Chapter 7: Defend the Family and the Country, Guard the Nation's Army

  "What a thrill! He Tianci shouted to the crowd: "Good, our old masters of Heishan are all good, I believe that as long as we, the old masters of Heishan, work together with one heart, and all the old masters of China work together with one heart, one day we will drive out these foreign devils, ghosts, big noses, small noses, and drive them out of Northeast China and out of China."

  "Now, those who want to join the army and become soldiers, come over here and sign up. Priority will be given to those with education and special skills."

  "I'm Zhao Dahu, I've killed a few Russians with the Boxers a few years ago, I know some boxing skills, want to see my moves?" said this burly man named Zhao Dahu.

  "Alright, I've got it down. Next one." said Zhiwu while writing it down.

  "My name is Zhao Erhu, that was my brother just now. I may not be good at anything, but I have a never-ending supply of strength and I'm also very brave."

  He Tianci took a glance at the Zhao brothers and then smiled: "Big Tiger, Second Tiger, is there a Third Tiger?"

  At this time, only a slightly thin young man replied: "Sir, I am." He Tianci felt a little embarrassed and said with a bewildered expression, "Do you have any other brothers at home?"

  The three brothers looked at each other and said: "That's it."

  "What about your parents?" He Tianci asked.

  "Sir, please let us stay. During the Jiawu War, my uncle and his family were all killed by the little devils in Dalian. We joined the army to avenge them. We also have a younger sister who stayed home to take care of our parents." The three brothers said in unison.

  He Tianci said, "Alright! I'll let you stay. Here are three silver dollars. Hurry back home and take care of your parents. I'm giving you your wages in advance. Go quickly and come back soon!"

  He Tianxi shouted, "Those who are in charge of the count, come over and let's take a look at how our headcount is!"

  "Hey boss, now there are 710 qualified people, plus the original brothers, we have more than 800 people. How about we eliminate some of them?"

  He Tianxi smiled and said, "Don't worry, I'll take care of explaining this to Zhang Zongguan." This good opportunity He Tianxi couldn't miss, a duck in hand can't be let fly. In these chaotic times, it's not afraid of having more people, as long as there are guns and men, one can become the king of the grasslands. At that time, even Zhang Zuolin, who later shook the Northeast, had only a thousand-man army, and they were all from humble origins. He Tianxi now had over 800 brothers, if things developed well, maybe he could replace him as the King of the Northeast, the Tiger of the Northeast.

  He Tianci was about to return to Zhen'an County to report for duty when more than 200 people rushed over from a distance, each carrying various types of weapons, including shotguns, big knives, bows and arrows, fire spears, and various firearms such as the Hanyang-made "old pipe gun", Russian rifles, German rifles, and most of all, Japan's Murata rifle.

  Leading the way was an elderly man, wearing a black long gown, who hurriedly shouted as he walked: "Lord He, please wait!" The old man arrived in front of He Tianxi and said: "I am Li De Lin, the president of the Black Mountain Chamber of Commerce. I have heard along the way that Lord He has established a patrol police camp to protect the peace of this region. I have great admiration for Lord He." As he spoke, he pointed to a young man and said: "This is my nephew, the captain of the Black Mountain Insurance Team, Li Enyi."

  This is Li Enyi, wearing a black dog skin hat, revealing a big round face, with two big eyes shining brightly on his round face. When he speaks, he smiles and gives people a smooth feeling at first glance. He makes a gesture of holding his fist towards He Tianxi and says: "Li Enyi, a humble man, has met Lord He, and hopes that Lord He will take care of him in the future. Today, I hand over the 190-man Black Mountain Insurance Team to Lord He, from now on, no matter whether my brothers are dead or alive, they will all be under Lord He's command."

  He Tianci burst out laughing and said, "Our patrol camp is indeed full of talents! Welcome, brothers from the insurance team, from now on we are one family. Come on, take them to report to the Black Mountain brothers and leave a record."

  A young man soon entered He Tianxi's line of sight, introducing himself in a hoarse voice "My name is Sa Bao Ci, from Hei Shan, An County, Fengtian Prefecture."

  This young man from Sichuan somehow reminds me of the Northeastern Errenzhuan actor Guo Wang, but this Sichuanese has an extra hint of cleverness and efficiency.

  "Haha, don't tease Lord He, just say you're called stupid and that's it? I'm telling you, Lord, he's indeed called stupid (Northeastern people usually call others stupid with the word '狍子' attached to it)." A loud-mouthed burly man jeered.

  "Lu Dabi listened (Liaoning dialect, meaning 'nose mucus') you stop nagging (Northeastern dialect, implying talking nonsense, with a hint of impatience). Sa Bao Ci said somewhat impatiently."

  Lu Dabi originally named Lu Han, because when he was a child, he often didn't wipe his nose, so he got the nickname Lu Dabi. He looks a bit silly, but in his early years, he used to be a bandit, so he is also ruthless and cunning when doing things.

  "Hey, what are you two doing? What's the matter with you? If you keep this up, I'll have to discipline you! From now on, we're all soldiers, so act like it! Sorry, Lord He, it's my fault for not keeping them in line. They've never had any discipline."

  He Tian smiled and said, "You know what? I quite like these two. They can liven up the atmosphere in the army. From now on, this little Sa will follow me! And you, you seem pretty clever, so be my deputy officer!"

  This silly boy didn't say a word, but instead took a sneak peek at Li Enyi. Li Enyi glared at him and laughed: "What are you looking at? General He let you be his deputy, just do it, and don't even thank General He."

  The silly boy smiled and hurriedly said: "Thank you, Mr. He, for your appreciation, thank you, Mr. He, thank you, Captain Li"

  "In the future, let's not call ourselves 'Big Captain' anymore. We now have over 1,000 people. Zhiwu and Li Captain, you two can take charge of a battalion each. Battalion commanders, report on our personnel statistics: who has special skills, who is educated and literate, and who has military experience." He Tianxi said.

  Nà Zhìwǔ looked at the statistics book, reading aloud: "There are 89 people who can recognize characters. Among them, there is a person named Zhang Laifu from Harbin, Heilongjiang Province, who can speak Russian. Zhao Dahu is skilled in boxing. And then there's Wu Xiāolín, who was a sentinel during the First Sino-Japanese War and served as a sentinel leader under General Song Qing (of the Diligent Army)."

  He Tianxi shouted to the crowd: "All soldiers listen, from now on, our National Guard Army is established. He Tianxi will be the commander-in-chief. Zhao Wu and Li Enyi, you two will be in charge of the first and second infantry battalions of the National Guard Army respectively."

  The First Infantry Battalion was divided into five sentries: Zhongshao Sentries Captain Na Zhiwu (concurrently), Qianshao Sentries Captain Zhao Datou, Zuoshao Sentries Captain Zhang Laifu, Youshao Sentries Captain Song Biao, and Houshao Sentries Captain Wu Xiaolin.

  The 2nd Infantry Battalion was organized into five sentries: Central Sentries Commander He Tianxi (concurrently), Front Sentries Commander Wang Lifu, Left Sentries Commander Li Enyi (concurrently), Right Sentries Commander Lu Han, Rear Sentries Commander Sa Baoci.

  In addition, we will have 89 literate and cultured personnel form a national defense army teaching battalion to teach everyone cultural knowledge.

  "Li Guanda, take your men to receive equipment. Each person will get a Type 2 rifle and 50 rounds of ammunition. Additionally, each battalion will receive one Maxim machine gun. Training starts tomorrow, please make preparations."

  "Oh my god, it's not just the old muzzle-loading guns, there are machine guns too! This is getting out of hand!" The soldiers exclaimed.

  "Hey, He Daren, I think it's a problem for us to find a place to stay with over 1,000 people. Why don't you just stay at my second uncle's place in Ga Da? It's just around the corner in the village ahead. My second uncle runs a big truck shop (similar to a low-end hotel now), mainly serving peddlers and traders who are short on money, it's quite simple and cheap. How about staying at my second uncle's place? It's close by and convenient." Li Enyi said.

  "Then I'll trouble Li Guan to take care of it, thank you." He Tianci said with a gesture of gratitude.