"Lord Shen, we're now in a bind. What should we do?"
Feng Guanglu looked worried.
Shen Jingchuan took a deep breath. "Once Wu Shuangren arrives, we'll have a proper talk with him. Let's keep him calm for now, pretend to agree to establish the Yi Province Militia, and then drag it out a bit, slowly dividing those people outside the city."
"Lord Shen is right."
"These people are just making a fuss; do they really dare to rebel?"
"..."
The officials present began to discuss amongst themselves, regaining their composure as those in positions of authority.
After waiting for a while, Wu Shuangren did not appear.
Guo Jiwang, dressed in a white robe with a wine gourd tied to his waist, strode in.
"Greetings, Your Excellencies."
Guo Jiwang bowed to the crowd with a beaming smile.
"It's you? Where's Militia Commander Wu?"
Shen Jingchuan frowned as he looked at him.
Guo Jiwang replied, "Militia Commander Wu heard that the crowd outside the city was indignant and, fearing trouble, went to appease the group outside the city."
"Snort!"
Feng Guanglu slammed his fist on the table. "I have granted you permission to gather your troops, yet you have failed to exercise proper discipline. How can I trust you to defend Yi Prefecture City?!"
Guo Jiwang smiled and met the gaze of the Prefect of Yi Province: "Lord Feng, this cannot be blamed on Militia Commander Wu. The heroes of Yi Province have voluntarily united to form the Yi Province Militia to defend their homeland and resist the enemy!"
As he spoke, he looked around:
"Are you, esteemed lords, going to ignore the sincere sentiments of nearly ten thousand people outside?"
Shen Jingchuan immediately roared, pointing at Guo Jiwang: "Outrageous! What Yi Province Militia? We never agreed to establish Yi Province Militia. Taking matters into your own hands and inciting trouble, do you also want to rebel?!"
Guo Jiwang remained expressionless and shook his head:
"So many people have come to Yi Prefecture City with one heart and one mind, braving hardships to help us, all for the sake of protecting our homeland. Yet you gentlemen are going to falsely accuse them of being rebels? If this gets out and hurts everyone's feelings, what if we really drive them to become rebels?"
"You!"
Shen Jingchuan changed color in shock.
Oh, right.
Guo Jiwang slowly took out a stack of papers from his pocket. "I heard that after the Mount Liang rebels entered the city, they had some officials in the government office write letters saying that the current court is corrupt and the emperor is incompetent, and that they are willing to welcome the Mount Liang heroes to take over Yi Prefecture City. I don't know if it's true or not?"
The other officials present could no longer sit still; their expressions changed drastically!
Everyone stared intently at the stack of papers in Guo Jiwang's hand.
This incident has remained a thorn in the side of everyone present!
However, after Yi Prefecture City was recaptured and the Mount Liang rebels fled, no one mentioned the matter anymore, and they thought it was over.
Unexpectedly, Guo Jiwang not only knew about this matter, but it also seemed that he had obtained the handwritten letters that everyone had written back then?!
Could it have been given to him by Hong Zhanming?
The officials' expressions were a mixture of anger and uncertainty.
"My lords, if there are those who refuse to establish Yi Province Militia and refuse to unite the people of Yi Province to resist the Liang rebels, I'm afraid I have to suspect... whether someone has genuinely sided with the rebels and can't bear to see Yi Province prosper?"
Guo Jiwang raised the paper in his hand, his gaze sweeping across the faces of everyone present, and slowly spoke.
"..."
Inside the lobby, only the increasingly heavy breathing of the crowd could be heard.
A moment later, Guo Jiwang walked out of the government office with an official document bearing the government seal in his hand.
This document details the establishment of the Yi Province Militia.
Thus, he proposed his second strategy—
Inviting someone with real merit has succeeded!
A quarter past noon.
The west gate of Yi Prefecture City was wide open.
Wu Shuangren rode alone, dressed in infantry armor but without a helmet, carrying a long-handled sword in one hand, out of the city.
Not far ahead of him stood a force of nearly ten thousand men, arrayed in battle formation.
Upon seeing him, everyone quickly fell silent.
Soon, silence fell over the area outside the city.
Nearly ten thousand eyes were on Wu Shuangren, who was riding a horse.
Wu Shuangren rode his horse slowly past the array of ten thousand men, as if inspecting his own troops.
"Greetings, Commander-in-Chief!"
I don't know who shouted it first.
Immediately afterwards, nearly ten thousand people joined in the chanting:
"Greetings, Commander!"
"Greetings, Commander!"
"Greetings, Commander!"
"..."
The voices of ten thousand people grew increasingly unified.
Wu Shuangren rode past with a faint smile on his face. Before him were faces filled with either awe or excitement, and in his ears were deafening shouts.
The roar of the horses rose and fell, making it feel as if they were walking on clouds.
At this moment, before ten thousand men, the eighteen-year-old Wu Shuangren possessed both the reputation and the substance—
We have truly reached the pinnacle of Yi Province!
[End of Volume One]
Volume Two: Dragon and Tiger Fight, Bloodshed in the Wilderness
Chapter 148, Fifth Rank, Fifth Level, Yi Province New Heaven (Large Chapter)
Yi Prefecture City, the shouts of ten thousand people continued for a long time.
The roar only subsided gradually when Wu Shuangren reined in his horse and raised his left hand from its back.
Wu Shuangren didn't speak, but only ordered his men to bring the things out.
Soon, dozens of wooden crates were carried out of the city by the militia and lined up in front of the battle formation.
The lid of the box was lifted, revealing neatly stacked strings of copper coins!
A commotion arose in the crowd, but only the militiamen from Bo County remained standing, their ranks still orderly. The rest of the people subconsciously took a few steps forward and craned their necks to look.
Immediately afterwards, a dozen or so accountants came out of the city, and militiamen brought them tables and chairs and spread out account books.
These accountants were all seconded from minor officials in the state government. The power struggles at the top were none of their concern, and they were all happy to work for Wu Shuangren and receive rewards.
The accountants began reading names from their ledgers:
"Sun Liushi, 100 cash for the Battle of Yi Province Wharf! 100 cash for the Battle of Mist Hidden Mountain! 300 cash for the Ambush on the Official Road! 200 cash for the Battle of Yi Province North Gate! In addition, for beheading two enemies and wounding six, a reward of 2 strings of cash and 600 cash will be given, for a total of 3 strings of cash and 300 cash!"
A guard dressed in cloth armor ran out of the ranks, his chest puffed out. He clasped his hands in a fist salute at the table, took the heavy string of copper coins, bowed deeply in Wu Shuangren's direction, and then turned and ran back to the ranks.
"Wang Shugen, the ambush on the official road, 300 coins! The battle at the north gate of Yi Province, 300 coins..."
The accountants read out names in turn, along with their corresponding achievements.
According to the rules set in advance by Wu Shuangren, the militia members would receive different amounts of reward money each time they went into battle, depending on the level of danger of the mission.
This expedition, which started from Bo County, consisted of four battles: the initial battle at Yi Province Wharf, the subsequent battles at Mist Hidden Mountain, the ambush on the official road, and the battle at the north gate of Yi Province.
Some militia members participated in all four battles and received rewards for all four, plus additional rewards for their extra merits!
The accountants read out the rewards for a while, first distributing the bonuses to Wu Shuangren's personal guards, then to the First Battalion...
The local militia from Rong Province Militia and Yi Province stood nearby, watching with wide eyes as box after box of copper coins were distributed!
Some of them swallowed hard, some whispered calculations, and some stole glances at their leader's expression.
Wu Shuangren had previously promised a reward for joining the Yi Province Militia. They were initially skeptical, but now that they saw the gleaming copper coins being handed out like flowing water, no one doubted it anymore.
Everyone looked on with envy!
Not all local militia members received the same treatment as those in Bo County. In many places, militia members didn't even receive a fixed wage; they only received money and provisions when they gathered together to do something.
As for the generous reward afterwards, I never even dared to dream of it!
In the ranks, the leaders of local militias and representatives of local powerful families all looked grim.
Wu Shuangren's act of publicly distributing money to the militia members of his own group made it seem as if they were usually too stingy with their own men.
Everything is subject to comparison.
At first, they were worried that Wu Shuangren wouldn't be generous enough, but now they were secretly complaining that he was being too generous!
'So much money, just given to the soldiers like this, what a waste...'
Many people cursed inwardly, wishing they could keep the money for Wu Shuangren.
The rewards distributed by the Bo County Militia took more than half an hour to arrive.
After distributing the reward money, Wu Shuangren dismounted and took a few steps forward.
He was followed by hundreds of militiamen, each carrying a gray pottery jar with its mouth covered by a white cloth and tied with a hemp rope.
"In this battle, from the start of our West River Market until today, we have lost a total of 115 brothers!"
Wu Shuangren activated his Internal Skill, and his voice carried far and wide.
He began to read out the names of the militiamen who had died in battle, one by one:
Wu Mao died in the battle at Yi Province Wharf.
"Liu San died in the battle to capture the manor at Mist Hidden Mountain."
"..."
As one name after another was called out, many people in the Bo County Militia's ranks had tears in their eyes.
Some people wiped their eyes with their sleeves, while others tilted their heads back and gritted their teeth.
In this world, human life is as worthless as grass. The militia members of the Bo County Militia are already much better off than many others, at least they receive compensation and have good treatment if they die.
They were dead, so many people thought Wu Shuangren wouldn't mention these militiamen who died in battle, as long as the compensation was sufficient.
Unexpectedly, Wu Shuangren read out the names of all the dead people one by one in front of so many people and all the powerful families in Yi Province!
After all the names were read aloud, Wu Shuangren stood up straight again.
"They died to save Yi Prefecture City, to save the people inside and outside the city. They were all worthy, true heroes!!"
Wu Shuangren roared in fury.
All the militia members in Bo County Militia stood up straight, heads held high, some even trembling slightly, their blood boiling with patriotic fervor!
Wu Shuangren continued shouting:
"Today, in my capacity as the head of the Yi Province Militia, I hereby confer upon them the title of Yi Province Martyr. The families of these martyrs will be allocated land and property according to their war merits! If any member of the family falls ill, free medical treatment will be provided; those with children will be given priority for recruitment into the militia in the future."
Upon hearing this, the crowd stirred.
Wu Shuangren's compensation standards were already more generous than those in many other places, making others envious. Now, he has established the title of "Yi Province Martyr," and the families of martyrs can even receive land and housing. This is truly astonishing!
In addition, there are free medical treatments for the sick and priority enrollment for their children in training programs, which are all enviable benefits.