Chapter 1068 Wholesale Official Positions

Chapter 1068 Wholesale Official Positions

Chapter 1068 Wholesale Official Positions
Before daybreak, there was a commotion in the military camp.

The poor auxiliary soldiers brought out the prepared breakfast, and the sergeants sat on the ground, feeling the damp and cold morning air.

The weather has been bad recently, with the wind howling for several days.

It’s almost the twelfth lunar month, but it hasn’t snowed in Jiangling yet, which is a bit surprising.

Outside the camp, drum beats began again, one after another, becoming more and more intense.

The soldiers turned a blind eye and just ate their food.

What they made today was wheat rice. Everyone was complaining bitterly and almost started cursing.

But there is no way. So much wheat has been shipped from the north, and it will eventually be consumed.

There are not many stone mills in Jiangling. Unlike the north where millet-wheat rotation has been promoted for twenty years, making stone mills has become a fixed long-term business.

So, just make do with it.

A few days of corn rice, plus one day of wheat rice, is enough to fill your stomach.

The sounds of killing in the distance suddenly became more intense and spread across the entire field with the morning breeze.

With a loud bang, mud and water splashed everywhere.

In the huge camp, a drawbridge was suddenly lowered outside a gate somewhere, and dozens of riders rode out.

Lines of sergeants followed behind.

They were fully armed with a variety of weapons, and each of them was accompanied by an unarmored soldier who carried a replacement weapon.

The queue was so long that it seemed as if there was no end in sight. The team at the rear had just passed the suspension bridge when the team at the front had already entered the long trench that surrounded the city of Ji'nan.

The camp was full of mud, which made a crackling sound when stepped on. From time to time, someone fell to the ground but was quickly helped up.

The crisp sound of equipment colliding could be heard everywhere. At first, it was just a long trench, but it gradually filled the entire east side of the city.

The first ray of morning sunshine rose in the east sky.

Under the golden light, the camp and behind the earth wall were filled with people, densely packed and moving quickly.

The soldiers who were originally stationed near the trench wall showed relieved smiles on their faces.

They were covered in half-dried and half-hardened mud, looking dirty and like beggars. Fortunately, the shift change finally came and they could return to the camp to rest for a few days.

The entire handover and shifting process was smooth and fast.

Led by the clan leader, the defenders lined up and left one after another. After fighting side by side with the Liang army for so long, their military level improved rapidly. After all, people can see, listen, and ask questions. Even if they only learn mechanically, they will always make progress.

When they left, they took all their belongings with them.

Some people walk with a limp, and if you hear a squeaking sound coming from their leather boots, you can tell that their feet are rotten, and this has not happened overnight.

Some people had wounds on their bodies, which were hastily wrapped and gave off a foul smell. You didn't need to look to know that they were definitely festering.

There are also people who are not injured or sick, but their faces are pale, their reactions are slow, and something seems wrong to them no matter how you look at them.

More people are numb.

Marching, fighting, besieging, they have done all kinds of things along the way, as if nothing in the world can arouse their interest. What they are doing now is a chore for them, and they just want to finish the battle and go home as soon as possible, unless -

If the governors and generals promised them that they could rape and plunder, then there would be some hope and morale would immediately rise significantly, which would be more effective than giving money.

It's the same money, one kind is obtained through murder, rape, and robbery, and the other kind is given by superiors. The latter is obviously not exciting enough, while the former can vent the evil in human nature more easily and is more attractive to the soldiers.

Money is a reward, but letting off steam is also a reward.

The sun gradually rose higher, and it made people feel warm when it shone on them.

General Chang Can of the Left Jinwu Guard was patrolling around under the protection of his personal soldiers.

Occasionally, I would step on a corpse, which had already become unrecognizable after being mixed in the mud and water, and I would immediately send someone to clean it up.

From time to time, you can see a pool of feces, which stinks.

The military had to go to a designated location to defecate, and the waste had to be buried and covered. There was only one possibility for someone to be here: someone had diarrhea and couldn't wait - there were quite a few of these things happening recently.

A strong and sturdy hero who is skilled in archery and horse riding becomes a completely different person after suffering from vomiting and diarrhea many times. Even a woman can easily kill him.

After completing a patrol, Chang Can looked up at the sky and saw that the dark clouds had finally dispersed and the sun was out.

To be honest, he would rather have heavy snow than freezing rain or sleet.

The drumbeats in the north city gradually stopped, and soon there were continuous gong sounds, which was the signal to withdraw.

The northwest wind blew, and there seemed to be waves of burning smells, but I couldn't tell whether it was people, city gates, or siege equipment that were burning.

At the end of the inspection, Chang Can climbed up a section of the trench wall and looked forward.

The flag of the Jin army hung weakly on the top of Ji'nan City, just like their spirit.

This city cannot be defended for long, it's just a matter of how much it costs.

Chang Can's heart has become hard.

He turned his head and looked towards the south of the city. If nothing unexpected happened, the group of soldiers and followers from Luonan would launch a night attack tonight.

The tactics are indeed based on siege, but it does not mean doing nothing. Necessary offensives will still be launched. Otherwise, when will the enemy surrender?

When Chang Can returned to the camp, a new troop arrived outside Ji Nan City...
A small boat was sailing through the narrow river.

There was a rumbling sound overhead. Huang He looked up and saw that it was an ox cart transporting food and fodder crossing the bridge.

The weather is nice today and quite warm.

The golden sunlight shines on the river, giving it a sparkling feeling.

On both sides of the stream, tents and wooden houses were connected to each other, filled with soldiers from all over the world.

Huang He subconsciously avoided their gazes. However, after seeing his brand new official uniform and the official seal in his arms, he straightened his back again.

What are you afraid of? I am now an official in Daliang.

The boat made many turns and soon moved away from Ji Nan and arrived at a sandbar in the lake near Jiang Ling.

Huang He quickly jumped onto the shore and stayed there for half a day.

In the afternoon, he left again on a small boat and headed to another secret location.

And every place he visited saw some movement over the next few days.

One or two brave generals arrived at the city of Ji'nan, each leading hundreds or thousands of men.

Those who arrived earlier have already received official uniforms and seals.

It is definitely impossible to examine their respective abilities in a short period of time, so we can only make a simple and rough classification.

Frequent travel along the Yangtze River——

If you bring more than 3,000 men to surrender, you will be appointed as the seventh rank naval commander.
If a person surrenders with less than 3,000 men but more than 1,000 men, he will be promoted to the rank of 8th rank admiral of the navy.
If one brings less than 1,000 but more than 500 men to surrender, he will be granted the title of the ninth-rank naval commander.
Those who lead less than 500 soldiers and horses, if they are brave, proficient in water and have someone to guarantee them, can be granted the ninth rank of Dubo.

How were these people able to obtain official positions in the past?
When there is no war, you are not remembered. When there is a war, you are asked to lead the "righteous soldiers" into battle. Only a very small number of people with extraordinary talents can become officials. But how can this be compared with the large-scale appointment of officials in the Daliang Dynasty? It is not the same thing at all.

As a result, this order, with the help of some people with ulterior motives, spread far and wide.

By the beginning of the twelfth lunar month, more than four thousand people who had once made a living on the water had gathered here.

Jiang Ke, commander-in-chief of the Western Route Army, inspected the camp several times and was greatly troubled.

He had a vague feeling: among these four thousand people, it is very likely that more than 90% are not good citizens!

Maybe they usually farm or fish, or do business on boats, and have legitimate livelihoods, but if there is a chance, they definitely don't mind taking a chance.

To put it bluntly, these people are both farmers and thieves, and there are even pure river thieves and pirates mixed in with them.

But then again, if they were servants of the Jiangdong nobles or regular navy officers, would they come to you? It is precisely because they were born in a low family and had a low status, and they were eager to change their fate, gain wealth and honor, have wives and children, and bring honor to their ancestors, that they were likely to come to you.

Jiang Ke then calmed down, and while he petitioned to send a naval commander, he also gave these people a rough training and distributed equipment.

In water combat, few people wear iron armor, because once they fall into the water and cannot swim or float, they are dead. At most, they wear leather armor, which only provides some protection in close combat.

In fact, most people don't wear armor at all, because leather armor is very inconvenient and it is still very hot in summer and autumn.

Jiang Ke didn't care what they thought. He distributed 300 bows, 500 sets of leather armor, 1,000 shields, 1,000 ring-handled swords, 2,000 spears, and other miscellaneous equipment to these 4,000 people - if there were not enough, he would use the ones they brought with them.

While training, they also sent the newly appointed military governors, military commanders, chiefs, and governors to the outside of Jinan City to launch an offensive to persuade them to surrender, such as today -

The Silver Spear Left Camp, the Left Jinwu Guard, and the Helong Miscellaneous Hu launched a massive attack from the south, east, and north. Although they failed to capture the city, they inflicted heavy casualties.

After the battle, a group of people led by Huang He immediately stepped forward to persuade them to surrender.

"Why are you still fighting for the Wu people, you soldiers? Most of the Wu soldiers' families are in Wuchang, and your family is outside the city."

"Surrender as soon as possible and reunite with your family as soon as possible."

"The emperor of Daliang is benevolent. You can return to your farmland after surrendering. I will not ask any questions."

"If there is a brave man who can surrender with the head of a Wu soldier, he will be rewarded with two pieces of silk."

"If you surrender with the head of the sergeant, you will be rewarded with five pieces of silk."

"If you surrender with the leader's head, I will reward you with ten pieces of silk."

"Capture the head of the governor and the leader of the tower and we will give you a reward of thirty pieces of silk."

"If the commanders and supervisors of the camp surrender, they will be rewarded with fifty pieces of silk and appointed as ninth-rank officials."

"If you can capture and kill the fake governor Tao Zhen, you can have an audience with the emperor and be rich and powerful beyond words."

Huang He had a loud voice, and every time he shouted, dozens of louder voices around him would repeat it in unison to ensure that the defenders could hear it clearly.

Perhaps he was too angry, as a volley of crossbow arrows suddenly shot from the top of the city wall. One of them flew over Huang He's head, piercing two people not far behind him and nailing them to the ground.

Your mother is a servant! Huang He turned and ran away very quickly.

However, they did not stop, but changed their location from the east side of the city to the north side, and continued to act as human loudspeakers to persuade people to surrender.

For several days, no one came out of the city to surrender. But they did not lose heart, because it was very likely that the defenders did not want to surrender, but were being watched too closely and did not find an opportunity.

On the evening of the eleventh day of the twelfth lunar month, the Helong Zahu people launched an attack simultaneously from the south and north of the city.

They launched a feint attack in the south of the city and the main attack in the north, while Huang He and others persuaded the enemy to surrender in the east.

The effect finally appeared: two local soldiers from Jiangling climbed down from the city wall and fled to the Liang army camp in panic.

(End of this chapter)