Chapter 116: The Sharp Sword Forged

On January 15, 1910, at six o'clock in the morning, the gate of the inland military training base in Dubai had just opened, and a long line had already formed outside.

Zhou Afu stood in the middle of the line; he was nineteen this year and had arrived from Chaozhou, Guangdong three months earlier. He was not tall, but his shoulders were broad, a result of years hauling sacks on the dock. At this moment he tiptoed, trying to read the words on the notice board ahead.

"Hey, can you read?" he asked a young man in front of him who wore glasses.

The young man turned his head, his eyes behind the lenses bright: "I can. My name is Li Wen, I studied three years at a private school."

"What does it say up there?" Zhou Afu asked, pointing at the notice board.

Li Wen cleared his throat and read it aloud loudly so that those behind could hear:

【Lanfang Republic Army First Division Recruitment Notice】

1. Recruitment requirements:

Age: 18–25 years old

Physically healthy, no infectious diseases or serious medical history

Height not less than 1.6 meters

Literacy preferred; basic arithmetic skills earn extra points

Experience living in South Ocean jungles preferred

2. Service benefits:

Basic pay: 8 pounds per month (≈40 silver dollars), all meals and lodging included

Technical troops (machine‑gunners, artillerymen, signal corps, etc.) receive an additional allowance of 2 pounds per month

Free medical care during service

15 days of home‑leave per year, travel expenses reimbursed

3. Post‑service placement:

After five years of service, a house (no less than 40 square meters) will be allocated

Family members receive priority for job placement

Children receive priority admission to public schools

Retirement pay: based on years of service, an extra three months' pay per year is granted

4. Registration period: from now until January 31

After Li Wen finished, a buzzing murmur rose in the line. Zhou Afu quickly calculated: 8 pounds per month, 96 pounds a year, 480 pounds for five years. After discharge, three months' pay as retirement money adds 24 pounds. Total: 504 pounds.

He had worked a year on the Chaozhou dock, at most saving 20 silver dollars (4 pounds). Working here for five years could earn the money a family would make in a hundred years at home.

"Is the housing real?" someone asked.

A staff member in uniform standing beside the notice board shouted, "Yes! The houses are in the newly built 'Glorious Soldiers Garden' residential area, construction has already begun, and they will be ready to move in by the end of the year. After three years of service you qualify to queue, and after five years you are guaranteed a unit."

"What about work for family members?"

"Textile factories, food factories, construction squads—family members attached to the troops get priority placement. Children's schooling is completely free, from primary school through technical school."

Zhou Afu felt his heart race. He thought of his mother and younger sister still in Chaozhou. His mother washes clothes for others, working fourteen hours a day, her hands soaked to the skin. His twelve‑year‑old sister works as a child laborer in a silk mill, one finger broken by the machinery.

If he could enlist, after five years he could bring them over, live in his own house, his sister could go to school, and his mother would no longer have to wash clothes…

"I'll sign up!" he shouted first.

The line stirred. More voices rose: "Me too!" "Count me in!" "How many extra points for literacy?"

The staff member produced a registration form: "Line up! One by one! Fill out the form first, then the medical exam, finally the interview!"

Zhou Afu's hand trembled slightly as he filled out the form. Name, age, native place, education level, any special skills… He hesitated at the "education level" field and finally wrote "literacy: five hundred characters"—the truth, learned from Mr. Zhang Fang on the dock.

"Special skill?" the staff member asked.

"I… am strong. On the dock I can once lift two hundred jin."

"Okay, write 'strong load‑bearing ability'." The staff member noted quickly, "Next question: why do you want to enlist?"

Zhou Afu was stunned. Why? For money? For a house? To bring his family over? Those reasons all seemed somewhat shameful.

"I…" he hesitated, then said, "I want to protect this place."

"Protect what?"

"Protect… protect this place that lets the poor live decent lives." Zhou Afu's voice grew steady, "Back home, we poor can never get ahead. But here, in three months I saved ten pounds; my mother can't even believe the letters she receives. So… if anyone tries to destroy this place, I'll fight them to the death."

The staff member looked up, gave him a deep glance, and wrote in the remarks column: "Motivation pure, with a sense of family and country."

The medical exam took place in a hastily erected tent. Zhou Afu stripped completely and was examined from head to toe by the doctor—vision, hearing, cardiovascular health, limb joints, even his teeth.

"Teeth are fine," the doctor said, "no cavities. Open your mouth, ah—"

Zhou Afu complied.

"Good, put your clothes back on. Next item: physical test."

The physical‑test field was on the east side of the training base. Zhou Afu and dozens of other applicants were led there, where a few simple events awaited: pull‑ups, push‑ups, a 3,000‑meter run, and obstacle crossing.

A middle‑aged man looking like an instructor stood at the front, dressed in training uniform, a silver star on his shoulder epaulet. He appeared to be in his forties, skin dark, with a scar on his left cheek.

"I am the commander of the 3rd Regiment, First Division, Zhao Dashan," his voice was hoarse but carried far, "I once fought guerrilla warfare in South Ocean, killed Dutch soldiers. Later I came here following the President."

He surveyed the young men:

"Enlisting isn't for food, it's for war. War brings death, possible maiming, possibly burial in foreign lands. Those who now wish to quit still have time."

No one moved.

"Alright," Zhao Dashan nodded, "then we begin. First item: pull‑ups. Standard form, chin over the bar; do as many as you can."

Zhou Afu stepped up to the bar. The strength he built hauling sacks on the dock let him do fifteen in one go, the most among this batch.

"Not bad," Zhao Dashan wrote a note in his book, "Next item: 3,000 meters. Seven and a half laps around the track. Begin!"

Zhou Afu didn't run fast, but he was steady. Chaozhou is mountainous; he had run hill paths since childhood, giving him good endurance. When he finished, he was the fifth to reach the finish, but his breathing quickly steadied.

"Cardiopulmonary function is good," Zhao Dashan glanced at his pocket watch, "14 minutes 20 seconds, pass."

After all the tests were completed, it was noon. Zhou Afu received two corn buns and a bowl of vegetable soup, and sat on the field to eat. Li Wen, who had been with him, came over carrying his rice.

"You'll definitely be selected," Li Wen said, "your physical fitness is that good."

"You can read, so you'll definitely be selected too," Zhou Afu said, biting his cheek, feeling solid, much better than the bran‑mixed rice he ate back home.

"I want to be a communications soldier," Li Wen's eyes lit up, "the notice says communications soldiers have to learn radio and codes. That's the real technical work."

"What's a radio?"

"It's something that can transmit messages without wires. I heard the instructor say our radio factory went into production last month, it's entirely self‑made, even lighter than what the Yingguo use."

Zhou Afu didn't understand, but thought it was impressive. He only knew how to carry packs, fight, and crawl in mud. But here, even soldiers have to use the new equipment they made themselves.