***
While Ma Yongzhen and others were not there yet, Qin Mu personally wrote a notice:
The first was to inform the people that he had taken office as the county magistrate.
The second is to recruit county officials. The requirements are not high. Anyone with a clean background and who can read and write will be eligible. Those with experience as officials will be given priority.
Third, it was announced that the county’s land registration files had been destroyed in the war. Anyone who owned land had to take the land deeds to the county government to re-register within seven days. Any land that was not registered within seven days would be regarded as unowned land and distributed to the victims.
The notice was not only posted in the county seat, Qin Mu asked Liu Meng to find someone to copy it and send it to various villages and towns by express horse to post it, to ensure that the people of the entire county were informed of the matter as soon as possible.
Ma Yongzhen, Hong Dazhuang, Huo Sheng, Ning Yuan and others quickly arrived at the county government office. Qin Mu glanced at them and said, "Since the war in Huichang has just ended and the area is not yet stable, the Huichang Qianhu Division will be limited to 2,000 people. Huo Sheng's troops will be selected and incorporated into the Qianhu Division."
Hong Dazhuang immediately said, "Sir, there are so many over-staffing. Not to mention whether the court will investigate, I'm afraid there will be no money or grain left."
"If you don't overstaff, the imperial court may not give you money and food, but you don't have to worry. Just follow my orders. No matter how many people are overstaffed, I will distribute the money and food to the army regularly and in full. After you return to the camp, first re-measure the original military land and distribute it to the military households in full to stabilize the morale of the army."
Ma Yongzhen replied in a deep voice: "Don't worry, sir. I have already asked someone to handle this matter."
"Very good. I will personally bring silver to the camp to pay the soldiers. After the pay is paid, you will immediately select some literate men from the army and have them lead the team, in groups of five or ten, depending on the situation, to disperse to various villages and towns to organize households into groups. Ten households will form a group, and fifty households will form a group. Let the people elect the group leader and the group leader themselves.
After the baojia system was formed, the baozhang and jiading were responsible for daily patrols, catching thieves and maintaining public order.
I have posted a notice that those who own land must take the land deeds to the county government office within seven days to register and re-register. However, those who live far away from the county government office will receive the news later and may not be able to make it in time. Therefore, the people you send will be responsible for registering on the spot. This matter is of great importance and must not be taken lightly.
There is also another important task, which is to have your men work with the village head Jia Zheng to distribute the ownerless land to the landless people. The maximum amount of land each family can get is 50 mu. If there is any surplus, it will be used as government land.
After the fields are divided, households A should help each other, cultivate the wasteland as soon as possible and resume production. I want all the fields in this county to be planted with crops, especially sweet potatoes, before the end of June. Even the cracks in the rocks will be planted with crops. Ganzhou Prefecture will allocate seeds soon, and the people you send will be responsible for distributing them.
I want to make one thing clear here. Tell your people not to engage in corruption and abuse their power to harm the people and enrich themselves. If anyone dares to do so, I will not wait until autumn. I will make them understand what it means to have their heads rolled! If you are not afraid of death, just give it a try. "
Qin Mu paused when he said this, and swept his eyes across everyone with murderous intent. Huo Sheng and Ning Yuan secretly exchanged glances, then turned their heads away silently. It was obvious that Qin Mu was moving step by step in the direction they expected. Not to mention the aspect of ensuring the safety of the people, the fact that he said he wanted to raise his own army was enough to show that he was a great man.
Needless to say, Ma Yongzhen had already reached a series of agreements with Qin Mu in private when he accepted the amnesty. It was precisely for this reason that Qin Mu, a county magistrate, would give orders to Ma Yongzhen, a thousand households, without any hesitation, and his orders must be carried out.
"Liu Meng!"
"I am here."
"Your 100 men are responsible for patrolling the entire county. If you find anyone engaging in corruption and harming the people, report them immediately. If you catch them red-handed and the evidence is irrefutable, and the stolen money is more than 10 taels, you can be executed on the spot!"
"I obey your orders!"
"Everyone has heard it. Don't forget to warn the troops you sent out. As the saying goes, in troubled times, severe punishments are needed. No matter who did it, I will never show mercy."
"I will obey your orders, sir."
"Does anyone have anything to say?"
Ma Yongzhen thought for a moment and said, "Sir, the most urgent thing now is to solve the food problem. Judging from the current situation, both the army and the people will not be able to sustain the food supply until the autumn harvest. If this problem is not solved, not only will some people in the civilian population cause chaos, but I'm afraid the army will also find it difficult to ensure stability."
"Well, this matter must be planned early. Huichang is located at the junction of four provinces. I will find merchants to go to Guangdong and Fujian to buy grain as soon as possible. You will send people to escort it to ensure safety. Do you have any questions?"
"Not for now." Huo Sheng answered for everyone. He glanced at Ma Yongzhen secretly. According to Qin Mu's intention, he would be appointed as the deputy captain and be subordinate to Ma Yongzhen. He could not help but feel a little angry.
Qin Mu also knew that if left alone without any adjustment, the two groups would sooner or later provoke a fierce confrontation. Confrontation was not necessarily a bad thing. Qin Mu was confident that he could slowly lead them into a state of healthy competition.
After the meeting, Qin Mu immediately drove a cart full of silver to the Qianhu Office in the south of the city. He had asked Huo Shengxinfeng to escort all this silver, and it was now of great use.
Political power comes from the barrel of a gun. In such troubled times, the only way to survive is to firmly control the military force.
If Qin Mu wants to carry out his work now, he can only rely on this army, so it is particularly important to appease the morale of the army first. Only in this way can he use this force for his own benefit.
Inside the military camp, two thousand soldiers stood solemnly, waiting for Qin Mu's arrival.
Amid the thundering sound of horse hooves, Qin Mu led a hundred black-clad and black-armored cavalrymen in like a gust of wind, stirring up billowing yellow dust with astonishing momentum;
His hundred men were carefully selected. Not only were they all riding war horses, but they were all strong and brave. Especially the mace used by Liu Meng weighed dozens of pounds. A timid person would be scared to the ground, let alone resist.
Qin Mu knew very well that in addition to kindness, one must have authority in the army, otherwise it would be difficult for the soldiers to respect him from the bottom of their hearts, so this first time he entered the camp, he had to show his authority.
He dismounted in front of the army, put his hand on the hilt of his sword, and walked up to the stage surrounded by generals such as Ma Yongzhen and Huo Sheng. Looking at the crowd of soldiers below the stage, he shouted loudly: "Soldiers, no matter who you were before or what your past was, it doesn't matter. Now, you only have one identity, that is, a soldier!
Soldiers are bound by their duty to obey orders and to defend their country. This is your honor and responsibility. In order to shoulder your responsibilities, you must train hard, abide by military regulations, and obey orders. Your captains and commanders will tell you the specific military regulations. I will not waste time talking about this. I only emphasize one point, and I will only emphasize it once: cherish your life and abide by your military regulations! No matter who violates it, they will be killed! "
fool!
fool!
fool!
One hundred cavalrymen suddenly drew their swords and roared like tigers. The murderous aura rushed into the sky, and it was painful when it touched their faces. The two thousand soldiers in the field were all awed.
Qin Mu roared again: "As long as you abide by military regulations, obey orders, and train hard, I promise you that your land, food and wages will be paid in full on time, without a penny less. Now, starting from the first row on the left, line up in rows and come to the front of the stage. I will personally pay you two taels of silver per person per month."
Hearing this, the 2,000 soldiers in the audience immediately began to talk. All along, the military pay of the Ming Dynasty was not high. For example, when Qi Jiguang recruited soldiers in the southeastern coastal areas, he stipulated that each person's annual pay was 10 taels. After arriving in Jizhen in the north, the annual pay for the recruited soldiers guarding the border wall was only 18 taels. This was the salary for recruiting soldiers in a strategic location of the country.
In the inland areas, the price of recruiting soldiers was extremely low. In most areas, "the recruits received one cent of silver per day," and the annual salary was less than four taels of silver.
Since the Chongzhen period, wars have been frequent, and a large number of people have been displaced and have no food or clothing. It has become easier to recruit soldiers. Forget about the money. As long as you can provide food, there will be a lot of people willing to follow you and fight for you.
Even if the imperial court maintained a combat force of 10,000 people, the normal annual consumption would be only 80,000 taels of silver and 40,000 shi of grain.
And now, Qin Mu offered a food salary of 24 taels per person per year, which was absolutely unprecedented in the Ming Dynasty and had never been heard of.
Would Qin Mu really pay so much salary
Even though they had seen the cart in front of the reviewing stand piled with silver, every soldier was still unsure until they received the silver. The excitement, anxiety, and fear of losing it were clearly written on their faces.
Every soldier didn't want to make any mistakes at this time, so they lined up in an orderly formation and walked to the front of the stage. After receiving their own salary, they were all excited.
After receiving their salary, there was one more thing they needed to do, which was to salute Qin Mu standing on the stage and say, "Thank you, Lord Qin, for the salary!"
Qin Mu wanted every soldier to remember who was supporting them. It was undeniable that this was meant to win people's hearts and promote personal worship. Now was an extraordinary period, and this army would be Qin Mu's current support. If it could develop, it would also be his heir apparent in the future.
No matter what means he uses, Qin Mu must ensure their absolute loyalty.
Even if he wanted to poke a big hole in the sky, he wanted them to follow him without hesitation.
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