Seeds

"Military Enlistment Reward Regulations?"

"As long as one person enlisted, they could immediately receive 30 mu of low-tax farmland, taxed at only ten percent annually, as well as preferential low-price rentals for draft oxen and farm tools?"

"After enlistment, the lord would grant promotions in military rank and more low-tax farmland based on individual performance in daily training and on the battlefield, along with additional wages and bonuses."

"For a squad leader, the tax-exempt land quota would rise to 50 mu, with a monthly salary of 10 silver coins; for a company commander, 100 mu and 50 silver coins per month; for a battalion commander, 500 mu and 10 gold coins per month, along with extra benefits such as a castle residence, a fertile estate, servants, and maids..."

"During wartime, the lord would issue rewards corresponding to each person's military merit. The more merit one earned, the greater the rewards. Those granted a Nobility Title through military merit could pass their title down to their descendants..."

"If someone unfortunately died on the battlefield, the low-tax policy on the farmland under their name would remain in effect for twenty years. Depending on their rank, the lord would also provide their family with a pension of varying amounts."

Once the above clauses of the "Military Enlistment Reward Regulations" were announced, the farmers present looked at one another and began whispering heatedly among themselves.

"Are these regulations real? As long as we enlist, our family can immediately receive 30 mu of low-tax farmland?"

"Low-tax farmland means the lord only takes ten percent in taxes. Adding the church's tithe, does that mean we get to keep eighty percent of the harvest?"

"A battalion commander gets 500 mu of low-tax farmland, ten gold coins a month, a castle residence, an estate, and servants. Isn't that practically the same as a noble knight? Can ordinary farmers like us really have so much?"

"I want to enlist! Ryan Butler, can I enlist?!"

A green-looking boy of twelve or thirteen raised his hand and stood up, only to be immediately dragged back down by a middle-aged man beside him.

"Bruce, do you want to go to the battlefield and die? War is dangerous. Do you think it's some kind of game? We have food and drink at home now, so why take on such a deadly business?" the middle-aged man said in a lowered voice, immediately crushing the boy's desire to enlist.

Similar scenes played out in many corners. Some hot-blooded young men had barely expressed their desire to enlist before the elders beside them suppressed and refuted them. They could only lower their heads, looking unwilling and dejected.

Seeing this, Zhou Ming had no choice but to stand up. He coughed twice and clapped his hands, drawing all the farmers' attention to himself before explaining loudly:

"Fellow villagers, regarding these Military Enlistment Reward Regulations, everything follows the principle of voluntary enlistment. Anyone who volunteers to enlist will be assigned 30 mu of low-tax farmland by the lord when spring begins next year, along with preferential low-price rentals for draft oxen and farm tools. If you are unwilling, I will not force you. Winter Training is already over, and you may all return home tomorrow."

Zhou Ming first put their minds at ease, but then continued, "However, not enlisting does not mean you have no obligation to answer a call-up. If Glan Territory is invaded by foreign enemies, everyone who has taken part in Winter Training here must answer the summons and go to the battlefield. So the only difference between enlisting and not enlisting is that one receives long-term training, while the other receives two months of short-term training every year. When war truly comes, anyone still able to lift a weapon must go to the battlefield."

"So think it over carefully. Would you rather stay home and farm in peace, or send one person to the castle to enlist, bringing 30 mu of tax-exempt land to the family, easing the burden at home, and giving the sons and nephews who enlist a bright and promising future?"

Zhou Ming's recruitment target had never been these middle-aged farmers in their thirties and forties, who had lost their ambition and become timid and calculating. His targets were the young people, whose minds were active, who had drive, and who were highly moldable. As long as he could attract a group of young people into the army, even if they were only twelve or thirteen, he could turn them into qualified professional officers through five to ten years of training.

Not only that, he shattered the lingering illusion in the middle-aged farmers' hearts that they could live peacefully for the rest of their lives simply by refusing to enlist. They could forget about such a good thing. Everyone had to go to war! Whether defending against foreign invasion or expanding militarily abroad, anyone who had participated in Winter Training had to take up a weapon and play some role on the battlefield.

As soon as Zhou Ming finished speaking, the crowd fell silent for a moment. Many farmers began weighing their options in their hearts.

Which was more important: 30 mu of low-tax farmland, or one younger son or nephew in the family?

With the current yield per unit of farmland in Glan Territory, the grain produced by 30 mu of land, after deducting twenty percent in rent and taxes, was more or less enough to feed a family of six for a year.

But if no son or nephew in the family enlisted, they would need roughly 50 mu of land, and after deducting forty percent in rent and taxes, that would be enough to support a family of six. The more land they rented, the greater the physical burden involved.

Moreover, once a son or nephew joined the army at the castle, there would be one fewer mouth to feed at home, since the lord provided food and lodging, easing the family's burden even further.

And a bright, wonderful future awaited them. Perhaps after a number of years, their own son or nephew might become someone as noble as a knight.

What was left to consider?

After weighing the benefits, those middle-aged farmers who had originally stopped and opposed their sons and nephews from enlisting quickly changed their minds and began urging them to join the army. Some who were timid and unwilling to go were even scolded. Before long, aside from a few older ones, more than 300 young farmers between the ages of twelve and eighteen applied to enlist.

With so many people eagerly volunteering, Zhou Ming could not possibly accept every last one. He gave each of them an "interview," screening out those who were too old, too stupid, or sly and slippery. Following the recruitment standards for so-called "good family sons," he selected 182 of them as officer seeds for Glan Territory's future Defense Force and gave them focused training.

Of the 182 accepted, aside from a few older "uncles" over twenty-five whom Zhou Ming admitted as exceptions because of particular talents, the vast majority were under eighteen.

From that winter until the following spring, over a period of more than three months, these 182 men spent most of their time sitting upright in a classroom within the castle, diligently studying basic knowledge, apart from their daily outdoor warm-ups.

In that classroom, Zhou Ming, acting as their instructor, completed the initial literacy education for these officer seeds, every one of whom had been illiterate. Through sand-table war game exercises, he instilled in them some basic military knowledge and took the first solid step toward conquering this vast lordly world...