Chapter 10: Elite Strategy

  Yang Tian's tall figure appeared on the wall of the courtyard, gazing out at the fleeing figures in the starry night, and smiled: "Escaped quite quickly."

  He jumped into the courtyard and praised the soldiers: "Well done!"

  "It's the general's credit!" The soldiers didn't dare take the credit for themselves.

  Yang Tian chuckled and walked up to the three burly men, pointing at their vital points and rendering them unable to move or speak. He clapped his hands and said, "Alright, now they can't use their internal energy or talk. Bind them up and take them away! We'll interrogate them again tomorrow!"

  "Yes!" The soldiers dragged away the three exhausted men, carrying the corpses on the ground with them.

  Yang Tian smelled the bloody smell left in the yard, sighed and said: "Alas, it's really not fun. Those little thieves ran away with a scare, and I couldn't even smell the heavy blood again..."

  If those fleeing people heard Yang Tian's words, they would probably hate to grow a pair of wings and fly away to the edge of the sky, never to see this person again.

  The next day, Yang Tian slept until the sun was high in the sky before finishing breakfast and going to interrogate the three big men. But no matter how he questioned them, he didn't get any useful information, just that they were wandering martial artists who wanted to get some money or treasure; as for whether it was true or not, only heaven knew. Yang Tian was used to leading troops in battle and slaughter, and since the three men had been easily caught by the soldiers, there was no great value in keeping them alive, so he simply gave them a quick death.

  Lei Meng took Lin Chong and Liao Yun back to White Mountain in a hurry, after inspecting the place, they found that everything was fine, no strangers had arrived. Then Lei Meng handed over the patrol task to Lin Chong and Liao Yun, he wanted to draw technical drawings, so that after recruiting talents, they could develop industrialization according to his design.

  The rough paper had been made by him, next, he manufactured clocks, refined glass, extracted coal oil, deeply processed coal, extracted various chemical raw materials, and prepared explosives... He wanted to transform this technologically backward world step by step.

  Time flew by and another three months passed, and it was time for the auction again. After the last publicity and the word of mouth from those who returned, the story of the Hsi River Auction House spread throughout the land, and everywhere people were eagerly discussing Hsi River. At the same time, Hsi River's talent introduction program was also a topic of heated discussion.

  Emperor Haotian Chu Wei had received the news long ago, but since Lei Ming and others did not pose a threat to Haotian, he didn't put pressure on them either. He just sent some people to participate in their talent recruitment.

  Jin Emperor Wang Ding also received the intelligence, and he managed to get his hands on a Cloud Cluster Sword. He sat under the lamp, admiring the Cloud Cluster Sword, carefully examining the cloud patterns on the sword body. Then, he raised his head and looked at Wei Ming standing by the window with his back against the night, saying: "The quality of this sword is not bad, it seems to be similar to my treasured blade."

  "They can take out such a precious sword to sell, it means they still have many more, and even better ones!" Wei Ming responded lightly, his thoughts drifting off somewhere, as if recalling an interesting scene, the corners of his mouth curled up into a smile.

  "Hmm, that makes sense. Why don't we take advantage of their recruitment and send some people to gather some intelligence." Wang Ding sheathed his sword and continued, "Forget it, that piece of chicken rib isn't worth it, let's trade for some precious swords with Lei Ming instead."

  "Oh? You're finally willing to give in?" Wei Ming turned around and looked at Wang Ding in surprise. He had never thought highly of Wujicheng, and the fact that its supply lines were too long was a flaw that everyone knew about.

  "It's better to exchange it for something useful. Putting the sword on the table, Wang Ding slowly stood up, "If we exchange it for this kind of sword, we can get over a thousand of them. If Jin Yuan secretly forms an elite army and equips them with these precious blades, they will be invincible."

  "Aren't you worried that after they get the black chicken, they'll ask Jin Yuan to develop on this side?" Wei Ming furrowed his brow in doubt, he had an intuition that something was off, "Won't we be lifting a rock only to drop it on our own feet?"

  "Heh, the Lei Meng doesn't have that many people, and even if they gave them a black chicken, there wouldn't be anyone to guard it." Wang Ding walked back two steps with his hands behind him, saying, "Moreover, Chu Wei won't increase troops for them, nor will he sit idly by while they develop and grow stronger. Also, the land east of Wujijiang is all barren hills, nothing can be planted there."

  Wei Ming shook his head and smiled: "Wang Ding, Wang Ding! This matter has been calculated to death by you, and Lei Meng and the others can't struggle even if they want to. However, I still think this move is problematic."

  "It's settled then!" Wang Ding stood up straight and puffed out his chest, "I believe in my own analysis!"

  Inside Hexi City, the streets and alleys were crowded with people, some came to join in the auction, others came to visit Hexi City, and others came for various purposes.

  This time at the auction, ten swords were sold again. Due to the massive promotion beforehand, the price of the Tuan Yun Bao Sword was driven up to a high price of 10,000 gold; the buyer was overjoyed, and the seller was even more encouraged.

  After the auction, Huang Chu asked Lei Meng for credit, but Lei Meng was busy selecting talents and was too busy to spare a moment, only roughly expressing his appreciation before rushing off again, causing half of Huang Chu's joy to dissipate.

  There were a lot of people who came to respond this time, and the street where the recruitment was held was crowded. Mr. Wen frowned and asked: "Lei Meng, with so many people, when will we finish recruiting?"

  Lei Meng looked at the crowded and noisy crowd, raised an eyebrow, and said: "This is not difficult. First, send soldiers to drive away those who are shouting loudly, those who have been eliminated."

  "Hmm, good idea! This way, we won't need to hire those who can't even wait in line." Mr. Wen stroked his beard and nodded, then furrowed his brow and said, "But there are still many left."

  "It is not that they don't know it, but rather that they are not as fond of it as those who enjoy knowing it!" Lei Meng shook his head and came up with a famous quote from Confucius.

  "Great! Great! You've hit Mr. Wen's weak spot!" Mr. Wen applauded, then furrowed his brow and asked, "But how do we do it?"

  "Hmm... Mr. Wen, don't be in a hurry, I was just thinking and you interrupted me." Leiming rubbed his head, thought for a moment, and said, "How about we set up practical operations to test the applicants, such as having craftsmen build walls, farmers plow fields, city builders repair a section of the city wall, and educators teach a class of young people..."

  "What a great idea!" Mr. Wen clapped his hands in approval, "I'll go take care of it right away!"

  Incidentally, in the process of completing their work, observe their attitude and expression. If they are very happy to complete their work, then keep them; if they are annoyed, then let them go. Looking at Mr. Wen who was about to leave, Lei Ming hurriedly added a sentence.

  As for those who participated in the military assessment, it was even simpler. Yang Tian directly brought over the elite camp and let the participants challenge the soldiers of the elite camp at will. Those who could defeat them were recruited, and those who lost to five elite soldiers without falling down were also recruited. Other talents didn't need to show off there, because other skills like drawing, measuring distance, reconnaissance, etc., Yang Tian could teach.

  It wasn't long before five days had passed, and the crowd of onlookers gradually dispersed. Most of the people who participated in the assessment left with regret, leaving only those who had passed the assessment to stay behind. Mr. Wen counted them roughly, about one in ten, truly an elite selection method. From Mr. Wen's perspective, many people were talented, especially at a time when three cities urgently needed talent development. However, Lei Ming was resolute in eliminating them according to standards. Although they had gone through layers of screening, those who stayed behind still couldn't access the core content and needed to undergo further testing over time. Even if they knew something, what could they do? Many things couldn't be done without Lei Ming's calculations and theories, such as building new steel furnaces or coal refining.

  Apart from recruiting over 200 soldiers, this time a total of 86 talents were recruited. For Lei Meng, this is not a bad result, because if they can really serve as leaders in one direction, then there will be 86 project developments. However, in reality, many people have the same specialty, such as architecture and education, which account for a large proportion, leaving only about ten or so items after deducting seven or eight, barely covering civil affairs, education, agriculture, forestry, fisheries, animal husbandry, urban construction, machinery, governance, management, commerce, medicine and other fields.

  "Welcome everyone to this collective! My name is Lei Meng, and I am the highest leader here."

  The people in the hall murmured slightly: "Wow! This person named Leimeng is too young, can he be trusted?" As soon as Leimeng raised his hand, the murmur subsided, because they all knew that many talented and arrogant people had not even passed the first test before, so they were wise enough not to make another sound, waiting with bated breath for what was next.

  "I know you all think I'm very young and afraid of not being able to handle things, but take a closer look at everything around us, it's all been done under my command and planning. I think these are things you've never seen before, and it's these things that have attracted you here." After pausing for a moment, Lei Meng continued, "I don't know whether your purpose in coming here is to seek knowledge, build something, or try to uncover our secrets! All I ask is that when you come here, give me your hard work!"

  Lei Meng suddenly burst out with a loud roar, his eyes revealing a fierce glint, as he swept his gaze over the crowd with an aura of killing intent, causing everyone's ears to ring and their vision to blur, their hearts turning cold.

  "Don't worry that I'll be pressuring you, here, you will be able to give your all, fully exert your imagination and creativity, and go all out to build your dreams... Of course, I'm referring to dreams that benefit the vast majority of residents."

  "As long as you follow the rules here, this will be the safest and most free place." Lei Meng scanned the eyes of the talented people again, "If any of you feel it's difficult, then leave. I won't force you."

  The entire hall was silent, and no one responded for a long time. Lei Meng waited somewhat impatiently, perhaps this was the normal behavior of an oppressed crowd, not arguing, not expressing themselves casually!

  Suddenly, a soft and weak voice came: "I do!"

  Again, a few small voices echoed in different places: "I'm willing to stay too!"

  Then came the increasingly thunderous cries of "I do!" They finally found their paradise! Whether Lei Meng's portrayal was true or not, at least it gave them a promise, gave them hope, and allowed them to change the world in their own way! This is a paradise! A paradise for the elite!