Chapter 10

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Xiaoming stood at the classroom door, took a deep breath, and firmly gripped the secret letter from his mother.

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Amidst the cherry blossoms dancing in the wind, Misaki opened the old diary and read the words of promise written there.

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James had no objections to this. He was well aware of the quality of the weapons produced by the armory Wu Haoxuan had established in the United States. He even joked that the infantry battalion they were setting up would be the best-equipped infantry battalion in all of China.

Of course, in terms of numbers, it was already one-third larger than a battalion of the Beiyang Army. In terms of firepower, Wu Haoxuan's infantry battalion was far superior to the Beiyang Army.

Of course, the Beiyang Army had been established for many years, and all their training was conducted by foreign instructors. Although their combat effectiveness could not compare to the armies of foreign powers, no other domestic force could match them. Wu Haoxuan's newly established infantry battalion would need a long time to accumulate the necessary strength to compete with the Beiyang Army.

While Wu Haoxuan and James were discussing the training plan, Wu Xingquan walked in with a smile on his face.

"Father, what's so happy?" Wu Haoxuan asked, seeing Wu Xingquan's smiling face.

"Ha ha! Haoxuan, do you know how many people we recruited today?"

"How many? Ten thousand?" Wu Haoxuan asked. After all, although there were hundreds of thousands of refugees in Shengjing, most of them were old, weak, sick, or disabled. Recruiting enough able-bodied men from among them was not easy. Especially since Ma Tengxi, Feng Lingge, and Zhang Yuting also began recruiting soldiers, the competition among the four families made it even harder to recruit a large army.

"Ten thousand? We recruited more than twenty thousand!" Wu Xingquan said excitedly.

"Twenty thousand? That many?" Wu Haoxuan was taken aback.

"Father, did you recruit those weak and sick people as well? If so, it won't help the army's combat effectiveness at all!"

"Don't worry, I'm not that foolish. I recruited only those who are strong and healthy, and who have no bad habits like opium addiction. Because we acted early, we recruited more. Ma Tengxi, Feng Lingge, and Zhang Yuting each only recruited about ten thousand. Now, our army is the largest among the four families!" Wu Xingquan said proudly. Originally, among the four families, his position and strength were the weakest. But now, he had finally surpassed the others.

"That's good! However, Father, with our strength greatly increased, it will surely cause dissatisfaction and even jealousy from the other three families. Once the appointments are made, we should quickly set out for Jilin to avoid this place of trouble!" Wu Haoxuan said. Although Fengtian Province had the best conditions, it was also coveted by everyone. It would be better to leave early and develop in peace.

"Yes, that's a good idea. However, with so many recruits, we don't have enough weapons. Also, we don't have enough funds to support these twenty thousand soldiers!" Wu Xingquan said, a bit embarrassed. After all, just the salaries for these twenty thousand soldiers, plus the five thousand he already had, would cost 200,000 silver dollars per month. Including equipment, food, and other expenses, it would cost a lot more.

"Father, how much do we need each month?"

"I plan to form two regiments with the twenty thousand recruits, plus the original five thousand. Each regiment will have 12,500 people. Just the salaries for one regiment will cost 100,000 silver dollars per month. The food can be simpler, and the training will focus on physical training and close combat, with live-fire drills as a supplement. This way, it will cost about 50,000 silver dollars per month. To support two regiments, it will cost 300,000 silver dollars per month!" Despite having accumulated a substantial fortune over the years, Wu Xingquan would go bankrupt in a few months if he had to pay 300,000 silver dollars per month. If it weren't for Wu Haoxuan's encouragement, he would never have dared to recruit so many soldiers.

"For weapons, we can equip half the people first, with two people sharing one rifle. In ten days, another shipment of weapons will arrive, and then both regiments can be fully equipped. As for food, it must be good. Three meals a day, with steamed buns and rice, and at least one meat dish per day. This will improve the soldiers' physical condition. If possible, we should also hire people to teach them to read. Live-fire training is essential; good marksmanship is developed through practice. Each soldier should fire at least 100 rounds per week. We don't have much time, so we need to speed up the training!" Wu Haoxuan said.

Wu Xingquan's eyes widened. According to Wu Haoxuan's requirements, each regiment would need at least 100,000 to 150,000 silver dollars per month in addition to salaries. So, supporting two regiments would cost 500,000 silver dollars per month.

"That's too much! Soldiers just need to be well-fed, not have steamed buns and meat every day! And hiring people to teach them to read? That's not what soldiers do; it's like treating them like lords!" Wu Xingquan pouted. He knew Wu Haoxuan had made a lot of money, but even a large fortune needed to be saved. Otherwise, it would be quickly depleted. If Wu Haoxuan were to squander his money, he would have opposed it long ago.

"Father, just listen to me! The cost is high, but it will quickly form a strong and loyal army. This is very important for the future. As for the money, don't worry. My businesses in the United States earn millions of silver dollars per month. Spending a few hundred thousand on the army is nothing!"

"Alright, I'll do as you say. After all, everything in the Wu family will be yours in the future." Wu Xingquan nodded, saying no more. However, the fact that Wu Haoxuan earned millions of silver dollars per month still shocked him. That would be over ten million per year! Even the richest person in the country wouldn't have that much money!

Wu Xingquan knew that Wu Haoxuan had grand ambitions. As a father, he should support his son fully.

Wu Xingquan's army expanding by twenty thousand people also raised the警惕 of Ma Tengxi, Feng Lingge, and Zhang Yuting. However, the three of them were waiting to see the joke. After all, supporting such a large army would be very expensive. They all knew Wu Xingquan's financial situation well. If he couldn't pay the salaries, having a large army would be useless!

Zhang Yuting even joked that when Wu Xingquan's army mutinies, it would be their time to reap the benefits.

The next morning, Wu Haoxuan and James rushed to the military camp outside the city. The people who had signed up for the army the previous day were arriving one after another. Many of them, after receiving the resettlement fees, did not run away but settled their families and reported to the camp.

People in this era were very honest, unlike the lack of integrity in later times. However, a few people did not report and fled after receiving the resettlement fees.

Wu Haoxuan was not concerned; it was only a small number of people, and the total loss was only a hundred or so silver dollars.

After roll call, the new recruits were randomly divided into seven new recruit companies. The company commanders and platoon leaders were selected from Wu Xingquan's guard unit, including junior officers and veterans.

The first order for the new recruits was to cut their queues. Everyone had to cut off their braids. After all, a long pigtail was inconvenient during training and could easily breed bacteria.

Many people resisted this order. However, when they were told that they would be dismissed if they did not cut their queues, most of them complied. Especially after the first lunch, which included steamed buns and large pieces of braised pork, they quickly forgot their grievances.

Many of these people came from poor families and rarely ate steamed buns. In the military camp, they had three meals a day, all of which were plentiful, making them feel like they had entered heaven.

Subsequently, weapons and equipment were distributed. Each person received two sets of combat uniforms, a belt, a water bottle, a steel helmet, and other items. Many of them had never seen such equipment before, but they knew that each item was rare and valuable.

The next day, Wu Haoxuan and James made everyone feel like they had fallen from heaven to hell. They woke up at 6 a.m., spent half an hour on personal hygiene, and then ran five kilometers. After breakfast, they had morning drill training. In the afternoon, they learned how to maintain their weapons and the basics of live-fire shooting. In the evening, they had cultural education classes taught by specially hired instructors.

This was a challenge for the new recruits. They were used to physical labor, but writing was a big problem for them. However, when they learned that failing the exams would result in dismissal, they had no choice but to grit their teeth and study hard.

Although the training was tough, the salaries were high, and the food was abundant. Leaving this place would be a real loss.

After half a month of training, the new recruits had undergone a complete transformation.

Wu Xingquan and the officers from the other two regiments he had established came to visit Wu Haoxuan's camp and were immediately shocked. The training progress of this battalion was much faster than the other two regiments, even though the other two had a base of over five thousand veterans. Wu Xingquan then decided to use Wu Haoxuan's battalion as a training battalion and, after the training was complete, to send key personnel from the other two regiments to receive further training.

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