Chapter 59: Heroes from All Sides Gather (Part 2)

  The sun rises over the green mountain peak, and the cold wind is as sharp as a knife.

  The next day, the knights sent to various counties by Zhou Wenbo had all returned. Zhou Wenbo also directed a large number of laborers to convert several barracks on the left side of the entrance of the military camp into new recruit reception centers. The drill grounds and several rows of barracks where the newly recruited soldiers would live were also cleaned up.

  Several skilled cooks, who were also in charge of catering for weddings and funerals in the village, directed a group of villagers to start cooking early. They boiled several large pots of porridge, steamed a large quantity of miscellaneous grain buns and pancakes, and cooked a dish of salted water with cabbage and radish, waiting for the recruited soldiers to come and have a hearty meal.

  It was around 8 or 9 o'clock in the morning when a horseman came galloping, wearing a red tassel on his head, a suit of iron armor that shone with golden light under the direct sunlight, a white robe fluttering in the wind. He rode an extremely majestic pure white stallion, holding a silver spear in his hand and carrying a large iron bow on his back.

  He is indeed majestic and heroic, what a fine young general in silver armor!

  But in an instant, he galloped his horse to the gate of the military camp.

  Zhou Wenbo took a closer look and saw that the person had a pair of bright and spirited eyes, white lips and red teeth, flying eyebrows and temples, slender waist and strong arms, with a heroic spirit.

  Hua Er Lang dismounted his horse and saw a refined and handsome young man wearing a cotton armor, standing in front of the crowd. He knew that this person must be the leader, so he asked: "I am Hua Qing, Hua Erlang from Yiyang County. I came here today to join the army. May I ask who you are, sir?"

  Before Zhou Wenbo could respond, a crowd of onlookers behind him exclaimed: "Isn't this the one who is known as 'Silver Gun Little Overlord' from Yiyang County, Hua Erlang? Who would have thought that he too came to join the army today?"

  Silver Gun Little Overlord, what a majestic nickname, unfortunately, in his previous life, he was the son of a powerful noble, who delighted in teasing women, and truly tarnished this nickname.

  This flower is green, looking at this dress, it's quite similar to the description of Hua Rong in Water Margin. Could it be that the person in front of me is the ancestor of future "Little Li Guang" Hua Rong?

  "I am Zhou Wenbo, courtesy name Jinyu, son of the State of Zhao. Now that my father and brother have died in battle, as a man of the Zhou family, I must sharpen my sword and feed my horse, to avenge my father's death! Brave warriors come to join me, it is indeed Jinyu's great fortune!"

  "Second Brother didn't know that he was the young Duke, and had offended the Young Master!" Hua Er Lang also hadn't expected that the dignified Duke would actually be standing outside the military camp's gate on this winter day to welcome guests, and was greatly shocked, hastily bowing.

  "A hero such as yourself needn't be so courteous!" Zhou Wenbo hastened to bend down and help Hua Er Lang up from his single-knee kneel.

  "Flower gentleman, why not follow me to the small school field to show off your martial arts skills?" Zhou Wenbo set the assessment location for Jian Zhuo's graduation in the small school field. The conditions and equipment here are much better than those of the large school field, and it is also a place where military leaders can usually go.

  Zhou Wenbo arranged for Duan Shichen to be in charge of the next soldier recruitment, and he had already established rules. Duan Shichen only needed to follow the procedures, and the difficulty of this task was not too great.

  The first person who came to invest today is a rare breed. Zhou Wenbo was still very happy, and this opening red set a good start for today's recruitment.

  The flower spear was thrust onto the small school field, not a bit disheveled. First, he took down his long gun and performed according to the usual diligent practice routine, truly a cold gleam flying dance, the gun shot out like a dragon.

  Although Zhou Wenbo didn't understand martial arts, he saw that several guards including Liu Meng were watching with extreme focus, and thus knew that this young general's martial arts skills were extraordinary.

  Then Hua Qing took down the iron bow from his horse again, put on the feather arrow, stood still and aimed at the target 100 steps away.

  As the flower green sleeves and waist abdomen exert force, only to see the bowstring being slowly pulled open, first is the crescent moon, then became a half-moon, finally gradually stretched into a full moon.

  At this moment when everyone held their breath, Hua Qing suddenly loosened his hand, and a dark arrow shot out, hitting the bullseye a hundred paces away.

  A soldier wanted to pull out the arrow, but couldn't get it out for half a day. The crowd gathered around and saw that the arrow had actually penetrated more than three inches into the wood, which was truly shocking.

  "How many stones can you draw with your strong bow, Flower?" Zhou Wenbo was somewhat curious about the strength of this suspected "Little Li Guang" Hua Rong Zu's ancestor, Hua Qing.

  "Can open two shi and five dou." Hua Qing seemed somewhat dissatisfied with his own strength.

  In ancient times, the strength of a bow was measured in "dan", with one dan being approximately equal to 120 catties since the Han Dynasty. A two-dan-five-dou strong bow already had a pulling force of 300 catties, which has surpassed human physical limits if placed in modern times.

  As for the Chu Bawang who could lift a tripod, it is said that he can open a nine-stone strong bow, which has already far exceeded the limits of human physiology. If not placed in a world with heavenly talents or martial arts, it would be truly unimaginable.

  Similarly famous for his exceptional archery skills, "Three Arrows to Determine the Fate of Mount Tian" Tang Chu Mingjiang Xue Rengui, during Gaozong's reign, served as the Iron Le (Iron Wolf) Military Governor and led an expedition to the Western Regions.

  When he was about to leave, Emperor Gaozong held a farewell banquet for him in the inner palace and said during the feast: "In ancient times there were good archers who could shoot through seven layers of armor. You try shooting with five layers."

  Xue Rengui shot an arrow that pierced five layers of iron armor, greatly astonishing Emperor Gaozong. He hastily ordered his attendants to bring a set of the finest steel armor and bestowed it upon Xue. It was likely that he felt ordinary armor was not secure enough, so he had this beloved general who had saved his life wear the imperial workshop's finely crafted steel armor for safety, lest there be any mishaps on the battlefield. According to unofficial historical records, Xue Rengui could only draw a bow of 5-6 stones, yet his strength was already able to pierce through five layers of iron armor, truly an astonishing display of power that far surpassed the early firearms.

  Even if it was Huā Qīng's two-stone-five-dou strength, it was already considered extremely powerful. Zhōu Wénbó finally couldn't resist the temptation and used the Guān Qì Jiàn Cái Fǎ against Huā Qīng.

  Top attribute: Strength. Strength value: 82.

  His martial arts strength is 82, which is not as good as those famous generals, but the Northern General Pan Feng only has a martial arts strength of 77. In this way, in terms of martial arts strength alone, he can be considered a third-rate general.

  What a treasure I've picked up!

  Just as Zhou Wenbo was chatting with Hua Qing, another soldier came to report that a scholar outside the gate had come to join the army, claiming to be Zhao Guogong's teacher.

  Zhou Wenbo immediately hurried out.

  He has just started working on this side, and has been busy every day since the last farewell. He hasn't had a chance to visit Master Lin again, nor has he had the opportunity to recruit his own brothers.

  Fourth brother Zhuge Yu has already come to surrender first, I wonder which brother is it this time?

  Zhou Wenbo walked out of the camp and took a look, only to find that outside the military camp stood a young man in a green long shirt, wearing a scholar's hat, stroking his beard, who was none other than his senior fellow apprentice Cui Hao.

  "Xuande, how come you have time to visit me today?" Zhou Wenbo was already beaming with a smile as he went up to hug his erudite elder brother.

  "I heard that you, Jinyu, are recruiting new troops. I've been feeling uneasy in Yichuan, and this insignificant official position is not worth keeping. So, after discussing it with your sister, I came to rely on my younger brother, you! Last time we parted hastily, I didn't even have a chance to congratulate you, Jinyu, on inheriting the Duke's title and being able to make great achievements!"

  Zhou Wenbo saw behind his senior brother Cui Hao, a brown little donkey was carrying a young woman wearing red and green, so he knew that this must be his senior sister-in-law.

  "Why do Master and his wife value me so much? If I knew that Master had intentions, I would definitely go to Yichuan to welcome him in person!" Zhou Wenbo chatted with the master and his wife while leading them inside.

  This side of the world strictly follows the selection criteria left by Zhou Wenbo.

  First, no collection of five.

  Those with physical disabilities are not accepted, those under 15 years old are not accepted, those over 35 years old are not accepted, those with flat feet are not accepted, and those with serious illnesses are not accepted.

  There are five things that cannot be accepted at the same time as there are also five priorities.

  Those with exceptional martial arts skills will be given priority.

  Those who have served as military generals will be given priority.

  Those who have killed enemies on the battlefield will be given priority.

  Those who can recognize characters and punctuations will be given priority.

  Brave and fearless individuals will be given priority.

  Since Hua Qing and Cui Hao arrived, there have been scattered warriors coming to join the army. This morning, most of those who came to join the army had martial arts skills and wanted to fight for wealth and glory in the army. As a result, 42 people were recruited this morning, including 9 strong soldiers, 30 ordinary soldiers, and only 3 auxiliary soldiers.

  These people had just passed a physical examination and been registered on the roll when they were led by soldiers into the camp's dining hall.

  Not even inside yet, I already smelled the fragrance of rice wafting from afar.

  "Brother, will this fill our bellies?" The old gourmet who had been teased by the aroma of food couldn't help but ask the soldier leading the way in front.

  "Everyone has their own limit." But this soldier was as if he hadn't said anything at all.

  As soon as they entered the dining hall, each person took two large ceramic bowls from the entrance and was directed by the soldier at the door to form a loose queue. "One man gets two steamed buns, porridge is limited to one bowl per person, half a bowl of vegetables!" The chef in charge of distributing food shouted loudly while serving the soldiers in line.

  "This is all, how can it be enough?" A auxiliary soldier was somewhat dissatisfied. He was the one who was not full at home and was thin and weak, so he was relegated to being an auxiliary soldier.

  "I'm afraid you'll eat so much that you'll burst! That would be a waste of food."

  The master chef who was serving the meal looked at his physique and snorted coldly.

  Hua Qing and Zhou Hao were treated differently from the other soldiers, as Zhou Wenbo was entertaining them in his own residence.

  "In our army, military merit is paramount. Those who have merits will be rewarded, and those without will not be given anything. Can you, Flower General, be willing to submit to my army?" Zhou Wenbo brought up the topic of treatment with Hua Qing.

  Hua Qing was taken aback for a moment, but quickly regained his composure: "No reward without merit. As Hua Erlang has just joined the army, if he were to be promoted immediately, how would that convince others? I am willing to listen to your arrangements, General."

  "Hua Er Lang, I have at least a thousand new troops trained. If you're interested, why not compete for the position of commander-in-chief of this new army? It'll give you a foundation for promotion." Zhou Wenbo feared that Hua Er Lang's heart was stirring up waves, so he revealed his intentions ahead of time.

  Isn't this saying that as long as one gets an official position in the new army, once the new army is fully trained, one can naturally get promoted?

  Hua Er Lang had been practicing martial arts for many years and hadn't become foolish, he knew this was the Duke's way of promoting himself, so he thanked him repeatedly before retreating.

  "Big Brother, since I came to prepare for the recruitment of new troops, all kinds of civil and logistical affairs have piled up like a mountain, keeping me busy to the point of being overwhelmed. Do you, Big Brother, want to help me share my worries?" After resolving Hua Erlang's treatment issue, Zhou Wenbo began talking with Cui Hao again.

  "Listen to your orders." Cui Hao naturally knew that although he was the eldest senior brother and had previously taught classes on behalf of their master many times, he had a certain prestige in front of this junior brother. However, since he had come to seek refuge with his junior brother, it was now a relationship between an aide and his lord, and there was no room for him to act arbitrarily.

  Zhou Wenbo was still worried about how to solve the civil administration problem yesterday, but today his senior brother came to rely on him. With his senior brother's ability to study under Lin Shifu for over ten years, he can govern several villages in the district, which is really a waste of talent. Now it's truly a case of "sleeping on a pillow", making Zhou Wenbo extremely happy. He suddenly thought, could this be the effect of the "Seeking Talent" skill? I wonder how the system affects people tens of miles away.