Peng Ziyi visited Xiao Chen again, and Luo Ling was there this time. Xiao Chen and Luo Ling's relationship had made a breakthrough in the past six months. Although they didn't live together yet, they often had meals together at home or went out together. Peng Ziyi came to visit today, and Luo Ling also made a few of her specialties, steamed fish, stir-fried pork slices, and stir-fried seasonal vegetables. All the dishes were light because the method of making soy sauce had not yet been developed. However, this point has been put on the agenda of the committee. Finding a substitute for soybeans and then researching a method for brewing soy sauce was given to the team, including the plant mage.
The dishes are light and the drinks are made from a local plant called sweetroot wood.
"Has Chang Lin done anything recently?" After the dishes were served, the three of them sat down and ate for a while, and Xiao Chen asked.
"How could he not? He was very active in the recruitment, and took the initiative to ask to lead the team to do the mobilization work." Peng Ziyi picked up a piece of fish with chopsticks, "But there is nothing wrong with what he did! It is all within the normal scope of work. Now Milda is watching him half of the time. After Chu Ying was finished, he kept his tail between his legs and behaved like a good man, without revealing any flaws. He is simply impeccable."
Xiao Chen said, "During the summary meeting last year, Principal Guo promised that there would be an election at the end of this year. Old Chang had already taken the position of second in command, so naturally he still hoped to seek advancement. How could he have such a flaw at this time?"
"Then let's just keep going. A dog will always eat shit. It's harder to resist the despicable means a person has used before than to resist drug addiction." Peng Ziyi said, "But I just can't stand the way he hangs around."
"Isn't this politics? It's a game where everyone has shit on their crotch, but they want to hide it from others." Xiao Chen said with a smile.
As soon as he finished speaking, Luo Ling kicked him: "What are you talking about? Can you please eat properly?"
Peng Ziyi chuckled, "Alright, alright, let's not talk about this. I came to you this time because I have something serious to ask for your help. Recruiting soldiers is very popular now, but the sources of our soldiers are too diverse. The locals are still okay, but those who are born as slaves, prisoners of war, and foreigners are still not trusted by the higher-ups. They can't say it openly, so they're kicking the ball to me. They asked me to conduct a loyalty test, and you can understand it as a political review. But what they mean is that since we have come to this magical world, we can naturally use magic to solve this problem, especially mental magic."
Xiao Chen immediately understood what he meant and said, "But the cost is very high."
Peng Ziyi said: "The test for each person can be different. Only those key targets will be tested with key methods."
—————————
Ackley's application was quickly approved. A week after Jenny returned, he was taken away from the Second Labor Camp and brought to the conscription center in the downtown area of Riverbend City with several minor criminals who had applied together. The center was set up in the courtyard of the Riverbend City government building.
Ackley found that even though the conscription had begun nearly a month ago, there were still a few ordinary citizens reporting here. There was even a short line at the registration window.
This was a very unfamiliar scene for him. In most lords' territories, conscription was a difficult task, and often both sticks and whips were needed. But many Chinese people were willing to join the army. In Ackley's opinion, it must be the power of gold coins that played a role. He said to himself, "They are really rich."
Peng Ziyi, who was in charge of receiving them, smiled secretly. A strong army cannot be without money, but how can money alone train a good fighting force? For the army, faith and honor are the most precious things. Only with these can there be discipline, courage and sacrifice. Recently, the committee has been deliberately improving the social status of soldiers.
Not only newspapers and radio broadcasts would report on how soldiers rescued the suffering people, how they eliminated horse thieves and goblins, how they helped poor serfs to work, how they jumped into the river to save people and climbed trees to save cats. Schools and factories would also invite representatives of advanced soldiers to give speeches. In this situation where mass media was extremely underdeveloped and most people's news sources were word of mouth, the residents were covered by this all-weather, all-round propaganda. The effect of this level and form of propaganda on the minds of these people was no less than that of an atomic bomb explosion.
In just a few months, the public's mindset has changed: from thinking that military service is hard work, that soldiers are dangerous, and that they are all robbers, to thinking that joining the army is an honorable thing, that the army is the people's army, and that its duty is to serve the people. This change in mindset was achieved both through action and through words.
This idea that being a soldier is glorious is more effective than any material incentives, attracting large numbers of young people to apply.
Of course, what makes these young people worry-free is the newly promulgated salary and welfare standards for the Guards, which are quite good for a soldier. In particular, the resettlement guarantee of arranging a job and paying subsidies after retirement has attracted many people.
Peng Ziyi, who received them, took Ackley and the others to a meeting room and said to them, "I know you signed up for various reasons and have different expectations of the army, but we don't care about that. It's because everyone has different personalities and needs. But we ask one thing of you: absolute loyalty to the Tower of China! Absolute loyalty to the people under the rule of the Tower of China. We have designed a small test to test whether you meet our requirements. If you feel you can't do it, it's not too late to apply for withdrawal now."
Absolute loyalty? Ackley was very curious. Could loyalty be analyzed by a test? He always felt that judging a person's loyalty was the biggest problem faced by the lords.
However, Peng Ziyi did not say anything more, but took them to the testing room separately.
Ackley walked into the room and there was no one there, only a table and a chair in the middle of the room. He walked to the chair and sat down, looking around nervously, but after a long time, there was nothing unusual in the room. It was just that for some reason, after entering the room, he felt particularly tired. He sat on the chair and felt drowsy, and the room seemed to be filled with a peaceful atmosphere. Unconsciously, he fell asleep...