early morning.
There was a light mist in the sky, and the entire Beishan Fort was looming in the mist.
Wu Nian woke up from the cold.
The tattered quilt at home has not been replaced in I don’t know how many years, and its thermal insulation effect is simply pitiful.
He quickly opened the quilt, left the cold bed, put on tattered clothes and came to the kitchen.
"Brother, are you awake? I have boiled the water. Breakfast will wait a while." Liu Xiang sat in front of the stove to add firewood. When she heard the noise, she raised her head and said to Wu Nian.
"What's for breakfast?" Wu Nian asked casually.
"Rice and eggs." Liu Xiang replied quickly, her eyebrows arched. It’s great to have rice to eat. We used to make rice bran rice at home.
This is all the money I earned, and I am still a little flag.
hehe.
"Oh." Wu Nian said, taking the basin and spooning hot water.
"That's right. Xiang'er, go and make us two quilts today. The quilts at home are old and don't keep us warm. The money is under my bed. Go get it yourself."
Wu Nian said.
"Brother, were you cold last night?" Liu Xiang raised her head with concern on her face.
"Yeah. It's a bit frozen." Wu Nian nodded.
"Okay. I'll do it after breakfast. By the way. Just a quilt is enough. I don't get cold at night." Liu Xiang said with a smile.
In fact, she is also very cold, but she should save herself if she can.
"Don't discount me. Two new, good quilts. If you only make one and come back, I will throw away the new quilt."
Wu Nian saw through Liu Xiang's little thoughts at a glance and glared at him.
"Brother." Liu Xiang's face fell and she called out softly.
Wu Nian rolled his eyes and ignored her. I took the basin and went back to the bedroom to wash up. After breakfast, Wu Nian left the housework to Liu Xiang like a man, and swaggered to the door of Li Yong's house.
The door was open and Wu Nian walked in.
"Why are Master Xiaoqi here?" Li Yong was boxing in the yard and said quickly after seeing Wu Nian.
"Isn't it a slap in the face? Now that I have become an agent, I am no longer a brother?" Wu Nian scolded with a smile.
"Haha. Isn't it strange that there are so many people?" Li Yong said with a smile as he is an experienced man.
The two chatted for a while, and Wu Nian said straight to the point: "Brother, I want everyone to get together. I'll go find Tieniu. You go and call Wang Gui and Zhang Sheng. Come to my house."
"Okay." Li Yong agreed immediately.
Wu Nian first found Tieniu and bought a jar of wine and some peanuts. When he got home, Li Yong, Wang Gui, and Zhang Sheng were already there.
Wu Nian asked Liu Xiang to get bowls and chopsticks, and the brothers sat on a bench, drinking and peeling peanuts together.
"Brother, why did you call us here?" Li Yong asked as he stuffed a peeled peanut into his mouth.
"Yes. If you have anything to say, just say it. I have more strength." Tieniu patted his chest with a bold look on his face.
Wang Gui and Zhang Sheng also nodded.
Wu Nian did not show off, put down the wine bowl in his hand, and said, "I plan to expand our troops and expand the number of soldiers in our small flag to ten."
This sentence stunned everyone, and they were all dumbfounded.
Isn't becoming an official just for money?
Eating empty pay and drinking soldiers' blood.
If you recruit more people, won’t you pay more salaries?
Are there any officials like this?
They thought Wu Nian came to them today to ask them to help repair the house. Anyway, this was what they had done before.
Wu Nian didn't wait for them to recover, and said in rapid succession: "I have thought about this matter. Not only do I want to expand the number of soldiers, but I also need to give the soldiers enough rice."
"The Mongolian people have become more and more powerful in recent years, and they may come one day. They eat empty wages, drink the blood of soldiers, buy land, and gather wealth. What's the use? Maybe they just make wedding clothes for the Mongolian people. .”
"On the contrary. As a small flag, we can advance and retreat much more freely."
Having said this, Wu Nian paused, raised his head and looked at the stunned people, and said in a deep voice: "But first, I have made enough rice, so I must be very strict in training. Wang Gui is weak due to illness. Besides, others will practice every three days, and they can practice more depending on the situation. I don’t need you to farm for me here."
"I don't need you to build a house for me."
"One more thing. We are brothers now, but in the army we are superiors and subordinates. You must be mentally prepared."
Mere loyalty and benevolence cannot lead troops, dignity is also required.
As the saying goes, kindness does not control soldiers.
Wu Nian is not very ambitious, but the current situation forces him to do this.
He knew what he said would shock everyone. After finishing speaking, he picked up the wine bowl, drank in small sips, and peeled peanuts.
He doesn't drink much when he's alone, but he drinks when he's at a party.
You have to be gregarious.
Everyone was really shocked, very shocked.
This official does not regard soldiers as human beings. Not only did they eat empty pay, but they also drank soldiers' blood. The rice they received was never enough.
Now Wu Nian actually expanded his troops and paid them full military pay?
Have to practice again.
This is the first time I have seen such a serious official.
But they didn't hesitate and looked at each other. Li Yong raised his hand to Wu Nian and said, "Don't worry, Mr. Xiaoqi. You are so generous. We will work hard and never go against your will."
They were all grateful to Wu Nian.
Wu Nian is loyal, capable, and generous. What a good official.
What does it mean to practice every three days?
Just take more rice.
It is natural that there are differences between superiors and inferiors in the army.
And what Wu Nian said was right. Their small flag was well-organized and could advance and retreat much more freely. This is a good thing, a great thing. Everyone must support it.
Wu Nian smiled and nodded, and the first step was completed.
As long as the food and salary are sufficient, the morale of the soldiers will be high.
"Finally. After drinking, you all go home and think about it and investigate. If anyone wants to be a soldier in these 100 households, let him come to me. As long as he is strong and young, it will be fine."
Wu Nian concluded and said to everyone with a smile.
"Okay." Everyone agreed.
Everyone quickly finished peeling the peanuts and drank enough. Then they dispersed and went back to their homes. Wu Nian still asked Liu Xiang to come over and clean up. He put on his torn leather hat and walked to Li Kun's mansion.
Wu Nian has been serving as a soldier, but he only gets two buckets of rice per month.
A bucket weighs twelve pounds.
He also didn't know how much rice the imperial court had distributed to soldiers over the years and how much had been withheld by officials. How much is the salary from Qipin Xiaoqi?
You have to ask someone who knows.
The news of Wu Nian's tiger hunt has already spread throughout Beishan Fort. The concierge of the Li family was very sensible. Seeing Wu Nian's visit, he invited him in.
Wu Nian came to the main room and sat down, his buttocks not yet hot from sitting. Li Kun walked in with a smile on his face and said to Wu Nian: "Xiao Nian. I got the news yesterday. I sent someone to the county town early this morning to buy gifts. I thought I would send someone to your house in the afternoon. I didn't expect it. You came first."
"Congratulations. You have been promoted to the flag."
