After being exiled, I led my whole family to rebel.

Chapter 236 The Wandering Bai Cien
"This is a matter of time. The city lord is very determined to expand his territory. Maybe next year we will take over Xingyuan Mansion, and then the entire Zhou Dynasty will see us. With or without Bai Cien, this status quo will not change. "

Xu Yinxi was persuaded by Zhang Wanjun, "What you said makes sense. In that case, let him do whatever he wants. Let's just turn a blind eye and see what kind of changes he can bring to us. .”

Bai Cien walked aimlessly on the streets of Jinzhou Mansion.

He was released from prison after his family sent 200,000 taels of silver to several chieftains in Qianzhou.

The few servants who came had urged him to leave several times, but Bai Cien just didn't want to leave.

It is said that there is a new person in power in Qianzhou Prefecture, a young girl, said to be the sister of Xu Zhenying.

Bai Cien wanted to see her, but the greeting card he handed over was ignored.

Even if he lowered his stature and even used the qualifying word "son of a first-grade military lord", he was still not condescended to be seen by the new leader.

Bai Cien naturally felt very uncomfortable.

It felt like rushing to meet someone, only to be looked down upon and dismissed as a poor relative.

Ming Xiaoshuang said that Xu Zhenying's team does not need people like him, which seems to be true.

Because since he was released, the chieftains of Qianzhou didn't care about him, and Xu Zhenying's people didn't care much about him. After all, he was the son of a first-rank official and a second-rank general in the imperial court, but he became a useless person. people.

This made Bai Cien feel very confused.

Doesn't he even deserve to be imprisoned?
So after convincing a few of his subordinates, Bai Cien wandered around Jinzhou Mansion like a lonely ghost. Until the new prince sent someone to deliver the message clearly, asking him to go wherever he pleased.

Bai Cien wondered about this "self-indulgence", so his eyes lit up and he quickly led a few of his men to the area where the prisoners were clearing land on the outskirts of the city.

The wasteland was vast and sparsely populated, with only local villagers supervising the work, and then only dozens of soldiers managing it.

The soldiers in Lan County are very precious. They have to train and study on weekdays, and some of them have to be released to help handle government affairs. In addition, Qianzhou Prefecture had more than 2,000 guards this time, so Xu Yinxi was more willing to use soldiers on the edge of the sword. Xu Yinxi was not willing to use soldiers at all, such as supervising the details of the prisoners' work.

When Bai Cien walked to the land reclamation area, she originally thought she would see the people under her command who were being bullied and working hard day and night. However, as soon as she went there, she saw them with their heads down, united, and even talking and laughing. Digging there.

There are even some places where mantras such as "Two two make four, two eighty six, two ninety eight" are being muttered.

Bai Cien and the people under his command were greatly shocked.

Didn't they say they were going to open up wasteland and do hard work? Why did this group of people show no talent, but worked enthusiastically, and even did not hesitate to work hard? This really shocked a few people.

Bai Ci'en was afraid that the soldiers under his former command would recognize him, so he painted his face darker, wore a coarse linen suit, and bent his back slightly, making him look like an elderly local man.

Bai Cien and his men sneaked in easily.

He was angry, so naturally he was willing to work hard. He almost swung the hoe in his hand, and his whole body was wet with sweat. After several other retainers saw it, although they didn't know why, they also sweated like rain and blended in.

Finally, the soldier next to him couldn't stand it anymore and said with a smile: "Brother, although one acre of every ten acres of land you cultivate belongs to you, you can't work so hard. If your body is damaged, even if you have trouble in the future. I can’t cultivate the fields myself——”

Bai Cien was startled and instantly understood why the soldiers were so enthusiastic about opening up wasteland.

Xu Zhenying was willing to spend a lot of money and gave one acre of land to the people who opened up wasteland out of ten acres. Although the land in Qianzhou was not as valuable as the land in Bianjing City, it was land after all!
Who would dislike too much? !
Bai Ci'en said calmly: "There is no way. There are many children at home. Now we can't take advantage of this good opportunity to earn a few more acres of land. What will we do if we have so many mouths to eat in the future? We can't afford other places, so we can only fight for our lives." It’s done——”

"Oh, who says it's not the case?" This sentence seemed to open up everyone's conversation. The soldier next to him sighed and said, "I used to follow the generals on expeditions here and there, and I only had two silver coins a month, and I often had to pay for it. It takes half a year to get the money. We only have two acres of land at home, and my wife and children don’t have enough to eat. Now it’s great. To be honest, brother, if I work here for a year, I can get ten acres of land no matter what.”

Someone next to him laughed and said, "What the hell, it doesn't matter that you have ten acres of land. Could it be that you still want to take over your wife and children?"

"Then what's the matter? Although Qianzhou is a bit remote, it has a lot of land and a straight back. At least you don't have to worry about food all year round."

"Hey, brother Qian, are you really planning to bring the whole family here?" The man next to him lowered his voice, "Brother, are you crazy? This is the territory of the rebels, and we are still soldiers of the imperial court! Besides, There is a huge difference between Qianzhou and Bianjing——"

"What about the territory of the rebels?" The man was dissatisfied, "Where are there no rebels in the Zhou Dynasty now? If my parents were not too poor to eat, who would be such a useless soldier? With their heads tucked into their belts every day Not to mention, we still can’t make much money throughout the year. It’s true that we are soldiers of the Zhou Dynasty, but don’t forget, we are prisoners! We won’t end up well when we go back! With luck, I’ll give you a few words of blame from the top of the mountain; If you're unlucky, you'll be annoying and I'll let you die on the battlefield as a forward!"

These words made everyone feel the same, and the atmosphere became silent.

Bai Cien said quickly: "How could it be? Your General Bai will definitely plead with His Majesty when he returns -"

Someone sneered, "We, General Bai, are protected by our father who is a high-ranking official. We are nothing. Anyway, we failed to suppress the bandits and were captured. The court has lost face and will definitely not let us have an easy time." Besides, hasn’t General Bai been redeemed for 200,000 taels a long time ago? I’m afraid he has gone to Bianjing City to eat and drink, and he will not care about the life and death of us people——"

Several servants around Bai Cien immediately became anxious and were about to argue, but were stopped by Bai Cien.

"I think Qianzhou is nothing but a bit remote. Didn't you listen to what the propaganda officer said? After the land was opened up, we mainly planted tea and fruit trees. According to the composting method passed down from Lan County, the land was specially cultivated. Fat, maybe the fruit will be big and sweet, and if we sell it all over the country, then the life will not be better than in Bianjing City?"

When talking about business, it was obvious that everyone was very interested. They were busy digging the ground and discussing: "I heard it too. The propaganda officer also said that Qianzhou Prefecture's national education will be launched soon, and the first batch will be Children in the city who are over seven years old are taught reading and literacy for free!"

"Is it true? There is no money to study?"

"Hey, when the propaganda officer came to give lectures, did you go to that Huang Cuihua's house again for an excuse?"

The man laughed twice, seeming a little shy.

"Of course it's true. Didn't you hear what the propagandist said? Lan County was the first to start universal education. Anyone picked up from the road can read. Not to mention that the official assessment was just conducted some time in advance. People from Shulan County have the best exams. Just wait, our Fengming County will have a new county magistrate soon."

"That makes sense...can I become a county magistrate if I go to school?"

The crowd burst into laughter.

"I'm not sure, the top official in Qianzhou Prefecture is a woman. Women can get there, so why can't we get there? We can't be worse than just a girl."

"Let me tell you, don't think this is the territory of rebels. I see that these people are very organized in their work. Did you take a closer look at their soldiers?"

Bai Cien's heart skipped a beat.

Then he glanced at the soldiers on duty on the hill from a distance.

"Look at this man, his body, his food, his weapons, his words are all formal. He doesn't look like a soldier, he looks more like a general!"

"Oh, don't tell me, I often see them carrying books with them to read. As long as they have free time, no matter where they are, they will take out the books. Last time I thought about these literate soldiers, at least He must be a Qianhu or a small general. I even went over to ask. People said that he was just a small soldier. They also said that their soldiers have to take exams every week and every month. They not only test their physical fitness, but also their physical fitness. If you take the reading and literacy test, those with poor grades will be asked to leave!"

"Oh my God, is this a talent draft or a selection of soldiers? Why do they still need to read and write?"

"No. If you ask me, it's really unfair for us to lose to them in the war."

"It doesn't matter how others are treated or how we are treated."

"What kind of treatment?"

The man sighed and said, "The soldier from Lan County gets one tael of silver a month, at least twelve sets of clothes in all seasons, three meals a day, free medical treatment for the disabled, and the pension will be paid to his children when they are adults or when their parents die. Yes." Even though they still spend half a day every day reading, reading, learning the art of war and engaging in actual combat, how can we compare to them?"

"Hey." Everyone was shocked, "Where did you get the news?"

"Weren't some people picked up by them before? That Huang Er came back and told me about their treatment as soldiers there." "Huang Er?"

Someone remembered, "I remember him. He seemed to know how to read. He was tall, but he was a bit introverted. He couldn't even hit a fart with three sticks."

"Yes, yes, the batch selected before are all literate."

"Oh, I remember that Huang Er didn't have much ability. He acted like a bitch all the time. Last time we fought, he tried to hide behind me!"

"That was before! You didn't see him that day. He now has such an air of air and speaking tone that he sounds like a great man. I dare say, even if General Bai comes, he will be like this!"

"Really?" Everyone was curious, wishing that Huang Er would appear in front of them right now.

"Just say, they are well-fed and well-fed, and they are capable of martial arts. We can only eat porridge and pickles. How can we fight this war? Our fate is not good. We were transferred to support Qianzhou and became prisoners. Other soldiers are coming Well, wouldn’t he be a prisoner like us?”

The others nodded frequently, not seeming to feel ashamed to be prisoners, but feeling that they were defeated as a matter of course.

It sounded like Bai Cien's servants wanted to immediately kill these people who were deceiving the public with their monstrous words.

How can we not kill people who deceive the public and disturb the morale of the army with such monstrous words? !
Pian Bai Ci'en acted as if nothing was wrong, with no anger on his face.

He just took out the test paper with him and took another look.

Everyone was a little silent.

They had seen that test paper before, and Bai Cien had them all do it. Unfortunately, although they recognized the words written on it, they couldn't do any of the questions on it.

At most, you can only give a hesitant answer to the big topic discussed later.

Bai Cien seemed a little numb after hearing those words.

In the final analysis, the reason why Xu Zhenying's soldiers can win the battle is nothing more than three conditions: food, treatment, and training. In the end, that is one word.

money!
It takes money to improve food, money to improve the treatment of soldiers, and money to teach soldiers to read, read and learn the art of war!
These are all things that can be solved with money!

But what the Zhou Dynasty currently lacks most is silver!
In the past few years, wars have been raging in the Zhou Dynasty, and the number of soldiers has doubled than before. It will be difficult to support so many soldiers.

Not to mention that they were suppressing military rations and salaries. Even the soldiers in the north who were on the front line fighting the Tatars were severely suppressed from their salaries.

The Great Zhou Dynasty is now besieged on all sides. When it comes to military pay, the court always has to fight several times. The Ministry of Household Affairs and the Ministry of War almost start a fight in the court, but they can only leak out a little bit.

The weather was so cold last year that thousands of soldiers on the northern front froze to death in one winter. General Zhao Yi made several excuses and scolded officials from the six imperial ministries and Prime Minister Han, and finally managed to get the military pay that was owed for half a year.

But where did Xu Zhenying get so much money?
Why is it that her money seems to be endless, and it is falling from the sky.

Not to mention the intensive training of so many soldiers, but to talk about the universal education she is now vigorously promoting, the cost of these two items alone is at least tens of thousands of taels a month.

She is a bandit and a bandit, where did this money come from?

The longer Bai Ci'en stayed in Qianzhou Mansion, the more he discovered that Qianzhou was unusual and Xu Zhenying's governance was unusual.

He had a vague feeling of strangeness.

This Xu Zhenying...maybe she is the child of destiny...maybe she is the person that the Zhou Dynasty should focus all its capabilities to eliminate immediately!
He had a hunch that if Xu Zhenying was allowed to become powerful, the court would definitely fall into a situation that it could not extricate itself from.

Bai Cien looked at the soldier on duty on the hill. He didn't know what he thought of. He held the paper tightly. Then he dropped his hoe as if not admitting defeat, walked across the cleared field, and walked slowly to the guarding soldier.

He, Bai Ci'en, didn't believe that his father had hired the best teachers for him since he was a child. Whether it was fists, feet, weapons, or literary scriptures, he was taught by the best teachers in Bianjing City. He had never slackened off for more than 20 years. But he can't stand up to a group of bandits who have only been learning for a few months?
In this round, not only did he lose, but the Zhou Dynasty also lost.

When the servants behind Bai Cien saw this, they all secretly touched the sword, as if they were afraid that the little master would be in danger, and they would rush forward as soon as there was any signal!

Unexpectedly, Bai Cien just walked to the soldier, squatted down, and handed over a paper.

The soldier was stunned at first, but then saw that Bai Cien didn't seem to have any ill intentions, and saw the test paper in his hand. Then he laughed and said, "Isn't this our monthly test paper for June? How come you have this set of papers?"

Bai Ci'en discovered that Xu Zhenying's soldiers were really unique.

They seem to be particularly approachable towards the common people!

They never scolded, threatened, or scared off anyone who came close to them. Instead, they tried their best to help the villagers. Even when treating prisoners, they never used whips or other torture. They usually gave verbal advice, and those who failed were sent to the mountains to work. A real coolie.

Their management relaxed and tightened, gaining trust while establishing prestige.

Even Bai Cien had to admit that this method was very effective in treating both ordinary people and prisoners.

Bai Cien coughed and said unnaturally: "Our teacher gave it to me secretly. I don't know where he came from."

"Ah, then your teacher has two brushes. It is not easy to solve this set of questions. Why, now the extracurricular tutoring class has spread to Qianzhou Prefecture?"

Bai Cien seemed to understand a little bit, so he deliberately changed the topic: "These questions are just a bit difficult, and I can't understand many of them."

The few Bai family servants behind him slowly put down their weapons in their sleeves.

The soldier turned the paper over and over before saying with a smile: "This set of questions is very difficult. The average score of our class at that time was only sixty or seventy. Teacher Xiao Xu scolded me miserably."

Bai Cien's face suddenly turned ugly.

That Ming Xiaoshuang didn’t lie to him!

Even if the ordinary soldiers under Xu Zhenying took this set of questions, their average score would be over sixty, but he only had over twenty!

Bai Cien clenched his hands into fists in the dark.

The soldier was completely unaware. He pointed at his wrong questions and said, "You made too many mistakes in this set of questions. I'm afraid you haven't laid a solid foundation. You probably need to take an intermediate class again. Look at the front of you. I basically didn’t do any of these arithmetic questions, and I missed most of the common sense and geography that came later, but I learned quite well about military theory.”

Bai Cien's heart was filled with huge waves at this moment. He seemed to be risking his last breath and said, "Then can you tell me how to do this first question?"

"Let me take a look." The soldier seemed to be very enthusiastic when he saw someone from the literacy class rarely. "The first question is very simple. It is just a basic arithmetic sequence, with just a little more difficulty. Look at the second question. The number is one more than twice the first number, the third number is two times more than the second number, the fourth number is three times more than the third number, and so on, you can quickly get Answer."

As the soldier spoke, he didn't even use a branch. He muttered something in his mouth before writing the answer, "Look, isn't it very simple?"

Bai Cien went over to take a look, and then put his principles into it, and found that this string of numbers that seemed irregular to him at first suddenly had traces to follow.

Bai Cien was horrified!
It can be seen that the person who asked the question did not write the question randomly, but had very superb arithmetic ability, and could even be said to be a master of arithmetic!

"The second question is even easier. It's a pursuit question." The soldier took a branch and drew a circle on the muddy ground next to him. "If you encounter people running in a circle to chase each other, there is one The formula can be applied directly. The pursuit time is equal to the distance difference between the two people divided by the speed difference. You see, if you plug it in, you can calculate that the two people will meet in a quarter of an hour."

Bai Cien couldn't be described as shocked when he heard this.