Chapter 858 854 [Draw lots to garrison]

   "No one stays voluntarily, so we have to think of other ways." Mission officer Jia Shi once said.

  Wang Fuchen pondered for a long time: "It's better to draw lots to decide, and those who are drawn will stay. Of course, they can't stay here all the time, and they will rotate in two to three years."

Jia Shi once said: "I heard from Khabarov that people are more likely to die here than in Hailanpao. When we stationed in Hailanpao, we had to consult the local aborigines to adapt to the winter in Hailanpao. We need to accumulate experience here, so When you switch defenses, you can’t change them all at once.”

Wang Fuchen said: "There are 60 soldiers in the garrison, and 20 people are replaced every year. Food is transported from Hailanpao every year, and 20 soldiers are brought along to change defenses. Twenty new soldiers accumulate experience with forty veterans. So , Sixty garrisons can be replaced in three years, and the survival experience of new garrisons can also be guaranteed.”

   "Yes." Jia Shizeng nodded.

  Wang Fuchen said: "Since it takes three years to change, there is no need to bring the soldiers' wives. If they become pregnant, many babies will die."

   Hailanpao and Yakesa's Datong Army are all unmarried or widowed. They married an indigenous woman from Heilongjiang, and they have already settled down in the Heilongjiang River Basin. If they have to change defenses every year, then there is really no need to bring their wives to Yakutsk. "

  The Cossacks had such a miserable life in Tsarist Russia that they ran to places with ice and snow, and even established strongholds on the permafrost.

  Letting the Datong Army settle in Yakutsk is simply tantamount to exile, which is difficult to accept both emotionally and rationally.

Jia Shi once said: "You can ask the imperial court to exile some serious criminals. Those who commit heinous crimes and must die are not even eligible to be exiled to Heilongjiang. In the future, they can choose to be exiled to Yakutsk. It doesn't take too much, Yaku Cike can maintain dozens of Han people.”

   "Although many people may die, after a few decades, the Han people here should be able to multiply to hundreds or even thousands." Wang Fuchen agreed with this.

  After the two discussed, they called the soldiers to draw lots.

  Before, no one signed up to stay voluntarily. I heard that the lottery was decided, and no one had any objections. Counting military officers and civil servants, more than 500 troops were dispatched this time, and only 60 people were drawn to stay. Those who were drawn could only consider themselves unlucky.

Wang Fuchen said to the soldiers: "Don't be afraid, next year there will be 20 people who can switch defenses and leave. At that time, a lottery will be drawn to decide who will leave. One of the three will only need to be stationed for one year. I will keep Khabarov , teach you how to cultivate the land here, and teach you how to survive the cold here. By the way, some of your Daur wives are already pregnant, and all the soldiers will help take care of them."

  The clerk who accompanied the army brought a pen and paper.

  Cut the paper into small squares, wrote 60 characters of "stay", and the rest are all blank.

  The soldiers lined up to draw lots, and the clerk opened them up and announced the situation on the spot.

   "Miss."

   "Miss."

   "Miss."

"Keep!"

   "..."

  The unlucky guy who drew the word "stay" didn't hang his head down, but smiled wryly at himself.

   "Zhang Tingxun, what line are you in? Get out quickly!" Wang Fuchen yelled suddenly.

  Zhang Tingxun ran out of the line, with his head held high, his arms crossed, and he gave a military salute: "General, I am also in the Datong Army. If I don't participate in the lottery, how can I convince the masses? From now on, I won't be able to be a man in the army!"

  The rest of the soldiers looked over one after another.

  Wang Fuchen was overwhelmed immediately, and if Zhang Tingxun was not allowed to draw lots, the soldiers would inevitably complain, which would not be good for him to lead troops in the future. If Zhang Tingxun wins the lottery, how can he explain to his old boss Li Zheng if he freezes to death and dies here? And how to explain to the Duke Zhang Tieniu?

  Wang Fuchen, who was capable and decisive in commanding the battle, couldn't make up his mind for a while, and turned to look at the missionary officer Jia Shizeng.

  The missionary officer focuses on ideological work, and considers more things than Wang Fuchen. Jia Shi thought about it: "Old Wang, it's impossible not to draw. Once an exception is made, there will be many people who break the rules in the future. I hope... this little prince will not be drawn."

  Wang Fuchen glared at Zhang Tingxun fiercely, and said angrily, "Go to the queue!"

   "Yes!" Zhang Tingxun ran back to his original seat.

   One after another, more than 200 people have drawn lots, but there are only a dozen or so winners, and the chances of winning are getting higher and higher.

  It is very possible that when the paper tags were shaken in the box, many "stay" tags sank to the bottom. Because I wrote 60 characters of "stay", I put it in and shook it all at once.

  Wang Fuchen hurriedly shouted: "Shake it again, the labels are not even."

"Ha ha ha ha!"

   All the soldiers laughed when they heard the words. They could all understand Wang Fuchen's difficulties. If they really left the young man in Yakutsk, they would be playing big.

"Keep!"

   Sure enough, after shaking the box again, the first one to draw lots won.

   "Miss!"

   "Miss!"

   "Miss!"

  The ones ahead of Zhang Tingxun, every time they missed, Wang Fuchen's heart sank. Finally someone was drawn, and he let out a foul breath, he was more tired than fighting.

   Finally it was Zhang Tingxun's turn. There were only 104 people who had not yet drawn lots, and there were still 15 "stay" signatures.

  14.42% chance of winning the lottery.

  Zhang Tingxun’s thoughts are very tangled. He looks forward to staying in Yakutsk to show that he can endure hardships and stand hard work. As long as he wins the lottery, he will be stationed in Yakutsk for two or three years as a young master, and he will surely be famous in the entire Anton Protectorate. At the same time, he didn't want to stay in the lottery. This place is really meaningless.

  With this mentality, Zhang Tingxun twisted out a piece.

   After the clerk took it apart, he subconsciously looked at Wang Fuchen.

  Wang Fuchen scolded: "If you fail, just say it!"

  The clerk spread out the signed paper and shouted loudly: "Stay!"

  Wang Fuchen's eyes darkened, and he almost fainted on the spot. This time, he really screwed up.

   "Young master is mighty!"

  The soldiers booed in unison, and at this moment, they completely accepted Zhang Tingxun.

  Zhang Tingxun scratched his head with a smile, and if he stayed, he would stay. He has a very strong body and has never been sick since he was a child.

After all the lottery was drawn, Wang Fuchen said: "Peng Chunlin stays and temporarily serves as Yakutsk garrison officer. Wu Wenbi stays and temporarily serves as Yakutsk chief missionary officer. Ma Wei stays. You are a military doctor and take good care of the soldiers. Li Jiang Stay here, record the daily temperature here, and draw a map of the vicinity. The four of you will all be stationed for three years."

   These four unlucky guys were not drawn by lottery, because they had special tasks, so they were directly named and kept.

  Wang Fuchen said to Zhang Tingxun again: "You will be Peng Chunlin's deputy!"

"yes!"

  Zhang Tingxun was so excited that he was actually promoted, although it was only a temporary position.

  On the same day, Wang Fuchen explained many matters, and led the army to leave the next day. Some supplies were left behind, as well as seized supplies, enough for them to last for a year or two.

  After the large troops left, Peng Chunlin called a meeting.

  Including Khabarov, there are a total of 65 troops stationed.

  The first thing to do is to deal with slaves and hostages. The slaves understood very well that the hostages came from nearby tribes, and the Cossacks would capture the hostages and let the natives exchange them for their furs.

  The reason why the hostages are being held is because the aborigines here belong to the semi-nomadic people, and it is difficult to control without taking hostages.

   There are 87 slaves in total, all of whom are men, and their usual work is farming.

   There are also livestock here, three horses and five reindeer. The Cossack always feeds the livestock himself, fearing that the slave will touch the livestock, so he accidentally rides away.

   There are more than a dozen hostages, all of whom are males and should be the sons of the tribal leaders.

   There are 92 women and more than a dozen children. The identities of these people are very special. The women are the wives snatched by the Cossacks, and the children are the descendants of the Cossacks.

  Peng Chunlin knew why he stayed, so many officers chose him to be in charge of this place, obviously because he knew Zhang Tingxun best.

  Peng Chunlin first organized and trained the team, appointed the captain, chief, and corporal, and then announced: "Those children are the offspring of the Cossacks. I don't want to raise them, and I can't bear to kill them. How about driving them away?"

  No one objected. Someone wanted to say something, but they never spoke.

  The meaning of driving away is to fend for itself. How can a group of children survive the winter?

  Zhang Tingxun looked around, couldn't bear it anymore, and said: "You can raise those under five years old, and they don't remember anything anyway."

  Peng Chunlin nodded: "Yes."

  Science has proved that the human brain is fully developed at the age of seven, so things before the age of seven will basically be gradually forgotten.

Peng Chunlin also said: "Our wives are all in Hailanpao, and none of them were brought here. Three years, it was very difficult, and those who want to ask for a wife can sign up. If you don't mind, we will accept the women left by the Cossacks. If you want to wait, marry a nearby native, and then send something as a betrothal gift."

  The three major guards and overseas territories, the military discipline of Datong has undergone some changes. The imperial court encourages soldiers to marry more wives, especially aboriginal women!

  As long as you don’t rob civilian women by force, as long as your military salary can support you, the more wives you marry and have children, the better, and you can quickly increase the number of local Han people. Is it disrespectful to women? But adapting measures to current conditions and local conditions, nothing is static.

   There were more than a dozen soldiers on the spot, willing to accept the Cossack woman.

  Peng Chunlin asked: "Is there any more? If there are no more, I will assign the remaining women to those slaves as wives."

   After saying this, two more soldiers raised their hands.

  Peng Chunlin nodded and said: "You draw lots in order, go and choose your wife. Choose the remaining women and let them choose their slave husbands."

  The Datong Army chooses women first, and the remaining women choose slave men.

Finally, Khabarov announced to the slaves: "You are all free, you can continue to stay here to farm the land, pay some grain as tax every year, and the rest of the grain is your own. If you want to leave, you can leave now. "

  Go fart!

  The tribe they belonged to has long been nomadic, and leaving Yakutsk now is tantamount to death.

   Was chosen by a woman to be her husband's slave, willing to believe in the Datong Army, and took the lead in kneeling down to thank the great kindness. The rest of the slaves were dubious, but still willing to stay and farm.

   After a few more days, the weather became colder, and the night was almost close to zero.

   After half a month, it began to snow.

  When the ground was covered with snow, the Datong Army welcomed the first batch of guests.

  More than a dozen reindeer pulled the sled, and there were people and fur on the sled, and they quickly approached the castle.

   These are the natives who came in exchange for hostages. They only appeared after the snow fell.

  (end of this chapter)