"The village chief is back!"
From a distance, I heard a burst of surprise cheers coming from the wall.
Immediately afterwards, the village gate slowly opened.
The smoky black burn marks on the village door are still exuding a faint smell of tar.
Han Zhen rode his horse into the stronghold, followed closely by the soldiers escorting the prisoners of war.
When the soldiers on the wall saw the copper coins and silk cloth piled high on more than 20 bullock carts, they cheered again.
Yu Jun repeatedly exclaimed: "Hey! With such a lot of money, is it one hundred thousand guan?"
Hearing this, a veteran sneered and said: "It's a hundred thousand guan for farts, but only 20,000 or 30,000 guan for holding up to the sky."
"How do you know?"
Yu Jun looked surprised.
The old soldier had a smug look on his face and boasted: "I have fought with the village chief several times, and I have never seen more than this. An ox cart can hold more than a thousand strings, and these more than 20 ox carts, aren't they? Twenty or thirty thousand dollars?"
"It's actually like this. It's really enlightening."
Hearing Yu Jun's compliment, the veteran felt even more proud, and continued to show off: "The village chief is the most generous person, and he never plays tricks with us. Just look at it, and the rewards will be distributed in the evening."
When he heard that the reward was going to be distributed in the evening, Yu Jun immediately became energetic and asked hurriedly: "How much reward can I receive if I behead someone to the fourth level?"
"Just remember, the first level reward for beheading is four guans, and you can get 16 guans."
"Sixteen strings, that's a lot of ground?"
Yu Jun took a breath.
"Look at how hopeless you are."
The veteran sneered.
These new recruits really have never seen the world.
…
There are more than 1,500 prisoners of war, plus the more than 1,300 people captured last night, the number even exceeds the total number of villagers in Xiaowang Village.
In Han Zhen's original plan, he expected the population of Xiaowang Village to exceed 5,000 within one year.
This has been achieved in less than a month.
Sure enough, war is the fastest way to obtain resources.
The nomadic people in the north had tasted the sweetness of war very early. They were short of money, food, and women. What should they do?
Go south and grab it!
Even though the Liao Kingdom had been at peace for a long time and was deeply influenced by the culture of the Central Plains, the nomadic customs were still maintained in the army.
Taking Dacaogu as an example, the court only supplied a small amount of military rations, and the soldiers had to bring their own swords, arrows, horses and dry food.
It is equivalent to a commercial stock system. Every soldier is a shareholder. If you want to make money, you must fight bravely to kill the enemy.
If you win, you will be popular and have women, but if you lose, you will lose everything.
In this case, the Liao army's combat power was naturally overwhelming.
…
Nearly three thousand prisoners of war were squatting densely in the military camp.
From last night to now, these people have not had a drop of water, are hungry and thirsty, and at the same time are extremely anxious, not knowing what fate is waiting for them.
Surrounded by Nie Dong and others, Han Zhen stepped into the military camp.
These prisoners of war need to be dealt with as soon as possible, otherwise if it is delayed for a long time, something may happen.
Han Zhen stood with his hands behind his hands. After looking around, he slowly said: "You are rebels. I have also killed officials."
Wow?
The prisoners of war raised their heads one after another, each with a look of surprise.
Han Zhen's opening remarks really surprised them, but after thinking about it, it seemed that it was indeed the case.
They were rebels, but Han Er was not clean either. He rushed into the county government office in broad daylight and killed Chief Xu in public.
For a moment, there was actually some feeling of intimacy.
Seeing that he had successfully closed the distance, Han Zhen struck while the iron was hot and continued: "We are all miserable people. If we really can't survive, who would want to be a rebel, right?"
These words resonated with the prisoners of war, like a pebble thrown into a lake causing ripples.
In the crowd, a prisoner of war couldn't help but said loudly: "What Han Erlang said makes sense. If he couldn't survive, no one would become a rebel."
"That's right, I didn't want to rebel. I was really forced by those corrupt officials to have no way out."
"Originally, we agreed that each person would be worth six guan, and I would sell some land, so I could get through it with gritted teeth. But a few days later, they said that if the money was doubled, neither the left nor the right would be able to survive, so it would be better to do the opposite."
"..."
Han Zhen did not stop him and allowed these prisoners of war to vent their grievances.
Nie Dong, who was standing aside, looked strange. He recognized the prisoner who spoke first. He was clearly one of his soldiers.
I don’t know when, he disguised himself and sneaked into the prisoner of war pile and acted as a shill!
It's just that this guy's performance was really bad. These prisoners of war had been hungry all day and night, and were exposed to the scorching sun. They were all wilted, so how could they still speak with full energy?
Fortunately, these prisoners of war were stupid and no one noticed.
Glancing at Han Zhen's back, Nie Dong couldn't help but sigh in his heart.
No wonder someone can be the county magistrate, but he is just a deserter.
It's really a good idea.
After a while, when the prisoners of war had had enough of venting, Han Zhen pressed his hands flat and shouted: "Quiet!"
Soon, the noise in the crowd gradually subsided.
Han Zhen said loudly: "We are all poor people, and I don't intend to make things difficult for you. From now on, you can stay in Xiaowang Village and work. As long as I, Han Zhen, are here, you will always have a mouthful of food, and you will not be hungry. The government's Even the exorbitant taxes and miscellaneous taxes will not be borne by you, I will bear them all."
I'm in charge of food, but I don't have any wages for the time being.
These people are all rebels. They are already grateful to be alive and have a mouthful of food to eat.
As for wages, they will be paid gradually in the future.
The trustees who were among the prisoners of war immediately shouted: "Han Erlang is righteous!"
"Han Erlang is righteous!"
Nearly three thousand prisoners of war shouted in unison.
Han Zhen's sincere words just now, coupled with the cooperation of Tou'er, successfully made these prisoners of war regard him as one of their own.
A smile flashed in Han Zhen's eyes, and he said loudly: "I'll let you spend the night in the military camp tonight, and I will build a shelter for you and others tomorrow. Everyone, please sit down first, and we will serve you food later."
These prisoners of war had been hungry all day. When they heard that there would be food to eat, they immediately sat on the ground and looked forward to it.
There were nearly 3,000 people, and the army's cooks and a few helpers couldn't handle it. Han Zhen ordered people to go to Xiaowang Village to call some villagers for help.
Smelling the fragrance of rice porridge, the prisoners suddenly became restless.
Seeing this, Han Zhen yelled: "Don't be anxious, everyone has it, come in batches."
There were too many people and not enough bowls. Even if they temporarily chopped bamboo tubes to make bowls, they could only get enough for more than 300 people, so they could only eat in batches.
It is wishful thinking to expect these people to be disciplined.
Han Zhen successfully frightened them with his horse, and then ordered the soldiers to divide the prisoners into eight groups.
One bowl per person, and immediately switch to the next batch after finishing.
Dinner is wild vegetable porridge. The porridge is not particularly thick, but it is thicker than what they usually eat at home.
The prisoners of war who received the porridge gathered together in twos and threes and started eating happily.
After a prisoner of war finished eating the rice porridge, he smashed it into his mouth and said, "This Han Erlang is honest about his credibility. He promised to give us a bite of rice, and he really did."
"I'm not full. It would be nice if I could have another bowl."
"You still want to be full, just dream about it."
"That's right, Han Erlang is being kind. This wild vegetable porridge is a bit thicker than what I eat at home."
Having enough to eat is a luxury for today's poor people.
Even in a good year, with wild vegetables and fruits, you can only eat until you are half full.
If the year is bad and we encounter drought or flood, it is God's blessing to have a mouthful of food to eat and not starve to death.
After working for nearly two hours, it was not until the second quarter of the 19th lunar month that all the prisoners of war finally finished eating.
After eating a bowl of wild vegetable porridge, I felt a little better, and finally felt less uncomfortable than before.
After eating, the prisoners of war who had been up all day felt sleepy one by one, and simply lay down on the ground and fell asleep.
The soldiers also stayed up all day and night, but they were not sleepy at all at this moment, but were extremely excited.
Just because of the reward money!
Han Zhen stood outside the warehouse, holding a stack of military merit lists in his hands, and two village clerks carried a large scale.
The battle merits were tallied this morning. Ears were cut off as merits, and mutual supervision was carried out to ensure that no falsehoods were allowed.
Every time a person was mentioned, the two clerks carried large scales and began to weigh the money.
Yu Jun stood in the crowd, looking forward to it.
I don’t know how long I waited, but finally I heard Han Zhen read: "Yu Jun, behead four levels and reward sixteen guan!"
"Wow!"
After the two scribes weighed the coins, they poured them into a basket.
"Thank you, village chief."
Yu Jun's hands trembling while dragging the basket.
Sixteen strings!
I have only been in the army for a few days. If I am farming, how long will it take to save so much money?
An hour later, the rewards were all distributed.
Most of them are like Nie Dong, who beheaded, ascended first, and received position rewards, totaling fifty or sixty times.
There are as few as ten strings.
Seeing the soldiers gnawing and dragging hundreds of kilograms of copper coins, Han Zhen couldn't help but frown slightly.
Copper coins are really inconvenient. Twenty coins weigh more than a hundred kilograms, filling a large basket. It is not easy to store and difficult to move.
He had some vague ideas in his mind, but he couldn't confirm them for the time being.
After receiving the reward, the soldiers were very happy and began to whisper to each other about how to spend it.
"Nie Dong!"
"The end will be here."
Upon hearing Han Zhen's call, Nie Dong quickly answered with his fists clasped.
Han Zhen muttered: "I plan to expand the army. Tomorrow, I will select three hundred young men from those prisoners of war to join the army."
Expansion of the army?
Nie Dong hesitated and said, "Is this... a little too urgent?"
Han Zhen explained: "There is nothing we can do. Not all of these farmers were kidnapped. A small number of them had blood on their hands and died. It is always a hidden danger to let them work."
For example, the group of young men who attacked the county government last night were obviously different from other revolting peasants.
After experiencing the pleasure of burning, killing and looting, these people have become wild.
At the moment, he is afraid of Han Zhen, so he may do his duty honestly for a while, but as time goes by, he might do something.
Therefore, the best way is to join the army.
At the same time, taking advantage of the opportunity of military expansion, some veterans with outstanding military achievements were promoted to team commanders and captains.
After all, promotion cannot just be a slogan, it must be felt by the soldiers.
Nie Dong pondered for a moment and felt that it made sense, so he nodded and said: "The county magistrate is very thoughtful, but a certain family failed to think carefully."
Um?
Han Zhen raised his eyebrows, slightly surprised.
Why is this guy with thick eyebrows and big eyes starting to flatter me?
However, he didn't care and warned: "You should work harder and keep a close eye tonight. If these prisoners of war cause trouble, don't be lenient."
Nie Dong assured: "The county magistrate is relieved, I am from a certain province."
After explaining the matter, Han Zhen rode his war horse back to Xiaowang Village.
In the front yard, Father Yang and others were still awake, sitting in the yard with a fan to enjoy the cool air.
"Erlang is back?"
"Yeah. Are you used to living with your uncle and aunt?"
"Haha, why aren't you used to it? Thanks to Erlang, we also lived in a house with blue bricks and red tiles."
After smiling and chatting with them, Han Zhen walked through the hanging flower gate and came to the second courtyard.
In the hall, oil lamps gave off a dim light.
Han, Zhang and An Niang were sitting around the table doing homework.
The homework was assigned by Han Zhen before. It was just some simple addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. According to their progress, they did one part every day.
Han Zhen originally thought that An Niang would learn the fastest among them. After all, An Niang has a quick mind. She has done business before and has some basic arithmetic.
As a result, Jiang Siniang was the fastest learner.
In just a few days, the plan was already in place.
Even the scribe in charge of teaching often praised Han Zhen in front of him.
Siniang's temperament is not as lively as that of Fang Sansan. Instead, she is a bit dull. She has no sense of presence on weekdays. Every time Han Zhen sees her, she is either busy doing things or staring at the sky in a daze.
I can train her well in the future, and maybe I can even be a female accountant.
In contrast, Han and Zhang's progress is slower, and they are still memorizing Jiujiu Ge.
Hearing the footsteps, Fang Sansan turned around and looked.
Seeing that it was Han Zhen, she immediately put down her brush and said in surprise: "Ah, Alang is back!"
Hearing this, Han Zhang and An Niang quickly looked up.
When they saw that Han Zhen was safe and sound, a smile suddenly appeared in their eyes.
After smiling and nodding to them, Han Zhen asked, "How are you doing with your homework?"
"..."
Fang Sansan's smile faltered, and a trace of panic flashed in his eyes.
Seeing this, Han Zhen sneered, walked into the main hall, and took a look at the table.
Well, I did a lot of questions, but unfortunately I didn't get any of them right.
Looking at Jiang Siniang's homework, she has completed all of them, and they are all correct.
Fang Sansan grimaced and blamed himself: "Alang, I'm too stupid. I can't learn it no matter what."
Han Zhen couldn't blame her too harshly because the two little maids were just here to help her out.
Han Zhen said calmly: "On weekdays, please consult Siniang more often. Don't just focus on naughty children. I don't want you to pass the Jinshi examination. It's always good to know some words. At least when doing business, you won't make miscalculations, right?"
"I saved it."
Fang Sansan nodded solemnly.
Han Zhen said with satisfaction: "As long as you know."
Seeing that his eyes were bloodshot, An Niang said with concern: "Erlang, don't be exhausted, just wash up and rest."
Hearing this, Mrs. Han Zhang pursed her lips and felt a trace of sourness in her heart.
In the past, these words were what she should have said to her uncle.
Now it has been snatched away by others.
Sensing something strange about Han Zhang, Han Zhen asked curiously: "Sister-in-law, what's wrong?"
"Maybe I'm a little tired."
Han Zhang said softly.
Han Zhen didn't think too much and warned: "Don't be too late, it's not good for your eyes."
Damn it, I was thinking about Xiaomi for a while after coding in the afternoon, but when I opened my eyes, it was 7:30.
(End of chapter)
