Chapter 40 Recruitment
Chen Huaian's black armored troops were experienced in battles, and they immediately noticed when the atmosphere changed. They clenched their weapons tightly and were ready to fight to the death if the situation changed.

But at this moment, Wang An rode forward and raised his hand and said:

"Everyone, please be patient. If I wanted to kill you, I would have done it last night on the top of Crescent Moon Mountain. There is no need to go through so much trouble. I should have brought you back to White City first."

The bandits thought this made sense, and the brutality in their bones weakened a little.

But he was not reassured and kept staring at Wang An closely.

Wang An obviously also felt this emotion, and continued: "Jizhou is poor, how could I not know that you all became bandits just to earn a way to survive?"

"But this kind of robbery and murder cannot be sustained for long... Even if it can be sustained for long, do you think you can just eat the blood-stained steamed buns with a clear conscience?"

"Even if you can eat with a clear conscience, don't you want to accumulate some good karma for your family? Do you want your wife, sons, daughters, parents, and brothers to follow you and become robbers for the rest of their lives?"

At the end, Wang An's voice became more intense.

The bandits also showed some commotion. After a while, someone shouted loudly: "Let Your Majesty know that it is just as Your Majesty said that we did not intend to become bandits. We really couldn't live any longer, so we did this unfortunate thing..."

"I am also a citizen of Jizhou. As long as I have enough food to survive, I will never do such a thing to harm my hometown!"

The bandits all echoed.

"Who wants to be a thief when they can be a human being..."

"Who would want to be a robber if they had food to eat?"

"I have no choice but to wait!"

Especially those families, who were originally simple farmers, but because the men in their family became bandits, they had no choice but to go up the mountain and become thieves.

But in reality, how could these old, weak, women and children, who are weak in hands and feet, be capable of such murder and robbery?

There is not a moment when I don't want to be an ordinary citizen again and live and work in peace and contentment.

Wang An raised his hand to stop the bandits from crying, his face solemn.

"This king can understand. You had no choice before, but now you can be a good person!"

The bandits all showed surprised expressions, not understanding what the words "good night" meant. Did he want them to change their ways and behave themselves from then on?

They do want to, but how can they make a living and fill their stomachs as ordinary people?

Wang An saw that the time was right, so he told everyone his plan.

"This king intends to build city walls and reclaim wasteland. Now is the time to hire people. If you are willing, you can stay in my White City. This king will give you a way to survive by working in exchange for relief!"

"If you are willing to stay, I will allocate bricks, stones and earth to build a temporary residence for you outside of White City. I will provide you with two meals a day. I can't say the food is good, but I will definitely make sure you have enough to eat!"

"In addition, I will pay those who participate in the work according to the amount of labor, so that you can support your wives and children."

"Once you have saved enough silver, you can build a big house outside the city or buy a house in White City. It's up to you. You can also take the silver and return to your hometown."

"If you all really want to turn over a new leaf, this is your only chance! Of course, if anyone is unwilling, I will never force them to stay!"

"But I want to tell you that the Crescent Mountain Bandit Camp is definitely not the last bandit camp I will destroy. If we meet somewhere else in the future, don't blame me for not giving you a chance to live!"

After the words fell, the bandits immediately started to discuss. They did not doubt Wang An's determination to build the city wall, because in their view, Wang An was a royal family, and the first vassal king of Jizhou in two hundred years. With the support of the Daliang court, he naturally had no shortage of money and food.

Moreover, building city walls and reclaiming farmland were exactly the times when manpower was needed, so it was not surprising that they were recruited.

However, they were still skeptical about the wages offered by Wang An. After all, they were all criminals. Even if Wang An didn't pay them a penny and forced them to build the city, no one would say anything.

But if that were the case, they might as well take their families and quietly go somewhere else.

After all, we only have two meals a day. Once the city wall is built, there will be no more meals to eat. What should we do then?
But if there is money to be earned, even after the city wall is built, I can still save some money, which will provide me with some security whether I return home or find another way to make a living.

Finally, someone couldn't help but ask, "Your Highness, how much is the salary you mentioned?"

Wang An thought for a moment and said, "Two meals a day, one tael per month for strong laborers, seven cents per month for healthy women, and the elderly, weak and children who can help collect firewood and cook will be provided with meals without payment."

Although Wang An only paid one tael and seven cents as starting wage, he even provided meals to the elderly, weak and children who did odd jobs without paying, which seemed a bit stingy.

But in fact, one stone of grain is only worth one tael of silver.

One stone of grain is one hundred kilograms, which is enough to feed a family of five for a month.

Even a waiter or odd job in the city would only earn seven or eight cents a month.

What’s more, the shopkeepers in the city don’t even provide meals.

Therefore, the salary offered by Wang An was indeed not low.

What's more, if the man who doesn't stay at home can get paid, you can also get paid yourself.

If a family happened to have a couple in their prime, they could receive a monthly wage of one tael and seven cents of silver.

Not only can the family have three meals a day, but they can also save most of the money.

Not to mention that Wang An also provides meals. If the elderly and weak in the family also do odd jobs, then the one tael and seven cents can almost all be saved.

As long as you work for a few months, you will have enough money to make a living.

For a moment, some bandits who originally had ulterior motives suddenly became excited.

I don't know who took the lead and knelt down towards Wang An.

Nearly three thousand people suddenly knelt down towards Wang An like falling dominoes.

They shouted in confusion, "We are willing to serve the prince!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for giving me the opportunity to atone for my sins!"

"I will never forget your kindness, Your Majesty!"

Wang An then showed a satisfied smile, waved his hand to call Chen He, and said: "Does the government have enough bricks, stones, earth, beds and quilts? Bring them all over so that these people can build a temporary shack to live in. If the materials are not enough, first allocate some from the seized silver and ask the merchants and people in the city to buy them."

"Try to give these people a place to sleep before dark. The porridge stalls outside the city must also be set up as soon as possible. If these people are hungry, they may get angry again."

Chen He was full of questions, but seeing Wang An's serious expression, he knew that this was not the time to ask for advice, so he quickly took the yamen runners to make arrangements.

(End of this chapter)