MTLNOVEL Chapter 220 Recruitment and Brune
Horn's conscription was not done haphazardly; he came prepared.
According to the census results, among the subjects of the Pope Country who came to Daze Village, there were a total of 9,753 able-bodied young men.
Horn defined able-bodied men as adults aged sixteen to forty-five without disabilities, so recruiting 4,000 qualified able-bodied men wouldn't affect the daily life on Autumn Dusk Island.
After all, they had brought enough food for the winter, and the peat production was entirely sufficient to meet the fuel demands of winter. The only thing they might lack was clothing.
But apart from a few, most of them didn't need to go out to work. Staying at home with a smoke channel stove or using a peat brazier after opening the window were both feasible ways to keep warm.
Since most of the supplies were provided by Horn, they were essentially fed for free, naturally freeing up a lot of labor, which could be absorbed into the military.
Now it was already early December. Though the winter sun outside was still warm, an unstoppable chill was creeping into people's clothes from collars and sleeves.
A simple wooden bridge had been erected over the Parra River, and Horn rode a horse with more than a dozen guards to the town.
"It took about ten days to build this little bridge, and it was finally fixed yesterday." Skillfully controlling the horse, he had it heavily step onto the bridge, shaking the entire structure.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, don't bring it down!" Horn hurriedly stopped him and leaned forward to look at the wooden bridge, shaking his head.
It was still too simple; it would need to be rebuilt in the future.
"Brother, that's the conscription notice posted there... why is no one looking at it?" Seeing the notice on the gate pillar of the town, Jeanne couldn't help but point at it and ask.
"Because I had told them beforehand. They all went to the conscription point; who would look at the notice?" Horn shook the reins, urging the horse forward, "Let's go and take a look up ahead."
He had already asked someone to spread the word about conscription five days in advance. According to his talks with the Hundred Households Captains over these four days, the willingness of the refugee able-bodied men to enlist was quite strong.
According to the information Horn gathered, there were generally two reasons why people were willing to enlist: first, the pay was high with food and lodging, meat to eat, and high status; second, to fight the Thousand River Valley Church and clean up the Holy Throne side, avenging their family and friends.
The reasons for not wanting to enlist were varied, like fear of death, nowhere to live, fear of their newly married wife being stolen after they left, or fear that Horn would not keep his word.
After confirming the opinions and emotions of the able-bodied men, Horn posted the notice two days ago.
The notice clearly outlined Horn's policies and benefits regarding the Salvation Army.
First, they were fighting to save the Thousand River Valley People, avenging the dead relatives and fighting a just battle for freedom and equality. Even if they died, they would die honorably.
Second, the more soldiers a Hundred Households unit produced, the higher their priority in material and manpower allocation. In the Hundred Households' housing distribution, soldiers' families would be the first to be allocated housing, no longer needing to live in tents in the wilds.
Third, anyone maliciously destroying soldiers' marriages would be sentenced to hanging during the soldiers' service.
Fourth, after officially registering for the new recruits company, they would receive a one-month advance salary of 30 Dinars. Those in the top 10% of the training in the new recruits company would receive an additional 90 Dinars in bonuses. After becoming regular soldiers, the non-wartime daily salary was 2 Dinars, and the wartime daily salary was 4 Dinars.
Fifth, if they died in battle, there would be a special Heroic Spirits Cemetery. Soldiers' children could attend school for free or join the Child Soldiers. Their wives would be arranged a job by the Pope Country, and if they couldn't work, they would receive subsidies and a place in the Pension Home, with a special elder liaison for any issues they could directly report to Horn.
Sixth, after officially registering as new recruits, deserters would face hanging for severe cases and reformation by the Trinity Education Team for minor offenses. If families knew but did not report, it would be recorded in their household registration file and publicly criticized throughout the Pope Country.
During the two days the notice was posted, the first order Horn gave to the Saint Father Order monks was to take the notice and promote the conscription policies to every Hundred Households group.
On the official conscription day today, each Saint Father Order Monk, paired with three literate registrars, became the official recruiters.
Horn dismounted, donned his hood, and casually chose an Insula to enter.
The ground of this Insula courtyard was paved with irregular stone materials, with weeds growing in the gaps. A few crows landed on the eaves, curiously peeking at the scene inside the courtyard.
The Hundred Households Captain and the Ten Households Leader of this Insula each held a wooden spear, standing behind the Saint Father Order monk, who had two literate junior officials by his side.
Seven or eight young men, led by the Ten Households Leader, were performing counting from one to ten and then from ten to one, which was to test for mental disability.
Horn had 800 people among his 25,000 who were literate, and among them, over 700 could perform simple writing, reading, and calculation, reaching an almost 3% literacy rate.
This was thanks to Joan of Arc Castle being a city; otherwise, where would they find so many literate people?
Horn recognized the Saint Father Order monk registering people as Flower-bearded Jim, who had such a nickname because there were too many people named Jim.
Flower-bearded Jim saw Horn behind the crowd, immediately moved behind a pillar, and then stealthily walked to Horn's side, bowing in salute.
"How is it?" Horn asked the young laborer with a reddish beard tip in front of him, "How many have signed up so far?"
Flower-bearded Jim replied without hesitation, "According to the able-bodied ratio of this Hundred Households, our target is 71 people. So far, 67 have qualified and registered, and we're almost done."
"So fast?" Horn hadn't expected it, as it was less than half a day.
Flower-bearded Jim chuckled, "I went with the Ten Households Leaders, notifying each household. About half the young men wanted to join, and half didn't. Anyway, those who wanted to fight the devils have basically come."
Horn looked silently at the young men shivering in the cold wind despite wearing two layers of clothing.
"After you finish registering, don't leave. Stay until the evening. During this time, anyone who wants to sign up but didn't get a chance can register first and be prioritized for the next conscription…"
"I said disqualified means disqualified!"
Before Horn finished speaking, he heard an angry shout. A Ten Households Leader banged on the table, shouting at a tall figure.
"I'm not an idiot. I can count from one to ten, but you keep interrupting me. I…" Brune flushed with frustration, instinctively stepping forward.
"What do you want to do? You know hitting a Ten Households Leader would get you three strokes of cane, right?" Merikso shouted, both fierce and timid.
"I just speak slowly. I can count from one to ten. Listen, one… two…"
"You're still at one and two after so long? Who has the time to wait for you?"
Some late-coming young men wanted to leave but stayed to join in, saying, "Yeah, yeah, if you can't do it, step aside."
Horn gave Flower-bearded Jim a signal, and Jim understood, pushing through the crowd, "What's going on? I just went to take a shit, why are you causing a ruckus?"
"Monk Jim, this is Brune from our Ten Households. He only came to clean the courtyard. I said he couldn't count to ten, so he couldn't be a soldier, but he refuses to leave."
Jim walked to Brune's side, looked up at his nostrils… Mad, this kid must be nearly 1.9 meters tall.
"Monk Jim, I know him well. He's timid and cowardly and will only eat your rations…"
"You shut up first." Jim stepped back, pointing at Brune, "You, count once. No one else should speak."
Without Merikso's interference, Brune successfully counted from one to ten, then from ten to one, proving he had no mental deficiency.
"Since there is no problem." Flower-bearded Jim directly wrote down the last name on the register, "Remember to gather at the town gate the morning after tomorrow. If you're late, it will be considered a voluntary withdrawal and recorded in your household registration. Understand?"
"Ah?" Brune was a bit dazed. He only wanted to prove himself because the other young men from the same Ten Households were ridiculing him for not counting to ten.
When had he ever said he wanted to become a soldier?