zhang Sishun who was kneeling in front of him.

Zhang Sishun immediately started complaining...

Speaking of the military pay of ordinary soldiers in the Ming Dynasty, in the early Ming Dynasty, food was distributed directly, divided into monthly rations and travel rations.

Monthly rations are given directly to family members, one stone for infantry and two stones for cavalry; travel rations are given directly to soldiers, with no fixed amount depending on the intensity of the war and training, but generally calculated at around four to five cents of silver.

In addition, families with money will receive two kilograms of salt per month, while families without money will receive one kilogram.

Later, further additions were made to this standard.

In the tenth year of Xuande, Emperor Yingzong ordered the Ministry of Revenue to increase the amount of food to be given to those with wives and children, 8 dou to those without wives and children, and 5 dou to those transferred to Datong for military preparation. In August, the Ministry of Revenue submitted another memorial: Since the monthly food allowance of Datong soldiers has been increased, Xuanfu should also be given an increase.

But later on, the military forces in the garrisons became corrupt and formed a conscription system, so less food was distributed. Most of the time, it was changed to a mixture of silver as the main form and food as the supplementary form.

For example, in the seventh year of Tianqi, the Ministry of Revenue announced that it would issue

The standard was actually not low. The standard set by the imperial court was equivalent to about two taels of silver per month. Even foreign soldiers arriving in Liaodong could be given three taels of silver, but this was only the official standard.

In fact, when they arrived at the place, only the servants could get one tael and five cents.

As for ordinary soldiers, after being exploited at various levels, they could only get four to seven to eight cents of silver in the end.

Let’s talk about the grain distributed by the imperial court. Although it was little, it was still available. However, when it reached the officials, the soldiers often only received four dou of grain instead of the eight dou they were supposed to receive.

Where did the missing four dou go? Of course, the officials sold them to grain merchants, who then sold them back to the soldiers at a high price. A large pig leg was passed around, and only the bones were left. The cow skin cannot be left.

Not only did they withhold cash, but they also distributed less food.

The most corrupt and brutal people in Ningyuan City were the judge Zhang Shirong and the prosecutor Su Hanchun.

Although these two people do not appear to be military officers, Ningyuan Guard is a real land guard without a provincial governor. However, in addition to soldiers, there are also ordinary people living on this land.

These ordinary people are basically the soldiers' families.

The so-called prosecutors and magistrates would strangle these families, withholding their income from military farms or demanding payment of taxes and levies.

Moreover, due to the special attributes of the Nine Frontiers, it is difficult to clearly define their military and civilian attributes.

(End of this chapter)