Chapter 71: The State (III)

In the deep autumn, the fragrance of locust trees and the red hues of maples are at their peak. A gentle breeze blows, causing the fallen leaves covering the cobblestone path to swirl into the air, drifting gracefully—a sight of breathtaking beauty.

At the city gate outside Mingde Gate, an imperial edict recently issued by the court was posted, attracting many passersby to watch. Not far from the gate, under a large locust tree, there was a wooden table, behind which sat a handsome young general. Behind him stood a dozen strong-looking bodyguards, likely from the border troops. Next to the table stood two large flags, each bearing the bold black characters “Recruiting Strong Men” and “Expanding the Borders for the Country.”

Beside the flags stood two straw men, one tall and one short, one fat and one thin—presumably used to measure heights. Although the sun was high in the sky, it did not bring heat. A gentle breeze always brought a refreshing coolness, making one feel comfortable.

The handsome young general glanced at the roster on the table and smiled cheerfully, “Yanji, in just ten days, we’ve already recruited 6,517 men. It seems we won’t need to wait until the one-month deadline set by the emperor; we can finish recruiting the ‘Long March Warriors’ ahead of time.”

“If it weren’t for your brilliant idea, Brother Kuo, how could we have recruited so many men!”

Zhang Yanji shrugged, his words filled with admiration. He had initially complained that Brother Kuo had taken on this difficult and thankless task, but now it seemed Brother Kuo had had a plan all along. The emperor was worried about strengthening the troops in Anxi, and Brother Kuo had quickly gathered so many Long March Warriors, solving the emperor’s urgent problem. This tangible achievement would surely be remembered by the emperor.

“Understanding people’s hearts makes it easy to find solutions,” Li Kuo said, waving his hand but not fully responding to Zhang Yanji’s words. In fact, besides including the benefits promised by the court in the recruitment notice, the young man had added one more clause.

“Those with clean backgrounds and who train hard will be given priority to serve in the Shule Army. Those who perform outstandingly can be transferred to the emperor’s personal guard unit.”

At first glance, this promise seemed unremarkable, but it was actually more attractive than the benefits offered by the court. Although the emperor had entrusted Li Kuo with full responsibility for recruiting the Long March Warriors, he had set one rule: the recruits must have clean backgrounds.

It’s not hard to understand why. The army is the foundation of a nation and the guarantee for its longevity. Throughout history, the selection of soldiers has been strict, generally requiring them to be honest and decent people from good families. Thugs from the streets or violent men from rural areas would never be recruited. Such people are inherently unstable, and if they formed cliques in the army, who knows what could happen.

But this greatly increases the difficulty of recruitment. The Guanlong region is densely populated—just the residents of Chang’an alone number nearly two million. Yet these people are also well-off; even ordinary peasant families can save money over the course of a year as long as they don’t face severe disasters. With such stable lives, only someone utterly foolish would go to the borderlands to fight against barbarians.

For these people, the land promised by the court holds no appeal. Most of them are peasants who work the fields every day—why would they go thousands of miles away to Anxi to plow the soil? Similarly, the policy of enlisting families for generations won’t yield positive results. Though the policy sounds good, there’s no guarantee they’ll even receive land alive, let alone that the court won’t seize it after their deaths.

At bottom, it’s their lack of trust in fair treatment that gives them a sense of insecurity. The rules set by Li Kuo precisely provide them with that sense of security. Who doesn’t know that the new Shule troops are the emperor’s favorites, great heroes? Following him, even if they can’t eat meat, they might at least get some broth to drink.

As Li Kuo’s core followers, the Tongwu, Xiongwu, and Kuowu battalions would naturally be taken to Shule as the foundation of the Shule army. If they were transferred to the Shule army for official duties, wouldn’t they become part of the commander’s inner circle? The commander protects his own people closely, and they wouldn’t miss out on the benefits. If lucky enough to become his personal guards, wouldn’t they be like a phoenix perched on a parasol tree—wealth right before their eyes?

Everyone knows that joining the army is a fast way to wealth, but they also know it comes with the risk of losing one’s life. Those from influential families have protectors who shield them while they reap rewards and fame by hiding behind soldiers. Meanwhile, those from humble backgrounds have to take the front line and serve as fodder for others.

Rather than letting others benefit at their expense, it’s better to stay at home and work the fields in Guanlong. But this is just a fallback option—after all, which man doesn’t want to succeed and provide for his family?

The young man gave them promises and hope, so naturally they were willing to try their luck in the army. Even so, those registered were mostly bachelors with no family ties—without obligations, they had the lightest load.

Zhang Yanji thought carefully before spreading his hands and saying, “That’s true. But, Brother Kuo, are you really going to bring these new recruits into the Shule army? Wouldn’t that count as raising private troops?”

Zhang Xiaolangjun asked in a hushed voice that the emperor was most wary of border generals recruiting private troops. Although Kuage was currently favored by the emperor, it was said that an emperor’s favor was like flowing water—coming quickly and going just as fast. If someone envious tried to create trouble for Kuage at the emperor’s side, it was possible the emperor might truly become upset.

“I will petition the court. If that doesn’t work, I’ll ask Lord Gao Xianzhi to step in and clarify things openly.”

Li Ku gave a bitter smile and replied, “Your Majesty is wise and mighty; surely you’ll understand my intentions.”

While they were talking, a few more people approached under the big locust tree.

The location chosen for recruiting soldiers was excellent—right outside the southern city. Mingde Gate was the main entrance to Chang’an, with many people coming in and out of the city. Moreover, the recruitment site was not far from the notices, so most of those tempted by the generous terms would come to take a look.

At the very least, they could leave unharmed. Could the authorities really force them to go?

Those people clearly dressed like traveling merchants—one tall and two short, one fat and two thin. A teenager around fifteen or sixteen years old set down the pole on his shoulder and stepped forward.

“Excuse me, sir officer, are you recruiting soldiers here?”

The teenager glanced at Pu Dachui and asked timidly.

Pu Dachui found it amusing. He pointed to the words on the flag and said, “The big letters here say clearly—unless we’re recruiting soldiers, are we here to sell vegetables? Ah, by the way, young man, what’s in that pole of yours?”

“Oh, it’s tea.”

After saying that, the teenager bent down and took out a round tea brick from the pole, handing it to Pu Dachui.

“Hehe, I, Pu, have been worried about not having tea to drink. This kid even prepared one for me—so I won’t be polite now.”

With that, Pu Dachui tried to take the tea brick for himself.

The teenager was stunned by the officer’s rudeness and didn’t know what to do.

“Dachui! Return it to him!”

Li Ku snapped angrily, stopping Pu Dachui’s actions.

“Hehe, General, don’t be angry. I, Pu, was just joking with this young man.”

Pu Dachui scratched his head reluctantly and handed the tea brick back to the teenager.

“Thank you, sir officer!”

The teenager quickly bowed to Li Ku in gratitude.

“Are you here to enlist?”

Li Ku examined the teenager carefully. For some reason, he felt a sense of familiarity toward him.

“Yes, I want to enlist. I wonder how much silver I can get in return?” the teenager nodded and asked loudly.

Li Kuo was momentarily stunned. After a brief pause, he realized the boy was referring to the 15 guan subsidy of high-quality meat given by the court to those who enlisted in the army. How could such a young child be so obsessed with money as to consider selling himself?
“Fifteen guan in one lump sum. You can give it to your family or keep it for yourself.”
“Fifteen guan… Could the officer give me five more guan?”
The boy repeated the amount several times silently before suddenly saying something both amusing and heartbreaking.
“That’s the court’s regulation; we can’t do anything about it.”
Li Kuo shook his head and replied in a grave tone.
A tall and thin young man beside him stepped closer to the boy and whispered, “Second Son, why don’t we just leave? It’s not worth selling yourself for just 15 guan.”
Another short, fair man also advised, “Yeah, selling these tea leaves can bring in quite a bit of money. If we all chip in a little more, your grandfather’s illness might be treatable.”
But the boy remained silent, head bowed. After a long while, he finally gritted his teeth and said, “No. Even if I trouble you all, it will only cover three months’ worth of medicine. My grandfather’s illness is serious, and he can’t stop taking medicine. I’m not capable enough to just watch him suffer. I’ve already made up my mind—I’ll sell myself to the army today. Please help me sell these tea leaves, Erzhu, and bring them back to the village along with the 15 guan of meat, so I can buy some medicine prescribed by Doctor Sun. I believe my grandfather will be able to get out of bed by the end of winter.”
“Ah, why go to such lengths? If we work hard in our small businesses, we can save some money. If you join the army…”
With a dozen burly soldiers standing in front of them, Erzhu couldn’t finish his sentence. Can Can glanced at Second Son and finally sighed deeply.
Only then did Li Kuo understand what was going on. It turned out the boy was raising money to treat his grandfather’s illness, but due to the high cost of medicinal herbs, he had no choice but to enlist in the army to earn some silver. Li Kuo sighed inwardly. How similar he had been to this boy back in the day—worrying and helpless over a handful of rice or some medicinal materials. Seeing the boy before him reminded him of his own past.
“Young man, how old are you?”
“Fifteen… Oh, no, seventeen!”
As soon as he spoke, the boy realized his mistake and quickly waved his arms to correct himself.