Ask the mountains and rivers

Chapter 205 Recruitment
As soon as Pei's army arrived, they killed wealthy families and confiscated their property. Boxes of gold, silver and jade artifacts, and bags of grain were continuously transported to the empty Beiping military camp.

Dressed in grey military uniforms, the Pei family army, in squads of ten, patrolled the streets and alleys of Beiping County. The common people were afraid of the soldiers wielding long swords; they either kept their doors closed or kept their heads down in avoidance. Occasionally, a few brave souls would peer out from afar.

It was common for soldiers to swagger around and rob, and it wasn't uncommon for them to harass young women and wives. But the Pei family army was different; they were very disciplined during patrols and never robbed merchants. For several days in a row, there were no incidents of them breaking into homes and abusing women.

What's even more astonishing is that there are quite a few female soldiers in Pei's army. These female soldiers vary in age and appearance, but they all share one common characteristic: bright eyes, upright posture, and high spirits.

"General Pei herself is a woman, which is why there are so many female soldiers in the Pei family army."

"I heard that General Pei has already started posting notices to recruit soldiers in Beiping County. Both men and women can sign up. If you are selected, you won't have to worry about food and clothing in the future."

Those who still had enough food to survive were cautious and hesitant about the Pei family army's conscription. Some impoverished people, who were already struggling to survive, rushed to sign up upon hearing about the conscription.

Joining the Pei family army and following General Pei to make a living is much better than being sold to a broker and left to be mistreated without any prospects.

The Pei family army's recruitment process differed from other armies. They didn't forcibly conscript men; instead, they registered each applicant, verified their identity and background, and conducted assessments.

No one with a criminal record, no one who is an only child, and those who are tall, strong, and literate are preferred.

Pei Qinghe personally oversaw the operation, and within just a few days, he recruited five hundred new soldiers.

After the new recruits were recruited, they were sent to the military camp, given a few days of full meals, and taught military discipline before gradually starting training. These were all things they were used to doing. Pei Qinghe sent Gu Lian to train the soldiers, while Pei Yun stayed in Beiping County to familiarize herself with the situation and take over the city's defenses.

"How is Prefect Shen?" Pei Qinghe asked Pei Yun, "Should we replace him with another prefect?"

Pei Yun offered a fair assessment: "He loves money, is greedy, weak, and afraid of death. His abilities are mediocre, and he doesn't have much ambition. Let's keep him for now, train him a bit, and he'll be barely usable."

Pei Qinghe nodded slightly: "Alright, for now, maintaining stability in Beiping County is the top priority, and training troops is the most important thing. With the Pei family army keeping an eye on things, Prefect Shen will not dare to oppress the people at will. We also need to keep an eye on the wealthy families who are being exploited. If anyone makes any unusual moves, we will not hesitate to eliminate them."

Yan County is the territory and foundation of the Pei family army. As long as the wealthy households are sensible and provide them with money and provisions for military expenses, she will allow them to live peacefully.

The wealthy families of Beiping County shouldn't expect such good treatment. Robbing and killing wealthy families was a common method used by the army to maintain its troops. Anyone who disobeyed was simply wiped out.

Pei's army's knives have always been very sharp.

Pei Yun nodded in agreement.

Pei Qinghe smiled again and said, "I originally planned to recruit a thousand new soldiers. Now it seems that number is a bit conservative. Recruiting soldiers here in Beiping County is going smoothly, so we can recruit more new soldiers."

The main reason is that they immediately executed several wealthy families, and their military funds were very abundant.

Pei Yun was equally ambitious, and said in a low voice with a smile: "Then recruit two thousand new soldiers, and with the new soldiers I brought, we can raise three thousand elite soldiers."

Pei Qinghe's eyes flashed: "The Pei family army also needs to be reinforced."

In short, recruiting and training soldiers is the top priority. We must take advantage of the fact that the rebel army and the Bohai Navy are too busy fighting to pay attention to the Pei family army to rapidly expand our forces.

With the tax revenue of a prefecture, supporting around five thousand elite soldiers would be the limit.

The Liaoxi army, for example, was far too greedy, constantly forcibly conscripting men. Vast tracts of fertile land lay fallow, and even with silver, they couldn't buy enough military rations. Then they had to continue killing and looting for food, leaving the people with no way to survive and forcing them to abandon their homes and flee. This vicious cycle continued, and the number of refugees in Liaoxi County increased day by day, with more and more land lying fallow. Such short-sighted actions were simply unacceptable. While the Pei family army expanded its forces much more slowly, it did so steadily and cautiously.

After entrusting the recruitment of soldiers to Pei Yun, Pei Qinghe went to the military camp again.

This military camp was once the stronghold of the Beiping Army, and it was built by General Meng over several years. The camp was well-built, with a spacious training ground, stables large enough to hold more than a thousand horses, and warehouses overflowing with money and grain offered by wealthy families.

Wang Erhe was leading several literate and clever female soldiers to inventory and organize the warehouse.

"General," Wang Erhe sighed with a bitter face, "I really overestimated myself. Cleaning up the ledgers is no easy task. I've been busy for so many days and I've only managed to sort out a small part of it. There are still several storerooms that haven't been organized. The ledgers are also a mess."

"How about we send a message back and ask Steward Shi to come over?"

Managing finances and accounts is inherently a meticulous and tedious task. It can't be accomplished by just talking.

Pei Qinghe pondered for a moment and said, "If Steward Shi wants to stay in the Pei family army, let one of the Dong brothers come. He can stay here to manage the accounts long-term."

Wang Erhe breathed a long sigh of relief and wiped the sweat from his brow with his sleeve: "That's great."

Pei Qinghe immediately wrote a letter and sent it back to Yan County by fast horse.

Six days later, Dong Dalang arrived at the military camp on a fast horse.

Dong Dalang was calm and efficient, and was Shi Yan's right-hand man. Now entrusted with an important task, to manage the finances and provisions independently, he was neither afraid nor flustered. He first went to see Pei Qinghe: "General, Chief Commander Shi ordered me to come to the military camp."

Pei Qinghe looked at Dong Dalang and said, "From now on, you will stay in the military camp, and you will be in charge of all the accounts here."

Dong Dalang was already mentally prepared and accepted the order with clasped hands.

Pei Qinghe summoned Wang Erhe. Wang Erhe came over carrying a stack of account books and presented them to Dong Dalang with a beaming smile.

Dong Dalang, just like his master, casually took out an abacus and opened the account book in front of Pei Qinghe.

Don't let Dong Dalang's quiet demeanor fool you; he's quite shrewd. He did this on purpose to show her his unwavering loyalty to the Pei family army.

Pei Qinghe's eyes flashed with a smile as she patiently watched for half a day.

While Dong Dalang was calculating the accounts, he asked questions that made Wang Erhe sweat profusely.

Wang Erhe didn't dare to steal gold and silver from the storeroom; the accounts were a complete mess, utterly unorganized. He only started learning to read and write after joining the Pei family army, less than five years in total. He usually followed Feng Chang, barely managing the food, drink, and clothing of three or four hundred men. With so many storerooms and so much money and grain, he simply didn't have the ability to keep the accounts straight.

Pei Qinghe smiled and said to Dong Dalang, "Alright, you can redo the accounts now!"

Dong Dalang had been waiting for this very sentence, so he nodded in agreement.

(End of this chapter)