Volume 1 Chapter 22 Recruiting Soldiers on Opportunity (Part 2)

  The people outside the city were discussing, and the tightly closed city gate creaked open slowly. A team of fully armed soldiers poured out in a steady stream and formed two teams outside the city.

  A young military officer walked out with his head held high and a broad stride. This person was naturally Qiao An Guo.

  Qiao Ankou walked out of the city gate and shouted loudly to the people outside the city: "Fellow villagers, I have some good news. I think you all know that the bandit leader Wei Dexi has indeed been captured by us and will be executed soon. Fellow villagers who have grievances or grudges can come into the city to file a complaint, but please line up in order due to the large number of people."

  "Good!" All the people responded loudly, and then they spontaneously lined up in an orderly manner under the guidance of the soldiers, slowly entering the city.

  In the south of the city, thousands of people had gathered on the empty land of the horse racing field. Outside the city, even more people were rushing in this direction. In addition to those who came from tens of miles around, the local people of Zhuiheji also flocked to watch the excitement. For a time, the whole horse racing field was unprecedentedly prosperous, with people surging like water.

  At the northern edge of the circus arena, Qiao Anbang led a few fully armed subordinates onto the stage. Qiao Anbang's gaze swept across, and he suddenly took in a cold breath. Looking out, the empty space below the stage was packed with a sea of black heads, swaying back and forth, almost impossible to see the end.

  After nearly an hour, all the more than 30,000 people from all over the world finally entered the circus arena. The huge crowd not only filled the entire circus arena but also climbed onto the surrounding empty streets and even rooftops.

  On the stage, Qiao An Guo led a few soldiers through the crowds and rushed over. Next, Ya Li and Wang Gen Sheng also walked quickly, with Wang Gen Sheng holding a brand new loudspeaker in his hand.

  Qiao Anbang took the loudspeaker from Wang Gensheng, cleared his throat, and shouted loudly through the loudspeaker: "Fellow villagers, I am Qiao Anbang, the deputy captain of our Zhenhe Village Security Team. The person next to me is my elder brother Qiao Anguo, who is also the captain of our security team."

  "You have come from afar, just to witness with your own eyes the scene of the execution of Wei Deji, the bandit chief who has committed countless atrocities and accumulated a mountain of blood debts."

  "Yes, Deputy Captain Qiao, hurry up and bring out the big villain Wei Dexi." A middle-aged sturdy man near the front stage spoke out with a sincere gaze.

  "Good!" Jo Anbang responded with a loud voice and immediately turned around to the back of the stage, waving his hand vigorously and shouting: "Bring Wei Dekai up for me."

  In an instant, two tiger-backed and bear-waisted security team soldiers pushed Wei Dexi, who was tied up with five flowers, to the empty space in front of the stage, and a dozen or so soldiers with live ammunition formed a human wall.

  When the people saw Wei Dexi, they suddenly became chaotic. Enemies meeting each other's eyes turned red with rage. The entire circus was boiling over, and the people's curses were endless.

  Some onlookers who saw the murderer of their relatives were so indignant that they threw off their hats or grabbed a handful of mud from the ground and cursed as they hurled it at Wei Dexi.

  If it weren't for the wall of soldiers holding them back, the enraged masses would have torn Wei De to pieces.

  Qiao Anbang looked at the scene below, his mouth slightly raised with satisfaction. This was exactly what he wanted to achieve. As long as he could stir up the people's anger towards the bandits and awaken their desire to defend their hometown and protect their loved ones, then his next plan to recruit soldiers would be a success.

  Looking at the increasingly excited emotions of the people on the scene, almost out of control, Qiao Anbang finally spoke again, holding up the loudspeaker and shouting loudly: "Fellow villagers, please calm down, please calm down, listen to me for a moment."

  The voices of the people were chaotic, but they were still drowned out by the loud and piercing sound coming from the megaphone.

  Under Qiao Anbang's efforts, the angry masses gradually regained some calmness and waited eagerly for Qiao Anbang to speak.

  "Fellow villagers, Wei Dexi has been caught and will be executed soon. It's not worth delaying the revenge for this short period of time. Whether it's puncturing his skin or flaying him alive, whatever you say goes. But before that, I have something to say here, and I hope everyone can listen carefully." Qiao Anbang said in a deliberately solemn tone.

  The people below the stage had already fallen silent, and Qiao Anbang paused for a moment before continuing in a low voice: "Fellow villagers, today we have captured Wei Dexi, and it can be said that we have eliminated one evil from our locality. However, bandits are still rampant, and robbers are running amok. We caught one Wei Dexi today, but who's to say there won't be a second, third, or even more bandits continuing their evil ways in the future."

  "What are we going to do when the time comes? Are we going to continue to let bandits kill my relatives and take my property? Can you bear to let the tragic events of Wulizhuang and Liujicun happen again just a few days ago?"

  Qiao Anbang's words caused the tens of thousands of ordinary people below to suddenly erupt into a flurry of discussion. These honest and simple folk had never thought about this issue before, and when it came to bandits, they were completely at a loss, unable to do anything but be slaughtered at will.

  However, there were also some hot-blooded young men among them. As soon as Qiao Anbang's words fell, some people shouted: "If that's the case, I'll fight the bandits to the death!"

  "Right, let's fight them!"

  "Good job! You are all very brave, worthy of being a man with a backbone!" Qiao Anbang first praised and then said: "However, bandits often have many people and momentum. Although you personally are brave, but one fist is hard to defeat four hands, at that time it will be impossible to protect your parents, wives, children, brothers and sisters."

  "What shall we do?" some of the people cried out in alarm.

  "We must unite, one person can't defeat them, but ten, a hundred, a thousand of us together, with concerted efforts, we will defend our hometown, eliminate those evil bandits and thieves, and let our fellow villagers live in peace and prosperity."

  Qiao Anbang said, taking advantage of the situation: "Now our security team is expanding and recruiting soldiers. As long as you are willing, anyone who meets the age and physical requirements can join our security team to protect the border and maintain peace and stability, and eliminate violence."

  "But I'm the pillar of my family, if I join the army, who will support them?" a man said with some doubt.

  "Haha." Qiao Anbang laughed loudly: "You can rest assured, the treatment of our security team is enough for you to support your family. If you enlist now, each person will immediately receive 100 yuan as a settlement fee, and an additional 12 yuan per month as a monthly allowance. In addition, those who make achievements in future battles will be rewarded, and there will also be rewards during holidays. If someone unfortunately sacrifices themselves, their family will receive 1,000 yuan in condolences, and their wife, children, parents, and other dependents will all be supported by our security team."

  As soon as Qiao Anbang said this, the audience below suddenly burst into an uproar, with tens of thousands of people discussing and debating among themselves. Twelve taels of silver per month, that's a lot of money! For ordinary farmers like them, it was enough to make their whole family rich for several months, plus there were also relocation fees, and even if they unfortunately died in battle, there would be a generous consolation payment, so their families wouldn't have to worry about being left without anyone to support them.

  Soon someone timidly asked: "Sir, is what you said true?"

  "Of course it's true, today in front of tens of thousands of fellow villagers, I, Qiao Anbang, swear that if what I say today cannot be fulfilled later, let me die a terrible death, shot to death by bandits. If there is anything I fail to do, you soldiers can shoot me with your guns, and I will have no complaints!"

  "Fellow countrymen, from now on our security team's mission is not only to defend our hometown but also to shoulder the heavy responsibility of defending our entire motherland. Because in the near future, there will be Japanese devils who are a hundred times more cruel and ten thousand times more evil than bandits, who will invade our country and our hometown. At present, they have already occupied large tracts of our land in the four eastern provinces, and are eyeing our country covetously, wanting to swallow it up and turn us, even our children and grandchildren, into their slaves."

  "As descendants of the Yellow Emperor, how can we Chinese people turn a blind eye to this and bear the thought of our future generations becoming slaves to the Japanese?" Qiao Anbang asked with deep meaning.

  "Sir, I am willing to join the army and defend our home and country."

  "I'm willing too...... I'm willing too......!" At this time, the people below the platform responded with a chorus of voices.

  Qiao Anbang looked at the people below with a hint of excitement, his heart already filled with joy. On the surface, he remained calm and composed, saying in a deep voice: "If everyone is willing to join the army, you can sign up at our recruitment office later. As long as you pass the qualification test, we will immediately provide you with resettlement fees and new military equipment. Now, let's execute Wei Dexi first and avenge those fellow villagers who died unjustly!"

  "Revenge! Revenge!" The already agitated citizens, stirred up by Qiao Anbang, all shouted in unison, following his lead. Executing Wei Dexi was certainly a comfort to them, but they looked forward even more to themselves or their relatives being able to join the security team as soldiers, if only for that generous reward.