10. Embezzlement

Old Wei brought back all the soldiers from the company—over a hundred men, all accounted for. That evening, the Wei family naturally prepared a proper feast, both to celebrate and to welcome Old Wei home.

In truth, this was Old Wei’s first time receiving such a mission, and there had been a real possibility he might have been sent directly to the battlefield.

Fortunately, it turned out to be a false alarm.

“Father, after you left, I truly worried the number of people on the road would dwindle more and more,” Wei Guangde said.

At the dinner table, Old Wei and Wei Wencai enjoyed wine and dishes. Since Guangde was younger, he wasn’t given any wine.

Though Old Wei held the rank of company commander, in their household, drinking was not a common practice.

This was partly because, in this era, the main type of alcohol was yellow wine.

Producing yellow wine required a large amount of grain. Though the Ming dynasty had enjoyed long peace, grain remained a crucial resource for the empire, so using it to brew wine meant the price was naturally not cheap.

Wei Guangde knew there was some wine stored in the back cellar—a well-known local batch sealed in jars.

Though still young, Guangde was allowed to taste a sip. The flavor was sour and sweet, clearly not like the strong spirits he would taste in later times; judging by the color, it was indeed a kind of yellow wine.

In later eras, yellow wine became rare, with most people drinking beer or distilled spirits at the table.

The taste was mild and acceptable, at least not burning the throat.

No wonder they opened a whole jar right away—he could probably drink the entire jar.

Of course, this was what Guangde thought quietly; he didn’t say it aloud.

Watching his father and elder brother clink their cups and finish their drinks with great enthusiasm, he could only purse his lips.

“What you said is exactly what I feared at first. Luckily, none of our ships entered the canal; they all stopped at Zhenjiang,” Old Wei began to recount their recent experience now that the whole family was present.

“We set off overnight to the thousand-household garrison, then were taken to the dock to wait for the ships. The ships arrived in the afternoon and immediately set off.”

Old Wei took another sip of wine before continuing.

“That’s so simple. I heard that when troops are sent out to war, they’re supposed to receive deployment silver, and the previous military pay as well,” Wei Wencai suddenly interjected.

“You must have heard that from Li Er and the others. That rule does exist,” Old Wei nodded. “They said the silver was at the Capital Prefecture. Once we arrived, it would be distributed, along with replenishments of weapons and armor. Our southern troops wear much less armor compared to the border armies, so it was said the Capital’s armory would supply us, and the silver would be compensated then.”

“Did they actually distribute it later?” Wei Wencai’s interest was piqued at the mention of silver.

Old Wei didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he sighed, looking up at the ceiling at a forty-five-degree angle. After a long pause, he said, “Do you know why this expedition was so rushed? I only learned when we boarded the ship. Officials from the Ministry of War in Nanjing came—almost like they were escorting the commanding officer onto the ship—and they wouldn’t give us a moment’s delay.”

Once on board, hearing this from my brother-in-law, I was so scared I nearly lost control. Don’t laugh,” Old Wei warned, though everyone else in the room burst into laughter.

“There’s nothing funny about it. With news like that, I didn’t dare tell the men below. The urgency from above—you can imagine how fierce the fighting in Beijing must be.”

At this, Old Wei shook his head again.

“What happened next? Did your brother-in-law wet himself?” Wei Wushi, hearing the story, started joking.

“He’d already done that earlier and had no more left by then,” Old Wei replied with a teasing tone.

“After passing the Capital, there was no mention of the promised armor, weapons, or silver. Some of the ships’ troops even mutinied but were quickly suppressed. Do you know? We traveled by water without stopping at night, pressing ahead in the dark—it scared us all.”

“Luckily, we landed at Zhenjiang to rest and replenish. That’s where they handed out silver and some weapons. The promised armor? I didn’t see a single piece.”

“How much silver was given?” Wei Wencai asked eagerly.

“Five hundred taels,” Old Wei said, showing five fingers.

“Just that little?” Wei Wencai raised his voice, clearly dissatisfied.

“You think that’s too little?” Old Wei scowled at his eldest son.

“I’m the one who took the most silver among all the companies because my garrison has all able-bodied men.”

“The officials from the Ministry of War were truly cunning. They inspected everything right on the Zhenjiang dock. Over at the rear troops’ thousand-household garrison, a few company commanders were even punished.”

“If it weren’t for this deployment, I wouldn’t have realized how badly the garrisons were being mistreated. At the rear and left troops, many garrisons had so many desertions that even boys thirteen or fourteen and men fifty or sixty years old were dragged onto the ships. Sigh...”

“What were those old men and boys being taken for? Isn’t that just sending them to die?” Wei Wushi frowned.

In the Ming dynasty, the average lifespan was relatively low, and life was harsh. By fifty, most people were no longer capable of hard labor. For a man in his sixties to go to the battlefield was practically a death sentence.

“Our Jiujiang garrison should have more than five thousand men at full strength, yet only about three thousand boarded the ships, with just over two thousand able-bodied soldiers. That’s less than half the official number.”

Old Wei looked at his eldest son and said earnestly, “Remember this: the military households below don’t ask for much. As long as they have enough to eat, they can survive. If supplies are slightly short, they can still make it through. When something like this happens, even on the battlefield, the chance of survival is better if you still have men under your command.”

Wei Wencai nodded, understanding why his father had been giving some grain annually to the military households—those rations at least kept them from starving.

To them, the grain given out was just a small loss of silver.

At this point, Old Wei pursed his lips and looked at Wei Guangde, speaking with heavy heart: “Guangde, your brother is ruined. Back then, Master Sun said he was clever and had a chance at passing the imperial exams... Ah...”

“Father, why bring this up now? He’s fine,” Guangde said, confused why his father suddenly shifted the topic to him and declared his brother ruined.

“Do you know how much silver I signed for and pledged to bring back?” Old Wei didn’t hesitate to continue.

“The official documents said twelve hundred taels, but in reality, I only received five hundred, and fifty sets of armor—which I never saw a single piece of.”

“What? So they pocketed the other seven hundred taels? And even the armor?” Wei Wencai exclaimed in shock. Usually, they got at least half, so he expected around six hundred taels.

“You think otherwise? That’s why I hoped you could make something of yourself back then, pass the exams and come back with official rank...” Old Wei said slowly.