Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Lifei Shouyu was very puzzled. Some time ago, they recruited the villagers along the way to transport supplies for the army. Under the premise of generous rewards, the villagers all enthusiastically participated. This time, when they came to recruit soldiers, why were the villagers of Luzhou so uncooperative? Could it be because of these official duties? If not for these official duties leading the way, it would not have been easy for them to find this place.
In order to complete the difficult task of recruiting soldiers with quality and quantity, Lifei Shouyu felt that he had to find out what the villagers were worried about. Only then could he find the right solution to the problem and recruit enough qualified soldiers.
"You, come here."
Lifei Shouyu looked sternly at one of the officials.
"General, what's the matter?"
"Why are these people not willing to sign up? Is there a reason?"
"General, people will die in the war. The villagers are timid, of course they are afraid."
"Nonsense, tell me the truth."
Lifei Shouyu was furious.
"General, I dare not lie. In the past few years, Lu Province had recruited soldiers to chase down the bandits of Gourd Cave. But the bandits were very fierce and familiar with the terrain. The soldiers suffered great losses. Almost every village was mourning. Every family had a funeral. It was reasonable for the villagers to be afraid. Oh, right, the Provincial Governor could not do anything about these bandits. In the end, he gave the order to give up on Gourd Cave and moved all the villagers to somewhere near the city."
"They were killed by the bandits."
Lifei Shouyu nodded slightly and asked, "How many bandits are there around Gourd Cave? Where is their lair?"
"General, I really don't know. I'm afraid that even the Provincial Governor doesn't know. However, I reckon that it shouldn't be less than three to five thousand. Otherwise, the imperial army wouldn't have suffered so much. As for where the bandits' nest is, no one really knows."
Although this answer was nonsense, Lifei Shouyu knew it was the truth. He had also been a bandit in Ying Province, so he naturally understood the advantages of being a bandit in the mountains. The mountains were the bandit's home, and the bandit's nest was not easily known to outsiders. They also did not want their numbers to be controlled by the government. These were all necessary for the bandit's survival.
"The people are not afraid of death, but they are afraid of dying unjustly. Luzhou has recruited soldiers to suppress the bandits several times, but they all returned in defeat. Many soldiers died, but few bandits were injured. I don't want to be a soldier like that."
Lifei Shouyu's tone was filled with anger, directly pointing out the incompetence of the relevant officials in Luzhou.
"The general is right, but the people are ignorant. How could they know that the general's ability to command is outstanding and not something those people in Luzhou can compare to?"
The official nodded and bowed to flatter him.
Lifei Shouyu looked at Erniu behind him and sighed, "Erniu, with the civilians in such a state, what do you think we should do?"
Zhang Erniu gave it some thought and suggested, "Why don't we lie to the people and tell them that the purpose of this recruitment is to train the soldiers and not to fight or suppress bandits? Let them be at ease."
"Deceiving the common people!"
Lifei Shouyu shook his head repeatedly and objected, "How can this work? Do you think the people of Luzhou are all fools? Paper can't hold fire. Only you can come up with such a bad idea."
"But if the people don't sign up, won't it be difficult to complete our recruitment plan? Other than temporarily lying to the people, I really can't think of a better idea."
Zhang Erniu's face was filled with helplessness.
Li Feishou Yu was helpless. He personally pulled over a few of the more robust citizens and had a heart-to-heart talk with them, promoting the policies and goals of this recruitment. However, these citizens still seemed to be full of vigilance. They did not trust Li Feishou Yu too much and were unwilling to join the new recruits. This made Li Feishou Yu feel very helpless.
"The people don't want to join the army. This is because our policy hasn't been properly implemented. We need to think of a solution as soon as possible."
"General, why don't we report to General Li? He might have a solution."
Lifei Shouyu nodded gently, "Okay, go to Gourd Valley immediately and report the situation here to General Li. Remember, report everything truthfully."
"Yes, general. I'll go right away."
###
In the direction of Gourd Valley, a large number of people and craftsmen who had eaten lunch were preparing to enter the valley. At noon, the open fire in the valley had been completely extinguished. The thick smoke was also gradually dissipating. At this moment, only a thin layer of smoke was still floating in the valley.
Actually, rushing to enter the valley at this time would cause harm to the people's bodies. However, the task of building the barracks was extremely urgent, so naturally, they couldn't care less.
"General, the fire in the valley has basically been extinguished. The people can enter now."
A soldier with a face covered in soot walked out of the valley and reported to Ang Lee.
Ang Lee nodded and ordered, "Let the people and craftsmen follow me into the valley." Saying so, he was the first to enter the valley.
At this time, although the open fire in the valley had been completely extinguished and the thick smoke was not very thick, the crackling sound of burning wood could be heard occasionally. When a light breeze blew, it would reveal a few pieces of burning red wood. Of course, since most of the combustible materials had been burned, these scattered sparks would not cause much trouble and would not cause a large-scale reignition.
"Cough cough cough"
Because there was still smoke in the valley, some people were choking and coughing.
Although Ang Lee loved the people, the task of building the barracks was urgent. For the overall interests of the Tang Empire, it was necessary to let the people work hard.
"The construction of the three valleys must be carried out at the same time. Let the people start the construction as soon as possible."
Ang Lee fanned the smoke from his nose with his hand and gave the order to start the construction.
"Yes, General."
Building a barracks was not like building a villa. There were no particularly high requirements, as long as the various functional areas could be used. The most important thing was to make it as simple and clear as possible. There was absolutely no need for elaborate decorations. Therefore, the planning was very easy. After Ang Lee personally inspected the valley, he went back and worked hard for only a few hours to draw up the blueprint of the valley. After making many copies, he handed them to the chief craftsmen in charge of the construction.
At this moment, these chief craftsmen took the blueprint drawn by Ang Lee and led a large group of people to their respective areas to carry out the intense construction.
They cleaned up the ashes, flattened the ground, compacted the ground, and transported in stone and wood. Different people carried out different tasks according to the division of labor. The three valleys were all in full swing.
Except for the two checkpoints at the east and west entrances that were relatively tall and required a lot of manpower and energy, the buildings in the valley were all ordinary houses for the soldiers to live in. They did not need any decoration and were mainly sturdy and durable. For this reason, the construction was very easy. According to the current progress, it would be easy to complete the construction within ten days.
"Big Brother, this place was originally just a piece of barren land, but it won't be long before it becomes our camp. In addition to the training ground and living quarters, there will be a lot of open space left."
"That's right. If we continue to increase the number of soldiers in the future, we won't have to worry about not having a place to live. It won't be a problem to station twenty thousand soldiers in this valley."
Ang Lee chuckled, "The entire Jiannan Circuit only has thirty thousand nine hundred elite soldiers. How can you think of stationing twenty thousand soldiers in a small Gourd Cave? Moreover, the state treasury is tight. If I had proposed to recruit twenty thousand soldiers, His Majesty might not have sent me here. Also, you must remember, soldiers don't rely on quantity but on quality. Generals don't rely on bravery but on strategy. Walking the path of elite soldiers is the wisest choice."
"Yes, Big Brother, we understand."
"General, General."
Ang Lee seemed to hear someone calling him. He immediately stopped and turned around.
"What's going on?"
"General, there are some problems with the recruitment."
"Problems with the recruitment? Hurry up and tell me."
As the saying goes, whatever you fear will happen. Ang Lee was most worried that there would be problems with the recruitment, and in the end, there were problems.
The soldier took a few deep breaths and told Ang Lee all the problems with the recruitment in full detail. He also tried to find a solution.
Ang Lee frowned and paced around the valley after hearing the soldier's words. He was thinking about how to deal with the problems with the recruitment.
He had already boasted in front of Li Longji about the recruitment this time. As long as he was allowed to do it, he would definitely be able to quickly recruit three thousand elite soldiers to quell the rebellion in Cuandi for the Tang Empire. But now, the recruitment had just started and they were already in such a predicament. Naturally, this made him feel suffocated.
"Big Brother, the civilians are not willing to join the army because they don't trust us. As long as we explain patiently, they should change their minds."
"Big Brother, these civilians are scared of the bandits. Why don't we go and suppress the bandits first? Kill a few hundred bandits and take their heads to recruit soldiers. Let's see if these civilians still dare to look down on us."
Ang Lee shook his head helplessly. "We only have six hundred Dragon Warriors now. That's not a small number, but you know the combat power of the Dragon Warriors. They are far inferior to the border army. Moreover, they are all northerners and are not used to the climate of Luzhou. Bringing them to the mountains to suppress the bandits is no different from sending them to their deaths. If we want to suppress the bandits, we must rely on the army that we are about to recruit."
"Big Brother, the civilians are not willing to join the army. What can we do? We can't tie them up with ropes and bring them to the barracks. If we really can't, we can only ask the Governor of Luzhou to help and force the civilians to join the army according to the number of people in the village."
"Big Brother, making the civilians voluntarily join the army is not a reliable method. After all, people die in war. Without enough benefits, who would be willing to die?"
Ang Lee shook his head. "If we use force to recruit soldiers, will they be the elites we want? If we want to recruit the elites we want, we must make the civilians voluntarily join the army. They must be willing. This is what we need to do now."
"Big Brother, you are right. But the military pay we are offering is already generous enough. Do we still need to increase it? The imperial court has only given us this much money. Are you going to submit a memorial to His Majesty and ask for more money?"
Ang Lee shook his head. "The more the military pay, the more the civilians will be attracted to join the army. However, the civilians are most worried about dying in vain. If we can't relieve them of this worry, it will be useless no matter how much we give them."
"If we want to relieve the civilians' worries, we have to eliminate the bandits first. However, the Dragon Martial Army is not capable of such a big task. What should we do?"
Ang Lee paced back and forth in the valley. After thinking for a long time, he said, "It seems that we can only give them benefits first to calm their hearts."
"Big Brother, you have already thought of a way."
Ang Lee nodded. "The best way is to give the civilians benefits first and do a good job of advertising. We also need to scare them and make them feel nervous."
"What method is it?"
Li Kunxiong and Li Feiyu were both confused.
Li An smiled faintly and told the two of them about the plan he came up with in full detail.
As it turned out, Ang Lee had taken three specific measures to get the civilians to voluntarily join the army.
First, pay the soldiers first. When they signed up, they would receive the first month's pay. This would increase the civilians' motivation to join the army.
Second, launch a large-scale advertising campaign. Tell the civilians about Ang Lee's previous battles in Yuzhou and Dongnu Province, as well as the rewards he had received. This would let the civilians know about Ang Lee's abilities. At the same time, they would be filled with hope for their future and feel at ease to join Ang Lee's army. At the same time, make it clear that there would be no war for three months. There would be no war before the soldiers had enough fighting power.
Third, exaggerate the threat of the Southern Barbarians to Luzhou. Tell the civilians that most of the bandits near Gourd Valley were from the Southern Barbarians. There had already been a rebellion in Cuandi, and more Barbarians would invade Luzhou. When that time came, all of Luzhou's land would be taken over by the Barbarians. If they wanted to avoid this situation, they had to immediately join the army and train hard to protect their homeland.
After listening to Ang Lee's plan, Li Kunxiong and Li Feiyu both agreed. The soldiers sent by Li Feiyu were also very excited. They immediately returned and prepared to report to Li Feiyu.
"Big Brother, once these three measures are out, the civilians of Luzhou will definitely join the army."
"Yes, Big Brother is always smarter than us. Listening to Big Brother is never wrong."
The two of them were convinced by Ang Lee's idea. This kind of small trick was nothing to Ang Lee. However, Kunxiong and Fei Yu would never have thought that this was the difference in ability. Ang Lee's ability was stronger than theirs.
Just as Ang Lee expected, after showing the three measures, Li Feiyu's army quickly recruited 20 qualified new soldiers. The number of people who wanted to join the army reached 100. This greatly shocked Li Feiyu. He immediately told the news to the other groups and had them do the same.
The 500 soldiers of the Dragon Martial Army had all experienced the battle of the Mother-Child Path. When they talked about the battle, it was very realistic. Some of them came from the Hengye Army and White Wolf Mountain, so they knew what had happened in Yuzhou. As such, they were very good at explaining Ang Lee's glorious history.
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