Chapter Nineteenth: The Ye Family Army Recruits Soldiers

  For the current recruitment of Ye's army, whether it is refugees from outside or ordinary people in the inland areas, as long as they have some strength, they are eager to sign up. After all, the reputation of Ye's army led by Chen Fei was not bad at that time, and with the background of Ye Xuan, there are not many people who care about whether Ye's army is a chaotic army or not.

  After all, even if you work hard to farm the land and have good luck without being robbed or stolen from, when you respectfully pay your taxes, you will be surprised to find that you have been busy for nothing this year. Why? Because it was all embezzled by government officials?

  So even if you don't rebel, won't you still starve to death? Following the Ye family army at least allows you to eat your fill. Even if you die and end up in the underworld, you can at least be a well-fed ghost, so when you arrive in the netherworld, you won't be bullied by the other ghosts!

  At the same time, I also heard that Ye Jiajun is also a part-time matchmaker, helping to introduce and find wives for some bachelors who came after hearing this...

  Then all the young and strong men in the village, after hearing the news of Xingtian Army's recruitment, quickly gathered at the recruiting station.

  Only listening to Sun Yu and Chen Fei shouting on the side: "Name, where is your family from? Can you do any craftsmanship? Do you have a family... Ah wait, what are you looking at! Get in line for me!" On the other hand, Sun Yu and Chen Fei were registering, while Yang Xiao and Zhao Jie were maintaining order on the side. Seeing some unscrupulous strong men trying to cut in line, they immediately gave them a military stick and cancelled their registration qualifications. After Zhao Jie and Yang Xiao severely punished several disobedient people who tried to cut in line, those who came to register no longer dared to be reckless and lined up honestly...

  Everyone who came answered the questions honestly, and those who knew each other were given priority because at that time, there were too few people in Ye's army who could read and write, so those who recognized characters were brought in to serve as clerks and helped with some recording work.

  After registering, everyone was waiting on the side for the personnel of Ye's family to come out and post the list. Because of Ye Xuan's insistence on taking the elite route, rather than being sloppy, Ye's family army also made it clear at the beginning of the recruitment that not everyone would be accepted, and the elimination rate was not low.

  So every few hours, when the people from Ye's army came to call out the names on the list, everyone would excitedly gather in front of them, and no one dared to speak, fearing that they might miss their own name.

  And each person who was called out followed the drill instructor of the new recruit battalion with excitement, while those who were not called out secretly sighed and retreated to one side, looking forward to having their name on the next roll call.

  Ye Xuan's rule was to first recruit literate and skilled craftsmen, then prioritize finding some able-bodied men with families and locals. After all, their families had settled down in the Ye family army, having a sense of belonging would naturally make them regard the Ye family army as their own home. Since it was their own home, for the sake of protecting their own home and loved ones, how could those men not fight with all their might on the battlefield?

  However, some sturdy men were rejected by the Ye family army because Sun Yu and Chen Fei, who had led troops before, saw that these people's eyes darted back and forth. At a glance, they could tell that these people were cowards who would not accomplish anything but cause trouble instead. If they were allowed to harm ordinary people, it would be one disaster after another. Letting them go into battle would be laughable, as Ye Xuan put it: "Hehe, I'll just laugh at this!" At first, some people didn't understand what he meant, but finally Chen Fei couldn't hold back anymore and shouted: "Even pigs would be driven to death by these rabbits! What Big Brother means is that these people would run faster than each other on the battlefield!"

  ……

  In just a few days, Ye Jiajun recruited 600 or 700 people, including old and young, and also selected about 50 craftsmen, including carpenters, blacksmiths, leather workers... and many others with some skills.

  Those who were selected were overjoyed and celebrated on the side, while those who weren't selected could only shake their heads and lament their bad luck, dispersing in all directions. However, no one blamed Ye Jiajun, after all, at least they could still get two meals of porridge here every day. Ye Jiajun had done his best, so those who didn't get selected could only sigh and disperse in all directions, going about their business...

  Looking at the new recruits he had gathered, Ye Xuan nodded in satisfaction. With his original soldiers and the new recruits, he now had over 1,000 men under his command. He was already a considerable force to be reckoned with. If he could train these new recruits for three months, Ye Xuan believed that he would not fear anyone in Hebei.

  Unfortunately, Ye Xuan also sighed, and Ye Xuan himself knew that Ma Teng was also accumulating wealth and preparing for a surprise attack at this time. However, it wouldn't take long before he would definitely launch an attack. Ma Teng wouldn't give Ye Xuan so much time to prepare. Maybe as early as tomorrow, Ma Teng might launch an attack, so he had to seize every minute.

  Thinking of this, Ye Xuan thought of Su Zhong again and sighed. He thought to himself: I don't know how that kid Su Zhong handled the matter I entrusted him with. If he can complete it before Ma Teng attacks, I won't be afraid of Ma Teng anymore!

  Zhuge Yu looked at Ye Xuan's worried face, still holding the feather fan and walking elegantly to his side, as if no matter how critical the situation was, it would not disturb Zhuge Yu's composure.

  Looking at Zhuge Yu's smiling face, Ye Xuan asked curiously: "Why can military affairs be so calm and composed in this situation?"

  "Then please, General, answer me one question." Zhuge Yu didn't respond to Ye Xuan's words, but instead shook the feather fan in his hand and asked Ye Xuan a question.

  Ye Xuan smiled slyly and immediately pulled out his ancestral sword from behind him, staring at it for a long time before saying: "Afraid? Of course I'm afraid. To say you're not afraid would be a lie. However, Military Advisor, you need to understand that the closer you get to your opponent's level, the more you'll understand their strength, and the more fearful you'll become. When that fear reaches its peak, it's also when you can match up against your opponent! Right now, I'm constantly chasing after Lei Huo Ma Teng, constantly understanding how terrifying he is, and constantly strengthening my own power, all for that final battle. Once I defeat him and step over Ma Teng, the world will have nothing to fear from me, Ye Xuan!"

  After listening to Ye Xuan's words, Zhuge Yu was shocked for half a day and couldn't say anything. It wasn't until much later that he slowly sighed: "General, you are indeed the descendant of the Ye family. Now I understand why the Ye family has been producing outstanding generals for three generations. As for me being so calm, it's just because I wanted to tell General some good news."

  Ye Xuan tilted his head and asked: "Tell me, what's the good news that can make our normally calm Great Military General so delighted?"

  But what Ye Xuan didn't expect was that Zhuge Yu's next words would make him lose his usual calm demeanor...

  Zhuge Yu smiled mysteriously and then said, "Congratulations, General! The task you assigned to Su Zhong has been successfully completed!"

  Aiya, I dug a hole for myself. Originally, Zhuge Yu planned to come out much later, but after writing the previous chapter, my brain got muddled and it ended up like this. So, please help Aiya collect himself, thank you!