People in the Three Kingdoms: Starting from Preaching

Chapter 75 Whoever is good will help whoever is good! (Please read on!!!)

The guard walked over and helped the old man up. He glanced at the excited villagers behind him and was deeply moved. He felt that the villagers and his own intentions seemed to be completely connected.

Perhaps this is exactly what the Yellow Turbans are pursuing.
"Fellow villagers, I know what you mean, but we don't need all of you to go to the battlefield. Farming is also our priority and we can't put it aside. This time we will only requisition 50 men from the village, 30 young and strong men to strengthen the army, and 20 civilians to transport supplies. We won't take more than that!"

As the guard spoke, he helped the old man sit down and held his hands together, allowing the tired villagers to sit down and rest as well.

When he heard that the Yellow Turbans were only recruiting fifty men this time, the old man grabbed his hand and asked him worriedly.

"Are fifty men enough? I know the Righteous Army is kind and righteous, but this is not the time to pity us. We should use them when necessary. Otherwise, if we lose the battle, we will lose everything. I, an old man, know this. The Righteous Army must not be confused!"

In fact, requisitioning fifty people for a village is already a lot. The imperial court's corvée labor is no more than that. Not to mention that it is the busy farming season now. Even the government would not choose this time to delay farming.

Despite this, the old man took the initiative to worry about the Yellow Turbans, fearing that the Yellow Turbans did not have enough manpower to win the battle.

This situation of rushing to serve in the army had never happened before in the Han Dynasty court.

This is not just because the people support the Yellow Turbans.

But the common people also have their own survival wisdom. They understand that they are now in the same boat with the Yellow Turbans. If they lose the war, everything will be over. No one will care about these things at this time. The most important thing is to win the war first.

In this regard, other villagers and the old men were no different. They were all very enthusiastic about joining the battle.

But since the Yellow Turbans wanted to distinguish themselves from the government, they naturally would not count this conscription as corvée.

"Don't worry, folks. These fifty people are definitely enough for us to defeat the soldiers. Of course, we also know that without these fifty people, farm work will be difficult, but it doesn't matter. If the labor of each household affects the harvest, we will calculate the compensation one by one!"

Hearing the guard's promise, many villagers were startled, and then they all breathed a sigh of relief.

They were not afraid of going out to fight with the Yellow Turbans, but they were afraid of lacking their own labor. It would be difficult to take care of the farmland at home, and they would be very miserable if they had a poor harvest.

Since the Yellow Turbans are so fair now, it is not unacceptable to delay the harvest a little. This will also relieve them of one worry.

However, before the villagers could react, the guard waved his right hand and told them something else.

"Also, we Yellow Turbans will not use civilians for free. This time, we will not conscript laborers, but everyone can get paid. The young and strong men sent to the army will be paid seven cents a day, and the civilians transporting supplies will be paid five cents a day. If anyone dies in battle, they will be given an additional three times compensation after the war!"

When these words were spoken, the people looked at each other in bewilderment. They couldn't believe it at first, and it took them a while to slowly digest this matter.

Can you get paid if you go out to serve as a soldier and fight in a war?

If the person who spoke was not a Yellow Turban, they would not have believed it at all, because in their minds, there was no concept of military pay at all.

When the Han Dynasty served in the military, they were all conscripted by the imperial court. The types of soldiers varied depending on where they served.

If they serve locally, they are considered conscripted soldiers, such as soldiers in local counties and prefectures.

If you go to the border to serve in the army, you will be considered a garrison soldier. The elite soldiers under the former Lieutenant Zou Jing are of this type. The best place to go is to serve as a guard soldier in the central government of the court. The treatment here is the best, not only the training and drill are strict, but also the equipment is excellent and the food and drink are good.

But no matter which type it is, soldiers do not receive any salary. Labor or military service has always been taken for granted in this era, and the people themselves do not have the idea of ​​being paid.

Serving as a soldier and receiving a salary was something that only came into being after the conscription system was developed during the Tang Dynasty.

Xu Chen's current military system combines the advantages of the fubing system and the recruiting system. In peacetime, the fubing system does not require soldiers to be maintained and has no burden, but in wartime, it also provides military pay like the recruiting system to increase soldiers' willingness to fight.

"The leader is a saint who saves people from suffering. How blessed are we to have such a saint as him!" The old man, who had just sat down, suddenly had red eyes, then he knelt down and cried bitterly with emotion.

If we recruit soldiers today, even if the Yellow Turbans don't pay them, the villagers won't think there is a problem, but the Yellow Turbans are willing to pay!

In their eyes, this is just a free gift!

The Yellow Turbans are magnanimous, and their leader is magnanimous; the Yellow Turbans are benevolent and righteous, and their leader is benevolent and righteous!

Originally the conscription was free, and the villagers had a strong desire to join the army. Now that it has become paid, they are even more willing.

When the squad leader and the surrendered Han official sat down at the table and began to enlist soldiers, the villagers gathered around them and the sound of registration was endless!
However, the Yellow Turbans' pre-war preparations were of course not just about recruiting soldiers, another very important thing was the requisition of food and supplies.

If it were the Han government, when food and grass were tight, what they would do was to directly levy taxes by force.

The Yellow Turbans are now preparing for a war, and they are running short of food and supplies. They also don't have extra money to buy food and supplies from the people.

But even so, the Yellow Turbans did not resort to the usual means of expropriation used by the government. Instead, they chose to clearly indicate the price and write an IOU, promising to return the money according to the agreement after the war.

Borrowing is a very risky thing, but when the Yellow Turbans came to borrow, the villagers did not hesitate.

Many families were counting the days for the autumn harvest, leaving only enough food to make ends meet, and sending the rest to the chief.

They would rather starve themselves than help the Yellow Turbans get through the current difficulties.

The people have sharp eyes. When the Yellow Turbans entered Yuyang and distributed wealth to them, they were very clear about it. How could they not lend them some supplies now?
The people were enthusiastic and trusting enough, which made the job of the grassroots squad leader very easy. He didn't need to consult every household. All the young and strong people in the village came here for him to choose. In the end, some of those who were not selected were not very happy.

Farm work may make my family work a little harder, but they can still handle it.

If I join the army, not only will I have to eat less food from home, but I can also get a salary. How could I not want to do that?

Even when it came to borrowing supplies, some enthusiastic villagers were exaggerated. They carried bags of rice here, and when they arrived, they simply threw them on the ground and left. It was only when the Yellow Turbans forcibly pulled them back that they weighed the money and wrote them an IOU. Otherwise, they would have given the money away for nothing.

Although everyone cares about small profits, when people encounter something that is truly good for them, they will do it without hesitation.

If I don’t help the great Taoist priest Xu who saves people from suffering, should I help you, the emperor of the Liu family?
(End of this chapter)