I'm not a lord

Chapter 65: Recruitment Begins

The next morning, Lin En did not rush to leave the road construction camp, but summoned all the serfs again after breakfast.

He stood on the temporary earthen platform built yesterday and said loudly:
"Who wants to be my soldier?"

The audience was silent.

A breeze blew by, and only the bodies of the serfs hanged on the gallows swayed gently in the wind.

Lin En was mentally prepared for the serfs' cold reaction.

As the saying goes, a good man doesn't become a soldier and good iron is not used to make nails.

The serfs in White Bear Territory actually lived a pretty good life. They had no worries about arable land or animal power, and the annual harvest from their 60 mu of land was barely enough to feed a family.

Everyone knows that military service carries risks.

If there were no special benefits or they were pushed to the limit, most serfs would have no motivation to join the army.

"Those selected as soldiers will automatically become contract farmers, be granted 120 acres of land, and be exempt from all taxes and labor service! Moreover, this contract can be inherited by descendants!
Not only that, soldiers will have the right to share in the spoils of war in the future, and if they fight bravely, they may even have the opportunity to be promoted to knight squires or even regular knights! "

After Lin En finished speaking, he fell silent and just looked around at the thousands of serfs below the stage.

He believes that as long as the benefits are given, there is nothing that cannot be bought.

Including life.

After a brief silence, a voice suddenly rang out from the crowd:
"I am willing!"

As soon as the words fell, a sturdy young serf with red hair, about twenty years old, stood up. He raised his arms and said excitedly: "My Lord, I am willing to fight for you!"

A single stone caused a thousand ripples, and the thousands of serfs below the stage suddenly became excited.

"Master, I do too!"

"Master, choose me. I have the greatest strength in the village!"

"Me too!"

The audience was excited for a while, and all the serfs' faces were filled with excitement and excitement.

One hundred and twenty acres of land can be exempted from taxes and labor service?
Can contracts be inherited?

A chance to share the spoils?

Promoted to squire or even knight?

The extremely generous conditions drove all the serfs completely crazy.

In an era when the average life expectancy is in the early 30s, these things are enough to buy a life.

Even those road construction workers who had been upgraded to contract farmers were infected by the enthusiastic atmosphere and signed up enthusiastically.

There is no one who does not desire to rise in social class, and no one who does not desire to be a superior person.

Over the past two months, Lynn has demonstrated through his actions that he is a lord who keeps his word.

The serfs believed that he would fulfill these generous promises, so they were willing to fight for him.

In fact, thanks to the vast public pastures and old Albert's years of recuperation, the serfs in White Bear Territory are generally in good physical condition.

Those who eat meat and work all year round are all good candidates for military service.

However, Lin En would not recruit more than a thousand young and strong men as soldiers.

The operation of the territory and the construction of projects are inseparable from these high-quality mules and horses.

He planned to recruit fifty people this time, mainly to maintain security in the territory.

In the future, with the continued influx of people from other places, the security situation in the territory will inevitably deteriorate.

A large number of managers and village heads who were originally responsible for public security were transferred to manage projects or to other important positions like Xiao Ai and Finn.

Lin En prepared in advance and prepared to build a local force to maintain law and order.

At the same time, they can be used as reserves during wartime, and can be deployed to war in a short time with just a little training.

To this end, he set extremely strict conscription conditions.

Don't want anyone over 25, as they're too untouchable. Don't want anyone who's not married or has children, as they have no weaknesses and are prone to problems.

Similarly, the only son in the family was not wanted, and escaped slaves from outside were also excluded.

The last thing to consider is the physical condition. The height must be above 1.7 meters. Those with mobility problems or physical disabilities will be eliminated.

After layers of screening by Old Albert and a group of village managers, only more than 200 people were left under the earthen platform.

They all thought they had been successfully selected as soldiers, and their faces were beaming and full of confidence.

In fact, if Old Albert hadn't dissuaded him, Little Albert would have also wanted to become one of them.

Under the gaze of a group of enthusiastic young serfs, Lin En walked onto the platform again.

He swept his sharp eyes across the audience:

"I know you are all warriors willing to fight for me, but I will only select the most elite ones who can obey orders. Can you do that?"

"can!"

What responded to him was a roar like a tsunami.

Lin En then raised his right hand. "This camp is three kilometers from the end of the dirt road. When I give the order, you will all start running. The first fifty people to reach the end will be qualified to become my soldiers. Do you understand?"

Using physical fitness to screen soldiers is the simplest and most effective way.

Those who run fast may not necessarily become good soldiers, but those who run slowly will definitely fail.

"I understand!"

After receiving a clear answer from the serfs, Lin En nodded slightly.

The next second, he shouted, "Start now!"

More than two hundred serfs immediately turned around and ran out of the camp, running towards the west like wild boars out of a pen.

Lin En and a few of his younger brothers followed the team on horseback, and from time to time they caught some serfs who interfered with others' running to ensure the fairness of the competition.

Because the road is flat, the three-kilometer journey is completed in a flash.

The fourth and fifth brothers had already been waiting at the end of the road and had counted the top fifty.

Lin En followed on horseback and announced the results in front of everyone: "You have passed."

Then he asked, "Who are the top five?"

Five taller serfs stood up one after another, including the red-haired serf who first shouted "I do".

"Very good, we will form teams of ten, and you will be the team leaders."

Lin En directly selected the team leaders based on their performance and ordered Lao Wu to serve as the squadron leader.

"Andre, you will be the squadron leader and be responsible for training these fifty men for me."

Andre is Lao Wu’s real name.

After receiving the order, he immediately stepped forward and shouted at the serfs, "You bastards, you will have to obey my orders from now on. If anyone dares to disobey, I will definitely cut off his ears!"

Andre has a bad temper and a two-star rating. His attributes are slightly inferior to the second-oldest Hugo, making him the best person to use for training troops.

Serf soldiers in those days had to be trained hard.

First cultivate their habit of obeying orders, and then carry out strength and physical training.

Without half a year of hard training, you are not even qualified to go to the battlefield.

"Joseph, you take ten soldiers and continue to repair the road. Temporarily form a squad."

The fourth child's real name is Joseph, and his temperament and attributes are similar to those of the fifth child.

Lin En asked him to lead ten bandit brothers to assist Old Albert in managing the road construction team and serve as a mobile force in the territory, going wherever they were needed.

"Understood, Your Excellency Baron." The fourth brother gladly accepted the order.

(End of this chapter)