Brother Song Taizu

Chapter 84: Is he worthy of fighting with my second brother to death?
Stew orange peels, sugar, and vinegar in a large pot, add some osmanthus, tea, etc., and it is the best sobering soup of this era.

At three o'clock in the morning, Zhao Guangmei and a group of veterans who had retired each took the girl with them. They drank the sobering soup while feeling weak. Their stomachs felt uncomfortable and they didn't even want to eat breakfast.

Yesterday, everyone drank too much and everyone was a little embarrassed.

Zhao Guangmei sighed and said: "Let's talk about business. Everyone knows about this year's income. More than 500 million yuan of it is our dividend. Is it divided? Or is it used to invest in something else? And the most important thing is Yes, there are 500 million yuan that we want to use as welfare and distribute the profits to the soldiers of the Forbidden Army. What should we do? We can't just distribute the money."

But Shi Shouxin said: "How about we buy Fan Lou."

"what?"

Zhao Guangmei was stunned for a moment, unable to follow Shi Shouxin's train of thought.

"It's too inconvenient for us guys to find a place to drink. If you ask me, this Fan Building is pretty good."

"What a great idea. This way, we don't have to pay when we come to drink in the future."

"Fan Tower has become our property, and no one will be able to make trouble in the future. I heard that this restaurant is quite profitable. Every day makes money."

"Yes, yes, it will be very convenient for us to come and drink by ourselves. We can set up a small courtyard in the back and not entertain anyone except us. It's nice and private."

"Is this, is this for the benefit of the soldiers?"

"What a heck! How many soldiers can come to this place to drink?"

"Isn't it just money? We are so rich now. I think this is a good idea and I agree with it."

Then these veterans all talked about it, saying that this investment is good, great, and then everyone looked at Zhao Guangmei eagerly.

Zhao Guangmei: “…………”

They were not thinking about making money at all, they were just here to drink!
For the convenience of drinking, you buy the largest, most expensive, and most luxurious restaurant in Kaifeng, or even the world?
Are you so capricious?
Well, these guys don't have any pursuits left in their lives. Now that they are so rich, they can't spend all their money, but they are just willful.

This group of veterans all appear to be straightforward, but in fact they are more shrewd than the last. Zhao Guangmei is able to figure it out in just a few strokes. This is actually a trick to steal the Zhao family's wool.

After all, this is a restaurant bought in the name of a trading company. How many shares do they hold in the company?Adding one yuan is only [-]%, and including their personal soldiers, let them divide the dividends. Although it is still a lot, it is still a few. If you want to eat and drink every day, I am afraid it is still not enough.

If you use this money to buy a restaurant, it is equivalent to the big fortune of the old Zhao family. Those retail investors who retired from the army and got shares, but have no decision-making power and cannot join the board of directors have a small fortune. They will just catch a ride and drink wine in the future. There is no need to spend money. It doesn't even matter to them whether Fan Lou will make money in the future. It is of course the best if he makes money. It doesn't matter if he doesn't.

Seeing this, Zhao Guangmei couldn't help but smile bitterly.

Restaurants are not asset-heavy. They mainly rely on management. I have never heard of any state-owned restaurants that can do a good job. Isn't there something wrong with a business as big as a business to get involved in this crap thing?

But since these old generals all agreed, it was hard for him to object forcefully. After all, they were all sworn brothers of his eldest brother.

And if he wanted to buy a big restaurant... he didn't like Fan Building's profitability, but a building with a liquor license that was the best in the world might actually have some other uses.

After thinking about it for a while, Zhao Guangmei reluctantly agreed.The shopkeeper was called and said:
"Our brothers bought this restaurant for 40 yuan. Is that enough to give you face? And we will leave you [-]% of the shares. The restaurant will still be run by you. We usually won't interfere and will only send someone The confidants came here to manage the accounts, and you also saw it. They just wanted a place to drink. In the future, if anyone breaks the rules, they can report it to the merchant house and report our name. You can also claim to be my minister, okay? No, please give me a nice word."

Fan Lou in this era was far less impressive than later. This kind of business is all about background. Throughout the Northern Song Dynasty, Fan Lou had several bosses. I only know that one of the bosses seemed to be Shi Shouxin, who did not have this background. , How is it possible to do this in a place like Kaifeng, where you can do business without selling yourself?

It’s a major revision of history.

The amount of 40 yuan is definitely more than enough to buy a fan building. Of course, this does not count the value of the sign. There is no accurate valuation of the sign.

After thinking for a moment, the boss actually nodded in agreement with great courage.

I just couldn't help but feel a little ridiculous.

It was obviously to entertain guests, but within one night, he became the host.

He waved his hand to let the boss go down and continued talking about business.

"What about the welfare of the soldiers? With so much money to buy a restaurant for myself, what can I do for the soldiers?"

Gao Huaide said: "How about building a place specifically to help soldiers take care of their children? Although the schools of each battalion are still under construction, they are too general after all. The soldiers have training and duty tasks, and many of their family members are now with us. There are errands in the business, and many children are left at home unattended, especially the younger ones."

Zhao Guangmei's eyes lit up: "Kindergarten? This one is better. This one is better."

Zhang Lingduo thought for a while and then said: "If there is no one to look after the child, what's the big deal? Can it be lost in the military camp? Although the school is still small, it already has one after all. It is much better than when we were children. The icing on the cake is I think it’s better to provide help in times of need.”

"Giving help in times of need? What does this mean?" "I don't think it's that urgent about the children's matters. If you don't spend the money on them this year, it will be the same next year. But the money of many old people in the army will be spent if they don't spend it. It's too late. We should build a nursing home to take in those helpless old people. I heard that the government... intends to reform the Forbidden Army. After the expansion, a group of people will be laid off, especially the old, weak, sick and disabled, and they will all be kicked out. Out of the Forbidden Army, I heard that because of this matter, Zhang Qiong and the Second King... Hey, I think, since our business is so profitable now, shouldn't we help in this area? "

Zhao Guangmei was still a little confused, so she took a sip of the hangover soup, asked Xiaolan to do a head massage for herself, and said: "In the army, isn't it necessary to eliminate the old and eliminate the weak? Also, this matter is with my second brother. , and what does it have to do with Zhang Qiong?"

"Your Highness, you don't know. Things in the military camp are sometimes hard to recover from. It's not that simple. Some old soldiers, wounded soldiers, and disabled soldiers really have no fighting ability. To put it bluntly, they are just a burden. They are now living in the military camp. Here, to put it bluntly, they are just hanging on, and it is impossible to take them with them in the war. There are also some old people. Their sons may be soldiers, but their sons have died in the war, and he may just stay in the military camp."

"To be honest, the Song Dynasty's imperial army in Beijing only has a total of 10,000+ people, but there are already 70 million family members. You must know that those new recruits after the expansion are all bachelors, how can they be like this? Many family members? Many, all of them are this kind of people."

Zhao Guangmei also felt heavy after hearing this and said: "I understand, if the younger ones among these people can still come to work in the trading houses, they can at least support themselves. If they are old, sick or disabled, it will be purely for the imperial court." It’s a burden, is it…are there any rumors?”

Wang Shenqi said: "Where are the rumors again? There has been news in the army that after the officials eliminate the old and the weak, these people will be driven out of the military camp and fend for themselves. The officials are now recruiting from the governors' mansions in various places. The new recruits, the soldiers said, these old people should...make room for the new recruits."

Zhao Guangmei couldn't help but look more serious after hearing this.

In the military camps of the Five Dynasties and the Northern Song Dynasty, soldiers were given houses. Of course, they were not good houses, but they were enough to provide shelter from wind and rain in troubled times. However, these soldiers only had the right to use the houses but not the ownership. It's still from the imperial court, it's just for you to live in.

So naturally, there will be many people who are not soldiers living in the houses of the military camp. Veterans are better off. What if it is just the family members of those fallen soldiers?
In fact, the imperial court had no guarantee for these soldiers. In other words, this guarantee did not come from the imperial court, but from their respective generals. For example, if someone in Gao Huaide's old department was in this situation, the imperial court could ignore it, but Gao Huaide did not. If he doesn't care, the people below him will be alienated from him, and even become arrogant and drive away the leader.

This is also one of the reasons for the chaos in the Five Dynasties. Soldiers and their respective generals are deeply bound. Sometimes the generals are also bullshit. This is actually one of the important reasons for the frequent changes in the court during the Five Dynasties. The loyalty of the soldiers belongs to It belongs to the general who directly commands the troops, not to the court.

To a large extent, the low combat effectiveness of the Northern Song Dynasty was also due to the fact that the soldiers did not know the generals, and the generals did not know the soldiers. It does not mean that the generals and soldiers were not familiar with the command. The soldiers of the Five Dynasties could really fight without command, but if the above If your leaders don't care about your affairs, who will fight on the battlefield?Pointing to the pensions that have been withheld from the civil servants at all levels?

Those soldiers who followed Zhao Kuangyin, Shi Shouxin and others will naturally have a good ending, but what about those who followed Li Chongjin?Or even go further, follow Liu Zhiyuan, or even follow Yelu Deguang?Where will they find their Lord?

Zhao Guangmei couldn't help frowning and said: "Didn't you say that all retired and meritorious soldiers were given shares? You and our Zhao family only occupy [-]% of the company's shares, and the remaining [-]% are not all here. Are there retired soldiers, especially those who have made meritorious deeds?"

Hearing this, Wang Yanchao couldn't help but smile bitterly: "Your Highness, what does it mean to have merit? Which dynasty deserves the credit? It has only been a year since the Song Dynasty was founded. Who has any merit? The Song Dynasty inherited the Zhou system, and maybe the court still recognized the merits of the Zhou Dynasty, but Didn’t the Zhou Dynasty last only ten years? How could the imperial court recognize what happened ten years ago?"

As he said this, Wang Yanchao and others felt increasingly sad and sentimental.

They still remember that when the military power was released over a glass of wine, the treatment of the Jiedushi envoys from other towns was far less than that of Shi Shouxin and other juniors, so they each told Zhao Kuangyin about their merits, but Zhao Kuangyin dismissed them with just one sentence. He said: "What happened in the previous court was of no consequence?"

After decades of hard work, in the wind and rain, in the knife, in the blood and in the blood, the achievements were made, but people actually refused to acknowledge the past.

It just seems so reasonable.

Zhang Lingduo also explained to Zhao Guangmei: "A small group of 100 people will form cliques, let alone the 10,000+ people stationed in Beijing. The Palace Front Division is better, but the Guards Division, its predecessor can be traced all the way back. When you come to the guard camp founded by Li Cunxu, there are too many factions in it. When someone gains power, someone will naturally lose power. Over the past few decades, things have changed and people have changed. The shares are divided, but not evenly."

"To put it bluntly, before we people come down, we will naturally make arrangements for the brothers who have followed us. But who will look at those soldiers who have not followed us? The more they are divided, the less our soldiers will be. , do you think this person has any reason to turn his elbows outward?"

"That's it." Zhao Guangmei finally understood: "That is to say, when the stocks were divided, there were still some close relatives who used tricks or acted domineering. In addition, there were indeed some people who were not qualified to divide the stocks, and some were old, weak, sick and disabled. , now living in the barracks, they can still survive, but once my eldest brother kicks them out, and the court doesn’t care about them, or the pension is not enough, these people may not be able to survive. "

"That's right. When I did these things, I didn't think there was anything wrong. It's natural for a general to take care of his own soldiers. But after he really retired from the army, and now he's an outsider and looks at it, it doesn't matter. I think these people are quite pitiful and deserve sympathy."

Zhao Guangmei frowned and said: "If the court cannot control it, then we do have to control it. This year's 500 million, I support spending it on them first, but what does this have to do with my second brother and Zhang Qiong?"

Then I saw Shi Shouxin sighing and saying: "Xiao Zhang is too straight-tempered and accepts death. Isn't he recruiting new soldiers? The court is also anxious to clear out the old people to make room. This is not Xiao Zhang's fault." You are stubborn and refuse to give in, and these new recruits were recruited by the Second King. In front of his palace is the Marquis of Yu. Didn’t the two King also come here before? But now the old man has not come out and the newcomers cannot enter."

"Wait a minute."

Zhao Guangmei quickly interrupted: "There are all the marquises in front of the palace, the palace ministers, the Ban Zhi, the old, the weak, the sick and the disabled with no military merit? The palace palace was built by my eldest brother, and most of you came from the palace palace." , isn’t this wrong?”

Hearing this, the expressions of all the veterans were also quite strange.

"Otherwise, Xiao Zhang is straightforward in his work. In fact, as His Highness said, this matter has nothing to do with the Palace Secretary, especially Xiao Zhang, who has Yuhou in front of the Palace, but who can let him He has an intersection with the second king. The official intention is to let the second king find a way to resettle these people. Isn't he the governor of Kaifeng? This Xiao Zhang has to insist that the second king solve the resettlement issue first. Only then are they willing to make room for the new soldiers recruited by the Second King, and they are fighting against the Second King. The people in the Guards Department are worried that they have no backbone. Xiao Zhang, you know, he always does everything. This matter Son, let him take it over. Xiao Zhang completely got into trouble with the second king because of this matter, so let’s take over this matter, so that the second king will not be so embarrassed, and Xiao Zhang can …Don’t be so stubborn.”

"........."

Is he being upright, or is he short-sighted? Doesn't he know how many bowls of rice he has eaten?

"Let me tell you something you don't know. My eldest brother wants to check taxes. Starting from Kaifeng, he also asked Zhang Qiong to check."

Shi Shouxin and others were startled: "Inspect taxes? Inspect... Kaifeng's taxes? With his character, wouldn't he be fighting to the death with the two kings?"

Zhao Guangmei put her hands together: "Is he worthy of fighting with my second brother to death? If he is really honest, I'm afraid...he will be dead."

(End of this chapter)