My eunuch godfather

Chapter 16 Recruiting

After helping the Sun family get an explanation from the Guo family, Zhang Kun didn't rush to share the profits. Instead, he focused on the important matter of recruiting river workers.

Many of the disaster victims gathered in Hejian City still had houses, fields, and other property, and would not easily leave their homes.

To encourage the disaster victims, Zhang Kun first hired a group of storytellers and opera singers to promote three main points:

The first point.

They promoted how great the capital was, for example, that meat was cheap and that people could eat meat every day.

Compared to rural areas, cities, especially large cities like the capital, have a greater concentration of wealthy people, making it easier to slaughter and sell livestock.

Many landlords in the countryside ate less meat on ordinary days than ordinary citizens in the capital, and could only eat more during festivals.

Second point.

The propaganda campaign against the river engineering camp was not about providing relief, but about making money.

Eunuch Zhang, being benevolent, seized the opportunity presented by the imperial court's establishment of the river engineering camp to give his fellow villagers a chance to make a fortune in the capital.

After working in the capital for a few years, you can bring home a certain amount of money, enough to build a house and get married.

Third point.

The propaganda claimed that doing well in the river work camp would give one the opportunity to obtain a minor official position or even a government post, thus directly achieving upward social mobility.

Wouldn't it be wonderful to buy a house and settle down in the capital then?

To promote the cause, Zhang Kun built dozens of soup kitchens near various disaster relief shelters.

While distributing porridge to the disaster victims, storytellers and opera singers would promote the cause while the victims lined up to receive and eat the porridge.

At the same time, they recruited craftsmen and disaster victims to level an abandoned government field outside the city and build a temporary camp for the river work camp.

Once the camp was built, the recruitment of river workers officially began.

"Starting tomorrow, everyone should spread the word that the river works battalion will only recruit one thousand men in Hejian."

In the restaurant, Zhang Kun sat at the head of the table and gave instructions to the storyteller and the opera troupe leaders:

"This was secured by Zhang Gong for his family and fellow villagers; the remaining spots were taken by other high-ranking officials."

Let everyone in the village know that if they don't register quickly, they'll miss their chance!

After the banquet, several of the storytellers went to a nearby teahouse for tea.

"Senior brother, is the capital really that good?"

"How many officials don't lie? They're just fooling those ignorant villagers!"

"I think it's at least 40% or 50% true, otherwise why would they go to the trouble of traveling all the way from the capital to Hejian to deceive people? Aren't there any country folk in the north?"

"You actually believe that? Even if it's true to some extent, you're too weak to carry anything, so you can't go anyway."

"This river works camp doesn't just recruit manual laborers,"

One of the young storytellers was quite tempted and said:

"They also recruit craftsmen, scribes, and the like. I'm a bachelor, I know a few hundred characters, and I'd like to give it a try."

Even if the officials are lying, just consider it a trip to the capital to broaden one's horizons.

"Ha, be careful you don't get conscripted to the border town by the officials, and you'll drag your foolish eldest apprentice down with you too."

Another older storyteller shook his head and said with a smile:

"We dare not go. Your sister-in-law can't protect us. She'll make sure we're forced to wear several headscarves."

"Brother, hurry home! Your wife might be having fun with some other man right now!"

"Go to hell!"

Under Zhang Kun's propaganda offensive from the future, many disaster victims rushed to the temporary camp and lined up to register.

To encourage registration, Zhang Kun removed all the soup kitchens and moved them all to a temporary camp.

Zhang Kun wasn't good at judging people; before he transmigrated, he had only ever managed four or five cats and dogs at most.

But Zhang Kun knew who had the ability to judge people:

Zhang Kun hired almost all the fortune tellers, physiognomists, and word diviners in Hejian City to act as HR personnel.

The requirements for most river workers are that they be hardworking and reliable. In addition, there are a few positions available for those who meet the following criteria:

For example, being physically strong and skilled in martial arts.

For example, those who have a certain prestige among their fellow villagers or clansmen, or those who possess personal charisma.

For example, someone who is quick-witted is ideally literate.

Zhang Kun will have these people participate in the "second test" and the "final test," and then arrange for two fortune tellers to conduct the assessment.

If someone has a good personality, they can be recruited into the river engineering battalion; they will most likely become key members of the team in the future.

Those who were rejected would also receive a bag of rice from Zhang Kun; the bag was marked.

They were also told that they could bring the bag and recommend people they knew to come and sign up.

For each person admitted, they will receive an extra bag of rice.

After recruiting about 500 people, Zhang Kun divided them into ten teams, each with 50 people.

Ten skilled fighters and retainers were dispatched to lead the troops and begin basic military training:

First, arrange the people in a line according to their height, with five rows in each line and ten people in each row. The tallest person in the line will serve as the temporary leader.

The workers were instructed to memorize the locations, such as "the third one in the second column of team A1". If they couldn't remember, they were to be hit until they did.

If you can't stand it, then get out. If you don't want to do it, there are plenty of other people who will.

Secondly, there's turning left and turning right; many people today really can't distinguish between left and right.

Then comes standing up, sitting down on your bottom, and moving forward.

Finally, each person is given a wooden stick with their location and name engraved on it as an identification mark; if someone drops a stick, they are attacked.

Installing a shovel head makes it a shovel, and installing a spearhead makes it a spear.

During training, those team leaders who perform poorly will be replaced.

Those who perform well but are not the team leader will either fill the vacancy or be assigned to the next B-class battalion as team leaders, with experienced members mentoring new ones.

......

Outside Renqiu City, Sun Jing watched the departing funeral procession, feeling deeply saddened.

The Sun family had been brewing wine for generations, but by the time it reached Sun Jing, he was still just an unknown winemaker.

Sun Jing improved the process, brewing a more mellow and stronger wine, which made him famous and brought him a fortune.

Today, it has developed into the largest distillery owner in Hejian, owning more than a dozen distilleries and wine shops, and thousands of acres of sorghum fields.

Having money but no official rank, Sun Jing went to great lengths and invested heavily to secure a marriage agreement with the Guo family in order to preserve his wealth.

Just as the wedding was about to take place, some treacherous bandits suddenly appeared and attacked the wedding procession.

His daughter's reputation was ruined, and his two sons lost their lives, causing Sun Jing to age more than ten years overnight, his hair turning gray.

What's worse, after the Guo family broke off the engagement, their own family members, in a moment of panic, actually went to the Guo family to demand an explanation.

Sun Jing also hates the Guo family, but if the Guo family goes from being in-laws to enemies, it will only make things worse for the Sun family!

Unexpectedly, Zhang Kun appeared out of nowhere!

This Zhang Kun is incredibly resourceful; he managed to get the Guo family to return all the gift money to the Sun family and even write a letter of apology!

That was a scholar who had passed the imperial examinations, a scholar who could submit notes to the prefect, be on friendly terms with the county magistrate, and make clerks kneel and kowtow!

Sun Jing was not pleased but worried:

The Guo family has absolutely been offended. Would Zhang Kun really help the Sun family for nothing?

Moreover, Zhang Kun has not asked the Sun family for any benefits until now, which suggests that he may have something more to gain.

"Father, your daughter is unfilial."

The Sun family girl, dressed in coarse hemp mourning clothes, came over, knelt before her father, and sobbed with tears streaming down her face:

"My daughter wants to go to the temple to shave her head and become a nun, to pray for her two brothers' next life, and to end her life before the Buddha."

"Father has already lost two sons, does he also have to lose a daughter?"

Sun Jing sighed deeply, tears welling in his eyes, and stopped his daughter:

"If you want to pray for your brothers, then practice at home and don't go to the temple."

Few of those monks and nuns are truly devoted to Buddhism; they are filthy and cannot get close to the Buddha there!

"Your father has earned so much money, enough to support you until you're old!"

Reaching out to help his daughter up, he continued:

"You should go to Hejian with your father first. You need to kowtow to Zhang, the magistrate who saved you, to thank him in person."