Seeing this, the officer leading the team immediately drew his waist knife, raised it above his head, and shouted "Silence" in an alarming voice. The men who were shouting to join the army, especially those standing in the front row, were shocked by his shouting, and all of a sudden, the outside of the City God Temple instantly quieted down.

At this time, Chen Wen couldn't help but smile secretly in his heart, when he screened the first batch of joiners earlier, he had chatted with this officer, and this officer who usually spoke with a small voice was purely natural, and no one in their family had a small voice, so that in the words of his fellow countryman who always felt a little obscene, who in their family got married, and the people who listened to the room didn't need to pick the windows and door cracks.

It is precisely because this officer has such a specialty that Chen Wen directly took his team of soldiers down the mountain to be responsible for maintaining order, and so far, it seems that the effect is not bad.

After maintaining order, Chen Wen got up and entered the Chenghuang Temple, and even the man moved in with the cauldron of cooking porridge. His rule was that those who joined the army were required to enter the courtyard of the Chenghuang Temple every five times and be screened by Chen Wen, and those who passed could stay and make a meal first, and then they could go up the mountain together before dinner, while those who did not meet would directly say Goodbye.

Regarding Chen Wen's behavior of occupying the venue and not paying the venue fee, Miao Zhu did not show the slightest displeasure, and even helped Chen Wen prepare the table and chairs. After all, the reputation of the colleague who beat him was so sensational that he didn't dare to protest to Chen Wen with a legitimate reason.

After Chen Wen prepared the pen, ink, paper and inkstone, the first batch of five people also walked in under the leadership of a soldier, and they lined up from left to right according to the instructions and stood in front of Chen Wen's table.

The first man is a Shaoxing person, who used to be a farmer, and he had some land at home, and he rented the land of the landlord in his village, and his life was quite passable. Originally, after Wang Yi captured Shangyu County for the second time, after the Shaoxing Green Battalion was defeated by the Ming army of Dalanshan one after another, the Green Battalion soldiers and officials did not dare to leave the city too far, for fear of being ambushed by the Ming army.

It's just that his home is near the county seat of Yuyao, near Cixi, which is far away from the occupied area of the Ming army, so he has been exploited quite a lot. In the past few years, all the land handed down by the ancestors has been offset against the harsh taxes and miscellaneous taxes, not to mention, the landlord who rented the land took the opportunity to raise the rent and wanted to turn his family into a house slave, so the man took his family to Siming Mountain.

This man originally planned to open up wasteland or become a tenant here, but because he came too late, almost all the land here has been occupied, and he has no land to plant, so he can only rely on giving people strength to work for a short time to live, and he can only be strong and full of food all day. In fact, he is quite good, as the strong laborers of the family, he and his younger brother can still eat, but the rest of the family is not, barely starving to death, but if the food is distributed equally, then the strong laborers have no strength to work, and the whole family will starve to death.

Just now when Zhang Jun read out the recruitment list there, this man was tempted, one or two or five dollars still has his true colors, he and his younger brother can easily support the family, and they can also accumulate some dowry for marrying a daughter-in-law. As for the reward for military exploits and beheading, this man didn't dare to think about it, after all, he was going to kill people, he thought about catching up with a general like Chen Wen, who loved soldiers like a son, if he worked hard in the camp, worked more and talked less, he should not be driven away.

Thinking of this, the man squeezed in with all his might, and the officer outside the City God Temple saw that he had the strength to do it, so he called him in first.

Chen Wen observed this person's face and asked a few more questions, and in general, he should feel that he should be a more honest and responsible man. Because he could eat enough, and had been engaged in heavy physical labor for a long time, and his physique was not bad, he decided on this person.

It's just that after this man kowtowed to thank Chen Wen for recruiting him, he didn't go to the man to drink porridge, but ran all the way, in his words to Chen Wen, he wanted to call his younger brother to join Chen Wen as a soldier.

The second man is a local mountain man, who hunts for a living on weekdays, but although some people collect wild things in the mountains at the current time, the price is far less than when Chengping was in peacetime, and this person is not like Wu Dengke who has an old camp and rents the land to others, so his life is not very good.

Originally, this man was only going to the town to sell his prey today, but when he heard that Chen Wen was recruiting troops here, he thought that he was excellent in archery, and that it would be better to be an officer in a few days than to continue to endure the exploitation of those leather merchants, so he squeezed in and asked to join the army. The officer outside the temple saw at a glance that he was a hunter, and thought about Chen Wen's priority for an elder with skills, so he let this guy in early.

Chen Wen checked the prey he hit, all of them were hit by an arrow, and the archery skills should be not bad, so he settled down. After the man saluted Chen Wen, he unceremoniously ran to the man's cauldron and asked for a bowl of porridge, and he didn't care about the heat, so he poured it into his mouth, and he was still a beautiful mouth, without the slightest intention of treating himself as an outsider.

The third is different from the first two illiterates, he is a child from Ningbo, but this person's child is not the same as Gu Shouli, Gu Shouli has at least passed the county and government examinations, but he didn't pass the exam; But this scholar has never been admitted to anything at all, and it's hard to say whether he has even passed the exam, and he can't even be regarded as a formal child, he can only be regarded as an amateur.

Chen Wen regretted that he didn't take Gu Shouli or Qi Xiufeng down the mountain, or he could still distinguish it, but Gu Shouli was still registering the men who went up the mountain to join the army yesterday at this time, while Qi Xiufeng was taking stock of the military reserves, preparing to continue to declare to Wang Jiang after the recruitment was over, how could he have time to come down. So, for the sake of this guy's literacy, Chen Wen continued to listen to him finish his story.

Due to Ningbo's proximity to Zhoushan, the strength of the Qing army was much stronger than that of Shaoxing, whether it was the Green Battalion or the Eight Banners, it was not uncommon to rob the people and bully men and women. This scholar lives in the countryside and is regarded as a farming heirloom, and the Qing army passing by saw that his wife was a little beautiful, so he robbed it.

There is a way to show that only when he meets a soldier, it is unreasonable, let alone a child like him. As a result, the scholar ran to see the county commander, but the county commander didn't dare to provoke those Eight Banners, and saw that he had no merit, so he blasted out the stick. The scholar was angry, so he planned to defect to the Ming Army to take revenge, but with such a mouthful, no one was willing to hire anyone. So, the scholar set up a letter writing stall in this town, barely making ends meet.

This scholar's past reminded Chen Wen of a story he had read on the Internet, saying that the Qing army went south, and a Xiucai's wife was forcibly taken away by the passing Qing army, and the Xiucai sold the family's house and land to prepare to redeem his wife.

Just when he was disheartened, he saw that the woman on the opposite boat was clearly his wife, so he chased after him. When I asked, I found out that the Qing army that snatched her was dead, and she was sold to someone else by the boss of the Qing army, and she was about to be sent over. When that Xiucai saw this, he found the person who bought his wife from the Qing army and asked for redemption, and the man saw that this Xiucai was deeply affectionate, and did not accept the money from Xiucai, so he returned Xiucai's wife. At the end of the story, it seems that the person who returned his wife also got a blessing, but Chen Wen couldn't remember it anymore.

Although this guy is also a mouthful, he said this and that in front of Chen Wen, Chen Wen still pinched his nose and accepted him, after all, in this era when the literacy rate is not more than 10%, picking it up is earning.

It's just that after seeing that Chen Wen accepted him, this guy was different from the others, just bowed from afar and ate porridge by himself, which made the soldiers who followed Chen Wen quite angry. Moreover, his appearance was like the reincarnation of a demon, and he had no bearing as a scholar, which also made Chen Wen begin to wonder if this guy had not taken the imperial examination, and whether he should let Gu Shouli test it before he was appointed.

Compared with this scholar, the fourth person is much simpler, it seems that he has the strength to do it, but his eyes and demeanor are a bit of a scoundrel. Chen Wen was a little tempted, and then directly told him to get out, a scoundrel has nothing to do, Qi Jiguang's selection criteria said that this kind of person must not be wanted.

The last of the first group claimed to be a native of Fuyang, Hangzhou, and the ancestor made up by Chen Wen was originally a profession, a charcoal burner. Chen Wen saw that his clothes were tattered, his hair was yellow, and there was some black between his fingernails, he didn't know whether it was mud or carbon ash, he was muscular, and he felt quite strong, so he believed it a little.

It's just that when this person introduces his origin, his eyes unconsciously look to the upper right, as if he is looking for something. Seeing this, Chen Wen immediately took the case.

"Your words are not true, and they are clearly detailed! Come on, take this guy down and send it to the old camp for torture and interrogation! ”

When Chen Wen watched criminal investigation TV dramas in modern times, he once heard such a theory, saying that when a person answers a question, if his eyes move to the left or look to the left, it means that the person is recalling the past and should be telling the truth; And if the person's eyes move to the right or look to the right while answering a question, then the person is lying.

This habit can be disguised by training, which is said to have been received by agents from all over the world. It's just that Chen Wen didn't believe that a Ming Dynasty person would be so disguised, and the result of the disguise turned out to be to make people doubt themselves. Of course, even if the Manchu Qing had this kind of training at this time, in Chen Wen's opinion, such a spy should not be sent to a small army leader like himself, who only has about 300 soldiers, and he should send it to the Yongli Imperial Court, after all, that goal is big.

Hearing this, the two soldiers beside Chen Wen immediately took him down, and this person didn't resist, just kept begging for mercy. After the man was pressed to the ground by Chen Wen's soldiers, he immediately admitted that he had lied about his hometown, but the reason for lying was quite strange, which aroused Chen Wen's interest, and it was he who finished speaking.

This man's name is Chen Fugui, and he is indeed a charcoal burner, and he has the same surname as Chen Wen as he said, and he is indeed from Hangzhou. It's just that the problem is also here, he is from Hangzhou, but not from Fuyang County, Hangzhou, but from Xincheng, and the ancestor made up by Chen Wen not only did the same profession, but also was a fellow villager!

The last time Chen Wen told the ancient story in the village at the foot of the mountain, he made up the story, and this Chen Fugui was among the listeners that day. Originally, he heard the story of Chen Wen's ancestor, not only was he born in the same county, but also worked as a charcoal burner, which made him feel a little empathetic, so he also knelt down in the crowd that said he would follow Chen Wen, ready to follow Chen Wenbo's wife.

But when he returned home, after this passion passed, he hesitated again, and the reason for the hesitation seemed strange to Chen Wen, but it was a great thing in ancient times, that is, avoidance.

The avoidance here is not to write or say the name of the monarch or the officials or elders, but not to cause Chen Wen's displeasure because of his identity. In his opinion, he and Chen Wen's ancestral fellow villagers are both from Hangzhou New Town, and they both have the surname Chen, which is not fate, but something that will cause Chen Wen to be taboo. After all, he has so many similarities with Chen Wen's ancestor, if he were to be replaced by other officials, he would definitely be very displeased.

As for the reason why he lied, it was even more bizarre, according to him, he hesitated for two days and did not come up with a reason, so he planned to ask someone, but it happened to see that the fortune teller was preaching Chen Wen's recruitment list, so he told the fortune teller his question, and the fortune teller gave him a lie idea after receiving the money.

Chen Wen sent someone to summon the fortune teller in, and it didn't take much effort to wake up his memory, after all, a person who plans to join the army, but the background is almost the same as the ancestor of the general, even if he is a fortune teller who comes into contact with people every day, he feels fresh, not to mention that the general has hired him temporarily.

After listening to the suggestion, Chen Fugui felt that it was not good to lie, and if he didn't tell this lie, he was afraid of causing Chen Wen's taboo, so he hesitated for two days after thinking about it, and when he decided to come down, Chen Wen had already finished recruiting. In order to prevent missing the opportunity, the man even ran to the old camp, but was stopped by the gatekeeper of the middle camp, so he had to leave it at that.

Today, he entered the town because he had made an appointment with a large family to send charcoal, and when he settled the money and was about to buy some food for the pot, he happened to see Chen Wen riding a tall horse and leading a group of soldiers to the Chenghuang Temple, as if he was going to recruit soldiers again. He didn't want to miss the opportunity again, because he guessed the matter, he stood in the front row early, and then things developed to the way they are now.

Chen Wen glanced at the fortune teller, and then at the man, and suddenly felt like he was lifting a stone and hitting his own feet. Looking at it this way, this ancient temporary worker really has a professional ethic, this is obviously eating Lao Tzu's food and smashing Lao Tzu's pot, it seems that those jokes in later generations who called temporary workers to memorize when they have a pot are not all unreasonable.

Seeing that Chen Wen was a little hesitant, this man never decided whether to accept him, and hurriedly said that he would never dare to lie again in the future, and vigorously promoted himself to Chen Wen, and the direction of sales was not any skill, but the strength of his body.

As a general, Chen Wen didn't need to compete with him, and Chen Wen didn't plan to call his battalion soldiers to try it, so he simply gave him a problem, lifted the rectangular copper incense burner that was dedicated to incense in the City God Temple, and accepted him as long as he was lifted off the ground.

The copper incense burner is placed in the courtyard of the City God Temple, and the place that is not easy to wipe is already quite patina, and if it is visually inspected, it must have a weight of several hundred catties. Seeing that it was just this, the man immediately ran over happily, and with enough strength to lift his hands, he really lifted the copper incense burner, and it was not only as simple as forcibly leaving the ground, but even raised a distance before putting it down at Chen Wen's signal.

Although he had read Bai Juyi's "The Charcoal Seller", Chen Wen did not know that in ancient times, people engaged in this profession generally had strong strength, they cut trees and burned charcoal in the forest every day, and their lives were extremely difficult, but they also honed their will and physique. In this way, it is not surprising that this man has a strength of several hundred catties, but Chen Wen gave this man a chance to reform because of ignorance.

Chen Wen, who was embarrassed to break his promise, accepted this man at the same time, he also warned him that if he dared to speak again, he would be punished twice and would never be spared. And the man fell to the ground with a thousand thanks, kowtowing several times more than the previous three finalists combined.

After solving the first batch, Chen Wen looked through the recorded booklets, and ordered the accompanying soldiers to summon the second batch.

In this way, outside the City God Temple, Zhang Jun is responsible for reading the list text, and the officer is responsible for explaining and maintaining discipline, while the City God Temple is screened by Chen Wen, and those who pass the test go to the gang to cushion their stomachs, and those who fail are taken out by the soldiers.

In the evening of the next day, through Gu Shouli's statistics, Chen Wen learned that most of the personnel who needed to be recruited had been completed, and if all of them were incorporated into the previous three brigades, the strength would be nearly doubled. Therefore, he decided not to continue recruiting soldiers, so as to prevent too many recruits from affecting the combat effectiveness of the Nantang battalion itself.

There is not much time left, tomorrow is the first day of September, and September of this year is the month of the Qing army's encirclement and suppression recorded in the history books.

PS: Said that tomorrow will be more, the first shift before two o'clock in the afternoon, and the second shift before eight o'clock in the evening. Last month, including leave, there were four days without update, a total of four chapters, and this is the first chapter.