Chapter 57: Parting on good terms
Chapter 57: Parting on good terms (Additional chapter for the leader, Li Zongsheng)
After separating from Mi Huang, Shao Xun immediately called Wu Qian and the team leaders, squad leaders, and platoon leaders of the three teams of children and teenagers.
Looking at the group of people sitting on the ground, Shao Xun said straight to the point: "I'm sure you've heard about Sikong's reorganization of the army. To make a long story short, I want to convert all of you into recruited soldiers. From now on, you are all soldiers of the kingdom."
"Don't worry about people looking down on you. When you captured Sima Yi, didn't you beat all his guards and followers to pieces? With a stab of the spear, the enemy fell to the ground, and with a chop of the sword, the villain surrendered. Even the prime minister praised the bravery and decisiveness of the soldiers I selected. You are no worse than anyone else."
"Even if they become recruits, they will still be led by me, and everything will remain the same. They will learn to read and write, learn arithmetic, practice martial arts, and farm. They will also continue to take lessons on military examples."
"Of course, if someone is unwilling, I will go and talk to them and let you go, even at the risk of angering Sikong."
"Now, everyone, please express your opinions."
After Shao Xun finished speaking, he sat there calmly, his eyes constantly scanning the young men.
The young men were whispering and talking to each other, with different expressions on their faces.
"You're so hesitant, are you a man?" Chen Yougen scolded from the side, "If you want to stay, stay. Continue to eat and drink as much as you can, and continue to learn literature and martial arts from the owner. The owner is a man from heaven, and he will never hide his skills. If you don't want to stay, get out. It makes me upset. Go back and continue farming. Oh, by the way, farming is not a good idea either. There's a war in Xuzhou now, and you may be conscripted again."
"Chen Yougen, how can you talk like that?" Shao Xun rebuked, "Let's part ways in peace. We were once teachers and students, and we still have feelings for each other. If you don't want to stay and become a recruit, I will personally make you a delicious meal. After you finish eating, we will part ways and we can meet again in the future."
After being scolded, Chen Yougen stepped aside and looked at the boys with a look of hatred, muttering: "The world is so chaotic, and the refugee army eats human flesh. You are fat and white, and you are caught by others, which is a blessing for others."
Shao Xun glared at him again, and Chen Yougen finally shut up.
"Brother Yougen is really..." Wu Qian gave a bitter smile and said, "Let me say a few words. The owner of the building has been with you for a year and a half. He has treated you well, right?"
After seeing everyone nodding, Wu Qian continued, "I actually want you all to stay. The kings are recruiting soldiers, and they don't care whether you are willing or not. They will just give you a wooden spear and you will go. There are rebellions in Xuzhou caused by Feng Yun and Shi Bing, and you may be conscripted if you go back. But the owner of the building has taught you carefully for a year and a half, and you are like father and son. He doesn't want to force you to stay."
"Anyway, I don't want to go back. Farming on the land is hard to make ends meet, it's better to stay in the military camp and have enough food. The owner of the camp asked me to become a military officer, to be honest, I didn't expect it. I can become a junior officer at my age, I never dared to think about it before. You can read and your martial arts are better than mine, your future prospects are not something that can be stopped by a military officer."
"The world is in chaos, and the way back won't be peaceful either. I don't know what to say, so you guys make up your own mind."
After saying that, Wu Qianyi stepped back and looked at the group of young men with anticipation.
"It's fate that we met. Whether we leave or stay, our affection is there." Shao Xun said with emotion, and said, "Everyone, please express your attitude."
"Master Shao, no matter where you go, I will follow you." Wang Que'er was the first to stand up and said loudly.
After he finished speaking, he looked around him and saw more than a dozen people standing up. He said, "I'll stay too."
There were three other people sitting on the ground, their faces reddened.
After a while, one of them stood up hesitantly, leaving only two sergeants still sitting on the ground.
"Master Shao, I will go with you to the ends of the earth." Jin San stood up.
The people in our team stood up one after another, and only four people were left.
Jin San was furious and started kicking and hitting them. Two more people stood up, while the other two looked ashamed but never got up.
"Master Shao, I will definitely follow you." When Mao Er stood up, he pulled and tugged with both hands, calling on everyone to stand up.
In the end, there were still three people left.
"Lu Heigou, your home is only a dozen miles away from the owner's home, why don't you get up?" Mao Er looked at a boy of about thirteen or fourteen years old and asked angrily.
Lu Heigou stammered twice, didn't dare to say anything, and stood up.
Mao Er called out the names of two more people. They lowered their heads and did not dare to look at him. One of them even cried.
Mao Er was about to curse again but was stopped by Shao Xun.
"Okay." Shao Xun stood up, looked at the young men standing in the hall, and said, "A gentleman's word is as good as his bond. You can't regret what you have said. The army has its own laws. Even if I am reluctant, I have to use the axe to punish those who violate military discipline."
"We will follow Master Shao's orders." Led by Wang Que'er, Jin San and Mao Er, everyone said in unison.
"Okay." Shao Xun smiled with satisfaction and said, "When you go back, collect the attitudes of the soldiers from each squad, compile them into a book, and hand it over to Wu Qian."
"Yes." Everyone responded loudly.
"Master, I will persuade everyone in the group to stay." A young man sitting on the ground cried.
"People are bound by many obstacles in life, and sometimes they have to go back home because of something unavoidable. I can understand that." Shao Xun walked over, pulled him up, put his arm around his shoulders, and said gently, "Have a good meal before you leave. We will definitely meet again when you return to Xuzhou in the future."
The young man burst into tears, and the others were also sad.
"We will go home." Shao Xun patted everyone's shoulders one by one and promised: "Just study hard, train hard, and return home in glory in the future, bring honor to your family, and let those who look down on you take a good look at you and see if you are more promising than them."
With his comfort, the young people's sentimental emotions were diluted a lot, and a sense of hope arose.
This is the age when people love to dream. Who doesn’t want to make a name for themselves?
The summarized data was sent to Wu Qian that evening, and Wu Qian immediately handed it over to Shao Xun.
After a careful look, I found that out of the 146 people, there were about 20 who insisted on leaving.
Shao Xun breathed a sigh of relief. This result was completely acceptable.
This time, he actually played a trick. He played the emotional card, used moral blackmail, and even "intimidate" Chen Yougen with his mouth. Of course, the three "squad leaders" also used their personal prestige to intimidate and scold him, and finally got this result.
Not bad, not bad. These were just the boys, ordinary soldiers, he was too lazy to bother with these things.
******
After finishing one important matter, Shao Xun began to visit Yu Liang, Xu Lang and others.
"The war is about to subside." Shao Xun said, "You should make plans early."
Simple meals but tasted good.
This was cooked by Guanqiu and Yu Wenjun, mother and daughter, together. I wonder if they selected the dishes from Shi Shu.
"Can we enter the city?" Yu Liang asked.
"It's best not to enter the city." Shao Xun's face straightened, and he said, "After the peace talks are successful, the Western and Ye soldiers will definitely enter the city. No one can guarantee what will happen then."
In the army of this era, soldiers were basically conscripted on a temporary basis. Their superiors only provided them with food, but no military pay. When they were away on the battlefield, they would definitely delay their family work.
He couldn't do anything like weeding in the fields, repairing houses, or even doing odd jobs for landlords.
Therefore, the soldiers had a strong urge to plunder, and some even wanted to massacre the city to vent their desires.
For various reasons, officers sometimes turn a blind eye, otherwise if you don't pay the soldiers, the morale of the troops will be gone.
Shao Xun felt that once foreign troops entered the city, Luoyang would actually be divided.
The royal army occupied a piece of land, the Ye army occupied a part, and the western army occupied a part. It was like a concession. This was probably the situation.
"Don't go back to Luoyang, go south. The Xianbei people have already withdrawn, and there is no obstruction to the south." Shao Xun said, "Find a place to hide first, avoid the most dangerous period, and then come back if you want to, or forget it if you don't want to."
When foreign soldiers first enter the city, the chaos will be the most severe. After this period, the officers will enforce military discipline and will not cause things to get too outrageous.
Yu Liang and Xu Lang looked at each other and nodded slowly.
"The King of Changsha clearly won the battle, while Zhang Fang, Lu Ji, and Qian Xiu were just like chickens and dogs, but in the end they were the winners." Xu Lang sighed, "I really can't accept this."
Shao Xun felt a little unnatural.
It was he who captured the King of Changsha, and now He Lun has sent him to Jinyong City for custody.
"Sima Yi is not a good person either, so just say less." Yu Liang coughed and said.
Xu Lang sighed and stopped dwelling on this matter. He asked, "In this situation, if I want to become an official, which side should I choose?"
Yu Liang subconsciously looked at Shao Xun.
Shao Xun was secretly happy.
When did they see me?
After these few months, my status has improved.
Yes, they all thought that they were generals of the Yuefu family, and they had received rewards twice, which obviously meant that they were highly valued. And they had a friendship forged from fighting together, so it was normal for them to ask for advice.
The most important thing is that he usually speaks very insightfully, and some of his words are thought-provoking, which makes the sixteen-year-old Yu Liang and the nineteen-year-old Xu Lang admire him very much, which led to the current situation.
"If you want to vote, vote for Sikong." Shao Xun said.
As expected! Yu and Xu thought to themselves that this was to recruit talents for their lord.
However, Xu Lang should indeed join the King of East China Sea. He is from an aristocratic family of East China Sea, so what else does he want?
Yu Liang thought more.
The Minister of Works had already recruited him once. If he was recruited again this year, should he agree? Or perhaps, he shouldn't refuse?
Shao Xun looked at the two of them with interest.
Xu Lang aside, will Yu Liang really join the Sikong Shogunate? After all, Yu Hua and Sima Yue were very close, and he never gave up trying to persuade his nephew to join the Shogunate.
He didn't know whether Yu Liang had accepted the call in history, but he probably didn't.
Sima Yue's fame is still a little small.
If Yu Liang joined Sima Yue's court, would it change his fate and that of the Yu family?
Have I finally reached the point where I can influence the fate of historical figures?
It’s pretty cool to think about it.
Moreover, if Yu Liang joined the Sikong Shogunate, it would also be beneficial to himself.
After Mi Huang left the shogunate, someone was needed to pass on the message inside, otherwise it would be too difficult to be in the dark.
That's it! Think of a way to get Yu Liang in there.
(End of this chapter)