The expeditionary force began to dominate Southeast Asia by recruiting defeated soldiers

Chapter 117: Recruiting new soldiers or recruiting veterans? (350 gifts plus more)

Looking at the bustling recruitment point in front of him, Zhang Chi lit a Camel cigarette, slowly exhaled a puff of smoke, his eyes fell on the young people who were shoulder to shoulder, and his heart was filled with emotion.

He whispered, "You know Qi Jiguang, right? His Qi Family Army didn't rely on those veteran soldiers from the garrisons, but instead recruited farmers and miners from Wuzhen. Why?"

Zhang Guangsong, who was well-versed in various historical books, immediately responded:

"Because the coastal garrisons in the late Ming Dynasty were no longer useful, the miners in Wuzhen were naturally more united because they worked together in the mines all day long."

Zhang Chi nodded: "Look, you are very clear about this."

He continued, "It only takes three months for a new recruit to complete basic infantry training. But it takes much longer than that to correct the bad habits of veteran soldiers who indulge in drinking, gambling, whoring, and smoking."

"Before, our forces were weak. To deal with the Japanese, we naturally needed to recruit a large number of veterans from the internment center to quickly build up our combat effectiveness. Tell me, have there been more and more reports of soldiers stealing and breaking discipline recently?"

As the chief secretary, Zhang Guangsong naturally had the priority to review various reports and then submit them to Zhang Chi. The small secretariat had become the Grand Council.

He naturally also knew that since defeating the three-pronged siege of the Japanese, the 212th Division had become arrogant, and many veterans began to commit crimes such as eating out without paying, molesting women, fighting, gambling, etc.

Zhang Chi sighed, his tone revealing helplessness: "So, if we indiscriminately recruit a large number of veterans, our army will soon become as corrupt as the White Party."

Zhang Chi knew that this phenomenon was inevitable. A group of strong young people with nothing to do would cause trouble when they were idle.

"I'm thinking, should we build a Xibingku Hotel to improve military discipline?" Zhang Chi muttered to himself with a frown.

Here it comes again, a new term from the leader's mouth whose meaning is completely unknown.

Zhang Guangsong knew that his boss would occasionally come up with some terms that he had never heard of, such as Xibingku Hotel, Daban, Sanri Lingkong, empowerment, Internet and other words that he could not understand.

At this time, he was completely confused and could only smile foolishly.

"A blank sheet of paper is easier to paint on, so recruiting a large number of new soldiers and starting anew is a better approach." Zhang Chi put out his cigarette and said to Zhang Guangsong dejectedly.

Being in Pegu, his main supporters were local expatriates and major Nanyang families, so he did not have the ability to turn the White Party veterans into "liberation fighters" in a short period of time. Therefore, he could only recruit more "good family boys" and try to build a disciplined army like the Qi Family Army and the Yue Family Army.

"By the way, remember to keep an eye out for any mid-level officers in the military who are rigid and have poor interpersonal relationships. I need a military police commander."

After much deliberation, Zhang Chi decided to find a straightforward person like Hai Gangfeng to be responsible for enforcing the military discipline of the 212th Division, punishing minor offenses with minor punishments and major offenses with major punishments, otherwise these newly recruited soldiers would sooner or later be led astray by the veterans.

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The newly formed 212th Division is a super ragtag division judging by its name, after all, its unit number is over 200. However, the 212th Division has been quite famous in the newspapers recently.

The reports that they had surrounded and annihilated two Japanese regiments in one fell swoop, killed two Japanese colonels, and seized the remains of the Japanese regiment's flagpole made the officers and soldiers of the 212th Division appear in the eyes of the people as having immense strength, being invulnerable to swords and guns, and being able to kill dozens of Japanese soldiers by themselves, similar to the super soldiers of Ashtat.

Therefore, the news that the commander of the 212th Division came in person to recruit new soldiers quickly ignited the enthusiasm of the people of Chuncheng.

However, Jiao Hu, the head of the furnace team at the former Jin Province Ironworks, was somewhat disdainful of this. They were just a bunch of young people who knew nothing about the world. Could enthusiasm be used to make a living? Could it kill the Japanese?

Jiao Hu, who is over 30 years old and has a wife and children, now just wants to find a job to make a living and support his family.

That’s right, Jiao Hu became an unemployed vagrant again.

First, the iron factory in Shanxi Province where he used to work was occupied by the Japanese.

He then fled to E Province, but the Hanyang Iron Works was soon occupied by the Japanese.

So he fled to the mountain city again and joined a small iron factory.

Unexpectedly, this small ironworks went bankrupt a while ago. (It is so outrageous that an ironworks could go bankrupt during the war.)

So he came to Chuncheng again to find a job.

Looking at the bustling recruitment point of the 212th Division's Chuncheng Liaison Office, Jiao Hu, who had only drunk a bowl of cold water in the morning and was hungry, still walked towards the recruitment team driven by hunger.

The boss asked people to fight and risk their lives, so he should at least give them a good meal first, right?

Thinking of his skinny son, Jiao Hu took the registration form and signed his name with the feeling of going to the execution ground.

"Jiao Hu?"

"Hey, boss, it's me, it's me." Although he looked down on soldiers from the bottom of his heart, Jiao Hu always shrank back when facing those in military uniforms.

"Have you ever worked in a steel mill?"

"Well, I worked in Lao Xi's ironworks before, and I was the foreman."

"Then you've come to the wrong place. Go next door. They're hiring and the pay is better than being a soldier."

"what?"

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Jiao Hu took the registration form and stumbled to the deserted courtyard next door. There were only two men, one old and one young, wearing glasses and suits, sitting behind a table drinking tea.

Jiao Hu cautiously interrupted the two and handed over the registration form.

"The one who loads the materials? The one who puts out the slag? Or the one who is responsible for the air blowing?" The old man took out a Camel cigarette with a filter, handed it to Jiao Hu, and asked directly.

"Hi, I'm in charge of slag removal. Let me tell you, I don't need a thermometer. As soon as the molten iron flows out, I can tell whether it's successful or not by the brightness." Speaking of work, Jiao Hu lit a cigarette and started talking.

After talking for half a minute, the old man was sure that the man in front of him was truly capable. He smiled and said, "Congratulations, Jiao Gong, you've been accepted."

"Accepted? Oh, you want me, right? How's your salary?" Jiao Hu didn't even ask where he would work. In his opinion, as long as he didn't work for the Japanese, it didn't matter where he went, as long as he could fill his stomach.

"To be honest, when I was working at Lao Xi's factory, I could eat minced meat and vegetables twice a week to replenish my energy, and my family could only eat meat once a month. But when the Japanese came, my whole family wandered around, and I've been starving for three months..."

As he spoke, Jiao Hu even started crying.

"Master, don't cry. We at Nanhua Steel Plant offer excellent treatment. For someone like you, we usually split supplies and cash payments. Two bags of rice, one bag of flour, and twelve cans of meat per month, plus an additional 25 yuan. Food and drink are all covered during your workday. What do you think of this treatment?"

"Good, good, good." Jiao Hu stopped crying and said three good words in a row.

Since the beginning of the Anti-Japanese War, money has become worthless. One yuan could buy several kilograms of pork, but now it can only buy a few liters of rice. Moreover, due to the shortage of supplies, people often cannot buy food even if they have money.

Although he didn't know how big the bag of rice the young man was talking about was, Jiao Hu still felt that there was hope for the future.

That night, Jiao Hu brought home a few dollars, 50 kilograms of rice and four cans of luncheon meat as resettlement fees. Looking at his son who was eating with his mouth full of oil, Jiao Hu rarely showed a long-lost smile.

The next morning, Jiao Hu left his son, who had a stomachache, in the care of his wife and went to the airport alone.

At that time, there was no mention of "gayaozi" in northern Myanmar, so after receiving a set of warm cotton clothes, more than 30 skilled workers from various trades happily boarded a C-47 transport plane to Bago. (It was very cold at high altitude, and the C-47, as a military transport aircraft, did not have a cabin heating system.)