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Chapter 1199 Recruiting Samurai Mercenaries

"There was an order from the capital to recruit 3000 warriors or ronin from the East Ocean Province to form a mercenary army to participate in the war against Mata Lansudan and Aceh to solve the trouble caused by too many unemployed warriors. "

Shen Youlong, the civil affairs officer of Dongying Province, put the telegram from the capital on the table. On both sides of the long table were senior officials of Dongying Province.

"It just so happens that there are still a batch of Japanese swords that we have collected that have not had time to be destroyed. We will distribute katana swords to them, and we don't even need to produce weapons for them alone." Said Mitsuhisa Shimadzu, who served as the deputy commander.

"The mercenaries this time are neither the standing army nor the security forces, but purely business relationships, fighting for money. Naturally, the desperate people may get more rewards than the cowardly ones. If they are timid If you are a gangster, you don’t need to apply. And this cross-sea battle, fighting against the natives who are good at the local terrain, is very likely to be close to death, so you must be prepared to sacrifice.” Shen Youlong reiterated his request.

"Among them, those with outstanding military exploits are eligible to apply for being transferred to the No.12 Corps which is fighting in Nanyang. The No.12 Corps is a standing regiment directly commanded by the military headquarters. It specializes in fighting in various parts of Nanyang to quell the rebellion against the empire by the nobles of the old Nanyang country. Fighting in jungles and mountains, the treatment is also very good. Therefore, if you go to Nanyang as a mercenary, you may jump the dragon's gate and become soldiers and officers of the empire."

When some officials present heard that they had gone to Nanyang to become mercenaries, who might enter the standing army through military exploits, they were slightly surprised.

Even after the establishment of the East Ocean Province, the Empire's standing corps did not recruit soldiers from the East Ocean, and the army's channels were blocked.

The security force can barely be regarded as a force related to the military, but it usually only maintains law and order in cities and villages, and serves as a reserve force in times of all-out war.

The standing army is different. The standing army is a powerful guarantee for the empire to rule such a vast territory and ensure that it will not split.

At present, the Kyushu Army has twelve infantry regiments, four cavalry regiments, three artillery regiments, four fleets, and a large number of logistics troops. A large number of the latest muskets, artillery, machine guns, war horses, and warships are priority equipment for the standing corps. .

Being able to join the standing army and climb up from the bottom ranks of soldiers can be said to be the most decent way for unemployed samurai to change jobs. Compared with being a farmer or coolie, becoming a soldier can also receive a salary and have a promotion path.

"If it is possible to join the standing army, it is estimated that there will be countless ronin recruits. They lost the salary issued by the shogunate and lost their farmland. Most of them have nothing but strength and can only continue to participate in the war." Judgment by Mitsuhisa Shimadzu There should be many unemployed samurai and ronin who are willing to join the war with the Nanyang aborigines for their livelihood.

"Not only our government is willing to hire them to fight against the native kingdoms, but some Chinese businessmen are also willing to hire warriors who are good at fighting to protect their plantations and bodyguards when they travel around Nanyang... I don't know who can lead this mercenary army to Nanyang? "Shen Youlong asked everyone.

"Nominate the current governor of the Lihua family, Takashige Tachibana. He has made great achievements in the war against the shogunate. He has managed many retainers and warriors in the past. He should be able to discipline the mercenaries going to Nanyang." Zhang Yuan suggested.

"Tadao Tachibana, he is currently serving as the deputy commander in Kyushu Island. I don't know if he is willing to go to Nanyang to fight. Let someone inform the Six Houses of Dongying and post a notice to recruit mercenaries going to Nanyang. At the same time, send someone to him to inform Tadao Tachibana to see if he Interesting to lead a mercenary army to Batavia." Shen Youlong finally decided.

"Also, how about the demolition of the mountain castles, with the castle town as the core of the city?"

"Although the order to demolish the mountain city was resisted by many local unemployed warriors, the mountain city is a remnant of the Warring States Period after all, and it must be demolished."

The news of the provincial yamen recruiting mercenaries soon appeared in the form of notices in the 42 counties of the six prefectures of Dongying, which caused quite a stir.

Many unemployed samurai became ronin, and their samurai swords were also confiscated. Some samurai chose to join the security force led by the public security yamen, some samurai chose to contract land from the government like ordinary farmers, and a large number of samurai became prostitutes. Coolies and idle refugees.

These men saw an opportunity to regain their katana swords and the hope of enlisting in the standing army. With such a decent job as an imperial soldier, many of them did not hesitate to come to the government to enlist.

"Among them, those with outstanding military exploits may have the opportunity to be selected into the imperial army..." someone who knew Chinese characters read from the side of the notice.

The ronin who gathered at the notice board were in an uproar.

During the Civil War in Japan, the Kyushu Army only sent an infantry brigade and a heavy artillery battalion to defeat the feudal troops of the shogunate and samurai, allowing them to see the gap between the standing army of the Kyushu Army and them.As the real imperial army, the standing army has become an insurmountable existence in the minds of the defeated warrior group.

Among them was a ronin with a beard and long hair, with a bamboo knife hanging from his waist.

Since the samurai sword was confiscated, many unemployed samurai and ronin replaced the samurai sword with less aggressive bamboo swords out of nostalgia for the shogunate era, showing off to ordinary people that they were once a noble samurai class, in order to maintain the last face.

The ronin read the notice carefully, and came to the registration office of the Osaka Prefecture Yamen in obscurity.

"Age!" The clerk in charge of registering the information of recruited samurai and ronin in Osaka Prefecture just looked up at the ronin and found that his temples were slightly graying, so he asked patiently.

"Two out of fifty." Ronin said flatly.

"I said you, a stinky old man in his 50s, came to apply for some kind of mercenary!? This is a dangerous job to go to the hot mountains and forests to fight wild men. You are quite old, and you came to Nanyang to give away your head ?” the pen official mocked.

"I want to be an imperial soldier with a musket." The old ronin said stubbornly.

"I'm afraid he's crazy. Only the most outstanding mercenaries can join the Kyushu Army. The notice was posted today, and hundreds of ronin have come to sign up. It's just that we are in Osaka City, and there are probably tens of thousands of people in the entire province." Sign up to go to Nanyang to fight? At that time, it is estimated that there are a hundred people who can enter the imperial standing army." Another writer next to him also mocked.

"I want to be a sergeant of the empire!" the old ronin insisted.

"It says that those who are over [-] years old will not be considered, and you have not exceeded the age requirement. But even if you apply, you will not pass the screening. What's your name?" The clerk continued to ask sarcastically.

"Miyamoto Musashi." The old ronin replied.

(End of this chapter)