I wield power with my innate talents, and forge the Heavenly Court.

Chapter 122 The Soldiers Who Surrendered: Wang Dahu's Thoughts

After confirming that they were both heading to Xiningwei to rescue the militia, the two looked at each other and then laughed.

"hey-hey."

"hey-hey."

"Let's go together, let's go find some wild game ahead!"

"Yeah"

The two whispered to each other and then quietly walked away into the distance.

"Hey you two, can you take me with you?"

Hearing the voice behind them, the two froze again, mechanically turning around to look, their hearts filled with extreme fear.

I'm doomed, I'm doomed, I'm really doomed this time.

However, the two quickly realized that the person behind them meant to take him along.

Is it
The two exchanged another glance, their guard slightly relaxed as they looked at each other.

As the two looked over, they saw a person walking quickly towards them.

Upon approaching, the man spoke again.

Let's do it together.

".good!"

What could they say at that moment?
Once there's a commotion or fighting, everything will be exposed, and then they'll all be doomed.

"Count me in."

"Include me"

"And I"

Before the three of them could set off, a series of sounds rang out behind them.

In the end, they had gathered more than ten people.

After exchanging glances, the group silently turned and left, quickly disappearing into the night.

What they didn't realize was that several figures were watching them from the vicinity of the camp they left.

"I wonder how the militia will treat these surrendered soldiers?"

Each person had their own thoughts, glanced discreetly at the other hidden places, and then left without saying a word.

Meanwhile, a group of more than ten Ming soldiers quietly arrived outside Xining Garrison City.

"who?"

Their whereabouts were discovered immediately by the militia, and someone on the city wall shouted loudly.

If it weren't for the fact that there were only a dozen or so of them, and that it didn't seem like a night raid, they would have already riddled them with arrows.

"General, please don't attack! Please don't attack! I'm here to surrender!"

"Yes, yes, that's right, we've come to surrender and pledge our allegiance."

"Please don't do it! Please don't do it!"

Upon being discovered, the group of Ming soldiers hurriedly spoke up to explain, fearing that if they were even a fraction of a second slower, they would be killed, which would truly be an unjust death.

"Ok?"

The patrolling sentries, listening to the chaotic explanations below, couldn't help but exchange bewildered glances.

It seems like they're the ones who're surrounded now, right?

Why is it that these Ming soldiers surrendered to them instead?

"Squad leader, could this be a trap?"

"You all stay here and guard this place. I'll go and inform the general."

"Yes!"

After the squad leader left, someone in the squad shouted down.

"Listen up, everyone below! Stay put and don't move. We've already sent someone to inform the general."

"Okay, okay! We'll stay here, we won't move around."

As time passed, the Ming soldiers below grew increasingly anxious. Why hadn't the general arrived yet? Could it be that he didn't want to accept their surrender?

Involuntarily, some people couldn't help but ask questions.

"Sirs of the People's Salvation Army, when will your general arrive? When will you let us into the city?"

"What's all the noise about? If you're going to wait, then wait. Why all the nonsense?"

Upon hearing the question from below, the People's Salvation Army above shouted a rebuke.

"Yes, yes, yes!"

Although they were somewhat anxious, they had no way back at this point and could only nod in agreement, waiting anxiously once again.

In fact, they didn't wait very long; in fact, it took less than fifteen minutes in total.

It's just that the agony of waiting for the unknown stretches out their sensory time.

A quarter of an hour later, Wang Dahu finally reached the top of the city wall and looked down at the dozen or so people below.

After a moment's thought, Wang Dahu decisively gave the order.

"Lower the basket and pull them up."

"General, could this be a trap?"

Li Hu looked down and said with some concern.

Upon hearing this, Wang Dahu couldn't help but chuckle.

"Ha! Just those dozen or so of them, I'll give them a handicap with one hand."

Li Hu and the others thought about it and realized that it seemed to be true.

They are soldiers who possess extraordinary abilities. What trouble could a mere dozen or so ordinary people cause in their territory?

With that thought in mind, everyone felt relieved.

Of course, we still need to be vigilant.

Li Hu, the captain of the guard team, signaled to his men to remain on guard and be prepared to act at any moment.

The imperial guard was established by the dynasty in imitation of the guard forces of later dynasties and the personal guards of the Ming Dynasty. It was mainly used to protect generals and important figures.

As for why they didn't choose the personal guards from the Ming Dynasty at that time...

The reason is simple: the personal guards of this era were more like private soldiers. Everything they had was provided by the general himself, so naturally they only obeyed the general.

Let alone other generals and high-ranking officials, even the emperor's orders sometimes don't work.

Even if a dynasty is not afraid of a powerful and uncontrollable force, nor of someone rebelling, it is still unwilling to have such a nearly completely independent private power.

Therefore, the dynasty specially established a guard force.

For example, a battalion commander with more than 5,000 men would have a 50-man bodyguard team dedicated to protecting the commander.

They are also part of the formal military order, under the command of their commander, and will fight desperately to protect him, while also obeying orders from higher-ups.

Unlike the personal guards of the Ming Dynasty, which were almost entirely private soldiers.

After Li Hu and the others were ready, someone immediately lowered the ropes to the basket. "Listen up, you men down here. If you are truly surrendering, then get into the basket."
We will pull you up.

Looking at the hanging basket in front of them, the dozen or so Ming soldiers exchanged glances for a moment before finally entering the basket one after another.

At this point, they had no other choice.

After pulling the men up, Wang Dahu looked them up and down. The Ming soldiers, whose legs were weak and whose faces were pale, looked pale, perhaps from the fright they had just suffered.

At the same time, these people also appeared to be rather thin, looking malnourished.

"You want to join my militia rescue force?"

"Yes, yes! We want to surrender, we want to surrender to the People's Salvation Army!"

"Why? You are government soldiers, while we are just rebels."

"Officers and soldiers?"

One of them said with a wry smile:

"We soldiers can't even get a full meal."

"Surely not? Yang Jiamo doesn't seem like the type to mistreat soldiers, does he?"

Wang Dahu looked at everyone with surprise.

He had heard the leader mention General Yang Jiamo before.

The leader clearly held Yang Jiamo in high esteem, saying that he was a descendant of the Yang family generals and a rare and promising general in the Ming Dynasty.

How could someone like that mistreat his soldiers?

"Hehe, after General Yang took charge of us, our meals were pretty good."

While we don't expect lavish meals, at least during wartime, we can guarantee three meals a day.

However, after the general led his troops to Lanzhou, the counselor Wang Guo began to cut back on our food rations.

These past two days, we've only had two meals of thin porridge, even worse than before the general arrived. Our legs are so weak we can barely walk, let alone fight.
If we don't find a solution soon, we're all going to starve to death.

We had no choice but to do this.

"Oh!"

As he listened to everyone's stories, Wang Dahu looked them over and nodded in understanding.

No wonder some soldiers came to surrender.

But would anyone be so unwise as to withhold soldiers' rations on the battlefield?
If that's the case, then it can only be described as being blinded by greed.

In fact, in the original history, the kingdom caused a mutiny among its soldiers because it withheld their rations and pay.

After being laid off and losing his job, Li Zicheng joined the army in Ganzhou and began his rebellion.

However, Li Zicheng should not have been dismissed yet and should still be working as a lowly courier in Mizhi.

Regardless of the historical context of the kingdoms and their impact on Li Zicheng later on.

However, the current kingdom is indeed withholding soldiers' rations and pay.

After some thought, Wang Dahu decided to take them in.

However, they were also given a task: to recruit more soldiers.

At the very beginning, the Ming soldiers all looked hesitant. If they went back and were discovered, their fate would be tragic.

Seeing the hesitant looks on everyone's faces, Wang Dahu suddenly thought of the gold and silver confiscated in the city, and the words the leader had said.

Silver only becomes money when it's spent; silver piled up in the warehouse is just a pile of useless junk, nothing more than gold nuggets and silver nuggets.

In that case, shouldn't he turn the garbage into money and spend it?
"Five hundred coins!"

"what?"

The Ming soldiers didn't understand for a moment and looked at Wang Dahu with confusion.

"I said, for every soldier you bring, I will reward you with five hundred coins."

"Ah~?"

"Really, really?"

"Haha, of course it's true."
A mere five hundred coins? I don't even consider it a concern.
"If you have the ability, bring all the Ming troops across the way. What's wrong with giving you five thousand taels, or even fifty thousand or one hundred thousand taels of silver?"

The group exchanged glances, each able to see the other's attraction.

They brought all the Ming troops from the other side, knowing they were not capable of fighting them.

However, by bringing along some familiar soldiers, they still had a certain degree of confidence.

In fact, if they were willing to share some of their money, many people would probably come on their own initiative.

However, if one can bring people, one can indeed obtain a large sum of money.

However, this is also extremely dangerous.

If the news leaks, they will lose their heads.

Therefore, although they were somewhat tempted, they remained very hesitant.

After all, this concerns their lives and livelihoods.

Seeing the hesitation in everyone's eyes, Wang Dahu smiled slightly and said again:

"One tael of silver. For every soldier you bring, I will give you one tael of silver."

"Done!"

That's a tael of silver; they might not earn that much in a year.

Taking the Liaodong border troops as an example, their monthly food allowance was four qian of silver, totaling four and a half taels of silver per year.

Then the household servants and personal guards were paid double, which was 9.8 taels a year.

However, in reality, apart from the personal guards and soldiers, ordinary border soldiers did not necessarily receive their full pay.

In fact, being able to get even half of it would be a blessing; the norm was to not see a single tael of silver all year round.

In more serious cases, military pay may not be issued for several years.

Now, as long as they can recruit a soldier, they can easily earn a tael of silver. So what is there to hesitate about?
Fight!

Seeing that everyone had agreed, Wang Dahu couldn't help but burst into laughter.

"Hahaha, okay!

Tiger, have someone take them downstairs and treat them to good food and drink.

"Yes!"

Upon arriving at the Salvation Army's mess hall and seeing the abundant food, including meat, the group of more than a dozen Ming soldiers widened their eyes instantly, and their stomachs began to rumble again.

"Hehe, brothers"
Please don't be shy, just tell me what you'd like to eat, and I'll serve you.

"This...this, can we eat all of this?"

"Of course, but we can't waste it!"

"And this, this, and this one."

In that instant, everyone abandoned everything else, focusing solely on the sumptuous meal before them.

(End of this chapter)