Chapter 14

After breakfast, Wang Xiaojun saw Captain Xu gather his companions in a room, presumably to discuss the suggestion he had made that morning. Now, all he could do was wait for their response. There was nothing he could do to help, so he decided to return to his room and think more about the future development of the group.

As he turned around, he saw his cousin, Wang Feng, talking to a classical beauty nearby. She seemed reluctant. Wang Xiaojun thought his cousin must have fallen for her and was confessing his love, which she probably didn't want. After all, the girl was not yet seventeen, still a minor in his previous life, and from a good family. Wang Feng was already twenty-seven, ten years older than her, and his future was uncertain. It was very normal for her to be unwilling. If he kept pestering her, it might annoy Mr. Zhong, which would be bad. He originally wanted to mediate, but then thought it would be better to talk to his cousin privately to avoid embarrassing the girl, so he went straight back to his room.

However, this time Wang Xiaojun had misunderstood his cousin. Although Wang Feng regarded the classical beauty as his goddess, he wasn't a naive youth who couldn't distinguish between priorities. He wouldn't just run up to her and declare his love, asking her to marry him. If he did that, Miss Zhong would probably kick him out. He came to find Zhong Ziqi to ask her to speak to Master Yuxu on his behalf. He knew that Miss Zhong was Master Yuxu's favorite disciple. If she could help him, it would be much easier for him to become a disciple. However, Miss Zhong seemed unwilling to help. She said that becoming a disciple required sincerity. Asking for favors through connections was a sign of insincerity. If he did that, Master Yuxu might think Wang Feng had a bad character and be even less likely to accept him. Hearing this, Wang Feng said dejectedly, "What should I do then? You say I need to show sincerity, but I don't know how to do that."

Zhong Ziqi, seeing the "reincarnation of Zhou Yu" looking so worried, felt a pang of sympathy and advised him, "You really are a fool, not understanding this. Master said that your foundation is good, but except for you and the young master Zeng, none of the others have practiced martial arts. It's too late for them to start now, but you two are still promising. This means Master has already decided to take you two as disciples, but he can't say it directly, as it would be too embarrassing. You need to show the necessary sincerity. As for how to show sincerity, it's not difficult. You can go to Master and ask him to take you as a disciple. If he refuses to maintain his dignity, you should stay by his side, serve him tea and water, and take good care of him. If he scolds or beats you, you should be even more respectful and attentive, without any complaints. If he asks you to do something, you should do it seriously and well. If that doesn't work, you can kneel and beg. But that's a last resort, and you probably won't need to use it."

Wang Feng nodded repeatedly. After she finished, he bowed deeply and thanked her, "Thank you for your advice, I am very grateful."

At that moment, Miss Zhong smiled slyly and said, "You don't need to thank me. I would be happy to have a junior brother to tease."

"Junior brother?" Wang Feng said dejectedly, "Miss, I am more than ten years older than you. How can I be a junior brother? Wouldn't I have to call you a senior sister then?"

"Exactly, don't you know that in martial arts, seniority is determined by the order of becoming a disciple? The first to enter is the senior. I entered the sect before you, so you naturally have to call me senior sister. It doesn't matter if I am ten years younger than you, or even if I am less than ten years old, you still have to call me senior sister," Miss Zhong explained with a smile.

Wang Feng's expression was very conflicted. He didn't expect this beautiful and cute classical beauty to tease him like this. Even though she was taking advantage of him, he still had to thank her happily. It was very conflicting. Wang Feng, feeling helpless and dejected, walked back to his room amidst the girl's giggles.

Seeing his cousin walk into the room so conflicted, Wang Xiaojun thought his love confession had failed. He patted his shoulder and comforted him, "Don't be so down. Love requires mutual feelings. If she doesn't want it, that's fine. Besides, we don't have a foundation in this era yet. Spending too much time on romance isn't appropriate. Once we have a solid foundation, a handsome guy like you will find a good girl easily."

Wang Feng, feeling even more dejected, looked up at his cousin and thought for a while before understanding his meaning. He said even more dejectedly, "Bro, you're talking about something else. I just asked Miss Zhong to speak to Master Yuxu on my behalf, so he would agree to take me as a disciple. Why did you bring up love?" He shook his head and walked out of the room, leaving Wang Xiaojun standing there awkwardly.

In the afternoon, Xu Shaowan came to find Wang Xiaojun, saying they had discussed it and agreed to hold a general assembly. The meeting was suggested to be held that afternoon. Wang Xiaojun had no objections. The meeting was finally set for 5 PM in the forest behind Yuxu Palace. This would avoid the heat and keep it away from prying eyes.

At 5 PM, all thirty-one time travelers gathered in the forest. They sat in a circle and unanimously agreed to have Wang Xiaojun chair the meeting, with Tang Chao, the combat advisor of the infantry battalion, taking notes. Zhang Weixin spoke first, presenting the group's views and suggestions based on the discussions from the previous night. The car club members were enthusiastic supporters, while the military faction seemed caught off guard. They hadn't expected the car club to propose such detailed suggestions, each of which was reasonable and suited the current situation of the time travelers. After some tense exchanges, they finally agreed to vote on the proposal. They couldn't come up with a better, more effective suggestion on the spot. That morning, they had failed to reach a consensus due to differing opinions. Even if the meeting was postponed, they doubted they could reach an agreement. It was better to use the car club's proposal to unify their thoughts.

Since the military faction participated in the vote with this mindset, the proposal was unanimously passed. The next item was the election of the management committee members, which again showed a clear divide. The car club members smoothly elected Wang Xiaojun and Zhang Weixin. They had been part of the three-person leadership group and had performed well, so there was no objection to their election. The other member, Zeng Zhilin, clearly stated he wouldn't compete with Wang and Zhang, making the election process very smooth. However, the military faction had significant disagreements. As Zeng Zhilin had analyzed, the fourteen people were divided into three small groups, each vying for the remaining two committee seats. When they couldn't reach an agreement, Zhang Weixin proposed a compromise: committee members could be re-elected every six months or a year. This ended the dispute, and Xu Shaowan and Li Junwu were elected as the other two members. The meeting then passed Zhang Weixin's proposal on the committee's functions and powers.

After the first two items, the third item was to determine the group's future direction. Everyone began to speak freely, and the discussion was very lively. The suggestions were varied, covering all kinds of fields. The most extreme suggestion was to use modern weapons to start a professional hitman company to make money. This and similar unrealistic suggestions were naturally rejected. The group needed to act cautiously and avoid extremely risky actions. After a heated discussion, they finally agreed on the main directions:

1. Engage in relatively fast and low-risk commercial activities to accumulate funds for the group.

2. Establish a network of relationships through various channels to change the group's isolated status. Integrate into this era and society to ensure the group has enough time and space to develop.

3. Develop various products and technologies beneficial to the group's development using the knowledge they possess, to ensure sustainable development.

4. Secretly establish an appropriate armed force to protect the group's safety when conditions permit.

5. Pursue political interests through legitimate means when it doesn't endanger the group's survival.

6. Any group member can propose suggestions for the group's development to the committee. Approved suggestions will be submitted to the general assembly for a vote.

7. The group's direction can be adjusted based on the group's actual situation.

Before implementing the development plan, the first step was to preserve knowledge. All members should leverage their strengths to summarize the knowledge of this era that they possess, mainly in natural sciences and economics, and record it for future reference. However, the materials must be managed by designated personnel, and no one can disclose the content to anyone outside the group without committee approval.

The last item on the agenda, the most complex, was to draft the group's organizational and behavioral code. Due to the late hour and the need for thorough discussion, the committee proposed postponing this to a later date. Before the code was implemented, all members should follow the current laws and recognized social morals of this era. Finally, Wang Xiaojun read out all the resolutions and summarized the meeting. He believed the meeting established the group's organizational form and the functions and election methods of the management committee, elected the first committee members, and determined the group's short-term development direction and priorities. It was a successful and united meeting. He hoped everyone would firmly implement all the resolutions and actively participate in the drafting of the organizational and behavioral code to contribute to the group's development. Finally, Wang Xiaojun, facing the last rays of the sunset, declared the meeting over. Thus, the first general meeting of the time travelers was a complete success.

The significance of the meeting varied among the participants, but everyone agreed that it united the thirty-one time travelers into a cohesive whole, the most fundamental condition for the group's future development.

That night, the four committee members gathered to discuss the scope and use of the group's shared resources and the division of labor among members to facilitate future work. The discussion was lively, and there were some disagreements about the personnel arrangements for different functional groups. However, since Wang Xiaojun and Zhang Weixin were always in agreement, and Li Junwu and Xu Shaowan had their own ideas, most arrangements were made according to Wang and Zhang's suggestions.

The meeting decided that the group's shared resources included all modern weapons, modern processing tools, modern books and manuals, all electronic devices, all modern medicines, and other modern items that could serve the group's interests. These resources would be managed and distributed by the resource management group. They could only be used by group members, and all withdrawals and returns must be recorded in detail.

The committee decided to temporarily set up the following groups: Security Group, Resource Management Group, Trade Group, External Relations Group, Technology Group, Archives, and Medical Room. The specific members of each group are as follows:

Security Group: Qian Yuanshan, Tang Chao, Yang Xin, Zeng Zhilin, Wang Feng, Cheng Fei (tank gunner), Wu Peng (tank driver), Mutel (armored command vehicle driver). Xu Shaowan is the group leader, with Qian Yuanshan and Zeng Zhilin as deputy leaders.

Resource Management Group: You Yuan, Hong Yan, Sun Yangyang (repair battalion sergeant). You Yuan is the group leader.

Trade Group: Zhao Dawei, Fan Wucheng, Song Feiyang, Zhu Xiaoyuan. Fan Wucheng is the group leader.

External Relations Group: mainly responsible by Zhang Weixin, with Liang Ziyue as his assistant.

Technology Group: Zhou Lei, Yu Wendu, Liu Wendong, Lu Yue, Fu Guangsheng (repair battalion fourth-class non-commissioned officer), Yuan Aiguo (repair battalion fourth-class non-commissioned officer), He Qiang (repair battalion sergeant), Fang Guoqiang (armored recovery vehicle driver, corporal), Zhong Tao (infantry battalion headquarters communicator, corporal). Li Junwu is the group leader, with Zhou Lei and Fu Guangsheng as deputy leaders.

Archives: Hu Xueying.

Medical Room: Army doctor Lin Xiaoyu.

These groups were set up based on current needs and would be adjusted as circumstances changed.

The next morning, the committee reported the previous night's discussions to all members. There were no objections, and everyone began their work according to the arrangements. As an important task, the committee centralized all modern weapons. They had a total of three 85mm 12.7mm vehicle-mounted heavy machine guns (dismounted from three combat vehicles, usable only in fixed positions, with 1500 rounds of ammunition), one 59mm 7.62mm coaxial machine gun (dismounted from a tank, usable only in fixed positions, with 2200 rounds of ammunition), five 95mm 5.8mm assault rifles (with 25 magazines, 750 rounds of ammunition, and one box of 1500 loose rounds), and three 92mm 5.8mm pistols (with 135 rounds of ammunition). According to the Security Group's suggestion: the three heavy machine guns were temporarily stored; the coaxial machine gun was camouflaged on the roof of a room in the rear hall; one assault rifle was used for daily security, the rest were stored; one pistol was used for daily security, the rest were stored.

Additionally, Qian Yuanshan and Zeng Zhilin of the Security Group suggested that the group should have round-the-clock sentries to deal with emergencies. The committee agreed and decided that the assault rifle would be used by the sentries arranged by the Security Group, and the pistol by the deputy leader on duty. Thus, from that afternoon, sentries with rifles began patrolling the rear hall of Yuxu Palace. This immediately attracted the attention of the original Taoist priests, and Master Yuxu specifically asked Wang Xiaojun about it. Wang Xiaojun explained that this was to ensure the familiarity of the former soldiers with the weapons, as these enchanted divine weapons were not easy to use. Master Yuxu, hearing this, did not say much more, only indicating that such divine weapons should only appear in the rear hall and not in the front hall. Wang Xiaojun naturally agreed.