"Sir... Sir! Are you serious about this? I... aren't we dreaming?" Wu Abo has never heard of such a good thing in his whole life. When did the court treat us as human beings? In the past, we were just gangsters when we caught young men on land.
Even if you enter, you will be kicked out, and now you are actually offering such generous recruitment conditions? This change came too suddenly, and we really couldn't accept it for a while!
"Uncle, do you think we look like that joker? We came in a hurry this time and only brought one hundred thousand taels of silver, so we can only give you travel expenses, but as soon as we get to Shandong, I promise to make up for it!"
Gao Yingxiang was afraid that these people wouldn't believe it, so he put on his most sincere expression and continued: "If you still don't believe it, how about we bring the money here and wait until everyone gets the money?"
"Don't dare, don't dare!" Wu Abo pinched his thigh hard to keep his head, which was already in a mess, a little clearer.
Gao Yingxiang's military quality may not be as good as that of Li Zicheng, but he can make such a big fuss in history. At least he has a way of deceiving people. After explaining his conditions, he started to get into trouble with others. "Come on, everyone.
Have a sip of tea. Let me tell you, everything is good here, but the weather is unbearable. Our hometown in Shaanxi is not so hot in summer."
"Yes, our barbaric land is incomparable to the Central Plains. Only the Dan family members like us and the Xiyi people from far away are willing to live here..." The patriarch surnamed Jiang performed slightly better. By this time
They can also think of making a mess about the place where they live, and it would be best to make the court forget their existence forever.
"You can't say that. I admire you very much. You have nothing to do after staying at sea for many years. But I can't. This time I went south and took a ferry on the river for a while. I still feel dizzy when I think about it!" Gao Yingxiang said in order to
Dispel these people's concerns as soon as possible, and even tell your own embarrassing things.
"The adults' delicate bodies are not comparable to those of us untouchables, but we have a way to deal with seasickness..." Seeing that he didn't mean any harm, the elders of the Dan family gradually let go of their guard and began to carefully interact with Gao Yingxiang.
Let's talk.
"Brother Gao, you're not hungry. It's almost midnight. Let's go out for dinner!" Ma Chaotu has never seen such an ignorant young man. That Ma Chengzu left the guests in the hall and went to chat with Zhou Fengxiang without caring about himself.
, and Gao Yingxiang also stayed in the side room and refused to come out. If he didn't call them out, they wouldn't even be served dinner. He couldn't go to bed hungry.
"You see, we were so happy chatting that we forgot the time. Let's go to the front hall together..." Gao Yingxiang raised his head and looked out the window. It was getting dark and it was really late.
"Master Gao, please come and take a seat..." Ma Chengzu was so excited. He originally thought that he was just passing by to enjoy the autumn breeze, but he never thought that such a good thing would happen to the three of him. To reward an eighth-grade civil servant for doing his job without depriving him of his military power was even more surprising.
What's more, the emperor noticed even the trivial matter of religious belief, and specially sent several full-time imams who were familiar with thirteen university classics. Although the secret decree clearly stated that the entire army was to secretly guard against wealthy officials, but what's the point?
?This is a useless place. Not to mention the disappearance of more than 10,000 officers and soldiers. Even if the Nanhai Guard is evacuated, no one will care. At most, the three of us will take turns staying in the guard station to enjoy the scene.
"Come, elders, please take a seat. We still count on you to take care of us in the future!" Gao Yingxiang is not being modest this time. Now the elders of the Dan family no longer doubt the court's goodwill. As long as they can be persuaded to go north for this mission,
Even if it is completed, the Dan family can't go north by land. With tens of thousands of people, there is no way to hide their whereabouts. But if they have to go by sea in batches, Gao Yingxiang will have to rely on others to protect him, otherwise he will lose his old age just by seasickness.
Life.
"I'd better wait outside the door..." Don't think that the Dan family just has a low status. In fact, they have no status at all. Only now did Wu Abo and others remember that this was a guardhouse, and the people in this room were all imperial officials.
In the past, these people were like gods to them. But people at sea were poor, and they usually just squatted on the bow of the boat with a bowl to prepare meals. In their own eyes, there was nothing wrong with eating outside.
place.
"What nonsense are you talking about? You are the distinguished guests invited by me, Gao, come and sit down together!" Gao Yingxiang used his physical strength to force Uncle Wu onto the chair and continued to invite others to sit down.
"Thank you...Thank you, Mr. Gao!" Don't think that giving up your seat is a small matter. In the eyes of these bullied Dan family members, it is already a great favor. This at least shows that they really treat them as human beings, not as human beings.
I only think of them when tax time comes.
"Uncle Ah Shui, when will you go north with Mr. Gao?" Zhou Fengxiang also told Ma Chengzu and others about recruiting the Dan family to go north. After all, this is a great migration of tens or even hundreds of thousands of people. If you don't think about it,
Being overly concerned depends on the cooperation of the local garrison.
"In response to the Commander-in-Chief, we have to go back and discuss this matter. As long as everyone has no objections, let the young man go with Master Gao." People on the sea do not have as deep a concept of their homeland as those on land. As long as they can have someone
The place where the boat is parked is fine, but Jiang Ashui deliberately did not mention these people.
"What about you old men? When will you come with us?" Gao Yingxiang was not that easy to fool, and he immediately heard what was fishy.
"We are all old and don't have much strength. We can't do much if we go north, so I won't cause trouble to you, Mr. Gao." Jiang Ashui was also kind. After all, no army commander would be stupid enough to ask old men like them.
Guys, why are you still going to the north? The younger generations all have a good future, so let’s not go along and increase the burden on them. Just continue to suffer here!
"Look at what you said. Who told you that you are useless when you get older?" Zhu Youcong thought that the main point of sending him this time was to kidnap these older people. If it was just to recruit the 50,000 elites, then he would send him casually.
It is possible for any student to complete it. Gao Yingxiang also deeply agrees with this decision. As a senior horse dealer, would he not know that an old horse knows the way? These people are too old to do heavy work, but the experience they have accumulated over the years is not that of young people.
People can compare. "It's my fault that we didn't make it clear just now. My general has ordered that anyone who goes to sea for more than ten years and is willing to join the army will be paid at two taels of silver per year. That is to say, after you go to sea to catch fish for twenty years, you can get it.
The monthly salary is forty taels, and the older you are, the more money you will receive!"
"What?" Jiang Ah Shui was so frightened that the wine glass he just picked up fell to the ground. Is the general in the tall man's mouth crazy? What do you want us old guys to do? The salary given is terrifyingly high, two taels a year.
Money? We dare not speak big words, but none of the people here have been wandering at sea for thirty to fifty years. So the military pay for that year alone can fill our ship's warehouse.
"Uncle Ah Shui, why are you still hesitating? Agree quickly. If I had known that there would be such a good thing, I wouldn't be a commander and go fishing with you in the sea." Ma Chengzu was really jealous this time. He had never heard of such a good thing.
Those who calculate military pay, don't you think those elderly Dan family members can easily earn hundreds of taels a month?
"Yes, it would be disrespectful if we don't agree. We will go back tonight and spread the news to all the ships of the Dan family." Now even the commander of the capital has come forward to help, and there is no such generous reward.
Reason to refuse. But Jiang Ah Shui still has his own little Jiujiu, and he said with a confused face: "But..."
"If you still have any difficulties, just tell us. If we can solve it, we will solve it for you right away. If we can't make the decision, we will send people back to Luoyang to ask the general to make a decision!" Gao Yingxiang was also happy. He didn't believe these people who were used to suffering.
What other bizarre requests can people come up with.
"Sir, you also know that we will not be able to go fishing again this year when we go north. Do you think..." Jiang Ashui really didn't expect that the promises made by Gao Yingxiang would be fulfilled, but as long as he could be looked upon as a human being, he would follow him.
If it doesn't work, why don't we have to sneak it back? But if we don't fish for a year, what will we eat?
"It turns out it's just such a small thing, okay! Just tell me your income for a year, and I'll make it up for you before departure!" Gao Yingxiang was really amused. Isn't it just the relocation fee? That one hundred thousand taels is enough to kidnap you five thousand.
If there are not enough, we can also draw from the secret merchant of the palace in Huguang. But the general said that it is not a big deal if it can be solved with money.
"Then forgive the common people for being bold." Jiang Ah Shui mustered up his courage, stretched out his hand and said: "Fifty taels, if you can give each of our families five taels of silver first, I can guarantee that 80% of the Dan family members from all over the country will be brought here.
!" After saying this, Jiang Ashui didn't even dare to raise his head. In his own opinion, this was already a big deal. His family could only earn twenty taels of silver from a busy year. The twenty taels of relocation that the Lord just mentioned
We dare not ask for the fee, but the fee of five taels of silver can be regarded as a touchstone to see if the court is really sincere.
"Pfft..." Gao Yingxiang finally couldn't help laughing after his face changed many times, and he squirted out the wine in his mouth. These people are so cute, I thought you would need five hundred taels before they would move.
, Didn’t you just say that we will give you 20,000 taels per family? What are you afraid of? "In this way, we don’t know how many households there are in the Dan family, so I will give you 20,000 taels first. When you go back, I will give it to you first. If it is not enough,
Is it feasible to just come back and get it again?”
"Sir... Sir, you can trust us so much?" This high-ranking official from the capital is different. He gives money more easily than the yamen who come to the ship to collect taxes. Isn't he afraid that we will take the money and run away?
Gao Yingxiang patted Jiang Ashui on the shoulder and said with a smile: "Believe it! Why don't we believe it? We all were born in bitterness. If you are willing to go north with us this time, you can trust me. What reason do we have to doubt you?"
"Thank you for your trust, Sir! I will go back now. I can't vouch for others, but the Jiang family of the Dan family will be members of the imperial court from now on. We will go wherever the imperial court asks us to go!" After saying this, Jiang Ashui stood up.
He walked out the door, and the fellow clan members surnamed Wu greeted him respectfully and kowtowed three times before following him.
Half a month later, tens of thousands of Dan family fishing boats quietly gathered in Tuenmen Port of Xin'an County under Zhou Fengxiang's jurisdiction. They will set off from here one after another to serve for the imperial court in the north and go to the places where people watch them.