Yongli Ming Dynasty

Chapter 140 Incentives
At the intersection of Cangqian Street, there are two stalls in two conspicuous places at the intersection. In front of the tables and chairs, there are two signs, one on the left says "Recruitment of Soldiers" and the other on the right says "Selling Grain".
There was a long queue in front of the grain stall. They were all people from Cangqian Street who came to ask about the price and buy grain. However, the long queue was full of old, weak, women and children. There was not a single young and strong person to be seen.

At another stall, Chen Shangchuan was the only one sitting at the table, and there was no one below.

Many people asked about the price at the grain stalls, but few bought grain. The few who gritted their teeth and bought grain had sad faces. Although the court was still willing to sell grain, the price was extremely high and was simply not affordable for ordinary people.

While the people were buying food, Chen Qice was directing two Xinhui County yamen runners who came with him to load copper coins onto a cart.
Strings of copper coins fell on the cart, making a rustling sound, and the attention of the people nearby was instantly attracted.

The cart was already filled with copper coins, like a small mountain of copper coins shining with a dark yellow metallic luster. On top of the copper coins were piled more than a dozen silver ingots.
Suddenly, there was a sound of swallowing saliva from the crowd. Everyone stood still, staring at the cart full of silver and money, as if there was some kind of magic on the cart, making it difficult for everyone to look away.
It was rare for an ordinary family to have three or four taels of silver in their home. How could ordinary people have ever seen such a mountain of silver?
In front of the grain stall, the long queue was almost silent. Everyone was staring blankly at the two yamen runners who kept piling silver and money onto the cart. With every extra cent on the cart, everyone's breathing became heavier.

When the cart was full of silver and money and could no longer hold more, the yamen runners finally stopped.

In front of the yamen runners, there was a pile of copper coins randomly piled on the ground, like miscellaneous items.

Chen Shangchuan saw that everyone in the field was staring at the money on the cart, so he winked at Chen Qice who was standing beside him. Chen Qice suddenly walked to the front of the cart and spoke loudly.

"My fellow villagers, there are bandits making trouble outside the city. The court is now recruiting strong men from the city to defend the city. Anyone who responds will be given five taels of silver to settle down. The silver is here. If anyone responds, they can take it on the spot."

"Yesterday, the bandits outside the city tried to attack Guangzhou, but they were defeated by the army in the city. The city has now asked the court for help. We only need to hold out for a few days, and the court army will arrive at the gates of the city and defeat the bandits outside the city."

"All applicants will not only have priority in purchasing rice in this area, but the daily rice quota will also be increased to two kilograms."

"As long as you help the court defend the city for a few days, you will immediately receive five taels of silver. The court will also give you other rewards afterwards. Don't miss this opportunity, fellow villagers."

Chen Qice spoke loudly, but the people in front of the grain stalls all lowered their heads, their eyes flickered, and no one responded.

Chen Qi Ce saw this, but he didn't care. His eyes flashed and he continued to speak.

"The court is giving out money to recruit soldiers, not only to defend the city, but also to protect you and the people in the city."

"The bandits outside the city were ferocious and suffered heavy losses after being defeated by the imperial court. If we allow these bandits to enter the city, they will surely massacre people in the city and rob you and other common people."

"So once the situation in the city is critical, everyone in the city, regardless of gender, age or status, will have to go up to the city to defend it, but by then there will be no money left to settle down."

"The court has issued an order that this district will only recruit 50 young and strong men. The first 50 people who apply will not only receive 5 taels of silver to settle down, but also 1 tael of silver per month after joining the army, which is the same treatment as regular soldiers."

"After the 50th man, he will be considered as a civilian. The court will only provide him with rice but no money. The number of regular soldiers is limited. All the brave men in the village should not hesitate and come to apply for the enlistment as soon as possible."

When the women and children in the crowd heard that the imperial court was going to force the gong, their faces suddenly changed. Looking at Chen Qice in front of them, who was wearing a black robe, their faces became more and more panicked.
In this era, the government's words were laws and decrees, collecting salaries and silver, and signing labor contracts. These things were normal in this era.

After hearing what Chen Qice said, some women and children recalled the registration process at the grain stall just now. They looked flustered and wanted to leave immediately, wanting to know where the young and strong people in their families were hiding.

After hearing that only the first fifty people would receive salary, most of the women and children in front of the grain stalls left.
Chen Qice looked at the people in purple who were hastily dispersing in front of the stall, but he didn't care. Seeing that there were not many people left in front of the stall, he signaled to Chen Shangchuan, and then took two yamen runners and pushed the cart towards the street ahead.
On Cangqian Street, a yamen runner pushed a cart, another yamen runner struck a clapper, and Chen Qice followed behind them with a sword, shouting along the street about the imperial court's gongs and soldiers.

In a dilapidated mud-brick courtyard, Xu Wu stood in front of the dilapidated courtyard gate, looking through the cracks in the door at Chen Qice and others patrolling the street.

He stared at the pile of copper coins and silver on the cart until Chen Qice's shouting faded away and he could no longer see the copper coins piled on the cart. Only then did he look away.

Xu Wu stood silently at the door for a long time, then turned around and walked back into the house.
Sitting in the upper part of the room was an old woman wearing rough clothes and with a pale face.

Below is a middle-aged woman, and next to her is a boy of about seven or eight years old.
The old woman was Xu Wu's mother, and the middle-aged woman was Xu Wu's brother's wife, Xu Liushi
Beside Xu Liushi, the little boy of about seven or eight years old was holding the corner of Xu Liushi's clothes, but his eyes were fixed on the grain bag on the table, swallowing his saliva.
The mouth of the grain bag was opened, and there was only a thin layer of rice inside. The Xu family had just heard that the court was selling grain, so they naturally hurried to buy grain.

The Xu family now relies on Xu Wu to carry goods for a living. Xu's mother often needs to buy medicine. There is also a young son left by the eldest brother in the family. Life is extremely tight.

The Xu family had no food left. After hearing the price of rice set by the court, even though she was heartbroken, Xu Liushi had to reluctantly buy a pound of rice.

And a pound of rice is just a handful.
"Fifth brother, hurry up and leave. Your sister-in-law just went out to buy food. She said the government is forcing the people to work as soon as possible."

"Go hide at your cousin's house in the south of the city first, but don't get caught by the government."

The old woman looked anxious, and after she finished speaking she started coughing
"It's useless. The government has already said that the city is under martial law. Citizens in the city cannot move around freely. If they are caught going out, they will be immediately treated as rebels. I heard that Jiang San at the street corner was killed by the government for this reason."

"Besides, what can we do even if we go to my cousin's house? Since the government wants gongs and soldiers, there must be more than one place here. The whole city must be using gongs and soldiers to arrest people. There is no place to hide people," Xu Wu said in a deep voice with a gloomy expression on his face.

“What can we do?”

Hearing this, Xu's mother turned pale and murmured to herself:

Everyone in the room looked sad, except for the boy next to Xu Liu, who looked confused. He just stared at the grain bag on the table and kept swallowing his saliva.
Xu Wu was silent for a while, then suddenly spoke

"Mom, I've made up my mind. I'm going to apply for the job."

"The government said that if you apply now, the court will give you five taels of silver to settle down."

Upon hearing this, Xu's mother stood up immediately and said

"No, I can't go."

"You are the only pillar of my Xu family now. How can you become a thief? If anything happens to you, how will I live?"

"I heard from Mr. Zhao next door that those outside the city are not bandits at all, but Tartars from the north. These northern Tartars are man-eating beasts. If you go to defend the city for the government now, you will die. You must not go." Xu Wu was silent for a while, and suddenly spoke in a muffled voice

"We have no money left"

Upon hearing this, Xu's mother was stunned and remained silent for a long time.
Seeing the silence in the room, Xu Liu, who was standing by, gritted her teeth and said

"I have a hairpin. I'll pawn it. I should be able to get some money in exchange."

Xu Wu glanced at Xu Liushi and spoke again in a low voice

"The city is under martial law now, and no one is allowed to move around. Who can I be my sister-in-law to?"

"Now we can only buy grain from the government, and the government sells one liter of grain for thirty or forty coins. Even if I pawn my hairpin, how much rice can I get in return?"

After Xu Wu finished speaking, the family became more and more distressed. After a while of silence, Xu Wu finally spoke.

"The price is already so high right now when the siege has just begun. Although the government has sent a large army to rescue, who knows if it will be successful? The price of rice in the city will definitely be higher as time goes on. Once the siege lasts for a long time, it is not impossible that a liter of rice will cost more than 100 coins."

"I have decided to apply for the job. After I get the money to settle down, my sister-in-law will buy food and store it as soon as possible. This way, my family will have a chance to survive this disaster."

Xu's mother looked at her son's determined face and tried to speak several times, but in the end she was unable to make a sound.

Xu's mother looked pale, and after a long while she finally spoke.

"How can we trust the government's words? Even if Fifth Brother accepts the offer, the government may not give him money."

"Those gentlemen in the government say nice things, but once they enter the government, they will have no say over us common people. If that happens, won't Fifth Brother be arrested by the government to guard the city for nothing?"

Xu Wu's expression froze, and he hesitated for a moment, but then his expression became more determined.
"If that's the case, then we can't hesitate any longer. Right now, the people in the city are all unwilling to apply. If I'm the first one to apply, the government will probably give money to the first person to apply just for show."

"Even if those officials wanted to be greedy, they probably wouldn't dare to be too greedy. The sooner we go, the more money we can get."

"I've decided, I'm going to apply now"

A trace of determination flashed across Xu Wu's face, and then, without waiting for Xu's mother and the others to object, he looked directly at Xu Liushi on the side.
"Sister-in-law, take good care of mother after I leave"

"Xiao Hu, you are the man of the family from now on. You must listen to your mother and be filial to her and your grandmother."

"Xiaohu must be obedient"

The little boy looked at Xu Wu with a serious expression and spoke in a low voice, but he hid behind the woman with a timid look in his eyes.

Xu Liushi did not speak, but looked up at Xu's mother in a panic.

Xu Wu looked at the panic on Xu's mother and the other's faces, but he did not hesitate any longer. He walked to the hall, bowed to Xu's mother, gritted his teeth, and turned to walk out the door.
"Fifth brother, wait a minute"

Xu Wu had just walked to the door when his mother suddenly called out to him.

Xu's mother turned around and walked back to her room. After a while, she took out a bundle.

The bundle was opened, and inside was a tattered black leather armor. Only the upper part of the armor was left with armor plates, which could barely cover the front and back.
Xu Wu looked at the broken leather armor with a look of astonishment on his face, while Xu's mother said in a sad voice:

"I heard from your father that the Xu family's ancestors seemed to be banner officers from somewhere unknown, and they were also once official officers in the garrison."

"But we couldn't make it any longer, so we fled to Guangzhou. I didn't expect that after all these twists and turns, my Xu family would still have to become a bandit soldier and work for the imperial court."

"This armor has been passed down in the Xu family for seventy or eighty years. It is the Xu family's last wish. You can wear it. Don't risk your life. I only hope you can come back safely."

Xu Wu was only surprised for a moment, and then his face returned to calm.

Today, the Xu family has long been an ordinary citizen, and the family is extremely poor. What does the deeds of the Xu family's ancestors have to do with them?

Xu Wu put on the small piece of leather armor, and then carefully covered it with his coat. He kowtowed to Xu's mother, and resolutely walked out the door. However, faint crying sounds came from the house behind him.

Xu Wu walked onto the street, but it was empty. The street was in a mess, with fallen signs, baskets, wooden boards and other debris everywhere.

Xu Wu only took a few steps when he saw Jiang San's body hanging at the street corner.

Normally, Jiang San was a well-known scoundrel in Cangqian Street. Almost no one dared to offend him. But at this moment, his eyes bulged out and he was hung at the street corner without making any sound.

Xu Wu looked at the corpse with bulging eyes and a pale body, and a trace of fear appeared on his face. But after hesitating for a while, he gritted his teeth and walked towards the gong soldiers' booth in front of him.
"Sir, I heard that if you apply, you will be given five taels of silver to settle down. Is that true?"

"Of course it's true. If you sign up, you will be paid 5 taels of silver immediately. There will be no arrears. This brave man, please sign up."

Chen Shangchuan sat at the table, looking at the nervous young man in front of him, with a smile on his face, and he finally breathed a sigh of relief in his heart.
At night, with the sound of gongs and gongs, or the temptations

Regardless of how much trouble there was in the process, more than 2,000 young and strong men in the city were finally sent to Jiao Lian’s army on time, and then they were urgently sent to the top of the city wall.
(End of this chapter)