The first rays of morning light shine on Yiwu County, heralding a new day. The people of the county are out and about as enthusiastically and energetically as usual. The streets are already bustling with vendors shouting their wares at the top of their lungs.
From soy milk buns and fried dough sticks to steamed cakes, fried dough sticks and glutinous rice balls, people who get up early never have to worry about eating an empty stomach.
When early risers passed by the South Gate and glanced at the square, they couldn't help but stare with their eyes wide open in amazement.
"Huh?! What's going on?! The recruiting ground was empty yesterday, how come it's packed with people so early this morning?!"
"What on earth happened?! Why are there so many people coming to enlist in the army today?!"
"Hey, fellow villagers in the venue, were you forced to enlist in the army? If you were forced, just blink..."
People looked at the crowded square in surprise and disbelief, and couldn't help but burst into an uproar. Yesterday was the first day of recruiting, and the place was empty, with few visitors. How come it was so crowded today
This is not normal.
"Look, there are still people entering the city through the city gate. Once they enter the city, they go straight to the recruitment site. They are all applying to join the army."
"Oh my god, it's true. How come so many people are signing up to join the army? If I hadn't pinched my thigh and it hurt, I would have suspected that I was dreaming. Yesterday, no one in this line signed up."
People noticed that people kept coming in through the South Gate, and as soon as they came in, they went straight to the venue to register their information and apply for military service, which caused a lot of noise.
"I know why so many people join the army." Suddenly, someone among the spectators outside the venue spoke as if a case had been solved.
"Why? Tell us quickly." When people heard this, they urged again and again. Their curiosity and confusion had reached the extreme.
The man really enjoyed the feeling of being urged by everyone. After enjoying it for a while, he pointed to the front of the recruitment field and said, "Do you recognize who is the man in the front? Don't you recognize him? That's Chen Dacheng from Beilei Village."
"Oh, it really is Chen Dacheng."
"Didn't he say yesterday that no young men from his village would be allowed to sign up for military service? How come he is the first one to come today?!"
"No wonder, Chen Dacheng was the first to sign up for the army. The children of the Chen family and the young men of Beilei Village must have followed suit. Chen Dacheng is one of the most famous heroes in Yiwu. When people from other villages heard that Chen Dacheng had signed up for the army, they must have rushed to join the army."
After the man reminded people to recognize Chen Dacheng who was in the front, they suddenly realized what was going on.
While the onlookers were talking about it, more and more people came to the scene to sign up for military service.
In a short while, the recruitment site was almost overcrowded.
Zhu Ping'an couldn't help but smile with satisfaction as he watched more and more people come forward to enlist in the army.
This is right! This is normal! In history, when Qi Jiguang first came to Yiwu to recruit soldiers, he originally planned to recruit 3,000 people, but too many people came, so he recruited 1,000 more, and finally recruited 4,000 Yiwu soldiers. You can't just come here to recruit soldiers without anyone coming, right? This is normal now.
"Sir, there are at least 3,000 people who have signed up for the recruitment, and more and more people are coming to sign up. We are not worried about the lack of people, but the large number of people..." Liu Dadao reported to Zhu Ping'an excitedly, and then said, "With so many people coming, can our Zhejiang Army recruit more soldiers to take back?"
Zhu Ping'an smiled and shook his head, saying softly, "We only have 1,200 soldiers approved, so we can't recruit more. Besides, it's not the quantity of soldiers that matters, but the quality. We can't recruit too many soldiers, but we can select the best. This recruitment is just a start, and we must make a good start, so there will be opportunities in the future."
"Don't worry, sir. We will definitely be able to recruit a group of good talents this time. I've taken a look, and many of these Yiwu men have good physiques. We can definitely pick out a group of good soldiers by selecting the best from the best. Hehehe, after I go back, I will pick the soldiers first." Liu Dadao said with a grin, envious of the new recruits.
"Haha, sure." Zhu Ping'an nodded with a smile.
There were too many people, and Zhu Ping'an could not take care of them all by himself, and the efficiency was too slow. Therefore, Zhu Ping'an summoned Liu Dadao and the fifty Zhejiang soldiers who followed him, and asked them to participate in the selection of soldiers.
"We will divide the soldiers into more than 50 teams later. Each of you 50 people will be responsible for the preliminary screening of a team." Zhu Ping'an said to them.
"Sir, how do we select soldiers? We don't know anything." The Zhejiang Army soldiers looked confused.
Indeed, it is no wonder that they were confused, as selecting soldiers is a science. In every dynasty, each general had different standards and methods for selecting soldiers.
When Zhu Ping'an came to Yiwu to recruit soldiers, he referred to Qi Jiguang's selection criteria, which was the most suitable for the current situation. Moreover, the most important point was that Qi Jiguang's selection criteria were simple and crude, and easy to grasp.
"Selecting soldiers is very simple, listen carefully. First of all, the first point of selecting soldiers is to look at their background. We should select honest people from the countryside, that is, farmers and miners. Those who are born in the county town, those who have been hanging around in the county town, those who are engaged in business and other industries, those who have worked in the government, and those who have served in the army are not accepted."
"The second point in selecting soldiers is age. We should select those who are over 18 and under 40. Those who are under 18 or over 40 are not allowed."
"The third point in selecting soldiers is skin color. We want to select those who are dark, big, strong, and have firm skin and flesh. We don't want those who are white, with delicate skin and flesh."
"The fourth point in selecting soldiers is character. Choose honest people. Do not choose those who like to brag, talk big, are slick, or have extreme personalities."
Zhu Pingan emphasized the four key points of recruiting soldiers to the fifty Zhejiang soldiers, and set specific standards for what to include and what not to include. In order to let them have a general idea, Zhu Pingan finally made a simple and rough summary, "In short, in this recruitment, what we want are honest and strong country farmers and miners."
"Sir, why is this happening?" the Zhejiang Army soldier asked in confusion.
"Because this type of people are honest and obedient, hardworking and able to strictly abide by military law and discipline, be loyal to their duties, obey orders, and will not be cunning or sly. When it comes to executing military orders, one is one and two is two. As for those who hang out in the streets, are slick, and boastful, most of these people are old foxes and cannot be relied upon at critical moments. They cannot be trusted during combat." Zhu Ping'an explained it to them simply in a simple and easy-to-understand way.
"Yes, sir, what you said makes sense. We understand." Upon hearing this, the Zhejiang army nodded repeatedly.
"Well, the venue is already full, so go pick your soldiers. If you are undecided, feel free to ask me."
Zhu Ping'an clapped his hands and gave the order.
"Yes, sir." The Zhejiang army received the order, divided into teams, and began to select soldiers. (To be continued)