Chapter 211: Dan households join the army, the location of the military port
Li Qingmu, Deputy Governor of the Governor's Mansion and Minister of the Navy, was meeting with a small platoon leader named Li Pinglang.
"Xiao Li, don't be nervous, I have a task for you to do."
Li Pinglang stood up straight and saluted with a military salute.
"Sir, please arrange it. I will work hard to complete the task."
"This task is not difficult. Now the land distribution work in Guangdong has been completed. You Dan households have all been relieved of their humble status and have been allocated land.
I will arrange a position for you in the Governor's Mansion, and you will temporarily serve as a recruiter to mobilize Danhu to join the army."
When Li Pinglang heard that his superior assigned this task, he had a relaxed look on his face, it was not difficult to do this.
"Please rest assured, sir, and promise to complete the mission."
Li Qingmu saw this man walking out.
He had no choice but to adopt this method.
The Yangtze River Navy has a small number of people, so it is impossible for him to transfer all the personnel of the Yangtze River Navy to Guangdong.
Only a large number of officers and some soldiers were mobilized.
Li Qingmu was ordered to form a South China Sea Fleet to guard Guangdong's waters.
The South China Sea Fleet is very large, with twenty large sailing battleships planned to be built, plus small battleships.
The South China Sea Fleet needs tens of thousands of officers and soldiers.
Li Qingmu originally wanted to recruit officers and soldiers from the Ming Dynasty Navy to supplement the urgently needed soldiers in the South China Sea Fleet.
But the Ming Dynasty Navy ran too fast and did not capture many people.
The South China Sea Fleet has a serious shortage of personnel, and Li Qingmu is worried.
He heard reports from his subordinates that several soldiers who had just come to the South China Sea Fleet from the new barracks performed extremely well.
If a person performs well, it is because of his excellent physique.
When a group of people perform well, it must be because they have advantages that others do not have.
After getting to know them, Li Qingmu found out that these people were all from Danhu.
He knew that Danhu was a humble member of the Ming Dynasty and had lived on a boat all his life.
This group of people lived a very difficult life before, but they are good at water and will not get seasick.
The living environment is so cruel that even those suffering from seasickness cannot survive.
This group of people are natural navies. With a little training, this group of people can join the South China Sea Fleet.
Li Qingmu is the deputy governor of the Governor's Mansion. He is restricted by the military system and cannot directly recruit troops.
The soldiers needed by the South China Sea Fleet must first undergo training in the new military camp before being assigned to the South China Sea Fleet.
However, the military system allows targeted training, as long as the accepting army and the parties concerned reach an agreement.
You can entrust the recruit camp to complete the targeted training.
This kind of targeted training cannot be conducted by a certain general.
Targeted training can only be proposed by the military branch and randomly assigned to each military service.
This mechanism is mainly to solve the problem of shortage of technical arms.
The navy is also considered a technical branch and can rely on the targeted training system.
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Li Pinglang received Li Qingmu's assignment and reported to the Southeast Governor to serve as a recruiting officer.
The Southeast Governor's Office took him as the leader and temporarily allocated ten colleagues to him to complete the recruitment work together.
The first stop was his hometown Leizhou.
He is already the highest-ranking person in the army.
Li Pinglang's name is also very famous in villages and towns.
When he came to Xuwen County, Leizhou Prefecture, he saw many teenagers of the same age pruning pineapples.
This is a fruit brought by the red-haired people, and several batches can be grown every year.
Pineapples were first grown in Haojing and were soon introduced to most parts of Guangdong.
Li Pinglang always felt that the pineapples from his hometown Xuwen had the best taste.
"Master Li is back."
Li Qingmu walked into the village. Wearing official uniform, he was immediately recognized by the villagers.
"Second Grandpa, why are you here?"
Li Pinglang saw his second grandfather leaning on a cane and came to greet him.
Li Pinglang immediately went up to him and supported his second grandfather.
"Xiao Li, why did you bring so many officials to the village?
Your fifth uncle is now the village chief and is going to the countryside for a meeting."
"Second Grandpa, I am now in charge of recruiting soldiers. I come to the village to recruit soldiers.
Have we all divided the land now?" Li Pinglang asked.
He went to join the army early and is not very clear about the current situation in the village.
Seeing the mighty appearance of the Qin army, it only takes one sentence to solve the dream of their families for generations.
This is the ability of a man, and he must also be a powerful man.
The old man leaned on his cane and said with a smile: "That general really kept his word. Not long after he left, someone took over Leizhou Mansion.
We also had new magistrates and county magistrates, and the county magistrate personally came to allocate land to us.
These fields require twenty years of rent and they become our own fields.
Xiao Li, your family has also been allocated ten acres of good land, of which seven acres are planted with rice and three acres are planted with pineapples.
A businessman in the county built a cannery and purchased pineapples at a high price.
The township head personally brought people over to talk to us and signed an agreement to purchase pineapples.
We have already negotiated a price, three copper coins per pound of pineapples, and the factory will harvest as much as we plant.
But no one in the village dared to plant all their land with pineapples.
Everyone wants to eat rice grown by themselves."
Li Pinglang understood the villagers very well, and the gentry had a monopoly on the channels for farmers to buy rice.
The price of rice is very high, and they usually dare not eat more rice.
They mainly eat fish and shrimp. Fish and shrimp are not easy to store, so they are pounded into sauce and marinated.
Some fish and shrimp pastes are so smelly that you still have to hold your nose and swallow them.
Now that he smelled the fishy smell of fish and shrimp, he felt a little nauseous.
Li Pinglang arranged for his companions.
Under the leadership of his second grandfather, he quickly arrived at his home.
This is a stilt house made of wood and bamboo.
The first floor raises some livestock, mainly pigs and chickens.
He also saw a big ox raised next to the pig pen.
The cooking place is also next to the pig pen.
"Xiao Li, why don't you join the army? The township government will give a big ox to every family who joins the army."
The second floor is where you live.
As soon as Li Pinglang walked into his home, he was surrounded by relatives.
His seven aunts, eight aunts and other relatives all came.
Knowing that Li Pinglang had returned to the village to recruit soldiers, they asked Li Pinglang about the treatment of the Qin army.
Li Pinglang's father said: "Son, you came to the village to recruit soldiers, and you just have to get married before going back. Your wife has already come to our house, we can't keep her waiting any longer."
"Dad, my recruitment task this time is very heavy. I need to travel to many places. How can I get married in time?"
"Why is it too late? We will get married right away. We will recruit soldiers tomorrow. After recruiting soldiers, we can leave.
Our two families have reached an agreement and made it clear that we will get married when you come back, and your wife will now live in our house.
We cannot break trust with others.
Only when you are a soldier do people like you. It is not easy to get a wife now.
Now you come to recruit soldiers, and you can get married as a soldier. You yourself are an excellent role model.
With you as a role model, recruiting troops will be much easier."
After Li Pinglang's parents' persuasion, he agreed to get married now.
Under the arrangement of his parents, he got married and entered the bridal chamber that night.
My wife is from Haikang County next door.
They live in small households in order to ensure the normal survival of future generations.
Insist on not marrying someone with the same surname, and try to marry someone from a neighboring county.
They have a very good relationship with a group of Dan households in Haikang County, and the two groups of Dan households intermarry with each other.
Early the next morning, Li Pinglang said goodbye to his newlywed wife, and he and his companions came to the village square.
The surrounding village chiefs heard Li Pinglang preaching the recruitment policy in the village.
They all brought young people who were interested in joining the army to come here to listen to the lecture.
Li Pinglang saw four to five hundred people, and nearly half of the young people from the surrounding villages came here.
"Everyone knows me and I don't need to introduce myself.
I will just talk to you about the benefits of being a soldier.
Everyone has seen the benefits that family members can gain from serving in the military.
For every family that serves as a soldier, the Qin Palace will reward a strong big ox.
Everyone becomes a soldier and after a short training in the new military camp, they choose which branch of the army they want based on their own intentions and assessment.
For ordinary soldiers, the army salary is ten taels of silver coins per month.
Navy pay is fifteen taels of silver coins per month.
The navy is not for ordinary people. If you spend a long time in the sea, you need to be able to swim, not get seasick, and it is best to be able to operate a ship."
When Li Pinglang said this condition, everyone present laughed.
Any household that is picked out at random can meet the requirements Li Pinglang said.
“The navy’s food is very good, with rice for every meal and pork or mutton every other day.
There are many benefits to being a soldier. Look at me, it was difficult to get a wife before joining the army.
After I joined the army, several families came to my house to offer me wives."
As soon as Li Pinglang said these words, the eyes of the young people present turned green.
Like Li Pinglang, these people account for at least half of those who have not yet married a wife over the age of eighteen.
They are basically not the eldest sons in the family.
The parents were trying to sell iron and give their eldest son a daughter-in-law.
By the time the second or third child arrives, the family no longer has the money to buy him a wife.
Many people exchange marriages. They have sisters in their own family and the other party also has sisters.
Neither family could afford to get married, so they exchanged marriages with each other.
For families with no daughters but many sons, it is very troublesome to get married. Most of them are old bachelors.
A man with a gray beard heard that joining the army would help him marry a wife. He immediately stood up and asked, "Can I become a soldier like this?"
Li Pinglang was a little confused, but he still answered with a smile on his face: "The Qin Army has age requirements for soldiers. To join the army, you need to be over sixteen years old and under thirty years old.
You need to be healthy, not those who are weak or disabled."
"I came to the village this time specifically to recruit the navy.
Anyone who wants to join the army can register here.
I'll finish recruiting soldiers in Leizhou Mansion and take you to the new military camp for training."
Many households were tempted and came to Li Pinglang to sign up.
There are still some who need to go home to discuss, but they are also eager to try and prepare to join the army.
Li Pinglang smiled when he saw the large number of people joining the army.
Today he is recruiting in Xuwen County, and tomorrow he will go to Haikang County, where his wife's hometown is.
Li Pinglang quickly visited Leizhou Prefecture and rushed to the new barracks with a large number of prepared recruits.
He will then go to Chaozhou Prefecture and other coastal areas of Guangdong to recruit more Dan households to join the army.
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Su Xiong watched Li Qingmu walk into the Southeast Governor's Mansion.
"Brother Li, do you have enough soldiers in the navy?
When choosing a seaport for the navy, which place should be chosen?
You have to make up your mind. The current cement plant in Guangdong has been put into operation.
If you don't choose a place and reserve the materials in advance, then cement and high-quality wood will be used to build a civilian port and civilian ships."
Li Qingmu nodded and said: "When I return to Guangzhou City, it proves that I am ready.
In my conception, the South China Sea Fleet consists of three fleets.
The main fleet and two squadrons require three seaports and a large number of officers and soldiers.
Li Pinglang, whom I sent to recruit troops, is really a talent.
Promoting that joining the army can solve major marriage problems, a large number of young men were recruited, and the new recruits were trained to become marines.
The problem of manpower resources has been solved. When the battleships are built, new soldiers can be trained.
During this period of time, I visited all the ports in Guangdong and talked with captured Ming troops.
Basically determine the location of the naval port.
The port of the main fleet is Kowloon Port.
This is a port discovered in Xin'an County, Guangzhou Prefecture.
There are not many ships here, and it is not as prosperous as the harbor at the Pearl River Estuary.
But this port is sandwiched between the Kowloon Peninsula and the Big Island.
The port is close to the land and can receive a large amount of supplies.
There is another big island that blocks the storm.
It is a perfect military port and an excellent deep-water port.
The large sailing battleship we are planning to build can easily dock in this port.
No matter how big the warships are in the future, there will be no warships stranded in this port.
Of the two squadron ports, one chooses Fangcheng Port.
It protects the western area of Guangzhou and guards against the Mo Dynasty of Vietnam.
The last one is Haikou Port, which Qiongzhou Prefecture has not conquered yet.
Haikou Port is not yet under our control, but as soon as the South China Sea Fleet is established.
We can easily defeat the Ming Navy, and I will never let Qiongzhou Prefecture be separated from Guangdong for too long."
“It’s good to have the military port confirmed, so that craftsmen can design the military port and prepare the materials for building the military port.
All kinds of supplies are in short supply now, and if our military wants to compete with local governments for supplies, there must be sufficient reasons."
Su Xiong's tone was also much more relaxed.
During this time, he had been competing with Honeysuckle for craftsmen and supplies shipped from Hanzhong and Sichuan.
The distribution of materials is generally based on importance and urgency.
The construction of the military port is an important and urgent project and should be ranked first.
But Honeysuckle made strong excuses. He said that the military port had not been planned yet and that this project must not be urgent. He wanted to allocate supplies to the military port later.
Li Qingmu said with some embarrassment: "Brother Su, I have something I want to ask you for help with."
Su Xiong said proudly: "Whatever happens, just say it directly.
I will try my best to help you if I can, but if I can’t help you, I can’t do anything about it.”
He doesn't have everything to do, and it's very difficult for him to do anything that even Li Qingmu can't do.
"Your First Army broke the trench mirror and captured a large number of red-haired men.
Among them are the red-haired men who are good at building sailing fleets and the Han people who cooperate with them.
Our South China Sea Fleet is in need of building sailing battleships, and we are still exploring.
With the participation of these red-haired people, progress will be much faster."
Li Qingmu has long been eyeing these prisoners, and he has been paying attention to the news about these prisoners.
The First Army has initially screened these prisoners and is preparing to transfer them to other places.
Li Qingmu then came to meet Su Xiong, planning to secure a group of outstanding craftsmen through military privileges.
The military has the right to select prisoners of war first and allow them to serve the military.
Su Xiong said calmly: "This is a small matter. Since Brother Li said hello, I will have people pick out the craftsmen who can build warships.
The rest of the prisoners will be transferred to the Guangdong Governor's Yamen."
Li Qingmu achieved his goal, stood up and thanked him: "Thank you, Brother Su, you have helped us a lot. With these craftsmen, our navy will soon build a sail battleship."