Ming East India Company

"Sanwazi, you should take a good look. These people are probably not even as strong as the farmhands we hired on our land. Giving them money is like throwing it into the water and hearing a splash."

Shiro did not answer.

Under the whip and shouts of the commander, the garrison soldiers lined up in a sparse and disorganized manner, neither in rows nor columns.

Baiye walked up to the group and ordered the servants to bring up the silver chest:

"Heroes, the Japanese pirates have invaded our territory. It is everyone's responsibility to protect our land and people. Although my Bai family are just ordinary people, we know that when the nest is overturned, no egg remains intact. Therefore, we have specially contributed money to help suppress them."

All those who participate in the naval campaign to suppress the Japanese pirates will be rewarded with four taels of silver before departure and another forty taels of silver upon their victorious return. Those who achieve meritorious service will receive additional rewards. For those who die in battle, the Bai family will provide each of their deceased relatives with one hundred taels of silver as compensation.

Anyone willing to report to the police to protect the people, or to fight the enemy to serve their country, please come forward; a reward will be given on the spot.

Bai Ye shouted for a long time, and twenty or thirty people came out one after another. Just as Bai Wenyue said, this little reward could not sway the crowd.

Shiro then revealed his trump card:

"Anyone willing to participate in this expedition against the Japanese pirates can have their entire family, the Bai family, allow them to work as farm laborers in my Bai Village for generations, so they won't have to toil like oxen and horses in this garrison every day. Are you willing?"

Sure enough, as soon as these words were spoken, the soldiers in the garrison below the stage immediately began to whisper among themselves, their eyes gleaming.

One of the bolder ones asked:

"May I ask, young master, is what you say true?"

Shiro immediately stepped forward and gave his assurance:

"My Bai family has been in business for so many years, do you think we don't have this much integrity?"

Considering Bai Wenzheng's long-standing reputation for "charity" and the deposits paid on the spot, the soldiers present quickly increased the number of people willing to come and collect their money.

With the help of the battalion commander, Bai Ye and Bai Wenyue successively selected more than two hundred people. The two first distributed the silver in public, and then registered everyone's names.

Following Bai Ye's instructions, the commander divided the garrison soldiers who were willing to fight into two groups, and erected a fence in the middle of the camp as a simple dividing line.

At the same time, Shirano also instructed the platoon leader to strictly prohibit the two types of soldiers from communicating with each other from now until the departure.

After all, those who are willing to take risks will eventually hesitate. If they are allowed to communicate with each other, they may be persuaded to turn back by those "cowards" when it comes time to go to war.

At the same time, Baiye also transported dozens of shi of grain from Baizhuang overnight to ensure that these soldiers were well-fed and watered during this period.

Throughout the process, the commander was very cooperative. Firstly, it was out of respect for Zhang Yanyu, and secondly, because many soldiers from the garrison had deserted over the years, and the loss of some soldiers now would be a good excuse to embezzle more military pay.

After the garrison completed its recruitment, Bai Ye returned home. At this time, Bai Wenzheng also began to gradually gather the clansmen and servants in his household.

"I've already sent people to ask each household about the servants. They can gather more than two hundred people. Adding the clansmen and the soldiers who reported, there shouldn't be a problem with a total of seven or eight hundred people."

"The cost of these people's expedition alone is estimated to be ten or twenty thousand taels of silver. We can only hope that your eldest sister can borrow that much money."

Bai Wenzheng's brows were already furrowed.

Around noon the next day, Bai Ling, who had been busy for a day and a night, returned to Bai Village with swollen, red eyes.

"Father, we've asked everyone we can, and none of the merchants near Yuegang have spare money to lend."

"How is that possible?" Bai Wenzheng retorted.

"Now that the imperial court has banned trade with the East, many maritime merchants have a large amount of raw silk stockpiled and have very little cash. How can they lend it out?"

Besides, everyone knows our situation. When your business was good, people were eager to lend you money, but now that your business is on the verge of collapse, who would dare lend us money?

Bai Wenzheng was so anxious he was like an ant on a hot pan:

"Does a living person really want to die from holding their pee?"

Bai Ling said irritably:

"You guys were giving away money like crazy back then, now you know how tough it is to raise money, huh...?"

Bai Wenzheng's face darkened. Bai Ling, who had been suppressing her anger, finally seized the opportunity and began a furious verbal outburst.

……

Bai Ye didn't get involved in his father and sister's argument; instead, he went to the window and racked his brains for a way to break the deadlock.

"Father, elder sister, is there anything of value left in the house that can be quickly exchanged for money?"

Bai Wenzheng shook his head:

"No, that's all. Our Bai family has extremely strict rules, always forbidding our members from being extravagant and dissolute. We don't have much gold, silver, jewels, jade, or antiques. We do have a lot of raw silk in our warehouse, but with the current market prices, who would dare to buy it!"

Bai Ling's mind raced for a moment:

"Why don't we sell the land? There's sure someone wants it. Our family has accumulated over a thousand acres of land over the years; we can definitely sell it to a family with members who have passed the imperial examinations."

"Absolutely not," Baiye said firmly. "Thirty percent of the people who came with us to sea are servants from the manor. If we sell their land today, they can run away tomorrow."

"This won't work, that won't work, just tell me what to do!" Bai Ling started her rant again.

Shiro's mind raced, his gaze sweeping from the stove in the house to his clothes, until he spotted the carriage in the yard...

"I've got it!" Bai Ye had a flash of inspiration. "If we take the horses out and sell them, we're sure to get a good price."

"I'm afraid these horses won't be enough to raise that much money!" Bai Wenzheng couldn't help but frown.

"It's definitely enough. The imperial court has now banned the sale of raw silk to Japan. Silk merchants around Yuegang are all stockpiling large quantities of goods and are trying to find ways to resell the raw silk elsewhere to cut their losses. Horses and mules are solid hard currency, so there will definitely be no shortage of buyers."

"But these livestock were accumulated one by one, used for many years, and they are very useful. It won't be easy to accumulate them again." Bai Ling couldn't help but feel heartbroken.

"If we win this battle, we can buy ten times as many horses as we have. If we lose, the most useful thing for these horses now is to pull coffins for our Bai family of over a hundred people."

Bai Ye's words were devoid of any emotional fluctuation, leaving only the cold reality laid out before Bai Wenzheng and Bai Ling.

"Alright, alright, let's do as Yewazi says!" Bai Wenzheng also knew the pros and cons of the situation and immediately agreed to Bai Ye's suggestion.

"If we're going to sell mules and horses, then the selection of warhorses from among them will probably have to start earlier," Baiye reminded Baiwenzheng.

"I'll write a letter tomorrow asking my uncle to send two people who know about horses."

"No need," Bai Wenzheng said mysteriously. "When it comes to judging horses, our family has no shortage of people."

He then instructed Bai Ling, "Please have Feng the Donkey come and take a look in a couple of days."

"Feng the Donkey?" Bai Ye was taken aback when he heard the name. Was there really such a bizarre name in the world?