CH 18

The villagers also didn’t understand. Shouldn’t Wangye’s imperial guards’ troops be guarding Wangye by his side? Why are they stationed outside the city? However, with these major events, it would never involve them. Since they have been stationed here, unexpectedly, a person who looked like a military commander came to find them to buy some eggs, chickens, ducks, and livestock, all this stuff.

The villagers have never dealt with this kind of high-ranking official before. The chickens, ducks, and eggs they have finally raised with difficulty were all stored, even their own family was reluctant to eat them. These were all to be sold inside the city, so they could bring back some money. They were close to Liangcheng, so their conditions were better, and they could have a little surplus grain to raise some livestock, which can improve the living conditions of the whole family. Hearsay, other remote places can’t even support people properly, so how could they raise others?  

The commander’s surname was Mo. It was Mo Jiang. After he said his intentions for the future, the villagers discussed it spiritedly and couldn’t make up their minds for a while. Those people were generals sent for official business, and hearsay, they also came from the capital. If they, the villagers, didn’t follow their wishes, they may bring some harm to Baicun village. But if they agree, what if the money they offer is low, or they simply fail to pay up, then what should they do? Seeing that autumn was approaching, it was time for all families of all sizes to buy some warm things for home. If it’s like this, how could they collect all the money?

The villagers looked at each other in dismay, and no one dared to open their mouths and agree. Mo Jiang looked toward the village head, whose face was also an awkward complexion.  

Mo Jiang was baffled. What’s there to feel awkward about? Don’t the villagers have to sell all these things? What is the difference between selling to them and selling to the city? Moreover, they came to collect at their doorstep and didn’t need the villagers to go all the way to the city to sell them. This is a good thing that can’t be easily looked for. Why do these people have such reluctant and unwilling expressions?

If it weren’t for His Highness warning them repeatedly, saying the food for the soldiers in the base must be a combination of meat and vegetables, so their nutrition can be kept up with, how could he have made this kind of trip here and even come to negotiate with the villagers. It’s just that he was afraid his subordinates wouldn’t be able to get things done.

Originally, they could also go to the city to buy these. Later, he thought that the daily consumption of the soldiers was not small. Every time they go to the city to buy these things, it is both time-consuming and laborious. So, it was better to find a few nearby villages to buy these. If the cooperation is good, one matter won’t bother two masters.  And, long-term cooperation in the future can save a lot of things.

“Can the village head speak your concern out?” Mo Jiang openly asked.

“This…” The village head pondered over this for a long time, then he stammered: “The villagers’ daily life barely passes by. Commander, the things you want are not many in our village. My family stored up some eggs, I will bring them out and give them to Commander.” 

The village head gritted his teeth resentfully and said this, thinking that if he could send these people away by losing a few things, then it’s fine. It’s just that he doesn’t know if they will be satisfied or not. If they are stubborn and take it by force, he can only do his best to say something good to make the villagers lose fewer things then.

The things he wants to buy are not many in the village? This speech made Mo Jiang baffled. He had already inquired about it. Most of the eggs in the city were sold by villagers around here. He specially came here to collect them. How could there not be much?

Mo Jiang looked at the vigilant expressions of the surrounding villagers, then he thought over this again. Once he understood it clearly, he smiled slightly and plotted a plan in his heart.

At this time, the junior from the village head’s family had already brought a basket of eggs over. The village head took it, twitching his cheeks, and handed it to Mo Jiang reluctantly, “Commander, this is a little of our kind regard, and I hope you will accept it.”

But Mo Jiang smiled and said: “Village head, I’m here to buy things. You have to count the basket of eggs first, then I can buy it according to the price you people sell inside the city.” After speaking, he called out the soldier behind him to count the amount.

The village head still couldn’t believe it, even when his hand was already holding on to the copper coin. He didn’t expect that they really came to buy the eggs, and they gave them 10% more than the price in the city. This was much more cost-effective compared to when they were obtained in the city. Thinking about it, it took a lot of time to transport these things to the city, and they may not all be able to sell everything after entering the city. Now they could sell things at their front door, it really saves on a lot of matters.

The thoughtful villagers’ eyes rolled. No matter who they are selling it to, it still counts as selling right? They hurriedly went back and brought their own stored eggs out or the chickens or ducks they prepared to sell. 

Mo Jiang welcomed all those who came with a smile and settled the accounts one by one. The villagers who got the money were all grinning from ear to ear, and some people even asked them if they would come to buy these things in the future.

Mo Jiang took advantage of the situation and said he will come to collect once a month in the future. He also said to collect fruits and vegetables, those kinds of stuff. Thus, the villagers should store everything and sell them together when the time comes.

In this way, after several exchanges, even if the Commander surnamed Mo did not come, the other people dispatched could also handle the work upright and honestly. They never cheated the villagers, let alone renege on a debt to make things difficult for them. Even when the villagers have any difficulty, they would help out when they can. 

Over time, the villagers here were relieved, and they would warmly welcome them every time they came. When they saw them running past the village, they would smile and call them out for a drink, and so on. However, they never dared to stop for a drink and whatnot. The more familiar ones would take the opportunity to make a few innocuous little jokes with the villagers.

‘Haha! I won’t drink water, but next time when I come, uncle, you just sell your sheep to us for us to have a large and sumptuous meal, okay?’

The villagers have not been afraid of them since they got acquainted with each other. That uncle smiled back and said, ‘Fuxk off! Thinking about my lamb? How big is it? Yet you want to offer it as a sacrifice to the five internal organs’ temple? ’

‘Tsk, I’ve been greedy for those sheep for a long time now. Uncle, make sure you spend some extra time to nourish them to raise them to become both fat and strong! ’

Hahaha… As soon as these words came out, everyone roared with laughter. Seeing them already run far away, the villagers were also busy themselves with their own affairs. Since they came, the villagers’ income has also improved a lot, and their daily life was much better than before.

Daily trail running, climbing, combat training, riding, and shooting training. In the beginning, Commander Mo announced: This mountain hollow will be their training base in the future. Each of them must be trained. If they do not obey the commands, they will not have their names on the list when they return to the capital a few years later. So, even though everyone was confused and didn’t know what these training sessions were for, they still did everything as instructed. 

However, they repeated the same things day after day, which made many people question the reason for this. But, due to the number of people wanting to return to the capital, everyone dared not make a fuss. Only a few people discussed in private the meaning behind what Duan Wang had made them do. 

Naturally, there were also people like Zhou Dadan, who didn’t care much about these. Anyways, it’s already good that they were eating well and sleeping well. As long as the sky didn’t fall, their hearts would be the same as other free people.

“Hurry, hurry, I still don’t know what kind of dishes the kitchen had made today. I can already smell a strong scent of meat from afar, and Laozi’s greedy saliva is coming down now.” Zhou Dadan was the most active when it came to eating. He urged Li Man and the others, who were in the team with him, to walk quickly.

Had it not been for the commander’s arrangement that each team had to line up to get food, he was afraid he would have abandoned his teammates and ran off long ago.

Li Man gave him a dissatisfied look. He was exactly like a starving ghost reborn, besides eating, what else could he do? But, smelling the scent of the meat in the air, his nose stirred twice and he swallowed his saliva secretly. They have been training since they got up in the morning until now, and the buns from breakfast have almost digested.

They couldn’t help speeding up their pace. Coming to this so-called training base, they were arranged to train all day long. From their point of view, they were finding things to do when there was nothing. However, the most gratifying thing for them was their afternoon meal which had both meat and fish. They could eat even better than when they were in the capital. 

Now they didn’t care about these things. These days were not as difficult to bear as they had thought. Anyways, it will only be three to five years, and they will be able to go back soon.

……

When Ming Yu and his party arrived outside the training base on their horseback, Mo Jiang had long been informed and took a few generals and waited outside the great camp’s fences.

Seeing Ming Yu and the others approaching, they hurriedly saluted one after another. Ming Yu waved his hand to exempt them from greeting and said with a smile, “Commander Mo, it has been quite hard for you these days.”

Over the past few days, he had been busy with his own affairs and he didn’t even have time to come take a look. In the beginning, he expressed his own imagination and discussed with Mo Jiang how to arrange the venue, how to train the soldiers, as well as the rules and regulations, and rewards and punishments. These were all complicated and enormously complex tasks, and Mo Jiang was able to use his single manpower to slowly achieve everything he said step by step. These were contributions that cannot go unnoticed.  

Mo Jiang’s tanned face warmed up slightly, he cupped his hands and said, “It’s this subordinate’s duty, it’s nothing hard at all. It’s just that, although this subordinate did what Your Highness said, I don’t know if the results are as what Your Highness intended? If there is something improper, Your Highness may hand out your punishment.” 

Ming Yu supported him up, conveniently grabbed his wrist and walked inside. He smiled as he walked: “No matter what, Commander Mo’s contributions cannot go unnoticed. Without Commander Mo to carry this out, what I have said could only be a mere idle chit-chat. Come, let’s go in and take a look together.” 

Mo Jiang was overwhelmingly flattered. Although the place where Ming Yu was grabbing was blocked by a sleeve, the temperature of Ming Yu’s palm could still be passed through to iron his heart through his arms.

The group of people who followed after him all stayed at the back, and their eyes couldn’t hide their deep curiosity. Xu Wen wondered if this place could really be capable of training ordinary people into soldiers in just two or three months. Ji You and Cao Jian, the two people were also wondering whether these things Ming Yu had repeatedly tossed out were really useful.

After passing through the rows of camps, there was a wide flat ground. At this time, the soldiers lined up neatly into a square formation. Following the leader in front of them, they waved their sharp spears in their hands. Their movements were adjusted to uniformity. Obviously, they could only have this kind of result after practicing countless times. It would appear quite magnificent from a distance.

“Your Highness, this is the time when the soldiers are training the square-shaped striking formation to attack. Their training time is still short and there are still many shortcomings.” Mo Jiang explained on the side and reported to Ming Yu about the soldiers’ all-day long drill training. 

Although what Ming Yu said was difficult to understand, Mo Jiang still tried his best to do what he said and added some of his own ideas. This kind of square-shaped formation weapon training was added on the basis of Ming Yu’s square-shaped formation. In addition, there was also riding and shooting, and fencing that were all proposed by Mo Jiang and then approved by Ming Yu afterward.

“Very good.” Ming Yu nodded and smiled gratifyingly. “Commander Mo, is there any problem with the current training?”

Mo Jiang would find him and make reports about the situation every few days and raise all kinds of proposals. The two discussed together to improve the plans. What Ming Yu saw just now, he had to admit that Mo Jiang gave him quite a big surprise.

He was not a stubborn person. To make training more rational, to be able to use it freely on the current battlefield, and finally to be able to defeat the enemy is what they are currently doing.