New Shun 1730

He was not the only one who thought so.

For most of the soldiers of the Guiyi Army, the most important thing to consider was one thing.

It didn't matter whether they were recruited or not.

The key was whether the imperial court would take advantage of their land? Would they collect taxes?

If they really served the imperial court, would they be paid military pay?

These soldiers of the Guiyi Army, who were looking forward to the future, were thinking about land and military pay. They did not have any heroic sentiments, only the simple thought that "serving the imperial court is justified to eat imperial food, not serving the red-haired devils".

With this simple yearning, they finally welcomed the next morning.

At dawn in the morning, the horns of various companies sounded.

The curling smoke floated over the camp. In the morning, they ate thick porridge made of sweet potatoes and rice, and salted fish as a side dish, which was a standard breakfast for the Guiyi Army.

The soldiers who had eaten breakfast were assembled. At about eight o'clock in the morning, they lined up on the beach to welcome the officials of the imperial court.

Before the reception, the leaders of the Guiyi Army told the soldiers some things.

"Now that things have come to this, we will not hide it from you. We are all from the court. We came here because the emperor heard that the red-haired devils were bullying us and wanted to drive them away."

"Now that the red-haired devils are most likely to be defeated, the court will definitely make arrangements for what to do in the future."

"The court will come later, and I think the things you are concerned about will definitely be solved. I dare not say too much, but I dare say that the court will definitely not treat you unfairly."

The soldiers did not have much fluctuation in their hearts. They were originally a group of people who were struggling to survive. Now they have been trained hard for several years and have become accustomed to life in the barracks.

There is nothing wrong with serving the court.

As long as the court gives them money and land, they will do it.

These days, what do you do but exchange your life for money?

When you were in the sugarcane plantation and sugar factory, didn’t you also exchange your life for money? Those who dig gold in Borneo also exchange their lives for money.

They are all exchanging their lives for money, and it seems that there is no difference.

Niu Er and others saw that the soldiers were very stable, and thought that the matter here was finally explained.

Since it was the Whale Marquis who came in person, with his temperament, he hated talking nonsense the most. Military pay and treatment have always been the top priority for the Whale Marquis. Whether in the Qingzhou Army or the Navy, the military pay has never been in arrears.

These soldiers of the Guiyi Army are all good men. Moreover, they all survived in places like Java, where diseases are common. After crossing the sea, it is considered good if five out of ten can survive. If the court needs to use troops in Nanyang in the future, these soldiers will be just right. Although they will definitely not be able to beat the Qingzhou Army of the year, nor can they compare with the current Beijing Camp, if the soldiers of the Beijing Camp in the north are really sent to Nanyang, I don’t know how many will die of illness before the battle.

Niu Er thought to himself, what these soldiers want is not to live and live a better life than before? This was the reason why they came to Java to work; this was also the reason why they started the rebellion against the Dutch.

As long as the court can make these soldiers live better than before, and there is the court's righteousness, how can they not win their hearts?

If it were someone else, there might be some problems. But since it was the Whale Marquis who came in person, how could there be any problems? He is a person who talks about military pay all day and strictly checks military pay, and he knows best why soldiers join the army.

These Guiyi Army may be different, but some things can maintain passion for three to five years, but it is difficult to maintain for decades. The enthusiasm of the rebellion at the beginning has almost disappeared now. If the court really does not send troops and wants to maintain in the Bandung area, it can only take the initiative to start a war.

These soldiers already want to live a better life than now.

…………

Soon, some ships appeared on the sea.

What was floating on the sea at this time was the victorious court fleet. The huge hull and the majestic battleship made the soldiers of the Guiyi Army feel an inexplicable oppression, as if they were so insignificant.

The "leaders" of the Guiyi Army were waiting in front. After a ship moored, a few cannons were fired, and the soldiers stood in formation.

The first person to get off the ship was a one-eyed young man.

He was not wearing a military uniform, but the kind of clothes that people who did not understand the court system could tell at least belonged to the royal family.

The biggest court official that the soldiers of the Guiyi Army might have seen in their lives was the county magistrate before coming to Nanyang. Most of them might not even have seen a county magistrate.

But after hearing so many stories, they also knew that clothes with dragons on them were not something that ordinary people could wear.

As for the four-clawed, five-clawed, and Dashun-style cloud-based grades, they certainly did not understand.

Just by seeing the dragon on the clothes, they knew that a big shot had come to the court this time.

Behind the one-eyed young man was a middle-aged man in his thirties, wearing a military uniform.

Although the soldiers of the Guiyi Army could not distinguish the high and low officials, nor did they recognize who came down from the boat, they could tell who was the boss and who was the second from their clothes and the order of appearance.

The leaders who had gathered with them in the mountains and forests gave a standard military salute when they saw the two men, and called them "Your Highness" and "Sir" very naturally.

It was different from the scene imagined by the soldiers of the Guiyi Army, where the eunuchs would read the imperial edict in a shrill voice and they would kneel down to listen to the imperial edict.

The young man in the dragon-patched robe turned around and said something to the middle-aged man in military uniform, and the middle-aged man in military uniform walked to the front.

The leaders of the Guiyi Army gathered around the middle-aged man, some of them laughed, and some of them showed him some strange local stones, flowers or other strange things.

After a few words, the middle-aged man, surrounded by the leaders, walked in front of the soldiers.

Just in front of the soldier who had been clipping lead bullets there yesterday, the soldier looked at him nervously, but he patted his shoulder and asked, "Where are you from?"

The soldier didn't know how to answer, let alone how to address him, so he had to reply without any context, "From Jinjiang County, Quanzhou Prefecture."

"How did you come to Java?"

"I couldn't make it in my hometown. I owed a lot of debts. The creditor asked me to come to Nanyang to work and pay off the debts. I heard that I could make a lot of money. I could eat as much rice as I wanted, and the monthly salary was not bad. So I came."

"Hahahaha, many of you came this way, right?"

Although the surrounding Guiyi Army soldiers knew that the man in front of them was a high-ranking official, they were not afraid in their hearts. Listening to the tone and style of his speech, it was different from the high-ranking officials in the opera.

When asked this question, many people said yes. Indeed, many people were deceived by their fellow villagers in this way. But the premise is that they can't survive in their hometown. Fujian has a small land area and a large population, and going to sea is a way to survive. Some people go to sea as sailors, some go to sea to do business, and the rest go to sea to work.

After a moment, the middle-aged man said again: "I don't talk nonsense."

"If you are willing to continue to serve in the army, you can continue to serve in the army and eat the imperial rations of the court. Two taels of silver per month. Considering that you have been here for several years and have never received military pay, you will be subsidized with five cents of silver per month."

"After driving away the red-haired ghosts, some of the land around Bacheng will be distributed to you. You don't have to pay taxes during your military service. But if you don't serve in the army in the future, you will have to pay taxes. The tax is one tenth, and one cent of silver is collected for one mu of land."

"It is natural for soldiers to eat rations. The court will not treat you unfairly. If you have any other requests, please raise them and see. If it can be done, it will naturally be done for you. If it can't be done, it is mostly because of the rules."

"As for the rules, since you have been fighting the red-haired ghosts for several years, I think you know how to abide by the rules. It's just that the rules may be different from before, but since you know how to abide by the rules, you can learn quickly."

After saying this, hundreds of soldiers of the Guiyi Army cheered.

The land around Batavia is all good land. However, those good lands belong to the Dutch, and they never dared to think that they could get such land before.

Moreover, there is a military salary of 2 taels and 5 cents of silver per month. If it can be paid, it is enough to support a family with 30 taels of silver per year.

In my hometown, if I can earn 30 taels of silver per year, I would be considered a wealthy farmer. At least I have 30 or 40 acres of land, I can afford to raise cattle at home, and my wife and children can buy clothes for the New Year.

Before in Bandung, there was not much military salary to be taken. Even if I took it, I couldn’t spend it for a while, and it was just a struggle for survival.

Since there is military salary, and it is not bad, wouldn’t it be better to be a soldier of the court?

The soldier who was patted on the shoulder heard the senior official in front of him say that he could make some requests, so he bravely asked: "My mother doesn't know whether she is alive or dead. When the New Year comes, I want to go back to my hometown to see her and bring her over. Is that okay?"

He was a little nervous, not knowing whether the other party would agree. If he really became a soldier, he would have to spend the New Year in the camp. And it's not easy to go back home from Batavia. It would take at least a month to go back and forth. I don't know whether the court will agree?

"Who is not born by his mother and raised by his father? If you still have parents at home, just tell us where your next home is and the court will send someone to bring them over. If you have brothers and sisters who can't make it in your hometown, you can come here with them."

"You can help me out. Why don't you cultivate 10 to 20 acres of land? Isn't it better than being a tenant at home? Although the early days are a bit hard, as long as you are willing to work hard, there will be hope for the future."

"After driving away the red-haired devils, there will be more land for cultivation. The court will set up a prefecture and a county here in the future. A tree that is moved will die, and a person who moves will live."

"This How about this, I will give you a promise. Before the Chinese New Year this year, if the family members are still alive, they will be sent to you. If they are gone, you will have a long holiday on July 15 next year, and go back to add soil and pull weeds. Receive the military pay, build a good grave, and build a good tombstone. "

"If you don't want to continue to serve in the army, you can receive 20 taels of silver. Don't you have land in Bandung? Just live a peaceful life. "

The soldiers all have a calculation in their minds. If they continue to serve in the army, they will receive 30 taels of silver a year, and there will be land rewarded in the future. How can it not be better than giving 20 taels of silver to go back and farm?

The warships of the court are so powerful. The red-haired devils can't even beat us, so how can they beat the army of the court?

It's a good opportunity to make meritorious service and receive rewards.

Knowing that they have to continue to win battles, they choose to withdraw with 30 or 20 taels of silver. What else is stupid? If this treatment is true and they will definitely win battles, I'm afraid many people want to be soldiers, but they don't have a way.