Chapter 15 Today I have a long tassel in my hand
Chapter 15 Today I have a long tassel in my hand
When he came out of the stink garden, Shao Quanzhong was already wearing a sixth-grade warm hat with a blue feather and a white giant clam top bead.
Wearing the sixth rank official hat does not mean that Shao Quanzhong has become an official of the Qing Dynasty. Wu Wenxi awarded him the sixth rank official hat for military merit, which is just an honor.
When the military merit award was first introduced, only the emperor could bestow it, according to the principle that favors come from above, and those who received it could basically become a real military officer in the capital.
Later, the governors and governors-general found that this thing did not cost money, did not increase the number of officials, and could reward meritorious personnel and boost morale, so they immediately began to distribute it privately and indiscriminately.
During the Jiaqing reign, 944 military honors were issued during the suppression of the White Lotus Religion in Sichuan and Shaanxi. None of them was awarded by the emperor, and only 89 of them were submitted to the emperor to complete the formalities.
The emperor could do nothing about this matter. If you don't let me issue it, you can just give me money and official positions, otherwise I won't be able to handle the meritorious soldiers under my command.
With the Taiping Rebellion, the Qing Dynasty launched militia training, and this thing was issued even more indiscriminately. Zeng Guofan issued the most, and Wu Wenxi, who was not even at the level of governor, dared to go...
For most regiment commanders, the military merit hat is just a way to show off. They are originally gentry, big landlords, and local celebrities, and have no demand for the additional functions of the hat.
It is of great use to Shao Quanzhong.
The yamen runners seemed majestic in front of the poor common people, but in reality they were menial servants looked down upon by the bigwigs and scholars.
A military meritorious official would be awarded a hat, although he would not receive a salary and other officials would not listen to him. However, he did not have to kowtow to officials and his family could be exempted from corvée labor, which instantly raised his social status.
It can be said that he has gone from the top of the poor class to the bottom of the upper class.
Tian Xing got angry when he saw the Qing Dynasty's official hat. When he asked about the origin of the hat, he became even more dissatisfied.
"Second brother, for this fake hat that is everywhere, you actually gave away half of our group training money? This is too uneconomical."
“Brother, you are much more capable than me, but you really don’t understand officialdom as well as I do.
Not to mention that most of this half of the money will really be exchanged for food and fodder. Once this commission is given, our money will only increase in the future.
Let's make a bet. Within three days, Lord Wu will be able to get us more funds. We will definitely not suffer any loss."
If Tian Xing understood this, he wouldn't have to be a lone thief. He was half-believing and half-doubting, hoping that he would lose the bet.
Shao Quanzhong led his men to Yangjiawei Village.
The location of the village is a little south of Hailing County. It is a village with tall walls and guard towers built outside it.
The location of this village is very strategic, as it is in a pincer position with Hailing County.
Once the Taiping Army attacked from the south, the village would be the first to be hit, buying time for the Green Camp soldiers in the city to react and assemble.
The fortified villages can also tie down the enemy's actions. If the enemy does not capture the solid fortified villages first, it will be difficult for them to concentrate on attacking the city as they will be harassed from behind. This is the original intention of organizing militia training - to serve as cannon fodder for the regular army.
On the gate of the village, there was originally an inscription "Yangjiawei" carved on stone. There was no time to re-carve it, so the word "Yang" was covered with red paper and replaced with a big "Shao". The village was then named Shao.
This is good, which means that the militiamen at least welcome the arrival of General Shao on the surface and recognize his jurisdiction.
After all, Taizhou still belongs to the Qing Dynasty. You dare not approve your superior's appointment. Are you preparing for a rebellion?
The head of the militia was not an official, but he did not have a certificate of officialdom.
The militias were formed by local tycoons who recruited people themselves. Their subordinates were all familiar with each other and they did not need a certificate to confirm their identities.
Fortunately, Haiqing and Zhang Siwen brought the Wu family servants to search Yang Yong's house, and the local militia all knew them.
Shao Quanzhong was wearing a sixth-rank hat and entered the village with his two brothers in a majestic manner. Naturally, there was no doubt about his identity.
Shao Quanzhong moved into Yang Yong's house and felt like he had a home in Taizhou.
Yang Yong was Shao Quanzhong's lucky star. He left the existing village and house to Shao, and the twenty thousand taels of silver that he had collected with great effort also belonged to him. Shao Quanzhong was a bachelor with nothing, so he moved in with his luggage, and without even taking a rest, he immediately inspected his militia.
The militiamen lined up for the review. They were of varying heights, in disorganized formation, and wearing all kinds of clothes. They all wore their hats askew and had squinting eyes. Most of them were street thugs.
There are a total of 600 militiamen in Taizhou, but there are only more than 50 local militiamen in the village.
The militia is not a regular army. They usually farm the land and are only called together when there is a war.
The militiamen on duty here are still holding swords and spears. If all 600 people were gathered, they would have sticks, shovels, pickaxes and everything else.
Yang Yong was only interested in making money, so he didn't really put any effort into training. He saved all the money he swindled into his own house and didn't spend any money on equipping the militia.
Seeing that Shao Quanzhong brought three confidants with him, the three former deputy regiment commanders of Yang Yong were worried.
A new emperor appoints new ministers. General Shao has made three big moves since taking office. Will he remove us?
Shao Quanzhong stood with his hands behind his back, looking at dozens of ugly militiamen. He showed no dissatisfaction at all. Instead, he smiled and raised his voice.
"Brothers, you have worked hard. From now on, each of you will receive one tael of silver per month as salary. Go do what you need to do."
"Master Shao is mighty!"
Dozens of thugs cheered together and scattered.
It turned out that when Yang Yong was in power, the one tael of silver in military pay was not paid in cash, but six hundred coins per person per month.
What a joke! The Green Camp soldiers only get one tael of silver per month. You, the militiamen who have nothing to do but farm at home and only stand guard once every ten days, still want to get the same salary as the regular army? Giving you six hundred coins is just out of kindness from Master Yang.
After disbanding the militia, Shao Quanzhong nodded and called the three deputy regiment commanders over, "Can you write?"
"Boss, I can write a few words, but I can't recognize all the characters, and my handwriting is not good either."
"It's okay, as long as you can hold a pen."
Shao Quanzhong took out a notice and said, "Copy this a hundred or eighty times and send people to post it in all the towns and villages."
Several deputy regiment commanders took it and looked at it, feeling both happy and worried.
The good news is that the treatment of the original deputy regiment commander remains unchanged, and the entire militia of 600 people is organized into the Taizhou Militia Left Battalion, which is supervised by Tian Xing.
The newly formed right battalion was trained personally by Shao Quanzhong.
The Right Camp temporarily recruited 200 people, who were full-time soldiers, and their monthly salary was four taels and five cents of silver.
Only good-looking peasants and honest farmers were recruited. Ruffians and street urchins were not accepted. Applicants had to be jointly guaranteed by the head of the village and the head of the security guard.
Oh my god, at 4.5 taels of silver per month, wouldn't the competition for these 200 places be crazy? Although we are still deputy regiment commanders and our salaries haven't been reduced, we are still jealous, aren't we?
Even if they were jealous, they had to obey orders. That night, they copied hundreds of notices with crooked handwriting, and the next day, fifty militiamen were sent out to post them.
On the third day, early in the morning, before the militiamen who had signed up arrived, the militiamen on guard came over to report, "Head of the regiment, a scholar wants to see you."
A scholar in white came in. He looked to be in his early twenties, with fair complexion and red lips, and was graceful, handsome, and had the elegance of a southern scholar.
When the scholar saw Shao Quanzhong, the only person in the village wearing a sixth-rank hat, he bowed and said, "I am Le Sen, your honor to meet you, Shao Tuanzong."
(End of this chapter)