In a small town near the city of Jinan, in Shandong Province, hundreds of young people are forming a long queue. Although these young men did not have any military training, thanks to the efforts of some people in military uniforms around them, order on the field was well maintained. Even the queue of these young people can barely be described as neat―――――― at least compared with the troops of many Asian and African colonies, the queue of these people can be said to be very neat.

Despite this, the soldiers around them still looked a little dissatisfied, but considering that these young men had never received military training in the past, they could barely endure it.

At the same time, those young people standing in the queue looked at these peers who were majestic in military uniforms, but their faces were full of envy.

Even with it, when he walked to a temporary shed not far away, he also tried his best to make a movement of standing up and raising his head.

"Chen Xiaohu?"

Under the makeshift shed, a young officer in a military uniform with a pair of glasses on the bridge of his nose raised his glasses with his fingers and looked up at the young man in front of him who was trying to hold his head up.

This shed is really simple, although it is the only recruiting point in this formation, but in the whole temporary shed, except for a slightly shabby-looking table, there is only a chair under the officer's buttocks, and a thick pile of medical examination reports next to it.

"It's me!" While trying to raise his head with his chest straight, the young man named Chen Xiaohu said with some generosity.

Looking at him, the young officer nodded slightly. "Alright. You go to the side for a medical check-up, and then bring the report..."

"Okay!"

Hearing the officer's words, the young man nodded suddenly. As he spoke, he walked briskly towards the medical examination next to him.

There is not much difference between the physical examination office and the place just now, it is a simple shed. However, the situation in this shed is obviously much stronger than the previous one, and the front one is basically nothing but a table and a chair.

However, this one is different, in addition to the tables and chairs, there are also some other props for special physical examinations.

At the same time, the soldiers working in it are also outside their black uniforms. and put on a white robe, symbolizing their status as a military doctor.

――――――――――――――――――――――――――

After seeing Chen Xiaohu, one of the military doctors who was idle didn't say much. It's just that after taking the physical examination report from Chen Xiaohu's hand and confirming his name and some other things, he began to conduct a physical examination, and waited until it was proved that there was no problem with his body. He was asked to take the medical examination report back to the shed just now.

And the officer's reply to him just now was also very simple―――――― go home and wait for the notice.

Much of the same has been true for many of the young people who have followed. After all, this wasn't seven or eight years ago.

Seven or eight years ago, when it was still the period of the Anhui Military Government, the method of conscription of the Anhui Revolutionary Army at that time was very simple. It's just that recruiting points are set up in various towns, and those who are willing to serve as soldiers only need to sign up, there are no problems with the physical examination, and at the same time, there are no bad habits such as smoking.

After all, at that time, Yan Shao was not allowed to recruit in a more complicated way.

Not only because the conditions did not allow it, but also because Yan Shao did not have so much time.

But now it's different. It is now the period of the national government, and the government can be said to be on the right track. At this time, like seven or eight years ago, it is a little out of place.

――――――――――――――――――――――――――

The Kuomintang government's military expansion has profoundly affected many people.

In every city and even in towns and villages in China, a large number of conscription points have been established. Streets and communities that have been established for many years have also begun to spread the word from house to house.

As for joining the National Defense Force, many Chinese people also have a deep interest.

As mentioned earlier, the Wehrmacht can be considered a high-paying profession in this era. Even a very ordinary soldier is paid about three to four times as much as an average worker every month.

It is equivalent to three to four times the income of the average worker, which is a big temptation for the average young person. After all, the workers in these days are not so easy to be in this year, even if the national government is already trying its best to protect the rights and interests of the workers, there is no doubt that the capitalists will always try their best to squeeze every cent of the value of the workers as much as possible.

This is especially true at a time when almost all countries have paid less attention to workers' rights.

In the factory, it is almost common to be tired late every day, and from time to time I have to be reprimanded by the factory owner or some managers. By the way, you don't have a lot of salary in the first place.

This is not the life and work that young people want.

In contrast, although soldiers are more tired, they need to train, train and train every day, and from time to time they may even encounter some dangers or something. But at least in the military, you don't have to worry about factory owners trying to squeeze you or exploit you every day, and the income can be said to be very high.

In addition, in recent times, the government and the media have been publicizing some heroic deeds of the National Defense Forces, which has made many young people enthusiastic. The status of the Wehrmacht in the country has also been rising, and it has even become a very noble profession in the hearts of many young people, completely reversing the old saying that 'a good man should not be a soldier', and it has become very natural that many young people will choose to enlist in the army.

What's more, the government has recently raised the salary of the military, from 10 yuan a month, which was already very high, to 12 yuan―――――― not to mention that it has only increased by two yuan, but in many small counties and even towns, it is even higher than the monthly salary of many people.

In this way, the young people who signed up naturally became more enthusiastic.

It can even be said that the whole country is beginning to boil over this conscription. It's just that although there are many people who are willing to apply. But in the end, it was the ones who could be chosen...

There are about 1 million recruits recruited by the government this time, and almost all of them are in the army.

One million troops, if it is said for countries like France, England, and Japan. Definitely not a small number. After all, the population of these countries themselves is not very large, and the number of young people between the ages of 18 and 20 is even smaller, and many of them are of school age.

But for China, this is not a very difficult thing, after all, China, with a population of more than 500 million, has become the world's most populous country―――――― if in later generations, the population is not very useful. Then in this era, population is also considered one of the war potentials, and it is a very important one.

Historically, China was able to hold Japan down. In addition to the vast territory, isn't it because of the huge population.

――――――――――――――――――――――――――

One million soldiers, if it may be a bit of a struggle for Britain and France, then it is not a very difficult thing for China. Even by this time, the Wehrmacht itself already had more than two million troops.

It is precisely because of the demographic advantage. So when the conscription was carried out. Only the Wehrmacht has the capacity to pick and choose. It is possible to remove those who are not qualified in physical qualities or other aspects.

Naturally, it would be best if you could have some academic qualifications, after all, there are also a considerable number of technical arms in the Wehrmacht today, such as armored forces, aviation units, etc., as well as the navy. These require a certain degree of education, but even though the government has launched nine years of compulsory education, it is only about seven years before the establishment of the national government.

Apparently. There are still two years left before the end of the nine-year compulsory education, and so on. Naturally, the following academies will not be able to provide the army with enough soldiers with a certain degree of education.

It is also because of this relationship that when conscription, many requirements of the army are very strict, such as the physical examination must be qualified, and the background must be innocent―――――― at least there must be no case record.

As for the academic requirements, the requirements are not high, after all, in the case that the first round of nine-year compulsory education has not been completed, the illiteracy rate in the country is really a bit outrageously high...

And it is precisely because there are so many young people who are suitable to serve in the army that while one million young people are recruited into the army, there are about two to three times as many young people who are not selected.

In this regard, those young people who were selected were naturally extremely disappointed, but those young people who were selected were raised with their heads raised and smiling when they got the notice and took the military vehicle that came to pick them up, and even their parents, although their hearts were full of reluctance, they were also happy for their children.

After all, in this era, the military is definitely a noble profession―――――― of course, there is another reason is that at the same time of high income, there is not too much danger, after all, in the eyes of ordinary people, since the end of the Korean War, the Japanese have been hurting, there is rarely a possibility of large-scale conflict in the near future, at this time to go to the army may be a little hard, but there is absolutely no danger to life.

"According to the report of the Ministry of National Defense, the current conscription activity has ended...", Fu Xiuming, who had not appeared for a long time, read softly with the information. Counting the soldiers who were recruited at the beginning of last year to replenish the group of soldiers who were discharged, a total of 1,573,614 people were recruited in the whole army this year, of which 1,430,000 were assigned to the army, the remaining 140,000, 100,000 to the navy, and 40,000 to the air force..."

"This year's recruitment is very smooth, and these recruits have already been sent to training camps in various places, and they only need to go through three months of military training before they can be replenished to various units."

Speaking of this, Fu Xiuming raised his head and continued to explain. "At present, according to the plan of the War Department, each unit has separately separated a group of units from its own units to form a shelf division, and then only these new recruits need to be replenished, so that these military units can restore their original combat capability..."

――――――――――――――――――――――――――

The plan of the army is simple, isn't there a shortage of enough troops to ensure the security of the territory at the moment? It's simple, you just need to increase the size of the force. But this also poses a problem. If the unit is formed entirely from new recruits, it may take a year or two for the unit to initially become combat-capable.

For now, though, the government can't afford to wait. At the same time, I am not particularly anxious in terms of time.

But it would be great if the newly formed troops could form combat effectiveness more quickly.

Therefore, the War Department drew out one regiment of troops from the current full division and formed a large number of rack divisions. In this way, the next thing to do is very simple, just need to replenish the soldiers who have just come out of the boot camp, and then these veterans will lead them. These soldiers can quickly develop combat effectiveness. Naturally, if you want to quickly build up combat effectiveness, it is definitely not possible to rely on these troops drawn from full divisions alone. Fortunately, there are quite a few military schools established over the years. Every year, a large number of cadets graduate from the military academy, and it will not be long before a group of cadets will graduate from the military academy, so the next step is to let these cadets also help. Naturally, efficiency can be improved a lot.

Nevertheless. The newly formed troops are certainly not comparable to the old ones, but at least they are much stronger than the new ones that are completely formed.

And as I said earlier, although the current international situation is more complicated, for China, time is not particularly tight...

――――――――――――――――――――――――――

After listening to Fu Xiuming's report, everyone around the conference table nodded.

Fu Xiuming used to be the leader of all the soldiers in the Anhui system. It is precisely because of this relationship that Fu Xiuming can take up the position of Minister of Defense today.

It's just compared with Cai Ye and Jiang Baili. Fu Xiuming is almost in a forgotten position.

This is not surprising, after all, the exploits of the first two are too prominent. Compared with these two people, although Fu Xiuming did not actually command the war, there was still a big gap. No! is not only compared with these two people, but even compared with Feng Guozhang and Wu Peifu and others, Fu Xiuming also has a big gap.

For Yan Shao, this is also a helpless thing. Although the Anhui Revolutionary Army was indeed strong at the beginning, in fact, there were no particularly outstanding figures in the entire army, at least Cai Ye and Jiang Baili were almost first-class.

It can be said that the reason why the Anhui Revolutionary Army at that time was able to win was because it was supported by the people, but the most important thing was probably because the Anhui Revolutionary Army at that time had very strong morale and strong weapons and equipment, plus very good basic training...

It was with these that the Anhui Revolutionary Army was able to defeat the Beiyang Army lightly.

As for Fu Xiuming? Although he is also an old man in the National Defense Army, and his qualifications are even higher than Cai Yi and Jiang Baili, but because of his ability, he has never been able to compare with the previous ones.

Especially when the title was conferred some time ago, almost none of the three marshals of the army were born in Anhui. This naturally made the Anhui faction, which was more powerful in the army, a little dissatisfied, but they had nothing to say about such a result, after all, who is called the Anhui faction, almost none of them can compare with the above three people, or even Feng Guozhang...

If it weren't for this, Yan Shao wouldn't need to raise Feng Guozhang to check and balance Cai Yi...

As for Fu Xiuming himself, he is very satisfied with the current rank of general and the position of Minister of National Defense, who does not have too many rights. After all, Fu Xiuming is still relatively clear about his ability, although it is also very good, but it is only much stronger than ordinary people, and compared with people like Cai Yi and Jiang Baili, he still has a big gap.

What's more, Yan Shao can be regarded as a nostalgic person, although neither Li Liang nor Fu Xiuming has anything particularly outstanding in terms of ability, but Yan Shao still arranged a very prominent position for them.

Li Liang's premier can almost be said to be the second person in the theory of the national government.

Fu Xiuming's defense minister, although he basically does not have the right to command troops to fight, can also be called the military's theoretical number one person.

And when that happens, what do they have to disagree with?

――――――――――――――――――――――――――

Subsequently, Fu Xiuming reported many situations, almost all of which were related to the expansion of the army. Of course, there are some that are not, but they are of the greatest interest to the Navy, that is, the construction of the four super-dreadnoughts that are currently under construction.

Although the Nationalist government had never built such a warship in the past, with the ability of the Chinese engineers themselves and the help of German engineers, the whole process was obviously much faster and smoother than expected.

"According to the reports of several shipyards, if there are no accidents, these four battleships should be launched at the beginning of next year, and then only need to complete outfitting and sea trials, and these four super dreadnoughts can officially join the combat sequence of the Wehrmacht..."

Hearing Fu Xiuming's words, Sa Zhenbing on the side was naturally extremely happy, and many others were also like this. After all, this means that China will be equipped with its own warships, and for the Chinese Navy, this not only means that the Navy will be completely independent in terms of equipment from now on, but also an incentive for national self-confidence.

"So, the matter of army expansion is almost discussed, can we talk about communication with the French next..."Saying this, Yan Shao looked at Gu Weijun, who had not spoken, but kept recording.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has always been responsible for contacts with the French. (To be continued......)