Chapter 92

After a deep conversation with Zhao Shun, Liu Jun realized that he had been somewhat naive before. Establishing an efficient and productive firearms workshop was not as easy as he had thought. It now seemed that self-sufficiency in the short term was out of the question.

After setting the direction for the workshop with Zhao Shun, Liu Jun returned to his official residence and began calculating the expenses with the ledger. The funds from the previous fundraising, the contributions from the gentry of Queen's City, the rewards from the anti-bandit campaign, and the ten thousand taels of silver Li Chunjiang initially contributed added up to a substantial amount, but the expenses were also significant.

The resettlement fees for the team members, the rewards for the anti-bandit campaign, even the regular training rewards, food expenses, and the purchase of military equipment were draining the funds like a silver mountain. Now, there were only three thousand taels of silver left in the account, which would not last long. With nearly six hundred members in the Nine-Headed Bird team, the monthly salary alone exceeded a thousand taels. There were also over two hundred horses, and the monthly expenses for feeding both people and horses amounted to several hundred taels. Moreover, the daily training costs were not insignificant.

Fortunately, there was a windfall.

Wang Qian had already secretly led the Night Unreceived team to Qiting to bring back the gold, silver, antiques, and paintings. With this wealth worth over thirty thousand taels, Liu Jun had the courage to expand the team on such a large scale.

His father-in-law, Lu Weizhang, had mentioned several times that he could directly ask for money, but Liu Jun was not yet ready to use the Lu family's funds. It wasn't that he was proud, but rather that it was not necessary at the moment.

"The firearms workshop needs to recruit skilled craftsmen, purchase drilling machines and other tools, and buy high-quality iron and copper. The expenses in this area are not small, but they cannot be spared or interrupted. A preliminary estimate suggests that the initial investment will be several thousand taels of silver."

Liu Jun calculated in his mind, "Additionally, the construction of the nine round forts has already begun, and the material and labor costs are also significant."

The more he calculated, the more Liu Jun felt a headache. The Nine-Headed Bird team was currently only spending and not earning, which was not a sustainable situation.

"We also need to immediately purchase a batch of military equipment. This cannot be delayed. Although the new members have been organized into groups, they still lack the corresponding military equipment."

Currently, the entire team had over six hundred people, with nearly four hundred formal members in one office, three bureaus, and one central military flag. Among them, there were over a hundred musketeers. The cavalry bureau had three flags and nine teams, with four musketeers per team, totaling thirty-six musketeers. The infantry bureau had three flags and nine teams, with two musket teams per flag, each team having eleven musketeers, making a total of twenty-two musketeers per flag, and sixty-six musketeers in the entire bureau.

Including the central military flag, which was equipped with many muskets, the majority of the formal members were musketeers, about one-third of the total. Last time, Mei Zhihuan had given him a hundred muskets, but it was clearly not enough.

Moreover, the reserve team would also be heavily equipped with muskets for training, with the two infantry bureaus having a total of one hundred and thirty-two musketeers.

The entire Nine-Headed Bird team would have over two hundred musketeers.

He needed to order at least three hundred more muskets to ensure an adequate supply and have spares.

In addition, he still needed to purchase many waist knives, two-handed blades, shields, tridents, hook guns, long spears, and bows and arrows. These equipment items were not cheap. Last time, he paid twenty taels of silver for one musket, and Liu Jun did not want to spend so much money this time.

Since they were now official troops, the price should naturally be cheaper.

The next morning, Lu Jinxin came, and Liu Jun was just about to go to the county when he arrived first.

Lu Jinxin came to check on the resettlement of the refugees and to inspect the training of the Nine-Headed Bird team. He had high hopes for Liu Jun.

Liu Jun did not disappoint him. He specially gathered nearly six hundred members and invited Lu Jinxin and the other officials and gentry to inspect the team's formation.

It must be said that although the team had a large number of new recruits, after a short period of training, the new recruits had already learned to march and form neat ranks. When the Nine-Headed Bird members, all dressed in uniform training uniforms, marched in formation under their respective flags, the officials and gentry, who were not experts, were greatly satisfied.

In their eyes, the Nine-Headed Bird team was very impressive, with their uniform military attire, neat marching, loud slogans, and the red flags. Especially the final performance of the musket team's three-stage firing, the volley of the shoulder guns, and the synchronized firing of the tiger-squat cannons, it was truly earth-shaking and awe-inspiring.

"Very good, very good, very good!" Lu Jinxin, whose head was still buzzing, praised Liu Jun. In his view, even without three to five months of training, the current state of the team was already sufficient to pass an inspection by a superior officer.

Liu Jun smiled but did not reveal that it was just a show. He would not break the illusion himself. In fact, today's 'performance' was arranged to impress Lu Jinxin and then to make his demands.

Liu Jun's demands were simple. First, he had already formed the team with five hundred trained soldiers, no less, and no one was just filling a quota. Therefore, County Magistrate Lu should now fulfill his promise and pay the Nine-Headed Bird team's salary and rations. Second, the county should pay for the team's equipment.

The Nine-Headed Bird team was a county militia. Although the court had levied several million taels for training, this money was not for the county militia but for the border governors, provincial governors, and generals. The county militia's salary had to be raised by the county itself, which meant relying on additional levies and donations from landlords and wealthy merchants.

Lu Jinxin was well-prepared.

"Each soldier receives five mace of silver and four dou of grain per month."

Liu Jun shook his head. This amount was too little. Five mace of silver per month, which was only six taels per year, was less than what the archers received, who got seven taels per year.

Lu Jinxin was also somewhat helpless. Actually, he was in a difficult position. The trained soldiers and archers were different. Archers and post soldiers were on duty all year, while trained soldiers only occasionally trained, so they could not receive a full year's salary. Five mace of silver and four dou of grain per month was already a good offer.

However, this offer did not satisfy Liu Jun.

"Sir, the Nine-Headed Bird team is not just for show, not just to pass an inspection. You should see the current situation around us, with bandits and rebels everywhere. The Nine-Headed Bird team guards Taiping Township, defends the Tiger Head Pass, and also secures the surrounding passes. We are truly defending the northern border of Macheng, and our mission is important."

Liu Jun's request was reasonable.

"How much do you think is appropriate?"

"Two taels of silver and six dou of grain per month per person," Liu Jun said.

Lu Jinxin kept shaking his head, "Too much, too much." With nearly six hundred people in the Nine-Headed Bird team, if each person received two taels of silver and six dou of grain per month, that would amount to nearly twelve hundred taels of silver and three hundred and sixty shi of grain per month, totaling nearly fifteen hundred taels of silver per month.

The county could not afford this amount. It would all have to be levied on the people and the gentry, landlords, and wealthy merchants. Fifteen hundred taels per month, which was eighteen thousand taels per year, was a significant sum for Macheng County, which had only a few thousand households.

No one would agree to pay this amount.

"Sir, you can't expect the horse to run without feeding it. Our militia is also defending the county. Without salary and rations, how can we defend our hometown? You should know that we are not just dealing with small-time bandits but with powerful and ruthless rebels. If they enter Macheng, the consequences will be severe. No one will be spared, and everyone's property and lives will be at risk."

Lu Jinxin was in a difficult position, "That's true, but you are asking for too much. Baosheng Fort has more members and is stronger than you, but they don't ask for such a large amount."

Baosheng Fort, being a joint armed force of gentry and landlords, operated independently, raising funds through banquets and donations from landlords, gentry, and merchants without the need for the county government's involvement. Each household donated as much as they could, but since Baosheng Fort was established by major clans, they did not lack funds despite their high annual expenses.

Liu Jun, however, was asking for a fixed salary from the county, which was different.

However, Liu Jun was not willing to back down. He did not have the prestige and influence of people like Mei Zhihuan, who could rally support easily. The Nine-Headed Bird team had raised several thousand taels of silver once, but that was due to the influence of Mei Zhihuan and Li Changgeng, not his own. If he tried to raise funds, he would not get much.

"One thousand taels!" Liu Jun held up one finger, "One thousand taels of silver per month."

This was his bottom line. Since Lu Jinxin wanted them to adopt the militia flag, he had to provide the funds. Without money, it was impossible. Macheng was a wealthy county with many wealthy gentry, landlords, and merchants. Although the county paid little in taxes each year, it did not mean that the people in the county lacked money.

"One thousand taels of silver to get the service of six hundred trained soldiers, I think it's worth it."

"Think about it, Da-Mazi, a mere foot soldier under Li Zicheng, could cause a major storm in the county. Not only did he plunder the Guanghuang Road for a long time, but he also massacred the entire Lin Family Village. You can imagine how fierce these bandits are. If people like Laohuihui and Geliyan enter Macheng, the entire county might be massacred. Bandits slaughtering villages and wiping out entire settlements is not uncommon."

Liu Jun was not trying to scare Lu Jinxin. Who were Laohuihui and others? They had once invaded Fengyang, desecrated the imperial tombs, and killed all the wealthy people in Fengyang.

In other words, ordinary people might not need to fear bandits, as they had little worth stealing. But the wealthy were different. Bandits showed no mercy to the rich, robbing and killing them without mercy.

"I will discuss this with the gentry and merchants and get back to you," Lu Jinxin did not directly agree, but Liu Jun knew the matter was almost settled. Although the Nine-Headed Bird team's demands were high, they had an outstanding record in anti-bandit operations, and today's performance would convince the gentry and merchants that the Nine-Headed Bird team was worth the price.

"Good, now let's talk about the equipment and weapons the county has promised to provide to the militia," Liu Jun said with a smile.

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