Chapter 007: In this Qing Shan Town, whoever loves it can take it away

Great! Lin Ziran felt a surge of joy upon seeing the final recruitment results

A few days ago, they were almost unable to afford even a meal

Not a single cent, yet you still want to hire people

The Mini rifle has an effective range of three to four hundred meters, while a smoothbore gun, such as this Fuyuan musket, has an effective range of only a few dozen meters, becoming practically useless beyond one hundred meters

The most critical point is that it does not even mention accommodation and meals!

The requirements for recruits in this announcement remain unchanged, merely emphasizing physical strength and similar attributes. As for the compensation, a settlement allowance of ten catties of grain is provided, along with a monthly salary of eight yuan

Luo Mazi nodded frequently while listening, and only after finishing did he go over and rewrite a recruitment notice.

However, Lin Ziran was in a good mood, while Wang Jinquan, who had returned to the guardhouse, was not in a good mood.

A small minion or a petty bandit beside him said: "Boss, why don't we just leave? Let's give up on Qing Shan Town. If we stay with these officials for too long, we will be discovered sooner or later"

Therefore, Lin Ziran has merely changed the approach slightly; fundamentally, there remains little change

Thus, Lin Ziran also pretended not to see, and he was thinking that he would let them take the lead first. When he was about to leave, he would catch them off guard and take everything in one fell swoop

Money is a good thing, as soon as Lin Ziran left, Boss Wang immediately got busy with two craftsmen from the workshop, and he even planned to temporarily recruit more hands to modify the firearms

Lin Ziran and his companions are lingering in Qingshan Town primarily to leverage this location for their development and growth

However, some people said: "To leave so directly, isn't this a wasted trip for us? We had worked hard to gather over 2,000 yuan, and in the end, it was taken away by those officials and soldiers!"

Seeing Lin Ziran's displeased expression, Luo Mazi, who gets scolded every day, cautiously said: "My lord, it is my fault; everything is done according to the old rules from before"

This army, of course, needs to be recruited on the spot

Upon hearing that there was a bounty, many impoverished youths rushed over to express their desire to enlist in the military, which took Lin Ziran by surprise

Wang Jinquan and his companions made a decision, and the families within the city fell into misfortune; it was not only the families in the town, but even those outside the city faced continuous bad luck

Although they are currently raising the banner of the Fifth Garrison Regiment and recruiting in the name of the officers and soldiers, in reality, they are still recruiting bandits, and naturally, there are no salaries or other benefits.

During the past few days in Qingshan Town, Lin Ziran pretended to send some personnel out to wander around, claiming to be searching for traces of bandits, but in reality, they were on alert in the surrounding areas, guarding against the possibility of soldiers coming from other places

In fact, when Lin Ziran and the others used to dine and drink together, the expenses for each person averaged out to about this amount per month, and sometimes it even exceeded this figure.

In a good mood, Lin Ziran found that even watching Luo Mazi was not so annoying anymore

At that moment, the question arose: "Who established the recruitment standards?"

However, with just a slight modification, the effect is immediately evident

What about the military pay? What about the relocation allowance?

In this way, it will be quite difficult for them to recruit people, as anyone who sees that there is nothing available will wonder who would foolishly dedicate themselves to you

With this thing, one will have much more confidence when encountering any enemies in the future, especially when facing officials and soldiers.

The matter regarding the gun has already been taken care of

Lin Ziran personally went to a recruitment point outside the town to take a look, and immediately felt a surge of anger!

As for these matters, Lin Ziran naturally could not be bothered, as long as Boss Wang could convert his smoothbore guns into rifled guns and produce molds for melting and compressing Minié bullets, Lin Ziran would not care how Boss Wang managed to do it

What he did not know was that Wang Jinquan had actually helped him quite a bit in this matter. Under various pretexts such as collecting taxes in advance and levying fees, Wang Jinquan had been raking in money indiscriminately, causing not only significant harm to the people in the town but also bringing about unimaginable suffering to the surrounding villages.

Within the garrison, Wang Jinquan, this false commander, pondered deeply but could not come up with a better solution

In simple terms, it is about making money, recruiting soldiers, and manufacturing weapons

Having finalized the matter regarding the Mini rifle, Lin Ziran was in high spirits

As for the funds, a batch has already been secured, and before leaving, Lin Ziran and the others will directly take over the garrison, so there is no need to worry.

A group of subordinates also wore worried expressions, as they clearly did not expect those 'official soldiers' to be so shameless, planning to stay in Qingshan Town for a long time

Who established the recruitment standards!

Although this Qingshan Town is a bit small, it still has its advantages. It is said that Boss Wang of the iron workshop is quite wealthy. Shall we go to him first to secure some funds

However, what was not mentioned is that from this 8 yuan, deductions must be made for meal expenses, clothing expenses, and various other fees. Other equipment costs also need to be deducted. After all these deductions, it is estimated that not much will be left.

As a result, there will be even more impoverished children who cannot afford enough food

The two thousand Hengyuan brought from Qingshan Town have already been used by Lin Ziran as funds for modifying firearms, while the excess has been allocated for the procurement of percussion caps, lead bullets, and gunpowder

Currently, Lin Ziran is more concerned about the Mini rifle and the matter of recruitment

Thus, Lin Ziran, who originally wanted to explode in anger, forcibly held it back

Upon hearing this, Lin Ziran was also at a loss for words

Old rules

Wang Jinquan and others are saying one moment that they will collect the autumn tax in advance, and the next moment that the army lacks funds to suppress bandits and needs to levy expenses. Moreover, they are originally bandits themselves, ruthless and merciless, completely disregarding the people's livelihood. Their speed in raising money is exceedingly fast

Unfortunately, they do not have the funds to issue salaries.

Over the course of nearly ten days, they managed to recruit almost two hundred individuals, essentially taking away nearly all those in the vicinity who met the criteria and were willing to serve as soldiers and receive provisions

Indeed, even if we have to leave, we must first secure the money before departing. Let us make an extra effort to gather two or three thousand before we go

Yesterday evening, after it was initially determined that Lin Ziran would stay in Qingshan Town for an extended period, he began to contemplate his future path. Setting aside other matters for the moment, it is imperative that he first acquires the Mini rifle.

In this chaotic era, having soldiers and firearms is the true path to power. With the addition of these two hundred men, he now commands nearly three hundred and fifty individuals. Although the number of firearms is still somewhat lacking, there are also dozens of spare old guns in the official warehouse of Qingshan Town, which have also been taken by Lin Ziran, bringing the total to two hundred guns

Good things come in pairs. Lin Ziran has successfully recruited someone, and Boss Wang from the iron workshop has also come over excitedly, saying that the first batch of guns has already been rifled, and he has also brought along the bullet molds.

Finally, a few words were whispered to Luo Mazi

This group of people, m.com.com, are indeed bandits, and they are all voluntary bandits. They do not receive a salary on a regular basis; they share meals from a communal pot, eating together when there is food, drinking together when there is wine, and if there is nothing, they all go hungry together

Today, I originally intended to send news of the bandits to Lin Ziran and the soldiers, urging them to take action against the bandits as soon as possible. However, observing the situation of Lin Ziran and his men in the iron workshop today, it is evident that they plan to stay for a considerable amount of time.

The banner raised is naturally for the recruitment of soldiers for the Fifth Garrison Battalion, as for its authenticity, those country folks are unaware

Although the population of the town is small, the surrounding villages have a considerable population. Moreover, this area is not particularly affluent, and the opportunities for rural youth are limited. For many, joining the military and receiving a salary still holds significant appeal. However, why is it that recruitment is unsuccessful?

What should I do

Unfortunately, the recruitment results have been unsatisfactory; after three days, only a little over twenty candidates were hired, which is not normal

At the same time, Lin Ziran also sent people to the countryside outside the city to recruit individuals

Lin Ziran, who was nearby, also heard about the matters concerning Wang Jinquan and the others. However, this was a matter for the local authorities, and Lin Ziran and his companions were merely passing through as "official troops" engaged in bandit suppression. According to common reasoning, they had no jurisdiction over the affairs of the garrison.

Wang Jinquan said: "The iron workshop cannot be touched; the officials and soldiers are watching it closely. We can use the name of the government to set up a collection and make some money. Once we have it, we will leave. As for who wants to stay in Qingshan Town, that is their own business!"