The Song Dynasty on the Sand Table

Chapter 249 Taking the opportunity to recruit some people

Yue Wenxuan gave Qi Chongli a thumbs up. This old man was indeed a high-level intellectual. His mind was very quick. He could understand what he said as soon as he started.

"Lord Qi, you hold a very high prestige in Mizhou," Yue Wenxuan said. "And most of the refugees here are from Mizhou. Why don't you just speak to them on my behalf?"

Qi Chongli cheered up and said, "Leave it to me."

He stood on the platform in the middle of Caishikou. When the refugees from Mizhou around him saw his face, they immediately quieted down, especially the people from Gaomi County, who were even more impressed by him and listened attentively.

Qi Chongli coughed to calm the situation, then spoke: "Everyone, please listen to me. As you all saw in today's battle, our firearms were very powerful and put the Jin army in a state of disarray. These firearms require a large amount of iron to manufacture, and a large amount of gunpowder to fire."

"But we have too few firearms. We only have four powerful cannons," Qi Chongli said. "That's because we lack iron and gunpowder! Without these two things, we won't be able to maintain our victory! I sincerely ask all the villagers to sign up and help us mine."

Yue Wenxuan added at the right moment, "Mining is hard physical labor. All miners will receive generous wages. Currently, we have tentatively set the monthly wage at 200 kilograms of grain."

In fact, the old miners in Zhaoyuan Gold Mine were paid 300 kilograms.

But the novice miner Yue Wenxuan only offered two hundred, leaving them some room for promotion and salary increase.

Qi Chongli's prestige, the high wages, and the people's desire to "defeat the Jin thieves" all combined to excite the people. Many people shouted, "I'm going, I'm going!"

"I've decided to dig this mine."

"Don't even mention the high wages. I'd do it even if I didn't get paid."

"Hey, don't be silly. If you don't ask for wages, doesn't that become corvée labor?"

"Uh... I can't stand corvée labor. I still need some wages."

After a burst of laughter, many new refugees decided to help the rebels mine.

They also saw that while the rebels had ample strength to defend their territory, a counterattack on Mizhou and Weizhou would be difficult. The Jin cavalry had the advantage of mobility, and even if the rebels won, they would not be able to annihilate the enemy. Under these circumstances, it would be difficult for the rebels to recapture Mizhou and Weizhou.

Being able to hold the Jiaodong Peninsula is already the limit.

The refugees may not be able to return home for a long time, so they must find some work here to support their families.

Since mining pays such high wages and can help the rebels defend against the enemy, it is of course the best option.

At one time, nearly 10,000 people decided to join the ranks of miners.

The civil servants quickly got busy, assigning these nearly 10,000 people to different groups. Some went to dig iron, some to dig saltpeter, and some to dig sulfur...

In addition, craftsmen with some blacksmithing skills should be selected from the refugees from Mizhou and Weizhou and allowed to work in firearms workshops.

Lots of housekeeping work!
Qi Chongli watched the civil servants busying around and his hands began to itch. He had served as the chief clerk of Zibo County (now Zibo City, Shandong Province), and the assistant minister of the Ministry of Rites, the Ministry of Personnel, and the Ministry of War. He was very good at working in the civil service system. What these civil servants were doing was exactly what Qi Chongli was specialized in.

I wanted to ask for some work, but I was too embarrassed to do it.

The highest officials in these two states and eight counties were only the prefects of Laizhou and Dengzhou. There were no higher-ranking officials. If Qi Chongli were to work here, what official position would he need to do a good job? He was anxious and panicked...

After thinking about it for a long time, I still couldn't speak.

He had no choice but to split up the main family, summoned all the Qi clan members, and whispered to them, "You considered surrendering to the Jin before, but given the current situation, I believe you no longer want to surrender, right?"

The Qi clan members responded, "Yes, since we have defeated the Jin bandits, why should we surrender to them? Of course not."

Qi Chongli: "Since you won't surrender, we have to fight the Jin bandits. For quite some time to come, our Gaomi Qi clan will be enemies of the Jin bandits and we won't be able to return to Gaomi for the time being. We have to wait until the prince's army has gained the strength to advance before we can retake Gaomi County."

The Qi clan members understood this, and whispered, "Then what should we do?"

Qi Chongli said, "Everyone, at this moment, should use all your strength to assist His Majesty in organizing his army and retaking Gaomi as soon as possible. Among our clansmen, those skilled in warfare can join the Royal Guards. Those skilled in government should seek civil service positions under His Majesty and help the Royal Guards coordinate supplies, especially iron and gunpowder, which are crucial tools for defeating the Jin invaders and must be treated with the utmost care."

Qi clan members: "As you command!"

His family is very powerful.

There are hundreds of talented people in the tribe. Once they join the rebel army, the rebel army's internal affairs capabilities will increase rapidly.

There are also hundreds of people in the Qi family who can wield swords and go to the battlefield. These people, led by a strong man from the Qi family, join the Royal Guard Army, which is also a great help to the Royal Guard Army.

at the same time……

Ten miles west of Jiaoshui County, in the Jin army camp.

The morale of the defeated puppet troops was low, and many of them were huddled together in the camp, worried about the future battles. Bali Yuanshan and Lu Yuantiao sat on a high watchtower, drinking alone.

Guwei was sitting with a large group of Jurchen Moukes. In the middle of the table was a cannonball they had picked up. The group of people looked at the big iron bullet with extremely ugly expressions.

"Have you all seen the palace thieves' firearms today?" Gu Wei said, "Such a heavy iron bullet can actually travel a mile and destroy a catapult in one blow. It's truly impressive."

A Mouke said, "I was shocked at first, but after watching it for a while, I felt that it was nothing special. The firearm takes a long time to fire, and it only fires a large iron bullet. It's OK for something as big as a catapult, but if you use it to hit someone, you're just relying on luck."

Another Mouke also laughed: "Yes! They can only be used to attack our cavalry. They are not as accurate as bows and arrows."

Gu Wei: "Don't forget that they also have a small firearm. They just haven't been able to use it today because they haven't been within range. Once our cavalry gets within ten feet, they will attack."

"Don't be afraid, General!" The Mouke leading three hundred Iron Pagodas stepped out. "Our iron armor is not vulnerable to lead bullets from firearms. The next time we engage, let's have our infantry draw off the enemy's artillery fire. The Crooked Horse will harass them at high speed from a distance of ten feet. The Iron Pagodas will seize this opportunity and charge into the enemy's firearms camp from the side. Once these three hundred Iron Pagodas charge in, they'll instantly wipe out all of their firearms units."

"Without their firearms, they were just a bunch of infantry pushing wooden boards."

Gu Wei thought about it carefully and said, "This is a very good plan! Okay, let's fight the next battle this way."

(End of this chapter)