The military camp near Xincaomen is full of newly recruited soldiers. Some people are honest and stand aside thinking about their thoughts. Some people are very excited, looking around and looking at the surrounding scenery. A few generals with utility check the roster there and check the number of people.

An eighteen or nineteen-year-old boy looked around excitedly and said to the people around him: "Dare to ask Brother Taigao's name?" Where is home? ”

The other person looked at the young man coldly and said, "Why didn't you say it yourself?" ”

The young man arched his hand: "In Xia Sun Yan, a native of Qizhou, he is eighteen years old today." After reading the list text, recruiting soldiers in the army turned out to be over. ”

The other two reluctantly said: "I'm Cui Le, this one is Qiu Haicheng, and they are both from Ruzhou." It's also this recruitment, come in together. ”

Sun Yan said: "I've seen two. I heard that I have only been in the army for five years now, and I still have money every month, which is really good. ”

Cui Le sneered: "If you go out to work, you will have the same money." Joining the army is to fight, it is to die, do you think it is to work for others! ”

Sun Yan shook his head: "If you work for others, will you not die?" Joining the army heard about many benefits, and after being discharged from the army, conscription was also exempted. ”

Cui Le and Qiu Haicheng shook their heads, and they didn't bother to pay attention to Sun Yan. This is the people of the small place, who have never seen the world. Ruzhou is next to Yezhou, in fact, Yezhou was originally drawn out of Ruzhou, and it is not difficult to do it there. Working for others can earn more in a month than in the army. The two of them had no choice, and they offended people in the local area, so they had to join the army to avoid trouble.

Sun Yan was very excited, and kept talking. There, if they were selected into the forbidden army, they would be exempt from conscription. Even if they are exempted from military service in the future, they will still be exempted from forced service, and this article alone has made many people tempted. Not to mention, there is still money to be taken as a soldier.

It won't be long before it will be Sun Yan's turn. As soon as he heard the name, he quickly ran to the table.

The general looked at Sun Yan and said to the other general on the side: "This is Sun Yan from Qizhou?" A native of Zhangqiu County, Qizhou, he has been farming for generations, and he is white and innocent. This guarantee is a pledge drawn by the local magistrate. ”

The general on one side said: "That's true." I recruited these people from Qizhou, Zizhou, Qingzhou, and Weizhou, and I found out all of them. ”

The general nodded, wrote Sun Yan's name on the paper on the table, and said, "Assigned to the eighth battalion of the Jia family, get the number plate over there." You newly recruited soldiers must be in the new barracks for half a year, and only after learning can you really be incorporated into the army. ”

Sun Yan thanked him again and again. Their family has been farming for generations and has never been an official, and it is the first time for them to join the army.

The army of the Song Dynasty was followed by five generations, and the soldiers were mainly recruited from the three roads along the border, Hebei, Hedong and Shaanxi roads, plus the population of Kaifeng Prefecture who had served in the army for generations, as well as idle children. Jingdong Road is not a recruitment area, and there are not many soldiers.

The general said: "After joining the army, everything you should eat and live in the barracks, and you can't leave the camp without a general's order." In addition to clothing, three times a month. Among them, you will always be given pocket money, and when you are discharged from service, you will be paid together, which will be counted as the cost of severance and returning to your hometown. ”

Sun Yan made a salute: "I have to take care of food and housing, and I have to pay money, which is much better than work." ”

The general ignored him and said, "Go over there and get the number plate, and someone will take you to the barracks to which you belong." Half a year in the recruit camp, but it's very hard, don't shout tired. After half a year, five years of money and grain can be received, otherwise they will return to their hometowns. ”

Sun Yan agreed, went to the next table, took his number plate, went through various procedures, and was with the rest of the soldiers of Battalion A.

The unsuitable forbidden army was cut down and sent to the Lianghu camp, and the vacant posts were recruited to fill the gaps. In order to select new personnel, most of the recruits recruited this time came from Jingdong Road and Jingxi Road, and recruited officers were sent to various places to recruit them. These places were less affected by the forbidden army, and they were more enthusiastic to join the army.

Since the late Tang Dynasty, the army has been despised by the people. Especially in the Liangjing area and the three roads along the border, the status of the forbidden army is not high. Speaking of which, the treatment of the forbidden army is good, but after being exploited and squeezed by grassroots officers, except for some main armies, many army soldiers are not doing well. Along the three sides of the road, if you don't take out real money, you really can't recruit people.

At this time, doing odd jobs, about 100 wen a day, these places in Kaifeng Mansion are higher. If you take care of the rice, it is only fifty or sixty yuan. The soldiers of the forbidden army are paid three times a month, which is actually a high salary. Under the new military system, you only need to serve for five years, and you are no longer in the army for a lifetime, you don't have to take care of your family, and the salary is very generous. At present, the bulk of the military expenditure is guns and other equipment, and the salary cost of soldiers is not heavy.

A soldier is 36 in a Chinese New Year's Eve, and an army of 800,000 is less than 30 million in a year. plus the generals' salaries, it is only sixty or seventy million. This figure is not outrageous in the current situation of a large increase in fiscal revenue. In the past, when the annual income was 100 million stones, about 70,000 were used to raise the army, and there were also 60 or 70 million. Of course, that includes a lot of physical goods, and now it's just money.

After the training, the military expenditure of the Song army was about 150 million yuan a year, including all expenses. This figure is not outrageous for the current financial revenue of the imperial court, and Zhongshu still has the energy to do all kinds of big projects.

Sun Yan received the number plate and stood with the recruits of the 8th Battalion of A, still extremely excited. Three times a month, I haven't made so much money in my life. No one talked to him, and he calculated in his heart what he could buy if he had a consistent monthly haircut. After five years, if you are discharged from service, you can also pay another one or twenty times, which is a lot of money. In his hometown, one hundred and two can buy nearly 100 acres of land, which is enough to become a solid family.

Outside the west gate of Kaifeng Mansion, next to the railway station, the soldiers who were sure to go to the Lianghu camp were queuing up to get on the train. This time, only the soldiers took the lead, and the family members had to wait two or three months before they went together. The family was separated, and there was a gloomy fog.

Li Shen stood on a high place, looked at the miserable and miserable parting scene, and said to Xiang Zong beside him: "Next time, don't let your family see you off." Yingtian was supposed to be energetic, but when he got in the car, he looked like this. ”

Xiang Zongdao: "Lift, this is the first batch, everyone doesn't know what the two lakes look like, it's inevitable." If it is done well, the news will be transmitted back to the capital, and everyone will naturally be the same. These people go to Liyang and Anxiang camps, where they are all flat land, as long as they are willing to endure hardships, they will naturally have a good life. ”

Li Shen nodded: "At the beginning, it was not good to let them go to difficult places. If you first settle down on the flat ground and have a good reputation, those who go to the camp will not be afraid. If you go and suffer hardship, you are afraid that there will be chaos. ”

After speaking, his eyes were sharp. These veterans of the forbidden army are very difficult to manage, and they are really messy, and it is not a trivial matter. The military discipline of the forbidden army is worrisome, and if it is not strongly suppressed, it is difficult to say what will happen. In order to appease the people's hearts, the treatment of veterans in the camp remained unchanged, and before the grain was produced, it was the same as three times a month. Moreover, in the early days of the camp, they all ate uniformly, and they had to arrange their accommodation. For the field work, the burden is heavy.

This year, the whole training of the forbidden army, coupled with the barracks in the two lakes, has greatly increased military spending. The sum of the two costs no less than 200 million yuan, and Zhongshu slandered it. In order to pay for military spending, many railway and other projects across the country have been suspended and fully supported. For Li Shen and these people, the court has spent so much money, if they can't make a show, it's not easy to explain.