After the tank was destroyed, the German soldiers—who seemed to have appeared out of nowhere—quickly retreated.
Once the fighting ended, the first priority was to treat the wounded and tally the results.
Three dead, four wounded—Li Changgen himself among the injured.
One tank destroyed, five crew members killed, plus five German infantry corpses left behind.
"Three to ten! A resounding initial victory!"
Soon, the battle report from the 13th Reconnaissance Team spread through the task force. It might have seemed like an insignificant skirmish, but for the task force, it was hugely significant. After all, it was their first victory—and their opponent was the Germans.
Even Sun Delin, the head of the security team, was beaming with joy as he delivered the report.
"Officer, based on the usual casualty ratios, the German losses should be around twenty. Plus, we destroyed a tank. Even back home, this would be worth writing about. I believe the brothers of the 13th Reconnaissance Team should be commended and rewarded."
Pierre did not immediately agree to Sun Delin’s suggestion. Instead, he invited him to sit down. After finishing the last stroke of his drawing, he finally looked up at Sun Desen and said:
"Supervisor Sun, our Zhenhua Company is a business..."
Hearing this, Sun Delin’s heart sank. Just as he thought the company would not issue any commendations, he heard the boss continue:
"But outstanding employees must be recognized—especially on the battlefield. Hmm, I’ve decided to assign some people to print our own newspaper, dedicated to reporting our news and commending our top performers. Let’s call it the China Times."
As he spoke, Pierre handed Sun Delin the design he had just finished and said:
"This is the design for the ’Azure Dragon Medal’ I just drew. What do you think?"
Sun Delin looked at his boss in surprise.
"Yes. Words alone aren’t enough; commendations need proof. This medal will serve as evidence of merit."
In fact, everything Pierre did had one goal—to strengthen the sense of team honor and collective belonging.
A decent salary can certainly attract people and win their loyalty, but only a sense of belonging and honor can truly make them part of the group—eventually, making them one with the collective.
Only then would this army truly be his.
A beautifully printed newspaper, a detailed battlefield report, and a few photos—what do these bring?
Sometimes, honor is even more powerful than money.
Even more effective is compensation for the families. The newspaper also published information about the three fallen team members, noting that the company had already paid $1,000 in compensation. According to the agreement between the company and the insurance provider, their families would receive an additional $2,000 in death benefits. Only then did everyone realize that the company had purchased life insurance for all task force members.
In China, that was an enormous sum—many people would never earn that much in a lifetime.
Faced with such a huge compensation, everyone fell silent. At the same time, a strange emotion welled up inside them—for the first time, they felt a sense of belonging to this group.
After this small-scale skirmish, the changes within the task force were obvious. In a sense, it was a transformation of the soul.
In the days that followed, the 23 reconnaissance teams under the task force scoured France and other countries for abandoned German weapons. After the Allies joined forces at Lyon, they even made their way to Normandy, searching the steel-reinforced Atlantic Wall...
Searching for weapons inside concrete bunkers, dragging out one artillery piece after another—these Soviet- or French-made cannons, which the Allied forces looked down upon, were nonetheless rare and valuable heavy artillery for those back home.
There were plenty of cannons, but shells were in short supply. After all, they were all captured spoils of war. Even so, the sheer amount of weaponry and equipment the domestic side managed to find still came as a shock. While marveling at the sheer quantity of abandoned German weapons, there was still heated debate over whether to send a second group of personnel.
"...Because the personnel we send must have at least a high school education, there are very few educated youths like that back home. The Youth Army being formed domestically is already short on manpower. If we transfer another 20,000 people, it will stretch their forces dangerously thin, so all sides are opposed to it. Moreover, some people are even claiming in the newspapers that the government is handing over soldiers to foreign companies, which is basically the same as selling them off as indentured laborers. So, there’s considerable resistance at the moment..."
Zhao Xiyong, who was in charge of the liaison office, had always been responsible for communications with home. He had originally been excited to request more personnel from back home, but hadn’t expected so many complications to arise.
"Selling people like pigs..."
Pierre frowned deeply. Although he had no intention of getting involved in domestic affairs, he desperately needed manpower now.
After thinking for a moment, Pierre said, "Get in touch with home. What if we recruit people ourselves?"
"Recruit ourselves?" Zhao Xiyong asked, puzzled.
"Yes, the company sends staff to recruit employees directly in China. Place ads in the newspapers, publicize our compensation—$20 a month in salary, plus a $5 field allowance. I refuse to believe that with such good pay, we can’t get a mere 20,000 people."
Then, Pierre deliberately emphasized, "And make sure to place those ads in the very newspapers accusing me of selling people—pay for the ads in US dollars. I’d like to see if they find American dollars too ’hot to handle.’"
The boss’s decision left Zhao Xiyong momentarily stunned, then he quickly replied, "Chief Li, with our compensation, if we advertise, we could easily recruit not just 20,000, but even 200,000 people."
If anyone wanted to know what real financial clout looked like, Pierre intended to show everyone back home just how generous he could be. After all, it was just a matter of money, and the Americans were footing the bill anyway.
"Before departure, each person can be given a $50 relocation allowance in advance."
Zhao Xiyong was surprised. "We’re giving out US dollars in China too?"
"Yes, in US dollars!" Pierre nodded and said, "As for the staff sent to China, we can transfer some employees from the Assam branch office and have them bring the dollars over. Trust me, nobody will complain about being paid in US dollars."
The Assam branch office had been set up at the beginning of the year to oversee the transportation of d weapons, and had over a thousand staff. The branch manager, Zhu Yihai, was one of Pierre’s earliest team members.
"Secretary Lin," Pierre instructed his secretary, "send a telegram to Manager Zhu and have him personally take charge of this matter. Make sure it’s done well."