Holding the original shares, they fought all the way to the Korean War!

Two o'clock in the afternoon.

Zhou Tianyang sat on a stone stool at the entrance of the regimental department.

With a cigarette dangling from his mouth, he squinted at the new recruits on the threshing floor.

They are registering at the threshing ground right now.

Zhao Wenlong stood in the middle of the threshing ground.

Holding a notebook, he was registering information about new recruits.

Tian Chengjun stood aside, helping to maintain order.

The two battalion commanders worked together very well, one playing the good cop and the other the bad cop.

Zhao Wenlong has a loud voice; when he shouts, the entire threshing ground can hear him.

Tian Chengjun was calm and composed, and wherever he went, he exuded an air of authority without being angry.

Although there were many recruits, they were all very well-behaved in front of the two.

"Commander!"

Tian Chengjun ran over from the threshing ground and stood in front of Zhou Tianyang.

"The new recruits of the first and second battalions have all registered, and their accommodations have been arranged."

Just then, a commotion broke out at the village entrance.

"The Third Battalion is back!"

A sentry came running from the village entrance, panting and excited.

"Commander, the Third Battalion Commander and the others are back; they've reached the village entrance!"

Zhou Tianyang stood up, patted the dirt off his backside, and strode towards the village entrance.

Tian Chengjun followed behind him.

Zhao Wenlong also ran over from the threshing ground.

The three people walked quickly to the village entrance, one after the other.

On the dirt road at the village entrance, a large group of people were marching towards the village.

Leading the way was Sun Shengli.

Behind him followed a long line of people.

Zhou Tianyang stood at the entrance of the village, his gaze sweeping over the new recruits.

His pupils contracted slightly.

That's quite a number of people.

There are at least two hundred people.

Upon seeing Zhou Tianyang, Sun Shengli quickened his pace, almost running to him.

He stood at attention and saluted, his voice loud and clear, filled with undisguised excitement.

"Commander!"

"The Third Battalion has completed its mission!"

Zhou Tianyang nodded, his gaze passing over Sun Shengli and landing on the new recruits behind him.

How many people did you hire?

Sun Shengli turned around, looked at the team behind him, and his face was full of pride.

He held up two fingers and waved them in front of Zhou Tianyang.

"Commander, two hundred and six!"

"Our Third Battalion recruited 206 new soldiers!"

Zhou Tianyang narrowed his eyes slightly.

Two hundred and six.

It was twice as many as he had expected.

"Commander."

"The areas around Lucheng and Licheng are old revolutionary bases, but the people there are still very enthusiastic."

"Whenever we arrive at a village, we don't need to do much publicity; many people come to join the army."

He paused, then his tone became even more excited.

"Some villages even sent their only sons, but we declined them according to your rules."

"The people are still unhappy and have been arguing with us for a long time."

As Zhou Tianyang listened, the corners of his mouth turned up slightly.

This is what makes him most gratified.

It's not about how many people were recruited, or how many guns were acquired.

It is the people's trust in the Eighth Route Army.

This kind of trust cannot be built in a day or two, nor can it be achieved by shouting slogans.

It was won with the blood and lives of the Eighth Route Army soldiers.

"Commander, there's one more thing."

Sun Shengli's expression turned serious.

Zhou Tianyang looked at him.

"We fought a battle with the Japanese in Licheng."

Zhou Tianyang frowned slightly.

Sun Shengli told the whole story.

"When we were walking back from Licheng, we ran into a Japanese squad of more than forty soldiers."

"I saw that there weren't many of them and that they were on the march, so I led the soldiers of the Third Battalion to ambush them."

"In less than an hour, all forty-two Japanese soldiers were killed."

"We captured more than 30 Type 38 rifles, two Type 99 light machine guns, and a lot of ammunition."

Where are our people?

"Zero casualties."

Sun Shengli grinned, revealing a set of white teeth.

"Commander, don't worry, I, Sun Shengli, am not the kind of reckless person."

"I will never fight a battle I am not confident of winning."

Zhou Tianyang stared at him for a few seconds.

"Good job, Third Battalion."

"Arrange for the new recruits to enter the village first, and let them rest."

"yes!"

Sun Shengli stood at attention and saluted.

Zhou Tianyang watched as the new recruits walked past him.

Walking at the very front.

He is a young man who is eighteen or nineteen years old.

He wasn't tall, but he was very strong, with a tanned face and bright eyes.

He saw Zhou Tianyang standing at the village entrance, and subconsciously straightened his chest and walked even straighter.

Zhou Tianyang looked into his eyes, a slight smile playing on his lips.

This young man reminded him of when he first joined the army.

No, it was when the original owner had just joined the army.

At twelve years old, I didn't understand anything; all I knew was to follow the group.

I don't know what lies ahead, I don't know what the future holds.

But there's a fire burning inside me.

That flame is called protecting our homeland.

The procession walked past him, one after another.

Zhou Tianyang strode back to the regimental headquarters.

I sat down at the table, picked up a pencil, and wrote three lines in my notebook.

First Battalion: 228 new recruits.

Second Battalion: 182 new recruits.

Third Battalion: 206 new recruits.

Total: 616 people.

Including the existing veterans, the total number of personnel in the new Second Regiment is now close to one thousand.

Zhou Tianyang looked at the number, and the corners of his mouth turned up slightly.

Nine hundred and eighty people.

Three battalions, each with more than three hundred men.

Although it's not a full-strength battalion, the framework has already been set up.

Next comes training.

He closed the notebook, leaned back in his chair, and tapped his fingers lightly on the table.

With over nine hundred people and over nine hundred mouths to feed, feeding them is a major problem.

But that's not the most important thing.

The most important thing is how to turn these people into a fighting force that can fight and win battles.

Zhou Tianyang's gaze fell on the new recruits outside the window.

They had no idea that starting tomorrow, their lives would not be so easy.

Zhou Tianyang's lips curled up slightly.

"Correspondent!"

"arrive!"

A soldier ran in from outside the courtyard and stood at attention.

"Go and call Zhao Wenlong, Tian Chengjun, and Sun Shengli here."

"yes!"

The messenger turned and ran out.

Zhou Tianyang stood up and walked to the window.

Less than fifteen minutes.

Hurried footsteps could be heard outside the courtyard.

Zhao Wenlong was the first to walk in, his forehead still damp with sweat.

"Commander, you wanted to see me?"

Zhou Tianyang nodded and pointed to the chair.

"sit."

Zhao Wenlong sat down, his gaze fixed on Zhou Tianyang's face, waiting for him to speak.

Immediately afterwards, Tian Chengjun strode in.

"Commander!"

Zhou Tianyang nodded and pointed to the chair.

Tian Chengjun sat down.

Sun Shengli was the last to enter.

"Commander!"

Sun Shengli also sat down in the chair.

Zhou Tianyang's gaze swept across the three faces before he slowly spoke.

"I called you here because I have something to announce."

The three of them straightened their backs and waited for him to continue.

"Starting tomorrow, the entire regiment will begin training."

"New recruits and veterans are treated equally."

"Physical fitness, shooting, bayonet fighting, and tactics—none of them can be neglected."

Zhou Tianyang's voice wasn't loud, but every word he uttered was firm and resounding.

"The training standards will be determined by the three of you through discussion."

"I want to see the nearly one thousand people of the new Second Regiment within a month."

"Once they're deployed, they can fight and kill enemies on the battlefield."