Chapter Ninety-Five: New Recruits Have You

  PS: Today, 9,300 words in a big chapter, and the additional update is over. Otherwise, nearly 20,000 words would have been updated in one day, which is really overwhelming for me. I sincerely ask for everyone's support. Of course, recruitment of new soldiers has begun, if you want to get a good role in the army, please leave a message in the book review area as soon as possible. Also, thank you all, a new author and new book can go this far, today also broke through the 2,000 recommendation mark, thanks everyone.

  "New recruits should originally be recruited by different troops in different places, and whichever troop comes to your place to recruit soldiers, you must go to that troop. Unified recruitment and allocation. However, this time is the first large-scale expansion of the army, so we need a large number of new recruits. In order to ensure the quality of conscription, we adopted unified recruitment, centralized training, and then allocated them according to their merits."

  "So your meaning is, I can be assigned to the First Division?"

  "I apologize, but I'm unable to give you a definite answer to your question at this time. Also, please note that I am currently conducting a political review of you, not providing consultation. If you have any questions, please ask relevant personnel afterwards. Next, I will be asking you some questions, and you must answer truthfully."

  "Yes, sir!" The young man replied very succinctly: "Sir, I will answer any of your questions truthfully."

  "Good!" The political commissar picked up the young man's personal file, which included his personal identity information, relevant government department certifications, and a personal statement. Of course, someone who can write a personal statement must have at least some cultural foundation, and such people are liked by the army, including the political commissar.

  "You were born into a peasant family, which means you came from a poor background. You received some literacy education and attended middle school for a certain period of time. Logically speaking, you should be a young man with great prospects. If you could put aside your age concerns and continue to complete your middle school studies, it's very likely that you would enter university in the future and become a talented individual. Why did you give up on your studies and want to join the army instead? Why do you want to join the People's Army?"

  This problem has been in Wang Dingguo's mind for many days, and since the day he decided to give up his studies, he began to think about how to give an answer to his family, how to respond to his concerned friends, especially to the military who asked him this question. The answer that had been thought out for many days was finally going to be put into use today, so after organizing his thoughts, he slowly spoke up.

  "Firstly, I think the People's Army is a force with a glorious tradition, from its founding it has been an excellent force for the people, invincible in battle and never yielding. From safeguarding the law to safeguarding the nation, the People's Army has demonstrated a series of merits such as being well-trained, strictly disciplined and having a strong work ethic. Studying in school is also for the purpose of better serving society in the future. A strong sense of historical mission and responsibility makes me have infinite admiration for the army, and I firmly believe that if I can join this force filled with a sense of responsibility and honor, I will be able to better realize my own value..."

  "And you also want to say that the troops attach great importance to cultural education, and it is also possible to study cultural knowledge in the army." The political commissar saw through Wang Dingguo's trick at a glance, looked at the materials again and asked another question: "Wang Dingguo, what qualities do you think an excellent army soldier should possess?"

  "I think an excellent soldier should be one who obeys orders, resolutely obeys orders and observes military discipline. Of course, good psychological quality and combat skills, strong willpower and a hardworking style are also necessary. I believe that there is no such thing as someone being born not to be an excellent soldier, only lazy people who do not work hard and waste their days away. I believe I can definitely become an outstanding member of the People's Army..."

  "Really! Alright, I'll ask you one last question. Have you ever thought of joining the China Revival Party? Or do you have any unique views or understanding of our party? Feel free to share!" The political examiner said this as he signed his personal opinion and name on Wang Dingguo's evaluation result.

  Wang Dingguo, who witnessed this scene, was naturally overjoyed, but he still tried his best to conceal the joy in his heart, tightly pursing his lips to prevent himself from bursting out laughing. He then slowly said: "Reporting to the superior officer, I am now a proud member of the Revival Youth League. I am honored to be a part of this organization at all times, but I also know that we are the successors of the Revival cause and the reserve talents of the great Revival cause. I am always ready to join the Revival Party with a stronger sense of responsibility and honor!"

  "Very good, Wang Dingguo, your examination has been passed, and what you are about to face is the home visit session. Within the next seven days, please do not leave your place of residence. We will send relevant personnel to visit you and your family, mainly to understand your personal family situation. If there are any difficulties or inconveniences, you can raise them now."

  When Wang Dingguo saw him, he shook his head. The political examiner smiled and nodded, then returned the questionnaire to Wang Dingguo, and began to conduct a political examination on the next person. Of course, not everyone can come for a political examination. Those who can come naturally have a certain cultural foundation. Their situation is very important, especially with regard to the army. Soldiers with culture naturally have better development prospects. Of course, it's not that those without culture can't become good soldiers.

  The "humming" military jeep was driving along the winding mountain highway, and the autonomous region had already achieved village-to-village connectivity by road. However, different regions have different levels of road development. In some areas of Guangxi, village-to-village roads are also cement roads, while in some areas of Sichuan, they are still gravel roads. Recently, many rural families have started building new houses with bricks and tiles, so many dump trucks were hired to transport cement, bricks, stones, and building materials. Many families' homes are newly renovated, with two-story small villas that are very comfortable to live in. However, the gravel road was crushed and bumpy, and the jeep driving on it felt like it was walking on a treadmill, shaking and swaying...

  "Coach, are you okay?"

  Yao Wandong took a look at the rear seat's Lian Guiding Officer. This work of going up and down the mountain to do home visits should have been done by their kind of squad leader, but Lian Guiding Officer insisted on coming to take a look at the situation of several villages' soldiers. Of course, he didn't expect this road to be crushed like this, making the four people in the first battalion's car feel as if they had found a new sensation, that is, the thrill of driving in Xinjiang. However, when the car just passed over a big pothole, almost everyone inside was thrown up, and the driver and Yao Wandong were okay because they were wearing seatbelts, but Lian Guiding Officer in the backseat was shaking all over.

  "It's nothing, it's similar to our place, isn't it just a dirt road?"

  After almost an hour, the car finally arrived at the first destination, which was Banqiao Village, where three people had passed the examination. Yao Wanjun was in charge of this place. After stopping at a fork in the road, he got out of the car alone to ask about the homes of the three would-be "soldiers" at the village committee. "Little Yao, given the road conditions, I'll take care of the home visits for Gaoshu Village, which is further away. We should set off early this afternoon and assemble here again at 5:30."

  "Yes, instructor!" After Yao Wandong stood by the side of the road and saluted, the jeep continued to roar and drive on the bumpy road. Although it was a bit inconvenient for the car to drive on such a road, pedestrians could still walk without any problem. The gravel road had a certain degree of trafficability even in rainy weather.

  Yao Wandong tidied up his military uniform and looked at the village committee office in the distance, which was painted white. He saw some slogans on the wall from afar, such as "Everyone is responsible for protecting trees", "Promote civilized new trends, create an excellent village community", "Report births to facilitate population statistics", "One person joins the army, the whole family is glorious" and so on. Ordinary people wouldn't write these things on their own walls, so Yao Wandong was certain that it was a village committee office. With a smile, he walked slowly towards it.

  Yao Wandong saw an old man in the office wearing presbyopic glasses reading a newspaper, and after knocking on the door, he politely asked: "Hello, sir. Is the village head of Banqiao Village here? I have something to find him."

  "Ah!" Old Luo responded with a loud voice, then lifted his head to see Yao Wanjun in his green military uniform. He immediately stood up and walked over to shake hands and chat, patting Yao's hand affectionately as he said: "Comrade officer, our village has been waiting for you! The kids come ask me every day, we've been eagerly awaiting your arrival like we're waiting for the stars and moon. Come on, sit down first!"

  "Let me do it, sir!" Seeing an elderly man over 60 years old moving a stool for himself, Yao Wandong quickly grabbed a stool and sat down, then said: "Sir, first of all, I need to correct you - I'm not a military officer but a non-commissioned officer. I've come to your village to conduct home visits. Do you know where the village head is? Or do you know where the homes of Wang Dingguo, Dai Li, and Yang Hongwei are?"

  "Oh, you mean the three of them. I'm the village chief, and I'll take you to visit their homes right away." Village Chief Luo said, picking up his cane to set off, unaware that it had rained heavily the night before, making the gravel road difficult to walk on, let alone for a man over 60 like him, who couldn't navigate the muddy roads.

  "Just rest assured, it's enough for you to let me know that the three of them are still at home waiting. I'll go find them slowly later..."

  "Really? Or should I use a loudspeaker to call them over and have the three of them come pick you up? If you insist on going yourself, then the one busy repairing the brick house is Yang Hongwei's family. The one with truck tracks in and out of the courtyard is Wang Dingnan's family, his second brother uses it for cargo transport. And the one with a wall taller than a person with broken glass on top is Dai Li's family, they're in the pig slaughtering business, you can smell the bloody smell all the way to their doorstep."

  "Oh, I remember, thank you!" After thanking the village chief, Yao Wandong walked slowly along the muddy road in front of the village committee towards the village. The gravel road did not pass through the village, but rather passed by its side, so Yao Wandong had to walk on a section of road that was badly damaged by trucks and became even more muddy after a rain shower. Many people working in the fields soon saw this soldier walking into the village with one foot deep and one foot shallow, and some who were weeding wheat stopped their work and stared blankly at the green figure.

  He trudged through the muddy road until he reached the village, where Yao Wandong immediately spotted the construction site filled with piles of river sand and bricks covered with tarpaulins. Although the site was a bit muddy, there were still many people bustling about on this overcast day. Soon, someone noticed Yao Wandong in his military uniform and shouted loudly: "Huang Wei, come out quickly! There's an officer looking for you... Huang Wei, hurry up..."

  As soon as the sound fell, a person rushed out of a tent, wearing only one shirt and bare feet, and ran to the front of Yao Wanjun, standing at attention and saluting with an unstandard gesture, saying: "Officer, Yang Hongwei reports to you! I was on night watch last night, so I was just making up for sleep!"

  "Is he here to take the child away?" Several villagers who came to help with the work stopped what they were doing and gathered around, a few young workers hastily patted their pockets and pulled out some not-so-good cigarettes but very enthusiastically handed one to Yao Wanjun. Before long, Yao Wanjun had a small handful.

  "Yang Hongwei, are your parents at home?" Yao Wandong looked awkwardly at the small handful of cigarettes in his hand, smiled apologetically at the people around him, and continued: "Later I'll have a private talk with you, your parents, and you alone. If they're not here, then I'll just talk to you directly... but shouldn't you go back and put on some clothes and shoes first?" As he spoke, Yao Wandong pointed at Yang Hongwei's bare feet and thin underclothes.

  "Officer, I'm fine, really. My dad went to the brick factory in the countryside to discuss some business and will be back at noon. Mom is cleaning up the old house right now! Let me take you to see her, you can chat with her first!" With that, Yang Hongwei ran back barefoot, rummaged around for a while, found his sandals and put on an outer garment before leading Yao Wanjun to find his mom. The surrounding workers also gave Yang Hongwei a cheerful glance before dispersing and getting busy again.

  "The old house was a thatched hut, when it rained outside, it would drizzle inside, cold in winter and cool in summer. After the family's situation improved, they decided to build a better house, so they were busy building a brick house.

  Along the way, Yang Hongwei led Yao Wanda around the old house, occasionally chasing away the annoying wild dogs. When they were about to arrive at the dilapidated old house, Yang Hongwei suddenly stopped and asked: "By the way, I haven't asked you yet, where are you from, sir?"

  "I'm from Liuzhou."

  Yang Hongwei heard the two words "Liu Zhou" and could only smile wryly, then led Yao Wande into his old house's courtyard. The dilapidated mud wall and low thatched hut, with many places in the yard already overgrown with moss. Standing in such a yard, Yao Wande suddenly thought of his own family's former house. Their original broken-down home had been replaced by a building, their impoverished circumstances had been replaced by prosperity... During his visit home, he also learned that they could now eat meat every day, and life was quite good. But everything before him made him think of things from very far away in his childhood, when he would eagerly anticipate the New Year's festival, because only then could he eat white rice and a little bit of meat... If not for the People's Army, perhaps...

  Just as he was reminiscing, Yang Hongwei's words interrupted his thoughts. A woman in her mid-40s to 50s, wearing a dirty apron, smiled and looked at Yao Wanjun's neat military uniform. She quickly wiped her hands on the apron and shook hands with Yao Wanjun. The staff of the People's Government who went to the countryside were also known as "red hats". They not only brought many benefits to the rural areas but also introduced a friendly way of communication - shaking hands. Almost everyone in the autonomous region, from the elderly to young children, would shake hands as a greeting. At this time, Yang Hongwei put down two stools for them and left the courtyard, waiting outside.

  After sitting down, Yao Wandong took out Yang Hongwei's personal file and a notebook from his bag. After browsing for a while, he looked at the kind old mother in front of him and said: "I'm here to do home visits for Yang Hongwei. The main purpose is to understand his family situation. We all know that Yang Hongwei hasn't received much education, but it can be seen that he is a filial son, a good young man who unites the village, and has a good physical quality. Such a good child must have a bright future. Are you willing to send him to the army?"

  "I, as a child, really want to join the army. As parents, we naturally support him. Our eldest is now successful and earns a good income in the city, he's also very filial to us. Since our second child wants to go, then..."

  "Sorry, I have to interrupt you!" Yao Wandong apologized for interrupting the kind old mother's words, and after writing in his notebook for a while, he said: "Old mother, I must solemnly remind you that the army is a place where people are tempered. The military is not a school or a factory, we are a collective that may have to fight for the people at any time. In short, fighting can result in death. We use rigorous training to improve combat skills, strict discipline to organize troops, and advanced equipment to arm the army, but it's destined that absolute safety cannot be guaranteed. What I want to know is whether you are really willing to send your precious son into such a collective?"

  Yao Wandong didn't tell a single lie. From the establishment of the People's Liberation Army to the present, it has experienced two large-scale battles and hundreds of combat operations. Especially the First Division where Yao Wandong is located is always ready to move out. Xinjiang is a multi-ethnic region with complex forces, and the People's Liberation Army adopts high-pressure policies in coordination with the people's government's gentle policies, which still cannot guarantee absolute peace within Xinjiang. The First Division has had the most casualties and injuries among the six major divisions of the army since its establishment. This is certainly related to their responsibilities, but it is not a reason for being timid or hesitant, nor is it a reason for Yao Wandong to hide anything from an elderly mother.

  "Just as the old mother was unable to answer Yao Wanda's question, Yang Hongwei suddenly rushed in, with tears streaming down his face, and knelt down in front of her. After kowtowing several times, he said: 'I didn't treat the army as a place for personal gain; I am willing to go forward and dedicate my youth, even my life. Haven't you always taught me and my brother to remember the kindness of the people's government? Without them, we would still be working as laborers for the landlord, unable to eat or dress properly, and living in a broken-down house like this one...'"

  Upon seeing this, Yao Wandong stood up and patted Yang Hongwei's shoulder, saying: "I'll go take a look at the Dai family home. I'll be back to find you later." After finishing speaking, Yao Wandong went out the door and searched for a while before finding a large house close to the highway. Especially the high walls of the courtyard and the broken glass on top of them were exactly as the old village chief had described. Moreover, not far from the front of the big yard was the scene where a pig had been slaughtered not long ago, with the pig's blood still emitting a strong smell...

  After walking up and knocking on the door, a stout middle-aged man quickly opened the door. Seeing Yao Wandong in his military uniform, he immediately shouted: "Old Fourth, there's an officer looking for you! Stop reading and come out quickly..." After shouting, the middle-aged man introduced himself to Yao Wandong: "I'm his dad. I was planning to sell pigs on the street today, but Old Yang bought them from me instead, so I happened to be at home. His mom just went out to cut grass for the pigs, and is sitting in the house..." After finishing speaking, he hurriedly wiped his hands and shook hands with Yao Wandong, offering him a cigarette.

  As soon as Yao Wandong entered the courtyard, he found that in front of him was a two-story red brick building, and on both sides were two large pigpens. There were no less than twenty big fat pigs eating and sleeping inside. Of course, there was also an unbearable stench of pig dung in the yard. After the middle-aged man brought Yao Wandong into the main hall, he served tea, poured water, and brought out two large plates of fruit and sweets.

  "This kid doesn't need to join the army anymore, Old Fourth's child is always locking himself in his room studying hard, and reciting some incomprehensible texts day and night. Wang Dingguo that little brat also comes over every day to study together with him, what great progress they're making...” The middle-aged man enthusiastically introduced his own child, and soon the sound of footsteps echoed from the stairs, and Wang Dingguo and Dai Li appeared in front of Yao Wanda. "This sturdy kid is my son Dai Li, and that one is the treasure of the Wang family, Wang Dingguo, this little brat has read a few years' worth of books!"

  "Everyone, please sit down. Today's home visit is a part of our unit's self-organized program. According to the plan, both of you, including Yang Hongwei, will be assigned to the new recruit platoon I'm leading for training. However, in order to understand each new recruit's family situation, we have this home visit segment. Since this is Daili's home, I'll conduct the home visit with him first. Wang Dingguo, please wait outside for 15 minutes, and then I'll come out and go with you..."

  The living room was left with three people, and Dali naturally didn't dare to sit down, standing upright on the side. Dali's father had a smiling face and handed over another cigarette, but Yao Wanda didn't smoke it and seized the opportunity to ask: "Home visits are not a very important link, but also crucial. What I want to know is whether you, Dali, are willing to join the Chinese People's Army? You, Dali's father, do you agree with your child's intention? If you both agree, we can enter the next conversation topic..."

  As soon as the words came out, Dali's eyes lit up immediately and hurriedly approached his father, making gestures to remind him. The stout middle-aged man also smiled and looked at his own child, and the two of them said in unison: "Of course, we are willing." However, the middle-aged man immediately asked: "Officer, may I ask? When can my son become a great officer like you?"

  "Sorry, I'm not an officer. I'm a second-class non-commissioned officer, just a small squad leader, not a high-ranking officer. According to the regulations of the People's Army on active-duty soldiers' service, the granting and promotion of military ranks require certain conditions. For conscripts serving their first year, they are granted the rank of Private; for those serving their second year as Privates, they are promoted to Senior Private. Conscripts who have completed their term of service and are approved as first-class non-commissioned officers can be granted the rank of First-Class Non-Commissioned Officer; if they are appointed as a certain class of non-commissioned officer, they will be granted the corresponding military rank. Intermediate non-commissioned officers refer to second-, third-, and fourth-class non-commissioned officers. If your child wants to become a second-class non-commissioned officer like me, leading a squad, it takes five years."

  "How many years did it take you to rise to second lieutenant?" Dally asked cautiously. "And what does an officer have to do to get ahead?"

  "Soldiers, apart from being promoted through the non-commissioned officer route, cannot be promoted to officers. In the troops, making achievements and performing exceptionally can lead to promotion to non-commissioned officer ranks, or one can obtain corresponding officer qualifications by taking military school exams. Graduates of non-commissioned officer specialized schools can directly receive second-class or above non-commissioned officer ranks. Of course, what I just said applies to peacetime; during wartime, rank changes are very large, and troops can promote important combat personnel's non-commissioned officer ranks or convert non-commissioned officers to officers in order to take on certain positions. It is not uncommon for a non-commissioned officer to be promoted to an officer..."

  Upon hearing this, the middle-aged man immediately grabbed Dali's hand and said: "Old Fourth, when you arrive at the army unit, you must work hard. Don't say that you want to become some kind of military officer, but at least you should get a second-level officer position for me. If you serve for two years and then run back, is that still called being in the army? Once there's a war, you'll have to perform even better, who knows, maybe you'll even be made a general..."

  "There's another point I want to emphasize to you all: although the military is vigorously strengthening the cultural quality construction of troops and providing a certain amount of study time, it's not hoping that soldiers will put all their energy into cultural studies in order to take exams for military academies. Moreover, not everyone has the opportunity to apply to military schools. The military is a collective whose main purpose is combat, if everyone hopes to use studying at a military academy as a way to get better life development, that's a huge mistake. Another point, the military is a place where only the fittest survive, it's a collective that values honor and sacrifice through violence, not a school that cultivates high-quality talent..."

  "We all know that when a soldier is born, he should do his duty. My hope for this child is to do well and live up to the uniform on his body. Getting a good career in the army is not my hope for him..." As he said this, the middle-aged man looked at his watch, then stood up and was about to leave when he turned to Dai Li and said: "You quickly go call your mom back, get her to prepare a table of food, and also go call Wang Dingguo, Yang Hongwei and their families, just say we're getting together for lunch."

  "That's enough for dinner, our unit has rules... I still have to make a home visit to Wang Dingguo's family later, probably..."

  "What's the big deal, it's just a meal. Look, it's almost noon now, and you must have a lot of work scheduled for this afternoon. Why not eat at our place and continue working? Whenever government officials with red hats come to do work here, we always warmly entertain them. This time, since you've finally arrived, we can't let you down." After finishing speaking, the middle-aged man immediately glared angrily at Dai Li, telling him to hurry up and take care of things. "Officer Yao, I'll go with you to Wang Ding's house, his dog is really fierce..."

  "King Dingguo is waiting for me outside, so you don't have to go. I promise I'll be back in a bit to eat this lunch, okay? At that time, I still need to tell you about some arrangements." After finishing speaking, Yao Wandong left Dai Li's house and hadn't walked far with Wang Dingguo before hearing the middle-aged man loudly shouting "Dai Laosi, I'm going to buy wine, hurry back home to rinse rice and cook..." The enthusiasm was palpable even from a distance.

  "Wang Dingguo, your situation is the most special. With such good conditions, why not continue reading? Once you enter the army, it's not as free as it is now. Moreover, it's not easy to read military school in the army. Why don't you just not go and wait until you finish high school to take the entrance exam for the Army Academy? It would be great if you could become an officer directly after graduating! Why do you have to start from being a small soldier?"

  Yao Wandong had already persuaded Wang Dingguo to get up while they were still on the road. The villagers all said that this child was very promising, and the school's development results proved it, as did the comments section of the military service deferment agreement. It's a pity that a future university student would actually join the army, which is puzzling and regrettable. Perhaps only Wang Dingguo himself knows the real reason.

  "Is there something special that made you have to drop out of school, and then, having no way out, thought of joining the army? The hardships in the army are not what you can imagine now. If you tell me the truth now, I guarantee I won't make things difficult for you. And you can also go back to continue your studies, and it will be fine if you want to take the military academy exam in the future."

  Yao Wandon stopped in his tracks and spoke to Wang Dingguo with a serious tone, but Wang Dingguo still didn't show any expression. After an awkward silence for half a day, he finally said: "I don't have any special reason, I just want to join the army and dedicate my youth. As for whether I can have a good development prospect in the army, it's not important. If you ask me what special reason I have, it's that I'm already very old. After finishing high school and entering military school, I'll join the troops, maybe with some practical training. How will I adapt to the army when I'm over 20? Moreover, I asked myself, I don't have the talent to become a commander who leads soldiers in battle, nor am I good at calculations or a clever businessman. I also don't want to spend my life as an ordinary worker with a dull and unremarkable life. I believe that in the army, I can find my true self."

  "It's the same with the army, its purpose is simple and straightforward, to maximize the killing of enemies while preserving oneself is the goal, and to kill opponents in the most simple and effective way is the method. Soldiers don't need to have too many complicated thoughts and emotions, just train well, follow orders, complete tasks, and dedicate their youth. I think you must be a good soldier, we are both very simple people. By the way, have you ever thought of joining our First Division? Do you know what our First Division is not in the army?"

  The two of them walked slowly to Wang Dingguo's home, chatting and laughing along the way. After a simple visit, Yao Wandon first asked Wang Dingguo and his father to go to Dai Li's house and wait for him. He went alone to find Yang Hongwei to talk again. It was indeed not easy for three people from the same village to join the army at the same time, especially since all three families were simple and honest households that had risen from poverty to wealth. At noon, a very sumptuous banquet was set up in Dai Li's home, of course without wine, as it was customary for the red-hatted mountain villagers not to drink when eating with ordinary people.

  According to the regulations, new recruits must undergo three months of concentrated training, followed by a comprehensive examination of multiple projects, which will eliminate some people but not all. Every morning at 5:30, they get up for half an hour of exercise, then have an hour for breakfast and rest. Next is learning or education time, from 12:00 to 2:30 is lunch and siesta time, and then until 6:00 is physical training time. From 6:00 to 7:30 is dinner and listening to news broadcasts, after 7:30 there will be cultural study arrangements or physical training, but all lights out and bedtime by 9:30.

  "The new recruit training phase mainly includes the following courses: formation, internal affairs, regulations and rules, light weapon mastery, protection and basic tactical foundation, combat readiness foundation and physical training. There will be many unfamiliar sports projects entering the training content, such as basic fighting skills, pull-ups, push-ups, sit-ups, single-leg squats, etc., but what you can expect is that there will be countless 100m and 3000m combined practice runs, and these projects will be assessed during the assessment. Physical fitness is especially crucial..."

  "When reporting for duty, note the saying 'three brings two leaves one remembers'. The first refers to bringing some cultural learning materials, as there will be time for self-study in the army, and correspondence courses, self-examination, technical training are all available. Some people who want to take the military academy exam should also bring relevant materials. The second 'bring' refers to carrying convenient sports equipment, those with special talents can show off their skills at cultural events after arriving at the troops, of course, this also includes personal items such as razors and hair clippers. The third 'bring' is to bring a set of casual clothes. After new recruits join the army, the troops will immediately issue uniforms, shoes, hats and other related items, so there is no need to bring too many clothes. However, when going out in plain clothes, it is not allowed to wear military uniforms, preparing a set of casual clothes can be convenient for use at that time."

  "Two keeps refers to keeping personal identity information. Keep personal valuables and a certain amount of pocket money. One remembers is to remember the detailed and accurate communication address and postal code of the family, so that it can be convenient to keep in touch with home in the army."

  The home visit is almost over, and Yao Wandong said to the three young men who are about to join the new army team, with their families present. "What are the assessment standards? Will those who fail be persuaded to drop out?" Dai Li's mother asked cautiously.

  "After three months of training, all the new recruits who are physically qualified will be able to meet the standards. If they still can't meet the standards after serious training, then they naturally won't be needed by the troops. But as long as they train seriously, there's no reason for them not to meet the standards and be persuaded to leave. Of course, those who perform exceptionally well in the new recruit assessment don't need me to say more - you all know that outstanding ones will naturally be selected to serve in better troops. And by 'better', I think everyone should understand what it means."

  The army's first large-scale recruitment campaign began on March 2, 1922 and officially came to an end on May 1. This was the first time the army had recruited new soldiers in a province other than Guangxi. Before this, the navy and air force had already recruited a certain number of soldiers in various provinces, but the conditions were too high - just having a primary school education level was an entry requirement, and many people were deterred even before physical examinations began. In contrast, the army's restrictive conditions were relatively low, and being able to read and write was even better.

  May 4th, at the location of each major recruitment organization, it was bustling with excitement. Those who finally emerged from the various recruitment checkpoints to become a glorious new soldier would officially leave their hometown and then take military trucks or civilian buses requisitioned to gather at various training bases. In the base, they will undergo three months of new recruit training period. As for how many people can join the troops in August, it is still unknown at this time. However, it cannot be denied that the army will usher in the largest-scale new soldier storm, and many people will become members of the army after all, as there are new soldiers like you.