Chapter 29: Everyone Comes to Surrender

  As for the fact that he has become an idol for young people in Xuzhou, and many young people are eager to join him, Song Qing actually had some mental preparation for this. After all, he had been planning for so long and had worked hard to achieve his goal. However, he still did not expect that such a good result would appear in such a short period of time. When he arrived at the small school field and saw the crowd of at least hundreds of people, he was also stunned.

  What Luo Xiaobei said is not wrong, many of these people do not look like good people, either with a sly and cunning appearance or with a face full of scars, and quite a few are not from military families. They seem to be nothing but rascals without any backing in Xuzhou city, or even characters from the jianghu.

  It's impossible to take them all in. Firstly, although I'm now famous enough, my power is still not established and I won't be able to support so many people. Moreover, with crowds of people surrounding me every day, it's easy for others to find fault with me. If someone were to spread rumors that I have ulterior motives, even a small flag like myself wouldn't be able to withstand the pressure.

  Furthermore, if these people were just friends with him, it would be fine to give them some benefits when the time came. However, if they all came to rely on him seriously, he would have to support their families, and his only source of income was Wu Laohei's gambling den, where he only got a 30% share. Apart from giving some money to various places as bribes, what was left was barely enough to raise a few elite people, such as these ten promising kids under him, and a small number of new recruits.

  Song Qing had already made up his mind, and on the way, he bowed to everyone with a smile. Among those people, there were also many who liked to talk loudly, and from time to time, someone would shout: "Brother Qing, from now on, we brothers will follow you, you say east, we brothers will never go west!"

  These rivers and lakes scenes, Song Qing knew that he couldn't really believe them. When things were going smoothly for him, they might still be of some use, but when he was in trouble, these people would also say the same thing as they fawned on others. Not one of them could be relied upon. However, he wouldn't lack even a bit of courtesy, and smiled: "Song's humble abode has just started out, and relies heavily on all you brothers' support. If there's anything in the future, I hope all you brothers will lend a hand, Song won't disappoint everyone!"

  After the hustle and bustle, those who came to mix faces familiarly bid farewell one by one. The original more than 100 people were left with only over 30, basically all of whom were military dependents from various households in Weisuo. These people mostly weren't eldest sons, so they couldn't inherit the family business and would have to find things to do on their own in the future. Therefore, relying on the powerful forces within Weisuo was also a matter of course.

  To these people, Song Qing was much more sincere. He walked up to the high platform in a few steps and said loudly: "We are all sons of Xu Zhou Wei, usually we don't see each other's faces, but you can come to me, Song Qing, that is giving me face. Now I am just a small flag, I can only have ten people under my command, more would be usurping power. However, since you brothers have come, I will naturally accept you. As for money and things, let's not talk about it for now. At least every day when you follow me to practice, I will provide you with a full meal, and every few days you can even eat a meat meal!"

  Here is the translation:

  Song Qing has meat to eat, and this matter is now also spreading like wildfire. After all, among these absolutely bottom-of-the-barrel people, eating meat is a big deal almost on par with Chinese New Year or getting married. Therefore, no one would take it lightly. Now that they hear that by practicing here, they can also get to eat meat, the crowd suddenly becomes enthusiastic and eager to follow Song Qing's practice. Anyway, these people staying at home are not of much use, wasting food, so it's better for them to come out and make some effort to earn a meal for themselves.

  Seeing the crowd's intention, Song Qing said: "However, I'll say something ugly first. The training on my side is very hard. If you don't believe me, you can ask Luo Xiaobei and the others. If any of you brothers can't bear the hardship and can't bear the exhaustion, you can directly quit. However, once you quit, there won't be such an opportunity again!"

  No one would have any objections, at least not before the training started. After all, except for Luo Xiaobei and others, no one had seen Song Qing's training methods, let alone experienced that hardship personally. So they agreed quite readily, without much fuss. Song Qing didn't say much either, just asked Luo Xiaobei and others to count the number of people. There were thirty-three in total, plus the original ten, making it forty-three people. If they could all focus, this would be a considerable force within a hundred miles.

  Because it was still early, everyone was shouting about their own abilities, and Song Qing didn't hesitate to let Luo Xiaobei's group of children each take a few, and started training with the new recruits. The new recruits had previously shouted that they hadn't brought any equipment, but when they started training, they found that they didn't need any weapons after all. Song Qing just made them stand there without moving, and there were no other arrangements. Those who were more loyal naturally listened obediently, while those who were more cunning were thinking about what the purpose of this was. The formation was also lined up.

  However, after half a time, whether it was the loyal or the clever ones, they all couldn't bear it. These men either had some rough and shallow martial arts skills or were physically strong, but none of them had undergone this kind of training. They were all seventeen or eighteen years old, twenty at most, and couldn't stand the loneliness. Moreover, they weren't easier to manage than Luo Xiaobei's children. A few of them really couldn't bear it and secretly moved their hands and feet. Who knew that as soon as they made a slight movement, the children in charge of monitoring would come over, kick them without saying a word, and scold them harshly: "Who told you to move? Are you trying to get yourself killed?"

  These people are older than Luo Xiao Bei and others, usually they don't take these young kids seriously, but now that they've been beaten, how can they still save face? Just as they were about to make a move, Song Qing Hu walked over with a serious expression and said: "As I said earlier, if you can't handle it, you can admit defeat and leave now!"

  The military dependents, although they have basically all become farmers, are still masters in their own right. The term "coward" is absolutely unacceptable to them. If it were just themselves, that would be one thing, but at this moment, with so many people watching, including neighbors who normally keep their heads down and don't dare look up, if they were to show weakness, others might mock them afterwards. With this thought in mind, the crowd slowly calmed down, although their legs still felt weak and their bodies felt limp, they all stood still without moving.

  This kind of training method, in fact, doesn't help much with strength or anything else. It's just a test of endurance. No matter how skilled you are in martial arts, if you can't withstand this loneliness, Song Qing won't accept you. This kind of person might be okay at other things, but they'll never make a good soldier. The most basic ability for a soldier is obedience. If you can't pass this test, no matter how skilled you are, you're just a lone swordsman at best. You might be useful for assassination missions, but you're absolutely not cut out to be a soldier.