After rebirth, I became a national teacher

Zheng Yuannai did not take up the office alone, but brought his father's confidant Fan Dayong with him.

Fan Dayong originally held an official position beside Zheng Baizhan. With the help of Zheng Baizhan, Fan Dayong is now a deputy general under Zheng Yuannai, which is a slight promotion.

The two men, along with some strong servants, rushed to the General's Mansion in Songhu Prefecture. Upon hearing the news, the four thousand households under his jurisdiction came to welcome the new superior.

Zheng Yuan is the son of a third-rank general, and in this small Songhu Prefecture, he has a powerful background.

Therefore, the four captains were very enthusiastic about him and even set up a welcoming banquet in the largest restaurant in the city to welcome the two.

Zheng Yuannai didn't want to leave at first, but Fan Dayong persuaded him that since he had just arrived, he should first interact with these people before making any judgment.

Zheng Yuannai knew that his experience in officialdom was not as experienced as Uncle Yong, so he forced himself to be patient and went.

During the banquet, the four captains were respectful and attentive to Zheng Yuannai, and each of them presented generous gifts, without any sign of impropriety.

Zheng Yuannai rejected their gifts and took the opportunity to propose that a military parade would be held at the Songhu Camp in three days, and asked them to lead the troops there.

The four captains agreed with a smile on the spot, but after seeing Zheng Yuannai and Fan Dayong off, they looked worried:

"Military review! There are so many things going on. This young master of the general's family is really good at causing trouble!"

"That's right, it delayed us so much!"

"He refused to accept our gift and still wanted to review the troops. Is he trying to find trouble?"

"Humph, you're looking for trouble. A powerful dragon cannot defeat a local snake! We brothers give him face, but that doesn't mean we're really afraid of him. If he really doesn't know the rules, he'll be in trouble!"

Some people also said:

"He doesn't know the rules. His deputy general is said to be an old man around General Zheng. He shouldn't be ignorant of the rules either. Let's give him some face first and see what happens next."

Therefore, the four thousand households organized the vast majority of the soldiers in their guards, as well as their own servants and hired ruffians from outside, and gathered a mighty force of four or five hundred people, and came to the Songhu camp.

This is a temporary camp with only one or two hundred permanent soldiers.

Zheng Yuannai gathered all these people together.

The four thousand commanders led their respective soldiers to salute Zheng Yuannai.

Without counting carefully, he could tell at a glance that the number of people was wrong.

Among these people, a small number have rosy complexions and appear to be normal in body.

Some of them were ragged, skinny, and lifeless, not much better than the beggars on the street.

As for weapons, there were no high-end muskets or firearms. Most of them were only bows, crossbows, and swords, and they were very old and worn out.

He asked the servants to call out the names of the soldiers one by one according to the soldier roster, and found that there were less than 1,500 people in the four guards, which should have had more than 4,300 people.

"Didn't this general order you to bring 90% of your troops? How many people do you have?"

The leader of the four thousand households, Zhao Qianhu, said with a fake smile:

"The general is also a military man, he should know that normally there won't be so many people coming."

What he said was very meaningful.

There is no army that does not collect empty salaries. These thousand households and hundred households collect empty salaries, and the superiors in the military headquarters also collect empty salaries.

The actual number of registered soldiers in each of their guards was only about 400.

Some people had to be left behind to guard the camp to prevent it from being taken advantage of by short-sighted thieves, so there were only about 300 regular soldiers left.

If we can gather four or five hundred people, it would be enough to give face to this new young general!

Zheng Yuannai did not continue to worry about the number of people, but asked the soldiers to line up and practice.

Some of these people were just there to fill in the numbers, and even if they were regular soldiers, they usually either farmed and did chores for the thousand households or used the little time they had left to take care of their own affairs. They had never received any serious training.

The result of this drill was, of course, horrific.

Zheng Yuannai insisted on reviewing all the arrays before angrily saying:

"Songhu is an important gateway for coastal defense. How can you resist the Japanese pirates and defend your country if you are so lazy and weak?"

"Now that the farming season is over, it is a good time to train the troops. Everyone present will stay in the camp and train from today on. I will call the roll every day. Anyone who dares to be absent will be punished with fifty strokes of the cane. Anyone who is lazy or disobeys orders will be punished with thirty strokes of the cane!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the entire sergeant's team was in an uproar.

Several thousand households also had extremely ugly expressions.

"General, this is inappropriate, isn't it?"

Captain Zhao’s eyes were as sharp as a knife.

Those military households don't have to farm in the winter, so it's ok for them to play with the young general. The other people are their servants and were hired for money.

Faced with such a conflict, Zheng Yuannai actually felt a little uneasy.

But on the way here, Uncle Yong told him that he and these thousand households were destined to not coexist peacefully.

It is impossible to meet the master's requirements by just wanting to be nice to them and everyone else.

He tried to calm down and said coldly:

"The Grand Ancestor said that training is the most important duty of a soldier and should take precedence over all other chores. Captain Zhao, please tell me what's wrong with that?"

Captain Zhao was suddenly speechless.

Another captain Wang asked:

"May I ask, General, how long will this exercise last?"

Zheng Yuan said:

"Naturally, it will be the next farming season."

The military households were also responsible for cultivating the land, so they could only train during the slack season.

In other words, this exercise will last for two or three months.

The invited hooligans were the first to get restless.

They originally came here just to show off and earn some pocket money, but how come they suddenly have to be locked up in this camp for two or three months of training!

Moreover, looking at the attitude of the young general, he cannot afford to idle away the next two or three months. He will be beaten with a military stick at any time. Who can bear this?

"General, we are just hired to make up the numbers, not soldiers in this army!"

"Yeah, I'm not a soldier either! I don't want to be locked up here for training!"

The servants of each family also quickly stepped forward to state their identities.

Although their monthly allowance was often received from the army, that was only done in order to gain benefits from the army.

It does not mean that they have to become military households without knowing it.

Being a soldier is much worse than being a slave.

Once they were slaves, they would redeem themselves and their descendants would all be free people.

But once they become military households, their descendants will all be military households. Each generation must provide one male to serve as a regular soldier, and the rest will be surplus men.

If regular soldiers died or became disabled, the remaining soldiers would immediately fill their vacancies.

If the family does not have any male descendants, they will have to recruit someone else from his hometown's close relatives to take the place of the deceased.

It can be said that one person serving as a military household brings disaster to the entire clan.

"Several thousand households, please come out and explain why so many people are not military households?"

Zheng Yuannai asked in a blaming manner.

Several captains looked extremely unhappy. Did they have to expose the matter of drawing salaries without doing anything in public?

Who knows whether the new general will use this charge to make trouble regardless of the consequences.

The whole scene was filled with tension for a while.