The March wind is chilling with fine sand, and the sky in the northwest is still bleak, and there is no trace of spring.

A fast horse galloped into the camp of the Xining Prefecture garrison and headed straight to the tent of the General's Mansion.

Although the cold wind blew on his face, the messenger's head was covered with sweat. As soon as he entered the camp, he immediately reported: "Marson, I just received the news that the salary paid by the court this time was robbed in Hanyin..."

Jun Yu couldn't help but shout loudly: "What?"

"The army that escorted Fengyin was originally going to take a detour from Shu to Xining, but was robbed in Hanyin. The army of escort was completely wiped out. According to rumors, it was done by the thieves in Sichuan and Shaanxi and bandits..."

Lin Baoshan could not sit still, and suddenly stood up: "The army's food and grass are less than enough for a month. The salary is robbed. What are I asked to eat?"

Geng Ke, Zhang Yuan and others all looked at Jun Yu in panic.

Geng Ke only replaced Bai Ruhui and rushed from Phoenix City a few days ago to continue commanding the "Emei Pioneer". When he was in Phoenix City, he had never encountered a situation where military pay was not maintained, so he looked at Jun Yu with a look of surprise.

Jun Yu pondered for a moment: "Now, all the soldiers are looking forward to the arrival of military pay, but even if the court immediately allocates it, it will be after March after arrival. Now, we have to slowly discuss countermeasures. All generals should not make this news public so as not to shake the morale of the army. Violators will severely punish those who violate the military law."

Everyone looked at each other, and the anxiety in their hearts spread.

Since the second half of last year, local governments around have begun to refuse to provide food, grass and money for the Northwest Army under various excuses. Although the court has repeatedly ordered it, it is beyond the reach, and the governments and money for delaying or shirking. Now, all money for the Northwest Army has been completely relied on the imperial court to allocate. Now, this batch of money for the Yushu Town has been robbed on the way, and not only can the officers and soldiers in the great victory of Yushu Town receive any rewards, but even the soldiers are almost having a problem with their meals. Moreover, it is mid-March. As summer approaches, soon, soldiers need to take off their thick cotton coats, without food or salary, but where can they go to buy the clothes?

Not only that, the military pay had another important purpose: that is, to buy horses from ethnic minorities on the border. After the great victory in Yushu Town, the total strength of the Northwest Army camps in various places had gradually increased to more than 100,000, but the war horses were less than 50,000, and almost two soldiers shared a war horse. The Zhenmuthir tribe was rampant in the Great Mongolian grasslands. Every time each cavalry sent troops, there were at least three to five war horses for replacement.

Even in that great victory in Yushu Town, the Northwest Infantry unexpectedly defeated Zhenmuthel by climbing a mountain in the middle of the night. However, the Northwest Army has never won the victory in large-scale cavalry battles. In recent years, they have always been lingering in fear of Zhenmuthel's cavalry battle formation.

In order to reverse this situation, Jun Yu sent Lu Ling and others to start tea-horse trading at the border, hoping to raise some funds to buy horses. However, in the early years of the Northwest Army, they often used inferior products as good products, and used silver mixed with copper or lead to fill in the numbers, so they were deeply disliked by the ethnic minorities. Gradually, they also learned to use inferior horses and inferior horses to fill in numbers, or simply not trade with them.

In recent months, due to limited financial resources and difficult negotiations, Lu Ling has only bought back a few hundred good horses. These few hundred war horses are like dropping a drop in the bucket for the Northwest Army.

In the evening, Jun Yu was discussing matters with Lu Ling, Zhang Yuan and others, and Lu Ling suddenly rushed back to the camp in vain.

Lu Ling had not yet learned about the robbery of Xianyin and reported with a happy face: "I have already discussed the next transaction of 1,500 horses. These horses are all good horses and can be trained to become the most powerful war horses..."

He was reporting happily when he suddenly saw Jun Yu, Geng Ke and others helpless eyes, and immediately stopped and said, "That batch of military pay?"

Geng Ke shook his head and briefly told him the situation.

Lu Ling lowered his head and pondered for a while, raised his head and said, "The tea and horse transaction some time ago still had a surplus of more than 20,000 taels. How to deal with this batch of horses?"

Jun Yu said without hesitation: "The horse problem will be put on hold for the time being. Buy all the food immediately. Let's solve the food problem in the army first."

But how many days can the army last for a mere 20,000 silver?

Geng Ke said: "Now, there are many discussions in the army, and many people are asking about food and grass issues, but what should I do?"

Jun Yu was silent for a moment: "Yuan couldn't hide the big event of military pay being robbed for long. Instead of letting the soldiers make random guesses, it's better to tell them openly, Zhang Yuan, what do you think?"

Zhang Yuan nodded: "What the Marshal said is extremely true. The reason for the rise of slander is that the news is not correct and speculation is caused. If it is secretly revealed, it is only a fear that the army will have more rumors and the army will be shaken. Now, the Northwest Army is facing major difficulties and it is necessary for the entire army to work together."
Chapter completed!