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The night falls darkly.
There were cries in Zhujiazhuang. Among the thousands of women rescued by Zhu Yihai from Li Yuchun, hundreds of them were from Zhujiazhuang.
Zhujiazhuang was slaughtered, the elderly, children and men were killed. The young women and girls were left behind, but they were also ravaged. Now they were free, but facing the empty home, they cried into tears.
people.
Zhu Yihai walked in this lifeless village.
"How does Your Highness plan to deal with these poor people?" asked the extremely heroic Damengshi Zhu Yihai. She is Chen Qianfu's wife. She is a lady from the water town of Shaoxing, but she is also a strange woman. When her husband came to plead for mercy, her father disliked Chen Qianfu's family for being poor.
She loves to talk arrogantly and wants to refuse, but Miss Meng thinks that although Chen Qianfu is poor, he has great ambitions and is willing to marry him.
Not long after the marriage, Chen Qianfu actually asked to marry his beautiful sister-in-law. This made Meng's father even more unhappy. It was too unethical. However, Meng took the initiative to ask his sister. After her sister did not dislike this brother-in-law, Meng's father was very unhappy.
He personally came forward to persuade his father to let his sister marry Chen Qianfu.
After the marriage, the relationship between the two sisters was as harmonious as before. The Meng sisters were responsible for all the internal and external affairs of the Chen family. They also personally took care of the dowries they brought so that their husbands could concentrate on studying and taking exams. Sure enough, they passed the exam the next year.
Later, he failed to win the imperial examination after repeated examinations. It was Meng who paid her husband to manage the relationship and seek promotion to an official position in Kaifeng.
When her husband fled back from Nanjing and wanted to recruit troops to start a rebellion, Meng sold the dowries of the two sisters and borrowed a large sum of money from her father so that her husband could recruit troops. Even when her husband wanted to cross the sea to Jiaxing, the sisters
They both came together regardless of their own safety.
Chen Qianfu once said that it was not safe to go north, and there was a danger of defeat at any time. But Da Meng only said one sentence, if my husband is defeated and cannot be saved, then the vast expanse of blue waves will be my destination.
When they came to Jiaxing, Chen Qianfu was re-appointed by Zhu Yihai and became the minister of Taipusi Temple and co-managed the Supervisory Office of the Army. The Meng sisters were not idle either. After discovering that there were a large number of poor homeless women in the army, they came forward to establish a women's
camp.
In the army, they put on men's clothes, tied up their hair and sleeves, and did whatever logistical work they could, helping to sew military flags, tents, clothes and quilts, and make shoes and socks, etc.
Zhu Yihai admired the Meng sisters very much, especially the eldest Meng, who could be regarded as a model of virtuous housewives in this era. Chen Qianfu was born crazy, with a poor background, and the imperial examination was not smooth. Without the help of the Meng family, he would not be where he is today.
"The women's camp established by my wife is well organized and has helped the army do a lot of things, but I don't think this is a long-term solution after all."
Meng said, "But besides here, where else can they go? Either they twist their hair and become sisters-in-law, or they might jump into the water and hang themselves."
Zhu Yihai also understood that the customs in Jiangnan were more conservative. These poor women who had been kidnapped, humiliated, and ravaged by the bandits were indeed in a difficult situation. Even if they still had families, their husbands might not be willing to accept them.
And many people have even lost their families, even their families.
In troubled times, it is difficult for a weak woman to survive.
"I have had an immature idea these past few days. These women are all poor people. They are tragedies created by the times. I, the Ming Dynasty, owe them a debt. I, the supervisor, owe them a debt and have an obligation to rescue them."
"Look at the soldiers recruited by our army, all of them are young and strong, but most of them are not married yet. Moreover, when I recruit people, I give priority to farmers or miners from poor families. These people are honest and do their jobs.
, obey orders. But the conditions at home are indeed poor. Now I am fighting for the country, eating food as a soldier, and getting paid every month, so the conditions have improved."
"Tell me, are any of those women willing to marry my soldiers and form a new family with them? Start a new life?"
Zhu Yihai's proposal was a bit unexpected. Most people wouldn't think of going there anyway. The reason why Zhu Yihai thought this way was because of the incident that Shen Wenzhong reported about Zhang Dapeng.
Seven-year-old Widow Wang is getting better.
The older man was nine years old and had three children with him, but Zhang Dapeng was willing. He even asked before going to the battlefield that if he died in battle, some of his mother's pension would be given to them.
What a simple young man. Although this decision to become a father is touching, for an orphan, Widow Wang gave him the warmth of a home that he had never had before.
In this troubled world, he doesn't have many demands. Even in the army, he doesn't know when he will die in battle, so he cherishes the people he meets in front of him.
The majority of Zhu Yi's navy were recruits. Even veterans, many of them were single veterans. Very few of them actually had a family. In the past, they could not even afford food and clothing, and even their station was unstable.
The situation is turbulent, and it is difficult to start a family and start a business.
Nowadays, there are a large number of poor women in the camp, most of whom are between fourteen and fifteen years old and under forty years old. Zhu Yihai thought that he might as well combine these girls with his own soldiers.
One is a poor homeless woman, and the other is a child of a poor peasant family. Under normal circumstances, many people may have to be singles for the rest of their lives, or according to some customs in the south of the Yangtze River, save some money to marry a wife to live for a few years and help with the family life.
A boy and two girls will have a wife in the future.
Now that they have joined the army and are paid as soldiers, the situation has improved, but after all, being a soldier in troubled times is also precarious, and who knows when the war will be over.
If there is a chance to marry a woman now, no matter whether the woman has been married before, or even had a tragic experience, at least the two of them can warm each other, and maybe even if they die in battle, they may leave a legacy.
From another perspective, after his soldiers have fixed military pay, they will strengthen military discipline and have fighting spirit. And if they have women, families and children, then they will have more motivation to fight and have protection.
The goal.
Just as the ancients said that those with constant income have perseverance, it is never a bad thing for soldiers to have food, pay and families.
When Da Meng heard this, his bright eyes became even more attractive.
"Your Highness is really kind, but these women are very pitiful. Don't His Highness's soldiers dislike them?"
Zhu Yihai just sighed and said, "As the old saying goes, if you are in a hurry, you will not choose the road, you will not choose food, you will not choose a wife, you will not choose a wife. These new recruits are all born in poverty. Many of them are still single in their twenties and thirties. They have not even paid for the taste of women."
, let alone feel the warmth of home.”
"Besides, in these troubled times, no one should dislike anyone. It is only right for everyone to hold each other together for warmth."
This sentence of hugging each other for warmth made Da Meng couldn't help but nod, feeling that what Jian Guo said was really good.
"Then is Your Highness planning to marry you?"
"We still have to abide by the principle of voluntariness. I plan to rest here in Zhujiazhuang for a few days and hold a blind date at that time so that the lonely soldiers can sign up voluntarily."
Zhu Yihai is still very interested in this kind of group dating show. He has even thought out the process. Those who are willing to accept the registration will then organize men and women to enter the venue and give the soldiers pieces of silk or other things. If the men like the girl, they will
He gives his cloth to the girl, and if the girl accepts it, they become a couple.
If the girl doesn't like it, return the cloth to the soldier, and the soldier will go find the next one. This can be regarded as voluntary and not forced.
Of course, this form is also relatively crude and simple, but at least it is not directly allocated.
"If the two of them are satisfied with each other, then I will pay a gift to the girl on behalf of the soldiers, and then the camp will also prepare a dowry for the girls, and the army will hold a collective wedding to form a new family."
The wedding ceremony and dowry are just a formality, and there is no need to say much about it. Zhu Yihai gave about one month's salary to the soldiers as a wedding gift, with the discount of three taels of silver, and the dowry for the girl's wedding was two taels.
In this way, when the newlyweds get married, they will have a small family property of five taels of silver, and at least be prepared to have and raise children in the future.
For Zhu Yihai, this is an additional expense, but he believes that if this matter is completed, it can also be regarded as a publicity benefit for future recruitment, which can attract many poor young people to join the army. On the other hand, from
Judging from Zhang Dapeng's case, helping the soldiers get married is definitely a favor. They will remember to be grateful to Zhu Yihai, and the soldiers will definitely not desert easily on the battlefield.
"Your Highness is so kind and generous. A newlywed couple inside and outside will have to pay five taels of silver." Meng said with a smile.
"Fifty taels of silver is nothing, after all, the soldiers even sacrificed their lives."
Meng asked, "But after all, in the military, after Your Highness marries them, how do you plan to arrange for these military family members to continue to accompany the army?"
Zhu Yihai replied, "It is certainly unrealistic to continue to follow the army. Didn't we beat some local tyrants and evil gentry in Kanpu this time and wipe out some bandits and bandits? We also confiscated a lot of fields. For the time being, they are all zoned in Guwangzhuang."
Next, I plan to arrange these family members in these Wangzhuang first, so that they can settle down and support themselves. The soldiers are fighting on the front line and can go home to get together during their free time."
"Of course, if the soldiers' hometowns have conditions, I can also send them back."
Meng thought for a while, "I think it would be good to settle in the farm here for the time being. It would not be a good thing to be separated too far away just after getting married."
Zhu Yihai nodded, knowing that she actually had another concern that she didn't mention. After all, these women had terrible experiences. The soldiers were willing to accept it, but their families may not really be able to accept it. Even when they got to their hometown, the villagers might still point fingers.
, it will still be difficult without my husband by my side.
It would be better to stay here now. The women can continue to get along together and be closer to their husbands. The husbands can also take vacations to reunite when they have time. It may be better to return to their hometown after they have been together for a long time or have children.
"Of course, if some women really don't want to get married, they can temporarily relocate to Wangzhuang to support themselves first and wait for them to recover slowly."
On the same day, Zhu Yihai asked the Meng sisters to convey their opinions to the women first. The result was unexpected. The vast majority of women were willing to marry Zhu Yihai's soldiers. The reason was simple. They, as a group, now
Just like rootless duckweeds, they are full of confusion about the future. Although the military can temporarily accommodate them, they are very uncomfortable with today's life.
Women's traditional idea that men are gods still dominates their thoughts. They want someone to rely on, especially in this troubled world.
When Zhu Yihai asked the supervisors and deputies to convey his proposal to soldiers at all levels, they also received a positive response. They all said that the poor would not choose a wife. Many poor people in Jiangnan will not be able to marry a wife in their entire life and can only be singles for the rest of their lives.
Or try to save some money to rent a wife to live with for a few years and help give birth to one or two children.
The cost of getting a wife is never cheap at any time.
Many recruits in Zhu Yijun's navy were poor young men recruited. They did not mind the experience of these women being taken captive. Being able to marry a woman back home was something they never dared to think about before.
What's more, Zhu Yihai also provides subsidies. It doesn't cost a penny to marry a wife, and you can get five taels of silver from both inside and outside. Who is stupid enough to refuse such a good thing?
Anyone who doesn't have a wife is very enthusiastic to sign up.
"Your Highness's move is really powerful. The soldiers are very active and are even more grateful to Your Highness. I feel that our new army is becoming more and more cohesive." Shen Chenquan said with great admiration.
Zhu Yihai smiled and said, "Since the soldiers are so active on this matter, we can continue in the future. In troubled times, there are so many women who are suffering. We can take in all the women we encounter and then arrange to marry our soldiers and start a family."
"Of course, wherever we go, in addition to taking in these poor homeless women, we can also take the initiative to go to the countryside to propose marriages to the soldiers."
In troubled times, it is not easy for anyone.
As long as Zhu Yihai is willing to pay betrothal gifts for his soldiers, some poor families who are struggling to survive in troubled times will definitely be willing to marry their daughters to a soldier who serves as a soldier.
It is much better to be a slave of a wealthy family.
Furthermore, having their daughter marry a soldier is also a guarantee for them.
"Then the expenses will increase again."
"It's definitely worth it."
"If conditions permit, I will allow all the soldiers to marry and have children and have children. Even in the future, I will even have to allocate fields and land to the soldiers, join the army, and fight against the Tatars to revive the Ming Dynasty. They deserve it."
With a bright future, we cannot let those soldiers who worked hard for the Ming Dynasty not even have enough to eat and can only become a bunch of hungry soldiers and thieves."
"Your Highness is kind."
"This is not kindness. If you call the soldiers brothers alone, then you must truly treat them as brothers, instead of calling them brothers with your mouth and letting them go through life and death, but treat them as slaves in your heart."
These words made Chen Qianfu and his wife, who were walking outside, even more admired. Da Meng took hold of her husband and whispered softly, "Your Highness is really a wise king. It is a pity that several of his heirs were brutally killed by the Tatars. The princess is far away in Ningbo and cannot be by my side.
Neither public nor private is good. My third sister is twenty-eight this year and is very good in all aspects. I want to send my third sister to His Highness, what do you think?"
The Meng family sisters are all very good, good-looking and well-educated.
"I think it's okay. In fact, I think the fourth sister is also fifteen this year, and she is also a tall and graceful girl. Why not tell your highness the third and fourth sisters together."
Meng was a little speechless, but after thinking about it for a moment, she said, "It makes sense. When two people are together, they have a caring relationship. That's what I said at that moment."
