Liang Jian: Commander, save some for me

“Is that so…” Mr. Wu felt a little disappointed when he heard this. He still hoped that the young people in the village could join the Eighth Route Army as soon as possible. Since Li Jin said so, he had to give up the idea.

"Of course, if you think the wait is too long, you can choose to let those people go to other troops, such as the New 1st Regiment. I can give you this letter of introduction and let your people take it there, and they will be guaranteed to join." Li Jin proposed other ways. After all, he and Li Yunlong were old acquaintances. Li Yunlong would not refuse to let them join because of this face.

"The New First Regiment, I've heard of this regiment. It killed a lot of Japanese devils. Compared to you and the New First Regiment, who is more powerful?!" asked Old Man Wu. Although the New First Regiment had a great reputation, he felt that the regiment that Li Jin belonged to might be a little more powerful.

"Well, my side is slightly better than the New 1st Regiment. We have more people and firepower than the New 1st Regiment." Li Jin said modestly. After all, he couldn't say that the New 1st Regiment was far behind his regiment. Although it was true, it would be too disrespectful to the New 1st Regiment.

He Guangchen on the side was also thinking in his heart that Li Jin was too modest. Compared with the Special Operations Regiment, the New 1st Regiment was not inferior at all. They were basically one in heaven and one on earth.

"Let's wait for you to come back." Upon hearing this, Mr. Wu chose to wait for Li Jin to come back without any hesitation.

Although Li Jin said it modestly, he knew the situation as soon as he heard it. Li Jin's group was definitely much more powerful than the New 1st Group. The fact that Li Jin's group needed him to bring people back personally showed their special nature.

He even suspected that the reason why the Xinyi group was so famous was that Li Jin's group must have helped behind the scenes, but for some reason, Li Jin's group was not famous.

"Are you sure? The New 1st Regiment is not bad. It is considered a very strong unit in the Eighth Route Army." Li Jin did not expect that Mr. Wu would make such a decisive choice.

"Sure, Captain Li, I think it would be better to let the young people in the village join your army. To be honest, the young people in the village are not bad in strength.

Whether it's their skills or their marksmanship, they are all outstanding. They should go to a better regiment to fight the Japanese." Mr. Wu nodded seriously and said.

He didn't think that the young men in the village were bad. After all, they were all trained by him. He couldn't say that they were particularly good at shooting, but they were definitely able to defeat the Japanese with their skills.

"Okay, then you just wait first. I will come back to take them away when the time comes." After hearing this, Li Jin didn't say anything more.

"I almost forgot, Captain Li, please come and meet those young people. They are still waiting for my news. The villagers are also ready to go into the mountains. I have to tell them not to be so anxious." Old Man Wu said hurriedly.

He had already asked the villagers to prepare to hide in the mountains, but they left in a hurry and probably didn't take anything with them. Now that the danger is temporarily over, there is no need to be so anxious. There is still time to go back and ask the villagers to take their belongings with them.

"Okay." Li Jin nodded.

"Captain Li, please come this way." Old Master Wu led the way.

"If I'm not mistaken, Captain Li must have killed quite a few Japanese devils," said Old Man Wu as he walked.

Those Japanese devils he saw were obviously not all of them. There must have been a lot of bodies that had been moved away. The fact that Li Jin and his team were so few in number, but they were able to eliminate so many Japanese devils in such a short time, speaks volumes.

"We killed quite a few." Li Jin admitted.

"You and Li Yunlong, the leader of the New 1st Regiment, should be old acquaintances, right?!" Old Master Wu continued. If they were not old acquaintances, Li Jin would not have been able to say that writing a letter of introduction would allow someone to join the New 1st Regiment.

"To be honest, the commander of the New 1st Regiment was also my former commander, but I was transferred away later." Li Jin said. Mr. Wu was once an old hero of the Boxer Rebellion. This alone was enough for Li Jin to believe him.

Of course, to be on the safe side, he still asked the system in his mind to make sure that Mr. Wu was not bragging. It was necessary to ask the system when encountering undecided matters.

"I see." Old Master Wu nodded, and became more determined to let the young people in the village follow him.

"I wonder what the recruitment criteria are for Captain Li's unit? What's the age limit?!" Old Master Wu asked. Only when he knew the recruitment criteria could he look for people to join.

"Sixteen to twenty-five years old, beyond that, some training is too much for the body to handle, so I have a limit here.

The restrictions in other groups are not as strict as mine, and their training is not as intensive as mine." Li Jin explained the recruitment criteria.

Although the training of the special operations regiment is much lighter than that of veterans, it is still much heavier than that of other troops, and it requires young people to be able to handle it.

"Oh, that's okay. We'll recruit people according to your standards. I'll write down the list of personnel and give it to you when the time comes." Mr. Wu responded.

"I was just about to tell you, but I didn't expect you had already thought of it, saving me a lot of words." Li Jin smiled and said.

As the two chatted, they soon arrived at the exit of the valley.

Li Jin saw Wu Gui and the others waiting there from afar, and the villagers were standing in an orderly manner, ready to engage in battle at any time. It was obvious that they were well-trained.

"The old man is really amazing. He can train them so well." Li Jin couldn't help but praise him.

"It's okay. Too many people died when we were killing the foreigners. I have also studied it a little, but unfortunately, I don't know much." Mr. Wu shook his head after saying this.

"It's enough. When the time comes, I will have people train them and they may become elite soldiers." Li Jin said. He didn't ask for too much. These people were already very good.

"Old village chief." When the two men came closer, Wu Gui was the first to come forward, while the others were still on guard behind.

"Old village chief, are you okay?!" While speaking, Wu Gui looked Old Man Wu up and down, fearing that Old Man Wu might be injured.

"What can I do for you? Hurry up and get everyone over here. I want to introduce someone to you." Old Master Wu ordered hurriedly.

"Okay." Wu Gui nodded, turned around and called for help. When he left, he looked at Li Jin twice more because he felt that Li Jin was very dangerous.

"This guy is good. He should be the best among these people." Li Jin said.

"Captain Li has a good eye. His name is Wu Gui. He is very good at shooting and fighting in the village, only slightly worse than me." Grandpa Wu smiled. This boy could be considered his direct disciple. Naturally, he was very strong and relatively obedient.

"Well, I will have to train them more in the future. Can they read?!" Li Jin nodded and asked again. If they could, they would save a lot of trouble in the future.

"I have taught them how to read and write. After all, I want them to become people who are both civil and military." Old Master Wu said happily. He didn't expect that his teaching would have some effect.

"That's good. This way, we can save the trouble of having someone teach them how to read and can let them practice more." After hearing this, Li Jin nodded with satisfaction.

"From what Captain Li said, your soldiers will have someone teach them to read?" Old Master Wu was stunned. He thought that being literate would have some advantages. "Of course, our Eighth Route Army soldiers need to be literate. Even if illiterate soldiers are qualified, it is difficult for them to become officers.

After all, you can't even understand the orders from your superiors, so how can you fight? And it's impossible for you to have someone to explain the orders at any time, what do you think?" Li Jin explained.

If you want to be an officer, even a squad leader, you have to know a certain number of words. The task of eliminating illiteracy is of utmost importance.

"That makes sense. You can't understand a military book if you can't read." After hearing this, Mr. Wu nodded in agreement.

"So, being literate does have its advantages. It makes you less likely to be cheated and helps people count money. In addition to literacy, we also teach them mathematics." Li Jin continued.

"Yes, yes, that's right. I heard that the National Army doesn't seem to teach soldiers literacy." Old Man Wu nodded repeatedly. Compared to that, it would be better to join the Eighth Route Army.

"They don't care so much. If you want to learn to read, you have to pay money unless you are a reserve officer. If a soldier wants to learn to read, he probably has to pay money." Li Jin shook his head when he said this. They are still more concerned about money.

"Wait until they join you. Captain Li, thank you for taking care of it. I have something good to give you." Old Master Wu said as he took out an ancient jade pendant from his arms and was about to put it into Li Jin's hand.

"Grandpa, what are you doing?" Li Jin was startled and actually jumped back a meter to avoid it.

"Captain Li, this is just a small token of my appreciation." Mr. Wu said with a smile.

"Grandpa, if you're like this, I won't accept anyone from your village!" Li Jin's face darkened and he spoke seriously.

"Uh... this..." Old Master Wu was stunned for a moment, somewhat at a loss. In his opinion, if he wanted Li Jin to take more care of the villagers, he would have to pay a certain price. But now seeing Li Jin's big reaction, he didn't know what to do.

"Grandpa, our Eighth Route Army is a people's army. We are organized and disciplined. We must not take a single needle or thread from the masses.
You gave me this, I know what it means, don't worry, as long as you join us, you will be a family, I will ask people to teach you everything that needs to be taught, and I will never treat them differently, do you understand? ! "Li Jin continued.

He knew that Mr. Wu was afraid that he would not let people lead the young people in the village properly, so he wanted to give them some benefits and ask him to take care of them more.

"Indeed, you, the Eighth Route Army, are really good. I was ignorant and always felt that no matter what I did, I couldn't do without human relations. When I asked someone to do something for me, I should give them something, no matter who they were! You broke some of my ideas." Grandpa Wu couldn't help but sigh when he said this, and he put away the jade pendant.

This jade pendant was an heirloom from his family. Even in the most difficult times, he never thought of pawning it for money. You can imagine how precious this jade pendant is.

"It is true that social etiquette is indispensable, but it depends on the person who gets it. We in the Eighth Route Army are not such people. So, don't give us anything, especially something so precious. This will make me violate discipline and I will be punished.

And I am a commander. If I take your things, I will have to take off my uniform, do you understand?" Li Jin said seriously.

"Yeah." Mr. Wu nodded.

"Old village chief, we are here." Wu Gui brought people over at this time.

Everyone looked at Li Jin warily, fearing that Li Jin would do something bad to Mr. Wu.

"Let me introduce you, this is Li Jin, Captain Li of the Eighth Route Army!" Old Man Wu began to introduce Li Jin to the villagers.

"He is an Eighth Route Army soldier?!"

"real or fake?!"

"What kind of position is the group leader?! Is it a big one?!"

“How many people can he manage?”

A group of villagers started talking at once.

"Shut up! What are you making noise about!" Old Master Wu was overwhelmed and shouted immediately.

Everyone immediately shut up and dared not say anything more. This showed that Mr. Wu's authority had already penetrated into the hearts of these young people.

"The gunshots just now were from Captain Li leading the team to fight the Japanese..." Old Master Wu explained the situation.

"So, he saved our village?!" Wu Gui said. He might not believe what other people said, but he believed what the old village chief said.

"That's right. If it weren't for Captain Li who brought people here to kill the Japs, once the Japs entered the village, we wouldn't be able to deal with so many of them, and many people would have died. So, Captain Li is our village's great benefactor!" Grandpa Wu said with a serious face.

He knew that the Japanese were very powerful. Dozens of them could probably defeat a company or even a battalion of the National Army. The few people in their village could not deal with so many Japanese, and there would inevitably be many casualties.

"Captain Li, thank you very much!" Wu Gui took the lead in bowing to Li Jin without saying a word.

"Thank you, Captain Li!" Everyone followed suit and bowed. They were not unreasonable people.

"Don't be like this. Saving you is what we, the Eighth Route Army, should do!" Li Jin quickly stepped forward and helped Wu Gui up.

"Captain Li, we are grateful for your kindness. If you need us in the future, just give us a heads up and we will go through fire and water for you!" Wu Gui said with a firm look in his eyes.

They are rough people, and the best way to repay a benefactor is to lay down their lives for him.

"There's no need for you to go through so much trouble." Li Jin didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

"Okay, okay, it just so happens that Commander Li is a member of the Eighth Route Army and is our savior. I have decided to let you join the Eighth Route Army and follow Commander Li to fight the Japanese!" Old Master Wu also spoke at this time.

"Village chief, have you agreed to let us join the army?" a young man said excitedly. He has always wanted to leave the village and join the army to fight the Japanese, but the old village chief had never agreed. Unexpectedly, he agreed this time. This is also good news for him, as he can do his part to defend his country.

(End of this chapter)