Luo Heng's face was gloomy, and his palms were sweaty.
He hadn't expected so many people to come to the Fist Academy!
Can a small Bo County support so many soldiers?
"They're probably all newly recruited soldiers."
Luo Heng said, "The Fist Academy just took over the Xie family mansion and reaped considerable profits. At this time, they can easily recruit a large number of soldiers regardless of the consequences."
"But boss..."
"Shut up!"
Luo Heng shouted sharply, knife in hand, and led his men toward the gate of the stronghold.
Before he could even reach the city gate, a subordinate came to report.
"Boss, Militia Commander Wu from the Fist Academy has sent someone to inform us that we must all evacuate this stronghold within half an hour, or we will be killed without mercy!"
"Damn it! That Wu guy is going too far!"
Upon hearing this, Luo Heng's face flushed red, and he roared angrily.
The other hall masters who came with them exchanged glances, but none of them could see the slightest bit of fighting spirit in each other's eyes.
Although Luo Heng's analysis makes a lot of sense, most of the people who came to the Fist Academy today are likely newly recruited.
But what if?
Who dares to bet?
The seven-day mourning period for Xie Jingshan, Li Ming, and others had only just ended a few days ago...
Although the Flying Feather Gang could rely on the terrain, this ten-foot-high wooden wall was no match for a true master.
If Militia Commander Wu, who is rumored to be First Rate top-tier expert, were to personally break in, who would stop him?
After a moment of silence.
Luo Heng gritted his teeth and said, word by word:
"Order... to retreat!"
The hall masters immediately breathed a sigh of relief.
Less than half an hour later, the village gate was wide open.
The more than four hundred members of the Flying Feather Gang, carrying their valuables, retreated in a sorry state under the cold gaze of Wu Shuangren and his men in the distance.
Wu Shuangren looked at the fortified city before him and waved his hand:
"Enter!"
PS: Available from August 1st
93 Reorganization
A large contingent entered the fortified village.
This fortified city had residential areas, warehouses, and a drill ground, with all the necessary facilities.
"I've taken a preliminary look, and with a few modifications, it could easily accommodate two thousand people."
After taking a stroll around, Mo Zhengxing spoke to Wu Shuangren.
Wu Shuangren nodded. "This will be our base from now on. As for the Fist Academy and the former Xie Clan family boxing gym, we'll just need to station a few dozen militiamen to maintain order at each."
Mo Zhengxing looked at the surrounding wooden walls. "These walls are still too low. They need to be thickened and raised in the back; we need to build more watchtowers, one in each direction... Also, we need to train more archers..."
Having just acquired a large piece of territory, while others were still excited, Mo Zhengxing was already starting to worry about the subsequent defense issues.
Ever since he learned that Mist Hidden Temple was secretly buying infantry armor, Third Master Mo hadn't slept well for several days.
His mind was filled with thoughts of how he would deal with the heavily armored infantry of Mist Hidden Temple if they encountered them.
Wu Shuangren thought this was a good idea, and let Mo Zhengxing and Bai Jinhuan discuss how to arrange the defenses effectively.
That afternoon, at the drill ground in the walled city.
Wu Shuangren walked alone to the high platform directly in front of him, looking down at the more than a thousand militiamen lined up below.
Including the more than 100 militiamen who survived the battle of West River Market, there are now a total of 1,032 militiamen present.
Today, Wu Shuangren will formally reorganize these militia members, dividing them into teams and assigning commanders.
Otherwise, no matter how many people there are, they're just dabbling in the underworld.
"Start dividing into teams now!"
Wu Shuangren announced.
Mo Zhengxing, accompanied by several literate accountants, stood below the stage and began reading out names—
Each brigade consisted of 100 men, each brigade comprised two companies, each company comprised five squads, and each squad consisted of 10 men.
After some maneuvering, the outlines of the ten formations began to appear on the training ground.
The First Battalion was almost half composed of veterans who had experienced the Battle of West River Market, and its commander was Bai Jinhuan.
The second and third brigades were next, with some veterans mixed in as the backbone, and the rest were militiamen who had received a period of training.
The remaining seven battalions were almost entirely composed of young recruits. The battalion commanders and company commanders were veterans who had experienced combat, while the platoon leaders were promoted from those who had performed well in training and during this long march.
Among the relatives of the Wu and Liao families, Chen Tie was promoted the fastest; this time, he was promoted to captain of the third brigade.
Mo Zhengxing was officially appointed as the head of logistics.
While this Third Master Mo is indeed skilled in martial arts, the battlefield is not the place that suits him best.
One thousand and thirty-two people, with an additional thirty-two summoned separately and lined up on the side of the platform.
Most of these people were relatives of the Wu and Liao families. Some were close relatives like Chen Tie, while others were distant relatives like "the son of my third uncle's cousin."
They were all new recruits who had just joined the regiment training, so they were truly "one of us".
"You thirty-two will be formed into a personal guard and will stay by my side."
Wu Shuangren's gaze swept over the group of young people.
Everyone looked excited, and the other militiamen looked at them with envy.
In everyone's eyes, becoming the leader's personal guard was naturally a good job!
Wu Shuangren smiled but didn't offer any further explanation.
Becoming one's own bodyguard is certainly a good thing, but it also means that the training will be more rigorous than others. In the future, if there is a war, these bodyguards will follow you to the front and walk at the rear!
Wu Shuangren's selection of relatives from the Wu and Liao families as his personal guards was indeed driven by ulterior motives.
Because if these people can truly hone their skills, their promotion speed will be much faster than that of other militia members.
But you have to give as much as you receive.
Wu Shuangren can accept nepotism, but he cannot accept incompetent people rising to power!
Once the organization was finalized, the officers of each unit began to call out to their troops and familiarize themselves with their soldiers.
Shouts and responses, the clanging of weapons—the sounds mingled and echoed across the training ground...
With the troop strength increased tenfold, the daily food consumption also had to be doubled.
This increases not only food costs but also labor costs, as more cooks need to be hired.
To ensure their safety, these cooks had to be supported by the cooks themselves, which meant taking care of their food, clothing, and lodging.
In addition, uniforms need to be prepared for the militia, and some militia members have not received weapons, which also requires money.
During training, clothes get torn, weapons get damaged, people get sick, or people get injured... all of these things cost money.
Mo Zhengxing gave Wu Shuangren a preliminary calculation: to support more than a thousand militiamen, ensure high-intensity training, and guarantee that their food and treatment remain the same as before, with everyone able to eat meat once every three days and occasional special meals.
It costs at least 300 strings of cash every month!
That's three thousand six hundred strings of cash a year!
This doesn't even include the post-war rewards and compensation.
They robbed the Xie family mansion and got more than 15,000 strings of cash, but if they just sit back and squander it all, this money won't last more than a few years.
This is why the Xie Clan Chamber of Commerce, despite being wealthy, only employs a little over three hundred servants.
With three hundred servants, the Xie Clan could do their business well.
However, maintaining a thousand militiamen fell far short of Wu Shuangren's expectations.
"The Fist King Championship was a great success. According to you, the boxers we promoted are now stars of West River Market."
After finishing the reorganization work in the afternoon, Wu Shuangren called Mo Zhengxing over in the evening to discuss boxing matches and income.
Mo Zhengxing said to Wu Shuangren, "These boxers Liaoming. More people know them and believe they can win, so more people place bets, and we make more money."
In some seemingly sure-win matches, everyone bets on this boxer to win, but he unexpectedly loses, and the bookmakers naturally make the most money.
Wu Shuangren understood this logic very well, which is why he wanted to organize Fist King Championship and promote star boxers.
"How much money are we expected to make from our boxing matches each month?"
Wu Shuangren asked.
Mo Zhengxing had anticipated this and said without hesitation, "With the Fist Academy, the boxing gym, and the betting on the ongoing Fist King Championship, we can earn at least two hundred strings of cash every month!"
This income is already quite good, considering that there are only so many people in West River Market.
However, the monthly income of two hundred strings of cash was still insufficient to cover the expenses of maintaining the army.
"I've sent people to contact the Xie Clan Chamber of Commerce about the businesses they left behind, but we haven't received a reply yet. We're unsure if we can take over and run them ourselves."
Mo Zhengxing continued, "As for the gambling dens of the West River Gang, we can take over them all."
Wu Shuangren: "The betting business and our boxing betting actually overlap to some extent. If more people bet on boxing, the betting business will earn less. If we focus on boxing matches, the betting business won't earn much."
Mo Zhengxing nodded, naturally understanding this principle. "Actually, the main source of income for the West River Gang, besides gambling dens, is the canal transport. They collude with the canal transport officials to earn 'ferry fees' together."
Wu Shuangren asked curiously, "What is 'buying a ferry ticket'?"
Mo Zhengxing explained, "Simply put, once the canal boats arrive at the dock, they deliberately stop and don't move. The canal is only so wide, and other boats can't enter the dock or go around it; they have to pay to pass."
"The canal transport ships were official vessels, and since it concerned the canal transport itself, other merchant ships and cargo ships couldn't afford to offend them and dared not act forcefully. However, if the officials directly demanded money, it would be embarrassing and could easily lead to trouble. Therefore, local powerful figures would step in to collect the money on behalf of the officials. Once the money was in the account, everyone would share the profits. Later, this gradually became a common practice. Regardless of whether the canal transport ships had reached the dock, as long as other ships wanted to pass through the West River dock or unload cargo West River, they had to give the West River Gang a sum of money. The West River Gang used to make their money from this, earning no less than gambling dens!"
94. Seventh Rank!
"So this is what the ferry fee is..."
Wu Shuangren nodded.
Isn't this just a toll?
It's just that the way people ate in ancient times was a bit unseemly, and they also had to share the money with the local powerful families.
Mo Zhengxing looked at him. "Chief, we've now replaced the West River Gang, so we can actually make money from the ferry fees. If we don't... we'll offend people instead."
"Um."
Wu Shuangren understood the reasoning behind it.
If you don't make money, how will the adults?
If adults don't make money, they'll offend people.
"For now, collect the money owed at the dock, just like before. Once the next shipment of grain transport ships arrives, we'll send someone to contact them."
Wu Shuangren said, "Besides the ferry fee, there's also grain. We can buy grain from the canal boats just like the Xie Clan used to."
The Xie Clan Chamber of Commerce buys grain at low prices and sells it at high prices in order to make a profit.
But Wu Shuangren didn't intend to make money; he just wanted to do what Mist Hidden Temple did—stockpile food!
Mo Zhengxing nodded in agreement.