Accompanied by Li Moulue, Zhang Shixun entered Gongcheng and lived in the county government office.
Without taking a break, he said to Li Moulue, "Call all the leaders to the county government office for a meeting."
Li Moulue said in embarrassment: "These tribes are scattered all over the place, it is difficult to gather them all in a short time."
"You'll be given three days to gather everyone together."
It's time to get your own weapons.
Before that, we must make a thorough reorganization. Li Moulue's team is a mixed bag, with all kinds of people. To put it bluntly, it is a group of bandits. Such a team is only good at fighting against the local tyrants, but it is far from enough to fight against the Jin soldiers.
Three days later, all the leaders, big and small, were summoned to Gongcheng as scheduled. There were a total of 360 people.
The venue had been arranged in advance. A banner hung on the low podium, which read: The founding meeting of the People's National Protection Army
There were rows of benches below the stage, and the leaders, both big and small, were sitting there, looking at the banners on the podium, all of them a little dazed.
Not to mention them, even Li Moulue didn’t know what Zhang Shixun was going to do?
People's National Protection Army?
This name looks good. It seems that Zhang Tianshi is going to do something big and officially establish an army.
Li Moulue was a little excited. He had received some education and could barely be considered a scholar. Although he had become a bandit now, he felt a little unwilling to do so. He couldn't be a mountain king for the rest of his life, could he?
When everyone was present, Zhang Shixun stepped onto the podium.
He glanced around the room and spoke loudly, "Chen Sheng and Wu Guang once said, 'Are kings, dukes, generals, or ministers born with a certain kind of talent?' Meaning, no one is born a king, duke, general, or minister."
The leaders stared at Zhang Tianshi on the stage with wide eyes, not understanding what he meant.
"Now, the Jurchens are invading en masse, burning, killing, looting, and brutally harming the people. The Zhao Song Emperor is weak and incompetent, ceding territory and paying indemnities. We see our vast land falling to the barbarians, and the nation is on the verge of collapse. As Chinese citizens, none of us can escape this fate."
"When the Jin army laid siege to the capital, the weak and incompetent court, instead of organizing a tenacious resistance, grovelled and ceded territory to the Jurchens, even referring to the Jin as its uncle. This was a truly humiliating event."
When the leaders below heard this, they all clenched their fists and showed indignation in their eyes.
Zhang Shixun glanced at them and continued, "The Jin soldiers have withdrawn temporarily, but they are still full of ambition and will come back again. When that happens, China will face a bloody storm and the country will be in ruins."
"I... Zhang Shixun hereby swear to no longer defend the corrupt and incompetent Zhao Song court. I will take it upon myself to expel the Tartar invaders, restore the country, and carve out a new world for the people."
When Li Moulue heard this, his eyes showed ecstasy.
Zhang Tianshi is finally going to be independent.
I've been looking forward to this day.
"Everyone, in this world, corrupt officials are rampant, landlords and gentry force women into prostitution, and the people are starving and cold, suffering unbearably. I know without asking that you all come from poor backgrounds and have been forced into banditry. Who the hell would go up the mountain to be a bandit just to have a bite to eat?"
"This is an unfair world, a cruel world. We must break this old world and build a new world where everyone is equal."
The leaders in the audience listened with wide eyes.
They seemed to understand what Zhang Tianshi said, but they understood the general meaning: Zhang Tianshi was going to raise the flag of rebellion.
Take them with you to rebel.
The leaders became agitated by these words.
Rebellion is good, it's better than being a bandit.
Zhang Shixun on the stage continued his speech, "...The Jin soldiers have invaded, and the world is in chaos. This is the time for our generation to step forward. Only then can we know whether we are truly heroes or villains. As the saying goes, 'Only in times of adversity can a hero's true character be revealed... Follow me, slay all the Jin dogs, and carve out a bright future for China. In a few years, many of you will become kings, princes, and generals."
As soon as these words were spoken, the people in the audience screamed in excitement.
"Master Zhang, I'm going to fuck your mother."
"Kill! Kill all the golden dogs."
"Do it! Just do it!"
…
Seeing that these people were completely excited, Zhang Shixun nodded with satisfaction.
He pointed at the banner on the stage and said loudly: "Everyone has seen it, the People's National Protection Army, I declare that today, the People's National Protection Army is officially established. You are all members of the People's National Protection Army. In other words, from today on, you are no longer bandits..."
There was a sudden silence in the audience.
Everyone looked at each other.
No longer a bandit?
Depend on!
My grandfather is a bandit.
Apart from hitting with clubs and robbing property, he doesn't know anything else.
Zhang Shixun knew that it was no use trying to reason with these roughnecks because they wouldn't understand. So he said, "As your leader, I don't ask you to do anything. Just do your job well."
What?
Old business?
Our main profession is robbery.
"Burn! Kill! Loot! Fight if there's an advantage, run if there's no advantage. You know all of this, right?"
The leaders in the audience laughed and said in a chaotic voice:
"meeting!"
“That’s great!”
"My ancestors have been doing this for three generations. I'm very familiar with it."
…
"Since everyone knows how to do it, then let's go and burn, kill and rob."
At this point, Zhang Shixun changed the subject and said, "However, you have to change your target."
"Change what?"
"Change all your targets to the Jurchens. They can no longer bring trouble to the Song people."
After hearing this, the leaders finally understood that Zhang Tianshi wanted them to fight the Jin soldiers.
"From today on, anyone who harms the Song people will be executed without mercy. Please always remember that we are the People's National Salvation Army. Everything we do is for the people and for the country... Oh! I need to make it clear that the country I'm talking about is not the current Song Dynasty court."
After saying this, Zhang Shixun took out a stack of papers, shook them, and said, "This is the military regulations of our People's National Protection Army. Give everyone a copy. Take it home and take a good look at it after the meeting... What? You can't read? That's not a problem. Find someone who can read it to you. But let me be frank: anyone who wants to continue to follow us must abide by the military regulations. From now on, anyone who violates the military regulations will be punished by military law."
Zhang Shixun spoke these words in a very stern tone.
The leaders in the audience were silent.
However, Zhang Shixun then slowed down his tone.
"Having said all this, let's talk about the military pay..."
As soon as the words came out, the atmosphere changed immediately.
"Aha! And military pay?"
"Did you hear that right? Being a bandit gets you military pay?"
"Shut up! We are no longer bandits, we are the People's Defense...National Army."
…
Zhang Shixun smiled as he watched the crowd below. When they quieted down, he continued, "You heard correctly. Our People's National Defense Army does have military pay. Not only does it have military pay, but we also have uniforms and insignia..."
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