If you want to join the army and have three dry meals a day, you can naturally do so.
However, Zhouyi implemented a strategy of elite soldiers, which not only had strict requirements on height and age, but also had great requirements on strength.
Therefore, Zhou Yi ordered his people to prepare two stone locks. The larger stone lock weighed one hundred and fifty kilograms, and the smaller one weighed seventy or eighty kilograms.
No matter how big or small these two stone locks were, Zhou Yi couldn't lift them.
The reason why such a stone lock requirement was set up was to assess the people of Pingliang County who signed up to join the army.
If you want to successfully become a Pingliang County Guard, you must lift the stone lock weighing 150 kilograms above your head and hold it for ten breaths.
Although those who cannot carry big ones or can carry small stone locks cannot join the city guard, they can also join the reserve team specially set up by Zhou Yi.
As for this reserve team, Zhou Yi also called it the Urban Management Brigade. Although the urban management team also received three meals, their monthly military pay was half less than that of the City Guards.
One-third of the population in Pingliang County, and more than 600 people came to sign up. This is almost the total number of male laborers in Pingliang County.
Zhou Yi did not expect that such simple military pay conditions, just giving them 200 kilograms of rice and 30 bags of Fuling mustard every month, could attract so many people to sign up to join the army.
You must know that in the previous life, these 200 kilograms of rice and 30 bags of Fuling mustard could be purchased for less than 500 yuan.
Something that costs less than 500 yuan can attract so many people to join the army. This is something Zhou Yi would never have dared to imagine in his wealthy modern life in his previous life.
But what Zhou Yi didn't know was that even if they didn't become city guards, these people would still flock to him.
Although more than 600 people signed up to join the army this time, less than one-tenth of them could lift a large stone lock with one hand.
Among them were Wu Laoliu, whom Zhou Yi had just met when he entered the city, and Shi Danian, the only blacksmith in the city.
Shi Danian joined the city defense army, but Zhou Yi was not happy about it and immediately asked Qian Captou to reject Shi Danian's enlistment.
Pingliang County originally lacked population and talents. As a blacksmith, how could Shi Danian be regarded as a mid-to-high-end talent in Pingliang County today?
If he goes to serve as a soldier for himself, who in the huge Pingliang County will forge iron and smelt weapons and equipment!
Zhou Yi now has no way to gain new popularity and draw out unlimited equipment to arm these people. Therefore, the weapons and equipment of the Pingliang County City Guards had to be forged and prepared by this stone.
When he learned that he could not join the city guard, Shi Danian dragged his money to catch the head and found Zhou Yi unconvinced, crying as if he had been wronged.
"Sir, please judge me. I have clearly lifted the largest stone lock steadily and held on for more than five breaths. But Mr. Qian refused to let me join the city defense army."
After Zhou Yi took a sip of the tea that Yang Xiu handed him, he said calmly: "It is my decision not to let you join the City Guards!"
When Shi Danian heard this, he was stunned for a moment, and then asked with puzzled eyes: "Sir, why don't you let me join the city guard? Do you think I eat too much? Then I will eat less in the future. That’s it!”
Qian Yong, the catcher in charge of recruiting soldiers, immediately reprimanded him: "You bastard, although all of you are as good as rice buckets, when did our lord ever dislike you for eating too much?"
Hearing this, Shi Danian rolled his eyes and thought for a while, then scratched his head naively and said with a silly smile: "Hehe, it seems so. The eldest master has never disliked us eating too much!"
Shi Danian immediately said seriously: "But I am strong and meet the county magistrate's recruitment requirements. Why don't you let me join the city guard?"
Zhou Yi put down the tea bowl in his hand and explained directly: "Shi Danian, Shi Danian, you must know that you are the only blacksmith in Pingliang County now, and you are a mid-to-high-end talent in our county!"
Although Shi Danian didn't understand what mid-to-high-end talents were, he could tell from his tone that the county magistrate was praising him.
"I also said yesterday that the whole city is in urgent need of weapons. The reason why I don't let you join the city guard is because I want you to build weapons for all the city guards and city managers to resist foreign invasion."
"So I decided to set up an ordnance station, and then you will be responsible for recruiting manpower and preparing the ordnance supplies needed by the whole county! And don't worry, your monthly salary will only be higher than that of the city guard, not lower. "
Shi Danian couldn't help but be a little surprised after hearing this. You must know that the ancient feudal period had extremely strict status rankings. Among scholars, farmers, industry and commerce, scholars are the most precious, and the most humble ones are merchants. However, blacksmiths like Shi Danian belong to a certain type of work and are less popular than farmers.
Now Shi Danian not only heard Zhou Yi and praised himself as a talent, but also promised that his monthly salary would never be lower than that of the city guard.
This made Shi Danian, who had always been looked down upon by others as a blacksmith, burst into tears of gratitude.
As the saying goes, a bird that chooses wood will live in a good tree. The ministers who choose the master can meet the master of the Ming Dynasty. Obviously the county magistrate Zhou Yi is the good tree and the wise master.
A man dies for a man who knows himself, and a woman looks good for a man who pleases her. At this moment, Shi Danian no longer struggled with the fact that he could not join the city guard, but began to think about how to help the county magistrate build weapons and equipment for the entire county as soon as possible.
After Shi Danian left, Qian Baotou reported to Zhou Yi about today's recruitment matters.
"Sir, according to your instructions, a total of 68 people were selected into the City Guards today, and a total of 138 people were selected into the Urban Management Brigade."
Zhou Yi listened to Detective Qian's report, nodded lightly, and asked: "Is there anyone from the military here?"
"Reporting to your lord, Wu Laoliu was originally from the army in Pingyang County. He disabled one of his hands in a battle with Khitan dog thieves, so he took a pension and left the army."
If it weren't for Agent Qian's reminder, Zhou Yi almost forgot that Wu Laoliu was also selected for Chen Weijun.
Zhou Yi felt extremely surprised when he thought that Wu Laoliu could lift the stone lock weighing 150 kilograms above his head for ten breaths with one hand. If Wu Laoliu's other hand had not been broken, how ferocious Wu Laoliu would have been!
Although Zhou Yi currently recruits not many soldiers, the quality is high.
If one day Shi Danian could build armor for all these people, he would be armed to the teeth.
By then, even a team of more than 200 people will probably not be underestimated.
So now, whether it is Shi Danian who builds the armed forces needed by Pingliang County, or whether Zhou Yi gains popularity through benevolence and draws cold weapons and equipment, Zhou Yi now has to solve the population problem of Pingliang County.
