The rebel army's foremost master craftsman forged a million iron pylons!

A large group of people walked towards the pavilion, with Li Demao, the village chief of Stone Village, leading the way.

The old man heard about Li Tian's bravery in fighting alongside General Chen and thought that Stone Village had produced a remarkable figure.

Wherever he goes, his beard sticks up high, making him seem like the number one village chief in the surrounding area.

"General Chen is overjoyed! All of us from the dozen or so villages are ecstatic to hear that General Chen wants to form a righteous army."

"We've had enough of war, banditry, and man-made disasters these past few years!"

"Our surrounding area should have had its own army long ago!"

Before Li Demao even reached the pavilion, he opened his toothless, leaky mouth to announce the good news to General Chen, his voice startling the sparrows on the branches into flight.

OK!

Seeing so many people arrive, General Chen finally felt relieved.

He had been worried that he wouldn't be able to recruit a single soldier.

After all, now that conscription has reached the point of exchanging wives for soldiers, who would follow the rebel army if they didn't offer real money?

"Li Tian, ​​you truly are a lucky charm for our righteous army! Since the idea for the militia was yours, you're here to be its chief instructor!"

"How about I entrust this team to you?"

General Chen looked up at Li Tian, ​​who was gently wiping his crossbow, and asked tentatively.

In General Chen's eyes, Li Tian is now like a gold mine.

They can make hand crossbows, forge horse-slaying swords, and have all sorts of ingenious ideas.

Most importantly, Li Tian's fierce aura on the battlefield even made a seasoned general like him feel uneasy.

That guy was someone who took down ten armored soldiers all by himself.

There are few such brave men in the Loyal Army.

He can rest assured having someone like that lead his militia!

"Li Tian obeys!"

This time, Li Tian made no excuses.

He clearly understood that in chaotic times, people should be the priority.

Having no soldiers is equivalent to having nothing.

Now a great opportunity is right in front of you.

There are more than 300 new recruits here.

There were also ten veterans assigned to General Chen.

My own team is complete!

If these soldiers were then equipped with weapons and armor that they had personally crafted, it would be even better.

That will become the sharpest knife on the battlefield.

"but……"

Li Tian then changed the subject and started discussing conditions.

"I want some leather armor, and some worn-out, discarded armor."

"We hope General Chen will agree."

"what?"

General Chen felt a pang of regret; armor was a rare commodity, not only among the rebel army but also among the imperial army.

Although Li Tian wanted leather armor and some worn-out armor.

But that would have to be taken from other soldiers.

"They're just local militia, is that really the case?" General Chen asked, somewhat displeased.

"The local militia are people too, and they are all my fellow villagers."

"Moreover, this is the first militia we've ever formed!"

"If word gets out that we're withholding supplies from the militia, will we even be able to recruit people in the future?"

Li Tian's casual remark instantly enlightened General Chen: "You can't catch a wolf without sacrificing your cub; you can't catch a good soldier without sacrificing your armor."

He understood the principle of spending a fortune to buy a horse's bones!

"Alright, as you say!"

General Chen was a decisive man and agreed immediately.

And at this moment,

The militia group had already arrived outside the pavilion in a grand procession.

"Li Mo, the village chief of Shunyi Village, led 27 villagers to join the rebel army!"

"Qin Yun from Shimo Village led 30 villagers to join the righteous army!"

"Liu Qian from Shuilang Village led 19 villagers to join the righteous army!"

……

These local militia members, led by their respective village chiefs, formed more than a dozen lines outside the pavilion.

General Chen looked up and was overjoyed.

They were all young adults between sixteen and forty years old.

More than three hundred people!

In other words, this is a battalion of soldiers.

An entire battalion!

General Chen never expected that he could recruit a battalion of soldiers in this remote and impoverished place.

Normally, you couldn't possibly conscript such an outrageous number of men.

"Fellow villagers!"

General Chen stepped out of the pavilion, raised his hands, and shouted.

"I'm sure everyone already knows about the righteous army recruiting local militia to form a local organization."

"I, Chen Nian'an, hereby guarantee to all my fellow villagers that anyone who joins the militia will receive the same treatment as the righteous army."

"Four qian of silver and twenty jin of meat per month, and thirty taels of silver as compensation if killed in battle."

"Their armor and weapons are the same as those of the rebels."

"If there is even the slightest deviation, may I, Chen Nian'an, be struck down by heaven and earth."

After Chen Nian'an's impassioned speech, the villagers from various villages all looked surprised and exclaimed in astonishment.

"Four qian of silver? Is that really so much? I, Wang Dagou, have never seen so much money in my entire life."

"There are still forty catties of meat left. We don't see meat all year round. Now it's great, we can eat meat every month."

"General Chen, you don't need to say anything more, we agree to join the rebel army."

"We are willing to join your army if you ask the righteous army to help us collect grain."

Seeing that everyone's interest had been piqued.

General Chen seized the opportunity to speak.

"Even so, fellow villagers, if you have any special skills or abilities, please demonstrate them on the spot so I can assign tasks to you."

"I'll do it!"

As soon as General Chen finished speaking, a burly man, as strong as a bear, stepped out from the ranks of the local militia.

General Chen glanced at him and asked.

"What's your name? What are your special skills?"

"My name is Xiong Dali!"

"Special skill, my special skill is that I'm incredibly strong."

Xiong Dali has a purple face and speaks in a deep, muffled voice.

"Great strength! We soldiers need to be strong!" General Chen's eyes lit up as he pointed to the millstone next to him.

"Can you carry it for a hundred steps?"

That millstone was about half a person's height and weighed at least 500 kilograms. To be able to carry it for 100 steps would undoubtedly require immense strength.

"no problem!"

Xiong Dali turned around and walked towards the millstone. With a quick effort, he grabbed the millstone and hugged it to his chest.

Then Xiong Dali carried the millstone forward fifty steps, then came back and, without batting an eye, threw the millstone to the ground with a thud.

"General, may I join the local militia?"

"Good, good, indeed a brave man! Record him! Quickly write down Xiong Dali's name, and then give him four qian of silver!"

General Chen was overjoyed and quickly said to the clerk beside him.

"Xiong Dali from Shimo Village, and a local strongman from Lijiatun, four qian of silver!"

The clerk carefully wrote Xiong Dali's name on a small wooden plaque, registered it on paper, and then handed the plaque and a silver note to Xiong Dali.

"Brother Xiong, from now on you're one of our own in the rebel army."

"Okay!"

Xiong Dali grinned, took the wooden plaque and silver with both hands, and retreated behind the crowd.

Seeing Xiong Dali receive the silver, another member of the village militia exclaimed in surprise.

"Wow, that's some real money!"

"The rebels are really giving us money!"

"Fellow villagers, if anyone has any special talents, please step forward and don't hide them."

Seeing that the villagers were very enthusiastic, General Chen was very excited. He cleared his throat and continued to ask.

"I am Chen Xiaohou!"

"I can shoot arrows!"

"It can hit a small bird in the eye from 300 meters away."

Another tall, thin man carrying a large bow stepped out from the crowd.