Zi Donglai had been staying in the estate for half a month and gradually blended into the atmosphere around him. Everyone had co to know that this Martial Grandmaster was originally a disciple of a sect in Jianghu known as "Purple Aura Sect."
"However, the sect later had a traitor erge, leading to a catastrophe that befell the sect. I was the only one who survived, fortunate enough to have mastered all the sect’s skills. Afterwards, I wandered alone in Jianghu for three hundred years, and one day, I had a sudden realization and made a breakthrough to beco a Great Grandmaster. After eliminating the traitor and avenging the sect, I finally heeded the call to serve the royal family."
Zi Donglai spoke with a sense of nostalgia, a strong sense of reminiscence flashing in his eyes as if he could see the lively sect of his mories once again, his junior sister, and his master.
But now, three hundred years had passed, and everything had turned to dust and flown away.
"The ergence of a traitor from the sect is indeed terrifying."
Li Ming couldn’t help but interject before he earnestly added, "Senior, do not be anxious. Should there be an opportunity in the future, I would definitely lend my support to help you rebuild your sect!"
"Ha-ha-ha, if that’s so, I thank you greatly, Duke!"
Zi Donglai burst into hearty laughter as he spoke, his voice carrying an air of nonchalance.
From that day on, the atmosphere between Zi Donglai and everyone had beco even more harmonious.
As they began their ti training and studying martial arts, the news that the military recruitnt officer would be enlisting soldiers in his hotown had already spread among the common folk and the green forests of Jianghu.
The officials of Linshan Town had long since ridden their horses to select the military camp area near the town, finalized all the camp facilities, and arranged the sufficient large barracks, li-paved latrines, and dining halls, along with the drill grounds and fences, all according to Li Ming’s requirents.
At the sa ti, the flow of money and grain was in motion, and stockpiles of provisions had been gathered, enough to feed five thousand people for half a year.
By now, Li Ming knew that everything was ready, and the ti for recruitnt had arrived.
This morning, Li Ming gathered all the disciples of Green Pine Sect, his sworn brothers, and even called over his father, Li Chenglin, to jointly decide to begin the recruitnt.
"Now that we have ample provisions, and the news of recruitnt has been widely disseminated, those waiting to be enlisted have lined up outside the city walls. It’s ti to comnce the recruitnt."
Li Ming sipped his tea and after speaking, he arranged tasks for his father, Li Chenglin, "Father, call over the clerks who can write and do calculations that you’ve found during this ti. Have them divide into eight groups. Allocate three groups to the wide streets in Linshan Town, hang up the lists, set up the tables, announce our requirents and strategy for treatnt, and guide those who wish to enlist and are suitable for military service to the two locations of the military camp."
"To enlist as a soldier, one must et these requirents: first, there must be other brothers in the family besides oneself; second, if there are wives at ho, the wives must bear offspring; third, if there are fiancées, they should marry and have children."
"Fourth, one must be in good physical condition, with all fingers and toes intact, able to walk smoothly; fifth, be free of contagious diseases; sixth, have no serious illnesses; seventh, be taller than one ter sixty-eight."
"Eighth, one’s entire family must have no criminal records!"
"Only by satisfying all eight criteria can one be recruited into the army."
Li Ming spoke with a grave deanor, outlining conditions that, under the social circumstances of ancient tis, could be called severe.
Yet, he knew that although the demands were high, they were attainable.
Although Da Qian currently needed to conscript troops for foreign wars, with the nation wealthy and the population vast but with few avenues for advancent, military service presented a critical opportunity for individuals to transcend their social class. As such, there was no shortage of recruits.
In this situation, in pursuit of combat effectiveness, naturally, the requirents had to be stringent.
In fact, even in the ancient Eastern Land of Blue Star, the criteria for conscription were just as rigorous.
One of the first criteria was that there couldn’t be any criminal cases in the recruit’s family. Failing to report honestly could lead to imprisonnt once discovered.
The second was height requirents. The Han Dynasty stipulated that the minimum height for soldiers was 6 feet 2 inches, around 150 centiters; the Song Dynasty set the height standard for conscription between 5 feet 2 inches and 5 feet 8 inches, roughly 162 to 181 centiters, with different military branches requiring different heights.
For instance, during the Tang Dynasty, Emperor Xuanzong’s recruitnt of cavalry required heights of 5 to 5 feet 7 inches, approximately 150 to 171 centiters; in 831 AD, the military governor Li Deyu of the Western Sichuan region required a minimum of 5 feet 5 inches, which is 165 centiters, when conscripting. Those who bore heavy weapons often had to be "tall and horse-sized." In the Jin Dynasty, for instance, when recruiting crossbown, they required a height of over 6 feet, equaling over 187 centiters. The Imperial Guards (the Forbidden Army) were also required to be tall. For example, during the Northern Song, the Forbidden Army’s recruitnt demanded height over 6 feet, with those not eting this standard relegated to "xingbing," performing miscellaneous duties in the army.
Lastly, physical strength was taken into account. Before the Qin Dynasty, if one could wield a weapon and pass so basic tests, they were enlisted, typically around 15 years of age. The Han Dynasty inherited the Qin’s military conscription system, further specifying that n of all status should register with the authorities at the age of twenty. Based on the principle of "three years of farming, one year of storage," they would begin formal service from the age of 23 until 56.
But did ancient tis require a physical examination for recruitnt? And how was it conducted? When Emperor Taizu of Song, Zhao Kuangyin, was recruiting troops, he selected a portion of the robust soldiers to serve as models for recruits and distributed them across the regions for benchmarking. Later, the Song Dynasty switched to using "wooden rods" to replace the soldier models. These "wooden rods" were sticks carved with asurents, also known as "recruitnt standards," or "equal-length rods," and were used across the land to asure new conscripts’ heights.
In the ancient society where people could hardly fill their stomachs or keep warm, having healthy and strong n was a daunting task, so once these conditions were set, a large number of n were eliminated!
The requirents Li Ming now set forth, even compared with ancient standards, were comparable; he needed not just ranks filled with soldiers but those truly capable of combat, thus requiring careful selection.
Upon hearing Li Ming’s words, everyone nodded in silent agreent, thinking that the demands were reasonable.
"Good requirents, but they will make it tough for those literate n."
After considering the troops gathered in Linshan Town, Li Chenglin couldn’t help but chuckle lightly, then mumbled, "But that’s good too. It will let them understand that the Li Family’s silver is plentiful, but it’s not easy to earn."
Having said that, Li Chenglin turned and walked outside, instructing the Butler to find people for the task.
As for Linshan Town, being a small place, one might think there would be few who could read and write. But in this world of immortals and martial arts, even in a small locale like Linshan Town, there were many who were literate. Thus, finding these individuals would not be difficult.
Furthermore, upon hearing about Li Ming’s recruitnt, the more astute among these literates anticipated the need for clerical work and prepared in advance, especially those who lived harsh lives, who had already offered their services eagerly.
They were just waiting for Li Ming to begin recruitnt to co forward and lend a hand opportunistically.
Of course, for Li Ming’s army to operate smoothly, the presence of those who could read and write was indispensable. In due ti, a suitable group would be selected to join.
Most likely, the choices would be made from among these individuals.
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