A sickly fellow ridiculed by the entire army? I'll be the most beautiful woman in the barracks!

Many villagers are digging trenches outside the Wangbei Village camp, following the instructions given by Li Erlong and others yesterday.

Hundreds of people gathered outside the camp, working enthusiastically. Those without tools used stones or flattened sticks instead.

At this moment, in a trench, several Han Chinese men from the north were digging with different tools, cooperating with each other. Although it had only been a morning, they had already developed a good understanding of each other.

"Old Chen, did Old Li and that kid A Liang go and talk to you guys about Lord Zhao recruiting soldiers last night?" A young man in his thirties with a broad frame asked in a muffled voice as he dug the trench.

"They definitely told us. I heard that the two of them, along with Village Chief Qin, visited every single family of the men in the entire camp," Old Chen said with a smile.

"Yes, that should be right. They told me that too." The others chimed in.

The burly man nodded, stopped what he was doing, and looked at the others intently in a low voice.

"So what do you think?"

Seeing his serious expression, Old Chen stopped what he was doing, pondered for a moment, glanced at the others, and then spoke in a deep voice.

"To be honest, the fifty taels of resettlement allowance was quite tempting. My family has been struggling to make ends meet lately, and I left in a hurry without taking much food with me."

Old Chen spoke first, and the others followed suit.

"Me too. At the time, I was just thinking that I would go anywhere as long as I could escape that hell in the north. But these past few days, my child at home has been starving, and I'm so worried about him."

"Lord Zhao is a righteous man, and this time he's prepared to spend so much money as a resettlement allowance. I already discussed it with my wife last night, and if what Lord Zhao says is true, I'll sign up for the army!"

The large-framed man nodded.

"It seems everyone thinks similarly. I also trust Lord Zhao. If I die on the battlefield, I'll be at ease knowing that Lord Zhao will raise my children."

"It all depends on when Lord Zhao comes to recruit soldiers. I just hope that the fifty taels of resettlement allowance is real, then I will definitely sign up for the army without hesitation!"

The group exchanged glances and smiled at each other. "If we all join the army, we'll have to look out for each other!"

After agreeing on the plan, the group buried themselves in their work again.

When Zhao Daxuan's large group arrived at the Wangbei Village camp in the south of the city, it was already close to noon.

Seeing a large group of people coming from the direction of the town's north, the villagers who were digging ditches all craned their necks to look over.

Uncle Li and A Liang's men were also in the crowd. When they saw that it was Zhao Daxuan, they quickly dropped their tools, dusted themselves off, climbed out of the trench, and jogged to meet him.

"Lord Zhao, you've arrived! Everyone is digging trenches according to the method that Squad Leader Li instructed yesterday, but we don't have enough tools, so the progress is rather slow."

Uncle Li stood before Zhao Daxuan with a worried expression.

"Uncle Li, don't worry. We'll have someone go into the city to buy some tools later. There are plenty in the military camp too, so we'll bring them along. We'll dig as much as we can."

Zhao Daxuan also frowned. "Now that I've brought you back, I naturally won't abandon you. I've even arranged for people to come and install some city defense equipment. Now we can only do our best and leave the rest to fate."

Uncle Li and A Liang breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this; as long as Zhao Daxuan didn't abandon them, they still had hope of survival.

At this moment, Qin Lide also arrived and bowed to Zhao Daxuan.

Qin Lide looked at the many boxes and even sacks of grain being carried behind Zhao Daxuan, and a look of doubt appeared on his face.

"Lord Zhao, what are these things you brought with you?"

Zhao Daxuan smiled, looking at Qin Lide and the other two. "We're mainly here to recruit soldiers today, so we need to show some sincerity!"

Uncle Li and Ah Liang exchanged a glance upon hearing this, both seeing the eagerness in each other's eyes.

"Sir, after you left last night, Uncle Qin, Ah Liang, and I went door to door to inform you about your conscription. We also told you about your benefits yesterday." Uncle Li smiled at Zhao Daxuan.

"Sir, when will the conscription begin?" Ah Liang asked impatiently.

"We can begin now. Let all the villagers who are interested in joining the army stop what they are doing and gather in front of the camp."

Zhao Daxuan nodded to Uncle Li and the others. It was getting late, and they needed to get started as soon as possible.

Uncle Li and Ah Liang nodded upon hearing this. "We'll go and inform everyone right away!"

Having said that, he turned and ran off, running and shouting throughout the camp, "Lord Zhao is recruiting soldiers! All interested villagers, come and assemble!"

The camp wasn't large. After Uncle Li and A Liang called out to each other, most of the burly men in the surrounding trenches dropped their tools and surrounded Zhao Daxuan.

Soon, all six hundred or so people in the camp, whether they had something to do or not, gathered around to join in the fun.

Zhao Daxuan stepped forward, looked at the throng of people in front of him, and a smile appeared on his face.

"Fellow villagers, I believe you all know why I've come here today. I, Zhao Daxuan, am here to recruit soldiers!"

"Uncle Li and the others already discussed this with most people last night, so I won't go into too much detail here. Today, I'll just show you my sincerity!"

"As long as you sign up to be my soldier, I'll give you money, food, and weapons! Erlong, show everyone your sincerity!"

Li Erlong, standing to the side, understood and waved his hand, causing the row of wooden boxes behind Zhao Daxuan to open one by one, instantly revealing a glittering silver light.

The first row of six wooden boxes was filled with silver ingots, which shimmered in the sunlight.

The second row of more than a dozen wooden crates contained heavy, gleaming horse-slaying swords, as well as heavy, dark, upright shields that seemed to devour light.

Several soldiers also ran to several carts, dragged down a few grain sacks, placed them in front of the wooden crates, and opened them to reveal the snow-white rice inside.

The villagers standing at the front stared wide-eyed. Not only were they dazzled by the gleaming silver, but even the rice in the grain sacks made their mouths water.

As for the weapons, they had no time to care about them.

"Silver! Lots of silver! And rice too!"

The villagers in the front row couldn't help but exclaim in surprise. Those standing in the back row, hearing the noise from the front, either stood on tiptoe and craned their necks, or squeezed forward.

"So much silver! I never even dared to dream of it! And this pure white rice is definitely top-quality!"

The Han Chinese from the north who squeezed forward and saw the money and grain exclaimed in amazement.

Zhao Daxuan revealed a satisfied smile and said with a laugh, "Being my soldier means risking my life. I can't let everyone shed blood and die and still get nothing!"

Zhao Daxuan pointed first to the grain bags in front of the box, his voice resounding throughout the room.

"Today, regardless of whether you've registered or not, everyone can receive three days' worth of rations. Those who have successfully registered will receive ten days' worth of rations for their entire family!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the more than 600 people present cheered wildly, and many were so moved that they shed tears. Zhao Daxuan had given them hope for life again.

"Lord Zhao is mighty!"

"We will never forget your great kindness and virtue!"