Chapter 37

Still at the Guan Gong Temple in front of the southern gate of the county town, Liu Jun and Li Chunjiang gathered the horsemen and local militia. After the recruitment that day, those who were qualified were asked to return home and get the elders and local leaders to vouch for them, proving that they were from a good, law-abiding family with no criminal record. Liu Jun, as promised, gave each of them five taels of silver as a settlement fee and two taels of silver as a month's advance pay. Additionally, he provided each with a bolt of cloth and a set of clothes.

After having a meal at the Li family, the next day, they were given a three-day leave to return home and settle their affairs.

Liu Jun was originally a bit worried that these people might take the money and run. However, he later thought that, apart from the eight monks who were recruited for their exceptional martial arts skills, the rest were mostly locals from the area, and all had been vouched for by the local elders.

Sure enough, when Liu Jun arrived at the Guan Gong Temple, the local militia had already started to return.

"Everyone, stand in rows of twelve, and then report your numbers," Liu Jun commanded.

A group of strong young men lined up as required and reported their numbers. Although Liu Jun had told them how to report, it took quite a while, and they kept making mistakes. It took about half an hour before they finally got it right.

There were a total of one hundred people.

Originally, only forty people were recruited that day, but in the following days, many more people heard the news and rushed to the county town to apply. After discussing with Li Chunjiang, Liu Jun decided to recruit another thirty or so of the best candidates, bringing the total to one hundred.

A hundred-man team was already a considerable force. However, these hundred people were still just a group of hunters, monks, servants, farmers, and postmen. There was a long way to go before they could be trained into a group of elite cavalry.

Li Chunjiang looked at the rows of local militia, feeling a surge of excitement. He asked Liu Jun, "What should we do next?"

Liu Jun smiled to hide his nervousness, "The first priority is to organize the team and establish a clear hierarchy, so that it can truly be considered a military unit."

As he spoke, he pulled out a piece of paper from his chest. This was the organizational chart he had prepared over the past two days based on the recruitment test results.

"Five men form a squad, with one strong and intelligent man as the squad leader. Two squads form a team, with ten combat soldiers, one team leader, and one additional man as the fire soldier."

"Three teams form a banner, with one banner leader, three team leaders, three squad leaders, and thirty combat soldiers."

"Two banners form a division, with one division leader, two banner leaders, six team leaders, six squad leaders, and sixty combat soldiers. Additionally, the division has a central banner, which includes military police, scouts, doctors, veterinarians, grooms, flag bearers, drummers, orderlies, and clerks. The division leader and banner leaders each have a few personal servants."

Li Chunjiang nodded after reading it. He could see that this was based on the organizational methods described in Qi Jiguang's "Training Methods of the Army." During the late Ming Dynasty, every military commander would keep Qi Jiguang's "Training Methods of the Army" and "New Book of Military Efficiency" as essential military texts. Qi Jiguang was revered as a war god in the Ming Dynasty, and his Zhejiang soldiers were renowned for their bravery and combat skills. Therefore, his military books became the standard textbooks for military commanders.

Liu Jun's organization was one division with three banners. The left and right banners were combat banners, while the central banner was a non-combat banner responsible for logistics and signaling.

Each of the left and right banners had three teams, with twelve soldiers per team.

Liu Jun planned to establish the team organization as closely as possible to Qi Jiguang's methods. According to Qi Jiguang's book, the first step was to select the team leaders, who would then choose their ten combat soldiers, and finally, the weakest man in each team would be assigned as the fire soldier.

"Gongji, I suggest that we both serve as the banner leaders of the left and right banners. What do you think?" Li Chunjiang was the leader of the horsemen, so it was natural for him to be the division leader. Among the three banners, the two combat banners would be led by Liu Jun and Li Chunjiang, respectively.

"No problem. How do you plan to select the six team leaders?"

Li Chunjiang brought eight servants into the horsemen, all of whom were carefully selected by the Li family and had battlefield experience. Originally, six of them could have been chosen as team leaders, but for other considerations, Liu Jun did not want to do it that way. After some thought, he said, "Gongji, what if you lead the left banner and I lead the right banner? The three team leaders of the left banner can be chosen from your servants, and the three team leaders of the right banner can be chosen from my brothers. This way, the left and right banners will be more familiar with each other. What do you think?"

Li Chunjiang smiled and did not object.

In the end, this was decided. Li Chunjiang would lead the left banner, and Liu Jun would lead the right banner. Each banner's three team leaders would be chosen from their respective servants and brothers.

"Zhang Shan, Wang Qian, Zhang Xiyu!"

"Here!" The second, third, and fourth of the Thirteen Protectors responded loudly.

Liu Jun said to the three, "From now on, you are the team leaders of the right banner's Alpha, Beta, and Gamma teams. Each of your teams has twelve men, including yourself as the team leader, ten combat soldiers, and one squad leader. Now, go and select your ten combat soldiers."

Letting the team leaders choose their own soldiers was also a key point emphasized in Qi Jiguang's book, and Liu Jun did not plan to change it.

The three newly appointed team leaders were excited and quickly got to work. They had all participated in the recruitment tests, so they knew who was the best. They ran around, trying to persuade the best performers to join their teams.

The three were very smart. They each chose two of the remaining nine Protectors to be their squad leaders, and then had the squad leaders each recruit four combat soldiers.

The situation was similar on Li Chunjiang's left banner. Everyone first appointed their most familiar people as squad leaders, and then the twelve squad leaders began to compete for the best soldiers.

The eight monks, including Wuxin, naturally became the focus of the competition. These monks were the best fighters among the new recruits, and the competition was intense. Some even started rolling up their sleeves, and in the end, Liu Jun suggested that the squad leaders have a martial arts competition. Each win would earn them a monk.

The other new recruits also gathered around, watching the competition with great interest. The match even attracted many townspeople to watch.

The competition was fierce, but it was required to stop at the first touch. In the end, the squad leaders won based on their skills. Initially, they were only competing for the eight monks, but as the competition continued, they decided that each win would earn them the right to choose a soldier. They took turns, and the competition continued until all the best fighters were chosen.

The twelve squad leaders each chose four subordinates based on their skills.

The remaining soldiers, those with special skills, were assigned to the central banner. These included veterinarians, doctors, and drummers, who were specifically recruited. The rest were the weakest, and they were not chosen by anyone.

They stood on the field, feeling quite embarrassed.

At this moment, Liu Jun stepped forward.

"You are now all listed as fire soldiers, who are auxiliary soldiers, one rank lower than combat soldiers. Your other benefits remain the same, but your monthly pay will be reduced from two taels to one tael. Of course, if you work hard and improve your skills, you can also be promoted to combat soldiers, and your monthly pay will be restored to two taels. Conversely, those selected as combat soldiers today, if they perform poorly, will also be demoted to auxiliary soldiers, with their pay reduced to one tael. In short, your pay will depend on your skills. There will be a monthly assessment, and the worst combat soldiers will be demoted to auxiliary soldiers, while the best auxiliary soldiers will be promoted to combat soldiers. Work hard."

Upon hearing this, a few of the young men who were not chosen and listed as fire soldiers became agitated and started to protest.

Liu Jun gave them a cold look, "If you don't want to stay, I won't force you. You can leave now, but before you go, please return the settlement silver and the month's advance pay."

This statement made the young men hesitate. Although being listed as fire soldiers was embarrassing and frustrating, there was still a chance to be promoted to combat soldiers. Even if they could only be auxiliary soldiers, one tael a month was still twelve taels a year. Plus, they would receive six dou of grain and clothes and cloth every month, which was already a very good deal.

Leaving was not easy.

In the end, these young men remained silent, and none of them actually left.

"Very well. Since you are willing to stay, you must abide by the discipline and rules of the horsemen. I want to make it clear that just because you are fire soldiers, it doesn't mean you can't be demoted. Don't have such thoughts. Our horsemen are not a place for people to just get by and collect their pay. Those who perform poorly will be dismissed."

After giving the fire soldiers a stern warning, Liu Jun assigned one fire soldier to each of the six teams.

Finally, Liu Jun and Li Chunjiang each selected four personal servants, and then assigned personnel to the various positions in the central banner. The military police were responsible for maintaining military discipline, and the scouts were responsible for reconnaissance. Liu Jun appointed four military police and six scouts. The flag bearers and drummers were also fully staffed.

After the organization was completed, the horsemen were no longer a chaotic group. With a clear hierarchy and officers at each level, they began to take on the appearance of a military unit.

"Now, all team leaders and squad leaders, come forward to receive your uniforms," Liu Jun shouted. The first batch of summer uniforms ordered from the Lu family had arrived.

Although the new recruits had been given a set of ready-made clothes that day, they had all gone home, showed off, and then carefully stored the clothes. Today, none of them were willing to wear them.

The hundred or so people standing there were still wearing their old clothes, some in monk's robes, some in patched clothes, in various colors, looking like a group of beggars.

Dressed like this, they had no presence.

The new summer uniforms were distributed. Unlike the bright red uniforms of the imperial army, Liu Jun chose a blue-gray color for his local militia, similar to the color of the Eighth Route Army uniforms.

The quality of the uniforms made by the Lu family was good, though they were just made of cloth, the workmanship and material were excellent. Liu Jun had personally designed the style, which, while still fitting the style of the era, had some improvements.

After distributing the uniforms, Liu Jun ordered them to put them on immediately.

Everyone happily took off their old clothes and put on the new uniforms, immediately feeling more imposing and confident.

Li Chunjiang looked pleased, "Good, very good, this is the horsemen I want."

At this moment, Liu Jun brought out the horsemen's flag that the Lu family had also provided, "Gongji, this is our flag."

Li Chunjiang took the flag, unfurled it, and tied it to a long flagpole. With a strong wave, the flag fluttered in the wind, the fierce and majestic nine-headed bird embroidered on the bright red flag.

The flag design was also personally created by Liu Jun. The nine-headed bird, a symbol of the Chu people, was a totem of the Chu state. Liu Jun hoped that their local militia horsemen, established in Hubei, would one day soar like the nine-headed bird, reaching the heavens!