Sure enough, after putting on these clothes, everyone became very cautious, afraid of even the slightest stain.
And from their expressions, it was clear they liked the outfits very much.
After learning a few simple phrases, they were left to make their own arrangements.
When Lin Yi returned to the mansion at this time, he immediately called for Wan’er.
"Expanding the army is an urgent matter, we must hurry.
Let’s start by selecting from Nanshan City, starting from the age of 16 and up to the age of 35. We will prioritize those within this age range."
"Very well, Master. We have all the registrations here, and I have already had a rough look earlier. The suitable candidates we can further select won’t exceed 5,000 people.
We will still be short of two to three thousand people to reach our final goal."
Upon hearing this, Lin Yi nodded helplessly.
Indeed, although there are many people in Nanshan City now, most of them are the elderly, women, and children.
After all, there weren’t many young people among the refugees who initially came here.
For this reason, after the last selection, most of them have been chosen.
Added to the fact that many workers are now occupied in various workshops, that has also reduced the number somewhat.
This has resulted in only seven to eight thousand able-bodied men in the entire base.
That is also due to the reason that among these refugees, these young people are physically fit to survive.
"Alright, I understand. Start by gathering these people, and I will arrange the rest of the selections."
After Wan’er left, Lin Yi frowned and began to ponder.
Where exactly should he seek more candidates?
If he conscripts soldiers directly, the quality of these soldiers would naturally be mixed.
The most significant issue is their reliability, whether he could recruit truly loyal individuals was absolutely uncertain.
Moreover, whether there might be spies sent by others among these people was definitely possible.
Especially now, the Nanshan Base is full of secrets, and the Nanshan Army is unlike any other military units; it possesses the most advanced weapons in the world.
Because of this, if some information were to leak, it would be a severe issue.
He dared not recruit soldiers rashly—who knows if someone might have been planted among those people?
Or say, if someone with intention works on it, it would be inevitable.
Even among the commoners in Nanshan City, it would not exclude the possibility of someone being bribed.
Of course, such a situation is still extremely unlikely.
After all, these people are grateful for Lin Yi’s benevolence, and trivial money indeed doesn’t catch their eyes.
Just like now, each of them can get a tael of silver for living expenses every month.
Those with family members serving in the military are even better off.
Besides the monthly allowance of a tael of silver, there are additional subsidies, benefits, and more.
As such, their loyalty to Lin Yi goes without saying.
It can be said that Lin Yi gave them hope to live and offered them opportunities; therefore, they would not betray him.
However, he indeed lacked sufficient soldiers now, and even more critical, the soldiers under him won’t just be limited to the current numbers.
It will inevitably multiply later, and he will definitely command an army tens of thousands strong.
But such an army couldn’t possibly all come from within Nanshan Base, right?
After all, Nanshan Base doesn’t have that many people.
Thinking of this, Lin Yi started to feel a headache; perhaps he should arrange to transfer soldiers from other armies?
That would make things even less secure.
Even now, the Emperor’s Imperial Guards are not stable.
As he thought about this, Lin Yi suddenly thought of something, and he called for Wan’er again, then spoke:
"All the able-bodied men have been selected, are there still many women with nothing to do?"
Upon hearing this, Wan’er was visibly stunned, and after a moment, she replied:
"Currently, many women have already entered the workshops to work.
Besides, there are also some who farm outside.
Master Lin, may I ask what you need them for?"
Hearing this, Lin Yi nodded and continued:
"How many women between 18 to 25 years old are there in our base? Of course, they must be unmarried."
Hearing this, Wan’er reached into her bosom, pulled out a notebook, and swiftly flicked through it, then spoke to Lin Yi:
"Master, there aren’t many women around 25 years old who haven’t married, but there are quite a few around 18 years old who are unmarried, adding up to about a thousand."
Hearing this, the corners of Lin Yi’s mouth slightly curled up, and then he said:
"Alright, gather them and see if any are willing to become soldiers.
If they are, gather them all together. I am considering forming an all-female military unit."
This statement completely stunned Wan’er; she froze on the spot, somewhat unable to react.
"Master, what did you say? A women’s military unit? There has never been such a thing since ancient times."
"Just because it never existed doesn’t mean it can’t exist.
Besides, aren’t you a woman too?
Haven’t there been no women doing the job of a steward traditionally?"
With this, Wan’er was speechless.
Thinking about it, it was indeed the case; positions like her own traditionally had no women.
This left her temporarily unable to refute Lin Yi’s words, so she just nodded in understanding.
"Don’t worry, tell them that I will form a separate guard for them, which will train separately from the male soldiers.
Whether it’s the training grounds or the living quarters, everything will be separate, not mixed with them.
Moreover, the benefits for the female soldiers will be double those of the male soldiers."
Wan’er still didn’t understand Lin Yi’s thinking, but since the master had instructed, she nodded, kept it in mind, and quickly went to handle the matter.
But as soon as Wan’er left, Xiao Xiao couldn’t help but walk up and gently started to massage Lin Yi’s shoulders.
Feeling the soft hands kneading on his shoulders, Lin Yi directly pulled her into his arms...