Chapter 145 Private Soldiers and Wei Shuao

Early February.

It is getting closer and closer for Chen Nuo and Wang Qingxuan to get married.

But the environment has changed recently.

Since the two countries blockaded Yue, business has declined greatly, and merchants from all over the country have started to stock up.

What are they stocking?

Stock up on grain! Stock up on cloth! Stock up on cattle!

Anyway, they stock up on anything that they think is precious and can be sold at a high price in the future!

They have no concept of making money from national disasters.

Anyway, I can make money and eat this meal, no matter what means I use, it is my ability!

In addition, it is February now, with heavy snow and cold weather. I don’t know how many people who can’t afford cloth have frozen to death in the house.

To be honest, at this point, Chen Nuo already thinks that Yue is hopeless.

Even with the high-end power of warriors, a pure peasant uprising is difficult to succeed, but will those ambitious people miss such a good opportunity?

Chen Nuo believes that there is more than one organization like the Bai Ling Sect, and those restless families...

Oh, by the way, his family is also considered a family now.

But the Chen family led by Chen Nuo was not an unscrupulous family, nor did they have the intention of rebellion. They only wanted to grow stronger and survive in the troubled times.

Therefore, Chen Nuo began to expand more vigorously.

Recruiting refugees, releasing some arable land, suppressing grain and cloth prices, disbanding the grain tax team and rebuilding the four county militias, arresting bandits and maintaining stability, and ensuring safety.

Although there was no porridge shop to help the people, many people were already very grateful to Chen.

Even this small act made Chen Nuo very famous. Many people even said that the four western counties were a rare and stable place, and such words were spread.

So much so that some refugees from Juyan County came here.

In this regard.

Chen Nuo was happy to see it happen.

Because...

"Age."

"37."

"Place of origin."

"Kang County, Juyan County."

"What's your name?"

"Zhang Liao."

"What have you done? What are you good at?"

"I've been a soldier, worked as a carpenter, and am good at carpentry."

"..."

In the southern district of An County, a member of the Chen clan sat on a stool, with flags and porridge pots standing beside him, and several sturdy militiamen maintaining order.

That's right.

Chen Nuo is recruiting servants.

Although Yue State is becoming more and more unstable, the original talents have also been broken and started to circulate under the population flow.

Especially the people of Juyan County, because Yue State is facing Xia State in the north, many people from this county join the army. Although they are all low-level officers, the highest is an officer commanding 300 people, but it is still valuable for the Chen family.

Not to mention, there are also some technical talents such as carpenters and masons mixed in. (I didn't meet any blacksmiths)

There were even some small families who were so hungry that their bones were showing, or the children of poor families who chose to come forward to recommend themselves.

Don't ask why they have no integrity, just ask why they are hungry!

Now in the entire four counties, the only one who is well paid and is still recruiting people is the Chen family.

Others?

Even if you can read, it is impossible to be an accountant or copy books to sell for money. At this time of year, everyone is at the bottom of society. No one has surplus food, let alone spare money!

However, even though the Chen family had been storing food before, it was not unlimited.

……

"So, our food is no longer suitable for recruiting people, right?"

Chen Nuo asked, looking at his uncle Chen Shuiwen who was clacking on an abacus across from him.

"Yes, I have been calculating. Now our Chen family already has 500 private soldiers. These people are really expensive. We have to pay for the 3,000 people from the militia, plus the population of our Chen family. It's a big expense."

"Now we have recruited more, um... including their families, there are more than 200 servants in total.

The family's income is mainly from the previous confiscation of property. Although medicines and cooling liquids have also made a lot of money, now that the trade between the two countries has been cut off, they can only be sold internally, and the money earned has been greatly reduced.

As for the income from land, manors, and various shops, it is not much in general.

Compare the two...

Oh my god, I didn't know until I calculated it. I was shocked when I calculated it."

"Patriarch!"

The uncle's face changed drastically, and his voice broke.

"You must not recruit any more people. If you continue like this, the income and expenditure will be unbalanced!"

"Is the money from the confiscation not enough?"

"Hey, clan leader, the price of grain is really high now. We can't just sit back and eat it all, right? The money and grain left here are the family reserves. This is what you said. We can't use it indiscriminately, right?"

"..."

"Well, okay, stop recruiting for the time being."

"Okay."

Although it is chaotic now, there are really many talents.

In just over ten days, Chen Nuo has received eight carpenters, two letter people (people who make armor), three poor children who are literate and have some knowledge, and two low-level officers who have experience in commanding more than 100 soldiers...

It can be said that they are all talents!

For the shallow Chen family, they are really rare talents!

"Forget it, there is no way. Food is the most precious. With food, there will always be talents in the future."

Afterwards, Chen Nuo went to the Chen family parade ground, which is the location of Chen's military power and the place where Chen Nuo comes every day.

No other reason, I value you.

Five hundred private soldiers, this is the most important military force of the Chen family.

On the training ground.

Wei Shuao, who was dressed in fish scale armor, was patrolling with a tiger-like gaze, and from time to time he would pick out a soldier for additional training.

In the center of the field, five hundred people were divided into several groups, practicing different weapons.

Sword and shield!

Spear!

Bow and arrow!

There are the most spearmen, followed by swords and shields, and the least bows and arrows!

Their armors are basically brand-new refined leather armors, and a small number of warriors or officers have iron armors. Even so, if they can all wear armors or even have iron armors, this already belongs to the level of the regular army of the Yue Kingdom.

Of course, it was only at the level of a garrison. Both the border troops and the imperial army were heavily armored.

In a corner, there was a team of dozens of people who were testing the crossbow arrows.

That's right.

crossbow.

It has short distance, high power, easy training, and you can use it right away. This is a crossbow. Unlike an archer, it has physical requirements, vision requirements, and technical requirements. A mature archer needs to train for at least one year or even two years. The above will do.

Of course, most of these are not used. These archers are basically from Orions and have been training for more than half a year. They are all qualified archers.

These more than fifty crossbows were brought out by Chen Nuo after he emptied the four county government warehouses. There should have been more than this, but after asking Ning Tianya, I found out that some of the crossbows or armaments had been sold by them long ago. .

The other part was damaged during the bandit rebellion, and I don't know if it can be repaired.

So, that's all that's left.

Chen Nuo watched Wei Shuao train his soldiers with satisfaction.

Really, Chen Nuo still feels lucky to have picked up a talent like Wei Shuao.

However, Chen Nuo actually had some doubts in his heart. If an outstanding talent like Wei Shuao really wanted to find a place to settle down, wouldn't it be better to stay in Xia Kingdom? Why go to Vietnam and be forced to sell yourself into slavery?

This is unreasonable.

Seeing Wei Shuao trying his best, Chen Nuo hesitated for a moment and called Wei Shuao over.

"Master of the family." Wei Shuao greeted him respectfully.

"Well, Shu Ao, how have you been in the family during this time?"

Wei Shuao's eyes moved, and he immediately bent down and saluted, "Master, my subordinates are living a good life in the family. They have food, clothing, money, and their children are taken care of. They are far better than many people."

"Well, that's good. Come on, come and go for a walk with me."

"yes."

Walking down the corridor.

On the left and right are frozen white ponds, which are particularly beautiful under the frost.

"Shu Ao, do you still want to take revenge? Your enemy in Xia Kingdom."

Chen Nuo suddenly asked.

Wei Shuao's expression remained unchanged, "I think about it, but I just think about it."

"My subordinates can't go back anymore. It's better to work for the family with peace of mind in the future."

Chen Nuo smiled, "You are dishonest."

"Your hard work has paid off, and I want to reuse you. Let's talk about those enemies. Maybe you can really take revenge one day?"

Wei Shuao was silent for a while and said, "I was implicated in a fraud case during the imperial examination. Because I knew the cheating scholar, it was useless to seek connections. The person behind the incident was the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel of the Xia Kingdom; After I joined the army, the identity of the person who framed me was not simple. His father was a general in the Forbidden Army. I had no future in the Xia Kingdom, so I came to the Yue Kingdom. "

"As for why I sold myself..."

Wei Shuao's eyes were a little blank.

"Because there was no way out at that time. I was depressed and couldn't do anything as a beggar. I wanted to be a staff member, but they didn't want me. I wanted to be a nurse. But I was unlucky and met a master. I was severely beaten and my son was injured again. I was so hungry that I didn’t want to be a bandit, so I had no choice but to sell myself and become a domestic servant... It was actually a bit of a self-destruction. "

Wei Shuao smiled bitterly.

Chen Nuo suddenly realized, no wonder.

"Don't worry, I will take revenge if I get the chance in the future."

Chen Nuo comforted.

Wei Shuao nodded.

"Shu Ao, let's not talk about these. Let's talk about other things. What do you think our Chen family should do next?"

Chen Nuo stopped and looked at Wei Shuao seriously.

Wei Shuao looked at Chen Nuo carefully and said after a while, "Master, if I, the Chen family, want to develop, there are actually three ways."

"Oh? I'd like to hear the details."

Wei Shuao straightened up, a confident look radiating out.

"First, the civil service system is also the most orthodox promotion path for aristocratic families."

"Scholarships, candidates, Jinshi, and court officials, many aristocratic families can develop and grow with the help of the court, mobilize the court's troops, cultivate warriors with the help of the court, obtain protection and fame, and use the power to suppress others...

From a place in a county to a prominent family in a county, and even controlling a whole family, it became a truly big family. "

"But this road is no longer feasible. Now the court of the Yue Kingdom is in chaos, and the world of the Yue Kingdom... is hard to say. If you become an official at this time, you will get angry. Therefore, I do not recommend this road. ”