There is no such thing as the Kangxi and Qianlong eras

Chapter 5 Recruiting troops
(anyone there?)
The next day.

"How come there are so many weapons? Yu'er, where did you get all these?"

Nie Jieren asked in surprise as he looked at the weapons that suddenly appeared in the cellar.

When he saw the weapons for the first time, he subconsciously thought that they were obtained by Zhang Zhengmo, but he quickly rejected this idea because the quality of the weapons was too good. What Zhang Zhengmo obtained were all semi-finished pig iron, at most some gunpowder, and it took a lot of effort.

But these weapons are all of excellent quality, and most importantly, they are all made of steel.

During the Qing Dynasty, steel production was extremely low.

How low is it?

Even during the Jiajing period of the early Ming Dynasty, the annual steel production was only 16 tons at its peak. Before the First Opium War in the Qing Dynasty, the annual steel production was only more than 8 tons, only half of that in the Ming Dynasty.

It is still local steel, which is the product of traditional steelmaking methods. The quality is uneven and almost impossible to control.

Lower steel production and quality meant a worse-equipped military.

Except for the border troops and the Eight Banners of the Qing Dynasty, it was almost impossible for the general Green Camp troops in the local area to use steel weapons.

Including the most common waist knives, most of them are steel-clad, that is, the whole body is made of pig iron, and a layer of steel is plated on the blade, so the wear rate is very high and very fast.

Now that Nie Yu can get so many steel knives and steel guns, it’s no wonder that Nie Jieren is so surprised.

Nie Yu said, "Dad, you don't need to ask this. You just need to know that these weapons are passed down from our ancestors. We need to store them now and find a new place to train our own troops with them."

Nie Jieren didn't ask further questions after hearing this. He nodded repeatedly in agreement, "Yes, yes! That's right. This is what our ancestors of the Nie family have saved up. We must keep it well and use it to train our own troops."

Seeing that his father accepted it, Nie Yu then asked about the progress of recruiting soldiers.

Nie Jieren was quite familiar with this. He said, "Well, I've already assigned this task to my subordinates. It's just a matter of recruiting some refugees. These refugees are very hard-working. If you give them food and land to farm, they'll work hard. But it's hard to lend money to them now. Zhang Zhengmo insisted that I write off all the refugees' debts and forbade me to continue lending to them. I missed a great opportunity to make money (the Miao uprising in Hunan brought a large number of refugees)!"

Nie Yu was speechless. Although Zhang Zhengmo had ulterior motives, he didn't allow you to lend money because it was for your own good.

Who rebels while drinking the blood of his soldiers?
If this works, even sows can climb trees.

……

That afternoon.

Nie Yu, who was really worried, went to the scene in person to supervise the servants recruiting refugees from the shantytowns.

There was no other way. His father was too unreliable. He was really worried if Nie Yu didn't come to take charge. If the servants were spoiled by his father and he would withhold money and food and extort money from the refugees, it would be all over.

What Nie Yu wanted were soldiers who were loyal to his family, not tenant serfs who would swallow their anger.

Nie Yu appeared in the shantytown with his servants, but no one was too surprised.

Because there were so many people coming to the shantytown to recruit workers, not only landowners from other places, but also wood box factories, iron factories, paper factories, etc. run by wealthy families in the county, and even government officials coming to arrest people...

Well, arresting people is fake, extorting money is real.

These officers were very discerning and did not pick on young and strong men living alone, but only on the elderly and weak who had families with them.

Nie Yu was still very young and couldn't stand it for a moment. He wanted to step forward to stop it, but was pulled by the sleeve by the butler Liu who was following him.

"Master, let me do it!"

As Butler Liu bowed and spoke, he quickly walked towards the two officers who were extorting money from a family of refugees.

No one knew what the two sides said, but the officers really left.

Nie Yu was sharp-eyed and saw that Butler Liu cryptically handed over half a tael of silver.

"That's half a dollar spent?"

"They're only worth half a penny."

Butler Liu, however, looked indifferent.

"Young Master, there are many things I can't handle. For example, these two officials today, I can send them away with half a pound of silver, but as long as you don't come tomorrow, they might still be here. And it's not just these two. The county government's runners and unofficial servants are as numerous as evil spirits..."

Nie Yu took a deep breath and nodded slightly: "Butler Liu, you are right, there are many things that cannot be managed..."

That’s why we must rebel even more!
In this prosperous era of the Tartar Qing Dynasty, which starved people to death, and which measured the material resources of China and won the favor of the country, how could we still celebrate the New Year if we didn't rebel against it?
Nie Yu once again reaffirmed his determination to rebel to the end, and temporarily modified the recruitment standards set by his father.

In just the afternoon, a large number of young and strong refugees gathered around Nie Yu's stall.

The treatment is so good that it seems unreal.

Three meals a day, three meals!
Not only are meals provided, but there is also the promise of meat every day. If you behave well, you can become a formal citizen and receive a monthly salary.

This is much better than the treatment given by landlords and factory owners in other places.

As a result, these refugees did not dare to believe it easily, for fear that there was some scam.

"Excuse me, young master, can you really guarantee that I will provide you with enough food, meat, and wages?"

The one who asked the question was a burly man who was just watching. Although he was wearing thin clothes, it couldn't hide his muscular body. He didn't look like a farmer, but rather a martial artist.

Nie Yu didn't wait for the servants below to scold him, and said with a smile: "Of course it is so. My Nie family is also the richest in this area. Once the words are spoken, they are like spilled water. There is absolutely no reason to take them back."

Seeing all the refugees around him looking in his direction, Nie Yu added, "Today, I, Nie Yu, am here to make a promise to everyone on behalf of my father, Mr. Nie. Today's treatment is all real. Anyone who comes to work as a servant in my Nie family will be provided with three meals a day, every meal will be full, and at least one meal of meat will be provided. Those who perform well can also be naturalized and receive a monthly salary. I will never treat you unfairly!"

Having said that, the strong man simply stopped waiting and walked forward to sign the contract.

Literate?
Nie Yu's eyes flashed. There were people who could read and write in ancient times, but there were definitely none in the Qing Dynasty. Because the Qing Dynasty banned folk community schools, those who could read and write must not be from ordinary backgrounds.

In addition, the other party had a muscular body and an unconcealable military spirit. It was obvious that he had been a soldier, and not the corrupt Green Camp officers and soldiers in the local areas.

Nie Yu didn't point it out, but since the first person signed the contract, the refugees who were still watching behind him couldn't help it either.

Those who were already single and had no worries followed suit. Since most of them were illiterate, they first reported their names and then pressed their fingerprints, which was considered signing the contract.

But in just one afternoon, Nie Yu successfully recruited more than 60 people, all of whom were young and strong refugees without families.

In the following days, Nie Yu still insisted on being present in person. Almost every day at noon, he would recruit more than 50 people in the afternoon.

In just four days, the originally planned 200 "housekeepers" were recruited, and there was even a slight excess.

Nie Yu ordered the servants to lower the standards and recruited more than 200 additional "reserve servants".

At this point, the task of recruiting soldiers and buying horses was barely completed.

It should be said that only half of the task is completed. We cannot just recruit soldiers, we also need to buy horses.

But the horse was too expensive. Nie Yu originally wanted to buy it, but after asking the price, he immediately changed his mind.

Moreover, except for the Mongolian grasslands outside the Great Wall, and horse-producing areas such as Shaanxi, Gansu, and Yili, the inland horses are too short.

I can only give up for now.

(End of this chapter)