463: Chapter 463: Recruiting 100,000 Soldiers

"Everyone, please pay attention. There is plenty of food for everyone, and everyone will get some. You all understand what that means, right? So, no one needs to rush, okay? Eating first or eating later is the same thing, so nobody should scramble! Can we agree on that?"

"Folks, please show your support. Is that acceptable or not?"

A middle-aged woman, holding a megaphone and standing on a stool beside the stall, was shouting at the top of her lungs.

"Agreed!"

The crowd shouted back sporadically.

"How about this: let the elderly and children eat first, followed by the young people. Is that all right?"

"Agreed!"

The men in the crowd called out.

Hearing the men's agreement, the middle-aged woman breathed a sigh of relief.

This first meal was the most troublesome; everyone hadn't eaten for a long time, and it was very easy for food-grabbing and stampedes to occur. Therefore, every stall had a guide like her, with the sole purpose of preventing such incidents.

"Alright, let's do this. I have 20 red armbands here. Let's select 10 male volunteers and 10 female volunteers to help us maintain order and do some odd jobs. That way, the work efficiency will be higher. Is that okay?"

"Agreed!"

The crowd shouted.

Why do it this way?

Because it's easier to manage.

Letting them manage themselves yields the best results and avoids conflicts.

Of course, some people are more extroverted and willing to take on this job, while others aren't. It's entirely voluntary.

Soon, twenty people were selected and put on the red armbands.

There were about a thousand people gathered in front of each food stall, and with these twenty people in charge, the scene was firmly under control.

"Everyone, listen up. I guarantee that as long as you follow the rules, everyone will be able to eat their fill. But if anyone refuses to follow instructions and intentionally causes trouble, they will be punished by having to eat instant noodles. Do you understand?"

"Understood!"

"Hahaha~"

The crowd burst into hearty laughter.

They had never heard of anyone being punished by having to eat instant noodles; this was a first.

But, believe it or not, this trick worked.

With meat to eat, who would be foolish enough to eat instant noodles?

Therefore, the scene had completely settled down. They did whatever they were told; no one complained, and no one said another word.

Anyway, they just needed to collect their meals according to their numbers; no one was at a disadvantage, and no one was worried.

In fact, a group of people is easier to manage than an individual. You just need to make everyone feel that things are fair and reasonable, and with a little bit of management technique, no major problems will arise.

The scariest thing is being unfair or having non-transparent processes, which easily stirs up public anger. Once public anger is provoked, the situation will spiral out of control.

The staff were already familiar with this kind of thing, and they could handle it with ease.

...

To accommodate such a large population, the underground living area was designed with extensive connectivity.

Oriental Chen specifically designated living zones and built them in layers.

The living area currently consists of 10 levels. Each level is divided into dozens of small blocks, and each block has two large, independently operating track elevators. Between the blocks are horizontal and vertical traffic lines, equipped with paths for walking or biking, as well as rail lines. The rail lines feature horizontal track elevators that run every few minutes.

Each small block can accommodate about 5,000 people, and if all 10 levels are fully occupied, it can house nearly 3 million people.

This scale is not considered large; many Settlements located in major cities within Huaguo have underground survival bases built to this capacity.

The remaining smaller Settlements have their number of levels designed based on their population size.

So, why did Oriental Chen want to absorb so many people into the Ulan Neutral Zone?

Of course, there was a reason.

He planned to form an army, and the Soldiers would be recruited from this population.

As the saying goes, there are no permanent friends, only permanent interests, and political power grows out of the barrel of a gun.

Moreover, those few mysterious ancient civilizations are likely plotting something big, so it's better to be prepared early.

Three days later, Lu Guyun personally welcomed the 800,000 citizens of Hulun City upon their arrival at Batuo City.

With this, Oriental Chen's plan to recruit people came to a temporary halt.

Subsequently, he appointed Lu Guyun as the Mayor of Batuo City and Sun Zhuo as the Deputy Mayor, leaving them to select the rest of the leadership team themselves.

Soon, the residents settled down in their new home.

Now that there were people, they needed to be assigned tasks.

If they had nothing to do, society would not be very stable.

Thus, Oriental Chen gave Lu Guyun a few more tasks:

First, recruitment, with a target of 100,000 people.

Second, leasing. Every small block in the living area is filled with numerous storefronts, as well as large entertainment centers and many stalls. With more people comes the need for various life services—haircuts, massages, fitness, entertainment, and so on. Once people have businesses to run, their minds will be at ease.

Furthermore, these shops will definitely need staff, which in turn will provide many job opportunities.

Third, formulating temporary laws and regulations.

Nothing can be accomplished without norms or standards; with rules in place, people will have a sense of reverence, and society can stabilize.

Fourth, recruiting for public service positions.

Regarding this, Oriental Chen had only one requirement: no "iron rice bowls" (guaranteed lifetime employment).

If you have the ability, you stay; if you don't, you step down.