World War: Battleship Arms Dealers

At six o'clock in the morning on January 15, 1910, the gates of the Dubai military training base had just opened, and a long queue had already formed outside.

Zhou Afu stood in the middle of the line. He was nineteen years old and had just arrived from Chaozhou, Guangdong three months ago. He wasn't tall, but he had broad shoulders, a result of years of carrying bags at the docks. At that moment, he stood on tiptoe, trying to see the words on the notice board in front of him.

"Hey, can you read?" he asked a young man wearing glasses in front of him.

The young man turned his head, his eyes shining brightly behind his glasses: "I know you. My name is Li Wen, and I studied at a private school for three years."

"What does it say up there?" Zhou Afu asked, pointing to the bulletin board.

Li Wenqing cleared his throat and read it aloud so that everyone behind him could hear:

[Recruitment Announcement for the 1st Division of the Army of the Republic of Lanfang]

I. Conscription Requirements:

Age 18-25 years old

Physically healthy, with no infectious diseases or serious medical history.

Height not less than 1.6 meters

Those who are literate will be given priority, and those who can do basic arithmetic will receive extra points.

Those with experience living in the jungles of Southeast Asia will be given priority.

II. Service Benefits:

Basic pay: £8 per month (approximately 40 silver dollars), including room and board.

Technical service members (machine gunners, gunners, signalmen, etc.) receive an additional £2 per month.

Free medical care during military service

Fifteen days of family visit leave per year, travel expenses reimbursed

III. Resettlement of Veterans:

After serving five years, you will be allocated a housing unit (with an area of ​​no less than 40 square meters).

Family members will be given priority in job placement.

Children have priority admission to public schools

Retirement pay: An additional three months' military pay is paid for each year of service.

IV. Registration Period: From now until January 31st

After Li Wen finished reading, a buzz of discussion arose in the ranks. Zhou Afu quickly did the mental calculations: £8 per month, £96 per year, £480 over five years. After retirement, they'd receive three months' worth of military pay as a retirement bonus, which would be £24. That adds up to £504.

He could save up to 20 silver dollars, equivalent to 4 pounds, in a year working at the Chaozhou docks. Five years of work there would earn him the money he would make in a hundred years working at home.

"Is the house real?" someone asked.

A staff member in military uniform stood next to the notice board and answered loudly, "It's true! The houses are in the newly built 'Veterans' Garden' community. Construction has already started, and residents will be able to move in by the end of the year. Those who have served for three years are eligible to wait in line, and those who have served for five years are guaranteed to be allocated a house."

"What about the family members' work?"

"Military dependents will be given priority in job placements in textile factories, food factories, and construction teams. Children's education is completely free, from primary school to vocational school."

Zhou Afu felt his heart race. He thought of his mother and younger sister still in Chaozhou. His mother was washing clothes for others, working fourteen hours a day, her hands were raw and chapped. His sister was twelve years old, working as a child laborer in a yarn factory, one of her fingers had been crushed by a machine.

If he can join the army, he can bring them over in five years, let them live in their own house, his younger sister can go to school, and his mother won't have to do laundry anymore...

"I'll report it!" he was the first to shout.

The line stirred. More voices rang out: "I'll sign up too!" "Count me in!" "How many points do I get for knowing how to read?"

The staff member handed out registration forms: "Line up! One by one! First fill out the form, then have a medical check-up, and finally an interview!"

Zhou Afu's hand trembled slightly as he filled out the form. Name, age, place of origin, education level, special skills... He hesitated in the "education level" column, and finally wrote "knows 500 characters" - this was the truth, he learned it from the accountant at the dock.

"Special skills?" the staff member asked.

"I... am strong. I can carry 200 pounds at a time on the dock."

"Okay, write 'strong load-bearing capacity'." The staff member quickly took notes. "Next question: Why do you want to join the army?"

Zhou Afu was stunned. Why? For money? For a house? To bring his family over? None of these seemed honorable.

"I..." He hesitated for a long time before finally saying, "I want to protect this place."

"Protect what?"

"Protect...protect this place where the poor can live a good life." Zhou Afu's voice gradually became firm. "Back in our hometown, we poor people will never be able to turn our lives around. But here, I saved ten pounds in three months, which my mother couldn't believe when she wrote to me. So...if anyone tries to destroy this place, I'll fight them to the death."

The staff member looked up, gave him a deep look, and then wrote in the remarks column: "Pure motives, with a sense of national responsibility."

The physical examination was conducted in a makeshift tent. Zhou Afu took off all his clothes and was examined from head to toe by the doctor. His vision, hearing, heart and lungs, limbs and joints, and even his teeth were checked.

"Your teeth are fine," the doctor said. "No cavities. Open your mouth, ah—"

Zhou Afu did as instructed.

"Okay, get dressed. Next, physical fitness test."

The physical fitness test field was located on the east side of the training base. Zhou Afu and dozens of other applicants were taken there, where they were presented with several simple tests: pull-ups, push-ups, a 3,000-meter run, and obstacle courses.

A middle-aged man who looked like an instructor stood in front, wearing a training uniform with a silver star on his epaulettes. He appeared to be in his forties, with dark skin and a scar on his left cheek.

"I am Zhao Dashan, the commander of the 3rd Regiment of the 1st Division." His voice was hoarse but carried far. "I used to fight as a guerrilla in Southeast Asia and killed Dutch soldiers. Later, I followed the President here."

He looked around at the young people:

"Serving in the army isn't about getting food; it's about fighting. War means death, disability, and death far from home. If you want to quit now, it's not too late."

Nobody moved.

"Okay." Zhao Dashan nodded. "Let's begin. First exercise: pull-ups. Standard form, chin over the bar. Do as many as you can."

Zhou Afu walked up to the horizontal bar. He had developed his arm strength by carrying bags at the dock, and he did fifteen in one go, the most of this batch.

"Not bad." Zhao Dashan made a note in his notebook. "Next event, 3000 meters. Seven and a half laps around the track. Begin!"

Zhou Afu wasn't a fast runner, but he was very steady. Chaozhou is mountainous, and he had been running on mountain trails since he was a child, so he had good endurance. He was the fifth person to reach the finish line, but his breathing quickly returned to normal.

"Your cardiopulmonary function is good." Zhao Dashan glanced at his pocket watch. "Fourteen minutes and twenty seconds, that's acceptable."

After all the tests were completed, it was already noon. Zhou Afu received two cornbread buns and a bowl of vegetable soup, and sat down to eat on the playground. Li Wen, who was with him, brought his food and sat down next to him.

"You'll definitely get elected," Li Wen said, "with such good physical fitness."

"You can read, so you'll definitely be selected." Zhou Afu took a bite of the cornbread; it was very substantial, much better than the rice mixed with bran that he ate back home.

"I want to be a communications soldier," Li Wen said, his eyes shining. "The announcement said that communications soldiers have to learn radio and cryptography. That's real technical work."

What is radio?

"It's something that can transmit messages without wires. I heard from the instructor that our radio factory went into production last month. It's completely made by ourselves and is even lighter than the ones the British use."

Zhou Afu didn't understand, but he thought it was impressive. All he knew was carrying bags, fighting, and crawling in the mud. But here, even soldiers had to use new equipment they made themselves.