Chapter 161: Su Xiaoxiao's influence
The complainer thought he had hit a wall and was doomed, so he knelt on the ground like a frost-bitten eggplant and waited for his fate.
Hearing the emperor's question, he became more energetic and said, "Don't mention it, Your Majesty. General Su has circled the city three times and has not recruited a single person. Do you think he has brought shame to our Dashuo?"
The emperor felt depressed. Are the people of Dashuo so greedy and afraid of death? If so, there is no need to fight this war. Just surrender. Why recruit soldiers?
Su Bowen looked at the empty training ground, and his confidence gradually disappeared. Is it true that no one is willing to come? Is there really no man of blood in Dashuo?
Suddenly, Xu Li's excited voice was heard: "General, General, someone is coming!"
Su Bowen looked up and saw a dark-skinned, strong man dressed as a hunter looking around at the door.
"General, this guy is obviously a good candidate!" Xu Li hurried over and Su Bowen followed.
The hunter looked at the two majestic generals in front of him in confusion and asked, "Excuse me, is this where we recruit soldiers?"
Xu Li said enthusiastically, "Yes, here. Once you join, you will be given 20 taels of silver per day as a settlement allowance. In the future, the court will allocate 1 tael of silver to your family every month!"
The hunter obviously didn't listen and continued to ask, "If I join the army here, do I have to work for Princess Anle's father?"
Xu Li was afraid that the only person would run away. , pointing at Su Bowen, saying: "That's right, our General Su is the father of Princess Anle."
The hunter heard this and knelt down solemnly in front of Su Bowen: "General Su, I, Zhuang Dali, thank you and the princess for giving me a new life. I am willing to follow you and ask you to take me in!"
Su Bowen helped Zhuang Dali up in confusion and asked about the reason. He then learned that Xiaoxiao not only saved her abducted son, but also that his daughter was miraculously healed after seeing Xiaoxiao.
Zhuang Dali was obviously a good hunter, just the kind of person he wanted, and Su Bowen readily agreed.
Zhuang Dali looked at Su Bowen innocently and asked hesitantly, "I brought some brothers with me. Can you take a look at them?"
Before Su Bowen could speak, Xu Li immediately said, "Why don't you invite the brothers in?"
Zhuang Dali waved his hand outside the house and said, "Brothers, it's General Su. Come in!"
As soon as he finished speaking, a dozen rough men of the same age as Zhuang Dali walked in.
Not to mention Xu Li, even Su Bowen felt that he had found a treasure. These were hunters who had been hunting for many years. Ordinary veterans could not compare to them, let alone the inexperienced recruits.
Su Bowen bowed and said, "
My name is Su Bowen. Thank you for being willing to fight alongside me and kill the enemy. However, this journey is dangerous, and I must inform you in advance." Someone behind Zhuang Dali asked, "General Su, will you give me ten taels of silver in one lump sum, and give my family one tael of silver every month in the future?"
Xu Li was afraid that Su Bowen would scare everyone away by saying this, so he quickly explained, "It's like this. The one tael of silver every month is enough for three years. After all, there is no mercy on the battlefield. If, unfortunately, they die on the battlefield, this one or two taels of silver will continue to be issued until the deceased's parents pass away and the children grow up. "
The man shouted: "Okay, since the wife, children and parents at home are settled, it doesn't matter if they die. The princess went deep into the tiger's den to save our children at a young age. We can't be greedy and afraid of death! General Su, count me in."
Everyone rushed to sign up and received the silver as promised. Su Bobowen asked them to settle their families first and report back in three days.
The deadline for conscription is three days. He wanted to wait a little longer. If there were no other people, he would take a few dozen hunters to the western border.
Before Zhuang Da left them far, several thin and sneaky people were looking at the door.
How could Xu Li miss any opportunity? Being a little thinner is fine, it's better than nothing!
He hurriedly greeted them with a smile on his face: "Are you guys serious about this? Once you are hired, you will get ten taels of silver, and one tael every month in the future."
This is their greatest confidence, Xu Li had to repeat it over and over again.
The leader hesitated and said: "Sir, do you want to recruit people with criminal records?"
Xu Li's face changed. Although they are short of people, they will definitely not recruit the most treacherous and evil people.
"What have you done?" Xu Li's expression was obviously not as good as before.
"We are pickpockets!" The man lowered his head, and he already had the answer in his mind that people don't welcome them.
Su Bowen looked at several people: "Asking, why do you want to join the army."
The man said: "My name is Xiaoliu, and I'm an orphan. No one has taken care of me since I was a child. I lived in a dilapidated temple in the western suburbs, and there I got to know these brothers who were also orphans. In order to fill my stomach, I started stealing. There were always some unwanted children thrown into the dilapidated temples, so I took them to steal, otherwise we would have no food to eat."
"Our general asks you why you want to join the army!" Xu Li was a little impatient.
Xiao Liu said, "Hasn't Madam Zhao been distributing porridge regularly since Princess Anle was born? As long as the children have food to eat, I won't take them to steal. Not long ago, the emperor opened a charity hall and all those children were placed in the charity hall. We secretly went to see them. They are well fed and well clothed, and they can also learn skills and learn to read. It's better than following us. The children have learned well, and we don't want to do that shameful business anymore. General Su, please accept us!"
After hearing this, Xu Li was ashamed of his rudeness. Although these people were thieves, they were thinking about the homeless children with no relatives or friends. What qualifications did he have to look down on them?
Several people behind him also said, "General Su, please accept us. We don't need money, just give us delicious food."
Su Bowen was also deeply moved. Even the pickpocket had this realization, but those pampered nobles only wanted to surrender.
He patted Xiaoliu on the shoulder and said, "Xiaoliu, you may not know that we are facing a puppet army, which is extremely ferocious and we may never come back!"
"General Su, you are not afraid. They are just homeless people who can feed the whole family. It's no big deal if they die! If it weren't for Madam Zhao's porridge, we would have frozen to death in the winter and we wouldn't be here today. If we really died in the battlefield, it would be a worthy death and it would clear our names!" After Xiaoliu
finished speaking, everyone else said together, "Yes, we have no regrets in dying!"
Xu Li, a seven-foot-tall man, was moved to tears by them. He felt that he was a piece of shit and had no right to look down on these people.
Su Bowen had mixed feelings. All the people who came today had received favors from Xiaoxiao, and that charity hall was also built with the money confiscated from Liu Wuliang.
How many more surprises will Xiaoxiao give her?