flstandardbreds Chapter 126 Surrender
Chapter 126 Surrender
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Liu Ye calmly observed the two divided groups of people and said leisurely, "It seems that the majority of people are still pragmatic. By the way, after I resolve this mess you've made, I'm going to Guangzhou to discuss the matter of pacification with your superior, the Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi, Wang Zunde. If all goes well, I'll be a member of the imperial court when I return, and you'll just be soldiers in a different place receiving your pay."
Zuo Wuwei's eyes lit up as he stared at Liu Ye. Out of respect for the dignity of a military officer, he was unwilling to join the bandits. However, once the bandits were recruited, they became government soldiers, their identities were cleared, and the question of joining the bandits no longer applied. Since such powerful pirates were beyond their ability to be eradicated, recruitment was the best solution, and the Governor-General would likely choose this path.
"To tell you the truth, after the surrender, I will also be a soldier. My artillery unit will expand, forming firearms battalions like yours. I know many of you come from firearms battalions. I will have more and more cannons, but I lack enough artillerymen. As long as you are loyal to me, you will be my artillerymen. You know best which cannon is superior to the imperial court's Hongyi cannons."
Having heard these words, Li Mo made up his mind and turned to walk to the right. Before leaving, he couldn't help but glance at Zuo Wuwei one last time, only to find a fanatical expression on his face, his eyes shining. He had seen this expression before; it was a similar scene when Zuo Wuwei was appointed by the garrison commander to form a firearms battalion and was allocated a batch of newly cast Hongyi cannons—he knew that Zuo Wuwei had a heartfelt love and fanaticism for firearms.
After Li Mo moved to the right, only a few Zuo Wuwei and a few captains remained on the left. Liu Ye looked at them and asked, "Are these gentlemen going to test the cannons and sacrifice themselves for the country?"
Zuo Wuwei stepped forward, cupped his hands in a respectful bow, and said in a humble yet assertive manner, "I am but a humble soldier, a garrison commander of the firearms battalion, and I have a few words to say."
Although Liu Ye wasn't entirely clear on the ranks and grades of military officers in the Ming Dynasty, he knew that the rank of garrison commander was second only to guerrilla and adjutant general, and should be considered a high-ranking officer in the Ming army. He became serious; this was a key figure—if the other party was willing to surrender, successfully incorporating the firearms battalion would be much easier.
"Commander Zuo, please speak freely."
"I was tasked with establishing the Firearms Battalion by the Commander-in-Chief, and I do not wish for my brothers to be separated or for the Firearms Battalion to vanish. If Your Excellency is willing to accept this offer, I am willing to lead the Firearms Battalion to serve you faithfully."
Liu Ye smiled and said, "You can rest assured about that."
"I have two more requests, and I hope you will grant them."
Liu Ye nodded: "Tell me about it. If it's feasible, I'll consider it."
"First, the brothers in the firearms battalion were all handpicked by me. They are all quick-witted and agile. After several years of training, they are quite proficient in firing firearms. I hope they can continue in this line of work in the future. If they are used to wield broadswords and spears as common soldiers, it would not only be a waste of several years of hard work, but also a loss for you." Zuo Wuwei naturally did not want the firearms battalion, which he had painstakingly built, to be neglected and dragged to the battlefield as common soldiers. In his view, this was simply a waste of talent.
Liu Ye waved his hand: "You're overthinking it. I value firearms. We have skilled personnel readily available, saving me the trouble of training them from scratch. I wouldn't do something so foolish." Three-legged toads are hard to find, but two-legged people are everywhere. Even if the guard is short-handed, they wouldn't use these technical soldiers as ordinary infantry.
Seeing that the bandit leader was easy to talk to, Zuo Wuwei breathed a sigh of relief.
"My second request is actually somewhat selfish. If we are to be pacified in the future, whether we are stationed here or transferred to another prefecture, I would like to ask that Your Excellency bring the wives, children and elderly of officers of the rank of battalion commander and above, so that they can serve in the army with peace of mind."
Li Mo listened and stared nervously at Liu Ye, waiting to see how he would respond. This was indeed a very real problem: he was a native of Guangdong, with both his parents still alive, a wife and concubine, and two children. If he were to unfortunately "join the bandits" and be relocated to a distant place, being separated from his family for many years would be unbearable.
Liu Ye was quite surprised by this request. Since the establishment of the guard unit, all the members—farmers, Li people, and military households—had been locals, and he had never encountered such a problem before. In his vision, when recruiting displaced people or refugees into the army, he was unlikely to encounter such a problem, because most of these people had lost their families, were separated from their spouses and children, and were all alone with no ties. However, the officers and soldiers of the firearms battalion before him were clearly not comparable to those people.
He thought for a moment and asked, "Are all the people in the firearms battalion from Guangdong and have families?"
“Except for a few from Fujian and Zhejiang, the rest are all locals from Guangdong.” Zuo Wuwei added, “The pay for the firearms battalion is higher than that of ordinary soldiers, and most of the brothers come from well-off families.”
Liu Ye thought to himself, these are technical soldiers from ancient times. They possess certain military skills, enjoy preferential treatment, and it's not surprising that their families are better off than ordinary soldiers. However, if he wants them to serve him wholeheartedly and avoid shirking their duties, he has to consider this request. It's only because they are technical soldiers that he's willing to accept this; otherwise, expanding the force would also mean taking care of their families, which he couldn't bear.
After weighing the options, Liu Ye decided to grant Zuo Wuwei's request. However, he thought to himself that it would be better to recruit soldiers from the inland areas and find refugees in the future, so as to avoid the burden of military families.
Since we're going to give a favor, let's do something big. We need to appease the officers, but we can't let the ordinary soldiers down either, since they're the main force in setting off the cannons. "Commander Zuo's consideration is very thoughtful, and I agree to this request. However, it's not just the officers; I'll bring everyone in the artillery battalion here, as long as they have families in Guangdong."
After hearing Liu Ye's words, everyone in the firearms battalion, from officers to soldiers, was all smiles. This future superior was considerate of his subordinates, and following him seemed like a good idea.
Zuo Wuwei was surprised that Liu Ye was so easy to talk to, and was very grateful: "On behalf of my brothers, thank you in advance!"
In the end, everyone chose the right side. Liu Ye nodded in satisfaction: "A wise bird chooses a good tree to perch on. You will be proud of your decision today. I will be leaving for Guangzhou in a couple of days. I will leave some men behind to help you familiarize yourselves with the new artillery and train your artillery skills. Although the Left Garrison Commander pleaded for you to stay, I don't keep idle people here. If you train well, you will become artillerymen; if you don't, you will become common soldiers and fight with bayonets. By the way, I also want to mention that my pay is generous. Artillerymen receive 2 taels of silver per month, and musketeers receive 1 tael of silver per month, and there will be no deductions, only full payments."
Everyone was alarmed. It turned out that staying in the artillery battalion wasn't a safe haven. It seemed they would have to put in their best effort to learn these new cannons.