Clan Rise: Starting as a Grandfather

Chapter 329: Chapter 319 Who is the General?

”Come this way, people from Nanling Village!”

Zhang Hu was standing on an oxcart beside the road shouting instructions.

By his side, there were over twenty soldiers and about seven or eight oxcarts from Nanling Village.

Seeing Li Qicheng and his family approaching, Zhang Hu shouted again: ”The elderly, women, and children, get on the cart, put all your belongings on it too, I’m talking to you, stop looking around and quickly get your wife and children on the cart!”

Seeing Li Qicheng still looking around cluelessly, Zhang Hu jumped off the cart and urged them to get on.

”Oh, thank you, Mr. Xie!” Li Qicheng, somewhat at a loss, helped his wife onto the oxcart.

At that moment, a soldier ran up from ahead shouting, ”Zhang Hu, Zhang Hu!”

”Here!” Zhang Hu quickly responded.

”Your group from Nanling Village, all nineteen households are here, hurry up and move out, let the people from West River Village come next!” the soldier said, sweating profusely.

After these villagers arrived, they would be immediately arranged into the various Hundred Households and garrison posts, with each Hundred Households and garrison required to bring their own carts to transport people.

With more than three thousand households and tens of thousands of people, plus the soldiers coming to lead them, the scene was extremely chaotic.

Fortunately, everyone was very disciplined, and although it was noisy, there were no mishaps.

Once Zhang Hu received his orders, he counted the civilians around him, confirmed there were nineteen households, and then led the people eastward along the official road.

”Zhuzi, your group is all here!”

”Yes, all here, nineteen households, over a hundred twenty people!”

On the road, people familiar with Zhang Hu greeted him, and Zhang Hu grinned.

Receiving the relocated villagers was beneficial for each Hundred Households and garrison post because it meant their military households and soldiers could reach their full complement.

With more military households and increased population, they could cultivate more garrison farmlands, harvest more crops, and provide more soldiers for Tenglong Guard.

Li Qicheng walked beside the ox cart, cautiously watching the soldier driving the cart. Seeing that the soldier was about twenty years old and looked kind, he couldn’t help whispering, ”Excuse me, officer, where are we going?”

The soldier turned and glanced at him, ”To Nanling Village, isn’t it written on your wooden tag?”

Li Qicheng gave an embarrassed smile; he could read, having studied in a private school for two years before, so he naturally knew what was written on the tag.

But what place was Nanling Village?

”Are we far from Nanling Village?”

”Not far, just about ten more miles!” the soldier said casually.

”Oh!”

Li Qicheng had many questions, but he did not dare to ask too much, only briefly inquired and then fell silent. However, his eldest son, Li Dalang, approached and asked the soldier, ”Excuse me, elder brother, are you a soldier from Tenglong Guard?”

”I’m Wang, the third child in my family!” the soldier chuckled.

”Ah, Brother Wang San!” Li Dalang, an active youth, immediately changed his call.

”Haha, yes, I am a soldier from Tenglong Guard, but I am just a simple soldier, I completed basic training but didn’t pass the selection!” Wang Laosan said somewhat downheartedly.

A soldier is just a regular soldier; every military household has one.

With the first batch of basic training for soldiers completed and the second batch starting, being a soldier in Tenglong Guard had somewhat of a connotation of being a loser.

”Pass the selection? Select for what?” Li Dalang curiously asked.

”Camp Soldiers! You didn’t know? Our Camp Soldiers in Tenglong Guard are very formidable!” Wang Laosan explained.

”Is there any benefit in being a Camp Soldier?” Li Dalang continued to inquire.

”Of course, we simple soldiers only get half the standard grain rations, while Camp Soldiers not only get full rations but also a salary.” Wang Laosan swung his whip, making it crack through the air.

”I see! So, what are the requirements to become a Camp Soldier?” Li Dalang asked, somewhat eager.

He didn’t know how much half the standard grain ration was, nor was he clear on the salary amount, but for Li family today, any amount was worth their effort.

Wang Laosan turned and sized him up, ”Your physique is quite tall but a bit thin; maybe if you train, you could be selected.”

The Li family had been well-off farmers before, better off than the average civilian, so Li Dalang was in relatively good shape, but due to a severe drought last year, the Li family had started to tighten their belts. Coupled with a long journey over several months, Li Dalang had become quite emaciated.

”Really? When can we participate in the selection?” Li Dalang asked expectantly.

”I don’t know; it depends on the government office’s schedule. I heard that the third batch of training might start after the autumn harvest, but we’re not sure exactly when!” Wang Laosan said.

As the two talked and traveled, they soon reached Nanling Village.

Through their conversation along the way, the worries in the minds of the Li family lessened a bit. Although they were still unclear about what their days ahead would look like, from Wang Laosan’s attitude, they felt that Nanling Village must be a nice place.

”Everyone, come here, come here! I have a few things to tell you!”

The caravan stopped in the open area in front of Nanling Village, and Zhang Hu gathered the relocated villagers.

”Starting today, you all are now military households of Nanling Village, and I am your General Flag Officer, Zhang Hu!”

”Our Nanling Village falls under the jurisdiction of the Left Hundred Households of the Tenglong Guard’s thousand households.”

”Our Hundred Households is right over there; can you see it? That village over there is our Hundred Households!” Zhang Hu pointed towards the village located about two or three li (approximately 1 km) to the east of Nanling Village.

”Now that you all are military households, let me first explain the rules of our military households! Other things are secondary; obeying orders is the most important. When there are orders from above, you must carry them out, any disobedience will be dealt with by military law...”

”And our duty is to till the land, over there, that land is our tilled fields, and next year, you will also be assigned such lands to till...”

”As for now, we have already prepared houses for you, one set of housing for each household. Inside the kitchens of these houses, there are three dou (measures) of fine grain, five dou of coarse grain, half a jin (250 grams) of salt, and some melons, fruits, and vegetables. We’ve also prepared some firewood for you, it should be enough for a few days.”

”In addition, the General is benevolent and aware of your lack of clothing and food, therefore, he has specially prepared some cotton cloth for each of you, one zhang (approximately 3.3 meters) for adults, and five chi (approximately 1.6 meters) for children, along with thirty copper coins each, everyone gets them, including children. You can go directly to the barracks in the village to get the cotton cloth and copper coins!”

Zhang Hu then pointed at several houses in the center of the village and said, ”That’s the barracks, where I usually work. Whether you need to collect items or have other matters, you can find me there!”

Zhang Hu talked continuously for about half an hour, his mouth dry from so much speaking, ”Alright, I’ve said most of what needs to be said, you can gradually learn the rest!”

”Now let’s assign the houses!”

”Wang Laosan, Li Dalang, arrange the houses for them!”

Several soldiers, upon hearing the command, immediately answered and then led a group of bewildered villagers into the village.

The houses in the village were newly built. When Yang Zhenshan received the official document from the Central Army Commander’s Mansion, he had already instructed the thousand households and Hundred Households to build houses for the refugees who would soon arrive.

Soon, Li Qicheng’s family received a set of housing.

The houses in Nanling Village were all the same, with four main rooms, two rooms each in the east and west side wings, and a courtyard that was neither too large nor too small. As for other structures, it was up to the military households to build themselves, most of them would set up a shed in the yard to store firewood and farming tools, among other things.

Looking at the brand-new courtyard, Li Qicheng felt like he was dreaming.

Although their previous home was much better than this one, since leaving their home, they had never imagined that they would ever own a courtyard again.

”Wang San, is this going to be our home from now on?” Li Dalang also asked Wang Laosan excitedly.

”Yes, it is yours. We built these houses, and later you can set up a shed here for farming tools and firewood, or you can set up a pig pen or build a chicken coop over there!”

”However, you’ll have to buy the piglets and chicks yourselves.”

Wang Laosan smiled.

”Thank you, Brother Wang San!” Li Dalang said, feeling touched.

Wang Laosan waved his hand, ”It’s all the General’s benevolence, all given to you by the General!”

”Who is the General?” Li Dalang, curious, had heard Wang Laosan mention the General many times along the way, but he never knew who he was referring to.

”The General is our Commander of Tenglong Guard, personally appointed by the Emperor as the General who Stabilizes the Nation!” Wang Laosan said with an admiring expression.

Li Dalang blinked and asked, ”Brother Wang San, have you met the General?”

”Of course, before the New Year, many houses in our village were collapsed, the General came to visit many times, and he taught us how to build ice and snow houses! All these houses were built with the General’s help!” Wang Laosan said.

Although the houses were built by themselves, the government office also provided them with work food, so it was considered that the government office employed them to build.

”I see!” Li Dalang gained more respect for the General whom he had never met.

At that moment, someone outside was calling Wang Laosan, and he replied, ”You guys clean up first, don’t forget to stop by the barracks later to collect your money and cotton cloth!”

After speaking, he left the Li family.

And after he left, Li Dalang dashed into the kitchen.

”Dad, Mom, there really is grain, come and see!”

Li Qicheng looked at the sack that his eldest son brought out, saw the grain inside, and let out a heavy sigh of relief.

They finally felt at ease now.

Though the grain wasn’t a lot, it was enough for their family to eat for more than half a month.

At least for half a month, they wouldn’t have to worry about going hungry.

”Head of the house, you go to the barracks first to collect the cotton cloth, we also need to make a few more sets of clothes to change into!” Mrs. Li said softly.

”Yes, alright, you all clean up first, Dalang, come with me!” Li Qicheng said.

The cotton cloth and copper coins were prepared by the Guardian Department; although not much, it was enough for an emergency.

The reason for giving some copper coins was also to hope these new military households could feel more settled, having money and grain, to ease their minds.

However, money was only given once, whereas grain would be distributed monthly on time, Yang Zhenshan had already prepared to support these military households for a year.

Li Qicheng soon received the cloth and copper coins, and his family, having many members, received thirty coins each, totaling two hundred and seventy coins even for the baby.

After a simple cleaning up, the Li family had a simple dinner and then fell into a deep sleep.

This was the most undisturbed sleep they had had in the past year.