Chapter 29

When the news spread that Chunjiang Gongzi was recruiting soldiers and forming a local militia cavalry at the Guan Gong Temple in the South Gate, and that those who were accepted would receive two taels of silver and six dou of monthly rations, plus five taels of silver for settling down, the area in front of the Guan Gong Temple became bustling with activity.

Truly, the flags were flying, and the crowd was immense.

Although the requirements for recruitment were quite high, it did not dampen people's enthusiasm. Some were simply there for the spectacle. There were usually no entertainment activities, so even a couple of dogs fighting over a bone could draw a crowd, let alone such a lively event as recruitment.

Many people, upon hearing that they could get two steamed buns just by lifting a stone lock a couple of times, regardless of whether they were recruited or not, became even more enthusiastic.

The commotion even alarmed the county office. Thousands of people gathered at the South Gate, and many more from the surrounding villages had already rushed over upon hearing the news.

When County Magistrate Lu Jinxin heard about the large crowd, his face turned pale. With the recent unrest in the western regions of Gucheng and Junzhou, such a large gathering could easily turn into a chaotic situation if someone were to incite the crowd.

"Quickly, gather all the constables and have them maintain order. We must prevent any disorder."

County Magistrate Lu Jinxin personally led a group of constables to help maintain order, and the situation was finally under control. However, more people continued to arrive, and the queue for registration stretched from the Guan Gong Temple to outside the South Gate.

At this time, Li Chunjiang also received a report and hurriedly dispatched a hundred or so servants from his home to the scene. Upon seeing the massive crowd, he was taken aback and managed to squeeze through with the protection of his servants.

Upon meeting, he grabbed Liu Jun and asked, "Jiyeh, why is there such a commotion?"

Liu Jun, sweating from the effort, shook his head and smiled bitterly, "Brother, with such good conditions for recruitment, who wouldn't want to come? Two taels of silver a month, and even one tael would make people fight for the position, let alone the monthly rations and settlement silver. Five taels of silver is enough to buy a young maid."

"But we can't mistreat them. I, Li Chunjiang, am recruiting local militia to serve the community, not to exploit them. The money comes out of my own pocket."

Liu Jun knew he wanted to do something meaningful. The benefits were modeled after those given to household servants, which were far better than the heavily discounted benefits of ordinary garrison or border soldiers.

"Since so many people are applying, have we recruited enough?"

"It's not that easy. Although many apply, only a few pass the rigorous selection process. Most can meet the height, age, and strength requirements, but many are stuck on the horse riding and archery tests. Not to mention, I also require a literacy test, though it's only a reference."

But there are very few young, tall, strong, and skilled in both riding and archery.

Li Chunjiang picked up the register on the table, scanned it, and frowned, "So far, only about ten have qualified?"

"Better to have a few good ones than many poor ones," Liu Jun said. "I think we don't need to rush. Recruiting seven or eight today is already good. Besides, the twelve brothers I brought all meet the criteria, so we already have about twenty. Add your eight servants, and we have thirty. We've recruited more than half of a team."

"If we can't find suitable candidates, we can relax the age requirements and accept those who can shoot but not ride."

Liu Jun nodded, "No problem, I'll follow your lead." Then he pointed to the layers of people surrounding the recruitment area, "Look at the commotion today. At least a thousand people have come, and many more are on their way. But we're only recruiting a few. I'm afraid people will be unhappy. I think we should bring some grain and set up stoves to cook a meal for everyone. It will also help promote our cavalry."

Liu Jun did this to prevent any discontent among those who came a long way but were not selected, which could easily lead to trouble. Providing a meal would soothe the crowd and also serve as an advertisement for the cavalry. After all, they were a local militia and would be staying in the county.

"That's fine. I'll send someone to bring the grain. You help maintain order!"

Just as Li Chunjiang left, Zhang Shan, sweating profusely, squeezed through the crowd, "Second Brother, a group of monks has come to apply. They won't leave until they're accepted and are occupying the registration area. You should take a look."

"Monks?" Liu Jun was intrigued and followed Zhang Shan over.

When they reached the white line, sure enough, several bald monks in rough hemp robes stood out. Each held a begging bowl and occupied the registration area.

"May I have your blessings, Master!" Liu Jun approached with a smile.

The leading monk, who looked to be around thirty, looked Liu Jun up and down, "Are you in charge of the recruitment?"

"Yes, I am."

"Good, we want to apply." The monk said straightforwardly.

Liu Jun smiled, "You are all men of the cloth. Why do you want to apply? Perhaps I can offer some money and grain, and you can return to your temple?"

The monk shook his head, "To be honest, we are from Junzhou. We were originally devoted to our temple, but the world has become too chaotic. Our temple was burned by bandits, and our food and statues were looted. The abbot was killed trying to stop the bandits, and the temple was burned down. Only the eight of us managed to escape. We can no longer practice our faith, so we want to join the local militia to fight the bandits."

"Please accept my condolences, but we are recruiting cavalry riders, and I fear you may not be suitable."

"How do you know we're not suitable without a test? To be honest, Junzhou has always had many bandits, so our temple established a group of martial monks. We are all trained in both martial arts and riding. If you don't believe us, we can take the tests one by one."

Liu Jun was surprised. He hadn't expected to encounter eight martial monks. In this era, there were many temples and martial monks. He remembered that during the Ming Dynasty, the Shaolin Temple had a famous martial monk known as the 'Three Marvels Monk,' who had earned his title for three great achievements.

This Shaolin monk, under imperial command, led a group of martial monks to fight in battles, guarding fortresses in Shandong and Shaanxi, and was later appointed as the 'General of All Commanders.' He also led campaigns in Yunnan to suppress rebellions. He was known as 'The World's Greatest Opponent, Teacher of Martial Monks.'

During the Ming Dynasty, the main monk soldiers came from the Shaolin Temple, the temples in the Funiu Mountains, and the temples in Wutai Mountain in Shanxi. These monk soldiers were often called to fight in battles and often won.

Although these monks were not from the Shaolin Temple in Henan or Wutai Mountain in Shanxi, they were still martial monks.

After some thought, Liu Jun realized that it didn't matter if they were monks. As long as they were willing to apply and met the criteria, it wasn't a problem. Since they could fight for the court, joining the local militia cavalry should also be fine.

(A new week has started, please give me your recommendations to boost the new book rankings! This is the third update of the day!)