With Shen Shuren's IQ, he would certainly not just focus on farming and building his territory, but not pay attention to guarding against thieves and neighbors.
The reason why he can be so determined is to operate at his own pace.
On the one hand, it is because he has a certain degree of confidence in the servants, sailors, and the remaining local regiment training strength at hand. He knows that with this small force, it is absolutely no problem to defend the city in the event of an unexpected situation.
On the other hand, it was also because during this period that he did well in intelligence work and deception. Liu Xiyao, who was opposite him, was just a vulgar thief who had never studied at all and had no idea of any far-reaching strategies, so Chen Shuren With a little trick, you can buy two or three months to gain a firm foothold and hold off the enemy.
As early as when Shen Shuren took office, when he went deep into the counties to observe the people's sentiments, Shen Shuren noticed that due to years of war, the counties in Huangzhou had long been destitute and poor, and there was no surplus food everywhere——
Especially before the Fifth Battalion of Gezuo was recruited by Xiong Wencan two years ago, they had already fought with Yuan Jixian for a long time in the local area, and they had broken all the places that could be broken. So many people were tortured by horse chewing, and the surrounding towns were not protected by city walls. , all of them are extremely poor, and they can’t even find anything if they call them.
Therefore, if the bandits want to steal things, they can only invade before the autumn grain harvest. Because only the crops in the fields that have not had time to be harvested, the government has no time to move them.
Even if the bandits are weak in attacking the city and cannot seize the military rations in the city, they can at least station themselves in the wild for ten days and a half, wait for the grain to be completely mature, and then harvest and steal it on the spot.
Shen Shuren had previously deliberately kept the strongholds clear and made no secret of his actions, deliberately letting Liu Xiyao know all this.
Rumors have also spread that this year some areas in Huangzhou counties have begun planting high-yielding grain crops from overseas.
If the bandits invade before the grain matures, ask the local garrison to cut and shovel all the new, high-yielding crops that have not matured yet, so that the bandits cannot get the mature seeds!
Liu Xiyao, who was illiterate, was obviously extremely lacking in financial calculation skills. The few scholars around him did not know how to use strategies, so they were deceived by this series of measures and waited until the autumn harvest before sending out troops.
…
Of course, the few months of preparation that Shen Shuren has earned will not be wasted.
In mid-August, after thoroughly solving the problems of military rations and internal factions, he immediately went all out to rectify armaments.
Because of the two-season farming, the autumn harvest in the south is a little later than in the north. In addition, the crops in the Little Ice Age in the late Ming Dynasty accumulated temperature slowly, and the autumn harvest in the mountainous areas was delayed until October. Therefore, Shenshu people had at least one and a half months to deal with armaments.
Three days before the Mid-Autumn Festival, he asked Zhao Yunfan and the two magistrates of Jiangcheng County to bring out the team training in each county and conduct intensive training.
During regiment training, soldiers usually had to do farm work. In order to resume production as soon as possible, Shen Shuren didn't bother too much.
In the Ming Dynasty, the full quota of a regiment training and guard station was 3,500 people. However, since the establishment of the regiment training in Huangzhou four years ago, it has never been full because the money and food cannot support it, and even if it is full, it will not be full. Military pay will be granted in full.
On the books, Huangzhou bears the expenses of 2,000 and hundreds of people every year. In fact, when the heads are counted one by one, there are only about 800 people. The rest are eaten up by military officers at all levels and local officials.
Two-thirds of the free salary is crazy enough.
Fortunately, Shen Shuren now has enough food, and the money can be subsidized by his family, so with a stroke of his pen, he asked for full recruitment.
If you want to protect your family and country, you can't be stingy with giving away money. Historically, Zheng Chenggong wanted to regain the Ming Dynasty, so he had to use the Zheng family's money to turn his family into a country. Chen Shuren is the same way today.
Huangzhou was so rectified by the Shenshu people that it was now possible to raise the military rations for two guards. But the critical establishment provided by the imperial court was only one guard, and it was not easy for him to over-staff to "support his own self-respect".
Therefore, after raising three thousand five regiments, the extra food can be used to support the family. The Ming Dynasty also allowed military generals and local garrison officials to support the family. Shen Shuren brought a thousand people with him when he took office, and the number could be expanded in the future.
…
The next day, notices for recruiting troops were posted in Qizhou and various townships under Qishui.
People from all over the country were quite looking forward to their lives this year because of the benefits of land rent reduction and exemption. So when they heard that it was Lord Tongzhi's banner, they immediately came to join in the fun.
The false target of Chen Shuren's recruitment is relatively clear. There are no mineral resources in Huangzhou, so it is impossible to recruit miners like Qi Jiajun did.
Then give priority to dock workers and hunters, followed by good farmers.
As for those wandering people, Shen Shuren would rather not use them. Or after he recruits the dock workers, he can capture those wandering people and work as dock workers for the government for a year and a half to sharpen their temper and discipline, and then consider recruiting the best. army.
After clarifying the targets, the main recruiting locations were readily apparent: the two most important recruiting locations were Huangqikou Town at the mouth of the Qishui River and Lanxi Town at the mouth of the Xishui River.
These two towns are located on the main transportation routes where the main rivers in Huangzhou merge into the Yangtze River, and are home to dock workers.
If hunters in the mountainous areas want to trade furs, furs and meat, they will mostly use carts to push the beasts to Hekou Town for trade in exchange for food, cloth, and daily necessities.
On the pier of Lanxi Town, not long after the notice was posted and the stall had just been set up, it was quickly surrounded by a group of men who looked lean but usually did heavy physical work.
They generally have some trust in Shen Tongzhi, because recently, with the murder of Yuan Zhongyi and the ban on the river by Shen Shuren, there are no other civilian ships on the Huangzhou section of the Yangtze River. They are all owned by the Shen family. The ship monopolized the business. These dock workers had no choice but to do the work for the Shen family.
It's just that the Shen family's ships are not as numerous as those of other civil forces combined. Nowadays, logistics is a bit sluggish, and dock workers are always taking jobs that are not large enough. They have long been looking forward to the stars and the moon, waiting for some part-time jobs.
"Eh? Is this how Shen Tongzhi wants to recruit soldiers? Good thing, in the past half month, only the Shen family's ships have come and gone. I feel that my work has been reduced a lot. I can finally serve as a soldier and have food!"
Some strong men were eager to try it after listening to others' explanations.
There are also some prudent and good citizens who are more cautious and ask around the officers setting up the stall: "General, are these newly recruited soldiers going to be sent to the front line to fight against the Liu bandits? Are they going to be dragged up to die without any training?"
The one who is in charge of recruiting troops in Lanxi Town today is Shen Shuren's personal aide, Shen Fu. He has now joined a regiment training for thousands of households. This is completely the result of Chen Shuren's nepotism. He is very powerful in armor. Because Lanxi This side of the town was more important, so he was sent here.
Being called a general, Shen Fu was in a good mood and said in a majestic tone: "Don't worry, everyone! Listen carefully! Master Tongzhi definitely loves the people like his son and will not use troops casually than the officials you have seen before.
Anyone who is selected can undergo two months of training before being sent to defend the city and camp to guard against Liu Xiyao's invasion. They will not take the initiative to attack. However, if Liu Xiyao really comes, we will have to fight back, but there will definitely be rewards and settlement. silver.
Don’t be tired of it. You can’t be a soldier in the regiment training of Mr. Tongzhi. Those who have broken the law within a year will not be accepted, and those who are in poor health will not be accepted. After joining the army, in addition to taking care of food, you will not be accepted. My family has five dou of rations per month and five coins of silver as military pay!"
After the military pay and benefits were announced, many people were really eager to give it a try and were not so worried about the possibility of being sent to the front line as cannon fodder.
It's not easy to stay alive in this world.
On the other side, after Shen Fu finished talking about the general conditions, several of his servants Baihu began to publicize more details - after all, it is not possible for the adults of Qianhu to bargain directly with the mud-legged people, otherwise the military power will be lost.
"If you want to sign up, hurry up! Master Tongzhi said that if you don't take the initiative to attack Liu Xiyao this year, you won't take the initiative to attack. If you really die in the battle, five measures of rations and five coins of silver will be issued to your family as usual, and they will continue to be paid for three years. Years are regarded as pensions."
As soon as this sentence was said, those who hesitated completely obeyed. They calculated that even if they died, their family would be able to get about eighteen taels of silver and eighteen stones of food. It was great that one life was worth so much.
Of course, the government has not said what kind of grain will be distributed. With today's high rice prices, it is estimated that white rice will not be distributed. It may be that the newly introduced corn and potatoes will be used to make up the number.
In these precarious times, as long as you can eat, you don't need white rice.
"Recruit me, recruit me!"
"Count me in!"
A group of relatively simple-minded dock workers quickly fell into the trap and were the first to rush to line up under the conscription flag.
Others who have more ideas are still hesitating to calculate the authenticity of the conditions, fearing that they will be cheated.
At this moment, Qianhu Shenfu spoke again. He first took a short stick and knocked on the gong next to him a few times to signal everyone to be quiet:
"Quiet! I understand that your lord has an order. If you want to join the army, you have to pass the examination. Those who were the first to stand over just now can get preferential treatment. Those who are still hesitating behind will all have to pass the examination!
One can swim to the other side of the Xishui River in the time it takes a cup of tea; or one can hit at least one target with three arrows without clusters; or one can lift the eighty-pound stone lock ten times with each hand.
If you can complete at least one of the three items, you can start as an auxiliary soldier, with only rations, but the salary is reduced by half. After training well, you can then become a regular soldier. If you can do two things, you can be directly recruited as a regular soldier. Three If you can do everything, I will give you an extra three taels of silver for housing expenses."
The assessment standards announced by Shen Fu were carefully considered by Shen Shuren himself, and they can be considered impartial.
Carrying stone locks is a complete test of strength, which is fair to everyone. Swimming is an assessment that is good for dock workers, and archery is an assessment that is good for hunters. As long as you have done your previous job well, it should not be difficult to pass.
Everyone heard that there was a settling-in allowance of three taels of silver, which could be cashed out on the same day if they passed the assessment, and their trust in this policy immediately increased.
People who were hesitant to watch also came over and lined up. Under the supervision of the Shen family servants, they jumped into the Xishui River one by one and swam to the other side. Then they lined up to carry the heavy stone locks.
——
PS: There will be some transitional chapters about farming and training. Please be patient and we will start a battle with Liu Xiyao soon.