56 Flower City (1/2)

After seeing off Tian Wenjing and Du Xiaolan, Ouyang Shuo got up and left the Manor. He was ready to go to the barracks and pick a sergeant to go with Gu Xiuwen and form the Beihai village guards.

There were ten active sergeants. Zhang Daniu, Zhao Sihu and Li Mingliang were fighting hard for the infantry squadron captaincy, and he could not pick them. Of the rest of the officers, Liao Kai and Zhou Feng were the most outstanding, but he did not know if Lin Yi was willing to release them.

At the barracks door, there had long been posted recruitment notices. There were a group of young boys gathered around them and talking about them.

“Look, the barracks posted a recruitment notice, we cannot miss this!”

“Come on, smelly. The last time you participated in the screening you were washed out, why do you even come again!”

“That was then, this is now our turn to show up, hey!”

“You want to know something, the last recruitment was for cavalry, I was washed out because of vision. But my body and physical tests were excellent. This time is the infantry, I can certainly be selected.”

“Hey, I will not be worse than you. If you can qualified, I certainly can, too!”

“Yes, yes. You know, in our Shanhai town, being a soldier is the best. Didn’t you see Uncle Tie’s son leading dozens of soldiers as a sergeant? It was awe-inspiring!”

“Yeah, and also mother Wu’s son Liao Kai, she was so happy when he was made sergeant, he has even met the lord! She is so proud of her son. I want my mother to be that proud of me, I have to join the army. If I can be a sergeant one day, that would be so awesome!”

“Unfortunately they are only recruiting infantry. I still like cavalry, riding a horse has so much more prestige!”

“What do you know, the infantry and cavalry have their own pros and cons, you can’t put them together and compare. Infantry wear heavy body armor, and don’t even mention how cool they are! If the usual light cavalry engages them, they can defeat them easily!”

“Indeed! Siege warfare also relies on infantry.”

“Well, I still feel that cavalry is powerful. A collective charge, what can a square formation do that rivals that?”

“Hey, if you want to fight, then wait until we are admitted and fight it out!”

“Yeah, you’re not even chosen yet you’re having daydreams already.”

“I say, dont stand at the door to the office, quickly go and register!”

“True! Go go go~~”

An eager group of people rushed with mighty purpose towards the barracks.

It seemed that the enthusiasm of the citizens was very high. Unsure of why, Ouyang Shuo suddenly felt a little sad. These young bloods had only seen the proud side of soldiering, not the tragedy of the battlefield, and the desolation of the seriously injured and retired.

Shaking his head, Ouyang Shuo stilled his heart, following slowly behind the group and into the barracks area. The soldiers were out on the field. There was already a long line. At first light on the first day of registration, no less than 100 people had already come.

General Shi was sitting on the training field on a chair, watching everything with 2 attendants behind him. He was surprised to see Ouyang Shuo out at this public registration.

Ouyang Shuo ignored him, stayed cool and went directly to find Captain Lin Yi.

The two of them headed inside the barracks to use the meeting room. Ouyang Shuo smiled at him and asked, “You’ve just taken over the cavalry squadron. Are you used to it?”

“It is okay,” Lin Yi replied with a smile. He certainly wasn’t going to complain to his lord, but the influence of General Shi still permeated the cavalry squadron and played a role in everything. Ouyang Shuo had appointed him as the cavalry squadron leader, both out of recognition and as a test for him. If he could not overcome this difficulty, he didn’t deserve to stay in the squadron position.

Ouyang Shuo had transferred General Shi from the cavalry squadron and had assigned him to train new recruits. It was a warning to him. The results of the last battle, he had not forgiven. If he could find a suitable army strategist, Ouyang Shuo was not ready to let General Shi lead the troops again. At this stage, Shanhai Town didn’t have enough depth to bear multiple miserable victories like that.

“Well, this time I came to you to borrow someone,” Ouyang Shuo said, ending the small talk and going right into the crux of things.

“Lord, as you command.”

“In order to quickly increase the combat effectiveness of the garrison in the new subordinate village- Beihai Village, I have decided they need an officer. Do you have any recommendations for the commander of this garrison?” Ouyang Shuo didn’t specify which officer, waiting to hear the view of Lin Yi.