The guards at the city gate looked at the people who were still kneeling on the ground and urged,
"Hurry up and go to the city to join the army. If you are late, you will have to wait until tomorrow."
"...Join the army!?" Boss Pei shouted in surprise.
"Sir, is the city really recruiting soldiers?"
Is there a salary?
Boss Pei didn't dare to ask this question.
You will know it once you enter the city. It would be bad to ask this now and make the official angry.
The villagers of Waibo Village all looked at the guards at the city gate. Their eyes, which were originally filled with death, now showed a glimmer of hope.
The guard at the city gate smiled and said, "Of course, what the prince said could be false."
"The salary is generous, enough for you to get through this winter comfortably."
"You are lucky to have met King Qianhuang during the cold and frosty day. Smoke is rising from your ancestors' graves."
Judging from how thin these people are, if King Qianhuang hadn't come, they wouldn't have been able to survive this winter.
The people in the city have been overjoyed these days, as one or two people from every household have signed up to join the army.
The people who were almost unable to endure the situation suddenly regained their confidence to survive.
If you have hope in life, you will feel more energetic.
There have been so many emperors who have ascended the throne in the Great Celestial Empire, but none of them has given such generous salaries to the soldiers.
Not only were food distributed, but even charcoal for the winter was distributed, as if they were afraid that the people would not be able to survive.
When the people of Waibo Village heard this, they burst into tears of excitement.
Everyone hugged each other with joy and excitement.
"Really, this is true, we are saved..."
"Thank God, thank God for blessing us, we finally have hope..."
"Wow... I never thought what you said was actually true..."
"Boss Pei, you three brothers are the saviors of our village..."
“........”
The defenders looked at the villagers crying and shouting, and their eyes couldn't help but become moist.
How could they not understand the feelings of these people?
They have been here before.
When they thought they could not survive, King Qianhuang descended from the sky and not only brought them water, but also distributed a large amount of supplies, allowing them to survive.
At that time, everyone knew that joining the army meant following King Qianhuang in the rebellion, and they couldn't help but feel a little scared.
But no matter what, they would not be able to survive without the generous salary given by King Qianhuang.
It’s better to follow King Qianhuang and give it a try. Even if we sacrifice one of them, the family can at least survive this winter.
As long as the winter passes, the family will survive.
Who would have thought that they followed King Qianhuang and captured city after city without having to fight a serious war.
At most, the crossbowmen would make some movements, while the soldiers following behind were just rushing on the road and eating, not knowing what was happening in front, and then they captured a city.
Rather than saying that they were following King Qianhuang in rebellion, it would be more accurate to say that King Qianhuang was supporting them and leading them to a good life.
Anyway, so far, no soldier has died in the war.
They didn't expect that they could reach the capital so easily. It was simply amazing.
"Alright, alright, let's get up and go into the city."
The defenders urged with a smile,
"Wait until you receive your salary, then celebrate properly."
"If we hurry, we can get back to the village before the sun sets."
"Your family is waiting for you, so don't waste any more time."
As they all had similar experiences, the defenders naturally knew the situation in these people's homes.
"Thank you, sir..."
The villagers helped each other to stand up, excitedly thanked the defenders, and walked towards the city in unison.
As soon as they entered the city, they felt the difference.
The streets and alleys in the city were filled with people chatting and laughing, and many of them were holding large bowls of water and drinking them in big gulps.
The people in Waibo Village couldn't stop swallowing their saliva when seeing this.
It took them nearly two hours to reach the city gate, and they were already so thirsty that their throats were smoking.
In fact, if you walk normally from Waibo Village to Menglan City, you will arrive in one hour.
It is even faster to take a donkey cart or an ox cart, and you can reach the city in less than half an hour.
They were all very hungry and had no strength left. They had to rest after walking for a while, otherwise they would not be able to hold on.
After some inquiries, with the guidance of a kind-hearted person, the people of Waibo Village finally found the place to sign up for the army.
At this time, Shen Yong had already returned to the prefectural government office.
“Your Majesty…”
Guard Ji Guangda smiled and bowed to Shen Yong, "Menglan City has recruited more than 50,000 soldiers today."
"This doesn't even include the villages outside the city. If all the people from the villages outside the city also join the army, the number will be at least over 150,000."
After all, Menglan City is close to the capital, and the impact of the drought on the population is not as great as that of previous cities.
Therefore, there are a lot of people in Menglan City who are able to join the army.
This is because King Qianhuang has the blessing of the gods and can pay out so much salary.
Otherwise, if the salary continues to be paid out, even Emperor Tianwu’s treasury will not be able to bear it.
Chen Yong curled his lips and smiled.
"Tomorrow, any civilians outside the city who wish to join the army will be allowed in."
"Also, gather the selected reliable men in the military camp. Tomorrow the king will go to the camp and teach them how to use the new weapons."
"Send out all the other people in the barracks and search the city to see if there are any civilians who have starved to death at home."
"Build more relief porridge stalls at the city gates. Let the people who come to sign up for the army drink some porridge before they enter the city."
"Arrange more guards at the city gate..."
How can we deal with this when the people are so hungry that they can’t even walk and can’t even take their salaries?
He can eat his fill before entering the city. He doesn't need this little bit of food.
"...Yes!" Ji Guangda nodded repeatedly and wrote down everything.
"I will arrange it right away."
"However, my lieutenants and I have only selected 800 men. Including us, there are only 810 men left."
He was really curious to know what the new weapon was.
He and several generals carefully selected and considered, and only picked out 800 soldiers who were absolutely sure to be reliable.
These 800 people were all brought out from Qianhuang City, and they knew them well.
The number of people did not reach the number that King Qianhuang wanted, but they were reliable.
"That's enough!" Shen Yong nodded. "As long as it's reliable."
With such a lethal weapon, if there is an unreliable one among them and it is thrown into one's own team, it will be disastrous.
800 people armed with grenades are more than enough to attack the capital.
It is estimated that if these 800 grenades were thrown, the city gates of the capital would have been blown up long ago.
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