Chapter 66 Forming Local Troops

  （0066）

  Of course, even if it's the strongest person, after running twenty kilometers, they would be exhausted, and Peng Bo is no exception. Looking at Peng Bo's appearance, he was relying on his last breath to hang in there, if that breath were to dissipate, he might have fainted. Behind Peng Bo, there were five young men, not far behind, no wonder Peng Bo was so desperate, he must be fighting for the first place.

  Zhang Zhun had no watch and could not accurately estimate the time, so he had to adopt other measurement methods. Yang Junjie and Yang Zhiwen stood at the finish line, and each person who crossed the finish line would receive a specially made bamboo slip. There were only 500 bamboo slips, and once they were all given out, that was it. In other words, only 500 people could pass the long-distance running test, and everyone else would be eliminated.

  As expected, the 500 bamboo slips were quickly distributed, and those who couldn't get any could only sigh in disappointment. Some simply lay down on the ground, not wanting to move anymore. Zhang ordered the veteran guards to pull them up, not allowing them to lie there like that, otherwise it would be extremely harmful to their bodies, and even shock or death were possible.

  Those who got the bamboo slips were overjoyed and completely forgot their fatigue, thinking of ways to recover their strength as soon as possible to participate in the weightlifting competition. Those who couldn't get the bamboo slips could only watch after they recovered.

  After a brief rest, the second event began, weightlifting.

  Everyone lifted up the heaviest stone lock as much as possible and then registered it on file.

  In this round of testing, 180 people will be eliminated, and only the top 320 scorers will pass the assessment. Therefore, the elimination rate is still very high. To be selected, one must use all their strength to fight for it. In fact, everyone is working hard to boost their morale, trying to lift the heaviest stone lock to ensure their own selection in the most difficult situation.

  It's precisely because of this mentality that the 30 jin and 50 jin stone locks were ignored, with everyone starting from 80 jin, or even 100 jin. After all, they are people who have been working hard for years, with strength and endurance to spare - the key is whether they can bring it out at this moment.

  Peng Bo, as the first long-distance runner to reach the finish line, also had a strong desire for weightlifting and was determined to take first place. In the end, Peng Bo successfully lifted 100 kg with one hand and 180 kg with both hands, becoming the champion of the weightlifting competition. According to the final statistics, more than 30 people were able to lift over 170 kg of stone locks with both hands, truly demonstrating their enormous potential.

  After sorting, the top 324 people who excelled in the test were honored to become members of the Imperial Guard. At the stage of 150 jin, there were dozens of people tied for the same rank, and Zhang Jun recruited all of them.

  Zhang Zhun announced the end of the assessment.

  "Passed!"

  Peng Fei Zai and others all looked very happy.

  He ran back and forth on the beach to vent his inner excitement. Other "new recruits" followed suit, running wildly with him, not feeling tired at all. Many people even knelt on one knee on the beach, punching the ground hard with their fists to vent their inner excitement.

  Soon, a sharp whistle sounded, and all the lucky ones who passed the assessment were reassembled around the high platform. Zhang Zhun was already standing on top with a cold expression.

  "From now on, you are all official members of the Guard Squad!"

  "You will receive one or two silver coins as your monthly allowance!"

  "Each of you will be granted five mu of military land as a reward!"

  "Now, come and get your military uniforms in order!"

  Zhang Zhun had long been prepared with military uniforms and was going to distribute them personally to each new soldier.

  He stood on the stage, calling out names one by one.

  "Peng Bo!"

  The first name Zhang Quan called out was Peng Bo.

  Peng Bo hastily ran onto the stage and stood at attention, saluting Zhang Zhun.

  "Go for it!"

  Zhang Zhun encouraged him to say.

  "I will definitely do it well!"

  Peng Bo was visibly excited, his tone of voice also changed a bit.

  No way, he was the most dazzling one among the new recruits, and the eyes of nearly a hundred people below were staring at him! At this moment, Peng Bo felt that his brain was slightly dizzy.

  Those young and strong men who failed the assessment were even more envious.

  After receiving his brand new military uniform, Peng Bo hastily took off his own clothes, regardless of everyone's gaze, and put on the uniform in a hurry.

  Yang Qianqiang couldn't help but stop him and said: "Hey, Peng Bo, change after you get back to the barracks!"

  Peng Bo had no choice but to put his clothes back on reluctantly. As a result, this set of his original best clothes looked awkward and he didn't want to continue wearing them. Forget it, then don't wear them at all, just go bare-chested. Anyway, in April, the weather wasn't very cold anymore, so standing around bare-chested for a while wouldn't be a big deal.

  Affected by Peng Bo, the new recruits who received their uniforms later also showed up

  He was so excited that he couldn't wait to disperse and return to his barracks to change into his military uniform immediately.

  Zhang Zhun nodded secretly, and was quite satisfied with everything he had planned.

  A soldier's sense of belonging is extremely strong, and only when the army is regarded as one's own home can its combat effectiveness be maximized. Similarly, every new recruit must regard the guard squad as their own home in order to bravely fight against the enemy without fear. Now it seems that his first plan has basically succeeded.

  "Disperse!"

  The uniforms have all been distributed, and Zhang finally spat out the two words that the new recruits had been expecting for a long time. They rushed back to their barracks with a loud noise, eager to put on their uniforms. At this time, someone started distributing military shoes, making the scene even more lively.

  At noon that day, all the new warriors changed into brand new military uniforms and reassembled with high spirits. From now on, they were all members of the guard team from inside out. After gathering, Zhang led them to their first destination, which was the cafeteria.

  It's been a busy morning, and it should be time for lunch now.

  For today's crowd, Zhang Zhun made relatively sufficient preparations. He slaughtered five big pigs in advance yesterday and caught several hundred kilograms of fresh fish. The new recruits and the young men who failed to enlist were all eating at Hongshitai. As for others, sorry, they could only go back home. Several thousand people, Zhang Zhun couldn't afford to entertain them. You should know that these young men are all gourmets!

  Because all the food was served openly, eat as much as you want, including pork and fish. As a result, the starving new recruits took a lot and then buried their heads and worked hard to stuff their stomachs. Because they ate too much too quickly, soon some people were stuffed to the point of bursting.

  Peng Bo looked at everyone with disdain and muttered in a low voice: "Is it that serious? We won't starve to death in the future, will we?"

  Yang Qiang laughed and said: "You don't even look at yourself, how many bowls have you eaten?"

  Peng Bo said disapprovingly: "Three bowls of rice, three bowls of noodles, is that a lot? I don't think so."

  The deputy commander laughed and said: "Peng Bo, if you can still eat so much for dinner, I'll admire you!"

  Peng Bo patted his own belly, round and round, and said helplessly: "Dinner is definitely not possible, let's do it tomorrow at noon!"

  Yang Qianqiang said: "I bet you won't be able to eat that much by tomorrow noon!"

  Peng Bo didn't believe in evil spirits, so he made a bet on it.

  "Hush!"

  Suddenly, a loud burst of laughter came from beside me.

  Everyone turned their heads to look, and it was those young men who had not passed the assessment who were making the noise. They were surrounding Lin Bin, but no one knew what Lin Bin was saying, and when they heard something funny, they burst out laughing. These people, because they did not pass the assessment, Zhang Zhun also did not use military discipline to restrain them, after all, it was just a matter of one meal.

  Actually, these young people are also not reconciled. It's not that they didn't work hard, but the number of guards is limited and it wasn't their turn. Especially those who passed the long-distance running test but were eliminated in the weightlifting test are even more resentful. They differ from others by only ten kilograms. Just because of a difference of ten kilograms, there's a huge gap between them, they indeed have some mental imbalance and can't understand it.

  Just when they were disappointed, Lin Bin's injury retirement came at the right time.

  "Failed to join the army? No big deal!"

  "Take some time to train with me, and the effect is also great!"

  "After our training, if there is a next selection, the probability of passing will definitely be very high!"

  Lin Bin smiled and promised everyone.

  As a result, after one meal, there were actually three or four hundred people gathered around Lin Bin.

  Surrounded by the enthusiasm of the crowd, Lin Bin shouted that he couldn't take it anymore, and the others in the wounded department also shouted that they couldn't take it anymore. The wounded department had only five people, facing a passionate crowd several tens of times their own size, how could they cope? There was no way out, so they had to ask Zhang Zhun for help.

  Zhang Zhun took the opportunity to gather a few people from the Injury Department together and made some suggestions.

  "You can organize a second-line guard team."

  Zhang Zhun said straightforwardly.

  The enthusiasm of these young people, of course, cannot be poured cold water, but should think of ways to keep it for a long time. Because such enthusiasm is hard-won and was exchanged with precious land. The stimulation of the land can only be used once. Moreover, after having the stimulation of the land, any other stimulating measures may have greatly discounted effects.

  The so-called second-line guards do not have a fixed formation, do not receive salaries, and their weapons and equipment are also not uniform. Training is also not uniform. In modern terms, they can be described as guerrilla teams, martial arts teams, or local troops. Each village organizes one team, and the activity area is generally within the range of the village. Their main task is still to engage in production, but at the same time, they take out some spare time to conduct basic training.

  The main task of the second-line guard should be to fill in the gaps of the main force at any time. After all, if they have received training and have a certain foundation, they will get started faster after joining the guard team. When necessary, they can also engage in simple combat with the enemy.