Chapter 935

First Volume, Chapter 935: Heavy Recruitment

Qin Feng did not press further; he immediately waved his hand and said, "Those willing to stand with me in defense of the city need not wait until victory—starting now, you are Beixi people!"

"As Beixi people, you shall all be treated with privilege!"

Under Qin Feng's order, the Beixi Soldiers went straight to the warehouse and brought over the pre-stocked "commodities."

These commodities, besides food, were mostly clothing.

Qin Feng claimed he was conducting a "fabric business," but the cloth he brought was all already made into garments; from the start, the Winter War was Qin Feng's contingency plan, and winter combat demanded proper cold-weather attire.

Besides cold-weather garments, there were also large quantities of armor.

Yet compared to the full sets worn by the soldiers, these armors were simple, mostly consisting of breastplates.

Two carts of materials piled up before Qin Feng like a small mountain.

Qin Feng immediately shouted an order: "Count the numbers!"

The Jin Yi Wei, long prepared, stepped into the Jiaochang and counted all the volunteers who had come forward for defense—152 men in total.

Qin Feng deliberately raised his voice so everyone would know: those who chose to follow him would suffer no neglect.

"Distribute supplies to the defense volunteers!"

"Each man receives one full set of cold-weather clothing, one breastplate, ten jin of grain, and two taels of silver."

Under the Jin Yi Wei's arrangement, these 152 volunteers lined up and came one by one before Qin Feng to collect their equipment.

The lead giant, when he received the heavy load, thought he was dreaming.

In his mind, volunteers were no different from livestock—driven onto the battlefield, life and death left to fate. But seeing the supplies Qin Feng handed out, the giant suddenly realized Qin Feng did not see him as cannon fodder; on the contrary, Qin Feng cared deeply for the life of this nubi.

Breastplate…

This was to protect volunteers transporting supply trains to the Front Line from stray arrows fired from outside the walls.

Just this single well-crafted breastplate was worth at least one liang of silver, and it was military supply that could not be bought even with money.

The giant's previously uncertain gaze gradually hardened.

As the 152 volunteers received their supplies, Qin Feng turned again to the Jin Yi Wei and shouted:

"How long can our stored supplies sustain us?"

The Jin Yi Wei answered quickly: "Two years!"

Qin Feng nodded: "We won't need that long. If by next spring our Northern Border Army's iron hooves have not reached these walls, then this Winter War is lost."

"In other words, spring is our deadline."

"Therefore, our goal is to hold for three months! With this much supply, we'll use none of it—every meal must feed the soldiers and volunteers fully."

"Assign ten Beixi Soldiers to handle logistics and food supply. Also…"

Qin Feng looked at the 152 volunteers and shouted: "We need fifty kitchen helpers. If your wives do not need to care for young children or elderly parents, they may come to assist—each will receive one liang of silver per month as labor pay."

One liang of silver…

That was the annual food cost for a common citizen of the city.

To earn a year's worth in one month—plus the two taels already given to men joining logistics, and Qin Feng's promised five taels upon victory—

Altogether, every volunteer who followed Qin Feng would earn his family exactly ten taels of silver in three months!

The crowd erupted in excitement.

They could not believe their ears; this winter was a once-in-a-century freeze, and every household had suffered terribly—yet this sudden Winter War had somehow "enriched" the people of Changshui.

The 152 volunteers trembled with joy, while those who had hesitated and refused to join logistics now pounded their chests in regret.

Ten taels of silver in three months—most people couldn't even be sure they'd live ten more years, let alone earn such a fortune?

"Damn it, what was I hesitating for?!"

"Ten taels… ten taels in three months… this is like money falling from the sky!"

"If anyone else said this, I'd never believe it—but Qin Hou speaks, and it cannot be false!"

"Exactly! Look, those men just received two taels right here!"

Hearing the waves of envy around him, Qin Feng did the math himself.

Other citizens of the city didn't count; only the strong. Suppose five hundred eventually joined the defense—each receiving ten taels would total only five thousand taels.

Add in all material losses, and the total expenditure over three months would be roughly twenty thousand taels.

Most of this spending was tied to military supply consumption—this was a siege. Arrows, for example, could be recovered in normal times, but once fired beyond the walls, they were gone forever—effectively single-use. Arrow consumption alone would be a massive drain.

Yet this money must not be saved—it must all be spent!

Put yourself in their place: spending this little to hold Changshui County until reinforcements arrive? It's worth every liang.

Qin Feng clearly felt the envy in the crowd's eyes, but he made no further call—he deliberately ignored them, ordered the remaining volunteers sent home, and kept only these 152.

When these 152 volunteers donned their thick cold-weather clothing and strapped on their breastplates, they looked more elite than some Tuntian Soldiers or Yamen troops.

Qin Feng nodded in satisfaction: "You may return home tonight. Starting tomorrow, you will be under military discipline—every action must follow orders. Disobedience will be punished under military law."

"Go home and see your families."

At Qin Feng's command, the volunteers left, beaming.

Once the volunteers were gone, Qin Feng summoned the Jin Yi Wei and ordered them to prepare the bodies of the 137 fallen comrades for burial at dawn the next day.

Though winter slowed decay, the bodies could not remain unburied—they deserved to rest in the earth.

Come next spring, we will open the coffins and carry our brothers' remains back to their homeland.

Since wood was a vital strategic reserve, Qin Feng ordered no coffins made; instead, the bodies were wrapped in cloth alone—for now, the brothers must endure this hardship.

After all was settled, Qin Feng dragged his utterly drained body back to the County Yamen.

Just as he reached the Yamen gate, his vision spun violently—he collapsed, unconscious.