Quick wear: She has turned over the big guys from all walks of life

Chapter 1288 Famine and Natural Disaster 447

Zhou Ting issued the order, and the generals arranged for people to carefully explain the purpose of the military regulations one by one without reporting the matter to him.

Some soldiers were dissatisfied, some didn't care, and some thought deeply about the deeper meaning of it.

These military regulations are all designed to make the Northwest Army a civilized army.

Things that people cannot accept will be accepted after a period of time. Things that most people are doing and learning to do will have a wider audience.

General Zhongwu and others discussed the matter, and finally, nominated General Yunhui to explain it clearly to everyone; the soldiers understood the intention, but many of the provisions concerned their own interests, one of which was that all captured spoils be distributed publicly, which made them feel uncomfortable no matter how they looked at it.

It is normal for them to secretly hide some of the things captured on the battlefield. The superiors above don't ask and the soldiers below don't say anything. This has long become an unspoken rule.

"This means we have one less income," sighed a soldier. "I have a 60-year-old mother, a wife and children, and several brothers and sisters. We can barely get by with the things I send back and the military pay. Without this income, life will be even harder."

The monthly salary of an ordinary soldier was one or two taels of silver. After sending the money back home, it was unrealistic for a whole family to live on one or two taels of silver.

"Our military pay is quite high, and we can get by if we are frugal. I once heard from a fellow villager that the better soldiers in the Central Plains only get one or two taels of silver a month, and the worse ones often get hundreds of coins. Which of the noble generals in the Central Plains will sympathize with the lower-class soldiers? It's good enough that they are not starved to death. After we joined the army, we were assigned to the Northwest Army. The military pay is higher than others, and we can eat and wear warm clothes. The two commanders of the Zhou Palace have never let us starve. To be honest, I think we have fallen into a blessed nest."

An older soldier said earnestly.

The soldiers around were silent.

If this is true, they have indeed fallen into a lucky nest.

"Brother Chang, was your fellow villager conscripted in the Central Plains?"

When asked about this, Brother Chang smiled and said, "I am from the Central Plains. A few years ago, my family suffered from a famine and all my family members died, leaving only me. At that time, the Qing County government recruited men to join the army. I thought that since it was already like this, one person's food would feed the whole family. Instead of wandering around with no end in sight, it would be better to join the army."

"Please continue." Someone told a story, and the soldiers put aside the depression caused by the new regulations.

The other soldiers sat on the ground and invited Brother Chang to sit with them.

Sitting on the yellow sand, the weather was already cold, but they didn't notice it; they stared with great interest at the soldier named Chang, who was probably in his early thirties, his face became very rough from years of wind and sun, he was tall and strong and looked like a strong and powerful man.

"You still think my story is funny?" Brother Chang glanced at everyone's faces with a smile.

The soldiers laughed and didn't say anything, just looked at him expectantly; seeing this, Brother Chang could only smile helplessly and simply sat down.

"Okay, if you want to hear it, it's okay to tell you."

Brother Chang elaborated on this. More than a decade ago, he was only 17 or 18 years old, which was the right age for marriage. Unfortunately, there was a natural disaster that year. After a heavy rain, the flood broke the dam in his hometown, and very few people escaped. He escaped the disaster by hunting in the mountains, and he never saw his family again. After the flood receded, his house was completely destroyed, and there was a plague, so he could no longer stay in his hometown.

I stayed in the mountains for a while without food, water or money. At least I could occasionally hunt and find some wild vegetables and fruits to fill my stomach. Later, I followed the people fleeing famine to many places. None of the county towns and prefectures were willing to accept refugees, and I drove away all of them.

Later, he separated from the refugees and wandered aimlessly alone; when he was hungry, he looked for something to eat, and when he was tired, he slept on the ground. At that time, he was so miserable that he became numb.

He wandered to Qing County. The magistrate of Qing County at that time was a good official. He tried his best to accept refugees who went to Qing County. At the same time, the imperial court recruited soldiers and Qing County issued a notice. He made a prompt decision to join the army and was assigned to the Northwest Army the following year. He spent thirteen years like this.

The army had enough food and drink, and they received military pay. The commander of the Northwest Army was not a harsh general. He was very good to his soldiers and would try to reduce casualties during battles. He would not think of using his soldiers' lives to fill the gaps on the battlefield.

"As for me, I only had enough food and warm clothes after I joined the Northwest Army. I don't have any great achievements, so I can't become a general. I am willing to be a soldier in the Northwest Army for the rest of my life. I have developed feelings for this place."

Brother Chang spoke his story slowly and calmly; there was nothing to hide in his story, and there was not even any point that others could take advantage of, so he spoke openly to these young men, just to calm their restless hearts.

"Brother, you have also been through hardships. My family is in the Central Plains. I don't know what the situation is like now. No one in my family is still there. The money I sent back a few days ago was returned. I heard that there is no one left in the village where my family lives."

"My family is the same."

"There is war in the Central Plains, and I don't know if my family is safe. I don't know if I can be reunited with my family in my lifetime. Brother, didn't you see the bodies of your family members at the time? Didn't you look for them later?"

Brother Chang nodded, "I have looked for them. I wandered around and asked people everywhere. Unfortunately, I never saw them anywhere I went, so I gave up. If they are alive, I hope they are happy. If they are dead, I can only hope they are reborn into a good family in their next life."

The vehicles are slow, the transportation is underdeveloped, and the letters are often delayed; finding someone is like looking for a needle in a haystack, so you won't force it after you have tried your best.

What good can you do by forcing things in life?

Brother Chang figured it out at that time. If there is destiny, they will meet each other. If there is no destiny, they will not meet even if they are face to face.

The topic was heavy and the atmosphere was frozen for a few breaths. A young general said with a smile.

"Brother Chang, you said, if the coach issued such a rule and we follow it, we will become saints!"

The topic was brought back. Brother Chang put aside the thought of his family being brought up again and smiled at him. There was a lot of tolerance in his smile. "These things are not what we can think of. We just follow the commander-in-chief. After all, we are in the Northwest Army and obey the arrangements of the commander-in-chief and the generals. The commander-in-chief's starting point and intention are good. It would be great if our family could meet an official like the commander-in-chief!"

With sympathy for the lower-class soldiers and kindness to the common people, the Northwest was governed in an orderly manner; the people were not very wealthy, but at least they were better off than those in the Central Plains.

His last words touched the hearts of many soldiers. Some of them had weak kinship with their families, while others were loved by their parents, harmonious with their elders, and united with their brothers and sisters at home. Brother Chang's last words undoubtedly touched their hearts.