Chapter 20 Xiaohe Town Militia
The next day.
Town office.
Mayor Ma stood under the eaves.
He was bowing respectfully to a carriage.
A young man wearing a white suit, a top hat, half-spectacled glasses, a gold pocket watch, and a Mauser pistol on his waist was seen walking out surrounded by his entourage and guards.
Yu Xiao asked: "How is it going?"
Mayor Ma: "How dare I neglect Young Master Yu's important matter? The three township heads and the lords and elders of each township are waiting in the hall."
"Ok!"
The other followers stayed outside the door.
Yu Xiao walked into the hall with guards Wang Zhong and Tang Yang on his left and right.
The town hall was spotlessly clean, and a dozen elders in brocade robes were waiting there.
These people were either the mayors of nearby villages or the largest landlords or village elders. When facing the young man in front of them, they all stood up to salute with respect.
"Meet Mr. Yu!"
"Please take a seat, Mr. Yu."
Mayor Ma invited Yu Xiao to the main seat before continuing:
"The main reason why I have brought you all here today is to discuss the matter of the militia."
“The situation has been unstable in recent years.”
“Banditism is becoming more and more rampant!”
"The bandits headed by Shi Huzhai come down the mountain every few days to harass our neighbors. Several of our villages have suffered greatly from them!"
“Although we have formed a vigilante group, it has not been able to deter the criminals due to insufficient personnel, equipment, organization and training.”
"Today, Young Master Yu has taken the lead in reorganizing the militia, aiming to completely eliminate the banditry, protect the people in the surrounding areas, and restore peace and order to Mei County!"
"..."
The tone is passionate.
Everyone applauded.
The militia was essentially a civilian militia organization formed with the tacit approval or approval of the imperial court.
Dajing had been in turmoil for years, with rebels rising up everywhere and bandits rampant. In order to protect the safety of life and property, it was very common for gentry and common people to contribute money or manpower.
The militia is usually composed of one or two hundred young and strong men.
Equipped with spears, broadswords, and a small number of homemade guns and muskets.
The salary of a militia chief can be between 8 cents and 1 yuan, while ordinary militia members only earn 3 cents to 5 cents per month.
It doesn't seem high.
But as long as there is income.
Young and strong people from all villages rushed to join the league.
On the one hand, militia members enjoy a relatively high social status in the local area. On the other hand, the militia are not full-time regular troops, but mostly part-time workers, and it is good enough to have income from part-time work.
There are many local vigilante groups.
From the head of the village to the ordinary members, all labor is voluntary.
After all, the militia is just a militia organization. Daily training and equipment procurement all cost money, and the imperial treasury is unable to allocate funds. It all depends on voluntary donations from local gentry, so funds are inevitably very tight.
Mayor Ma said some words to create a good atmosphere.
Yu Xiao announced that matters related to the militia had officially entered the topic.
"Since you guys are giving me this face to show your support, I will just get straight to the point!"
Yu Xiao said: "I plan to set up a 500-member permanent militia in Xiaohe Town. All towns and villages can recommend reliable young militiamen to the militia for training and selection!"
"what?"
"Five hundred people!"
Everyone was shocked when they heard the number.
A captain of Dajing, a seventh-rank military officer, had no more than a hundred soldiers under his command!
The size of the Xiaohe Town militia's military force is probably not much different from that of a sixth-rank captain!
An elder in the village could not help but say, "Master Yu, recruiting so many people and requiring them to stay permanently may be difficult."
Yu Xiao: "Don't worry, I won't treat the villagers unfairly. Every permanent member of the militia will have free food and lodging, and will receive a 1 yuan subsidy every month. If they participate in suppressing bandits or catching thieves, they will receive additional subsidies or rewards!"
Everyone's expressions changed.
The free food and lodging alone is already very attractive! What's more, you can get a stable basic salary of 1 yuan per month!
An ordinary laborer goes to Meixian, pulls a rickshaw, works as a porter, does hard labor, works himself to death for a month, and earns just over a dollar!
If so.
Only five hundred people.
What's the point?
Meixian has a total population of about four to five hundred thousand.
Any nearby town has a population of 10,000 or 20,000.
These days, life expectancy is not high, the proportion of young people is extremely large, and with the advent of industrialization, there is a serious surplus of labor. Many people have no land to farm and cannot find jobs.
The militia was treated so well.
I'm afraid there will be a fierce fight for these 500 places!
After Yu Xiao established the Xiaohe Town Militia, he would incorporate some of the Yu family's private soldiers into the militia, and then let his "cousin" Yu Qinghai serve as the head of the militia, and then select and recruit 400 reliable, young and strong militiamen from the surrounding villages.
This way.
His sphere of influence.
But it is not limited to Xiaohe Town.
The entire militia, all funds, all expenses, including training, equipment, salaries, and benefits, were all borne by Yu Xiao alone, and the core backbones were all members of the Yu family.
It is said to be a personal private army.
That’s not too much at all!
His status as a local emperor will be even more difficult to shake. Let alone a local magistrate of a mere seventh rank in Dajing, even if it is a prefect who comes down to him and gives him this small piece of land, he will not care about it at all.
But then again.
This new magistrate is a bit interesting...
Is he an incompetent idiot, or is he deliberately allowing me to become bigger?
unimportant.
top priority.
It is to establish a militia.
Reputation and safety are the only things Yu Xiao needs to consider.
Yu Xiao announced in public: "Without further delay, I will immediately invest 1 yuan for the initial construction of the militia, as well as the purchase of equipment and venues!"
1?
What militia?
Does it cost 1 yuan?
This is enough to buy three or two thousand acres of land and become a big landlord!
The 1 yuan that Yu Xiao took out was just an initial investment.
He planned to purchase arms directly from the provincial capital, establish a militia and arm them thoroughly, then train them for a month or two, and then launch a comprehensive sweep of Shihu Village and nearby bandit forces!
Bandit suppression work.
No carelessness is allowed.
Bandits like Shihuzhai are not easy to wipe out.
The big boss, Guo Shanhu, is only a sixth-rank warrior, but he has more than a hundred people under his command. He has at least dozens of long and short guns of various types. He is also familiar with the terrain of the mountains and forests and has several secret escape passages. In fact, he is very difficult to defeat.
The government's several attempts to suppress the bandits were unsuccessful.
There were even several cases where there were considerable casualties.
Yu Xiao attached great importance to the upcoming bandit suppression operation.
This is because, if he could successfully suppress the bandits, especially if he could catch all the bandits in one fell swoop, it would certainly greatly increase his reputation and raise his local status to a higher level.
But if the bandits were allowed to escape, resulting in heavy casualties among the militiamen, or even constant retaliation, it would not only severely undermine morale, but would also make Yu Xiao lose face and affect his personal prestige.
The matter of suppressing bandits!
You can only succeed and not fail!
Don't rush it, you need to prepare well!
Yu Xiao will not only purchase advanced weapons directly from the provincial capital to allow the equipment of the Xiaohe Town militia to instantly kill the Jingting regular army, but will also speed up his personal training progress at the same time!
His next most important goal is.
Master Aoki Kung Fu as soon as possible!
Become a cultivator in the Qi Refining Stage!
Become an immortal cultivator!
Even if one has only reached the Qi Refining level, one still has magic power at one's disposal. Not only can one learn some simple spells, but one can also activate low-level magic weapons or talismans.
This will achieve a dimensionality reduction attack on the bandits in the Dajing World!
Why worry about not being able to accomplish your goal in one go?
Even catch them all in one fell swoop.
Even a complete victory!
(PS: Please vote! Please read on!)
(End of this chapter)
