At the city gate stood a group of soldiers and yamen clerks, the former maintaining order and the latter collecting commercial taxes from merchants bringing goods into the city.
"Young Master Wang, it has been many days, yet you remain as handsome and spirited as ever." The squad leader bared a mouthful of large yellow teeth and clasped his hands in greeting, offering auspicious words.
Wang Yan chuckled and reached out to thump the man's chest. "It's been many days, and you still don't look like a proper soldier. Though you've certainly learned how to talk."
"I'm a garrison soldier. How could I compare to the Imperial Army? As long as raising this saber scares people off, that's enough. It's not like I'm one of those poor bastards risking my life up north. Life is pretty good here."
The junior officer looked entirely unconcerned, still grinning.
What he said was quite true. Though garrison soldiers were local troops and their main duties often involved construction work, money still had to be spent to support them. Being an ordinary soldier might not amount to much, but reaching the rank of a low-level officer like this made life relatively comfortable. There was no big money, but enough small money to spend. They could eat meat every two or three days, drink at every meal, and generally fill their stomachs.
The Great Song had its "three excesses and two accumulations"—excess troops and excess expenditures among them—and officers at this level accounted for both.
Wang Yan smiled and had Little Pillar take out a piece of loose silver. "Buy the brothers a drink."
"Thank you for the reward, Young Master Wang." The junior officer accepted the silver, still flashing those big yellow teeth.
Watching Wang Yan nod to them before strolling away with his