Chapter 68: Revitalizing the Army and Refreshing the Troops (Part 2)
The rostrum was originally a high platform transformed by erecting flagpoles, Zhou Wenbo found Zhao Tiejiang to make several pulleys fixed on the top of the flagpole, so raising the flag was not difficult.
The process of raising the flag was slow, but in the end, the two flags, one large and one small, were finally raised to the top.
Two wooden flagpoles rose to a height of ten meters, and today the heavens were favorable. Under the gentle caress of the west wind, the two flags suddenly unfolded and fluttered open, and everyone saw what the large flag that had been carried flat by four soldiers all along looked like.
Same crimson background, same golden pattern, but this time the pattern is no longer a word, but an extremely realistic, clear and majestic golden tiger head with whiskers and facial features!
Everyone was in an uproar.
In this era, the flags were all like Liu Meng's flag, with a size of about one square meter, written with country names such as "Tang" and "Song", or surnames of commanders such as "Li" and "Zhao". Zhou Wenbo was unwilling to embroider the character "Tang" on his military flag, so he had to embroider his own surname.
However, the latter's truly modern military flag shocked everyone, and this military flag that exceeded their imagination limits made everyone instantly realize what "Lü Hu" meant!
The pattern of this milk tiger is not a product of Zhou Wenbo's imagination, but an enlarged version of the pattern on his "Milk Tiger Token". Zhou Wenbo liked it at first sight and eventually transplanted it onto the military flag.
Zhou Wenbo was very satisfied with the expressions of all the new recruits. He could guess the shock in their hearts, just like Zhou Wenbo himself was startled when he first saw this vivid tiger head.
Laozi's army is like a newborn tiger, with great prospects ahead, and will surely grow into a real fierce tiger, roaring in the mountains and forests, shaking the four directions!
"Look out!" Zhou Wenbo's loud shout interrupted everyone's shock.
"Here!" Hua Qing responded subconsciously.
"Come on up!"
Veterans have already come over and set up a wooden ladder in front of the platform, so soldiers don't have to go around from behind.
By the time Hua Qing stepped onto the stage and walked up to Zhou Wenbo, some veterans had already brought new hemp clothes and cloth shoes onto the platform.
"Will you officially become a member of my Tiger and Leopard Brigade?" Zhou Wenbo asked with a smile, looking at the "Silver Gun Little Overlord" standing in front of him.
"Understood, willing!" Hua Qing had also been inspired by the military flag with a sense of honor and pride. When Zhou Wenbo asked this question, he answered without hesitation.
Zhou Wenbo ordered Hua Qing to come closer and took out the "Ruyue Military Symbol". He lightly pressed it onto the right side of Hua Qing's neck.
"The Milk Tiger Seal" is indeed a product of the system, without any dye or ink, just a light press can leave a clear blue tiger head mark on the person's body, unless Zhou Wenbo actively washes it off, even if he scrapes off a layer of skin, he cannot erase this mark.
Huā Qīng only felt a chill on his neck, and Guō Gōng Dà Rén had already withdrawn his hand.
"You did a pretty good job today, keep up the effort. Go find two military uniforms that fit and a pair of cloth shoes that fit your feet later."
Zhou Wenbo shook hands with Tong Huaqing and gave him a brief compliment.
Just as Huā Qīng was curiously touching the skin where Guō Gōng had pressed his seal, a second soldier stepped forward.
Zhou Wenbo benefited from the skills provided by his profession as a scholar, which included "photographic memory". He had carefully read through the register of soldiers' names and had imprinted each person's image in his mind on the drill ground. As a result, Zhou Wenbo could recall each person's name at the moment he saw them and activate related memories, truly razor-sharp.
Every soldier called on stage could be named by Zhou Wenbo, and the Duke would also have a cordial conversation with him, encouraging him. This made all the new recruits both surprised and delighted, and many people had already shed tears of excitement, gratitude, and could only nod in agreement.
After selecting clothes that fit and cloth shoes that fit, since Zhou Wenbo did not give the order to disperse, he could only hold the clothes and shoes and return to the team again.
He had just appeared in everyone's line of sight when a group of people couldn't bear their curiosity and surrounded him.
"What did the Duke say to you?"
"What's with the tattoo on your neck?"
"Are the clothes and shoes in your arms prizes?"
"Does it hurt when getting a tattoo?"
A crowd of people surrounded him, asking questions in a cacophony of voices. Seizing the opportunity while Hua Qing was busy responding, Song Tianbiao suddenly flapped his white crane sleeves and reached out with one hand to touch the green tiger head on Hua Qing's nape.
"Huh, it didn't even smudge! I didn't use much force when I covered it either!" Song Tianbiao carefully examined his fingers and found that they hadn't picked up even a hint of ink or anything else.
"Haven't you messed it up?" Being ambushed by Song Tianbiao like this made Hua Qing furious, he was afraid that the seal personally applied by Guo Gong would be ruined. That would be terrible.
"Wow, it's exactly the same as the tiger head on the military flag! It's really majestic!" Someone who had seen it clearly shouted out the pattern on Hu Qing's neck.
"Don't worry, Flower Brother, nothing has changed color, it's still lively and present." Song Tianbiao took a look at Hua Qing's anxious eyes and hurriedly comforted him.
The soldiers were worried about being tattooed, but now they see that it's such a handsome tiger head mark, and instead they're looking forward to the time when the Duke will personally give them tattoos.
Soon, under the envious eyes of the remaining new recruits, all qualified scores above the new recruits were covered with a tiger head pattern on their necks and received fitting clothes and canvas shoes.
Zhou Wenbo was worried that Li Mutang, the fierce general, would resist when he got a tattoo, but unexpectedly, the general lowered his head and let Zhou Wenbo successfully tattoo a tiger's head on him.
"The four teams that did not pass, you must continue to work hard and practice diligently. There will be another chance for a make-up test later on. If you still slack off and cannot pass, don't blame me if the gates of the Lu Hu Military are no longer open to you!"
These forty unqualified new recruits had long been looked down upon by everyone on the training ground with contempt and ridicule, so much so that they wished to dig a hole and bury themselves. Now, hearing the words of the Grand Duke, there was still a chance for redemption, and it was as if a death row prisoner had encountered a great amnesty, and they all secretly made up their minds to train hard and not lose face again.
On this day, the soldiers who were covered with the Tiger and Leopard skin pattern did not just pass the inspection of one hundred and eighty, but two hundred and seventy-six.
After the dispersal, those new recruits who had a tiger head on their necks would put on brand-new uniforms and canvas shoes during meals and rest time, showing off everywhere. As long as they walked to that station, many people would gather around to carefully stare at the small tiger head print on their clothes, which was exactly the same as the one on the flag fluttering in the wind on the drill ground. Some people couldn't help but touch it with their hands.
This differential treatment naturally made many people jealous, and the old soldiers led by Liu Meng were dissatisfied. They had been the guards of the Zhao Guo Gong Fu since the time of the old national public, and on the first day that the young national public came to power, they became their superiors. During the training process of the new army, they also followed closely, making great contributions. Now all the new soldiers have this tiger head, why don't the old soldiers have it yet?
When Liu Meng, this majestic Han man, blushed and stammered out the unanimous request of the old soldiers in front of Zhou Wenbo, Zhou Wenbo's first reaction was to want to burst out laughing.
In this era, it was not yet the system of the later Song Dynasty where every soldier was forcibly tattooed. He originally worried that giving soldiers a tiger head tattoo would lead to their dissatisfaction, but in order to complete his mission, he could only give his newly recruited soldiers tattoos first, who would have thought that it would also lead to the dissatisfaction of the old soldiers.
He didn't know that this tiger head was like a tattoo that young people from his previous life liked to get, thinking it made them look stylish and domineering. Moreover, the tiger head printed by the system was extremely realistic, only half the size of a palm, but every single whisker could be clearly distinguished, exuding an intimidating aura and a majestic expression that all soldiers loved.
All the new recruits with tiger head patterns on their collars walked with a swagger that day, almost as if they were sideways-moving crabs.
The new recruits were so stimulated that they were all like fierce bulls, full of energy.
All new recruits who passed the inspection not only received two sets of clothes and a pair of cloth shoes, but also got a tiger head badge. This extremely strong material reward and spiritual sense of honor made all the new recruits who entered the camp in the next few days full of morale, and their focus and seriousness during training were completely transformed.
In the following five days, all new recruits exerted themselves to the utmost, and as a result, only three teams out of more than 80 teams had unqualified results during the inspection. After re-examining the seven unqualified new recruits, only six were ultimately rejected by the Lu Hu Military. These few people were indeed lazy and unmotivated, and seemed to have joined the army just to get a few free meals. In the end, Zhou Wenbo ruthlessly rejected these incorrigible individuals.
