Chapter 406: Win-win

The sudden good thing made the beggars a little confused.

Yu Cheng turned to look at the other beggars and asked them, "Do those kids often bully you?"

The beggars shook their heads and explained the reason.

After listening, Yu Cheng's expression was solemn.

For a piece of cake, he was willing to be chased and beaten. How sad it was.

Yu Cheng sighed and asked them if there was any food nearby.

A piece of cake, how could it be enough for them to eat. Since he met them, he should at least give them a full meal.

The beggars said, "Yes, it's just in front. Turn from there and walk a little further, there will be a noodle stall and a bun shop."

They just came from there, and the buns smelled delicious.

Seeing the bright desire in the beggars' eyes, Yu Cheng said, "Lead the way."

The beggars followed his instructions and walked in front, leading Yu Cheng and his party to the noodle stall and the steamed bun shop.

The two stalls were next to each other, and the curling white smoke and the lingering aroma mixed together, tempting people to swallow their saliva.

The boss who was cooking noodles saw the beggars coming again, and when he was about to rush them away with an unhappy look on his face, he saw Yu Cheng and others behind them.

"Sit down." Yu Cheng asked the beggars to sit around the table and said to the boss, "Cook a bowl of noodles for each of them."

"Hey, okay." The boss responded repeatedly and got busy quickly.

While waiting, Yu Cheng asked his bodyguard Yang Quan to go to the steamed bun shop next door and buy two baskets of steamed buns for the beggars to eat first.

The beggars were ecstatic, and they rushed to grab the buns, not afraid of the hotness, and ate them in big mouthfuls.

Soon, the noodles were cooked, and bowls of them were brought to the table in front of them.

The beggars picked up their chopsticks and ate them with slurps. After eating, they even drank the noodle soup, and even licked the soup on the edge of the bowl with their tongues.

The boss frowned when he saw them eating, worried that other diners would not want to use that bowl.

But the business came, and it was brought by the military officer, so he didn't dare to refuse. The boss sighed and could only blame himself for his bad luck.

After eating a bowl of hot soup noodles, not only did his stomach fill up, but his body also warmed up. The beggars put down their bowls and looked at Yu Cheng with gratitude.

Only the little beggar wrapped in a cloak held the bowl tightly and asked cautiously: "Can I have this bowl?"

The noble said that he would compensate him with a new bowl, but it was New Year's Day and the grocery stores were closed, so he couldn't buy one at all.

He thought this bowl was very good. Although it was a little old, it didn't have any cracks and was much better than his previous broken bowl.

"Okay." Yu Cheng responded solemnly and bought the bowl with the boss.

The boss's eyes lit up, and after some discussion, he sold all the bowls used by the beggars to Yu Cheng at a low price.

Yu Cheng didn't think much about it, and gave them all to the beggar after buying them.

Afterwards, Yu Cheng got up and continued to patrol the people's sentiments.

After walking two streets, Yang Quan stepped forward and whispered a few words.

Yu Cheng paused and turned around, and as expected, he saw the beggars following him from a distance. Seeing him looking over, they looked panicked and nervous, as if they had done something wrong.

Yu Cheng frowned helplessly and waved for them to come forward.

When they got closer, Yu Cheng asked them, "Why are you following us?"

The beggars said tremblingly, "We... want to follow you."

"I know you are generals, and we also want to join the army."

Yu Cheng said, "You are still too young."

The beggars said anxiously, "We will grow up soon. I am thirteen years old and he is twelve... We are just short. But we are nimble and can do other work first. When we grow up, we can go to the

battlefield to kill the enemy." "Besides, we don't want money, we just want to have food to eat. Please accept us!"

After the beggars said this, they knelt down and begged with their eyes full of hope.

Although joining the army carries the risk of dying in battle, at least they can have a full meal, which is better than dying of hunger without food.

Yu Cheng lowered his eyes and looked at the beggars kneeling in the snow, his expression sad and relaxed. Finally, he agreed.

The beggars were overjoyed and were about to kowtow to express their gratitude when they were interrupted by someone's cold voice.

"Your Highness, no."

A general frowned and said, "They are too young and too weak. It would be a burden for them to stay in the army."

When the beggars heard this, their hearts, which had just been excited, turned cold again.

"But they are also the people of Dazhao." Yu Cheng looked at the general and said clearly: "We defend the border, isn't it to protect the mountains and rivers of Dazhao and the people's peace?"

"If we just watch them freeze to death or starve to death, what's the point of defending?"

The general opened his mouth, but couldn't answer.

Finally, the general sighed and said: "Your Highness, it's not that I'm cruel, but there are thousands of beggars in the city, and I can't take care of them at all. Even if I want to, I don't have the strength."

After a brief thought, Yu Cheng pursed his lips and said: "Then set a threshold, only those who are diligent and willing to work, and those who are lazy and hate work will not be taken care of. In addition, those who are over 15 years old must be trained to go to the battlefield."

These two requirements can eliminate beggars who eat and drink for free. On the contrary, those who meet the requirements can also be helpful.

There are many chores in the army. Although these beggars cannot go to the battlefield to kill the enemy, they are capable of doing laundry, cooking, boiling water, carrying firewood, and taking care of injured soldiers in the rear service camp.

This kills two birds with one stone. There are people to do the chores in the army, and there are fewer beggars in the city.

"Your Highness is wise." The general was enlightened after hearing this and was full of admiration for Yu Cheng.

In this battle, the army was short of manpower and the rear service camp could not handle it. The beggars joining the army not only solved the shortage of manpower, but also replaced the combat soldiers.

Beggars or generals, they are all manpower, it all depends on how to use them.

Yu Cheng said to the general, "This matter is up to you. Take them back and settle them down. Send someone to the beggars' den to announce the order and recruit volunteers to join the army."

"Yes, I will obey your order." The general agreed and commanded several soldiers to take the beggars away.

Thinking that they would have enough food to eat in the future, the beggars were very happy and followed him willingly.

The general was very efficient and sent soldiers to several groups that afternoon to announce the order in several beggars' dens in the city.

The beggars who heard the order were talking about it, and they were eager to do it, but they were also afraid.

If they just did chores, they would be fine, but those who were 15 or older had to go to the battlefield, and that would cost their lives.

Of course, regardless of age, there were also those who were lazy and just wanted to eat for nothing, and were unwilling to work.

So the sick and the elderly asked, "People like us can't go to the battlefield, and we can't do heavy work."

The soldiers glanced at them and said coldly, "We can always do things like cooking, washing vegetables, and serving tea and water."

These tasks are easy and simple, and anyone who can beg on the street can definitely do them. It's worth it to do what you can and earn a living.

Someone argued: "What if these can't be done?"

The soldier said: "This order is for voluntary enlistment, not forced."

If you don't want to do it, you don't have to go.

Those who wanted to be sneaky and cunning heard this, and the little bit of luck in their hearts was extinguished.

If it was somewhere else, they could still be lazy, but in the military camp, they would never dare to do it.

So the beggars looked at each other and hesitated.

However, the temptation of eating every day was too great. After a while, a beggar said that he was willing to join the army.

After someone took the lead, other hesitant people also expressed their opinions.