Chapter 93

Although Liu Jun was just a martial arts student and the leader of a county militia, his negotiation skills were clearly much better than those of County Magistrate Lu, who was a graduate of the imperial examination. Especially during this negotiation, Magistrate Lu did not bring his Shaoxing advisor.

As a result, he was completely led by Liu Jun throughout the negotiation, following Liu Jun's rhythm entirely.

In the matter of the militia's equipment, Liu Jun ultimately succeeded in achieving his preset goals. Magistrate Lu, representing the county, agreed to pay Liu Jun 10,000 taels of silver as the cost for the equipment and weapons of the Nine-Headed Bird militia. This money was specifically for purchasing military equipment and would not be directly paid to the Nine-Headed Bird.

Instead, the Nine-Headed Bird would provide a list of military equipment to be purchased, and the county would then directly purchase it from the military workshops in Nanjing. Of course, this was not a regular official purchase. Liu Jun was well aware that the current state of the Ming Dynasty was in decline, with the government, military garrisons, and even the workshops being corrupt.

If it were an official order, the money spent would definitely not buy good quality goods, just a pile of junk. Bird guns would certainly explode, and the gunpowder would definitely have the wrong proportions.

Therefore, this batch of military equipment, although purchased through official channels, was not an official order.

The workshops in Nanjing, although official, produced both planned and unplanned equipment. Planned orders were official orders, with low prices, so the craftsmen would cut corners to save money, resulting in substandard military equipment. However, the workshops also had unplanned production projects, which were private orders from some generals or local gentry, mainly for equipping their personal guards or local militias. These orders were like side jobs for the workshops, with higher prices but also higher quality requirements.

The bird guns that Liu Jun previously bought at four times the normal price belonged to this category. However, at that time, because his order was small and the Nine-Headed Bird was a private armed force, the price was higher. Now, he was ordering more military equipment, and he was also part of the official army. Although this batch of work was still considered a side job, since it was for a local official army, it reduced many risks and troubles, so the price could be slightly lower.

A bird gun cost ten taels, half the price of the last time, but still twice the normal factory price. Since he could not withdraw the equipment money from the county, Liu Jun decided to purchase more equipment at once. A bird gun cost ten taels, and a gun barrel cost five taels.

The Nine-Headed Bird had over two hundred bird gunners, but they only had a hundred bird guns. Considering the need for some spares, Liu Jun planned to purchase three hundred more bird guns. Fortunately, they still had three hundred spare gun barrels from the last time, so he didn't need to buy more spare barrels this time.

Three thousand taels of silver were spent in one go. The team had previously purchased a hundred sets of padded armor, and this time, Liu Jun bought three hundred more sets. He originally wanted to provide one set per person, but it was too expensive. The last time, they cost fifty taels per set, but this time, the price dropped to twenty taels per set, which was still not cheap. Three hundred sets cost six thousand taels, but they came with helmets, boots, face masks, and throat guards.

With ten thousand taels of silver for equipment, only one thousand taels were left.

Liu Jun then placed orders for various cold weapons, such as shields, long spears, hook spears, tridents, and bows and arrows, and bought a lot of gunpowder and lead balls. After calculating, he found that ten thousand taels of silver were not enough.

Liu Jun had to add another five thousand taels of silver to make up the shortfall.

"I have one requirement for these military supplies: they must be of high quality and delivered quickly."

Magistrate Lu had connections in Nanjing, and he guaranteed that the supplies would arrive in at most half a month, and the quality would definitely be guaranteed.

That day, Magistrate Lu and his entourage enjoyed a sumptuous banquet at Tiger Head Pass. During the banquet, Magistrate Lu even contributed a hundred taels of silver as a reward for the Nine-Headed Bird's soldiers.

After seeing them off, Liu Jun required the team members to continue training. Although many still did not have their military equipment and armor, they could not slack off. Without weapons, they could practice formations, physical strength, and martial arts.

Picking up the ledger, Liu Jun recorded the expenses of the day and sighed. The money was spent too quickly.

The county had given ten thousand taels of silver for equipment, but he had not received a single tael, and he had to spend another five thousand taels of silver to buy military equipment. The county promised to pay one thousand taels of silver per month, but he calculated that the Nine-Headed Bird, with nearly six hundred people, would consume nearly two thousand taels of silver per month for food and salaries, so he still had to subsidize one thousand taels of silver per month.

There was also the firearms workshop, which was just starting and might take a long time to produce firearms, but he had already allocated three thousand taels of silver to it.

To increase revenue and reduce expenses, but with no immediate source of income, he could only reduce expenses first.

Liu Jun thought about it and decided to reduce some expenses. Otherwise, the Nine-Headed Bird team would not last long.

However, how to reduce expenses was a challenge. He could not cut the food budget, as the soldiers trained every day with high physical exertion. If the food lacked oil and meat, they would be exhausted. He could not cut the horse feed either, as the two hundred warhorses were precious and ate more than five strong men. They even needed to eat eggs. But warhorses were not draft horses; if not well cared for, they would be useless, so he could not cut this expense.

"Change the soldiers' salaries and rations," Liu Jun finally thought of this solution. It was not to reduce them immediately but to change the original uniform treatment for regular and temporary soldiers.

"From now on, change the soldiers' rewards to points or promotions, instead of direct cash rewards."

"Yes, we can also establish a rank system for the soldiers. This way, the base salary will have different levels, which can motivate the soldiers to advance. In the future, when they achieve military merit, we can promote them and increase their rank and monthly salary instead of giving direct cash rewards."

Liu Jun carefully thought about it and came up with a new system, similar to military ranks.

After all, their team was now part of the official army, and the officers above had official ranks. The soldiers below should also have ranks, as the military places great importance on the hierarchy, which is beneficial for command and motivation.

Liu Jun thought about the rank system for a long time.

Finally, he decided to set up ranks below the flag leader. The flag leader and above already had official ranks, so they did not need to be included.

"Team leaders can be considered non-commissioned officers, divided into three levels: first-class sergeant, second-class sergeant, and sergeant. Soldiers who achieve any of these three ranks are eligible to serve as team leaders."

"Platoon leaders correspond to two levels: first-class corporal and second-class corporal."

"Ordinary soldiers below the platoon leader are divided into six levels: first-class private, second-class private, third-class private, fourth-class private, first-class recruit, and recruit."

Below the flag leader, there are eleven levels. Above these eleven levels are the officers: flag leader, hundred leader, and battalion leader. Liu Jun did not plan to set up similar ranks for the officers, only for the soldiers.

Reserve soldiers are granted the rank of recruit, and new regular soldiers are granted the rank of first-class recruit. After the training, they can be promoted to third-class private after the new soldier period.

To advance further, they must achieve military merit. To be promoted from third-class private to second-class private, they must kill one enemy. To be promoted from second-class private to first-class private, they must kill two enemies. To be promoted from first-class private to first-class private, they must kill three enemies, and the previous kills do not accumulate after each promotion. Alternatively, they can be promoted based on their performance in training or on the battlefield, with points accumulated for promotion.

Different ranks have different salaries.

Recruits receive a base salary of five taels per month and three dou of grain per month. There is an additional five taels, but it can only be received if they score full marks in attendance, training, and combat performance. If their performance is poor and they do not score enough points, the five taels will be deducted. If they perform well, they can receive the full five taels of additional reward. The best performers can also receive additional points, but not cash rewards.

Recruits receive five taels and three dou of grain per month. A first-class recruit receives seven taels and three dou of grain per month. A third-class private receives nine taels and three dou of grain per month. A second-class private receives twelve taels and three dou of grain per month. A first-class private receives fourteen taels and three dou of grain per month. A first-class private receives sixteen taels and three dou of grain per month.

Non-commissioned officers receive a base salary of twenty taels, with an additional five taels per level. A second-class corporal receives twenty taels, and a first-class corporal receives twenty-five taels.

Non-commissioned officers receive a base salary of thirty taels, with an additional ten taels per level. A sergeant receives thirty taels, a second-class sergeant receives forty taels, and a first-class sergeant receives fifty taels.

Non-commissioned officers receive eight dou of grain per month, and non-commissioned officers receive one shi of grain per month, regardless of rank.

The salaries of platoon leaders and team leaders have increased, but the salaries of ordinary soldiers have been reduced. Overall, the total expenses are maintained at the original level or even slightly reduced.

With this rank system, the hierarchy will be clearer, and in the future, soldiers will be rewarded primarily with promotions and secondarily with cash rewards, saving a large amount of reward money. After all, a head is worth twenty taels, and Liu Jun was already feeling the financial strain.

At the beginning, heavy rewards were to boost morale, but now that the team is regularized, such heavy rewards are not suitable. In the future, military merit will be more focused on collective performance, and rewards will be given in points instead of large sums of cash.

Battlefield spoils can also be included in the service cooperative, allowing soldiers to exchange points for items. This can solve the problem of selling spoils at a low price and avoid direct cash rewards. Soldiers' points can be recorded in a points book and used to exchange items from the service cooperative, effectively creating a new currency system within the Nine-Headed Bird, reducing the demand for silver.

However, merely reducing expenses is not enough; the most important thing is to increase revenue and find income sources.

What project can earn some money? Liu Jun thought hard and must find some income sources, otherwise, the team will run out of resources.

But the most urgent thing now is to transport the gold and silver from Qiting back, otherwise, the Nine-Headed Bird will have no food to eat.

...

Page flip AD starts

Page flip AD ends