"Hey, how great it would be if the military camp in Xicheng also had the surname Yu!"
As an old Yu family soldier, Ma Sanniu was extremely envious of the new Yu family army's generous treatment.
And the soldiers in other military camps in Xicheng were not envious of the welfare of the old Yu family army.
"Sanniu, I heard you have meat to eat today?"
The speaker was a man in his thirties, with a dark face, short height, and thin body.
He looked not in good spirits, and coughed from time to time while talking.
"Brother Da Zhuang, are you sick?"
Ma Sanniu did not answer the question, but asked with concern.
"Oh, it's nothing! It's cold, isn't it? We don't have cotton-padded clothes yet, so we can only wear single clothes, but won't we get cold?"
When Ma Dazhuang said this, he did not forget to look at Ma Sanniu, who came from the same village as him, with envy.
Tsk, Sanniu is so lucky.
Also defecting to the army, Ma Dazhuang joined the Feng family's army camp, while Sanniu became the Yu family's army.
I can eat well, receive military pay, and have thick cotton clothes in winter.
Five years ago, the Yu family army was in turmoil and was divided into pieces.
Sanniu, a veteran of the Yu Family Army who survived the battlefield, was also assigned to the Feng Family Army.
Everyone ate in the same horse spoon again, and they all became poor soldiers like beggars.
However, not long after, the Yu family came back.
San Niu then went to work under Lord Yu Erlang again and lived a good life again.
As members of the Xicheng Army, the Yu Family Army's treatment is definitely the best among the several battalions.
Ma Dazhuang didn't even need to ask about the specific situation. He only needed to look at Ma Sanniu's increasingly strong body and the new cotton-padded clothes on his body.
The life of Yu Jiajun is better than before.
Of course, the pay is good and the training is rigorous.
Like Ma Dazhuang and others, they usually only go out for a drill or patrol, and don't have much training.
As for the Yu family army, they practice every day.
There were nearly a thousand people, who first stood in formation and then moved around. I heard that even the beds in the barracks had to be neat and clean.
Then everyone held a wooden stick and a wooden knife, chanted "Kill! Kill! Kill!" and beat their companions with bang bang bang.
If you don't do it right, you will get injured.
Don't be afraid if you get injured, there are dedicated doctors.
The best medicine for bruises is free and given to injured soldiers free of charge.
If you have a headache or a fever, you will be given decoction and medicine.
I heard that if family members need decoction, they can go to the doctor for medicine.
Still no money!
Oh, by the way, the Yu family army also needs to practice horse riding and archery...
Gee, you are so rich, so many ordnances are just for training the soldiers.
Unlike their Feng family army, they don't usually issue weapons to their soldiers, but they will be issued in advance when there is a war.
Because all soldiers know that ordnance also costs money.
There was a time when it was time to go to the battlefield, and some soldiers did not have real weapons in their hands, so they could only use wooden sticks.
There is also armor, which ordinary soldiers do not have.
If you want to save your life, then spend your own money to get it.
But how can the big-headed soldiers have money?
Military pay was deducted to the point where there was not much left, and even the family could not afford to feed themselves.
It's better to go to the Yu Family Army next door. They can wear armor for normal training. Although it's not made of iron, the rattan armor can also play a certain protective role.
Ma Dazhuang and other soldiers were envious.
The training is indeed hard, but you can have enough food, clothing, and military pay. If you are killed in battle, your family can still receive pensions... In one word: worth it!
Pulling back his thoughts, Ma Dazhuang reached out and touched Ma Sanniu's thick cotton coat, "It's better for you, the Yu Family Army, not only do you have cotton clothes, but they are also so thick!"
"Huh? What's sewn in here? Why is it so soft?"
Ma Sanniu raised his head proudly, "Cotton! I heard it is a good thing that our Young Master specially ordered to find! Not only can it be spun and weaved, but it can also be sewn into clothes and quilts."
"It's very light and warm. It's much better than reed catkins and so on. It's not afraid of even the coldest weather!"
"cotton?"
Ma Dazhuang had never heard of it, but he had heard about the reputation of the young master of the Yu family.
In the northwest, Mr. Yu Shaolang is definitely a legendary existence.
At the age of ten, he led five hundred troops and built the abandoned attached city into a more prosperous and stable place than the West City and the border city.
The number of the new Yu family army has also grown from the initial few hundred to 20,000 to 30,000.
Even their deputy general manager Feng is afraid of them.
Many times, they come to embarrass Mr. Yu Erlang with the matter of the attached city.
They also deliberately cut off the commercial routes leading to Xicheng and other cities from the attached city.
As a result, the attached city was not afraid at all and continued to develop and grow.
The general trend of the attached city has been completed.
Furthermore, Mr. Yu Erlang also gained a little more confidence.
"Yes, the cotton is very good. When I went to Fuzhou to deliver a letter last time, I went to look at it. One after another, they were all cloud-like flowers. They were light and soft. Just looking at them made me feel comfortable!"
Ma Sanniu proudly puffed up his chest.
Five years later, he was successfully promoted from a small soldier to a leader of fifty people.
Ahem, this is not because he is not brave enough, but because Mr. Yu Erlang has been suppressed by the three deputy general managers.
The number of men under his command has only doubled.
There are few soldiers, and naturally there are few officers.
Being able to become the gang leader has proven Ma Sanniu's ability.
After becoming the coveted team leader, Ma Sanniu really enjoyed the generous benefits he had coveted for so long.
With military pay, military merit rewards, and allowances, Ma's family built new houses, and his two younger brothers also got married.
Even Ma Sanniu, who was originally a poor soldier whom everyone despised, became a famous "golden turtle son-in-law" near his hometown.
What happened to the soldiers?
With so much food and salary every month, I can still get free medicine for my family.
If your family members want to settle in the attached city, they can take advantage of many preferential policies.
What makes the family members most excited is that the attached city will also arrange jobs for the female family members and allow the children to study.
Tsk, if one person is a soldier, the whole family will have no worries.
Even if he is unfortunately killed in battle, the attached city still has a generous pension, enough for a woman to raise several children.
Moreover, Major General Yu said, priority will be given to the martyrs' families.
Priority in arranging work, priority in arranging housing, priority in studying, priority in being a soldier...
Those who insult martyrs will be punished even more.
All kinds of preferential treatment gave the soldiers no worries at all.
What are you afraid of?
After I died, General Yu took care of the entire family.
To put it bluntly, maybe the life of his family will be better than when he was alive!
What was not said was just one word - spelled out!
Their lives were sold to Major General Yu.
Ma Dazhuang: ...If Feng Jiajun also had such a policy, I would be willing to sacrifice my life.
However, the Feng Jiajun was not as good as the new Yu Jiajun in the attached city, and even the old Yu Jiajun who was suppressed and had to be "harsh" was not as good as them.
"Ahem! Ahem!"
Thinking of this, Ma Dazhuang couldn't hold it back and coughed several times in succession.
"Oh, brother Da Zhuang, your illness is not serious. You'd better see the doctor and grab some to eat."
Seeing that Ma Dazhuang was coughing so hard that he was almost crying, Ma Sanniu reminded him quickly.
Ma Dazhuang smiled bitterly, "I would like to see a doctor, but I can't have the money."
He still had to save up the little military pay that had been withheld and send it back home.
My wife and children are hungry and will starve to death soon.
He is also a good man, and he never flinches when killing the enemy.
But he can't even support his wife and children.
Now that I am sick, I can only fight hard.
"No! You can't resist! The disease will only get worse and worse. If you fall down, my sister-in-law and nephew will have no hope!"
Ma Sanniu said eagerly.
He is not an alarmist, but tells the truth.
The Feng Jiajun does not have a series of welfare policies like the Yu Jiajun.
Even if a soldier died in battle, let alone he died of illness, there would be no compensation for his family.
If Ma Dazhuang was seriously ill, the Shangguan might throw him out for fear of contagion.
By then, Ma Dazhuang's family will only become more miserable.
Maybe in order to cure the disease, one has to sell one's son and daughter!
Alas, they are all fellow villagers. When he was in Feng Jiajun, Brother Da Zhuang also took care of him.
Ma Sanniu couldn't bear it, thought for a while, and said: "Well, I'll go to the doctor in our camp and see if he can get some soup for you!"
"Moreover, it's going to snow. How can I do it with just a single coat? I, I still have the old cotton-padded clothes that were issued two years ago. Although they are a little torn, they can still keep out the cold. Brother Da Zhuang, if you don't mind -
—”
It's too late for Ma Dazhuang to be grateful, so how could he be dissatisfied?
He kept saying thank you, his eyes and heart were full of gratitude to Ma Sanniu, and he was already envious and jealous of him.
How great would it be if I was also a member of the Yu family?
In particular, Ma Sanniu actually asked for a decoction to treat wind and cold from the doctor, and even put his own worn-out cotton coat on Ma Dazhuang's body.
Drinking the warm decoction, the bone-chilling feeling no longer existed in his body, and Ma Dazhuang's heart became even hotter.
"How great it would be if Feng Jiajun also changed his surname to Yu!"
This idea grows in my heart like a weed.
Ma Dazhuang was not alone. Soldiers in the Feng family's military camp and Shi He's camp also had such thoughts.
I really can't blame these big-headed soldiers.
They came to serve as soldiers without any lofty ideas. They just wanted to have enough to eat and if they could support their families, that would be even better.
I am not afraid of having a hard life, but I am afraid that the control group is next door.
My family doesn't have enough to eat, they don't have enough clothes to wear, and their military pay will be withheld and delayed;
Next door, the food is full of food, the clothes are warm, and there are so many rewards and benefits!
Envy, jealousy, hate.
Of course, they don't hate their neighbor, let alone Major General Yu.
They hate their bad luck, hate their boss for being too greedy and mean, and hate the general for not caring whether they live or die!
This hatred reached its peak after being unable to receive military pay for three consecutive months.
"It's almost the Chinese New Year, and my family is still waiting for me to get food back to celebrate the New Year!"
"My baby is sick and has no money to take care of her, so she is waiting for my military salary to save her life."
"You still have a family. My special mother is almost thirty and is still an old bachelor. Even a widow thinks I am poor!"
There are more and more complaints like this in the Shijia and Feng family camps.
Among the many voices, someone suddenly sighed, "Oh, it would be great if Major General Yu took over Xicheng!"
Everyone was silent.
But soon, the various rumors about the Yu family's army next door and the attached city instantly made their hearts agitate.
Yes, they are all from the Northwest Army, and the Yu family is not a traitor. Switching from the Feng family or the Shi family to the Yu family is not considered treason!
Besides, what if it's rebellion?
I and my family can no longer survive. Everyone on the left and right is dead. If I turn to the Yu family army, I might still have a way to survive...
