Red Mansion: Seizing Jiangdong, starting with pirates

Chapter 294, Every Man's Responsibility

"Sir, this...this amount of pay is incorrect."

A soldier mustered up the courage to ask a question.

The officer with the potbelly glared at him.

He shouted, "What's wrong with that?"

The soldier lowered his head and said cautiously:

"Before I came, I heard from the person who gave the notice that the pay was two taels of silver, but there are only five hundred coins here..."

The officer said:

"The pay is two taels of silver, that's true, but don't you need money for the uniforms? The clothes cost eight hundred coins, and the shoes cost two hundred coins, which is equivalent to one tael of silver!"

The soldier was shocked when he heard this. He looked at his dirty and tattered clothes, which were just a single layer of linen, not even cotton, and asked for eight hundred coins.
Then look at the pair of worn-out cloth shoes they gave out. They were all worn out by others, and the soles were worn out beyond recognition. Two hundred coins?
The soldiers were filled with anger and rage.

One soldier boldly said, "I have my own clothes, is it okay if I don't need a uniform?"

The officer glanced at the soldier and then gave a wink to the veteran next to him.

The veteran immediately dragged the soldier out, slapped him across the face, and kicked him in the back of the knee, causing the soldier to kneel down in pain.

"You, what right do you have to hit me?"

The soldier stubbornly insisted.

It would have been better if he hadn't said that. As soon as he did, the surrounding veterans came over and beat the soldier severely.

The soldier was quickly beaten and curled up on the ground, silent.

The officer watched the whole thing without saying a word.

A veteran said:

"See that clearly, this is what happens when you don't know the rules in the army! Remember, from now on, if you have anything to say, call out to your superior first, and then ask questions, do you understand?"

All the soldiers responded.

At this point, the officer spoke up to explain, "You don't have to wear a uniform, I won't force anyone! But on the battlefield, don't blame your own people for not being able to identify you because you're not wearing a uniform!"

With that said, how could the soldiers dare to object?

Look at the person lying on the ground.

Don't wear a military uniform, and don't talk about being killed by your own people on the battlefield.

I'm afraid they won't even live to see the battlefield before they're killed.

Afterwards, the officer led the soldiers to familiarize themselves with the military camp.

The original pay was two taels of silver, which is equivalent to two thousand copper coins. Now, five hundred coins have been paid, one thousand coins have been spent on uniforms, and the whereabouts of the remaining five hundred coins are unknown. However, no one dares to ask any more questions, for fear of being beaten again.

The person who was beaten earlier still can't stand up.

Besides, the knives and guns haven't been issued yet. Perhaps the remaining five hundred coins were used for knives and guns?

Tie Gen guessed so.

However, his guess was quickly refuted.

After they had become familiar with the military camp, the officer gathered them together again and said:
"From today onwards, you are officially enlisted in the army. Soon you will be accompanying the governor to suppress the Fang bandits! The army is currently short of weapons, so I'm giving you half a day off this afternoon. If you don't want to fight the bandits with your bare hands, go home and bring kitchen knives, sickles, and other such items to use as weapons!"

Everyone was shocked.

Should I take a kitchen knife or a sickle?

Can this really be used as a weapon?

Moreover, not only did they withhold rations and pay on the first day of enlistment, but they also had to bring their own weapons from home...

The story goes back a few days, when Gao Jing gathered five generals—Xiao Rang, Dai Qing, Yan Zongnan, Le He, and Qian Yanyan—to discuss embezzling soldiers' rations and pay.

Embezzling rations and pay was a natural skill of the Da Xi officers.

In Dae Hee, an officer who would not embezzle rations or pay was not a qualified officer.

Think about it, as a military officer, you don't have as many ways to make money as civilians. You're already poor, so if you don't cut some of your rations and pay, how will you make money?

Without money, how can one bribe their superiors?

How can one advance in one's career without bribing superiors?

Even if you don't want to improve yourself, you should at least save some money for retirement!

Therefore, the five generals had no objection to the embezzlement of rations and agreed immediately.

Gao Jing proposed to deduct 1,500 coins from the military pay. As the accountant, he would keep 500 coins for himself, the five generals would each receive 500 coins, and the lower-ranking generals would each receive 500 coins. The five generals felt that they were receiving too little and were somewhat dissatisfied.

Gao Jing then told everyone that he had a way to resell weapons and food, and then share the profits with others.

Upon hearing this, the five generals finally smiled with delight.

That's how we came to have soldiers carrying their own weapons today.

……

"Return to camp at dusk. Don't even think about running away. Your household registrations are all recorded, and desertion is a capital offense!"

The officer made one last threat before letting everyone disperse.

As for the missing five hundred coins, it had already been agreed upon beforehand.

The conditions for recruiting soldiers were two taels of silver per person, of which five hundred coins were for food and pay, and an additional three months' worth of food and pay as a settlement allowance, which was one thousand five hundred coins, totaling exactly two taels of silver.

The resettlement allowance of 1,500 coins has been paid, not a penny less.

As for the 500 coins of rations... since it's rations, it will naturally be given a month after joining the army.

Tiegen returned home dejectedly.

My younger sister was sitting in the yard, weaving a straw mat from cattails.

Mother was probably still in the field, so Tiegen asked his sister to call her back, saying he had something important to tell her.

The younger sister obediently went to call for help.

Before long, Tiegen's mother returned.

Tiegen told her about joining the army, then spread out the five hundred coins one by one and handed them all to his mother.

The mother and son fell silent.

Tiegen's mother held the military pay her son had brought back in her cracked hands.

My younger sister stood to the side, her thin hands tightly clutching a cattail.

Tie Gen looked at the two of them, and tears welled up in his eyes without his noticing.

There is both reluctance to let go of the present and fear of the future.

An army that even has to prepare its own weapons using kitchen knives and sickles from home... can he really come back alive?
Tiegen picked up the kitchen knife from home.

In recent years, we haven't been able to eat many vegetables at home, so this old kitchen knife has become useless.

As for the rest, we don't have a sickle, but we do have a hoe, though Mother needs one, so we'll just take a kitchen knife...

Before he left, his mother gave him some instructions.

"My son, once you join the army, if your superiors punish you, just accept it and never argue back. On the battlefield, if you are no match for them, kneel down and surrender; never try to fight back!"

Upon hearing this, Tie Gen burst into tears and said:

“Mother, I remember. Don’t worry, I won’t talk back to my superiors, but I can’t surrender. If I surrender and become a surrendered soldier, what will happen to you?”

Tie Gen's mother said:

“Silly child, all you know is the surrendered soldiers. But you don’t understand, only if you live can we have hope. If you die, how will my son and I survive!”

Upon hearing this, Tiegen sighed deeply. He knelt on the ground and kowtowed three times to his mother.

"Mother, I promise you, I will come back alive!"

After kowtowing, Tiegen got up to leave.

My younger sister caught up with me and offered me a few wild vegetable dumplings.

"Brother, take this and eat it on the way."

Tiegen nodded and took the wild vegetable dumplings.

Take two steps.

The younger sister behind her cried.

"Brother, please come back alive!"

Tiegen turned around and looked at his thin younger sister and hunchbacked mother at the door of his house. The two of them looked so lonely and helpless.

Taking a bite of the bitter wild vegetable dumpling, Tiegen solemnly said:
"I will definitely come back alive!"

(End of this chapter)