Chapter 946 The Royal Banner Calls the Troops!

Qin Yong was sharpening his knife in his courtyard, his two younger brothers, one a year younger and the other three years younger than him, sitting beside him, watching their older brother with envy.

Old Qin had never attended a private school. For three generations back, they had all been peasants. In the past, he had been a slave in the household of a large landowner and was always scolded by his master as "something the dog wouldn't even eat."

Later, the barbarians entered the pass, and the master's entire family was slaughtered.

Old Qin took his wife and three children and hid in the nearby mountains. At that time, many refugees hid with them.

After much wandering,

The Yan people defeated the barbarians, and Yan knights came to guide the hiding refugees to Xuehai Pass. Old Qin took his family there.

When they were registering names, Old Qin scratched his head. He really didn't know what his name was, or even his surname. He just said with a silly grin that the master always called him "the dog's leftovers."

Fortunately, the clerk in charge of registration was kind-hearted and didn't just casually fill in the name. Instead, he helped them change their surname to "Qin."

And so,

The three sons who were originally called "Dog's Leftover, Eldest," "Dog's Leftover, Second," and "Dog's Leftover, Youngest,"

Were given names in order by the clerk:

Qin Dayong, Qin Eryong, Qin Xiaoyong.

Old Qin lived with his family in Xuehai Pass for several years. Old Qin was dull, but he was a master at farming. He participated in the cultivation of potatoes and was praised by a blind scholar, who granted him the status of a standard household.

The three sons had also attended school in Xuehai Pass.

After attending school,

The Qin family began to get very close to the clerk.

Especially the three children, who would take things from their homes to visit the clerk during festivals.

Before, they had no culture and didn't understand.

After going to school and gaining culture, they were filled with lingering fear.

If it weren't for the kindness of this clerk, who knows where the names of the three brothers would have been led astray by their own father for the rest of their lives!

Later, the clerk recognized the three children as his godsons and even betrothed his daughter to Qin Dayong.

Mainly because Old Qin himself had obtained the status of a standard household, which was considered "a good match." Moreover, the three sons of the Qin family, once on the right track, wouldn't be too bad.

After that,

The Prince's Mansion moved into Fengxin City.

The Old Qin family didn't enter Fengxin City but was instead settled in Jin'an Fort, southwest of Fengxin City.

The development system of Jindong in recent years has been a diffusion area constructed with Fengxin City as its core.

The so-called "fort" is like a synonym for a town and can also be considered a reclamation area.

A fort may only have a dozen or twenty regular soldiers, but the reclamation households below number at least four or five hundred, easily reaching several thousand in population.

Every once in a while, the soldiers in the fort will lead the young men of the reclamation households for training. Generally speaking, only the reclamation areas where standard households gather will organize formal drills such as cavalry and archery formations. Most other reclamation areas just go through the motions.

One is a reserve force of regular combat soldiers, and the other is a reserve force of auxiliary soldiers or even farmers. Naturally, the level of investment required is different.

A standard reclamation area has four "officials" in charge:

First, the fort commandant, responsible for defense and training of militiamen, with the most detached position because he is directly under Fengxin City.

Second, the village head, equivalent to a local village chief, also in charge of the post station within the village.

Third, the farm chief, usually an experienced old farmer, responsible for teaching everyone how to farm, new seed cultivation, fertilizer production, and so on. This type of technical farmer needs to be sent down to the grassroots level.

Old Qin held this position and often had to travel to Fengxin City for meetings to absorb and summarize experiences and lessons.

In fact, agriculturalists have existed since ancient times. After all, people depend on food, and prioritizing agriculture is standard. However, the systematic and organized approach of the Prince's Mansion is unprecedented.

Finally, there is the clerk, responsible for reading out the proclamations issued by the Prince's Mansion to the people in the reclamation area, reading out the Prince's speeches to his people, and also responsible for receiving some touring performances similar to "village operas," roughly equivalent to "teachers" in official schools in other places.

However, although the Great Yan Dynasty began to recruit officials through the imperial examination system since the time of the late emperor, Jindong has never been very concerned about the "Four Books and Five Classics." Every year, some scholars from Jindong go to Yingdu to take the examination, striving to obtain a title;

But the number is very, very small, almost negligible.

This is mainly because the best choice for students from Jindong's schools is to take a position in the Prince's Mansion's government offices or join the army. Secondly, there are workshops and industrial offices, supplemented by the status of a standard household as a reward. These people who need to improve themselves have plenty of places to go, without feeling lost and uncertain.

In fact, not only are there few people from Jindong seeking the imperial examination, but many, many scholars actively enter Jindong every year. After all, compared to the setbacks and narrow bridge of the imperial examination, stable and secure jobs and a place to use one's talents are actually much more attractive.

"Creak…"

The door was pushed open, and Old Qin walked in with a stern face.

Qin Dayong continued to sharpen his knife,

Eryong and Xiaoyong immediately knelt down to their father.

Yesterday, the fort commandant registered names, requiring one male from each household. Although this was a routine practice every year, like the drills, the atmosphere on the scene yesterday was obviously different.

Some old people have already noticed… that there may be a war!

The term "whole household" means that a family has at least two or more adult males;

In Jindong, the definition of an adult male is fourteen years old.

This can ensure that after one male is drafted, the family can still have at least one male left to be responsible for production.

The Qin family is a standard household. According to Jindong law, all standard households must provide a soldier when the Prince issues a decree;

This "soldier" refers to a combat soldier.

According to previous training and assignments, even your military branch has long been determined. At the same time, you must bring your own armor, weapons, and… warhorse.

In addition, there is a tacit rule to prepare some of your own dry food.

From the establishment of the standard household system in Xuehai Pass to the present, standard household soldiers have become the real combat power under the Prince's Mansion. Each garrison is based on standard household soldiers as its core;

They enjoy various enviable treatments and benefits during peacetime, and when a real war breaks out, standard households should, of course, put on their armor and rush to the front lines.

After Qin Dayong signed up, Eryong and Xiaoyong also signed up.

But they didn't think they could be selected because their father was a well-known figure in this Jin'an Fort, and the commandant would definitely inform their father.

Old Qin's face remained stern;

At this time, the children's mother was sitting in the house. She was a woman without a temper. When her husband was useless in the past, she was called "the dog's leftover."

Now that her husband is no longer useless, she still can't change her character. The men's affairs are their own affairs. She leaned against the window, sewing soles for her eldest son.

Qin Dayong sharpened his knife and blew on the blade;

He knew that his two younger brothers longed to accompany him on the expedition. The men of Jindong were actually eagerly waiting for the opportunity, but he was, after all, the eldest son. If he went on the expedition, leaving his two younger brothers at home would make him feel much more at ease. Therefore, he didn't plead for his brothers.

At this time, a bullock cart came to the door, driven by a fort soldier.

Old Qin turned around, walked outside, and tried to give him some silver.

"Sir, sir, our commandant said, just put it on the account, just put it on the account."

"That won't do, that won't do. How can I take the Prince's things? How can I take the Prince's things!"

Old Qin shook his head like a rattle drum.

The industries under the Jindong Prince's Mansion are so numerous that in Jindong, public things are called the Prince's things.

"Sir, this doesn't count as taking. Just put it on your two sons' heads. It's what they deserve. Our commandant also said that he admires you and also wants you to rest assured."

Hearing this, Old Qin breathed a sigh of relief, nodded, walked to the cart, picked up two knives from the cart, and also picked up two sets of leather armor.

As he walked toward the door, he tripped over the threshold because the things were too heavy.

With a "thump,"

Old Qin fell on his face, and the things scattered all over the ground.

His sons immediately ran over to help their father up;

Old Qin's lip was broken and bleeding, but he didn't care. He pointed to the knives and leather armor on the ground:

"When I went to Fengxin City for a meeting the other day, I guessed that there might be a war.

Good,

Good.

Your father was something a dog wouldn't eat for most of his life.

I'm actually used to it and don't think there's anything wrong with it.

I just blame our Prince, just blame our Prince.

For letting us be human for so many years,

Heh,

There's no going back."

Old Qin looked at his three sons standing in front of him,

And said;

"I can't match Xu Guan'er's eloquence, and I'm also bad with words. I can't speak any great truths…"

Xu Guan'er is Old Qin's name for the Jin'an Fort clerk;

"But in the past, when two villages fought over a well, they would still help their own relatives instead of being reasonable.

Whoever the Prince wants to fight, we'll help the Prince fight.

Beat those dogs to death!"

…

In the evening, the old mother didn't sleep and made pancakes all night.

In fact, on this night, most households in Jin'an Fort were emitting smoke from their chimneys.

And similar situations were happening in many forts across the land of Jindong.

In the morning,

Qin Dayong led his warhorse, with his own armor and his two younger brothers' leather armor, all hung on the saddle.

As for his mother's pancakes and pickles, as well as clothes, they were carried by his two younger brothers.

Old Qin didn't come out to see them off. The old mother continued to lean against the window, watching her three sons leave the house.

The old mother, who had been timid all her life, dared not question why Old Qin had to send off his two younger sons again, and could only wipe away her tears.

"What are you crying about? Don't cry."

"I'm worried about the children. Going to the battlefield…"

Old Qin was very straightforward,

And shouted:

"If they die in battle, the Prince's Mansion will give us white flowers. That's also a kind of glory, dying like a human being!"

…

Qin Dayong and his two younger brothers stood on the empty drill ground outside Jin'an Fort, where nearly eight hundred men had already gathered.

Commandant Zhang was carrying a knife,

Standing on the earthen platform of the drill ground, his eyes surveying the area below.

On both sides, the clerks were doing the counting.

"Standard household soldiers, step forward!"

Commandant Zhang shouted.

Qin Dayong took the leather armor of his younger brothers from the saddle and handed it to them:

He was the combat soldier of the Qin family's standard household. His two younger brothers had not undergone systematic training, so they could not be considered standard household soldiers, but if nothing unexpected happened, they would be arranged into the auxiliary soldier sequence.

"You must obediently listen to the orders of your superiors. Do whatever they tell you to do. Military law is merciless, understand?"

"Understood, elder brother."

"Yes, don't be cowardly. Remember, if you die charging forward, your parents will have honor and glory, and you will also be able to glorify the family. If you die retreating, you will only bring shame to the family, understand?"

"Yes, elder brother."

"Don't worry, elder brother, we won't be cowards."

After Qin Dayong finished his instructions, he led his warhorse forward to gather at the front.

He knew that if nothing unexpected happened, it would be difficult for him to meet his two younger brothers on the battlefield again. Standard household soldiers were the main force in the battle, while auxiliary soldiers could be arranged to go anywhere.

He could only hope in his heart that after the war, the three brothers could all return home safely.

The soldiers of Jin'an Fort, plus nearly fifty standard household soldiers, began to put on their armor and prepare under the leadership of the deputy commandant. Before long, this team of cavalry set off and left Jin'an Fort, heading to the gathering point for standard household soldiers.

Commandant Zhang would lead the remaining several hundred men, as auxiliary soldiers and civilian laborers, to their gathering point.

…

After putting on his armor, Qin Dayong felt a little stuffy, but removing his armor without the orders of a superior was a serious crime;

Jin'an Fort was not considered a fort where standard households gathered. Some large standard household forts, with six thousand households, had half of them as standard households, capable of producing as many as five thousand standard household soldiers.

Often, brothers or father and son would go to battle and join the ranks together.

That kind of fort could no longer be considered a fort but had a stronger atmosphere of a military camp.

On the first day of departure, Qin Dayong and his group of standard household soldiers from Jin'an Fort went to a nearby large fort to gather. The next morning, a team of about eight hundred standard household soldiers began to gather under the leadership of a chiliarch, heading to another gathering point.

Like a snowball, the size of the troops would increase after going to the next place. When they arrived at a county city that had just been established not long ago, not far from Fengxin City, the size of the troops Qin Dayong was in had reached three thousand, all cavalry!

Here, they had to go through a more detailed process.

The clerks in the army would carefully check everyone's warhorses, armor, and weapon conditions, and also distribute standard bags of fried rice flour, dried meat, and medicine.

If the armor and weapons were unqualified, they could be replaced from the military armory;

If the warhorses were unqualified, they could also receive healthy warhorses;

These were not free of charge and would be carefully recorded by the clerks, because if you failed to take good care of them, or rather, as a standard household soldier, you failed to prepare these essential things properly, it was your own dereliction of duty;

The Prince's Mansion would compensate you, but the compensation would be deducted when calculating military merits after the war, and if you failed to obtain enough military merits, you might be punished, and in serious cases, you would be deprived of your standard household status;

In addition, giving standard household soldiers a big bath together with expensive soap on the market was also an old tradition of the Prince's Mansion.

A large group of old and young men, lined up, took off their clothes, and went in to wash themselves, a magnificent sight.

Firstly, in military camps, poor hygiene can easily lead to infectious diseases, leading to non-combat attrition;

Secondly, the officers responsible for surveying the soldiers could take this opportunity to check the physical condition of these standard household soldiers. If there were physical problems, or if they had sprained their legs or feet, as long as you arrived, you would not be punished, but you might be relegated to the auxiliary soldier level.

Of course, if you had some physical defects, but your riding and archery skills were still fine, or if you had other abilities, you could also pass.

Qin Dayong finished his bath and wanted to change into the lining he had brought from home, but he found that the quartermaster in front was distributing clothes.

Everyone was naked,

Lined up,

Receiving clothes one by one.

Qin Dayong also received a piece. The clothes felt very comfortable, the material was very soft, and it should also be very breathable. It would definitely be more comfortable to wear it under his armor;

Most importantly, after being injured, the material of these clothes was very suitable for tearing off to bandage wounds and stop bleeding.

He changed his clothes, put on his armor, and carried his weapons, returning to his unit;

Generally speaking, the squad leaders and centurions of the standard household soldiers were the same as those in the original fortresses and would not change. Everyone formed small collectives and entered a new large collective;

After that, it was time to eat.

The army's large-pot meals were cooked. This was a very special taste. For the soldiers in the army, smelling this taste meant a clear transformation of their identity, just like smelling their mother's cooking when returning home.

The school officers began to inspect their subordinates, reiterating military law.

When it was almost night, the vice-general began to speak.

Jindong has standing armies, such as the garrisons in Fengxin City, the garrisons in Xuehai Pass, Zhennan Pass, and NAFan City. These are standing armies and will not remove their armor;

But most are like Qin Dayong, who usually practice and engage in production activities, and standard household soldiers who are conscripted before the war.

For them, probably only the centurion would not change, but the school officer above the centurion, plus the ones above that… and the vice-general, might be different each time.

As for whether there would be a problem of soldiers not knowing their generals and generals not knowing their soldiers, there definitely would be, but the problem would not be very big. After all, the standard household system in Jindong is still fresh, and everyone is eager to go to the battlefield to kill enemies and gain merits. They are happy to hear of war, and the overall level of the environment is here, which means the lower limit is very high.

In fact, another function of the standard household system is to decompose and digest many factions. Even the Li Chenghui troops who entered Jindong in previous years were disassembled and transformed into standard households.

After all, here,

The real faction in the army is and can only be that one Prince's Mansion!

The vice-general was giving instructions,

Because this kind of large gathering is held every year, and sometimes it is held twice a year, so hearing similar words too much makes them a bit… uninspired.

Qin Dayong and everyone else sat cross-legged on the ground with their backs straight. In fact, everyone was now waiting for this gathering to see which general would be in command, and which general's flag would be raised later.

The vice-general's instructions finally ended,

Guards carried the flagpole up,

And the vice-general would personally raise the marshal's flag, and the soldiers below would understand which general would be under the command of which commander-in-chief, or rather, which general would be responsible for commanding the upcoming military operation.

A similar scene would be staged simultaneously in several other gathering points in the vicinity;

And when the vice-general raised the marshal's flag,

Qin Dayong immediately clenched his fists, and his breathing became rapid;

To be precise, all the soldiers present were momentarily stunned, and then their expressions became somewhat ferocious due to excitement.

The Royal Banner,

The Royal Banner,

The Royal Banner!

This meant that

This time,

The Prince was personally leading the expedition!

The Prince himself was not here, and it was impossible for the Prince to appear in so many military camps at the same time, but in the army, seeing the Royal Banner was like seeing the Prince himself. Over the years, military etiquette and rules had been refined step by step.

The Royal Banner was raised,

All the school officers below simultaneously gave the order:

"Rise!"

The soldiers who were originally sitting cross-legged to receive instructions all stood up.

The vice-general stood in front of everyone, facing the Royal Banner, and knelt down on one knee:

"This humble general has gathered the troops under my command according to the Prince's orders."

Immediately afterward,

The vice-general suddenly punched his chest armor,

And roared:

"My Jindong sons!"

Qin Dayong immediately stepped forward with his left foot,

Then knelt down on one knee,

And all the soldiers around him were doing the same action;

Everyone raised their fists and slammed their chest armor,

Shouting in unison:

"We are willing to die for the Prince!"