Zhao Hanzhang asked, "What about the Xianbei and the Xiongnu?"
Chen Wu hesitated for a mont, then gritted his teeth and said, "We can fight them too, but besides provisions, the Zhao Family Army needs to give thirty horses."
The entire Qihu Army had only a few horses, but they did have dozens of oxen, used specifically for transporting the wounded and the frail. If they couldn’t find anyone to hire them, they’d have to slaughter the oxen.
The Xianbei and the Xiongnu were both fierce, renowned for their cavalry. It was impossible to defeat them in a cavalry battle, and Chen Wu didn’t think he could train cavalry that would surpass theirs.
He had his own strategy, and the reason he asked Zhao Hanzhang for thirty horses was to relay ssages.
Cavalry were fast, and he needed more and quicker scouts.
Zhao Hanzhang did not question his strategy and readily agreed.
Chen Wu’s heart sank, they were really going to fight the Xianbei and the Xiongnu.
Chen Wu tugged at the corner of his mouth and planned to ask for more provisions, "So, does General Zhao intend to fight the Xianbei or the Xiongnu?"
If it was the Xiongnu, he might take a little less; if it was the Xianbei, the price would have to be higher. But what had the Xianbei done recently?
Why go to fight the Xianbei?
Zhao Hanzhang said, "I want to hire you to defend my territory."
Chen Shi’s eyes widened, involuntarily leaning forward, "Then how do we calculate the provisions?"
Perhaps afraid Zhao Hanzhang would regret it, Chen Shi said, "Defense consus much less daily provisions than an offensive, I can reduce it by another twenty percent."
Zhao Hanzhang said, "I want you to defend Guy City."
Guy City isn’t very far from here; heading towards Luoyang, it takes a day to reach. But Guy City is small and can’t block the Xiongnu and Xianbei, and Luoyang already has natural defenses, so Guy City serves more like a lookout post.
It can detect enemies early and give early warnings.
If it were just for warning, deploying two teams here, two hundred soldiers would be enough, so why spend a significant amount hiring them?
Chen Shi hinted, "General Zhao, I have five thousand n here, and their daily provision needs are not small."
Zhao Hanzhang said, "Every month, I’ll provide you with a batch of provisions. This year, for every soldier, I’ll give a pound of grain per day."
Chen Shi rolled his eyes and asked, "General Zhao, will you still hire us next year? How about next year’s price?"
"I’ll allocate a piece of land in Guy City for you to farm."
Chen Shi anticipated this and couldn’t help but swallow and ask, "Then the seeds, farm tools, and if Guy City faces invasion..."
Zhao Hanzhang said, "I’ll provide the seeds, we’ll figure out the tools together, and if Guy City is attacked, Luoyang naturally won’t stand by idly."
Chen Shi was excited but still cautiously pondered.
Didn’t the Qihu Army have a place to settle down and farm?
They did, now throughout Great Jin there were abandoned fields, even houses and cities. They could take over any place and start farming.
But planting doesn’t necessarily an harvest, and living in peace is even less possible.
Firstly, they didn’t have enough seeds for farming;
Secondly, they lacked the provisions to support them from planting to harvest;
Thirdly, they couldn’t fend off the chaotic armies that ca to seize their harvest.
This chaos included but was not limited to the Xiongnu, Xianbei, neighboring garrisoned troops, various castle masters, and the wandering refugee army.
Hadn’t Chen Wu fard before?
He had, but after a year’s hard work, the food harvested wasn’t even enough for the soldiers’ provisions. More people starved to death than those who died on the battlefield, so they chose to wander, beg, and fight for people to earn money to buy provisions.
Though there were fatalities, fewer died this way than from starvation in one place.
It wasn’t that no power wanted to subdue them, and they were willing to be subdued, yet things never aligned with their wishes.
Prince East Sea once wanted to recruit them, but he had many troops. Although the Qihu Army could fight, they had only five to six thousand n, which didn’t impress Prince East Sea much.
Moreover, he could make other armies capture good people to sell to subsidize his military expenses—how could he possibly provide enough provisions for the Qihu Army?
So the Qihu Army stayed with Prince East Sea for less than a month before leaving.
If even Prince East Sea couldn’t support them, other forces certainly couldn’t.
Chen Wu hinted to Zhao Hanzhang, "General Zhao, even just for five thousand soldiers, you need to give five thousand pounds of grain a day, which is a lot. Are you sure you want to hire for a year?"
Zhao Hanzhang nodded and said, "I’m sure!"
Chen Wu: "Are the conditions just to defend the territory?"
"Correct, just to defend the territory," Zhao Hanzhang said, "If there’s an order for you to expand outward, I’ll pay extra."
The conditions were so favorable that Chen Wu hesitated to agree imdiately. He said, "I need to discuss with my subordinates."
Zhao Hanzhang understood and stood up, saying, "Give an answer before sunset. I have to leave for Luoyang tomorrow morning."
Chen Wu agreed.
As soon as she left, he imdiately called in Feng Long and others, and solemnly said, "Do you think there’s any conspiracy here?"
Feng Long shared this suspicion, "That Zhao Hanzhang isn’t easy to deal with. The ssages we received before were sent by their Yu State Army, and we don’t know if they’re true. If they’re false, who knows what Luoyang’s situation is. If they’re true, then her thods are too clever and ruthless. Are we going to be sold out and still count money for her?"
Li didn’t think so much and asked, "Besides our lives, what else do we have to calculate?"
Feng Long: "What if what they’re counting on is our lives?"
Chen Wu squatted on the ground, pondered for a long while, and shook his head, "No, I believe I have so ability to read people. She doesn’t seem like a bad person."
Feng Long believed in him and imdiately said, "Then let’s do it."
"Right, let’s do it. Being indecisive is not befitting a real man," Li lowered his voice, "Besides, if we don’t earn provisions soon, people will starve to death in the army."
Upon hearing this, Chen Wu also made up his mind, "Alright, let’s go with her!"
Feng Long said with so hope, "What if this ti, we finally settle down?"
Even Chen Wu and Li began to dream about the future.
But they didn’t dare to dream too deeply, afraid that the greater the hope, the greater the disappointnt.
Zhao Hanzhang had just returned to the camp when she received Chen Wu’s reply. She curled her lips in satisfaction.
Zeng Yue and Yuan Li were both puzzled, "Madam, with so many provisions, we could recruit refugees ourselves and train them. Why hire them?"
There was no shortage of soldiers, refugees were everywhere. As long as there was food and money, a simple call to arms would attract many people.
Soldiers trained personally are different; aren’t they more loyal than hired soldiers?
Zhao Hanzhang said, "Recruiting soldiers ourselves requires not just food, but also weapons, armor, and generals to train troops, which consus an unknown amount of resources."
"And now, we just need to provide enough provisions to get a brave army. Why not?"
They all thought the Qihu Army was hired, outsiders, and wouldn’t be loyal, forgetting that she too had a rcenary relationship with soldiers personally trained.
If scattered, they would naturally turn to others to survive. Could she really expect them to die for her?
The Qihu Army was very reliable. Paid correctly, they would complete tasks even if beaten, no less than loyal soldiers.
If used well, these people could be a great weapon.
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