Anti-Qing: Starting from the Jintian Uprising

Chapter 25: Iron Rice Bowl and Re-employment

After Li Yi finished speaking, Wang An and others looked at each other in surprise.

Immediately, they all started speaking.

"We will follow the orders of the brigade commander!"

They may have sensed the deeper meaning of Li Yi's arrangement, or they may have been completely unaware of it.

But none of that matters.

The important thing is that what Li Yi said does make sense.

In order to give full play to the advantages of foreign guns, concentrated use is the best option.

When using them, it is also advisable to select those with outstanding marksmanship as much as possible.

They had no reason to object!
Just as everyone was discussing how to use the foreign guns, Li Sheng came to report.

"Reporting to the brigade commander, the number of silver and foreign guns in the Li family's silver cellar has been counted!"

Li Yi heard this and nodded.

"Tell me more specifically!"

Upon seeing this, Li Sheng did not keep the audience in suspense and spoke directly.

"To answer the kind words of the commander, there are now more than 2,200 taels of silver and 300 foreign guns in the Li family's silver cellar."

"In addition, with the help of the housekeeper of the Li Mansion, we also seized 2,000 dan of grain, 200 jin of bacon, 300 pieces of cotton cloth, as well as live chickens, ducks, pigs, sheep and other supplies from the Li Mansion's storehouse..."

Li Yi raised his eyebrows and said after hearing this.

"There's a lot of stuff!"

"Pass the order down. The whole army will have an extra meal tonight. There will be plenty of wine and meat. Let's go ahead and work as hard as we can."

Li Sheng nodded to show that he understood, and then continued.

"General, Li's housekeeper Ye Zhisheng wants to see you. I think he seems to be inclined to join us."

"Would you like to meet him?"

After hearing this, Li Yi thought for a while and then said.

"It would be nice to meet you!"

"Bring people here."

Li Yi's career is just starting out, and this is the time when he needs to recruit new people and make it bigger and stronger.

Since Ye Zhisheng was willing to surrender, there was no reason for him to refuse.

Now is not the time for him to be picky about the quality of talent.

For Li Yi now, no matter what your ability is, as long as you are willing to invest, he will accept you.

Because you need quantity first before you can pursue quality.

What Li Yi needs to do most now is to increase the quantity. As for the quality, it will not be too late to pursue it after the quantity is large enough.

Li Sheng nodded to show that he understood, then turned and left.

Soon, Ye Zhisheng was brought to Li Yi.

Ye Zhisheng knelt down in front of Li Yi with a plop, and then spoke.

"I am Ye Zhisheng, a lowly man. I am willing to follow the good commander and join him in the cause of fighting against the Qing dynasty. I hope you will take me in."

Upon hearing this, Li Yi broke into a smile.

But he did not agree rashly, but asked.

"Can I ask why?"

Upon hearing this, Ye Zhisheng spoke without hesitation.

"To answer the kind words of the commander, before I became the housekeeper of Li Dianyuan, the demon, I once participated in the imperial examination. Unfortunately, I failed many times and spent all my family's wealth. I could only give up my status and work as a housekeeper to make a living..."

Li Yi couldn't help but raise his eyebrows when he heard this.

Failing the exam repeatedly?

If he met with Hong Tianwang, they would probably have a lot in common...

After Ye Zhisheng finished speaking, Li Yi briefly summarized it:

Ye Zhisheng wanted to get a stable job.

But it doesn’t matter who owns this position and the iron rice bowl!
Since the Qing Dynasty doesn't want Ye Zhisheng, don't blame him for finding a new job on his own.

Hearing this, Li Yi nodded and agreed, and said, "Okay, since Butler Ye is willing to contribute to the anti-Qing cause, how can I refuse?"

"How about this, since you were previously the housekeeper for the Li Mansion, then you can be my housekeeper from now on and help me manage the logistics of the army, how about that?"

Upon hearing this, Ye Zhisheng immediately knelt down and kowtowed.

"Thank you, Marshal, for your trust. I will definitely live up to your expectations."

Upon hearing this, Li Yi nodded with satisfaction and then said.

"very good."

"Ye Zhisheng, you should start assisting Li Sheng in preparing the reward for the troops now."

In Li Yi's opinion, although Ye Zhisheng, the butler, may not be particularly capable, he should be able to accomplish such a small task.

Ye Zhisheng clasped his fists, accepted the order, and turned to do it.

Li Yi turned to Chen Picheng who was standing beside him and said.

"Picheng, send someone to Jintian Village immediately to report to Mr. Feng about our seizures from Li Dianyuan's mansion."

"And send one of the silver winter melons seized by our army this time, and say that this is a private gift to Mr. Feng."

Li Yi always understands one thing, that is, if you want to make a living in this world, you must never think of eating alone.

More importantly, don’t forget your boss when something good happens!
Also, when doing things, it is not important whether you have made contributions to the collective or not. What is most important is whether you have made contributions to your superiors.

Li Yi's words were very clear. The silver winter melon he gave to Feng Yunshan this time was not a share of the spoils handed over to the God Worshipping Society, but a personal gift to Feng Yunshan.

Upon hearing this, Chen Picheng clasped his fists to show that he understood.

"Commander, I understand. I will personally lead the team this time to ensure that nothing unexpected happens."

Li Yi nodded, then touched his chin and asked thoughtfully.

"By the way, Picheng, who gave you your name?"

Chen Picheng was stunned when he heard this, wondering why Li Yi would ask this.

But he still spoke honestly.

"To answer the question, Commander Lu, my parents died when I was young and I was raised by my uncle. It was my uncle who gave me this name."

Hearing this, Li Yi nodded slightly and then spoke.

"It's a good name, but the word 'Pi' is not used well. It sounds like an insult. It's better to change it to 'Yu'."

"Picheng, what do you think?"

People from Guangxi all have an accent when they speak. If you read the word "Pi" quickly, it will sound like "that".

It's somewhat impolite!
When Chen Picheng heard this, he was stunned at first, but then he reacted and his eyes lit up.

"I will follow the orders of the brigade commander."

In fact, Chen Picheng had wanted to change his name a long time ago.

When Chen Chengrong named him, he only thought about the meaning of "Pi means big" and ignored the pronunciation of the word "Pi".

As a result, Chen Picheng was often ridiculed and teased by his peers since he was a child.

This was really an infuriating thing for him who was in adolescence.

However, his uncle had always disagreed with him changing his name, so the matter was delayed.

Now that Li Yi has asked to change his name, Chen Picheng is quite excited.

With Li Yi's request as a legitimate reason, he was confident that he could convince his uncle to agree to change his name.

Li Yi said with a smile.

"Not bad!"

"Then I will call you Yu Chengcheng from now on."

Li Yi is now feeling quite comfortable. The feeling of changing the name of a historical figure and allowing him to step onto the right track of history ahead of time gives him an inexplicable sense of satisfaction.

Chen Yucheng smiled and scratched his head, then turned around and left, preparing to take his men to get the silver winter melon and report the good news to Feng Yunshan.

……

At the same time, outside the city of Xunzhou Prefecture, Guizhou General Zhou Fengqi led his Guizhou soldiers and marched out of Xunzhou City in a mighty manner.

Then he set out towards Jintian Village.

(End of this chapter)