Chapter 58 Preparing to Build a City
Chen He shuddered, and the excitement he had just felt from evaluating the food suddenly disappeared.

After Chen He left, Wang An did not rest, but immediately called Xu Huang who was guarding outside the door.

"Xu Huang, now you are a captain of Jizhou Guards, how do you feel?" Wang An said with a smile.

Xu Huang scratched his head in embarrassment when he heard this, and chuckled, "I feel embarrassed when people call me Sir when I walk down the street."

"Haha." Wang An laughed twice and said, "You will get used to it slowly. Besides, you are only a centurion now. If you become a thousand-man commander or even a commander in the future, won't you be embarrassed to death?"

Xu Huang waved his hands and said, "Your Highness, please stop teasing me. I am a rough man, and I am not destined to be a high official. I am grateful to the prince for being able to become a centurion."

Wang An stood up and walked in front of Xu Huang. He patted his shoulder and scolded him: "A soldier who doesn't want to be a general is not a good soldier. Since you have joined the army, you should think about making achievements. Whether you can do it or not is not the first thing to say. You must have the ambition first!"

"Otherwise, wouldn't it be more comfortable to go home and farm and live on that one acre of land than to live on the edge of a knife?"

Xu Huang was stunned and thought to himself, "A soldier who doesn't want to be a general is not a good soldier?"

After a moment, he bowed his head and said solemnly: "I have remembered what the prince said. I will definitely follow the prince to seek a better future!"

Wang An nodded in satisfaction, and then said seriously: "Jizhou has a quota of 3,000 guards, but now there are less than 100 of them. This is definitely not acceptable."

"So I hope you can take the brothers of Jizhouwei out to recruit soldiers for me! Do you have the confidence?"

Xu Huang looked embarrassed and said, "Since it is your highness's instruction, I will do my best to do it whether you have confidence or not. But there are a few things I have to say..."

Wang An nodded and said, "Just let me know if you have any difficulties."

Xu Huang thought for a while and said, "There is a saying among the people of Jizhou that good men do not join the army. This is what we, the Jizhou Guards, are talking about."

"Don't be afraid of your highness laughing at me. I didn't want to be a soldier at first, but this is a government military service. If I don't serve, I will go to jail. That's all I can do."

"Let's not talk about him for now. The most important thing is that our Jizhou Guards' soldiers, Lord Chen, have not received their salaries and can only rely on farming to make a living."

"There are not many men in Jizhou. Who would be willing to serve in the army without food, water or money?"

Xu Huang said this while stealing glances at Wang An nervously, fearing that Wang An would get furious after hearing what he said.

But as the highest-ranking military officer in Jizhou Guards so far, there are some things he cannot help but say.

Otherwise, we won’t be able to recruit soldiers and will be unable to explain ourselves.

Unexpectedly, Wang An was not angry at all. Instead, he looked very approving.

"As a man, he is the backbone of his family. If he cannot support his wife and make achievements as a soldier, then it is understandable that the people are unwilling to do so."

"In the final analysis, the government office had no money before, and the land in Jizhou was very poor, so it was not enough to support the soldiers of Jizhou Guard. So I said at the beginning that those who don't want to serve in the army can leave, and I will never force them."

At this point, Wang An paused, and said with a slight smile: "But now we have money and food, and it is the time when we need everyone to work together to defend our homeland, so we have to bring up the old matter again."

"Take your brothers with you. Some of them will set up tables at the city gates to recruit new recruits. Others will divide into several teams and go to various towns to recruit people."

"Tell them that as long as they are selected to join the army, they will receive three taels of silver as a settlement allowance, and one tael and two cents of silver as military pay every month!"

"I guarantee with my own credibility that the military pay will never be in arrears!" Xu Huang was shocked when he heard this and stared at Wang An in a daze.

Wang An patted Xu Huang's shoulder with a smile, as if he could see what Xu Huang was thinking. He said directly: "The military pay I promised you before was one tael of silver per month. Now it will all be raised to one tael and two cents. As for the An family's silver, tell your brothers to pay it all back."

Upon hearing this, Xu Huang knelt down and kowtowed excitedly, "I thank the prince for his kindness on behalf of the brothers of Jizhouwei!"

Not to mention the high income of one tael and two cents of silver, just the three taels of silver for settling down is already the income of an ordinary person for three or four months.

This is equivalent to a windfall. Xu Huang can already imagine how happy his brothers will be when they hear this news.

Wang An reached out and pulled Xu Huang up, saying with a smile, "Take the money, and do the job for me."

Xu Huang clasped his fists excitedly and said, "Please rest assured, Your Majesty. With such a high salary, not to mention the peasants in the towns and villages, even those in Baicheng will probably be scrambling to get into our Jizhou Guard."

Wang An's expression turned serious when he heard this.

"When you lead people to recruit soldiers this time, there is one thing you must remember, it is better to have fewer than too few!"

"We must not accept those hooligans, the old, weak, sick and disabled people!"

"It's best to be a farmer with healthy limbs and a strong body. Do you understand?"

Xu Huang nodded and agreed, "I understand. In the past, there were many ruffians in our Jizhou Guard. I can't stand these people the most. They make the environment around you so chaotic."

Wang An was still a little worried and said, "It's good that you understand. When you go to the countryside to recruit soldiers this time, bring all those who are willing to join the army to Baicheng. I will personally examine them."

Xu Huang clasped his fists and accepted the order.

Wang An waved his hand and said, "Okay, let's get this done."

After Xu Huang left, Wang An went straight to the backyard of the government office.

When I arrived at the small courtyard assigned to Gao Ruyue, I saw a group of people gathered in the courtyard from afar, whispering to each other about something.

Gao Ruyue's old housekeeper was cleaning the room with several old servants who came from Qinzhou.

Gao Ruyue was standing in the middle of the yard with a reserved look on her face, talking to a few other people.

"Your name is Gao Ruyue? The daughter of the former member of the Ministry of Works? Your father's official position is not very high. Do you know who I am?" Cao Yunmeng put his hands on his hips, looking arrogant.

Gao Ruyue said somewhat reservedly: "My sister Guan has an extraordinary aura. I think she comes from a wealthy family, but I don't know which family she comes from."

Cao Yunmeng raised her chin proudly and said arrogantly, "I'll scare you to death if I tell you this, my father is the Duke of the current dynasty, the Grand Commander of the Five Military Commanders' Office, Cao Meng!"

Gao Ruyue was surprised when she heard this. She bowed to Cao Yunmeng and said, "So you are the daughter of the Cao family. I am sorry for your disrespect."

Seeing Gao Ruyue was very tactful, Cao Yunmeng's attitude also became much calmer, and she said, "If anyone dares to bully you in Jizhou in the future, tell me my name."

(End of this chapter)