The wind rises at the end of the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 25
From the first year of Chongzhen to the sixth year of Chongzhen, there have been constant natural disasters in Shaanxi.

The scope of natural disasters has also continued to expand, gradually spreading from the original northern Shaanxi to the entire Shaanxi.

Years of natural disasters, the inaction of the imperial court, additional dispatch, layoffs, and arrears of wages made the civil uprising intensify.

The wars are endless, the flames of war are endless, the sky is full of smoke, and there is devastation everywhere.

Natural disasters, bandit disasters, and military famine, for so many years, Shaanxi has already been dilapidated and dilapidated.

Which of the ordinary people who are still alive is not suffering, but is struggling to survive at the bottom.

There have been no large-scale natural disasters in the past two years, and enough rain has finally fallen from the sky, and I can see that I can live again.

But... the rogues came again...

During the reign of Tianqi, the usual price of rice in Shaanxi was only around one or two stones, but now, it has more than tripled or quadrupled, and there is still a price but no market.

During the time of famine, the grain merchants hoarded the land, and the rich and powerful families took the opportunity to annex the land, buy slaves and accept maidservants.

Good fertile land can be sold for less money in a disaster year than ordinary fields. Two or three buckets of rice can buy a living person.

An's family gave out seven buckets of rice, enough to last for many days. Some people in the crowd were panting and a little moved.

Chen Gong led the horse across the steps, scanning the surrounding people, he was observing the expressions and movements of these people.

"When you become a battalion soldier, you will be paid two taels of silver per month, which is absolutely full and will not be deducted. Food and drink are provided in the army, and all the salary can be saved."

"There are rewards for killing thieves. After several years of fighting, it is not a problem to buy tens of acres of fertile land."

Chen Gong patted the Yanling Saber on his waist, his tone full of bewitching meaning.

What he said is actually true, but in fact it is not true.

Although there are salaries and rewards, although there are many rewards, they still need to spend their lives.

The war is imminent, and these refugees who have just recruited will not be training for a long time, and I am afraid they will have to fight against the rogues.

When the time comes to fight together, it will definitely be the front army, with someone from the middle and rear armies to supervise the battle. After a few battles, [-]% to [-]% will be killed or injured, or even one out of ten will survive.

The settling fee for those buckets of rice is the money to buy your life...

The commotion among the crowd began to grow gradually, but no one stepped forward, and many people were still worried.

A refugee with a slightly stooped back looked hesitant and raised his hand, attracting everyone's attention.

"Master, if you become a soldier, you have to fight. We are not afraid of war. If you are injured, disabled, or killed in the war, what will you do with the mother-in-law?"

The refugee spoke the Shaanxi dialect, which was a bit jerky and difficult to understand, but Chen Gong also went to Shaanxi with Cao Wenzhao to quell the chaos for a period of time, and he could speak some Shaanxi dialect.

"My chief general is the second-rank official in the court, Cao Wenzhao, the commander-in-chief of Datong. You should have heard of it, right?"

After Chen Gong's words fell, ripples were once again set off among the surrounding crowd, and there were buzzing voices all around in an instant.

Many people in Liaodong may not know who Cao Wenzhao is, but in Shaanxi, especially Guanzhong, almost everyone has heard of Cao Wenzhao's name.

Cao Wenzhao led the army to go through dozens of battles in Shaanxi, captured and killed dozens of thieves, and beheaded more than [-] thieves.

"Those thieves are too late to run when they see me, how dare they fight?"

"It's really forcing the real knife and gun to face each other. If you are injured or disabled, there will be a pension of Baiyin, and the pension will be ten taels."

"If there are children, the imperial court will be responsible for feeding them until they are 14 years old."

Chen Gong raised the corner of his mouth and smiled.

"Let me tell everyone first, I will only recruit 370 people, and I will not take it when the selection is full."

"Right now there are bandits all around, and the rogues are running around. If they stay outside the city, they might be killed if they encounter a rogue. If they don't kill them, the fields will be gone or there will be no food for several years of drought, so they can only suffer. hungry."

Chen Gong arched his hands and continued to encourage.

"Wouldn't it be nice to join the camp as a soldier, with a knife in your hand and food in your stomach, and grit your teeth to give him a future, and give him a wife and son, and return home rich and honored, wouldn't it be great?!"

"As long as you are a battalion soldier, the Lord Zhizhou has given permission. The mother-in-law and the baby can live in the city first, and the city will also give porridge."

Chen Gong's last words successfully caused the crowd to commotion.

"If you want to serve as a soldier and eat meat, you can come here and line up, and register your name one by one."

With one stroke of his whip, Chen Gong pointed to the square table that had just been set up beside him.

Chen Wang had already dismounted and sat behind the square table. Paper and pens were spread out on the table, and someone had already started grinding.

The characters used in the Ming Dynasty were not much different from the traditional characters of later generations, and Yuan himself knew a lot of characters. The number of Chens in Liaodong was not small, and they were considered to have a small amount of land.

So Chen Wang didn't bring out the paperwork, but prepared to register by himself, and he wanted to recruit this batch of soldiers himself.

"If you want to eat porridge and eat meat and enlist in the army, just line up, right here."

"If you don't have this idea, you will be gone. Don't disturb me and wait for the recruitment."

Chen Gong raised the horsewhip in his hand, swung it suddenly, and the horsewhip made a soft sound in the air, scaring everyone back.

Seeing that Chen Gong was in control of the situation, Chen Wang raised his hand and pressed it lightly. After the several cavalry behind him got the order, they all drove their horses, and waved their whips to drive away the surrounding people.

Then, a captain carrying a small flag led a group of soldiers to disperse, roughly drawing a passage.

All the refugees around them retreated a little in fear, not daring to gather around the cauldron anymore.

Chen Gong rode his horse back and returned behind Chen Wang.

Chen Wang sat behind the square table and looked at the crowd around him.

Soon, the first applicants appeared.

A refugee walked out from the crowd. He bowed his back slightly. Although there was fear on his face and he walked slowly, he still didn't stop, and walked up to Chen Wang.

Chen Wang's eyes swept over the person in front of him. The person who applied was ordinary-looking, dark-skinned, and thin, but his frame was quite large and his height was not low.

The man's eyes walked all the way, and most of the time he was looking at the cauldron in the center, obviously very hungry.

Walking in front of him, the refugee bent his back, lowered his head, swallowed a mouthful of saliva, and asked anxiously.

"Master Jun, I want to give it a try and see if I can be a soldier."

"What's your name?"

"Zhou Changshou"

"Is there anyone else at home?"

"It's gone. There is no one else in the family, and I am the only one left. A few years ago, my mother-in-law and children starved to death in the disaster."

Chen Wang knocked on the table in front of him.

"Stretch out your hand and place it on the table with your palm facing up"

Zhou Changshou didn't know why, but he still stretched out his hand.

Chen Wang glanced at Zhou Changshou's hand, then looked away, raised his pen and wrote Zhou Changshou's name on the paper and a wooden sign on the table.

"Remember one thing. In the future, when the Shangguan asks questions, you can say whatever you ask, and don't say anything extra."

Chen Wang said while writing, although Chen Wang was trying his best to be gentle, but Zhou Changshou was still so scared that he didn't dare to speak, but kept nodding his head.

Chen Wang picked up the wooden sign with his name written on it just now, moved it forward a little, and moved it to Zhou Changshou's hand.

"You passed, take the porridge with the soldier card, don't rub the words off."

(End of this chapter)