After the recruitment banner was set up, there were still crowds of onlookers on the first day, but only a few applicants. However, once those applicants were selected, they left with three taels of silver and a smile, and the news spread throughout the night. whole city.
From the second day onwards, the number of applicants increased several times from the day before. However, Zhang Cheng's rules were very strict. He only wanted to be from a good family. If a person applies, he must have two or more local households as guarantors. However, those with bad habits will not be accepted. trick.
However, attracted by the three taels of Anjia's silver, the children of each military household were moved. They spontaneously went to the recruitment office outside the west gate of the town to apply for recruitment. They all wanted to earn three taels of Anjia's silver and go back.
At this time, one stone of rice in Xuanfu Town was worth about one tael and five taels of silver. Even in famine years, one stone of rice was worth about three taels of silver at most. Compared with Shaanxi and Henan in the years of great famine, Xuanfu was relatively stable.
In this way, three taels of silver can be exchanged for about two stones of grain. If one stone of grain is eaten by one person, and mixed with other sundries, it can last for a hundred days. Two stones of grain are very tempting to ordinary military families.
What's more, Zhang Cheng also promised that after joining the army, each soldier would receive about one tael of monthly silver each month. Although Zhang Cheng had a bad reputation in the town and was mostly drunk and involved, he never broke his promise. Word.
Sure enough, it didn't take five days. Wu Zhizhong recruited a thousand people from good families among the military households. They were all training in the barracks of the right wing camp outside the west gate of the town. These new troops were divided into teams of a hundred, and they were composed of veteran troops. A is responsible for training.
For the time being, it was just some camp drills, where they were familiar with basic military orders and knew how to stand in formation. Wu Zhizhong was responsible for the training of these newly recruited sergeants, and he also transferred sergeants from the old battalions to be responsible for the training.
According to Zhang Cheng's idea, Wu Zhizhong would stay in the town from now on and be responsible for the logistics and recruitment of troops here, as well as the preliminary training of the new army.
However, his idea was strongly opposed by Wu Zhizhong.
That evening, Wu Zhizhong came to see Zhang Cheng, and they had a discussion in the East Side Hall.
"General, although I only have one arm left, I can still kill thieves in front of the battle. I have decided to follow the general, and I will not complain at all. But when it comes to staying behind, the general can arrange for others to accompany me for a long time. In front of the general." Wu Zhizhong said expectantly.
Zhang Cheng was quite embarrassed. In his heart, he trusted Wu Zhizhong very much, so he planned to let him stay as a post and handle some affairs in the town.
"Old Wu, it is my trust in you that makes me want to keep you here in Zhencheng. If it were anyone else, I might not be able to completely rest assured." Zhang Cheng said in a deep voice.
Wu Zhizhong sat on the chair, shrugged his head, raised his head for a long time, and then said: "General, there are two old ladies sitting in the battle here in Zhencheng. It doesn't matter if you come. I just want to be by the general's side.
Although I only have one arm, I am no worse than those old boys with two arms. I can still fight and protect the general. "
Seeing his excited expression, Zhang Cheng felt somewhat ridiculous in his heart, but also a little helpless, and said: "Well, I've been thinking about setting up a supply camp. You can handle it here in the town first, and when I go to the north road Once things are settled over there, you can lead everyone over there in the end."
Wu Zhizhong said: "I will obey the general's orders."
Seeing his satisfied expression, Zhang Cheng helplessly shook his head.
In addition to these military affairs, Zhang Cheng was also urged repeatedly by his mother and aunt. It turned out that Zhang Cheng's aunt had a cousin who was married to Wu Jinkang, a Jinshi in Guide Prefecture, Henan Province. Now Wu Jinkang has been appointed as a fifth-rank doctor in the Ministry of Industry's Camp and Maintenance Department in Beijing. .
Not long ago, Zhang Cheng's aunt Zhang Han wrote to her cousin to see if there was a suitable candidate around her, and to introduce her to her nephew Zhang Cheng as a marriage choice.
At this time, although the marriages of the children of officials in the Ming Dynasty were still arranged by matchmakers, with three letters and six appointments, most of them were actually secretly managed by the hostesses of each official family.
They acted as matchmakers, building bridges and building roads. Zhang Cheng was originally a scholar, but after his father passed away at the age of fifteen, his temperament changed drastically.
From then on, he did not like studying and devoted himself to chivalry. He only wanted to join the army to serve the country. His uncle Zhang Yan had no choice but to recruit him as a soldier. He was promoted step by step. In just six years, he was promoted to the rank of thousand All in all.
But after he joined the army, he became very drunk and often caused troubles after drinking. Zhang Cheng was known to everyone in the town. Zhang Cheng was an alcoholic and even broke into a propaganda house. The elegant name of the town’s small wine tank.
Therefore, although he is the nephew of General Zhang Yan, his marriage has been delayed due to his poor reputation. Moreover, Zhang Cheng's mother really wanted to find a scholarly family for him according to his father's wishes. Family ties and marriage.
This has been delayed until now. Fortunately, Zhang Cheng's temperament suddenly changed. Her aunt hurriedly wrote a letter and sent it to Beijing to her cousin, hoping to find a young lady from a civil servant's family as a candidate. Zhang Cheng's wife.
At the same time, military generals in Xuanzhen, Datong, and even Shanxi also asked several matchmakers to find suitable brides for them.
Just at noon today, a letter came back from Beijing, saying that the cousin-in-law who served as a doctor in the Ministry of Industry had some friends in the officialdom and was very interested in Zhang Cheng.
All this is due to the fact that Zhang Cheng's performance in entering the defense was too eye-catching, and it was also due to the fact that even Lu Xiangsheng gave him a letter, and the current emperor also praised him repeatedly, so his future achievements may be promising.
However, the cousin and cousin-in-law were still checking everyone's situation from all sides, and they also wanted to handle the matter with all their heart, so that they could not only be worthy of their cousin, but also take the opportunity to make friends with Zhang Cheng, an upstart in the military world. Maybe he will become his own aid abroad in the future.
On April 11th, Zhang Cheng was called to the back garden of Zhang's house by his mother and aunt. Under the old locust tree by the pond, his aunt was patiently introducing to Zhang Cheng the feedback from the matchmakers entrusted by all parties. .
According to his aunt's judgment, there was a family with a hereditary military position in Xuan Town and a family from the Ni family who had served as minister in the previous dynasty. They were laid off by her, because according to Zhang Cheng's father's last wish, she wanted to find him a wife. Marriage in a scholarly family.
As for the daughter of the Ni family, her horoscopes were slightly different from those of Zhang Cheng, so she was rejected directly by her mother, Zhang Yang.
However, there were two daughters of court officials in the capital, both of whom were very consistent with Zhang Cheng's horoscope. Among them, there was an official daughter named Ji, who was upright and green in her youth, so she was indeed an excellent candidate.
Zhang Cheng's mother and aunt were very pleased with it, so they hurriedly called Zhang Cheng to discuss the matter. If Zhang Cheng had no objection, they could write back to his cousin in Beijing and try their best to contact him about the matter.
