Fearing being killed for his overwhelming merits, the empress decided to marry him.

Chapter 627 The Treatment of Cannon Fodder

"They got off easy this time. When I come back tomorrow, I'm going to personally rip off Tanaka's head and kick it like a football."

"Well said, that's how it should be. Let them know how powerful Inoue Village is."

"I'm not going to say anything more, I'm starving. I'm going home to urge my wife to cook dinner."

The able-bodied men of Inoue Village returned to the village with smiles on their faces.

But as soon as they entered the village, everyone noticed something was wrong.

The village was completely quiet, without a sound.

Inoue Yuichi: "Village chief, why is no one in the village?"

Upon hearing this, Inoue Ryuji flew into a rage: "How many times have I told you? When you go to war, you must call me the General Who Subdues Rebels! Why can't you remember, you idiot?"

"Hey, General who's fighting against the rebels, don't you think the village is unusually quiet?"

"I already noticed it, did you need to tell me?"

Inoue Ryuji leveled the cross-shaped spear, then pulled a strong man in front of him and grabbed his shoulder.

"Follow me one by one, don't let someone raid your home."

So the able-bodied men of Inoue Village immediately followed behind Inoue Ryuji, placing their hands on his shoulders, forming a long, serpentine line, and began to slowly incline along the village entrance.

"Hey, what are you doing?"

Suddenly, a calm shout broke the silence.

Ryuji Inoue looked in the direction of the sound and was immediately at a loss.

Standing before him were three soldiers in blue uniforms, their rifles pointed at him.

"I'm asking you a question, what are you doing?"

The questioning caused Inoue and his companions to stumble back a few steps, one of them collapsing to the ground.

For those dressed in bright clothes, this group of people from the lower classes who toil in the fields year-round will feel a sense of awe, a feeling ingrained in the very genes of the Cloud Kingdom.

Following the strong is the way of life for the people of Yunshang Kingdom.

"Who is the village chief? Step forward and speak."

The soldier asked again, and took two steps forward while holding his gun.

His two companions behind him immediately pulled their guns, put on safety, and aimed at the group of villagers from both sides.

These bodyguards who followed Shen Lang were all elites who had been tested in bloody battles and were also among the earliest members to join the new army.

They are confident that if the other side dares to make any move, they can wipe them out in the shortest possible time.

"I am the village chief, Inoue Ryuji. Who are you people, and what are you doing in my village?"

Ryuji Inoue had no choice but to step forward.

This arrogant old man, who used to be so loud and insolent during the brawl, now became as submissive as a grandson in front of the Chu soldiers.

"Let them withdraw all their weapons first, to avoid any unnecessary misunderstandings."

"Hi, Yi."

Inoue Ryuji obediently agreed and immediately turned around to gesture to the villagers.

The able-bodied men quickly withdrew their weapons, but remained vigilant, not daring to relax their guard in the slightest.

The soldier put away his gun and gestured to Inoue Ryuji, "Let's go, the Duke of Zhenguo is waiting for you inside."

"The Duke of Zhen... "

When Inoue Ryuji first heard this title, he couldn't help but shrink back.

Just by listening to him, you can tell he's a big shot you can't afford to mess with, maybe from a powerful family from the Kyoto underworld.

With a heavy heart, Inoue Ryuji handed the cross-shaped pistol to the soldier and then walked towards his home.

Upon entering the courtyard, one sees the entire village of women and children.

They were all kneeling on the ground, trembling, surrounded by heavily armed soldiers.

Inoue Ryuji swallowed hard, and upon seeing Shen Lang standing by the millstone wiping his mouth with a handkerchief, he immediately realized that this man was of extremely high status and might be the Duke of Zhenguo they were talking about.

So, he approached Shen Lang timidly, bowed, and said, "May I ask where you come from, sir, and what brings you to my Jingshang Village?"

"You're the village chief?"

"Yes, I am Inoue Ryuji, the village chief of Inoue Village."

Shen Lang chuckled and gave Jin Zi a look.

Jin Zizai understood, immediately puffed out his chest, walked up to Inoue Ryuji, adopted the air of a superior, and began to lecture him.

"This is the Duke of Zhenguo of our Great Chu. Hearing that Yunshang Kingdom is a place brimming with martial virtue, he specifically wishes to recruit an army here to serve the Great Chu on the battlefield."

Such unparalleled honor has fallen upon you; why don't you kneel to receive it?

"Great Chu?"

Inoue Ryuji looked puzzled, completely unaware of what kind of country this Great Chu was.

However, he understood the meaning of the second half of Jin Zizai's sentence.

That is, the country called Great Chu, which wants to recruit people from here to fight.

For the citizens of the cloud, who spend their days either eating or fighting, war is simply one of the essential daily activities.

If someone is willing to pay you to fight in a war, then it's a good way to improve your family's income.

Inoue Ryuji immediately asked, "May I ask, Your Excellency, how many men do you require?"

Jin Zizai: "How many people can you gather?"

"Including the nearby villages, I can gather a team of sixty or seventy people."

"what."

Upon hearing this, Shen Lang couldn't help but laugh out loud.

Jin Zizai immediately replied with a stern face: "What can sixty or seventy people do? This time, our Duke Zhenguo needs to recruit at least two thousand people, and they must all be able-bodied young men!"

"What! Two thousand people?"

Upon hearing this, Ryuji Inoue exclaimed in surprise.

What does two thousand men mean? Even the retainers of the Imperial Guardian could only support four hundred men. Only the daimyo of a domain had an army of this size.

Although the Yixin Society could gather thousands of people, only a couple hundred monk soldiers were truly effective; the rest were just a motley crew to make up the numbers.

"Let's go, let's check out the next village."

Seeing Long Er's expression, Shen Lang knew that there was no hope here, so he decided to go to Yu Shou City to check the situation.

Just as Shen Lang was about to leave, Inoue Ryuji immediately knelt down and stopped him.

"Sir, may I ask how much money you are willing to pay to save our lives?"

Upon hearing this, Shen Lang squatted down and replied, "When you were working for the Daimyo and the Imperial Guardians, how much money did they give you?"

Ryuji Inoue: "Each person receives seven cents of silver per month, plus one meal. If someone dies in battle, their family receives one shi (a unit of dry measure) of rice, which is equivalent to one tael of gold."

Upon hearing this, Shen Lang let out a mocking laugh.

"My offer is ten taels of silver for a life. As long as the person doesn't die, I'll provide plenty of food. What do you think?"

"Twelve?"

Ryuji Inoue was shocked, never expecting the price offered by the visitor to be so high.

While he was still in surprise, Shen Lang continued, "However, it seems you don't have many people to recruit. After all, a few dozen people won't have much impact on the battlefield."

"and many more."

Seeing that Shen Lang was about to leave, Inoue Ryuji immediately stopped him.

"Sir, I really can't recruit two thousand people in my area, but I know a friend who has over a thousand men under his command that I can recruit."

"Oh? Really?"

"Yes, as long as the adults have money, they can recruit as many people as they want from other places."