Seeds

"Military Enlistment Reward Regulations?"

"As long as one person enlists in the military, they can immediately receive 30 mu of low-tax land, with only a 10% tax levied annually, and also enjoy preferential policies for low-cost rental of oxen and farm tools?"

"After enlisting, the Lord will grant promotions in military rank and rewards of more low-tax land based on individual performance in peacetime and on the battlefield, as well as additional salary and reward subsidies."

"Decurion, the tax-exempt land quota is increased to 50 mu, with a monthly salary of 10 silver coins; Centurion, the tax-exempt land quota is increased to 100 mu, with a monthly salary of 50 silver coins; Chiliarch, the tax-exempt land quota is increased to 500 mu, with a monthly salary of 10 gold coins, plus additional subsidies such as castle residence, fertile manor, servants, maids, etc..."

"During the war, the Lord will issue rewards corresponding to their military achievements. The more military achievements, the more rewards. After obtaining a noble title based on military achievements, the title can be inherited by descendants..."

"If unfortunately sacrificed on the battlefield, the low-tax policy on their low-tax land will not be canceled within twenty years. According to their military rank, the Lord will also issue a pension of varying amounts to their families."

As soon as the above clauses of the "Military Enlistment Reward Regulations" were announced, the farmers present looked at each other, whispered, and discussed intensely in private.

"Are these regulations true? As long as we enlist, our families can immediately get 30 mu of low-tax land?"

"Low-tax land, the Lord only collects 10% tax, plus the church's tithe, which means we can keep 80% of the land's harvest?"

"A Chiliarch has 500 mu of low-tax land, a monthly salary of 10 gold coins, plus a castle residence, manor, and servants. Isn't that almost the same as a noble Knight? Can we ordinary farmers also have so many things like a Knight?"

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

A young boy who looked about 12 or 13 years old raised his hand and stood out, but was immediately pulled back down by a middle-aged man next to him.

"Bruce, do you want to go to the battlefield to die? Fighting is so dangerous, do you think it's a joke? We have food and drink at home now, why do such a head-chopping business?" The middle-aged man said in a low voice, immediately suppressing the young boy's idea of enlisting.

Similar phenomena occurred in many corners. Some hot-blooded young people, as soon as they expressed their intention to enlist, were immediately suppressed and refuted by the elders next to them, and could only lower their heads, showing a look of unwillingness and frustration.

Seeing this scene, Zhou Ming had to stand up, cough twice, clap his hands, and make the farmers focus their attention on him. He explained to them loudly:

"Fellow villagers, regarding this Military Enlistment Reward Regulations, everything follows the principle of 'voluntary enlistment'. As long as anyone voluntarily enlists, next spring, the Lord will allocate 30 mu of low-tax land to him and enjoy the preferential treatment of low-cost rental of oxen and farm tools. If you are unwilling, I will not force you. The winter training is over, and you can all go back to your homes tomorrow."

Zhou Ming first reassured them, but then added: "However, not enlisting does not mean you have no obligation to be conscripted. Once Glan Territory is invaded by foreign enemies, everyone who participated in the winter training here must accept the conscription and go to the battlefield. So the difference between enlisting and not enlisting is just the difference between receiving long-term training and receiving two months of short-term training each year. When the war really comes, as long as anyone can still hold a weapon, they must go to the battlefield together."

"So, you can think carefully about whether to stay at home and farm with peace of mind, or send one person to the castle to enlist, bring 30 mu of tax-exempt land to the family, reduce the burden on the family, and also give the nephews and nieces who come to enlist a bright and promising future."

Zhou Ming's goal for recruiting soldiers this time was not on these middle-aged farmers in their thirties and forties who had lost their ambitions and become timid and slick, but on the young people who were active in thinking, energetic, and highly malleable. As long as he could attract a group of young people to join the army, even if they were as young as 12 or 13 years old, he could cultivate them into qualified professional officers through 5-10 years of training.

Not only that, he also dispelled the little fantasy in the hearts of these middle-aged farmers, who thought that they could live a stable life without enlisting. Don't even think about such a good thing, everyone has to go to the battlefield! Whether it is resisting foreign enemy invasion or external military expansion, anyone who participated in the winter training must bring weapons and play a role on the battlefield.

As soon as Zhou Ming finished speaking, the field was quiet for a while, and many farmers began to make choices and trade-offs in their hearts.

Is 30 mu of low-tax land more important, or a younger nephew or niece in the family?

You know, with the current unit yield of farmland in Glan Territory, the grain produced from 30 mu of land, after deducting 20% of the rent, is almost enough for a family of six to eat for a year.

And if there are no nephews or nieces in the family to enlist, it takes about 50 mu of land, after deducting 40% of the rent, to support a family of six (the more land rented, the greater the physical cost).

What's more, once their nephews and nieces come to the castle to enlist, there is one less person to eat and use (the Lord provides food and accommodation), and the family's pressure also becomes smaller.

Moreover, there is a bright and beautiful future waiting for them. Perhaps in a few years, their nephews and nieces can also become noble figures like Knights.

What else is there to consider?

After a round of weighing the pros and cons, those middle-aged farmers who had originally prevented and opposed their nephews and nieces from enlisting quickly changed their minds and began to encourage their nephews and nieces to enlist. Some who were timid and didn't want to go were even scolded. Before long, except for a few older ones, more than 300 young farmers between the ages of 12 and 18 applied to enlist.

With so many people eagerly enlisting, Zhou Ming could not take all of them without exception. Instead, he conducted an "interview" for everyone, screening out those who were too old, dull-minded, and cunning and slick. According to the so-called "good family background" selection criteria, he selected 182 people as the officer seeds of the future Glan Territory Defense Force and gave them key training.

Among the 182 people admitted, except for a few older "uncles" over 25 who were exceptionally admitted by Zhou Ming due to some special skills, the vast majority were under 18 years old.

From this winter to the spring of the following year, for more than three months, these 182 people, in addition to daily outdoor warm-ups, spent most of their time sitting in a classroom in the castle, diligently studying cultural knowledge.

It was also in this classroom that Zhou Ming, as the instructor, completed the initial literacy work for these 100% illiterate officer seeds, instilled some military common sense in them through sand table military chess deductions, and took the first solid step towards conquering this vast and boundless Lord world