“When war is upon us, everyone knows that fighting is no child’s play. Enlisting at a time like this looks, in the eyes of ordinary folk, no different from throwing oneself to one’s death. Common farmers spend their days dealing with the land, and many have gone most of their lives without ever setting foot outside the county. Their lack of broader horizons is perfectly ordinary. How could they understand the principle that when one’s lips are gone, one’s teeth grow cold?
“To them, their usual enemies are nothing more than Zhang San at the head of the village or Li Si next door. Even with smoke rising from the fighting outside, they still feel it has nothing to do with them. No matter how chaotic things become, surely someone taller and stronger will hold up the sky. The government will know what to do.”
When Duan Yan returned that evening, Song Fengsui had already learned what had happened in the village.
He let out a long sigh. “If this militia were being formed to conquer the realm, it might still attract ambitious men who would enlist in hopes of earning military merit and making a name for themselves. But this force is being formed to protect the town’s peace. There’s hardly any room for advancement, so naturally few people are willing to step forward.”
Duan Yan understood the reasoning as well, but understanding it was useless. What mattered was finding a way to solve the problem.
The militia had to be formed, no matter what.
“Forcing people into service is certainly out of the question. It might provoke the people’s resentment. If a couple of rabble-rousers then stirred everyone up and led them into a clash with the authorities, the town would descend into chaos from within before the bandits outside even had a chance to attack.”
Song Fengsui nodded. The two of them discussed the matter for a while, but came up with no satisfactory solution.
Recruiting soldiers was a major affair for the county. Now that the work was going poorly, it should naturally have been the responsibility of the officials in charge to think of a solution together. But Yanzhen was a small town, and there was already more government business than they could handle.
Yanzhen was remote and run-down. Although it sat deep within rugged mountains, its roads led in every direction. An official road reached the town center, while the paths in front of the villagers’ homes on the outskirts also connected directly to the town.
From a slightly elevated position at the town entrance, one could see clearly who was drying grain in whose yard.
The area around Yanzhen had only a few old, dilapidated checkpoints serving as roadblocks. Yet those checkpoints had neither watchtowers nor any form of defensive measures.
Even if the town itself did not become a battlefield in the future, there was a well-traveled official road leading straight to it. Should defeated soldiers or roving bandits sweep through along that road, the town would be nothing more than a lamb waiting on the chopping block.
With the town’s current defenses, forget defeated troops, bandits, or mountain brigands—even a gathering of refugees intent on forcing their way in to seize supplies could not be stopped.
In other words, not only was recruiting and training soldiers urgent, but repairing the checkpoints, building walls, and reinforcing the embankments were equally pressing matters.
There were only a handful of capable people in the administrative office. Duan Yan was responsible for recruiting soldiers and preparing the militia, while Song Wushen and Tax Officer Qin had to handle the town’s many minor affairs as well as oversee the construction of its defenses.
Even on moving day, Song Wushen had only managed to return for a single trip. After finishing his work, he had not even had time to sit down and eat a bowl of hot soup before hurrying back to the administrative office.
Before leaving, he gave Song Xuemu a county gazetteer to study. There was not even a town record for this place, so Song Xuemu could only use the county gazetteer to gain a rough understanding of Yanzhen. Starting tomorrow, whether the wind blew or snow fell, Song Xuemu was to report to the administrative office. The two of them would then go out together to survey the area and draw a map of the town.
The weather was freezing, and they would have to hurry from place to place, measuring and surveying everything. They were all so busy that their hands and feet seemed to be working backward.
Since everyone had pressing matters of their own, how could they trouble the others over every minor obstacle?
“Why don’t we ask Grandfather Song for advice and see whether he has any ideas?”
Song Fengsui suddenly suggested it. The winter cold had set in recently, yet Grandfather Song’s spirits seemed much better than when he had first arrived in Yanzhen. That very day, he had even been able to meddle in Song Fengsui’s marriage prospects.
Duan Yan had witnessed Grandfather Song’s abilities himself and felt that this was a sound idea.
Thus, early the next morning, he went to the Song family residence.
After hearing about the difficulties with recruiting soldiers, Grandfather Song smiled.
“Those in high positions may appear to enjoy glory, but in truth, the burden on their shoulders is heavy. When they call out, it is rare for a hundred people to answer. Everything requires the right methods and approach.”
“This recruitment is not for the purpose of fighting a war, so there is little military merit to offer as a reward. The incentive is weak to begin with. Moreover, most of the people in a small place like Yanzhen are farmers and common folk. Their horizons naturally cannot compare with those of people from prosperous regions. Even if you called upon them to fight, promising them military honors, there might still be very few willing to respond.
“Under such circumstances, setting up small, attainable incentives would instead be more likely to move the farming households.”
Duan Yan was silent for a moment. “Grain, medicinal supplies, salt... What does Grandfather think of using these as rewards for enlistment?”
Grandfather Song nodded with a smile. “Rewards in food and daily necessities, along with reduced taxes—those are the tangible benefits ordinary farming households value.”
Duan Yan thought it over carefully. Concrete rewards were indeed far more practical and dependable than delivering speeches about inspiring able-bodied men to enlist out of a sense of ‘defending their homes and protecting the country.’
In troubled times, who would not want to make life a little easier for their family and gain some real benefit?
Seeing that Duan Yan was deep in thought and had taken his words to heart, Grandfather Song continued, “Simply setting rewards will still not be enough to make the people rush to enlist. At a time like this, when ordinary households see that the authorities are offering such generous terms, they may suspect that you are luring them in to send them to their deaths. So temptation alone will not do. You must also stir them to action.
“When recruitment first begins, limit the number of positions. Let the people know that these favorable benefits are not available to everyone merely because they are willing to enlist—they must first pass a selection process. The key is to awaken their competitive spirit.”
Duan Yan suddenly understood. It was much like the earlier policy of opening the pass and encouraging merchants to cross it to purchase and gather goods for storage. Truly, one had to know when to loosen and when to tighten. The realization enlightened him considerably.
He rose at once and cupped his hands. “Thank you for your guidance, Grandfather.”
“You are familiar with the town, so you have a better idea than I do of how to put this into practice. Draw up a complete system of rewards and selection, then bring it to me for a look.”
Duan Yan hurriedly thanked him again.
The two stayed with Grandfather Song and chatted for a while longer before hurrying back to the residence to refine the recruitment plan.
They began with the rewards. An ordinary militiaman who formally enlisted was originally given thirty jin of rice and five jin of flour as his monthly pay.
The pay was unquestionably meager. That was why so few people had previously been willing to come to the administrative office to serve as militiamen. The allowance was barely enough to feed one person. The able-bodied men who were willing to muddle along on it were generally those who had no family to support—one person eating his fill was enough for the whole household. Those who had to provide for their families were mostly unwilling to take the job.
Alternatively, some had connections and joined the militia for the small amount of authority it gave them, using it to line their pockets and fill their stomachs.
In the past, the town had not lacked able-bodied laborers, so it had not relied heavily on formal militiamen. Most of the work was done by men who came to fulfill their compulsory labor service.
During peaceful times, even with few militiamen, the authorities could rely on conscripted laborers to repair bridges and roads, and occasionally have them perform the duties of constables. It was also a way for the administrative office to reduce the burden of paying salaries, and life could continue well enough.
But things were different now. In troubled times, without properly trained militiamen, the able-bodied men who came to perform their compulsory service had strength but no combat ability. They were like a heap of loose sand, each one looking forward to finishing his service and leaving. If a real enemy appeared, they would run faster than anyone else. How could such people accomplish anything?
The authorities could no longer rely solely on the strength of conscripted laborers. They had to encourage the people to enlist and train a powerful force. Naturally, the pay had to be raised—not only enough for the militiamen to feed themselves, but enough to help support their families. It had to be better than farming at home.
Duan Yan made the decision with a wave of his hand. The five jin of flour would remain unchanged, but the rice would be increased to forty jin, with ten jin of millet and an additional half-jin of salt.
The office’s grain stores were in fairly good shape. Since they had not been required to send any grain to the county this year, they could still cover the expenses of maintaining the troops. If things became truly difficult, the several large granaries under his control could provide some support as well.
At a time of such crisis, they could not afford to neglect the troops’ upkeep.
Song Fengsui said, “I can also prepare household medicines specially for them and pack them into medical kits. They would be enough to treat minor injuries, colds, headaches, and the like. We can include them as part of the militia’s monthly allowance.”
“If we want to attract able-bodied men with families to enlist, then for the sake of benefiting their families, we shouldn’t just provide medicinal materials for the militiamen to take home. I think we could also offer free medical consultations.”
Song Fengsui continued, “Each militiaman could receive several free consultations a month, and the entitlement could be passed directly to his family members through a voucher. What do you think?”
Duan Yan felt this was quite considerate. After all, medicine and medical care were among the greatest concerns of ordinary people.
“But deciding how many consultations each person should receive in a month may be difficult. Although we’re only recruiting fifty men in this first round, and that number would still be manageable, we’ll certainly recruit more later. Once the militia grows, it won’t be as simple as distributing grain. We can’t reduce the benefits just because there are more people.”
When they calculated it that way, it really was a troublesome matter. Song Fengsui pondered over it. The idea was good, but putting it into practice would be difficult.
He was capable of treating patients, but he was only one person. Even with just fifty militiamen, if each man’s family received one free consultation a month, he might have to see fifty patients in a single month. Naturally, not every militiaman’s family would necessarily use the opportunity every month.
Then there was another question: Would an unused consultation expire at the end of the month, or could it be saved for when it was needed?
Once the militia grew larger, seeing three or five patients a day would not be a problem. But what if ten or twenty came crowding in at once? Could he really treat every one of them?
If that happened, he would spend all his days seeing patients and have no time for anything else. Worse still, if he could not keep up with the demand, it might create further trouble and damage the office’s credibility.
After thinking for a while, he said, “In extraordinary times, everyone ought to contribute and help one another through the crisis. What if we called upon every physician in town to join us?”
Duan Yan said, “Calling on all the physicians to contribute is a good idea. That way, we’d have more people available to provide consultations. But once the militia grows, it would probably mean every household had access to free medical care. One person could come today, another tomorrow, and before long the physicians would be working for nothing all the time.
“They would not only lose their time but also forgo opportunities to earn a living. They would surely object. They all depend on their skills to support themselves; we can’t rob Peter to pay Paul. Unless we compensate them somehow—but the office isn’t sitting on an inexhaustible treasury, and I’m afraid we couldn’t afford it.”
After saying this, the two fell silent at the same time.
The physicians in town should indeed contribute their efforts, but they could not be made to work for nothing while losing so much business. At the same time, the militia’s medical benefit was an excellent way to attract recruits, and it would be best if the physicians did not have to bear all the burden.
After a moment, Duan Yan’s eyes lit up. “How about this? When the office calls upon the physicians, you can take the lead in establishing a charity clinic day dedicated to treating the militiamen’s family members.
“That way, the militiamen’s families receive their benefit, while the physicians won’t suffer too great a loss.”
Song Fengsui’s eyes brightened as well. He agreed that this arrangement was more practical and picked up his brush. “Let’s do that. I’ll write it down for you.”
Having worked out a reward system that was rough around the edges but detailed where it mattered, Duan Yan then proceeded to formulate the screening process.
He had plenty of methods for screening applicants and did not need to worry too much about it. He quickly drafted the plan at his desk.
After spending two days drawing up the complete proposal, Duan Yan first asked Grandfather Song to review it. The old man agreed that the overall plan was feasible, so Duan Yan took it to the office for Song Wushen and Tax Officer Qin to examine.
Duan Yan could make all the decisions regarding the screening process. What really required Song Wushen and Tax Officer Qin’s careful consideration was the militia’s pay and benefits. Only they knew the state of the office’s granaries and accounts, and only they could determine whether the office had enough resources to support the militia under such terms.
The two immediately summoned the manager in charge of the household accounts. They worked through the figures on their abacus for an entire night before giving Duan Yan their answer the next day: The plan was feasible for the time being.
Duan Yan immediately had Old Third Qian review the plan. At the same time, he had the office gather all the physicians in the surrounding area for a meeting and informed them about the charity clinic.
This was an assignment issued by the office to the physicians. They had no choice but to comply. The same principle applied as ever: Since they enjoyed the office’s protection and the peace it provided in the town, they ought to contribute to the community in return.
After six or seven frantic days, a new military recruitment order was suddenly posted on the notice board outside the office in bright red ink. In the countryside, the village heads were tasked with passing the news along.
With the benefits raised to such a level, there was no need for Third Son Qian to lead people into the villages and persuade them with endless pleading.
The town instantly became lively, with everyone discussing the recruitment.
“One person enlists, and the whole family benefits! There’s even free medical care!”
Beside the notice board, a young man gripped the hand of a slightly older man, excitement written all over his face. “Our father’s in poor health, and medicine and doctors are a huge burden. If we enlist, wouldn’t that be the perfect way to take care of him?”
“Don’t get carried away just yet,” said a middle-aged traveling merchant, standing with his hands clasped behind his back as he poured cold water on the two brothers’ excitement. “Do you really think those office officials would give ordinary people such generous terms for no reason? More than fifty pounds of grain and flour a month, plus salt and medicine—sounds like a scam to me!”
“I’m a man who’s seen a thing or two,” he continued. “I’ve been in and out of the county town plenty of times, and I’ve never heard of even the county militia getting benefits this good. This place is tiny compared to the county. How could it possibly outdo the county?”
“Brother, don’t make things up. My nephew is an old militiaman with the office. He came home after his shift yesterday, delighted to tell us that their pay had been raised and was now exactly as generous as the notice says.
“Several of my brothers and sisters have children who want to enlist, so they used my nephew’s connections. The moment the notice went up today, they hurried straight to the office to sign up.”
At that, a washerwoman nearby clicked her tongue and came over to join the conversation. “Your nephew sure is lucky. He became a militiaman early and now he’s already receiving such generous pay!
“Looking at these benefits, I want my own son to enlist too. Ever since the mountain pass was sealed and people were forbidden to come and go, the prices of cloth, salt, sugar, and tea have all gone up. Our Qianzhou doesn’t produce salt; we depend on trade routes to obtain it from Shu. Now that there’s fighting outside and the trade routes have been cut off, salt is being strictly rationed. Even with money, it’s hard to buy any. Forget everything else—even for that half-pound of salt, joining the army would be worth it.”
“Then let your son enlist, madam,” said the traveling merchant from earlier. “If you’re only going to sigh here without actually sending him to register, perhaps you’re one of the office’s planted informants. I heard that when the office recruited soldiers before, they even got into fights with the villagers!”
“Look at you, twisting my words for no reason,” the woman retorted. “It’s not that I won’t send him. My son saw the notice too, and he wants to enlist as well.”
The washerwoman had a mild disposition. “The notice over there lists the requirements for enlisting. First, you must be at least fifteen and no older than forty. Second, you must have all four limbs intact and no serious injuries. Third, you cannot be the only son in your family. My boy meets the first two requirements, but he’s an only son, so he isn’t allowed to enlist.”
The man boasting about his nephew comforted her. “Madam, don’t be disheartened. The authorities have considered everything carefully. Being a soldier means wielding blades and weapons, after all. Where there are earthen jars, there are bound to be broken ones by the well. Once you become a soldier, accidents and hardships are unavoidable.”
Hearing this, the porter tilted his head and finally realized that he had only looked at the section about the wages without reading the enlistment requirements below.
Good heavens! He would never have known if he hadn’t looked. Now he realized that wanting to join the militia was not enough to guarantee him a place.
The conditions the washerwoman had mentioned were merely the entry requirements for registration. Although there was no limit on the number of applicants, there would be further tests and selection afterward, and only fifty people would ultimately be accepted.
As for what the tests would involve, the notice did not say. Presumably, one would have to register first to find out.
The porter’s heart stirred. He had already felt a little tempted when he saw the monthly pay. With things so chaotic outside, he neither dared nor was able to leave the pass, so he could no longer do business. His family owned only a few acres of farmland, and he couldn’t simply sit around eating away what little they had. Who knew what year the war would finally end?
To serve as a militiaman in town, receive a regular wage, keep himself fed, and even provide some support for his family—how could that not be a good opportunity?
The pay being higher than what was offered outside had made him suspicious at first. But after seeing all the requirements and hearing that even the old militiamen had already received their wages, he felt as though he had swallowed a dose of reassurance.
The porter was a shrewd fellow. Claiming that he didn’t believe such a good opportunity could be real, he waved at those who wanted to enlist and walked away.
In truth, while everyone else continued discussing the matter, he quietly turned around and slipped into the registration office.
Duan Yan and Song Fengsui had been watching the townspeople’s reaction from a distance. Seeing that the discussion was clearly much livelier than before, they both breathed a little easier.
Whether the recruitment had truly been effective, however, would have to wait until they saw the number of applicants.
“Duan Yan! You’re still slacking off over there? The two registration tables are about to be crushed by the crowd! Hurry up and come help watch one of them!”
A sudden thunderous roar made both men jump. Third Son Qian, who was so busy his feet barely touched the ground, had spotted Duan Yan and Song Fengsui standing outside watching the commotion instead of helping. He immediately raised his voice and began yelling.
Duan Yan asked doubtfully, “There are already this many people registering?”
Third Son Qian rolled his eyes in exasperation. “You’ve been squatting out here like an old hen, unwilling to spare even a glance for the registration tables!”
After scolding Duan Yan, Third Son Qian’s tone softened somewhat. Looking a little awkward, he said to Song Fengsui, “Young Master Song, you can read and write, can’t you? Come lend us a hand with recording the applicants and filling out the registration forms.”
Song Fengsui glanced at Duan Yan and secretly hunched his shoulders. Then he smiled, grabbed Duan Yan, and hurried with him to the registration tables inside the authorities’ office to help.
