A pre-war mobilization meeting was being held in the school auditorium. The young and strong men in the school were organized into a guard team, which was expanded from the original escort team to 300 people. Now, except for some people who were on duty, most of the people were sitting here.
There was no electricity in the auditorium, and even though all the curtains were drawn, it was still a little dim, and the podium was a little blurry when viewed from a slightly back position. However, this did not seem to affect the current speaker, Chang Lin, and the atmosphere in the venue was very warm.
Ji Yijun and Ye Zi were sitting in the front seats and could clearly see the sweat on Chang Lin's nose. When he spoke, his body language was very rich, sometimes waving his arms vigorously, sometimes leaning his body forward, appearing very tense. The audience often responded to his actions with bursts of laughter.
"… So, don't worry about it. Yesterday I was chatting with an old soldier in the town. When he was a soldier for the lord, he had fought many battles with horse thieves.
I just asked, have you ever killed a horse thief
He said a little embarrassedly, really not.
I said, are these horse thieves good at martial arts
He said, no way, he is not as good as the teenager in my family.
I asked again, does that mean the horse thieves are better equipped
He said that many horse thieves joined the gang because they were poor and had no other choice. Apart from the horses given by the leader, all they had were a knife and a set of clothes. As for the knife, it was a war knife when on the battlefield and a kitchen knife when on the table. As for the clothes, it was a battle suit when on the battlefield and pajamas when on the bed.
Then I am wondering, if horse thieves are so bad, why can't you kill them
He sighed and said, I don’t have a horse, so I can’t run as fast as them.
Hearing him say that, I was even more surprised, so I asked him again, "Aren't horse thieves very fierce? Have you ever fought with them with real swords and guns?"
He looked at me with disdain and said, "Horse thieves are also trying to make a living. Who would really fight to the death? They would fight if they could win, and run away if they couldn't. If a horse thief could fight, why would he ride a horse every day? The horse is for escaping!"
Only then did I realize how useless horse thieves are.
The old soldier told me a story, we used to guard a small town, we would stand anywhere with swords and guns openly, and the horse thieves would hide away. Later, the townspeople said to us, why don’t you sell us your spears and armor, and go back to where you came from. We were all surprised, and asked them if they were going to do it ourselves? They said, why not, just put up a scarecrow on the city wall, put on armor, and tie a spear, isn’t it a soldier? It’s foggy here, how can the horse thieves see it clearly? The scarecrow does the same thing as you, and it saves money on food. We discussed it all night and decided to sell the equipment for a good price. But the next day, they didn’t want it. We went up to the city wall and saw that the bamboo spears, pot lid shields, armor made of mats, and scarecrows standing guard all filled the city wall... "
"Teacher Chang is really interesting. It's really exciting to listen to his stories, much more interesting than other leaders." Ji Yijun said to Ye Zi happily. His injury was almost healed, but he still had a band-aid on his face and didn't dare to laugh. Whenever Chang Lin said something funny, he could only use his hands to cover his upturned mouth. Recently, all the overseas agencies have withdrawn due to the tense situation. The store in Floro Town has closed down, so he returned to the guard team.
Ye Zi nodded and said, "Everyone thinks that Teacher Chang is very approachable and responsible. I heard that he was in the agricultural group and did a lot of work in the fields and carrying manure. I didn't expect that he was so good at public speaking."
"That's right. I don't know what Principal Guo is busy with. He is rarely seen."
"How come Principal Guo didn't come to such an important meeting today?"
"My dad said that it seems that representatives from Floro Town are here. Some residents want to move in. Principal Guo and some other committee members are in a meeting." Ji Yijun said, "Well, it's good that Teacher Chang is here. At least he tells jokes better than Principal Guo. Guo is too serious."
"The townspeople want to move in? Why?" Ye Zi asked.
"So many bandits gathered together to eat and drink. So several small villages around suffered, you know?" Ji Yijun said with his hand on his forehead, "The town of Frollo only has such a low wall, many people feel unsafe and want to move into the school."
Ye Zi pondered for a while and asked again: "Will Principal Guo agree? The school has many secrets."
"Who knows! But speaking of it, there are quite a few strong men in this town. If they can join our team, it will definitely improve our combat effectiveness!"
"You only think of the strong men, but behind every strong man there must be a family. The school's logistical pressure will also be much greater, but it is also dangerous to leave them outside."
Ji Yijun shrugged his shoulders, looking as if it was none of his business, and continued to listen to Chang Lin's speech, grinning foolishly.
A little further away from the podium, Wang Jiyuan and Ji Xun were also listening to Chang Lin's speech.
The more Wang Jiyuan listened, the deeper his frown deepened. When he heard Chang Lin making fun of the horse thieves, saying that their strength was worthless, he cursed in a low voice, "Nonsense!"
Ji Xun said softly, "Team Leader Chang, this is also to boost morale. You have also seen that there has been a rise in fear of fighting in the team recently. The Prime Minister has said that we should strategically despise the enemy."
"He was obviously underestimated in terms of tactics." Wang Jiyuan glanced at the people smiling in the audience, "Don't think that these guys are relaxed now. When the real fight comes, if a few people die, they will collapse faster."
"After all, our main force is still students, so we can't be too nervous. These days, I meet several guys every day who ask me for help to find a way to mobilize the defense team. Others also come to ask me again and again whether I can win or whether the loss will be big. Only my brat is eager to try every day, hoping to have a big fight with the horse thieves."
Wang Jiyuan said: "It is human nature to be afraid of death. The army is not a group of people who are not afraid of death, but a group of people who know what they want to do. Our army is to train weaklings into qualified soldiers. Even if they are not qualified now, they should be required to meet the standards of soldiers instead of just talking to children."
Ji Xun sighed and said, "In fact, it would be great if the committee could pass a resolution to recruit young and strong men in Frollo Village. These local farmers are simple and strong, and they are a good source of soldiers."
"They are not necessarily better than students. These illiterate villagers can hardly tell left from right. It will only take more time to train them well. It will be even more difficult to get them to work with us in the same team." Wang Jiyuan said, "Did you hear about the agricultural team destroying a large piece of wheat field? Wasn't it that the local old farmer found that our fermented fertilizer was good, thought the more the better, and watered several times the amount on his own, and finally burned the roots of the wheat seedlings."
"So you don't support recruiting them?"
"No, I support it." Wang Jiyuan glanced at Ji Xun meaningfully, "If people have to die, it's always better if fewer of our students die."
There was warm applause from the audience. Chang Lin wiped his forehead with a handkerchief as he walked off the stage. He came to Wang Jiyuan and said, "Team Leader Wang, Deputy Team Leader Ji, the students' response is quite good. I hope it will help boost everyone's morale."
Wang Jiyuan raised his lips but said nothing. Ji Xun realized that the atmosphere was about to become dull, so he quickly said, "Thank you for your hard work, Team Leader Chang. It's not been easy for the students recently, and they need some encouragement."
Chang Lin smiled and said, "While everyone is in high spirits, Team Leader Wang, please say a few words to the students."
Wang Jiyuan nodded and walked to the stage. He was tall and straight, with bold steps, and his gestures were full of vigor, which was in stark contrast to the round-headed and amiable Chang Lin. The students in the audience naturally quieted down when they saw Wang Jiyuan walking to the stage.
He looked around at the people in the audience, his expression serious and compassionate, and then he said, "I have some bad news. In the past two days, five surrounding villages were attacked by bandits. Nearly half of two villages were burned to the ground, two villages were completely massacred, and one village suffered heavy losses. It is said that more than 300 people died, and several times more were injured. In the past, scattered bandits only robbed caravans, but when they gathered together and their number exceeded thousands, they became a chaotic army. Everyone must be mentally prepared."
The atmosphere in the audience became increasingly solemn. Although this was just a number mentioned by Wang Jiyuan, they were so close to the place where the tragedy happened, and everyone realized the seriousness of the matter.
"Perhaps these numbers are not intuitive enough. After all, they are locals who have little contact with us. Then I can now disclose another issue that I have been investigating. Zhang Hong from the foreign affairs team and Hong Lifeng from the military team have been missing for nearly two weeks. We can now make a preliminary conclusion that they were captured by horse thieves. Now their lives or deaths are unknown, but they are in great danger."
With a loud "bang", the people in the audience were in an uproar. Those who knew that Zhang Hong and Hong Lifeng were missing were only those members of the escort team who did not participate in the investigation and search. It was the first time for others to hear that two of their close friends might have died at the hands of the horse thieves.
Wang Jiyuan waited for the atmosphere to ferment until the venue turned into a noisy vegetable market. He emphasized in a higher voice: "So, today I just want to make one fact clear, that is, the bandits are very cruel, and what they did is unimaginable in your previous life. What they did to those villagers and our missing people before, they can do to you tomorrow. Don't have any luck."
"Team Leader Wang, are you telling us that what Teacher Chang said before about those horse thieves was all false?" someone asked below.
Wang Jiyuan paused for a moment, and the entire venue seemed to hold its breath. He glanced at Chang Lin, who looked normal and smiled at him.
"No!" he said loudly, "What Teacher Chang said proves one thing, that is, only by fighting bravely and becoming a real soldier can we make the bandits retreat and protect our homeland. I hope everyone will keep this in mind in future training and battles. Right here, among us, someone may fall at any time, but if it is to create a living space for ourselves and everyone else, this risk is worth taking and we have to take it."
Just as Wang Jiyuan finished speaking, a man dressed as a guard suddenly rushed in from the door and shouted, "Report to Team Leader Wang! The reconnaissance team in the northeast has discovered the bandits' scout team. Principal Guo has ordered all defense team members to immediately enter the highest alert. Team Leader Wang, report back to the committee!"