My God of Wealth is a Short-lived Ghost

Chapter 205: Rewards should be measured, and punishments should also be measured

"What are you going to do?" Zhao Jinfang asked cautiously, holding a teacup in his hand.

Zhao Jinghua shook his head slightly, then took a sip of tea from the cup. "What can I do? Since I have to assist the crown prince, I just want to be justified. Do you think I can cover the sky with one hand? Or even let Mingbeiying openly oppose the imperial power?"

Zhao Jinfang heard this and thought it made sense. "Then why did soldiers escape from the Mingbei camp three years ago? And why have soldiers been fighting each other since then?"

Zhao Jinghua sneered and put the teacup back on the table. "There are two points. First, it is common for soldiers to fight in the army, but the same is true for the Mingbei Camp and the Imperial Guards. Both are the king's right-hand men. I know you think that evil will be punished by evil, but what will the other soldiers think when they see this? Ignoring this matter will only make you lose the soldiers' trust in you."

Zhao Jinfang suddenly realized what was going on when he heard this. "What about the second one?"

Zhao Jinghua looked up at Zhao Jinfang after hearing this and said, "How did you know that a soldier had escaped? Unless you remembered every one of them and personally checked the troops before going out to fight, the barracks would not have reported such a small matter. How would you have known about it?"

Zhao Jinfang frowned slightly and said with a hint of doubt, "Huang Tizhong told me this when I went to inspect Mingbei Camp. Is there anything wrong with that?"

Zhao Jinghua sighed with helplessness in his eyes, "So you appointed him as the deputy commander of the Imperial Guards. How did you punish the soldiers who escaped?"

Zhao Jinfang nodded in confusion and then shook his head. "He was first a guard in front of the emperor, and half a year later he was appointed as the deputy commander of the imperial guards. He was beaten with twenty military sticks for being a deserter."

Zhao Jinghua nodded slightly and then picked up the teacup again and took a sip of tea. "Did you ask them why they ran away?"

Seeing Zhao Jinfang shaking his head, Zhao Jinghua sighed, "This is the second point. Rewards should be moderate, and punishments should also be measured. According to military regulations, if a soldier deserts, the soldiers in the same tent should be punished together with the deserter. Huang Tizhong did not inform the centurion or the general in the camp, but reported to the king. It can be seen that he is eager to make merit and has an ulterior motive. This is the mistake in rewarding."

Zhao Jinfang suddenly understood and asked, "So that's the case. What about the deserters? Was I wrong too?"

Zhao Jinghua smiled when he heard this, but the smile did not reach his eyes. "If such a thing happens again, the deserter should be punished with 20 military sticks. He should be asked beforehand whether his mother, wife or children are in trouble. If it is neither of them, he should be severely punished. But if it is one of them, and his family is as true as he said, the punishment will be reduced by half, and he must return to the camp after half a year. This is a mistake in the punishment. Both the reward and the punishment are wrong, which caused you to lose the support of the army step by step."

After hearing this, Zhao Jinfang sighed heavily and gradually let down his guard against Zhao Jinghua. "You were the one who led Mingbei Camp before. I really don't know much about these things. It seems that Mingbei Camp is indeed my fault. I have learned my lesson today."

Zhao Jinghua shook his head and put the teacup on the table. "I looked at the camp today. The soldiers in the Mingbei Camp are not united only in this regard. The centurions and thousand-man commanders should not live and eat with the soldiers."

Zhao Jinfang picked up the teacup and took a sip of tea. "Why?"

Zhao Jinghua poured Zhao Jinfang a cup of tea and then said leisurely, "You were born in this palace, so you don't know the suffering of the soldiers. Since they have positions in the army, they expect to be different from the soldiers. In an army of one million, there are no less than 11,014 positions, including the main general, the deputy general, two third-rank generals, ten captains of ten thousand men, one thousand captains of thousand men, and ten thousand centurions. They cannot eat and sleep with the soldiers. Ten centurions have a tent with five men, and two captains of ten thousand men have a tent. Especially when it comes to food, centurions are higher than soldiers, and captains of thousand men are lower than third-rank generals, and captains of ten thousand men are lower than deputy generals. Since Emperor Ming Sheng ascended the throne, why has the morale of the army gradually collapsed, and the borders have been at the mercy of others? It's like this, even you haven't noticed that the military regulations of the former Mingbei Camp were like this. You made some changes after taking over the Mingbei Camp. You think your son is wasteful, right?"

Zhao Jinfang nodded in sudden realization after hearing this, and then looked at Zhao Jinghua with admiration, "You are worthy of being an emperor who can form four camps on your own. I admire you, I admire you."

Zhao Jinghua picked up the teacup, took a sip of tea, and then shook his head. "It's true that I am Zhao Hongyu, but that was all in the past and has long since vanished. If it were me now... I'm afraid it wouldn't work."

Zhao Jinfang smiled complacently when he heard this. "I shouldn't have doubted you these days. From now on, can we put aside our past grudges and work together to create a great cause?"

Zhao Jinghua smiled with eyebrows slightly raised but murderous intent was hidden in his eyes. He slowly stood up and bowed to Zhao Jinfang, "Since I am willing to assist the Crown Prince, I have already forgiven you. Maybe my personality is different from before and that's why you misunderstood me, but don't worry, I am still Zhao Jinghua, your son."

As soon as Zhao Jinfang heard this, he felt much more relaxed physically and mentally, as if Zhao Jinghua was a ferocious beast, but now he was tamed by him and was crawling obediently at his feet. Zhao Jinfang laughed and then stood up and patted Zhao Jinghua on the shoulder, "Good boy."

Zhao Jinghua did not answer but gave Zhao Jinfang a sly smile.

At this time, Eunuch Chen knocked on the door of Taiming Palace and said, "Your Majesty, the Crown Prince wants to see you. He wants to discuss something with the Regent."

Zhao Jinfang sighed, picked up the teacup, took a sip of tea, and then said calmly, "Let him in."

After saying this, Eunuch Chen opened the door and Zhao Jingcheng walked in. Zhao Jinghua was about to bow but was stopped by Zhao Jinfang. "You are wrong."

Zhao Jinghua chuckled and pretended to be confused, "Your Highness the Crown Prince is the king, and there is nothing wrong with me being a subject."

Zhao Jinfang put down the teacup and sighed, "Although it should be so, but...if you were not my eldest son, I should respect you as the emperor, but..." At this point, Zhao Jinfang hesitated and shook his head.

Zhao Jinghua bowed and smiled awkwardly, "I understand. Thank you for your grace, father."

Zhao Jinfang nodded slightly with great satisfaction after hearing this, "I'm glad you understand."

Zhao Jingcheng frowned slightly when he heard this and asked in disbelief, "Do you mean to be on an equal footing with the Regent?"

At the same time, Wan Sutong was sitting leisurely on the third floor of Wanfulou. She smiled sweetly at Uncle Sun, Uncle Zhou, Fang Man and Xiao Liuzi and said, "I asked you four to come here to announce one thing. From now on, I am no longer the shopkeeper of Wanfulou."

Fang Man was shocked and said in disbelief, "Ah? You are not so poor that you have to sell the restaurant, right?"

Wan Sutong chuckled after hearing this and said, "No, I gave the title deed of Wanfulou to your shopkeeper Luo. She is getting married, so I gave Wanfulou to her as a dowry."

Uncle Sun exclaimed with great satisfaction, "Shopkeeper Luo and Zhou Lang are getting married."

Wan Sutong nodded, then conjured up four bright red invitations and said with a grin, "Today at 3 pm, there will be a wedding banquet at the Prime Minister's residence. I hope all four of you will be there. I won't accept any gifts, just showing up is enough." After saying that, she placed the invitations in the hands of the four people.

As soon as he finished speaking, Zhou Lang came in with four invitations. "There will be a wedding banquet at the Zhou residence tomorrow, so you must be there." He walked up to the four people and handed them the invitations.

Uncle Sun looked at Zhou Lang in confusion. "You're getting married tomorrow? Why are you in such a hurry? I remember I had to wait three days to marry your aunt."

Uncle Zhou also nodded repeatedly, "Yes, I also waited for three days when I married my wife. I wanted to go and see my mother but she wouldn't let me. How come you are getting married tomorrow?"

After hearing this, Wan Sutong lowered her head and chuckled, "My sister Luo is so beautiful that the Crown Prince has taken a liking to her. Guard Zhou is afraid that the Crown Prince will ask His Majesty for permission. If it weren't for the fact that it was impossible, they would have wanted to get married tonight!"

Zhou Lang chuckled and then scratched his head foolishly.