There is a Chenghuang Temple in the east of Zhuozhou City, one mile away from the city. There is a temple fair on the 15th of every month. Villagers from all over the country gather here, which is very lively.

On the eighth day of November, it was not the time for the temple fair. There were still many pedestrians on the roads everywhere, rushing to the Chenghuang Temple. They were all young and strong men.

"Azhen, wait for me, wait for me."

On the rural road, a young and handsome man shouted and ran quickly.

"Hey, A Zhen, are you deaf?" After finally catching up, the young man was panting from exhaustion, holding his waist and cursing.

The man who was scolded, A Zhen, was a man in his mid-twenties, with a simple and honest face, dark, strong and tall. The young man was already quite tall, but he was almost half a head taller than the young man.

"I didn't hear it." A Zhenhan smiled and didn't say anything back.

"Help me carry the package." The young man took the package off his back and threw it to A Zhen.

A Zhen was carrying the huge package as if it were a feather and couldn't help but ask: "Leizi, aren't you helping Zhang Ju? What are you doing here?"

The young man named Lei Zi said with a smile: "I will do whatever you want."

A Zhen didn't believe it: "I am going to recruit soldiers and fight in the war. How can you be like me?"

Lei Zi smiled and said: "Are you willing to go or not me? I have asked about it. This time, the emperor personally sent people to recruit troops. When they entered, they were the emperor's own troops. It is said that the pay was twice that of other armies, and

The land is also divided. With such good conditions, no fool would refuse to do so!"

A Zhen shook his head: "I still don't believe it. You are working at Zhang Juren's house, and you are just helping to keep the accounts and collect the rent. You are paid more than twenty taels of silver per year. Isn't it better than serving as a soldier in the war? I don't have enough to eat.

Only when he had no way to survive did he have to become a soldier."

Lei Zi raised his head and looked at him, curled his lips and said: "No matter how good it is, it is for someone else. If you join the army, you might be able to become a general, and you will prosper in the future. Your sons and grandsons will not have to worry about it."

A Zhen scratched the back of his head: "I didn't think too much about it, as long as I can have a full stomach. But it's really good for you to work in Zhang Juren's house. You will definitely regret it in the future."

Lei Zi sighed: "Okay, okay, you will know it in the future anyway. It's not that I don't want to stay in Zhang Ju's house, but I can't live in his house anymore. He married a concubine in the seventh room who always seduces people."

I, I couldn’t hold it back for a while..."

A Zhen blinked his eyes: "Is that the one named Cuihong? I saw her when I was doing part-time work for Zhang Juren. She looks so pretty. Does Zhang Juren know about it?"

Lei Zi shook his head: "It's almost too late if you don't know now. You don't know that woman is going crazy. She dared to drag me to the forest in broad daylight. There are already rumors in the house. If I don't run away, don't talk about me."

Even she will die."

A Zhen shook his head: "It's not like you don't have money, why don't you just marry a decent wife and do things all day long?"

Lei Zi said angrily: "You blame me for being handsome, but it wasn't me who took the initiative?"

A Zhen shook his head and stopped talking.

Lei Zi babbled about how helpless he was because he was good-looking. When he was five years old, those boring women would touch his little brother. When he was ten years old, all the girls in the village would hang around him all day long. At fifteen,

When he was 18 years old, the prostitutes in the town would wink at him and throw handkerchiefs at him.

Ah Zhen wanted to cover his ears when he heard it. It was so damn irritating. He has lived for almost thirty years and has never even touched a woman's hand...

Time passed quickly while talking, and before I knew it, I saw the City God's Temple. I saw that many strong men had gathered outside the City God's Temple, probably all of them wanted to be soldiers.

"A Zhen, hurry up, don't be too late. We are full." Lei Zi was very anxious when he saw this. He pulled A Zhen and squeezed into the crowd, causing a lot of yelling and cursing.

"Why haven't you started yet? It's already noon." Someone said anxiously.

At this moment, a group of people drove out from Zhuozhou City and soon arrived at the Temple of the City God. Surrounded by a large group of officers, two officials boarded the stage in front of the temple. The crowd suddenly became quiet and no longer crowded.

"That official is so handsome. The one in the scarlet official robe is even more handsome than you, Lei Zi." Ah Zing looked towards the stage intently and suddenly said to Lei Zi.

"How is that possible?" Lei Zi said in disbelief. He looked up at the stage for a while and then stopped talking.

It was Lu Xiangsheng who was said by A Zhen to be handsome in a scarlet robe. Another official wore a blue official robe, but it was Huang Jiong, the magistrate of Zhuozhou.

"Brother Nian please."

"Brother Nian, please come first."

Lu Xiangsheng and Huang Jiong made some concessions and sat side by side on the stage.

Both of them were Jinshi in the second year of Tianqi, in the same year, so Lu Xiangsheng's first stop for recruiting troops came to Zhuozhou. Huang Jiong was very enthusiastic about Lu Xiangsheng's arrival in the same year, because he knew that Lu Xiangsheng had already entered the emperor's eyes and was now his replacement.

If the emperor recruits troops, he will surely rise to great heights in the future.

Therefore, at the first opportunity, Huang Jiong sent out officers from the prefecture to post recruitment notices in every village. Then he put aside his official duties and personally accompanied Lu Xiangsheng to the recruitment site.

Of course, the reason for Huang Jiong's enthusiasm was not only the friendship with Lu Xiangsheng of the same age, because recruiting troops was also very beneficial to Zhuozhou.

In recent years, winters have been cold and summers have been dry, and the imperial court's taxes have become heavier and heavier. The people's lives have not been easy. It is said that there have been refugees in Shaanxi who have caused trouble and killed officials and rebelled. Zhuozhou is close to Beijing, and the land has been seriously annexed by the powerful.

Some farmers are farm laborers, and their wives and children will be separated if they encounter natural disasters. Lu Xiangsheng came to recruit soldiers and recruited young people from the state, which reduced the risk of trouble for the people. The soldiers were recruited with pay, and I heard from Lu Xiangsheng that the pay was very high.

, so that their family members left in Zhuozhou can survive on wages, and it will be better for them to be the governor of the state.

Therefore, for Huang Jiong, he hopes that Lu Xiangsheng can recruit as many soldiers as possible.

Lu Xiangsheng also knew Huang Jiong's thoughts, but he did not promise the number of soldiers to recruit. Instead, he said that it would be decided based on the registration status.

The two of them were sitting on the high platform. Seeing that the time was almost up, Lu Xiangsheng nodded, and the guards beat the big drum placed on the stage. The audience suddenly became quiet, and all the young people looked up at the stage.

A civil servant from one state came to the front desk with a document and spoke loudly to the young men gathered in the audience about the recruitment of soldiers.

The emperor's own army, double pay, full meals, land rewards for good performance, promotion and even generalship. Although they had known these conditions, the young men in the audience still opened their mouths in excitement.

"Brother Jiandou, will you really give them land?" Huang Jiong asked in a low voice while the official was speaking.

Lu Xiangsheng nodded: "Of course, just by clearing out the eunuchs, we got tens of thousands of acres of land. Coupled with the surrounding imperial estates, your Majesty has plenty of land in his hands."

"Your Majesty is so willing to give up. It seems that this new army has a bright future, and these people have caught up with the good times." Huang Jiong sighed.
Chapter completed!