Chapter Sixty: Invitation to the Three Chapters

  Li Qin looked down at the noisy crowd and asked Feng Cheng: "How many people are there in total now? First, tell me the overall number, then the strong young men."

  Feng Cheng hurriedly said: "As for the number of people in Huijun Hou's words, there are more than 560 people. Because I didn't count the old women and children, so the exact number is not clear, but even if it's different, it won't be much different. As for the able-bodied men..."

  After a pause, Feng Cheng said cautiously: "Is it calculated from 23 to 56 years old? Then the number of strong men is enough for 200 people, and there are more, 227 people." As for the total number, he didn't say the exact number, so the number of strong men was said with caution.

  After Emperor Zhao of Han, the system of yi bing was that ordinary people from 23 to 56 years old had to serve as a soldier for one year in these thirty-four years. In the border counties, it was manifested as zheng zu and shu zu combined, serving as a soldier for two years. The northern counties were naturally border counties, and further north was the territory of the Xiongnu. Therefore, Feng Cheng calculated the age of strong men to be from 23 to 56 years old.

  Li Qinfurrowed his brow, this algorithm is because the soldiers are not married and have no children, leaving no descendants, while the elderly are weak and can no longer be soldiers. Since the imperial court has stipulated this algorithm, it must be due to actual needs. However, for him, it's unacceptable. He needs professional soldiers, in difficult times, that is, now, they can only be half-farmers and half-soldiers, but later they will have to be full-time soldiers. The rules must be set in advance, otherwise, temporary decisions will lead to many unexpected troubles.

  He said, "We can't calculate it this way. I think we should consider those between 16 and 40 years old. If there are those over 40 with special talents, they can also join the army, but only if they are willing, we cannot force them."

  Jia Yu smiled and said: "These days everyone says don't force it, but has there ever been a case where nothing was forced?"

  When the government has something to do, it's normal to conscript strong and able-bodied men from among the common people. Not conscripting them would be abnormal! When there's a task at hand, which official will bother with the actual age of the common people? You say you're 57, but I'll just say you don't look like it, you're only 28. What can you do about it? Is there anywhere to reason with?

  Li Qilin knew that what he had just said was flawed and contained errors, which needed to be corrected in a timely manner. Being stubborn wouldn't work; even ducks can be hard-headed, but they're still edible goods. Li Qilin immediately turned around and said: "Brother-in-law's words are extremely reasonable, I didn't think it through earlier and didn't consider this point, luckily brother-in-law reminded me. In the future, if I make this kind of mistake again, brother-in-law must remind me at the first opportunity."

  Jia Yu was quite pleased and nodded: "That's natural."

  Jia's father shouted from behind: "My son's words, can they be wrong? Ah Qian, from now on, whatever happens, listen to your brother-in-law's words, and you'll never go wrong!"

  Li QIN thought for a moment and said, "If someone over 40 years old comes to join the army, we need to see what skills they have first, and then select the best ones. However, once they join the army, they must become an officer, at least with the rank of Wuchang. Of course, those who normally join the army also need to be given official positions based on their abilities after passing the assessment."

  Jia Yu nodded and said, "That's right, La Zhuang Ding is a bully, he only dares to bully the common people, but has never dared to bully an official!" He lowered his voice, pretending to be profound, but still intentionally loud enough for others to hear. He said, "In that case, I estimate that capable people from nearby will come flocking over!"

  Li Qin smiled and didn't answer, but thought in his heart: "Brother-in-law has started to play tricks, wanting to be different, he really knows how to find the right moment!"

  For a newly formed group, members will actively seek their own status within the group. To make Jia Yu subordinate to others, he must not be willing, so he would do such an act. Although his behavior looks quite annoying and has a bit of a show-off taste, it also gives other members a feeling that in this group, only he can talk to Li Qin and can talk at any time. Naturally, his status is solidified, even if Li Qin doesn't mention it, and he himself doesn't mention it, but others will think that he is one of the important members, and when he hasn't received a corresponding official position, he must make others feel this way, which is very important.

  In fact, the method Li Qin mentioned still has loopholes and can only prevent a small number of lazy people from taking advantage of it. However, it is better than nothing, as there is no completely effective method in any dynasty. But Li Qin's method has another great benefit, which is that it will attract many people who think they have some skills and experience to come and join.

  No matter whether it's going to war or governing a place, experience is very important, and experience corresponds to age. Coming here, as long as you can join, you can mix with a small official. Don't look at the small official, but this is a gesture of Liqin Group to the outside world, a gesture that the capable will be in charge. At the same time, it indicates that if you want to stand out here, you don't need to rely on your father's background, but rather on your own abilities.

  In the late Han Dynasty when aristocratic families were everywhere, this was already a very remarkable reform, selecting people based on their abilities, enough to make the Li Qiang group different from other groups.

  Looking at the villagers, Li Qin remained silent for a long time. Suddenly, he said loudly: "Everyone, don't make a noise, listen to me, Li Qin." He clapped his hands loudly.

  The people below all looked up together and gazed at the crowd on the city wall. These people on the city wall could be considered core figures.

  Li Qindao said loudly: "We built this castle with our own hands, and from now on it will be our home where we live! From today on, I officially declare that the name of this castle is Fu Jiao Castle, and we are all members of it!" After finishing speaking, he clapped his hands again.

  The people heard his words and were overjoyed, which meant that Li Qin had formally accepted them, they were all their own people! Amidst the applause, the people clapped together.

  Li Qin shouted loudly: "From now on, we will establish countless rules in Fuguo Fort and record them for everyone to follow. Now I'll announce three first, please listen carefully!"

  The people on the city wall heard this and slightly furrowed their brows, thinking to themselves: "This isn't right, is it? On a day of great joy, they're already in such a rush to impose military service and forced labor. No wonder they mentioned age earlier!"

  The people below also felt a bit distressed, although they were their own kind, but what they should bear would not be reduced by half, Li Lang was going to talk about paying taxes, wouldn't it be higher than what the government wanted?

  The key is also that the institutional collapse of the Han court was too severe. As soon as rules are mentioned, everyone thinks in a bad direction.

  "First, the most important thing for a hundred years is education. I, Li Qian, will invite teachers to come and teach all children under 16 in the village to recognize characters. All expenses will be borne by the village, and we will also open a university so that people of any age can come and listen to lectures. Everyone must learn to read and write, let the children have a future, learn great skills, and don't be blind anymore!"

  Everyone on the city wall was surprised, it turned out that it wasn't about conscription and labor service, but opening a school, this is an unprecedented thing! The common people below were also shocked and dared not believe it was true.

  At the end of Han Dynasty, paper was not widespread. Even if it took a few hundred years for paper to become widespread, books were still precious things. Reading and education were privileges reserved for children from noble families. It wasn't until the Sui and Tang Dynasties that children from humble backgrounds could participate in imperial examinations. Even then, being able to read was no small feat, or else there wouldn't be so many inspirational stories!

  Do ordinary people of this era know that reading is important? This is a waste of words, if it's not important, why would the children of aristocratic families read books? But ordinary people don't have the opportunity to read, some people go their whole lives without even seeing what a book looks like! Some ordinary people say, "Reading is useless, one should just honestly farm and eat a full meal", this is because they didn't have the opportunity, if they did, see if they wouldn't send their own children to school!

  The people under the city wall didn't say a word, they just quietly listened. However, the crowd on the city wall started discussing in hushed tones, all saying that this was impossible. It wasn't that Li QIN wouldn't do it, but rather that he couldn't succeed. Even if they invited a teacher to teach, the common people didn't have time to attend school. And teaching children to read would only show results ten years later. Moreover, whether or not it would be a waste of effort was also unknown.

  Jia Yu was taken aback at first, but after a moment's thought, he broke into a smile. Just then, his father nudged him from behind and whispered, "Hurry up and offer your opinion, don't let Ah Qian make a fool of himself!"

  Jia Yun shook his head, thinking to himself: "This isn't just being reckless, this is a clever move that can't be beat! Alas, I thought I was quite good at boasting myself, but I didn't think my brother-in-law could outdo me!"

  He thought Li QIN was boasting, and in a short time, Li QIN's statement could only be boasting. Because the effect of people reading books is too slow to appear, and the vast majority of people can only write their own names instead of fingerprinting. However, this is an important message that Fugao Fort has such "welfare" while others do not!

  The hearts of parents all over the world are pitiful. Adults would rather suffer themselves than let their children go without. If they come to Fuling Fort, and it allows their children to read books and have a future, then just that "possibility" is enough for them to fight with all their might. Li Qin wants to recruit more people, this is the best propaganda, many will come to rely on him, because Li Qin can provide his children with the possibility of living a better life than themselves, only "Li Qin can", others cannot do it, this point is very important.

  Li Qindao said: "Please teach the book Mr. this matter, it's settled like this, not only taking care of children reading books, but also taking care of two meals a day, before the child is 16 years old, I will support everyone!"

  The common people heard this and were all greatly delighted. Whether they had children or not, they all felt joyful, as it meant that the next generation would have hope, at least to live a better life than theirs.

  Mr. Jia was in a great hurry, and he pulled Jia Rong to let his son speak to Li Qian. He couldn't afford it, what if the children grew up later and there were a large group of them, how could they be fed? How much grain would they need?

  Jia Xun turned around, gently shaking his head at his father. He knew that the common people would work hard for their children and pay taxes to avoid trouble. Li Qin took out a small portion of the tax to support the children, not only making them grateful for life but also causing the adults to rally tightly around him. As for grain, isn't that just another form of taxation? Just look at the county magistrate of Fuping, who can't even collect taxes.

  Mr. Jia saw his son ignoring him and could only feel anxious, after all, he couldn't see the long-term benefits.

  At this time, Li Qin spoke of the second rule.

  ——

  The first update is here! Wish you a safe and happy reading experience, and hope to see "Master" on the new book chart soon! As a small grass-root author, I don't have many opportunities to get featured on the weekly recommended list, so please help me out by showing your support for "Master"!