Chapter 126: Good Strategies for Development

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Although Lei Qing currently had plenty of spare money, constantly subsidizing expenses was definitely not a sustainable long-term plan. Even a mountain of gold and silver would be consumed away if one did nothing.

He needed to rely on the territory to make money, or at least maintain various expenses, right?

“Mr. Hao.” Lei Qing was in the study, frowning at a white-faced middle-aged man with a long beard. “In the face of such a predicament, do you have any good strategies?”

This middle-aged man was an advisor. He understood government affairs, finances, and literary composition; he was a scholar. Originally from Central Prefecture, he had to flee to this remote western frontier for a living after committing a crime and offending people.

When he saw Lei Qing’s public notice recruiting advisors, he came to recommend himself.

Lei Qing noticed he liked to wear white robes, had a white face and a beard, and looked quite upright and learned. Lei Qing roughly tested him with a few questions, and Mr. Hao answered fluently. Given Lei Qing’s own level of education, he couldn’t really gauge Mr. Hao’s depth. Seeing his temperament resembled a schoolteacher and appearing to have some learning,

Lei Qing hired him as an advisor for one gold coin per month, a fair price. Unexpectedly, this hiring was a correct decision. Mr. Hao was knowledgeable about both ancient and modern times, rarely encountering something he didn’t know. Moreover, he taught Lei Qing with great care, allowing Lei Qing to learn quickly. This gradually made Lei Qing trust him.

Of course, Lei Qing had already sent his trusted Personal Guards to Central Prefecture to investigate the man’s background. Lei Qing dared not completely trust a person with a fabricated identity and origins.

Mr. Hao’s expression was gentle, stroking his long beard, giving him an immortal and elegant appearance. Facing Lei Qing’s question, Mr. Hao spoke calmly and leisurely: “In the end, it comes down to money. To have money, there are only two strategies: saving expenses and opening new sources of income. Let’s talk about saving expenses first. Young General is benevolent and righteous, providing high settling-in allowances, high salaries, generous pensions, and high food costs. You are also willing to spend on warhorses and weapons.”

“What do you mean by that?” Lei Qing pondered slightly.

“According to Young General’s plan, the Black Flag Regiment needs to recruit a total of 1,500 people, including 200 support troops for logistics and 300 reserves. Please forgive my bluntness, but maintaining such a large army with only over 30,000 people is simply a wild dream. It cannot be done even in the wealthy areas of Central Prefecture, let alone with Young General’s lavish spending.” Mr. Hao pointed out Lei Qing’s weakness of wasting resources on the military without mercy.

Lei Qing’s face turned red, and he gave a dry laugh. “Mr. Hao, please do not be angry. Lei Qing still has considerable assets and can afford such recruitment and feeding of so many people. Up to now, Lei Qing still has around 80,000 left. As for other resources, they are not counted for now. The reason Lei Qing spends so lavishly is that he does not want his subordinates to worry about their families’ livelihoods while fighting for him.”

Mr. Hao made an “ah” sound, looking somewhat surprised at Lei Qing, but he did not ask where the money came from. Instead, he pondered for a moment and said: “Since Young General is so wealthy, perhaps another strategy can be considered. Maintaining a 1,500-strong army is not impossible, but it requires careful calculation. You cannot keep losing money forever, right?”

“Lei Qing’s intention is exactly that.” Lei Qing clasped his hands and smiled. “I hope Mr. Hao will give advice.”

“According to the standards Young General set, the settling-in allowance, armor, weapons, and warhorses average thirty gold coins per person. The army still needs to gradually recruit about 1,000 more people, which means 30,000 gold coins will be spent directly. For 1,500 men and horses, the monthly food cost for both soldiers and horses requires 100 gold coins. The maintenance cost for weapons and equipment and the cost for new purchases require 50 gold coins per month. The most terrifying thing is the salary. Your salary is much higher than that of the Iron Cavalry Regiment. If you recruit the full 1,500 people, the salary expenditure for your army alone will be 600 gold coins per month, totaling 9,000 gold coins annually. This does not even include administrative expenses.”

“Uh, so much?” Lei Qing was somewhat dumbfounded. He had previously had no strong concept of money and was used to spending lavishly. But hearing all of a sudden that, excluding recruiting and settling-in fees, maintaining a cavalry regiment of 1,500 people annually required 9,000 gold coins, truly startled him.

No wonder Uncle Xiahou, who controlled the entire Tieling region, still cried poor every day. Maintaining an army is too expensive.

“This is because the salary Young General provides is too high. If referring to the Iron Cavalry Regiment’s standards, the cost could be reduced to about 5,000 gold coins annually.” Mr. Hao said calmly. “Of course, high salary also has its benefits. Soldiers will support and be more loyal to Young General. They will be willing to endure more hardship in training and unwilling to be eliminated. The choice is for Young General to judge.”

“I will not lower it.” Lei Qing shook his head heavily. “The Iron Cavalry Regiment has lower salaries because of Uncle Xiahou’s strong personal charm, and everyone is going through hardships together. I, Lei Qing, have neither status nor strength here. If I lower the salary, who would follow me to build a foundation? Moreover, the Lei Family’s method of training elite soldiers is very hard and tiring. If the salary is low, who would be willing to endure such hardship?”

“Then, we must also keep 20,000 gold coins as a reserve for pensions. Otherwise, if too many soldiers die or are injured, and the families don’t get money, Young General’s reputation in this lifetime will be ruined.” Mr. Hao said seriously.

“Agreed, we will definitely keep a pension reserve.” Lei Qing was most taboo about pensions. It was an ancestral instruction of the Lei Family. If soldiers died serving you and you withheld their pensions, you would be worse than an animal.

“Then, Young General’s money is only enough for three years of use,” Mr. Hao said coldly. “Within three years, if Young General cannot find a stable source of income, the Black Flag Army may disintegrate due to financial difficulties. Since Young General has money but is unwilling to save expenses, let me talk about opening new sources of income.”

“I like hearing this.” Lei Qing laughed heartily and said cheerfully. “I don’t believe that guarding such a large territory cannot make money. Mr. Hao, hurry up and think of a scheme. If we make money, you won’t be shortchanged.”

Mr. Hao smiled and said, “Taking Young General’s money, I naturally must help Young General share worries and solve difficulties. Actually, having many troops, although it costs a lot, may not necessarily be a disadvantage. If we hold 1,500 heavy troops and guard this mere Yehe Town, ordinary Horse Bandits probably dare not invade and harass us. It would be easy for us to maintain peace in this area. Once peaceful, the people’s lives will be stable and prosperous. Then, tax revenue will naturally increase. This is the most basic kind of virtuous cycle.”

“Correct. Holding heavy troops, Lei Qing will make the Horse Bandits come one wave and die one wave.” Lei Qing’s eyes were also sharp. “It is Lei Qing’s duty. I will definitely not let Horse Bandits harass the territory again.”

Mr. Hao gave Lei Qing an appreciative and gratified look. “This is one of the reasons why I am willing to serve Young General. I hope Young General can persist. Of course, relying solely on this point to maintain military expenses is still out of reach. I have several other strategies here for Young General to consider. But these strategies are only effective on the premise of peace in my town. Let’s start with the first strategy. Within the scope of my Yehe Town, the grassland and yellow earth are mixed. The people’s way of survival is the coexistence of agriculture and animal husbandry. In fact, because grassland Horse Bandits have always caused trouble, these two industries have always been in a very low state.”

Lei Qing said thoughtfully, “What does Mr. Hao mean? To vigorously develop agriculture and animal husbandry?”

“Why not?” Mr. Hao smiled. “My Yehe Town has vast land. Most places are abandoned, and there are many, many grasslands and pastures that have not been utilized. As long as Young General’s army can deter the Horse Bandits, we can naturally reclaim wasteland vigorously and develop pastures vigorously. With grain, we can not only be self-sufficient and no longer need to rely on purchases, but also store it for external sales. The most important is animal husbandry. Several areas in Central Prefecture and Southern Prefecture are very wealthy with dense populations. They have a very high demand for meat and leather. In addition to self-use, we can completely open trade routes and sell to several places in Central Prefecture.”

Lei Qing’s eyes lit up with great interest. He praised, “Mr. Hao truly woke me up from my dream. I, Lei Qing, sit on a treasure land without knowing it.”

“This is also because Young General has money. Otherwise, even if I had this strategy, I could not implement it.” Mr. Hao stroked his beard and said. “However, before it takes effect, Young General still needs to spend one or two ten thousand gold coins to establish a large number of farms and pastures, recruit farmers and herdsmen, and purchase a large number of breeding sheep and horses. These all require spending a lot of money.”

“I understand this matter. Please ask Mr. Hao to draw up a detailed plan.” Lei Qing nodded solemnly. “If the money is not enough, Lei Qing can pawn other things and raise another 100,000 gold coins without problem.” Lei Qing referred, of course, to those Crystal Cores. Although he had distributed some, most were still in his hands. If it was not enough, Lei Qing was willing to pawn a Spatial Ring.

Lei Qing also secretly thought that extorting the Li Chamber of Commerce back then was truly the right thing to do. Without this money, how many years would it take for himself to have some strength?

Mr. Hao was stunned, smiling in an awkward way. “I did not expect Young General to be so wealthy. Yehe Town truly has great development and great opportunities.” For a moment, Mr. Hao was also filled with heroic enthusiasm. “Let me mention the second strategy. The second strategy is trade. Actually, Huer Prairie is a treasure bowl. There are many herdsmen who move with the grass there, and they have countless cattle, sheep, and good horses under their hands. However, because the grassland people are fierce, even some herdsmen who seem like good people can turn into bandits at any time. This makes doing business with them too risky, making one tread on thin ice. If our army has sufficient deterrence, we can do business with some herdsmen, exchanging materials they urgently need for their cattle and sheep, and then reselling them to make heavy profits.”

“Doing business with grassland people?” Lei Qing was slightly surprised and said solemnly, “They have no fixed residence. Isn’t looking for them like a blind cat meeting a dead mouse?”

“No. Grassland people actually have many needs.” Mr. Hao said with a faint smile. “As long as we open a market outside Yehe Town, specifically allowing those from the grassland to come for proactive trade, isn’t it unnecessary to mobilize the army to go deep into the grassland?”

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