Chapter 42: The Thoughts of the Mercenaries (3,000 words) "I do."
Harvey was the first to jump out, he was already old, and the reason why he was reluctant to retire was not only because he was still not old, but also because he didn't know what he could do after retirement, but also to give full play to his spare heat and exchange for a better life for his family and future generations - now the opportunity has come, if he can use his life to fight for a bright future for future generations, then why does he regret this old life?
"I'm willing to participate, too."
Hal is the second to stand up, he also has a family, in fact, all mercenaries have families - after all, although the mercenaries have a hard life, but the income is indeed high enough, coupled with the humanized management of the original cause, the treatment of the soldiers under his command is not bad, so almost all the mercenaries have a lot of money in their hands, and it is a waste of money to fall into the hands of those of them who have today and no tomorrow, in case they die on the battlefield, they can only become the enemy's spoils, it is better to spend it first, so under the propaganda of Benin and others, Almost all the mercenaries married or bought wives and gave birth to offspring.
But the mercenaries themselves know that their descendants have no future, because mercenaries themselves are not accepted by ordinary people, they are forced to become mercenaries by life, they are forced to do so, but they do not want their sons to follow their old path in the future.
However, if you want to change the lives of future generations, you must let them master new skills, but they will not know anything but fighting, and the only thing they can teach their children is the fighting skills they need to survive.
But these combat skills will one day lead their children down their old path, and if they don't change, it is to be expected that their children will also follow the path of mercenaries in the future, which is not a future they want to see but is almost destined to see.
Unless they can get adventures, such as getting the favor of some nobles or even kings, becoming their servants or soldiers, so that they can get rid of the status of mercenaries and usher in a new life, or save an important member in the war, or make great achievements on the battlefield, and then get a reward, or even become a nobleman directly.
It's just that neither of these two methods is so easy, you have to have extraordinary skills in the former, otherwise why do you want people to favor you?
The latter requires luck, and if there is no luck, even if the opportunity appears in front of you, you can't grasp it - in short, these two methods are destined to be the treatment of a few, and the only end for ordinary mercenaries to retire is to become ordinary people, but they are used to seeing life and death on the battlefield, how can these bloody warriors adapt to the life of normal people?
As for serving as a nursing home for landlords and wealthy businessmen?
Since they chose to be mercenaries, it shows that their hearts are naturally yearning for freedom, and they are most unconstrained by rules and regulations, even if they retire, it is impossible to be a slave to others - not to mention that they themselves are not short of money, and decades of killing are enough for them to earn enough money to provide for their worry-free life for the rest of their lives, which is also the only better place for mercenaries.
Therefore, the way out for mercenaries after retirement is actually very narrow, which is one of the reasons why Harvey is so old, but he is still active on the battlefield - he really doesn't know what else he can do after he retires, and even because his hands are covered with blood, he doesn't dare to hug his grandson, for fear that the evil of his injury and contamination will be passed on to his children and grandchildren.
But now it's different, their future has taken a turn for the better, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince of the Tang Dynasty is willing to accept them, not only can give them the identity of the Tang Dynasty, but also as long as they make meritorious contributions, they can even become nobles - in the eyes of these alien mercenaries, there is actually no difference between officials and nobles, after all, in their hometowns, officials are basically held by nobles, and this kind of appointment is usually hereditary, and poor people basically have no chance to get ahead except for joining the army and making meritorious contributions.
And under the leadership of those waste snacks, they can survive on the battlefield It already shows that they are lucky enough, as for meritorious service, it is simply impossible, even if they make merit, they will be snatched away by the nobles on their heads, and they may not even get a reward - and this is one of the reasons why most mercenaries are foreigners, after all, not only do they not get credit for being a soldier, but they even have very little salary, and the compensation for death is even lower and outrageous, who will be a soldier?
On the contrary, although being a mercenary has no status and no future, the income is leveraged, at least the family can live, and even if they die on the battlefield, the compensation is usually very high, which is far from what can be obtained by joining the army.
And the Tang Dynasty is different, as I said before, the most difficult thing in the world to get is the nationality of the Tang Dynasty, because the Tang people are the happiest people in the world, although there is also oppression here, but there is no slave profession (or this profession is not open to the people of the Tang Dynasty), and the nobles do not dare to blatantly kill their servants or abuse the people of their fiefdoms, these will be severely punished by the law.
What's more, with the development of time, Datang seems to have entered a prosperous era, the country is getting stronger and stronger, the surrounding countries dare not compete with it, and the living conditions of the domestic people are getting better and better, especially the development of Nanyang and other places, not only the price of food has further fallen, but most of the people have their own land in their hands, and most of them have a little spare money in their hands, plus the domestic commodity prices are not expensive, and the sense of happiness is getting stronger and stronger.
It can be said that you only need to be diligent enough to live well in Datang, if the wind and rain are smooth, and you can work hard for two years, you can build a big house, even if the wind and rain are not smooth, at most three or five years of the belongings that should be there can be almost done, and the remaining money in your hand can even marry a wife, and live a happy life with a wife and children from now on.
Unlike foreign countries, even if you grow the food tiredly, you are only farming for the nobles, and the high taxes make the people miserable, and the food that eventually falls into your hands may not even exceed 30% - such a small ration barely makes the family starve to death at most, and it is impossible to have food in stock, if there is a famine year, they will only have to wait for death to go.
In addition to life, there are also promotion channels, although the Tang Dynasty is also controlled by the aristocracy, but it has not completely cut off the promotion path of the common people, Wen can participate in the scientific examination, Wu can join the army and make meritorious contributions, as long as you have the ability, you can become the high-level of the Tang Dynasty - now there are many big people from civilians in the center of the Tang Dynasty, and there are countless civilians among the local feudal officials.
Coupled with the champions who have come out of the poor family over the years, as well as the officials at all levels from poor families under Li Zhen, although the current cold forces are still slightly insufficient compared to the family and the nobles, they can already fight and have contacts, so that they can only be pressed to the ground and rubbed like before.
These are enough to prove that as long as you have the ability in the Tang Dynasty, there will be no shortage of advanced steps, and this is also the place where foreigners envy the Tang people the most - because here is really to the point where the prince and the prince will have a kind of Xiangning, unlike a foreign country, or the world of aristocrats, the hierarchy is clear, nobles are born nobles, commoners can only be commoners forever, and it is difficult to have the opportunity to become nobles.
And don't forget, it is the prince of the Tang Dynasty who has made this promise now, his identity is already the second most noble in the Tang Dynasty, and even the power in the Tang Dynasty is not weaker than that of the emperor of the Tang Dynasty - the current Tang Dynasty is divided into two parts, one is the Tang Dynasty itself, plus the Turks and Goguryeo and other places, collectively called the mainland, and the owner of this part is Li Shimin.
The other part is with Lingnan as the core, plus Nanyang, Tianzhu, Borneo, Luzon and even some of the Tibetan regions, the area is not inferior to the local, and the fiscal revenue is even more local.
And although this part is also nominally dominated by Li Shimin, and the taxes that should be paid every year are a lot, the real ruler here is Li Zhen, and sometimes even Li Shimin's holy decree may not be as good as Li Zhen's words in Lingnan.
Especially with the increasing number of students graduating from Wentian Academy, Li Zhen has gradually replaced the Lingnan officialdom with his own people, coupled with the hundreds of thousands of troops in his hands, he has achieved the goal of truly controlling the south, and the real 10,000 people here are admired and reigned over the world.
It is precisely for this reason that some people call him the Southern Emperor, which means the supreme emperor who rules the south, and corresponds to Li Shimin, who sits in the north.
However, as soon as he knew this title, Li Zhen arrested the person who spread the name - is this Hongguoguo's killing intention so that he can't see it?
Fortunately, Li Zhen reacted quickly, and handed a statement to Chang'an as soon as he was arrested, otherwise if this word spread to Chang'an, I am afraid that no matter how much Li Shimin believes him, I am afraid that he will have a grudge against him, and even at the instigation of some people, it is not necessary to recall Li Zhen from Nanyang to Chang'an, and his efforts will really be greatly discounted at that time.
But no matter what the purpose of others giving him the title of Southern Emperor, one thing is correct - that is, Li Zhen is really the emperor of the south, and now everyone understands that as long as you climb the relationship with the crown prince, then it will not be far from your soaring.
This truth is known even to mercenaries like Harvey and Harr, and now that this opportunity has been sent to the door, how could they let it go - you must know that as long as you participate this time, your identity as a Tang person will basically be determined, and even your family will become a member of the Tang Dynasty, and even if you die in battle, you will not change this point.
If you can make great contributions in this battle, you will even be rewarded by the crown prince and become a real nobleman, and from then on become a real master......
How could they let go of such a good opportunity?