General Yves treated his taxi soldiers very well. He made sure they always had enough food and water. The wealth they gained from battles was also shared generously with the soldiers.
Because of his high status in the Kingdom of Zhao, General Yves had the right to take a share of the war profits before others. Every taxi soldier received five taels of silver each month and two sets of clothes for both summer and winter.
He was strict in his rule, but also fair in rewards and punishments.
He gave out food and medicine to the soldiers, but the drilling machine he really wanted only arrived after an extra day. As soon as it arrived, he told the craftsmen to start teaching their apprentices. Since they were from ancient times, it was hard for them to fully understand how to use the machine. But since there were already people who had learned it, it was best to follow their lead.
Some of the workers were chosen from the army, and the others were selected from skilled craftsmen in the region that used to be the Kingdom of Chen.
Assistant Hanra sighed and said, "Commander, you've really put your heart into this."
General Ulric added, "Commander, are we being too generous to them? People are never satisfied and may want more and more."
Then he said, "Now that the gods have sent us these drilling machines, can we send two of them back to the Kingdom of Zhao?"
Compared to the lives of the people in the former Kingdom of Chen, General Ulric and the others were more concerned about their families and people back home. General Yves agreed with his request.
But since the water level in the Kingdom of Zhao was lower than in the lands of Chu and Chen, there was a risk that even with two machines, no water would come out. Still, he did not reject General Ulric's suggestion.
The local militia in Chen were united. Meanwhile, the Kingdoms of Wu and Zhao finally heard the news that Chen had fallen. They didn't send troops, but they did each send a letter. The letters accused General Yves of being a bandit leader, a thug, lacking morals, and attacking the Kingdom of Chen without any recent or old grudges.
Even though their letters were full of scolding, General Yves just read them and put them away. Right now, both Wu and Zhao had their own problems and couldn't afford to send troops, so he wasn't too worried.
The people in the Chen region had already been calmed down. Now the generals under General Yves wanted to know what the next step would be. Since ordinary people could now get food and water daily, most were already very satisfied.
When General Ulric and others came to ask about the next target, General Yves ordered an announcement to be posted.
"Anyone who joins the army and passes the selection will receive twenty taels of silver. After that, they will receive five taels of silver each month. Food and drink in the military camp will be taken care of, with two meals a day. If conditions allow, they may even eat meat."
He had a scribe write up the notice and told the local officials in each county to handle the recruitment.
"Due to time constraints, the former officials of the old kingdom have not been replaced. I hope you all live up to my expectations."
Before, the ruling families of the Kingdom of Chen had been corrupt and took advantage of the people. Many of their officials were part of this. General Yves didn't have the time to deal with them all right now, but if any of them crossed the line, he wouldn't hesitate to punish them harshly as a warning to others.
Sophia had also kept her promise. She delivered the drilling machines, generators, and diesel fuel. Soon, the sound of engines filled the air throughout the Chen region as drilling began everywhere. Everyone was busy trying to survive. No one had the time to care about who ruled the land now.
All the people knew was that this noisy drilling meant they would soon have water and could stay alive.
The recruitment notices were quickly posted. When General Yves first led his troops into the area, many able-bodied young men had already been drafted. But back then, the soldiers had little experience, and the generals of the Kingdom of Chen were just figureheads. Their army quickly collapsed.
In the past, joining the army in Chen was forced. Now it was voluntary and came with good pay and benefits.
Many people in the Chen region started to consider joining.
The recruitment across Chen County has already started. After selection, once soldiers enter the camp, they immediately receive a pack of compressed biscuits and a bottle of water.
Of course, these are added on top of the existing benefits.
General Yves and General Ulric watched the soldiers training as they walked to the new recruits' camp.
General Ulric asked what was on his mind, "Commander, why didn't we recruit soldiers from Chu territory when we were there before?"
Compared to the people of Chen, Chu has a larger population, and their nature is tougher.
General Yves glanced at him and replied calmly while walking, "The people of Chen are like blank paper; they don't have a strong sense of loyalty to the country. We can paint on this blank paper. The people in Chu are the opposite."
Although the population is bigger, their clan loyalty is deep. They could be easily swayed by a few words.
If that happens, they would be attacked from both outside and inside, causing great trouble.
While Yves and Ulric talked, suddenly bags of grain and flour fell from the sky.
Sophia had sent food supplies again.
The soldiers in the camp had heard about this but had never seen it before.
The veterans just glanced back once at the food and quickly returned to training.
But the new recruits from Chen County all stared wide-eyed.
This was the difference between veterans and new soldiers.
General Yves looked at the quickly growing pile of food and ordered people to move it away.
Back in the tent, he sat at the table, lost in thought.
When he first wrote to Sophia, he only told her about the drought here because he didn't know her personality.
He never mentioned his expedition plan.
From the items she sent, it seemed she was from a highly civilized society.
Now, Yves secretly wished she was someone who only cared about profit, so at least they could negotiate terms.
Not someone with strong principles.
Even though Yves didn't think there was anything wrong with uniting the Western Continent by war, some kind-hearted people thought war wastes resources and hurts the people, against heaven's will.
After much thought, Yves began to write a letter.
Meanwhile, Sophia handed over her usual grain purchase list to Ronin.
She opened a special card and even bought a phone for Ronin to handle affairs.
She transferred five million to the card at once.
"I might be away for a week. I've already cleared the first and second floors of the warehouse. Your job this week is to refill them. I promised to deliver supplies in a week," Sophia told Ronin.
They were standing at the door talking when the village chief arrived to see Sophia.
Madam Xi also came along.
Seeing Sophia and Ronin standing together, Madam Xi gave the village chief a knowing look: see, I was right, these two young people are getting close.
Madam Xi felt a little annoyed.
"Sophia, my nephew-in-law has good qualities. He's an official in town. Don't you want to meet him? You have WeChat, right? I can have him add you so you can chat," Madam Xi said warmly.
Sophia smiled politely, "No, Madam Xi. I'm not thinking about dating anyone right now."
Then she looked at the village chief, "Chief, did you come to see me for something?"