Are you crazy? Trying to trick him into military service? He's the number one dragon on the fro

"Brother Xiao, how will you feed and clothe these people?"

After calming down, Fan Changxin raised some more questions:

"Although the outpost still has enough food, and my Fan family can support them for a while, this can't go on forever."

"Brother, rest assured, I have already thought this through."

Lu Xiao waved his hand, pointing to the various provisions brought by the Fan family, and explained with a smile:

"Once we arrive here, food will no longer be provided for free. Soldiers' families can exchange food for building houses in the early stages, and earn a stipend by reclaiming wasteland later. Everything must be earned with their own hands!"

"Three thousand civilians is indeed a bit too many. We may not be able to provide that many jobs for the time being, but the outpost also needs to repair the barracks and fortifications."

"They can all get involved."

Upon hearing this, Fan Changxin breathed a sigh of relief and nodded in response:

"In that case, I can rest assured."

"Alright, I'll go back to camp first and settle these thousand soldiers. I'll leave the people outside to you, brother."

……

Half an hour later, at the White Wolf outpost training ground.

Lu Xiao stood on the high platform, looking at the huge crowd in front of him, and nodded slightly.

Now, with the addition of clerks, cooks and other support staff, the outpost originally had more than 100 soldiers, 103 death row inmates brought from the county town, and 1,000 new recruits recruited from the prefectural city.

In addition, dozens of soldiers from the outposts sent the message back to their hometowns and came to answer the call, bringing the total to more than 1,200 people.

They occupied different spaces on the training ground, each eyeing the other with curiosity and wariness.

Lu Xiao learned from Zhou Daxing that the recruits who had been called up were all there were, and even if the soldiers were sent home, they wouldn't be able to recruit more people, so they had to give up on that idea.

However, he promised that once the group of people were settled, the original soldiers at the outpost would still be able to return to their hometowns to visit their families.

"Gentlemen, I am your supreme commander, Lu Xiao, Commander Lu!"

After scanning the room, Lu Xiao said loudly:

"You all know why you came here and became soldiers of my Great Zhou, so I won't say those things."

"What I want to say is that from this day forward, regardless of your status or experience, you are all equal soldiers until you achieve merit in battle. There is no distinction between high and low, noble and lowly!"

As the old saying goes, fame and fortune can be achieved on horseback!

"If you desire power and wealth, point your swords at the barbarians, at the enemies who harm you and your loved ones, instead of fighting and scheming against each other!"

These words caused an even greater commotion among the crowd.

Especially among the death row inmates, someone stood up and loudly asked:

"So, does that mean we're innocent of killing people now?"

"That depends on who you killed!"

Seeing the increasingly sinister gazes of the death row inmates directed at the others, Lu Xiao's face immediately hardened.

"Any act of killing innocent people and claiming credit for their crimes will be subject to the most brutal punishments, such as dismemberment and hanging; no one will be exempt!"

"I know that some of you think that the White Wolf outpost, with its mere hundred or so men, can be easily killed with a single charge, so you're thinking of taking its place and fleeing to the Northern Barbarians!"

"But let me tell you, before you came here, I had already thoroughly investigated your parents, wives, relatives, friends, and neighbors!"

"Therefore, in my system, if one person breaks the law, the entire family is implicated!"

Actually, he didn't want to be so absolute, but he had no choice but to do so after discovering that the death row inmates were making trouble.

For a large army, combat strength is actually the second most important factor; morale is paramount.

If soldiers cannot unite as one and entrust their backs to their comrades, no matter how high their fighting strength is, it will be useless.

Therefore, his first priority was to make everyone present understand that he was not begging these people to join the army, but that they themselves needed this opportunity to earn a legacy for themselves, their families, and their descendants!

The death row inmates paid no heed to his words. Among the refugees recruited, some young men had gleaming eyes, seemingly pondering how to quickly gain the highest position in the outpost.

Lu Xiao immediately shouted:

"Zhou Daxing, Zhao Xiaoqi, Gao Hong, Fang Dahu, step forward!"

Tread!

The four people whose names were called immediately stood up.

"Some of you are dissatisfied, thinking that I am young and merely a minor centurion, so why am I qualified to command 1,200 soldiers!"

"I know you won't be convinced by words alone!"

"I'm giving you this chance!"

After Lu Xiao finished speaking, he pointed at the four of them:

"Anyone who disagrees may step forward and challenge these four. Whoever defeats even one of them will be appointed as a squad leader!"

"Anyone who dares to challenge me and wins will become a centurion!"

boom--

The crowd erupted in cheers.

Thousands of eyes were fixed on the five of them, filled with longing.

The next moment, a death row inmate stepped forward and pointed at Zhao Xiaoqi:

"I'll challenge him!"

"Me too..."

One after another, more than a dozen death row inmates expressed their desire to be a squad leader for fun, and a few refugees also stepped forward.

One death row inmate even walked directly up to Lu Xiao, his eyes flashing with malice, and shouted:

"I, the wicked one, challenge you!"

"good!"

Lu Xiao did not refuse. Seeing this, the other "warriors" who challenged Zhou Daxing and the other three also said to wait a while and wait for Lu Xiao's death row inmate named Chen Ye to finish fighting first.

Before long, both sides occupied one side of the high platform and prepared for battle under the watchful eyes of the crowd.

Chen Ye selected a large knife, gripped it tightly, lowered his body, and stared intently at it:

"Lord Centurion, I apologize for my offense."

"Bring it on!"

boom--

The moment the words left his mouth, the two collided violently.

To everyone's surprise, Lu Xiao was able to fight Chen Ye on equal terms even with his bare hands.

Just as everyone was wondering how the battle would end, Chen Ye suddenly went berserk, clutching his head and screaming, wildly hacking and slashing at the high platform.

Lu Xiao watched quietly until the other person regained his senses, then punched him, sending him flying two or three zhang away.

"What happened?"

"That guy was just spacing out?"

A murmur arose from the crowd, and some of the nearby refugees stared at Lu Xiao in utter shock.

"Just now, I saw Commander Lu transform into a ferocious god. Looking at him for too long caused a stinging pain in my eyes, threw my mind into chaos, and completely terrified me!"

"What a terrifying look! I didn't dare to look up!"

"..."

Below the platform, Huangshan overheard their discussion and immediately laughed:

"What do you know?"

"My centurion once charged back and forth in the main camp of the Black Sand Clan, killing seven or eight people with a wave of his hand."

"So don't let his young age fool you; he's already developed a protective aura that can disrupt the minds of his enemies due to the sheer number of people he's killed!"

"Anyone who faces him should be prepared to face a nightmare!"

Upon hearing this, everyone was shocked and turned to look at Lu Xiao.

At that moment, their awe surged dramatically, and their gazes toward him unconsciously carried a hint of admiration!