xymnovel Chapter 28 Establishment and Expansion of the Military
Chapter 28 Establishment and Expansion of the Military
By the time the last dollar was handed to the new recruit, the sky had completely darkened, and bonfires were lit throughout the village.
The troop strength doubled overnight, and Chen Feng was so busy that he didn't have time to rest. He was checking supplies, verifying rosters, and comforting the new recruits.
By the time I finished, it was already 9 p.m.
He recited the new recruit registration list again before Qian Biao summoned the six squad leaders.
Ren Dayong was the first to arrive at the stone house. His leg injury had healed considerably, and he walked with no noticeable abnormalities.
Zhang Xiuwu was two minutes slower than him. This guy had been practicing his spear skills and martial arts diligently lately, repeatedly saying that he would win first place in the competition a month later.
Wang Liang arrived shortly after. He had been running around in the mountains for two days, and the wound on his arm had become infected. He would occasionally twitch the corner of his mouth, clearly in great pain, but he stubbornly endured it without uttering a sound.
Ding Junkai walked into the stone house with a gloomy face. One of his soldiers had secretly gone to the stream behind the mountain last night to peep at the female workers in the garment factory taking a bath. He was identified and was waiting for punishment.
Kong Yunfei, on the other hand, had a big smile on his face. He met a relative among the new recruits and learned that his family was safe, which made him feel particularly happy.
Tian Gang was the last to enter the house, greeting everyone with an undisguised smugness on his face.
After Qian Biao lit a few more candles to brighten the room, Chen Feng slowly spoke: "First of all, I must commend Tian Gang. He did not lose heart when he encountered difficulties. Instead, he tried every means to bring fresh blood to our Free Army."
clap clap clap!
A round of applause erupted, and Tian Gang stood up, nodding triumphantly to each of the class leaders.
Chen Feng's voice rang out again: "Secondly, we must commend Wang Liang. He risked his life and fought continuously for two days and one night, figuring out the strengths and weaknesses of the surrounding indigenous tribes, and also brought back crucial intelligence on the gathering of the Independent Army."
clap clap clap!
Applause rang out again. Wang Liang stood up, cupped his hands in greeting, and said modestly, "It's all thanks to the general's skillful command and the brothers' desperate assistance. I dare not take credit for it."
Chen Feng waved for him to sit down and said in a long voice, "In the battle a few days ago, we lost a total of 5 men, 3 were seriously wounded, and 8 were slightly wounded. All the lightly wounded have returned to the unit, but the two seriously wounded brothers didn't make it, and the remaining one is now disabled. Including the 87 new recruits we enlisted today, we have a total of 137 men capable of fighting!"
The stone house fell silent, and anticipation gradually rose in everyone's eyes.
They had long guessed that Chen Feng's earlier mention of two battalions was meant to boost morale, but now that they had not only won the battle, but also received official positions and money, no one was foolish enough to take it seriously.
Chen Feng suddenly raised his voice: "I've decided to organize these 137 people into 6 platoons, and you will continue to serve as platoon leaders in the original order."
"yes!"
Everyone responded in unison, their faces filled with excitement.
Only Kong Yunfei pursed his lips and muttered under his breath, "Even if it's distributed evenly, a platoon only has about 20 people. My title of platoon leader is undeserved!"
Chen Feng chuckled upon hearing this and looked at him: "How many people do you want?"
"I want forty people!" Kong Yunfei immediately responded loudly.
Tian Gang immediately retorted, "What am I supposed to do with forty men? I recruited all of these new soldiers."
"Hmph! You just happened to get this mission. If I went, I might be able to recruit even more." Kong Yunfei was not to be outdone and turned to Chen Feng: "General, let me recruit soldiers tomorrow! I was a well-known handsome young man in the surrounding area back in the day. I can not only recruit male soldiers, but also recruit some girls for the garment workshop."
A handsome young man?
Chen Feng chuckled inwardly and carefully examined Kong Yunfei by the candlelight.
With a square face, broad cheeks, thick lips, and eyes that, though not large, revealed a sharp and cunning nature, his face, over thirty years old, was weathered and worn, making him seem completely out of place as a handsome young man.
"Alright!"
Chen Feng waved to stop Tian Gang from arguing further and directly ordered, "Distribute the troops evenly for now. Each platoon will use veterans as the backbone to train the new recruits. For the next period, you will take turns recruiting to expand the force!"
"General, should the soldiers recruited later be distributed equally, or should they be counted as our own troops?" Kong Yunfei asked the question that everyone was concerned about.
"The newly recruited soldiers gather for a lottery; whoever recruits more will get more lots."
Chen Feng's main objective was to prevent the formation of factions within the Free Army based on geographical boundaries, since these people would most likely choose their hometowns when they went out to recruit soldiers.
At that time, all the troops will be familiar with each other and from the same hometown. Once they band together, unexpected events are very likely to occur in the future.
"Okay! As long as my efforts don't benefit others, that's fine!" Kong Yunfei nodded vigorously.
Tian Gang curled his lip: "It's not certain who can recruit more soldiers!"
"We'll see!" Kong Yunfei sneered.
Chen Feng felt that the two were incompatible, and they would quarrel whenever they were together. He then made a new decision: "Starting tomorrow, the army will open night schools. All soldiers will have to learn to read and write at night, in addition to training during the day."
The six squad leaders instantly looked distressed.
Zhang Xiuwu spoke first: "The soldiers are already exhausted during the day, and they still have to study at night. I'm afraid they won't be able to handle it."
"You have to bear it, even if you can't!" Chen Feng glared at him fiercely. "The six of you have to take the lead! If anyone fails to do so, I'll remove him from his platoon leader position!"
Seeing that he was serious, even though everyone was inwardly groaning, they dared not find any more reasons to refute him.
Chen Feng softened his tone slightly: "It's not like the soldiers are learning for nothing. As long as they can recite it from memory, they'll be directly rewarded with a month's salary, and Qian Biao will be the assessor!"
Zhang Xiuwu's eyes darted around as he looked at Qian Biao and tentatively asked, "General, who should we learn from? This kid's only half-baked, and finding a teacher will take time. Why don't we postpone the night school thing?"
Chen Feng had already made a plan. He said in a deep voice, "It won't take long. Go back to the village tonight, invite Wu Dequan over, and bring my junior sister over as well."
Wu Dequan was one of the survivors from the previous ship. He used to be an accountant, timid but literate, making him perfect for teaching.
Zhang Xiuwu's face grew even more bitter: "Brother Chen, last time when we delivered grain, Wang Muning kept insisting on coming, but that bastard Wu Dequan was a coward who actually said he was unaccustomed to the climate and didn't have the strength, so I definitely couldn't get him to come."
"If you can't invite them, can't you just kidnap them?" Chen Feng said irritably.
"So you can tie him up!" Zhang Xiuwu suddenly realized, and muttered in a low voice, "I thought you had a good relationship with him and were afraid of offending him."
Chen Feng ignored his rambling and looked at everyone solemnly, saying, "Tomorrow morning, Qian Biao and I will go to Marolos City."
Firstly, we need to gather information on the specific situation of the Independent Army's assembly; secondly, we need to purchase urgently needed supplies such as woolen cloth and medicine. You will remain at the camp and must pay attention to safety.
If an indigenous tribe attacks, run if you can't win; never fight them head-on. Remember the saying, "Where there's life, there's hope."