nucmednet Chapter 401 The Future Cavalry Commander
Chapter 401 The Future Cavalry Commander
Unexpectedly, this man was actually a border soldier from Xuanfu Town! Su Hongtu asked with some surprise, "A man from Gansu, serving as a soldier in Xuanfu Town, why did he end up in Shandong?"
Ma Wei sighed, “Xuanfu Town had been in arrears with its pay for many years. I once rallied my brothers to protest for the pay, but instead of receiving it, my superiors held a grudge and tried to kill me to establish their authority. Fortunately, someone secretly tipped me off, allowing me to escape the military camp, but I could never return to Xuanfu Town. With nowhere else to turn, I remembered I had relatives in Shandong, so I came to Gunzhou Prefecture in Shandong to seek their help. Unexpectedly, a mutiny broke out as soon as I arrived in Shandong. A small group of rebels passed by and tried to loot the village. I led the able-bodied men of the village to resist and drove them away, but I was seriously wounded. The villagers helped me escape to avoid the rebels' revenge. After recovering from my injuries, to repay their kindness, I led the villagers on a long escape, hiding when we encountered large groups of rebels and killing any stragglers we encountered. Later, we heard that the rebels had been defeated by the imperial army, and the government was calling on us to go to Dengzhou, saying that we would be properly resettled. So we traveled all the way from Gunzhou to Dengzhou…”
Su Hongtu sighed deeply; this journey had been quite arduous. He asked, "Several years have passed. The official who persecuted you might not still be in office, right? Why don't you want to return to Xuanfu, brother? Besides, with your qualifications in the border army, you could be highly regarded even if you joined the rebels. Why do you prefer to lead a group of unarmed civilians and struggle on?"
Ma Wei replied disdainfully, "I'm not going back to Xuanfu because I've been owed wages for years and I'm unwilling to risk my life for those damned officials. Even if the higher-ups change, it'll be the same; they'll all be drawing salaries without working and drinking the blood of soldiers. As for not joining the rebels, hehe, the rebels may seem powerful, but they're not much better than bandits and mountain brigands. They have no future and will be wiped out sooner or later. Why should I die with them? These people didn't abandon me when I was seriously injured, so naturally I won't abandon them either."
Su Hongtu looked him up and down: "Brother, you are loyal and righteous, and you have good judgment. With your skills, it would be a waste for you to be mixed among the starving people. If you are interested, how about coming to our Qiongzhou camp?"
Ma Wei cautiously replied, "Even a border town like Xuanfu is drawing salaries without working, so how much better can your small battalion be? I don't want to be beheaded by my superiors again for protesting about pay. Although life is tough now, I don't want to go back to the army to risk my life for others, only to end up with nothing."
Su Hongtu laughed. What made the Qiongzhou Camp most attractive compared to other armies wasn't its advanced firearms, but its generous pay. He held up his hand and gestured the number eight: "Brother, do you know how much a lowly officer like me gets paid a month? Eight taels of silver! It's all real silver, paid in cash, not a single penny deducted!"
Ma Wei was stunned. When he was in Xuanfu Town, his superiors would embezzle money under various pretexts, and he might not even get 8 taels of silver a year. But this sentry officer got 8 taels a month without any embezzlement! They were both soldiers, so why was there such a big difference?
He asked in bewilderment, "Your superior doesn't draw salaries without working or exploit his soldiers? And he still pays you such a high salary. What does he actually eat?"
Su Hongtu grinned and said, "Our boss... no, my general is doing big business with mountains of gold and seas of silver, he wouldn't care about such a small amount of pay. Besides, our pay is higher than most soldiers', the meager rations allocated by the court aren't even enough to fill a tooth gap, and you're still going to deduct from it? Heh..."
The grain and provisions allocated by the imperial court to border towns like Xuanfu were the source of wealth for the officers, but in the eyes of this so-called Qiongzhou camp, they weren't even worthy of being a drop in the ocean. This huge disparity shocked Ma Wei, and it aroused his curiosity about this camp. He tentatively asked, "After things are settled here, can I go and see your camp?"
Although Su Hongtu held a low rank, only a platoon leader, he was one of the most loyal men to Liu Ye in the Qiongzhou camp. He was deeply concerned about military affairs and knew that the Qiongzhou camp was currently most in need of cavalry. Someone like Ma Wei, with his superb horsemanship and experience serving in the Xuanfu army, was a rare find. He was determined to help the general get Ma Wei into the Qiongzhou camp, no matter what it took. He enthusiastically said, "Our main force is in Dengzhou. Brother, why don't you go and take a look? If you think our Qiongzhou camp is good, then join the army. With your experience and skills, becoming a cavalry captain in the future shouldn't be a problem!"
Ma Wei's heart pounded. He licked his lips and asked, "If a sentry officer can get 8 taels of silver a month, how much can a captain get?"
Su Hongtu thought for a moment and replied, "A centurion is called a battalion commander here, and his monthly salary is 16 taels."
Sixteen taels! Ma Wei felt a wave of dizziness and was unsteady on his feet. He instantly made up his mind to go to Dengzhou and see for himself. If it was all true, he would join the Qiongzhou camp.
After order was restored in the soup kitchen, the starving people received their porridge in order of arrival, replenished their strength, and continued their journey toward Dengzhou.
The same thing happened in Laizhou, Qingzhou and other places. With each soup kitchen being set up, starving people from all over Shandong came to Dengzhou. After replenishing their strength at these soup kitchens, they gradually arrived in Dengzhou. In just one month, the number of starving people in Dengzhou had reached tens of thousands.
With so many starving people pouring into Dengzhou City, Zhu Dadian became somewhat impatient and summoned Xia Tiannan.
"You said you wanted to send these starving people away, and I ordered all the prefectures and counties to guide them to Dengzhou. Why is there still no movement? Do you know how great a hidden danger it is for tens of thousands of starving people to gather in the city?"
Liu Ye calmly replied, "Your Excellency, please don't be anxious. The fleet is ready and can be dispatched at any time. I brought enough ships this time; transporting seven or eight thousand people at a time is not a problem. We should gather enough ships before we leave."
“But the number of starving people is said to have exceeded ten thousand, and more are still arriving in Dengzhou from other places. If they are not sent away soon, the number will increase. If tens of thousands of people gather together, it could easily lead to a riot, and neither of us can afford the consequences.”
"Rest assured, Your Excellency, I will make the arrangements immediately."
The next day, notices to reassure the starving people were posted in various places throughout the city, supposedly related to the resettlement of the starving. Upon hearing the news, the starving people gathered to read the notices, and those who could read read them aloud to others.
"...The Qiongzhou Prefecture of Guangdong is now recruiting people to reclaim wasteland for farming. Each person willing to go will receive a settlement allowance of five taels of silver. Groups of three or more will be provided with one ox. No taxes will be levied on the harvest for the first two years. From the third year onwards, two shi of grain will be paid per mu per year, and any surplus grain can be kept by the individual. Those who do not wish to farm can work in factories, regardless of gender, with generous pay; those who pass the selection process can also join the army, with no deductions in rations or wages..."