MLMD -Chapter 80 Big Ox and Iron Pillar

Ever since the Yue Family Manor was established in Wuli Village, it had remained the most eye-catching presence there for more than a hundred years. It owned nearly half of Wuli Village’s land, and over forty percent of the villagers were tenants of the Yue family. They farmed Yue land and depended on the Yue household for their livelihood. To say that the Yue family were local tyrants in Wuli Village was not an exaggeration in the slightest.

It was early spring. Along the banks of the Sanggan River, willows were sprouting fresh buds, slender branches swaying in the breeze with a tender green glow. By the reed marshes and along the field ridges, wild grass and flowers that had lain dormant all winter were nourished by spring dew, stretching taller by the day. Clumps of tender wild vegetables pushed up through the thawing soil, unfurling their fresh green leaves. Even the long-quiet Lower Canal seemed to be infected by the spring that filled the heavens and the earth, frolicking as it surged toward the distance.

A soaking rain had fallen the night before. The air was filled with a moist, grassy fragrance. In the lingering morning mist, Wuli Village looked even more hazy and dreamlike, as though wrapped in an immortal’s painting.

Big Ox, broad-shouldered and powerfully built, was a native of Wuli Village. Now eighteen years old, the farthest he had ever traveled in his life was a trip a few months earlier to Yingzhou City, several dozen li away, when he followed his uncles along. Just that single experience had given him bragging material for months among his friends.

Today, as usual, Big Ox sat by the Sanggan River chatting idly with a few companions.

“Hey… Iron Pillar, have you noticed?” Big Ox said. “This year the rain’s heavier than usual, and it seems like quite a few refugees from other places have come here looking for a living.”

“Tell me about it,” replied Iron Pillar, who was thinner and smaller. “Didn’t that garrison over a hundred li away move over here entirely a few days ago? But Young Master Yue arranged for them all to reclaim land twenty li away from the river, out in the outer bend. I just don’t get it. Sure, the outer bend is all wasteland, but there’s no water there. Aren’t those military households afraid of harvesting nothing at all?”

Smack!

Before Iron Pillar had even finished speaking, Big Ox slapped him hard on the shoulder, making him bare his teeth in pain. Before Iron Pillar could get angry, Big Ox scolded him, “Idiot! You can’t call him Young Master Yue anymore. He’s an official now—you’ve got to call him Lord Yue. If someone hears you, you won’t get off lightly!”

“Hmph, stop trying to scare me,” Iron Pillar said disdainfully. “Young Master Yue is a kind man. He wouldn’t make trouble for me over something so small.”

Big Ox looked at his childhood friend with contempt and lowered his voice. “See? I told you you’re dumb and you still don’t believe it. Those wastelands used to have no water, sure—but Lord Yue has those miraculous well-drilling devices, doesn’t he? As long as he wants to, he can dig dozens or even hundreds of wells. How could water still be a problem? And I’ve also heard that Lord Yue plans to gather refugees and divert the Sanggan River’s water to the outer bend. Wouldn’t that solve everything? Anyway, so much water flows every year into the Hun River, the Huangshui River, and the Mugua River for nothing. I’ve never heard the people downstream say a word of thanks—just a bunch of ungrateful wretches.”

“That’s true. And right now, the people of Wang Family Village don’t dare say a peep. Even if you lent them two more guts, they wouldn’t,” Iron Pillar said.

After Wang Shoucheng’s family was expelled from Yingzhou, their properties were sold off one after another, including their fertile fields. Yue Yang showed no mercy, seizing the opportunity to swallow up most of that land. The Yue family was now Yingzhou’s undisputed largest landlord, owning more than twenty thousand mu of farmland.

“Pillar,” someone suddenly shouted from the side, “I heard your mom say that after the New Year she’s planning to arrange a wife for you. Is that true?”

“Who—who said that? I haven’t agreed yet!” Iron Pillar’s face instantly turned red.

“Never mind who said it. Just tell us whether it’s true or not!” Big Ox grabbed Iron Pillar by the collar and demanded fiercely.

“I… I don’t know,” Iron Pillar hesitated before answering. “I don’t want to get married so soon. I… I…”

“What’s wrong? Do you have something on your mind?” Big Ox asked, sensing something was off.

“Then… you’re not allowed to laugh at me after I say it!”

“Of course. Go on—we promise we won’t laugh,” said another companion named Sanbao.

After hesitating for a moment, Iron Pillar finally said, “I… I want to become a soldier!”

“What?!”

As soon as the words left his mouth, almost everyone jumped up. Sanbao’s eyes went wide as he stared at Iron Pillar from head to toe as if seeing him for the first time, then shouted at the top of his lungs, “Are you crazy? Do you know that if your father finds out you want to join the army, he’ll break your legs?!”

“That’s exactly why I don’t dare tell him!” Iron Pillar said gloomily, burying his head in his knees like a startled ostrich.

“Being a soldier is work where you hang your head on your belt. Aren’t you afraid of dying? Your mom was planning to arrange a marriage for you right after the New Year,” Big Ox said, as though meeting his childhood friend anew. For once, the usually hot-tempered Big Ox found himself at a loss for words.

“I’m the eldest at home. I’ve got two younger brothers and a sister. But do you know this? To arrange my marriage, my mom plans to sell Big Girl to a family in Wang Family Village as a child bride. How could I agree to that?”

“What?! Your mom’s going to sell Big Girl?!”

Everyone was shocked. They all knew Iron Pillar’s two younger sisters well. Big Girl was only eleven this year and had followed them around since she was little. They all treated her like their own sister. Hearing that Iron Pillar’s parents planned to sell her, they felt a deep sense of reluctance and sorrow. Silence fell, broken only by the breeze and the sound of flowing water.

After a long pause, Sanbao asked, “How much silver does your mom plan to sell Big Girl for?”

Iron Pillar muttered, “Five taels of silver.”

After a moment, he added, “I’ve asked around. Lord Yue’s militia offers really good待遇. You get two taels of silver as settlement money as soon as you join, and half a qian of pay every month after that. Food, clothing, and lodging are all covered. With such good terms, why wouldn’t I go?”

“But being a soldier means fighting wars—and wars mean people die!” Sanbao retorted.

“If being a soldier didn’t involve fighting and dying, why would they want you?” Big Ox sneered. “You take their pay and eat their food, so you have to risk your life for them. That’s been the rule since ancient times. Besides, nobody’s forcing you to go. I’ve heard recruitment is really strict now—anyone disabled, sick, or over twenty-five is rejected. It’s stricter than choosing a son-in-law. Even if you want to go, they might not take you.”

After Big Ox finished, no one spoke.

As Yue Yang’s reputation rose, his troops became increasingly well known. Almost everyone in Yingzhou knew that this young master not only trained soldiers and fought wars well, but also treated his men generously. There was settlement money, regular pay, free food and lodging, compensation for those killed in action, and even monthly subsidies for those injured and retired from service. Compared with the rest of the Great Ming, such待遇 were truly one of a kind.

Many who envied Yue Yang secretly mocked him for paying such high wages to support his army, convinced it couldn’t last long. Yue Yang didn’t care. In the past half year alone, he had earned no less than a million taels of silver from selling private salt. Supporting four or five thousand troops was no burden at all. As for armor and clothing, everything was purchased wholesale from the modern world. A full set of warm winter cotton clothes cost at most a hundred or two hundred yuan, while a summer outfit cost only seventy or eighty yuan. In a modern world with a highly developed textile industry and garment factories everywhere, buying such things was effortless.

With such generous待遇, it was no exaggeration to say that if Yue Yang wanted to expand his forces now, a single wave of his hand would draw crowds of volunteers.

After a long silence, Big Ox suddenly stood up and shouted, “Iron Pillar, let’s go!”

Iron Pillar stared at him in shock. “Go where?”

With his face flushed, Big Ox roared, “To enlist! I don’t want to scrape by in the fields like the older generation anymore. I want to be a soldier and earn merit. As long as I don’t die, maybe I can even get a small official post!”

“But… will they even take us?” Iron Pillar hesitated at the crucial moment.

“What’s there to be afraid of? We won’t know until we go. Let’s sign up first and see!”

With that, Big Ox grabbed Iron Pillar and ran toward Yue Family Manor. He remembered that there was a recruitment registration point there…