Chapter 23

Many things only become clear when you actually do them, and this was true for Yueyang as well. Since he was recruiting soldiers, he couldn't just buy some armor and weapons and call it a day. Recruiting an army required many more tasks, such as providing clothes, shoes, and hats for the soldiers. Yueyang didn't want to buy these items in the Ming Dynasty because the cost would be too high and there would be many unforeseen problems. It was much more convenient to purchase them in the modern era.

Yueyang spent three more days ordering over 300,000 yuan worth of clothes and miscellaneous items before returning to Yue Family Village from the modern world...

In the dead of night, Yue Family Village was as quiet as ever, with most people already asleep. Only a few night guards were slowly patrolling the small paths with lanterns in hand, occasionally making a sound.

When Yueyang emerged from the time portal, he didn't immediately return to his courtyard. The Linglong sisters would definitely be asleep by now, and he didn't want to disturb their rest. Yueyang spent the night in the courtyard and only knocked on the door of his small courtyard the next morning.

When Yulong opened the door and saw Yueyang standing there, a hint of joy flashed in her eyes. But then she thought about how this bad young master had been gone for several days, making her and her sister miss him so much. She couldn't let him off so easily. A look of reproach appeared on her face, a mix of joy and scolding that made Yueyang's heart beat faster. However, when he saw the slightly reserved scolding on Yulong's face, he immediately realized that his disappearance for several days had made this pretty maid angry. He quickly stepped forward and shouted in an exaggerated tone.

"Oh, Long'er, you look even more beautiful after a few days. But wait, you seem a bit thinner? Could it be because you missed me so much?"

Hearing her young master's flirtatious words, Yulong's originally maintained pretense finally broke. Her scolding expression bloomed like a flower.

With a "pfft" of laughter, Yulong's slightly tense face finally revealed a smile like a blooming lily.

"Young master, you're talking nonsense. What's beautiful about Long'er? I'm just an ugly girl. As for being thinner, that's even more ridiculous. I doubt you even know how much I weigh."

"Who says I don't know? For something like weight, I don't need a scale. I can tell just by looking, especially for a pretty girl like Long'er..." Yueyang kept talking nonsense, making Yulong giggle uncontrollably.

Just as Yueyang was about to put into practice the pickup techniques he had learned in theory on Yulong, a gentle but scolding voice came from inside: "Long'er, is the young master back? Why don't you quickly invite him in to rest? Don't you know the young master must be exhausted after just returning?"

"Okay, I know!" Yulong stuck out her cute little tongue and ran off in a flurry of small steps, quickly disappearing from sight.

Watching Yulong's figure disappear at the door, Yueyang chuckled and followed her. But after just a few steps, he heard footsteps behind him. Turning around, he saw the steward, Yue Laifu, hurrying over.

Yue Laifu, drenched in sweat from running, looked relieved when he saw Yueyang. He immediately grabbed Yueyang's sleeve and shouted, "Oh, young master, you're finally back! If you hadn't returned, I would have jumped off a building."

"Uncle Yue, what happened? Is there a problem with the canal construction on the Sanggan River?" Yueyang's heart tightened, and his face turned serious. He was most afraid that the Wang family would use the Sanggan River issue to make things difficult for Yue Family Village. Yue Family Village couldn't withstand the combined pressure of the three families.

Seeing Yueyang's serious expression, Yue Laifu's heart skipped a beat. He quickly reassured him, "Young master, it's not that. It's about the recruitment."

"Recruitment?" Yue Laifu's words didn't calm Yueyang down; instead, they made him even more anxious. "Recruitment? What's happened?"

You must understand that organizing a militia and recruiting soldiers was the most important task for Yueyang since he arrived in the Ming Dynasty. He would not allow this to be sabotaged.

Seeing Yueyang's increasingly grim expression, Yue Laifu quickly explained, "Young master, the news of your militia has spread not only in Yue Family Village but also in Wuli Fort. Many people are saying that the treatment for the recruits is very generous, and each recruit will receive a settlement fee. As a result, Wuli Fort is almost in a frenzy. Every day, people come to me to inquire about the militia. I'm almost driven mad. You should quickly step in to calm the people down!"

"Is that so?" Yueyang was taken aback. Then he frowned and asked, "Uncle Yue, I remember the recruitment wasn't made public. How did people outside know about the generous treatment? Who leaked the information?"

Yue Laifu quickly explained, "Young master, did you really think someone had to leak it? The stewards in Yue Family Village all know about your recruitment, and you also told the old lady that the treatment would be generous. Think about it, which steward doesn't have relatives and friends? Since they know you're recruiting soldiers with generous treatment, they naturally spread the news. That's how the information spread."

"What? Is that so?" Yueyang was surprised. "Uncle Yue, isn't it said that good men don't join the army and good iron isn't used to make nails? Why are they all rushing to join the militia like they've smelled dog feces?"

"Young master, what you're saying is outdated," Yue Laifu said with a bitter smile. "These days, people can't even afford to eat. As long as they have food, who cares what they do? Not to mention, even dangerous activities like rebellion have people willing to do them."

"True, that's true!" Yueyang thought about it. Yue Laifu was right. In these times, survival was the most important thing. People would do anything to survive.

After thinking for a moment, Yueyang said decisively, "We can't delay. Uncle Yue, go and post an announcement outside Yue Family Village immediately. Say that in three days, we will recruit 1,000 soldiers. The treatment will be... a settlement fee of five taels of silver per person, and a monthly salary of one tael of silver. If they don't want silver, they can receive it in grain."

"Alright, I'll do it right away." Yue Laifu responded, then hesitated and asked, "Young master, there's something I shouldn't say, but since you're recruiting soldiers, I'll speak my mind. Organizing a militia is no small matter. Yue Family Village hasn't done this in hundreds of years. If you're going to organize a militia, you need capable people to train the soldiers. We don't have these people. You... you..."

Yueyang looked at the loyal old steward with gratitude, patted his shoulder, and reassured him, "Uncle Yue, have you ever heard the saying that there were no roads in the world until people started walking on them? Organizing a militia is the same. We haven't done it before, but I don't believe I can't blaze a new trail. I won't let this stop me."

PS: Brothers, have any of you seen the recommendation votes and favorites?