Bright Sword: The Flowers of War

Chapter 150 Blocking people
Back in Nanjing, Su Yaoyang had already suffered enough from the Japanese planes; he was fed up with the feeling of being passively bombed without any ability to retaliate.

He had always wanted to establish his own air force, but from Nanjing to Xuzhou, the troops were constantly fighting, and without his own territory, he was powerless to do so.

Now that they finally have their own territory, the long-suppressed dream of becoming an air force pilot is starting to stir again.

Of course, Su Yaoyang also knew that the air force was different from the army. It not only cost a lot of money, but also required a large number of professional talents to operate it well. Therefore, he did not expect to do it himself from the beginning, but preferred to invite outside help, just like the Flying Tigers in another time and space. This is why he found John.

When Su Yaoyang first met this guy, he thought he was just a coward who would beg for money from the dead, otherwise he wouldn't be doing the kind of low-class work of picking up corpses. He never expected that this guy was actually a graduate of the Virginia Military Institute and had even participated in World War I.

At this point, wouldn't the advantages of sharing a window become apparent?
This is similar to what happened in later years: his company had a top student who graduated from Tsinghua or Peking University, and as the company boss, he urgently needed top talent in a certain field. Although he didn't know anyone in that field, it didn't matter, because that top student from Tsinghua or Peking University knew them.

If you ask around through your classmates, and search a few more times, you'll eventually find them; that's the power of classmates.

Upon hearing that Su Yaoyang wanted to find aviation talent through him, John looked troubled. "Sir... although it's true that I graduated from the Virginia Military Institute, we are the Army, which has nothing to do with the Air Force."

"No, no, no... Who said the army and the air force are not related? You may not know anyone in the air force, but you must know some of your friends or comrades, right?"

My requirements aren't high. Among your comrades, there must be pilots who aren't doing well or people who are short of money. As long as you can bring people here, I will give them generous rewards.

How about this: I'll give you a thousand dollars for every pilot you recruit. Pilots willing to work for me will receive a monthly salary of five hundred dollars. In addition, for every Japanese plane shot down, there will be an extra bonus of at least two hundred dollars. What do you think?"

"A thousand dollars for every person you recruit?" John's eyes widened at this question.

That's a thousand dollars in 1938! That's equivalent to a year's savings for an average middle-class American family, enough to buy a car, make a down payment on a house, or support living expenses for several years.

Now, you can get so much money just by recruiting one person. Which cadre can resist such temptation?

"no problem!"

John's answer was so quick.

“Although I don’t know the Air Force personnel, I have a few buddies who do. I’ll send them telegrams and ask them to find talent for me in that field.”

"Remember... time is of the essence." Su Yaoyang instructed, "We don't have much time left. Our air force must be established in the shortest possible time. Do you understand?"

“I understand.” John also understood the urgency of the situation and immediately assured them, “I’ll send a telegram right away and tell them to find someone as soon as possible and then come over quickly.”

For the sake of the green US dollars, John was very efficient. After leaving the office, he went to the telephone exchange and sent a telegram to a friend in Shanghai, asking him to send two transoceanic telegrams to the United States for him.

After all this was done, a vigorous expansion campaign began.

Su Yaoyang and Pi Ruoyu calculated that after this expansion, the number of troops had surged to 16,000 to 17,000, leaving a shortage of more than 10,000. Wutai County alone could not possibly recruit so many qualified soldiers, so a comprehensive approach was necessary. In the following period, the Shanxi militia not only began recruiting in the county seat but also sent people to various rural areas, neighboring counties, and even neighboring Hebei province to conduct large-scale recruitment.

Su Yaoyang originally thought it would be impossible to recruit enough soldiers in such a short time without going through several layers of skin, but he did not expect that as soon as the news of recruiting soldiers spread, young men from neighboring counties and villages came to apply for the army in an endless stream, much like the scene of young people enthusiastically joining the army in later generations.

Later, he found out that most of the people were actually there because of the militia's generous salaries and food.

After all, these days people are so poor that there are so many destitute people struggling to survive. For many young people, joining the army is a viable way out.

Moreover, the treatment offered by the Shanxi militia was quite generous.

A newly enlisted private could receive four silver dollars a month, which was equivalent to seven yuan of legal tender. In the second year, his rank would automatically rise to private, and his pay would also increase to five silver dollars.

After serving three years, the rank of soldier is automatically promoted to private first class. At that time, the monthly military pay will reach six silver dollars, which is higher than that of the Central Army. Moreover, with Su Yaoyang, this guy with cheat codes, the food of the militia is exceptionally good.

With plenty of sorghum rice and steamed buns, and unlimited cabbage, vermicelli, and American luncheon meat at every meal, the temptation was immense for most young people who couldn't even get enough to eat.

Su Yaoyang used to hear a saying often when he was studying or watching period dramas: "Even if you die, you should die with a full stomach." He used to think it was a joke, but in this era, it is a living reality.

In some impoverished areas, starvation is not uncommon. It is all too common for people to exchange ten pounds of cornmeal or even a few steamed buns for a wife in order to survive.

Thanks to everyone's joint efforts, the conscription work was successfully completed in just over ten days. The troops quickly threw themselves into intensive training, but soon new problems arose.

"Sir, please allocate a few to me... twenty... just twenty would be fine... even ten would be okay if you don't have twenty..."

In Su Yaoyang's office, Lu Shaobin, the newly appointed commander of the Third Regiment, had been pestering Su Yaoyang for half a day.

He came to demand people, and not ordinary soldiers, but officers.

As the military expanded, the number of personnel surged, and the need for officers also increased.

How to do it?

The only way is to get promoted. The original veterans are promoted to squad leaders, squad leaders are promoted to platoon leaders, platoon leaders are promoted to company commanders, and so on.

Even so, there was still a large shortage of officers. Li Gaoyuan, Huang Guantao and Lu Shaobin kept pestering Su Yaoyang and Pi Ruoyu for people, but where could the two of them find people?

Back when I was in Xuzhou, I could take advantage of the hospitals and military units there. After all, there were over 600,000 soldiers in the Xuzhou area at the time. How many could a security force of only a few thousand people possibly recruit?
But things are different now. Where in Wutai County can he find sheep to pluck these days? That's why Lu Shaobin cornered Su Yaoyang in his office.

(End of this chapter)