Chapter 56
While Yao Chunnuan is looking forward to the arrival of her family, she also has her own job to do.
Recently, the military settlement has been under construction and people are being recruited continuously. Although it is almost the end of the year, there is still a lot to do.
As the saying goes, good men don't join the army and good women don't marry men. It was at this time that the people came to the fore. Because of the cold winter, there were many people who lacked food and water and cold-resistant supplies. In order to survive the winter smoothly and not starve to death or freeze to death, they were able to successfully recruit so many people.
Meng Yi was recruiting soldiers with great enthusiasm, but was suddenly stopped.
He was at a loss as to what to do, so he asked his men to continue recruiting soldiers, while he himself rushed back in a hurry. The warehouse manager happened to be complaining to the general and his men in the general's mansion. Yu Chen and Yao Chunnuan, as the first and second in command of the shogunate, were naturally there.
When Meng Yi asked, he found out that it was the warehouse that suggested stopping the work.
"Old Cai, what's wrong with you?"
Manager Cai said with a bitter face, "I don't want to either, but don't you think about how many people we've hired recently? And how much the daily expenses are. With 26,800 new people, the pressure on the warehouse supplies is huge. Anyway, I've made arrangements. If we hire more people, we'll have to use up the inventory. Part of this inventory is the food to be distributed after the spring, as well as emergency reserves."
Meng Yi was silent for a while, then asked his colleague, "Have we recruited so many people?"
"Indeed, we have. We started recruiting soldiers on the winter solstice and have recruited over 26,800 people in total, including 8,600 new soldiers and nearly 17,000 family members."
Suddenly, there were twenty to thirty thousand more mouths to feed. If it weren't for the seizure of several warehouses belonging to Marshal Zhu and his subordinates, they would have been unable to support themselves. Even so, the pressure on the military settlements was enormous. In short, the landlords had no more food left.
Meng Yi scratched his head, it seemed like they had taken in too many people at once?
Chief Steward Cai continued to complain, "Food is secondary. The shortage isn't significant yet. The key is the winter supplies. We've already run out of them."
Hearing that there was no problem with food, Meng Yi became energetic again, "There are few cold-resistant supplies. You should distribute less according to the situation. For example, if there are four or five people in a family, wouldn't it be enough to give them three or four quilts and two sets of winter clothes? There is not much work to do in winter anyway, and only half of the people need to go out to work, so there is no need to give all the winter clothes." Those who work can wear winter clothes, and the other half can stay at home.
Chief Steward Cai said aggrievedly, "That's how we distribute it. That's secondary. The key is that many of these families have come all the way here, suffering from hunger and cold, so many have caught colds. We can't give out any less winter supplies."
Everyone present understood what he meant. If the shortage of winter supplies could not be resolved, no more recruits could be recruited. Otherwise, if the food they ate now exceeded the limit of their military garrisons, they would have to spit it out later.
Hearing this, Meng Yi hurriedly said, "General, Chief Cai, and everyone else, you don't know that the soldiers we recruited are all good soldiers. They are a bit of a burden now, but we can't lay them off. Moreover, many of them were snatched from the Yichun camp. It can be said that we snatched food from the tiger's mouth."
And you're still trying to snatch food from a tiger's mouth? Were we unaware that the people in Yichun Camp were so pissed off by you that they wished you were dead on the spot.
Jokes aside, they have to admit that recruiting soldiers is indeed not easy.
Yao Chunnuan had always believed that the foundation of a region's power lay in its population. Especially recently, after gaining a comprehensive understanding of Daliang, she felt even more strongly that strengthening her own strength was crucial.
Daliang, from the very name it sounds, doesn't suggest a dynasty that would pioneer and prosper. Indeed, the current emperor is a status quo lord. Daliang was quite weak, far inferior to the Qin, Han, Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties.
Through his close contact with military officials, Yao Chunnuan learned that Daliang's territory was only three-quarters of what it would be in later times. With the exception of the east, south, west, and north, the other three directions were largely occupied. For example, Yichun, located northeast of Daliang, was home to the Diluo tribe, the most powerful of the foreign tribes. They had ambitions to move south, and would occasionally attempt to invade.
Looking at the map, Daliang looks like a rooster that has lost two pounds, especially its back, which is the north. It has been severely eroded by the Jurchens and moved southward to the heartland of the Central Plains. The whole rooster looks like a piece of it has been dug out, and it is so thin and deformed.
In this way, the Third Prince also transferred the general, a fierce general who fought against the Jurchens, away from the northern border. He was really willful. If the Jurchens learned of the transfer order, they would probably party all night long.
Yao Chunnuan also admired him. He was indeed a man who didn't feel bad about selling his father's land. In order to hold power and be the master of the family, he really didn't care about gains and losses. As long as he could be the master of the family, what was the difference between a family of ten acres and a family of eight acres?
But if the country is weak, its neighbors will rise up and there will be no shortage of wars.
The original military settlement population consisted of 6,000 elite soldiers brought by the generals. The remainder consisted of soldiers stationed in the fields and their families, numbering approximately 20,000. There were also between 3,000 and 4,000 prisoners and forced laborers. The Yichun military settlement and the main camp were originally integrated, and the 30,000 military settlement population accounted for about three-tenths of the total. This meant that the Yichun main camp had 60,000 to 70,000 pure soldiers. Even so, this year the Yichun main camp was not shy about recruiting new blood.
Their Yichun military settlement could not fall behind. Yao Chunnuan felt that they should not only try their best to absorb the 20,000 to 30,000 people who came in, but also continue to absorb new people if possible.
Therefore, when problems arise, they must be solved, rather than throwing the baby out with the bathwater. As long as they can safely survive this winter, after the spring, these people can either be converted into soldiers or laborers. It really is a great deal.
"General, how about letting me lead the troops to attack a few more strongholds?" A general suggested and was eager to try.
Everyone was speechless. "What's your army's reputation in Yichun and the surrounding areas? Don't you have any idea?" They're simply shutting down their strongholds and refusing to leave, apparently because they're afraid of you. "You still want to pick a few strongholds? I doubt you'll be able to pick any."
Yao Chunnuan said, "I think we should continue to recruit soldiers. General Meng is right. This is a rare opportunity. Besides, the soldiers in our military garrison are still a little short. The elite soldiers plus the new recruits only total a little over 10,000. You know, there are 60,000 to 70,000 soldiers in the Yichun camp. We have been tricking Marshal Zhu for a while, and we don't know when he will come back. If the strength gap between the two sides is too big, we will be in a passive position." On this point, she stood on Meng Yi's side.
Meng Yi said happily, "Master Yao, you said it very well. That's exactly what I thought."
Chief Steward Cai still shook his head and said, "Master Yao, that's true, but I really can't solve the problem of winter supplies." His job is too difficult.
"I'll take care of it."
Everyone present looked at her when they heard this.
Chief Steward Cai excitedly asked, "Master Yao, you said you can solve the shortage of winter supplies?" If that were true, it would mean he had a large supply ready for storage. He had a problem with amassing supplies; he was delighted whenever they arrived at his warehouse. His colleagues often joked that he must be the reincarnation of a Pixiu. The generals and the others had no idea how much he'd felt these days watching the supplies being carried out of the warehouse one by one. He felt his heart bleed.
Meng Yi asked her with shining eyes, "Did you find another private vault of Marshal Zhu?"
Seeing everyone present looking at her with lively expressions, Yao Chunnuan was speechless. "You're overthinking it. We need to find other ways to solve the problem of cold-weather supplies shortage. Besides, how could Marshal Zhu's private vault be so easy to discover?"
Meng Yi disagreed, "You still have to have dreams. What if one day you discover one of his private vaults?" "Isn't that how the first one came about?"
Yao Chunnuan glanced at him and said, "You're dreaming."
Didn't they discover another secret vault of Zhu Dashu? For a moment, everyone didn't know whether to be disappointed or relieved. Because if they really found Zhu Dashu's second secret vault, they really didn't know whether they should borrow it again. Ahem, mainly because they were worried that Zhu Dashu would not be able to bear the loss and directly overturn the table.
Chief Steward Cai and Meng Yi quickly asked her how she was going to solve the problem of shortage of cold-resistant supplies. The former really didn't want the supplies in his warehouse to become less and less, while the latter thought that after solving this problem, he would be able to recruit soldiers happily again.
Yao Chunnuan didn't beat around the bush and told them directly. Solving the problem of a shortage of winter supplies wasn't difficult; her solution was a simple one: build a kang (a heated kang) in the house.
For some unknown reason, when the dynasty reached Daliang, the "fire kang" (a traditional Chinese kang) hadn't even been invented yet. Coincidentally, the new barracks were completed, and the family quarters needed to be expanded. She simply ordered a fire kang to be added to the newly constructed family quarters. Unfortunately, being from the south, she had only seen the fire kang online. She understood its principle, but not how to build one. However, these could be handed over to the craftsmen. With a few experiments, it shouldn't be difficult to create one.
Everyone was puzzled, what is a kang?
Yao Chunnuan briefly explained to them how to set up the kang and the principles of heating.
The general immediately made the decision and asked Chief Steward Wu to arrange for craftsmen to give it a try, with Yao Chunnuan assisting.
*******
During this period, soldiers brought new people into the military settlement every day.
The chimneys of the several large kitchens in the military settlement were constantly lit. As more and more people were sent in, three or four more kitchens were built to make up the difference. The fires in the large kitchen stoves were rarely extinguished during the day, providing porridge and rice soup at any time.
At this moment, too, the thick, thick rice porridge in the large pot exuded a delicate aroma, the fragrance even wafting out from the large kitchen. Pots of cooked rice porridge were poured into clean wooden barrels, then carried by the kitchen staff to the dining area, where the women working there distributed it to the newcomers to the military settlement.
All of these newcomers had come to the military settlement because of lack of food and water and the difficulty of finding a job. People who had been starving for a long time were not suited to overeating meat and fish, so a bowl of thick rice porridge was the best choice. After swallowing the hot rice porridge, the stomach immediately felt warm and comfortable!
There was a group of about ten people, lined up behind the porridge line. They looked like a family, their features somewhat similar. They included both the old and the young, and none of them looked healthy. The young and strong were also tall and thin, with either a sickly look or a pale complexion. One of the young men had a limp and was supported by his brother as they waited.
Some of them were looking around while queuing, very curious.
Seeing this, the soldier who was maintaining order here asked his leader to go into the kitchen and bring out a stool for them.
The family got the stool and expressed their gratitude quickly.
The Order Soldier waved his hand and smiled, "You're welcome. Are these young men from your family going to join the new recruits camp in the future?"
Old Man Qi nodded repeatedly and said, "Yes, all four of my boys will go to the recruit camp." This has already been agreed upon.
"It's good. These four guys look very energetic." The order soldier pointed at the lame young man and said, "Uncle, is this your nephew or son? His leg looks like it's newly lame, right?"
This family looked like refugees, their clothes ragged and weathered. The young man's feet were wrapped in a clean cloth. It was hard to believe they were caring for the injured under such circumstances. It was clear they valued their family. So, he didn't mind giving them a few more pointers.
"Yes, it was sold at a discount more than half a month ago." Speaking of this, the whole family became depressed.
"Is that so? Then, after you get the porridge and settle him down, take him to the military doctors. Perhaps the old doctors can find a way to cure him."
The whole family was excited when they heard this.
"Are you serious? Can the military doctors here really heal my son's leg?"
The lame young man's eyes also lit up.
The Order Soldier scratched his head. "I'm not sure about that. You'll have to ask the military doctor yourself. But I know there was a patient who injured his leg and was limping. He's been cured."
"It would be great if they could really cure my son's leg. No, we have to go find a military doctor right now!"
"Don't be in a hurry. There are six or seven people ahead of you who will soon get porridge. Eat something first to fill your stomach before you go."
"Oh, that's true. Then we'll wait a bit before going. Thank you so much, brother."
"You're welcome. We're comrades from now on. It's just a small favor for me." After saying this, the order soldier returned to his previous post.
The Qi family sighed softly, "Hey, the soldiers in this military settlement are pretty good."
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