Chapter Thirteen: Initial Training

  Qiao Cheng hurried back to the Wan family home according to Qiao Yu's intention, mobilizing his forces to start recruiting young people from rural areas, still under the guise of recruiting workers for the textile factory. Chongqing made large purchases of machinery, which had an impact on Germany and was seen as a good opportunity to expand the market, so they strongly supported Buscher. The second batch of machines arrived much faster, along with military supplies and sewing machines, dyeing machines were also transported together.

  Because of this, the Qiao family's recruitment of personnel did not arouse suspicion from the government. In fact, during this era, wealthy merchants and large households would all be equipped with a certain number of guards, ranging from tens to hundreds of people. The Qing court was fundamentally unable to manage them, as the Chinese governments throughout history could only exert their influence down to the county level, relying on local landlords and gentry to assist in governance below that. The Qing court was no exception, but in this unprecedented turmoil, this ancient system was completely unable to maintain the Qing dynasty's rule, instead accumulating enough power at the local level to overthrow the Qing dynasty.

  The Lixin Textile Mill has been in operation for some time, and most workers can earn around 7 silver dollars a month due to overtime pay, which is equivalent to about 5 taels of silver. In Chongqing, this amount can buy around 500-600 catties of rice, which was a very high income at the end of the Qing dynasty, especially in inland Sichuan. Although the work is tiring, the silver coins earned are worth it, and each weaver is highly motivated. To become a technician, one's income can at least double, earning around 10-20 silver dollars per month, which would allow their families to live a life of moderate prosperity with rice and meat. Therefore, these workers cherish their jobs and study hard, ensuring the quality of the fabric.

  At the end of the Qing dynasty, ordinary people were mainly using silver dollars for transactions. When they said "one or two blocks", they actually meant silver dollars. Only in large-scale transactions did they still use taels as a unit. The Rixin Textile Mill recruited workers again, and Qiao Yu offered five big yuan as wages. People who knew the earliest workers' income were very enthusiastic, and soon the second batch of workers was recruited.

  At the same time, Qiao Cheng also recruited 300 guards from their hometown in Wan County according to Qiao Yu's intention. They were all 16 or 17 years old, and the oldest was only 18 years old, which was the most vigorous age. These young men were all taken to a training ground that had been prepared long ago, and they looked very curious, constantly looking around.

  Actually, someone has been watching them all along. This training ground was bought by Qiao Yu under the name of a warehouse and used as a school field. At this moment, Qiao Yu is standing at the door with Han Yong, looking at these young boys.

  "Master, these young men are all quite good, their physical condition is excellent, as long as they are trained properly, they can become excellent soldiers!"

  Qiao Yu shook his head repeatedly upon hearing Han Yong's words. He was far from being as optimistic as Han Yong, for in his view, these young men had many problems. Firstly, their heights were generally below 1.6 meters, making them appear short and thin, with a considerable degree of malnutrition. Their hair looked like dry grass, and they lacked vitality, looking somewhat timid and weak. Suddenly, Qiao Yu felt that the image of the numb Chinese people from his memories had merged together before him.

  In comparison, this group of young people is already quite good in terms of quality, but it's still far from Qiao Yu's expectations. However, Qiao Yu was still filled with grand ambitions and the road to dominating the world started today. Accompanied by Han Yong, Qiao Yu walked directly to the center of the school field.

  Guan Jia Qian Tai hurried over as soon as he saw Qiao Yu.

  "Third Master, all 300 young men are here as per your instructions!"

  "Good luck on your way, Old Qian!"

  "Is there anything else you'd like to instruct me with, young master?"

  "I want to have a word with them!"

  Qiao Yu walked quickly to the front of the young men, who had already noticed him. He was not very old, but he was dressed in a refined and elegant manner, which made everyone treat him with courtesy. They guessed that he must be the one in charge, so they all kept looking at Qiao Yu.

  "Everyone has worked hard along the way, let me introduce myself first. My name is Qiao Yu, I am the boss of Limin Textile Factory and also your future boss. I believe many of you have never traveled such a long distance before, from home to Chongqing, it's inevitable that there will be some doubts, worries, and even thoughts of missing loved ones. However, I assure you that as long as you can obey orders and work hard in training, you will definitely be able to enjoy a life of luxury."

  Among the young people, some looked excited, but more were bewildered. Qiao Yu knew that he had to bring out something more concrete to move these young people who had already begun to become numb. With a wave of his hand, two servants carried over a trunk and placed it in the middle. Qiao Yu opened the lid with one stroke, and as the sunlight hit it, he tilted it slightly towards the young people. Inside the trunk, a silver-white light flashed, dazzlingly bright - it was a whole trunk full of silver coins.

  These rural boys had never seen this before, and their eyes widened instantly. Since ancient times, wealth has moved people's hearts, and gold and silver are the things that have been scarce but can most move people's hearts. These boys came from poor families, where had they ever seen so much money? Even the richest landlord in their village didn't have such a large fortune!

  To know that now gold and silver are circulating as currency, but ordinary farmers may not even have one or two silver dollars left over at the end of the year. This big box of silver dollars is enough to dazzle the eyes of these young people!

  "These silver coins are now in my hands, but if you listen to my orders and train hard, they will soon be in your pockets. And I dare say that you will have a more brilliant future ahead of you, not like your parents who tilled the soil with their faces to the ground and their backs to the sky. You won't be bullied by scoundrels, village rascals, or evil tyrants either! Are you willing to listen to my orders? Answer me loudly!"

  The young men had already been robbed of their senses by the silver coins, now they were boiling with enthusiasm, their eyes shining brightly, and they all shouted in unison: "We are willing! We are willing! We are willing!"

  Qiao Yu saw this scene and felt relatively satisfied. These young people had not become completely numb, the hot blood in their hearts had not cooled down, they were indeed promising talents.

  "Alright, very well! I'm going to tell you that we're recruiting you over here, not as weavers, but as guards. That means you'll be taking up knives and guns to protect this factory, to safeguard the security of our family business. Your wages will absolutely be higher than those of ordinary workers. For now, let's set it at 10 big yuan per month. Here, I'll give you half a month's worth of silver wages right away!"

  The guard beside him had already given each of the young men five silver dollars as instructed, and those who received the silver dollars couldn't wait to blow a loud whistle, then put it to their ears to listen to the pleasant sound. Their parents would do the same every time they harvested, the sound of the silver dollar was so moving, but his father's hands had at most only three or two pieces, while he now had five in his hand, you know that a family could not save up so much money even if they worked hard all year round.

  The young men had a kind of ambition growing quietly in their hearts, Qiao Yu looked at everything with satisfaction, and said loudly: "Everyone go take a bath, change your clothes, and then start formal training!"

  Han Yong and Qian Tai took the boys to the well, drew water, and washed them one by one. At that time, Chinese people didn't pay much attention to hygiene, which was understandable given their circumstances. After all, they were struggling to get enough food, let alone worry about other things. However, Qiao Yu knew the importance of military discipline and appearance, so he insisted on making a thorough change in the boys' mental outlook first.

  Dozens of guards worked together, and soon the boys were cleaned up. On the other side, military uniforms had been prepared, deep gray in color, tailored to perfection, and when worn on the body, they could both set off a proud demeanor and add countless prestige. Every boy who changed into new clothes couldn't help but stick out his chest high, like a proud little rooster.

  When the young men reassembled on the school grounds, the atmosphere was completely different. Han Yong, who was watching from the side, couldn't help but praise them repeatedly. He had also been in the army before and knew that those Xiang Army and Huai Army troops were absolutely not as neat as this, even the usual new army's military appearance was no more than this.

  "Hey Big Brother Han, can these young men still be of use?"

  "Master, as long as you train diligently, you'll definitely become a powerful warrior, but you'll also need good equipment!"

  "The rifles from Germany will arrive soon, for now let's just train in formation and improve our physical fitness. Their bodies are still too weak. Brother Han, I won't be able to keep an eye on things here often, so you take care of it!"

  "This is what I should do, but your safety is still very important, young master. I think it's best to let Xiaowang protect you personally!"

  Xiao Wang, whose real name is Wang Tianhe, was a disciple that Han Yong had taken in from Wan County. More than two months ago, he had been transferred to Qiao Yu's side. His martial arts skills were not inferior to Han Yong's and he was very cautious by nature. Qiao Yu also thought highly of this young man, so he nodded his head in agreement.

  Just as they were talking, a fragrant aroma of rice wafted over, and the young men, who had just changed into new clothes, immediately lit up with excitement upon smelling this scent, even more eagerly than when they saw silver coins!