8: Chapter 8 Seizures and Reputation

The inventory of items seized from the Nanshan bandit suppression was delivered to Li Ling's desk the next day.

Li Ling picked up the list, took one look, and his eyes widened.

Silver: 380,000 taels.

Gold: 12,000 taels.

Copper coins: Countless.

Grain: 2,000 shi.

Various valuable items, jewelry, and calligraphy and paintings filled five large crates.

"This group of bandits really knew how to rob," Li Ling clicked his tongue in amazement.

"Host, most of these assets were stolen by the bandits from the common people, with a small portion obtained through smuggling and collecting protection money," the System explained.

"I know," Li Ling put down the list. "We cannot keep all this money. Take out 100,000 taels of silver and distribute it to the common people who were harmed by the bandits. The rest will be used for military expenses."

"By doing this, Host, you can soothe the public sentiment and establish prestige—killing two birds with one stone."

"It's not just two birds with one stone, it's many," Li Ling smiled. "Once the common people receive the money, they will remember my kindness. If they remember my kindness, they will support me. If they support me, my influence will grow. As my influence grows, I can do more things. Isn't this a virtuous cycle?"

"The System suggests that the Host institutionalize this strategy to form a long-term mechanism."

"No rush, let's handle the matters at hand first."

Li Ling summoned several officers and instructed them to distribute relief silver to every household according to the previously compiled list of victimized commoners.

The most given was fifty taels, and the least was five taels.

As the news spread, the entire southern region was abuzz.

"Young Master Li wiped out the bandits and is even giving us silver!"

"Heaven has opened its eyes; a good official has finally arrived!"

"Not a good official, but a good General! Young Master Li is a General who leads troops!"

Li Ling's reputation upgraded from "Young Hero Li" to "General Li."

The common people even composed a jingle: "The Nanshan bandits were fierce and evil, General Li arrived and wiped out their nest. He suppressed the bandits without losing a single soldier, and even gave the common people silver coins."

Li Ling couldn't help but laugh bitterly when he heard these jingles.

"System, why do I feel like a character from a storytelling performance?"

"Host, in an era where information is not easily accessible, word-of-mouth is the primary method of dissemination. Although these jingles are exaggerated, they are very helpful in boosting your prestige."

"That is true," Li Ling rubbed his chin. "However, I quite like the title 'General Li'."

While distributing the relief silver, Li Ling did something that no one expected—he had a portion of the seized grain sent to several large grain merchants in the city to be sold at a fair price.

"What is Young Master Li doing? Why not keep the grain for himself, but instead give it to grain merchants to sell?"

"Don't you understand? This is called stabilizing grain prices. Young Master Li is releasing the grain; with more grain on the market, the price will drop. Then we poor people will be able to afford grain."

"Young Master Li is truly a great philanthropist!"

Li Ling just smiled when he heard these discussions.

Of course, he was no great philanthropist; he simply understood one principle: where the hearts of the people go, victory follows.

In this chaotic world, if you want to accomplish great things, military force alone is not enough; you also need the support of the people.

And the support of the people is not something shouted out through slogans; it is earned through concrete actions.

Seven days after the bandit suppression, Li Ling received an unexpected invitation.

The inviter was a representative of the local gentry, an old scholar surnamed Wang.

"General Li, you wiped out the Nanshan bandits and rid the area of a scourge; we gentry are immensely grateful. Tomorrow evening, we will host a banquet at the Hongbin Restaurant in the city to celebrate your success. We humbly request your presence."

Li Ling originally wanted to refuse, but then he thought that these gentry had operated in the area for generations, and their influence was deeply rooted. If he could gain their support, it would be of great benefit to future development.

"Very well, I will go."

The next evening, Li Ling put on his military uniform, took two guards, and rode to the Hongbin Restaurant.

Hongbin Restaurant was the largest restaurant in the city, a three-story building with carved beams and painted pillars, looking quite grand.

When Li Ling arrived, a line of people was already standing at the entrance—all prominent gentry and merchants in the city.

Scholar Wang stepped forward, smiling from ear to ear: "General Li, please, please, please, let us go upstairs."

The banquet was set in the largest private room on the third floor, with a table full of a dozen people.

Li Ling was invited to sit in the main seat, with Scholar Wang and another wealthy merchant surnamed Chen on his left and right.

After three rounds of drinks and tasting the dishes, Scholar Wang stood up and raised his glass: "General Li, on behalf of the local gentry, I toast you. You wiped out the Nanshan bandits, a deed of immeasurable merit; we are immensely grateful!"

Everyone raised their glasses one after another.

Li Ling stood up and returned the toast: "You are all too kind. Bandit suppression is my duty, not worth such a grand display. It is actually you who have contributed so much to the local development over the years; I, Li, should be the one to toast you."

These words made the gentry feel comfortable, and the atmosphere became even more lively.

During the banquet, the merchant surnamed Chen leaned into Li Ling's ear and whispered: "General Li, I have a request. I heard you have a batch of new-style weapons; could you sell some to our firm? Our firm's transport teams are often harassed by bandits and need some weapons for self-defense."

Li Ling glanced at him and smiled slightly.

"Boss Chen, let's talk about the weapons in private."

After the banquet ended, Li Ling kept Boss Chen behind.

"Boss Chen, what kind of weapons do you want?"

"Rifles, preferably the repeating kind." Boss Chen's eyes lit up. "We have over a dozen warehouses outside the city that need guarding. What we use now are old-fashioned bird guns, which are completely useless."

Li Ling thought for a moment; the Production Base produced 100 rifles daily, and currently, there was a stockpile of 500 rifles.

Selling a portion would both make money and strengthen ties with these merchants.

"Very well. Each rifle, including one hundred rounds of ammunition, will be 150 taels of silver."

Boss Chen gasped: "150 taels? Isn't that too expensive?"

"Boss Chen, this is a new-style German rifle—repeating, fast rate of fire, high precision. 150 taels is already a friendly price. If you go to the black market, it would be at least 200 taels."

Boss Chen gritted his teeth: "Fine, I'll take fifty."

"Deal."

One transaction, 7,500 taels of silver secured.

Li Ling returned to the barracks to settle accounts with the System.

"System, what is the cost of one rifle?"

"After deducting the 30x speed bonus and 1/30 resource consumption of the Production Base, the actual cost is about 2 taels of silver."

Li Ling almost laughed out loud.

Cost 2 taels, sold for 150 taels—a profit margin of seventy-five times! This business is even more profitable than drug trafficking!

"System, does this count as war profiteering?"

"Host, please do not have any moral burden. You are selling self-defense weapons, not weapons of aggression. Moreover, these weapons are sold to merchant caravans. With self-defense capabilities, the bandits will not dare to rob them, and the common people's goods can be safely transported everywhere, which is beneficial to economic development."

"Are you making excuses for me?"

"The System is merely stating facts."

"Fine, then I will earn this money with a clear conscience."