In a shop in the south of Yangzhou City, seven or eight tables were filled with people. These people were all new soldiers who were returning to Yangzhou to train new recruits and are now on vacation.

Thanks to the end of the war, agriculture, commerce, and economic production in the entire area south of the Huai River were carried out normally, and even due to the existence of the army, many commercial demands continued to grow.

More than 10,000 troops were stationed near Yangzhou City, and their families, and more than 30,000 people had a meal, drink, and defecation. The monthly salary of nearly 20,000 taels of silver was paid every month. In this era, the consumption capacity it drove was naturally very strong.

After all, it is rare for soldiers to not disturb the people, and to have military pay, to buy things and pay for money. So many of them suddenly appear. For the people of Yangzhou Prefecture, God is simply a sight to be opened.

Moreover, with the launch of various workshops with soldiers' families as the main labor force, the cigarettes, wine and cotton produced by these workshops quickly occupied a considerable market share with extremely high quality, and also enriched the soldiers' material life.

If you want to have a strong army, relying solely on spiritual construction is not enough, and it must be combined with the supply of materials.

"Damn it, I clearly said that I wanted to stay on the front line, but I still sent me back to Yangzhou to train troops. As a result, that guy Xue Lao Er ran to Huaibei by himself." Zhang Hong became more and more angry as he spoke, and then he suddenly poured a bowl of wine, and his neck was already red.

"The prince-consort has an arrangement for the prince-consort, and didn't Lord Zhang agree to tell you about his wife?" Zhuang Lidong smiled gloatingly. Zhang Hong has never had any airs. Although he is a battalion official now, he still fights with their subordinates.

Of course, the capture of Liu Liangzuo and the night attack on the north bank of the Huai River, Zhuang Lidong, Zhang Dong, Chen Yu, Huang Fa and others, who were pioneers, have been promoted now. Even Huang Fa, the lowest, has been the team leader.

After all, Huang Fa cut off the heads of many Green Camp soldiers, but did not cut off the heads of the Tartars. They killed enough people who attacked the Green Camp soldiers, but the heads of the Green Camp soldiers were not very valuable.

"But, Lord Zhang is a scholar. He introduced him. Maybe he is a lady from a wealthy family. People may not be able to like you. It's really not possible. I think Lao Zhang can buy one from Yangzhou. I heard that Huaibei has just been harmed by the Tartars, and many people have fled to Huainan. The girl is cheap." Zhuang Lidong continued.

What he said seems a bit incredible in modern times, but in the late Ming Dynasty, it was already civilized enough. The girls he bought were naturally maids, housework, and people who served them. As for the right to be a regular, it was basically impossible, at most it was a concubine. Unless it was a really outstanding appearance and had great means.

"Yes, Brother Hong, although the Tartars have been temporarily repelled, I heard that there are still hundreds of thousands of soldiers and some are still fighting. We are not in a hurry. Once a war is fought, we can earn at least a few hundred taels of rewards."

Zhang Dong was also a big or small person. At this time, he took a sip of wine and said loosely: "Are you afraid of not having a wife with Brother Hong's military pay and official position? I see that those girls even want to enter Brother Hong's door even if they are squeezed out. They can marry eighteen, and then build a three-entry yard and give birth to thirty or forty sons."

These officers who were still boatmen more than a year ago were all ordinary people. Most of them were farmers who had been farming for generations. In their concept, marrying a wife and having children and inheriting incense is the biggest thing in life. If they can become a person from the court and build a big house to live in, it would be a glorious family!

Zhou Shixian has been trying his best to ensure the supply of the army, and pays great attention to military discipline, military law and ideological education, which makes the new army under his command not as hostile as other armies of this era.

Although Zhang Dong didn't speak very much on weekdays, he said this to Zhang Hong's heart. When he heard it, he became happy and nodded.

Moreover, Zhuang Lidong was right. After all, with his monthly salary, it is not far away. In this world, let alone buying one maid, there is no problem even if you buy three.

"It's true that's the case, but I have to lead new recruits, and I just practice and practice every day. I always feel uncomfortable. Taking these new recruits, I'm so stupid that I'm dying. How can I feel comfortable in the front line?" Zhang Hong couldn't help but complain.

"Old Zhang, don't complain anymore. An Anxin listens to the arrangements of the prince-consort. Anyway, I see that it will take several years to drive the Tartars back outside the pass."

Zhuang Lidong said, suddenly lowered his voice and said quietly: "I heard the sound of the wind, it seems that the prince consort and the emperor are now in disagreement, and I don't know what to do in the future!"

"There is still this?" As soon as these words came out, they were like a dull man, almost eating meat. Huang Hai, who had never said anything, suddenly became interested.

"I heard from General Xue's people, saying that when I was in the capital, the prince-consort was not aware of military law and battle formations. Until one day, the prince-consort dreamed of Jiulong Panding outside the palace, and then suddenly opened his mind the next day. That night, many people in the palace even saw the celestial phenomena change. I'm afraid the old god has descended to earth!"

"I'm talking!"

When Zhang Hong heard this, he slapped the table with a "slap", as if he had discovered something extraordinary: "At the beginning, I thought it was strange. You said that the prince-consort was just a half-sized baby, how could he control all the veterans and gangsters? It turned out that there was an immortal helping him!"

"I'm right!"

Zhuang Lidong's rumors were affirmed, and he became more and more excited as he spoke: "So, the emperor seems to want to go against the will of heaven, and now he is stumbling on the prince consort everywhere. Then the peace talks are made by the emperor."

"Is there such a thing going against the will of heaven?" Chen Yu looked incredible.

"We should not tell the matter between the emperor and the prince consort. If we make a taboo and get beaten up in the head, it would be too unfair." Huang Fa was still a little timid after all.

"Yes, yes, we should not say such things. If we were really chopped off our heads because of this, it would be too unworthy." Zhuang Lidong also reacted at this time. If this matter was investigated, he would not be able to escape the topic.

"Zhang Dong, don't just eat meat. Do you have any plans? When will you marry a wife? This time you received a bounty of fifty taels of silver, so you can build a large yard, and there is still a little left." Zhang Hong knocked on the table and asked.

"Ah..." Zhang Dong was busy eating. At this time, his mouth was filled with meat and he couldn't speak clearly. When he heard Zhang Hong call him, he quickly swallowed it down, and almost choked. After chewing for a while, he took another sip of wine before he calmed down.

"I have no plans, I just want to be a soldier forever. It is best to make more contributions, become a 100-year-old general as soon as possible, and then... marry a few more wives, have a few sons to pass on the family line... It's boring to go back to farm. Maybe I'll be bullied again at any time, and it's better to be a soldier in the army."

Zhang Dong rushed the fastest in this war and killed the most people. He could kill two of the Tartars who were supervising the battle in the Green Camp Army. However, Zhou Shixian was far less rewarded with the Tartars than Chongzhen did, and he gave a generous reward of twenty or thirty taels of silver.

However, although he didn't like to talk, he also had his own ideas. Compared with farming under heavy oppression, Zhang Dong felt that joining the army was a complete turnaround. Not only did he have a high status, good food, but he also received military pay. The most important thing is that he has now become the Banner General and has led more than 30 new recruits.

"That's true. If you become the General of the Hundredth General and then you will be the general of the garrison in the county town, you will be very comfortable in the second half of your life!" Zhuang Lidong agreed.

Zhuang Lidong actually thought so, and he asked a lot of news early on how to operate and how much money he gave. After all, the battle will be finished one day.

"However, I heard that the prince-consort was going to give us land directly, but it seemed that he was persuaded by the civil servants in the court, so he would not give us any more. The emperor actually listened to the civil servants and didn't know who was fighting in the world. What are we trying our best!" Zhuang Lidong, the master of the rumor, looked around and muttered carefully.

"There are those civil servants again, fuck, I heard from the previous soldiers that the most hateful ones are these guys, even more hateful than the Tartars!" Zhang Hong's face turned rosy at this time, as if he was drunk, but he still instinctively said hatefully.

The military veterans of the Ming court hated the most were naturally those civil servants and so-called military eunuchs. When they were not under Zhou Shixian, most of the military training they were angry and deducted came from these people.

"If we don't divide more land, how can we recruit good soldiers? We have lost so many soldiers this time and are ready to deal with the large-scale attack of the Tartars. We have to recruit 20,000 to 30,000 new soldiers, and there are local garrison troops!" Chen Yu was a little puzzled when he heard this.

"It's more than 20,000 to 30,000, at least 40,000. I heard that the prince-in-law received enough military pay this time. He wanted to expand the army significantly, and to expand the army, he also had to expand the army with Huang Degong, Gao Jie, and Liu Zeqing. It is estimated that if he really expands, he will have to recruit 50,000 or 60,000 new recruits..." Zhang Hong was already drunk, and all these things should not have been said.

However, most of these are rumor. Zhou Shixian did not announce a comprehensive recruitment plan. He just used Shi Kefa's Ministry of War to issue tasks to various prefectures and counties. Many officers guessed based on the number of veterans assigned.

After several battles, these former new recruits have now grown into veterans and gained the confidence to defeat the Qing army, especially most of them, who have not been defeated by the Ming army repeatedly.

This is crucial. Psychological advantages and morale strength can be better. After all, in this era, relying on close combat formations is still the most critical point in defeating the enemy.
Chapter completed!