Chapter 6: Recruiting Soldiers and Buying Horses in Zhenan County

  He Tiande raised his hand to make a stopping gesture, then said seriously: "Stop! General, I am an official of the Qing court, and I have just returned from abroad. I don't know what you're talking about with this 'Volume Hair Beast' or 'Iron Lin Qi'. My patrol camp is ordered to suppress bandits. If you want me to capture him, I will definitely execute him on the spot."

  Ma De Li laughed loudly and said, "It seems that Mr. He has a deep prejudice against the Russian Empire! This can't be blamed on Mr. He, it's all because of the mischief caused by Little Japan, who is always stirring up trouble! Little Japan has been spreading rumors all over the world, saying that the Russian army killed tens of thousands of Chinese civilians in Haicheng and Jiangdong 64 villages. Did they kill fewer people? I'll tell you, when the Eight-Nation Alliance entered Beijing, Little Japan contributed the most troops, extorted the most money, and killed the most people!"

  "The war that has been provoked, it is clear that this is to take away Manchuria from us by force, but they shamelessly pretend to be serious, deceiving the Chinese people, saying that the Russo-Japanese War is not just a war between two countries, but a war of resistance against white rule by the yellow-skinned Asian nations. They say that we, with our white skin and red hair, have always discriminated against China as an inferior nation, bullying and oppressing them. Is this little Japanese devil here to save Manchuria? Don't they know what shame is? ( Northeastern dialect for "don't they know what shame is") They've always cursed you as 'Chinese pigs'! Aren't they discriminatory? Damn it all! I'm telling you, if the Japanese devils occupy Manchuria, they won't give you anything. They'll harm Chinese people even more than we white-skinned red-haired people do! Do you believe it?"

  He Tianshi listened to this red-haired man speaking fluent Northeastern dialect, and what he said was not bad at all. He spoke straightforwardly without hiding anything, saying: "Then I believe - I've seen it with my own eyes, but how are you different from the little Japanese?"

  Maredurov nodded and said: "But our Tsar has already said it! We will establish a Yellow Russia in this Manchurian land!"

  "What did you say? Yellow Russia?"

  Madero nodded his head in affirmation and said: "Well, the yellow Russia is you, the white Russia is us, all are equal Russia..."

  He Tianxi listened and felt angry, this old guy really has no shame, saying whatever he wants. He Tianxi adjusted his emotions for a moment before interrupting him: "So you're saying that if you defeat the yellow-skinned people, it becomes Yellow Russia? If you defeat the black-skinned people in Africa, will there be Black Russia too? Are you going to make the whole world call itself Russia?"

  "Ha! Lord He, you really know how to crack jokes!" Ma De said with a slap on his own palm.

  He Tianci didn't pay attention to him, but instead expressionlessly said in a serious tone: "You've come to give me gifts, there must be something you want. No one gets up early without profit - what is it that you want? Don't waste my time."

  Ma De Li Da Fu Da Xiao had a bad premonition as he looked at He Tian Cai, and smiled foolishly: "You said that, it's time to eat, my stomach is performing acrobatics."

  He Tianci said with a sarcastic expression: "Is it a problem for your Great Russian Empire to buy some grain? Can't you just buy it yourself?"

  "Where can we buy it? We haven't even entered the village yet, and as soon as someone shouts 'Old Mao', all the locals will be gone."

  "What's the condition?" he asked with a hint of a smile.

  "Look, General He, outside are two of the latest model Maxim machine guns, plus 1,000 Berdan No. 2 Russian rifles, 500 Berdan No. 2 Russian cavalry rifles, and 100,000 rounds of ammunition. Let's see if that's enough to show our friendship!"

  He Tianci was taken aback at first, thinking that the Russians were not to be underestimated either, and had made thorough inquiries beforehand. He said, "When and where will we deliver?"

  Mareduofu heard this and felt that he had to say: "Let's do it in Fengtian, a month later, we will have a decisive battle with the Japanese army in Fengtian!"

  He Tianci shook his head and said resolutely, "This won't do! The imperial court has ordered our army to remain neutral. As a Qing official, how can I dare to openly send grain to the city of Fengtian? It's impossible, absolutely impossible!"

  "Ha ha, don't worry about this, Mr. He," said General Madridov with a smile. "This small matter can't stump the great Russian Empire. I've already prepared everything for you. There are our military uniforms on the carriage, and when the time comes, you'll put them on. I'll send someone to escort you into the city, and it will be completely safe. If Mr. He is a good friend, these military supplies and 10 gold bars are just a deposit. We'll definitely show our gratitude after the matter is settled. By the way, Mr. He, do you want some cannons?"

  Before He Tianxi could respond, this Ma De Li Daofu stood up and gave He Tianxi a big hug in a very Northeastern style. "Big brother, I'm off!" he said loudly, leaving the Russian-style horse carriage behind as he strode away quickly.

  He Tianci looked at the thousand Russian-made No. 2 rifles, the two Maxim machine guns, and the ten gold bars, his own heroic plan was about to be realized.

  Zhang Fu's temporary official residence Zhang Xiluan read out loudly: "He Tianxi, Zhi Wu, listen to the order. You two are appointed as the commander and deputy commander of the Town Anxun Police Infantry Regiment. After listening to the order, lead a team of people and horses immediately to Heishan, Town An County, to form the police infantry regiment and keep the area peaceful."

  "Thank you, Lord Zhang, for your support," they replied in unison.

  The two of them led a team of over 100 people to Heishan, Zhen'an County. Along the way, the two men gradually became familiar with each other. Nazhiwu was originally a banner man, but due to his family's decline, a distant relative recommended him to Zhang Xun's camp as a sentry. Although Nazhiwu didn't like to talk much, he was honest and reliable, and did things steadily, which made him deeply appreciated by Zhang Xun.

  Along the way, they chatted and laughed, and soon arrived at Hei Shan. Then, he ordered his soldiers to post recruitment notices around, requiring:

  Requires both hands to lift 100 pounds

  Within 1 hour, rush for 20 miles

  Height 165cm or above

  Between 20 and 25 years old

  Weight: 95-150 kg

  Those with cultural knowledge, literacy skills, special talents and military experience are given priority.

  No smoking, no gambling, and no visiting brothels.

  For this height, Northeasterners are no problem, they are all tall and strong, but the cultural level is not good. They themselves know the importance of cultural quality for soldiers, but at that time, the Northeast was not like the later Zhang Zuolin era, where industrialization was highest in the country, and the cultural level was also very high. However, most people here are farmers from Shandong, Hebei and other places who came to Guandong, and it's hard for them to recognize characters, so we can only lower our requirements.

  "He Tiancai saw that the people coming and going were getting more and more, so he stood on a high platform and shouted loudly: "Fellow villagers of Heishan, old and young masters, now the Japanese pirates and Russian devils are fighting in our Fengtian, not one of them is good, they may be robbing our food, killing people and setting fires, ravaging our sisters, slaughtering our relatives. The court asks us to strictly maintain neutrality, I want to ask if the Northeastern masters present can agree or not?" He Tiancai shouted loudly while waving his hand."

  The crowd began to seethe, "Damn it, what's with this old big nose and small nose, I'll fight them to the death!"

  He Tianci shouted again: "I know you are all men with blood, now I am ordered by Zhang Xiluan, the general manager of Zhang, to come to Heishan to set up a town security patrol infantry regiment. It is to protect our town's safety and peace, no matter if he is a big nose or a small nose, as long as he dares to come to our town's safety and be arrogant, we will let him have no return. I, He Mouren, promise that following me, He Mouren, to be a soldier, one month is one and a half silver dollars, now you will get one silver dollar salary."

  The people below started discussing, "Oh my! I think that following He Daren is not wrong, not only can we make money, but more importantly, we can also protect the peace of our Black Mountain region and kill a few foreign devils."

  The crowd erupted again, "Follow Mr. He, kill the devils, kill the foreigners, keep our town safe and peaceful! Long live Mr. He, long live Mr. He!"