Chapter 287: Recruiting Soldiers by Contest (Please vote and subscribe)
"Okay, everyone, be quiet. What you see now is the standard equipment of soldiers. As long as you are selected, everyone will have a set of the same equipment. Whether you can wear this uniform and become an excellent soldier depends on yourself.
The selection will begin now. All men will gather outside the East City Gate. After hearing three drums, they will start running four laps around the city. The first 300 people who return to the flag stand will advance and wait for the next round of selection.
Gather at the East City Gate now. I will personally watch you from the top of the city. Don't think about taking shortcuts. Those who dare to play tricks will fast today." Luo Chong shouted loudly to the tribesmen below.
"Ah? Isn't it a competition of who is better at fighting, or who is stronger, why do you let us compete in running?!!!" Some tribesmen were confused when they heard this selection method.
"Maybe, maybe, the leader wants warriors who can run fast?" After a tribesman said this, he felt that he didn't believe it. Aren't warriors the best at fighting?
"No matter how they choose, it's just a matter of running away. I run very fast, and I will definitely be selected this time."
"Okay, okay, don't talk about it here. Others have already run to the city gate. What's the point of running faster than others?"
"You know shit, they run fast, and they will be out of strength soon. I'm saving my strength for later."
The men shouted and crowded to the outside of the East City Gate. Luo Chong also took four models to the city wall. Each of the four people supervised a side of the city wall, and Luo Chong stayed in the East City Tower to count the time for them.
The tribesmen soon gathered outside the East Gate. Luo Chong shouted to them on the city tower, running north from here, circling the city wall in a counterclockwise direction, running four laps, and the first 300 who entered the city gate first would advance. Then, seeing that they were ready, he asked the rat beside him to beat the drum three times.
Dong! Dong! Dong!
With three drum beats, seven or eight hundred men started running wildly around the city wall, raising a trail of dust on the dry land.
Luo Chong selected soldiers by long-distance running for a reason. These soldiers had to wear armor to fight, so they had to have good physical fitness. Although it was only leather armor, the whole set of armor weighed nearly 30 kilograms. If it was replaced with iron armor, the weight of the whole set of armor might double, and the physical fitness requirements would be even greater. Without good physical fitness, it would be impossible to charge into battle in armor.
The circumference of Hanyang City is 1,400 meters, plus the four-meter-wide moat, the length may be even longer. Running four laps is nearly 6 kilometers. This is the physical training of modern soldiers. For these primitive people, there should be no problem. It's just a matter of speed, but they can definitely run it.
Luo Chong stood on the top of the city wall and looked down. After one circle, the originally dense team became very sparse, but no one fell down, which made Luo Chong sigh. If this were placed in modern society, it would be normal for junior high school students to vomit if you asked them to run 1,500 meters. In comparison, these primitive people have better physical fitness.
After another circle, some people finally fell down from exhaustion, and some people even vomited while holding their knees. The rat witches and elders who had been prepared under the city wall immediately took a few women to help those who fell to the ground to the side to rest, and these people were directly eliminated.
After the third lap, the running speed slowed down, but basically no one vomited anymore. After all, those who can persist in running three kilometers are not too bad in physical condition. However, the running team is getting bigger and bigger, and the first and last runners have already pulled more than half a lap apart.
After the fourth lap, Luo Chong has arrived at the foot of the city, standing at the gate of the East City Gate waiting for the first 300 people in person. It is better to count this number by himself, for he is afraid that others can't count it.
The men who are tired like dead dogs finally arrived at the finish line. There are about 20 people in the first echelon. They came back by running, and they still have physical strength. Luo Chong gave each of them a chopstick at the gate of the city as a mark. These are people who have the potential to be promoted to officers. After all, if you want to be an officer, the first requirement is to be able to convince the public. If you can't even compare with the soldiers under you, who will listen to your orders?
The second echelon was about two minutes late and also ran back slowly. There were about 80 people in this echelon. Luo Chong gave each of them a shorter wooden stick. These were the ones with better physical fitness and were suitable for sword and shield soldiers. After all, sword and shield soldiers not only had to wear heavy armor, but also had a solid wooden shield that was more than others. It was also very physically demanding to hold that in hand.
The third echelon was about five minutes late again. This time there were about 120 people. Luo Chong distributed shorter wooden sticks to them again, preparing to keep them as reserve talents for spearmen.
The people after that were no longer echelons, but sparse and scattered teams. One after another, endlessly, until 300 people were counted, Luo Chong signaled the rat on the wall to beat the drum. The drum sounded, and the men who had not run back sat down on the ground tiredly and rested on the spot. They didn't even have the energy to sigh.
The 300 people who entered the city gathered in the square again, waiting for the second round of screening. This time, half of the people would be eliminated. A unit had 155 people, of which three top officers were appointed by Luo Chong himself. The remaining 152 people would be selected from these 300 people.
After the 300 people rested for half an hour, drank some water, and went to the toilet, their physical strength gradually recovered. However, muscle soreness would not heal so quickly. They would run a few laps every day and slowly get used to it.
Seeing the people below standing up again, Luo Chong came to the flagpole again to speak to them.
"The second round of selection is a duel. You will draw lots to decide your opponents. After you draw lots, come to the front in groups of 30. Both sides are not allowed to use weapons. The first person to knock down the opponent with bare hands will be promoted and directly selected into the army. But you must also pay attention. You are not allowed to seriously injure people during the duel. Just knock them down. Do you understand?"
"I understand."
The 300 young and strong men heard Luo Chong's request. This time it was finally time for the fighting competition. As long as they won once more, they could wear the domineering military uniform. They all cheered.
"Okay, now everyone go to the table in front and get a sign. There is a number on the back of the sign. The person who gets the same number is your opponent in this round. Find your opponent, then line up and gather. Now start." Luo Chong shouted to everyone again.
The men below also lined up and came to the flagpole, drawing wooden signs from a long table. All the wooden signs were placed on the table, with numbers written on the other side. These numbers were all Arabic numerals, but when Luo Chong taught them, he said that these were lowercase Chinese numbers, and there were only 10 numbers in total. The tribesmen had already known them. Although they could not add, subtract, multiply or divide, they could still count.
(End of this chapter)
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