C3441 Unpaid Waves

The person who came to report was one of the four bodyguards, Bai Min. He was one of the first group of officers trained together with Ma Ming, and had been able to force this calm and composed bodyguard to such a state that it could be seen that the camp at the foot of the mountain was already in complete chaos.

The three of them did not dare to hesitate and turned their heads to run down the mountain. There were a total of three thousand New Imperial Army stationed at the side of the Horse-tailed Boat factory. All of them were valiant mountain folk that had been selected from the Wuyishan.

"My Lord!" Don't fight, don't fight... This has nothing to do with Shen Baozhen! " Ma Ming prayed in his heart for Buddha's blessings not to make a move.

When they reached the camp, they realised that the entire entrance was surrounded by 300-400 people. It was not only the patrolling officers who were surrounded, but also Shen Baozhen himself, who was dressed in plain clothes.

Who was Shen Baozhen? He was the person in charge of the foreign affairs movement recommended by Zuo Zongtang, the famous Lin Zexu's son-in-law!

Zuo Zongtang was transferred to the Northwest Rebel Army. He was the oldest in the area of Fujian, and the responsibilities of Marshal Zuo, as well as the Emperor's new army, were all on's shoulders.

But he never thought that the soldiers would actually surround Shen Baozhen!

When Ma Ming and the rest ran into the crowd, they found out that it was fortunate that Inspector Shen Baozhen had revealed his identity in advance, which was why the soldiers did not take action.

"Everyone stop, everyone stop! Are they all going to rebel? They raised you guys and now you even know how to rebel? Get out of the way! "

The New Imperial Army was formed entirely in accordance with the western style of army. It abandoned the military system of the Great Qing and chose the military camp of the army instead.

There were a total of three divisions, and their strength was almost thirty thousand. Ma Ming, Bai Min, and Duncheng's three guards were the teachers of these three divisions, and were already at the highest level here.

When the soldiers saw that the highest-ranking officer had appeared, they all quickly went into an alley. Seeing that Ma Ming and the others had come, Shen Baozhen heaved a sigh of relief.

"Old Ma, you've finally arrived. If you had been any later, I'm afraid your soldiers would have been torn to shreds …"

The patrolling officer who had been surrounded naturally had to be emotional, and his complaints had caused the soldiers to be dissatisfied!

"Master, please do not blame us soldiers for killing you. A silver coin per month is something that the His Majesty personally ordered …" "But we haven't seen a single piece of silver in three months …"

"We don't have to eat alone just to be soldiers. We have to have a family to feed!"

The soldiers saluted Ma Ming and the others with their military salute. "Master, we violated the rules and were sentenced to twenty years of imprisonment for three days in accordance with the military rules."

"Brothers, do you have anything to say? Go and receive your punishment later!" But let us speak! What was going on with three months of not paying salary? We have parents to support! "

"My mother is already blind. My entire family is dependent on my old man to gather and stir-fry tea. My body is no longer well now, so there's no way I can continue to fry tea …" My pay is what my parents are raving about! "

These words struck a chord with the soldiers. Many of them even secretly wiped away their tears!

The three treasures carefully observed their surroundings and discovered that only four hundred people had come out of the three thousand plus people's campsite to cause trouble. Most of them were still strictly disciplined.

This was because from the day New Imperial Army was established, there was a reason to pick out soldiers, and this was also the answer that Xiao Letian and the other Chinese Four Heavenly Kings s received.

In order to ensure the fighting strength of the troops, the soldiers were selected from the mountain people deep in the mountains. These mountain people with strong bodies and simple personalities were extremely patient, and they also didn't have the bad habit of tainting the people in the city.

Such a good nurturing by these young soldiers was like a big tree of the future!

However, choosing a soldier could not only depend on physical quality and character, but also a soldier's family. New Imperial Army's principle in choosing a soldier was basically to choose not to have an only son, and not to have married and have children.

Because these soldiers were tied up, there was a family behind them that was too worried! But how can there be so many qualified soldiers for you to choose from? It's not like the little Emperor can choose soldiers from across the country without his personal authority.

They could only choose between the existing conditions in the mountainous regions surrounding Fuzhou. Sometimes, they would have to let go of the conditions.

Thirty thousand New Imperial Army s. Ma Ming and the others could only guarantee that they were a group of bachelors who did not have wives and children. However, a group of only children or mountain children whose families were extremely difficult to find had indeed appeared and joined the army.

The only son of the family, or to be exact, no one in the family could earn any money, so the military pay became the life of their family!

These four hundred people were all raised by one person, so they could bear to have others pay them a little later. After all, they were in charge of food in the military camp, but these people could not tolerate this because there was still a house behind them that was waiting to be opened!

Hearing the soldier's complaints at the same time, Shen Baozhen's expression also became stern. He was no longer angry, but he had gained a clear understanding of the poverty within the depths of Wuyishan.

Too poor, too poor! In the mountains that were only sixty to seventy miles away from the Fuzhou City, there was actually a family that could not even eat a meal a year.

There weren't many fields here. Most families had no land and could only rely on short-work workers as their tenants. It was fine when they were young, but once they were old or injured, they would starve to death!

The soldiers became more and more agitated as they talked. In the end, some of them even said while wiping their tears, "Back when we were recruiting, we spoke so well. Imperial guards, we'll directly hand it over to the emperor …" I was wondering, could it be that the emperor's soldiers wouldn't be able to pay the bill? "

These words were too harsh. It was like saying that all of you are corrupt officials, and all of you are greedy away the money!

The faces of all the officers present darkened, many of them were on the verge of exploding, while San Bao extended his hand and tugged at Ma Ming's sleeves: "San Ye don't be angry, there are many foreigners watching this scene!"

At the Mawei Shipyard's place, there were dozens of Western Engineers. They did not know what was happening at the barracks, but they were all looking around.

When Shen Baozhen saw the excited crowd and the foreigners watching the show, he quickly stood up and comforted them. "Brothers …" Brothers, I know it's not easy for you guys, I know you guys have a hard time! "

"But please understand the difficulties of the imperial government. Raising an army is not something that can be done with a mere salary …" "The monthly salary of thirty thousand soldiers is over fifty thousand silver taels, and this doesn't even include food and drinks …"

"Everyone's military uniforms, daily meat dishes, as well as ammunition for the training... Even if you change equipment, which one of them can't? "

"Tell the truth already, not counting the initial allocation from the imperial government, just our Fuzhou City had raised one million silver coins in the past few years!"

"A million!" "For a poor place like Fujian, this is already not a small number …"

"I promise my brothers, as long as the customs duties are passed over next month, I will give everyone a sum to make up half of the deficit!"

Ma Ming suppressed his anger and stood out to advise the soldiers, "Soldiers, how did you swear during your training? "For the sake of His Majesty, you could have bled to death and even given up your life. Why are you making a ruckus over such a small matter now?"

"Who said I wouldn't pay you? The His Majesty was rushing back from Europe, and it would take some time for the money to be transferred over? It's only been a few months and you guys can't wait any longer? "

"I know you miss your parents and brothers …" But there was no need to force the palace to such an extent! "Let me make a suggestion. We should save a bit on rations and eat less meat during this period …"

"Just save a batch of food, and I'll give you a day of vacation. Can you send it to your parents?"

"Take it as the rank that the His Majesty owes you and pay the interest on first, okay …"

The money didn't come, but he still got some food and vegetables for his family. It could be said that he had gained some of the hostility from the military camp.

But at this time, Minjiang Estuary who was standing opposite of the camp door suddenly shot out a small scissor boat, flying straight towards the shipyard's pier.

"Urgent report... Urgent... "South Sea emergency report!"