Chapter 576: Qing Dynasty Time-Travel Spirit Spring System (27)

"My family is poor, and my parents died early. After my eldest brother married, he found me useless and wanted to marry me off to a widower nearly forty years old in exchange for a bride price. I refused, and my sister-in-law threatened to kick me out of the house. Rather than that, I would rather sign up for the army. I have done housework since I was young, and my needlework and cooking are decent. If it is truly as the notice says, that there is a monthly salary of one tael of silver and three dou of rice after joining the army, I am willing to sign up!"

"What? You can even receive rice and a monthly salary? Why didn't such a good thing happen in previous conscriptions?"

"The notice says that female soldiers are a new system promoted by the imperial court, and quality is valued over quantity, which is why they enjoy the salary of the Eight Banners soldiers. The tentative monthly salary for the Washing and Sewing Battalion is one tael of silver and three dou of rice; for the Medical Battalion, two taels of silver and three dou of rice; and for the Elite Battalion, starting at three taels of silver and five dou of rice. If there are any additions in the future, they will be announced separately."

As soon as these words were spoken, the crowd was in an uproar.

"Official! Official! Can a poor woman who was cast aside by her husband's family for having no children in three years sign up?"

At this moment, a middle-aged woman squeezed out of the crowd, wearing a fawning smile as she pushed to the table and cautiously asked the official.

The yamen runner nodded: "Yes."

"That's wonderful! I'll sign up for my sister-in-law! She is very proficient in needlework and cooking, she will definitely be selected!"

"You must sign up in person! Proxy registrations will not be accepted!"

"Alright, alright! I will go back and ask my sister-in-law what she thinks. If she can receive one tael of silver and three dou of rice every month, she will definitely agree!"

When the people present heard this, what? Women who were cast aside and returned to their maiden homes could also sign up? What about widows?

"All are welcome! As long as you meet the conditions on the notice!"

What conditions were on the notice? Oh, age between fourteen and thirty, good health, honest and sincere, and priority given to those who are literate, skilled in medicine, or have a foundation in needlework or cooking!

However, the two taels of silver and three dou of rice are issued to officially recruited female soldiers, not just for signing up.

In this way, those who came to sign up were basically willing, and even if they had hidden hardships, it was for the sake of survival.

"Big Sister, I want to sign up as a female soldier!" Fifteen-year-old Chen Er'ya from Shangshui Village swept away her past confusion, her eyes looking into the distance with determination. "Although I am not literate and do not know medicine, I have been used to doing heavy labor since I was young, and ordinary sewing and cooking are no problem for me. I will work hard to pass the assessment and strive to become a female soldier!"

Da'ya hugged her and cried bitterly: "But the military camp is not a place that is easy to survive in! Er'ya, why not listen to Big Sister and find someone to marry..."

"Big Sister, I used to think that marriage was the only way out for a woman, until today... Big Sister, you always urge me to marry, but do you really think life after marriage is good? Every day it's either being scolded by the mother-in-law or being beaten by the brother-in-law. Anyway, I don't want to live that kind of life! I want to be a female soldier!"

"..."

Luo Caie, an orphan from Huaihua Village whose parents had both died, heard that the imperial court was recruiting female soldiers, and her eyes also burst with the light of hope.

Ever since her parents died of illness one after another, her uncle's family had been planning to marry her off so they could seize her family's house and farmland. Her greedy aunt even wanted to sell her to a wealthy family as a maid.

She had originally planned to take in a live-in son-in-law, but now that the news of the female soldier recruitment had come, it provided her with a better way out.

She quietly sold her farmland and three tiled houses, gave the village head a few taels of silver, obtained her household registration certificate, and immediately took her luggage and her parents' spirit tablets to the city gate to sign up. After signing up, she did not return to the village and waited for news at an inn.

It would be best if she were selected, but even if she wasn't, she didn't intend to return to the village; finding any washing job would be better than being sold by her uncle's family.

There were truly many women like Chen Er'ya and Luo Caie.

Seeing more and more women coming to sign up, Shaoyao's delicate face under her veil revealed a look of relief; the Task assigned by Elder Sister had been completed!

At the same time, Haitang's hometown of Hougou Village, Chuntao's place of origin of Qingyuan County, and Qiuwan's old home of Baipo'ao all recruited a significant number of female soldiers under their intentional or unintentional guidance.

After rounds of selection, three hundred women were finally screened from those who signed up across the country, forming the first Women's Legion of the Great Qing.

Under the escort of soldiers, they arrived in Jingcheng one after another.

Xie Yang settled them in the Warm Spring Manor sponsored by Defei.

Lao Kang really didn't care at all; like his sons, he had a completely "watching the show" attitude.

Xie Yang complained, but she still carried out the training according to the plan in an orderly manner.

First phase of training: No class division, unified training in literacy, riding and archery, medicine, and service, taking thirty days. After thirty days, assessments for each course were conducted, and based on the scores, they entered the Elite Battalion, Medical Battalion, or Service Battalion.

Second phase of training: Targeted instruction for different battalions.

The Elite Battalion mainly studied troop deployment and battlefield combat. Martial arts were naturally the top priority, taught personally by Xie Yang, who imparted the Nine Heavens Mysterious Maiden Technique. They practiced martial arts in the morning, riding and archery in the afternoon, and had a theory class in the evening to study Sun Tzu's Art of War.

The Medical Battalion mainly studied herb identification, bandaging, and first aid, taught by Chang Peilan. Occasionally, Xie Yang would also interject to teach them how to make some common medicinal pills, ointments, and sachets for refreshing the mind.

The instructors for the Service Battalion were capable nannies sent by Defei and Si Fujin, who taught the female soldiers how to quickly make seasonal riding outfits, cook nutritious meals using available ingredients, and how to make various internal affairs items such as meat jerky, dried vegetables, and various dry rations that could be stored for a long time.

In short, if there was no one to use, she would either step up herself or find people around her to help; she had consulted everyone from Defei down to the maids and nannies. If there was no Silver to use, it was even easier—find Jiu Ye and sell a few more medicinal pill formulas to increase her dividends.

Kangxi would listen to the secret guards' reports on the progress of the female soldiers' training every day. The more he heard, the more emotional he became, and he couldn't help but say to Liang Jiugong:

"This girl... it really is difficult for her! If she were a man, she would indeed be a talent for a general or a prime minister!"

Autumn passed and autumn returned; in the blink of an eye, another year had passed.

In the middle of the tenth lunar month, an urgent report arrived from the Northwest Army, stating that the Sixth Dalai Lama, Tsangyang Gyatso, who was being escorted north by Mongol soldiers, had gone missing near Qinghai Lake.

The Regent of the Snow Region, Sangye Gyatso, suspected that the leader of the Mongol Khoshut tribe, Lhazang Khan, had assassinated Tsangyang Gyatso to prevent the imperial court from investigating the truth about local officials fighting for power. Lhazang Khan naturally denied it, leading both sides to take up arms against each other.

If it were just a conflict between these two tribes, it would be one thing, but the key was that the remnants of Galdan took the opportunity to invade, and the war at the border was becoming tense.

Shisi Ye was eager to make a move. This day, he ran to the Farm to find Xie Yang: "Great Niece, how is your female soldier training going? No matter how powerful they are, hiding in the Farm is ultimately just talk on paper. If you want to improve combat effectiveness, you have to rely on actual combat. Why don't I, the Fourteenth Uncle, accompany you to the front line?"

Xie Yang was happy; it was exactly what she needed.

She was just thinking about verifying the training results of the female soldiers, and Shisi Ye had delivered the opportunity to her! Thanks to the Fourteenth Uncle!