sovbooks Chapter 12 A Town of Ten Thousand People Under the New Military System
Chapter 12 A Town of Ten Thousand People Under the New Military System
The former prosperity of Linqing Prefecture had long since vanished with the approaching invasion of the Jurchens.
Today, the residents of Linqing City are local people, wealthy families who have fled the disaster, and officials of all ranks who have remained here.
Without local connections or financial resources, the boatmen and displaced farmers could only camp and live outside the city.
Speaking of which, a few days ago when Chongzhen led his army to Linqing, the refugees and laborers outside the city who were unaware of the situation scattered and fled, all thinking that the Jurchen army had come to attack.
However, as soon as the Ming army raised their banners, the scattered refugees quickly returned to their temporary camp huts.
This is not to say that they are different from the people in other places, and that they are not afraid of the arrival of the Ming army.
Instead, there is nowhere left to escape to around Linqing. People who live nearby have all crowded into Linqing, while those who live in more remote areas have either gone to nearby prefectures and counties or taken their families into the mountains to escape the disaster.
Poor laborers and displaced farmers like them, who had no choice but to rely on Linqing for survival, could only stay and endure it.
With Ming troops camped outside the city to provide protection, they could at least feel more at ease. As for whether this Ming army would plunder them, that was up to fate.
Fortunately, this time they encountered the Guan Ning Army, which not only received full pay but also several months' salary and bonuses.
In addition, Emperor Chongzhen provided ample meat supplies to the Guan Ning Army troops outside the city, so these fierce soldiers did not harass the refugees and civilians outside the city.
Ultimately, they were well-fed, with silver flowing in their hands and plenty of meat, so maintaining military discipline was just a matter of a word from Emperor Chongzhen.
Besides, the laborers and refugees outside the city are obviously poor people who can't be robbed out of much money. Why risk displeasing His Majesty by making things difficult for these poor people?
So the terrified refugees waited for two days, but instead of being plundered by the soldiers, they received a lot of grain as a reward because the soldiers asked them to help carry supplies and gather firewood.
To their even greater surprise, the "high-ranking official" who had settled in Linqing City later sent people outside the city to cook porridge and provide relief, and also wanted to recruit people from among them to work.
All those with skills were summoned to the city to work and receive rewards. Not only that, they were also allowed to bring their families to live in the city.
Among them, doctors and blacksmiths were the most sought-after. After the people recruiting in the city verified their skills on the spot, they immediately gave them a settlement allowance and brought them into the city.
Those who were not selected were filled with envy and regretted not having considered becoming a healer or blacksmith.
However, losing the election does not mean they have no way out.
The city's high-ranking officials distributed grain and rice, and every day from day to night, they recruited people to dig trenches outside the city, lay barricades and traps, and demolish existing houses outside the city to build defensive fortifications.
The refugees responded enthusiastically to the call to sign up and worked hard to provide food for their families.
It was at this time that recruitment banners were raised in large numbers in various refugee camps.
"The new army is recruiting!"
Any clean-cut man aged 16 to 35 with no criminal record or bad conduct is welcome to enlist in the army.
The new army provides free food and lodging, three meals a day, two sets of regular uniforms per year, and a monthly salary of three taels of silver, with no delays or deductions. The benefits are excellent!
Those who are physically strong will be given priority, and those who are literate will be given even more preference. They must have a fellow villager as a guarantor. Those who successfully register on-site will receive three bushels of grain as a subsidy for their household expenses.
New recruits can also bring their families to live in the city.
Limited spots available, sign up now!
After the eloquent clerks and peddlers finished explaining the benefits and enrollment requirements for the new army, the able-bodied laborers and farmers who had finished a day's work in the various camps immediately erupted in excitement!
Three meals a day, all you can eat?
He was paid three taels of silver per month, with no deductions allowed.
Can those who successfully enlist bring their families to live in the city?
Even if only one of these three preferential conditions were fulfilled, let alone if they were fulfilled together, these impoverished farmers would still fight tooth and nail to sign up for the army!
For a time, the recruitment offices in the various refugee camps were packed with people, creating a lively and bustling scene.
However, as these recruiting clerks and merchants left the city, the new army soldiers also had ways to maintain order.
They stood tall and proud, wearing fine cotton armor and wielding wooden sticks. They beat the disobedient young refugees into begging for mercy, running away in terror. They looked incredibly imposing.
"Follow the rules! You son of a bitch, you're not following the rules!"
"Line up! One at a time! Everyone line up!"
"Anyone who dares to push their way in will get a beating!"
"Hey, you little brat, you dare to push your way in? Stop right there and take this!"
At each recruitment point, it took a lot of crying and wailing before a queue could be formed.
At that moment, Emperor Chongzhen, who was personally watching the lively conscription scene from the city wall, smiled and nodded repeatedly.
The laborers who used to work hard in the vicinity of Linqing and the young and strong farmers who fled are now all in these large camps.
There are tens of thousands of honest and able-bodied men available. They usually gather outside the city and neither cause trouble nor band together to rob other people. They are truly a rare and excellent source of soldiers.
Now they will select 10,000 strong, honest and obedient young men from these tens of thousands of displaced youths to enlist in the army.
With time and rigorous training, they will surely become a formidable force!
"Do we really intend to recruit ten thousand men, Your Majesty? We're about to engage the Jurchens in battle, and these new recruits are unlikely to be of much use."
Huang Degong, who had been promoted to "Zhentai", was both happy and worried as he looked at the bustling recruitment scene below the city.
As a soldier, who wouldn't want to be promoted, make money, and command a large army?
However, given the current urgent situation, there is simply no time to train the troops. Huang Degong is genuinely worried that these new recruits will become a burden on the army's operations.
When Emperor Chongzhen heard Huang Degong's words, he smiled and waved his hand.
"Hushan (Huang Degong's courtesy name) is mistaken. The expansion of the new army is inevitable. It's just a matter of whether it's done sooner or later. Moreover, I have no intention of relying on newly recruited soldiers to fight against the Jurchens."
Now Dorgon is hesitant and indecisive. What do you think he will think when he arrives at the walls of Linqing and sees 20,000 defenders on the walls and 8,000 cavalry below?
Huang Degong was taken aback upon hearing this, then suddenly realized.
"Your Majesty is wise! I see... I was foolish. This is a psychological tactic. We don't necessarily have to fight the Jurchens to the death again. We just need to make them think that we have a large army and are not easy to defeat."
Emperor Chongzhen nodded again, pondering the matter in his mind.
With this expansion, the new army will have 15,000 men. The Imperial Guard Iron Cavalry and the Tiger Guard Heavy Armor Battalion will be separated from the new army and will be personally led by him.
The Imperial Guard will also be separated and merged with the Firearms Battalion. The number of personnel can be expanded to more than 2,000 people in "One Battalion", with firearms training as the main focus.
Huang Degong and Zhou Yuji were appointed as the commander and deputy commander of the town, which had a population of 10,000. They were also given a brigade of 5,000 soldiers each.
In this way, his new army was formed.