222: Selection

In the open space between the two Encampments, over forty thousand Great Qin People waited.

Before them, a temporary platform had been erected, and the Generals all stood upon it.

"Those skilled in horsemanship, advance five hundred paces!"

"The rest, retreat five hundred paces!" Li Mu shouted!

The over forty thousand Qin People below, who had a desire to serve their country, acted according to the instructions, with nearly a third of them walking forward.

Most of them were previously citizens from the border of Shang Commandery, and those who now wished to join the Army to kill Xiongnu people and avenge themselves were all quite capable, so horsemanship was naturally not an issue.

After waiting for the time it takes for half an incense stick to burn, the crowd finally took their positions. Lin Yue, Xiong Qi, and Luo Xi were somewhat surprised to see over ten thousand Soldiers all skilled in horsemanship; they hadn't expected so many people.

Li Mu glanced at Lin Yue and, seeing him nod slightly, continued to shout:

"Those skilled in archery, move five hundred paces to the right!"

The sparse crowd below moved to the right, with nearly half of the people doing so.

Lin Yue made a rough estimate, about six thousand people. However, many of them looked sallow and emaciated, clearly having suffered long-term oppression, so a batch of them would still need to be eliminated.

"Zi Long, A Rong, Jiye, each of you lead people to inspect and select Soldiers who meet the White Horse Righteous Cavalry' selection criteria," Lin Yue said.

"Understood!" the men responded, heading straight for the crowd.

Lin Yue watched them, his brow slightly furrowed, wondering how many would ultimately remain.

However, Luo Xi, who was beside him, was beaming with delight; he was already very satisfied with this result!

Because he had taken a quick look, among these Great Qin citizens, those who couldn't ride horses could serve as infantry; those who couldn't ride but were skilled in archery could be used as crossbowmen; as for those who were sallow, emaciated, and lacked strength, they could be responsible for transport.

Of course, if one was skilled in both riding and archery, they could directly join the light cavalry! After all, the Army had now captured countless warhorses and urgently needed cavalrymen!

Although few of these Qin People, whom Lin Yue didn't think highly of, could join the Great Wall Legion, at least twenty thousand could serve in the Army's logistics!

After all, although they currently looked sallow and emaciated, most of those who survived the Xiongnu people's enslavement had good physical fitness. As long as they recovered for a period of time, serving in logistics would not be a problem.

What was most commendable was that there were still a continuous stream of captives being escorted back. If all were like today, accumulated over time, they could replace the original logistical Soldiers, allowing the original logistical Soldiers to be transferred to various armies, which would greatly alleviate the current pressure on troop sources!

Lin Yue also used the Art of Recognizing People to roughly inspect some individuals and found that most of them were barely at the strength of a mid-tier Soldier, with only a few having the strength of a high-tier Soldier.

As for the crowd that had retreated five hundred paces, most were low-tier Soldiers, and some even lacked the strength of a low-tier Soldier.

This made Lin Yue somewhat troubled.

After an incense stick's time, the Generals each selected some people to the vicinity, and Lin Yue asked:

"How many people are qualified?"

"My Lord, only a thousand or so meet the White Horse Righteous Cavalry' standard," Zhao Yun said with a difficult expression.

He knew this was far from what his Lord had in mind. Only a thousand or so was nowhere near enough to fill the huge gap of one hundred thousand troops!

"It doesn't matter, you all go and see how many meet the Great Wall Legion infantry standard. After selecting them, we will exchange them with General She Jian; not a single person should be wasted!" Lin Yue said with a wry smile.

Adhering to the principle that waste meant loss, Lin Yue was not prepared to let a single person go!

"Understood." Everyone returned to select again.

Luo Xi, on the other hand, looked at Lin Yue in surprise, thinking, "Good heavens, he's really a miser, not leaving anything for himself!"

He was about to speak up and dissuade him, but after a moment's thought, he forcibly held back the words he wanted to say about reserving some people for the Great Wall Legion, because more people would come, and there was no rush at this moment.

There was no need to lose Lin Yue's face over such a small matter, as he was currently very popular.

The scope of this inspection was much larger than before, and the corresponding time was also longer.

It wasn't until sunset that Lin Yue and the others finished their work and returned to the Encampment.

This trip could supplement the White Horse Righteous Cavalry with over a thousand Soldiers and an additional four thousand infantry.

Lin Yue planned that once he found She Jian, he would make an exchange with him; even exchanging for a thousand people would be a gain!

Afterward, Lin Yue began his third study of The Art of War, continuing until the next morning.

At the same time, Luo Xi reported his observations from the day to General Meng Tian.

"Great General, This humble general believes this approach is feasible! According to the current trend, we will have at least thirty thousand additional logistical Soldiers each month.

This way, the outstanding logistical Soldiers can be supplemented into various armies," Luo Xi said.

General Meng Tian pondered silently and finally said, "Then I will leave it to you to oversee.

Remember not to coerce the Qin People."

"Understood!" Luo Xi responded... Xianyang City.

A servant walked silently within the vast palace walls, strangely making no sound with his footsteps, like a ghost.

The guards and others around seemed to ignore him, and only when the servant stepped into the hall did they feel the atmosphere around them become less tense.

"Your Majesty," the servant said softly, bowing and presenting a secret memorial with both hands.

The First Emperor put down the memorial in his hand, took it with one hand, and quietly flipped through the thirty-seven secret memorials, his face expressionless.

It wasn't until the last page that The First Emperor's lips curved into a slight smile, and he chuckled, "The Yang Clan Generals?"

The servant remained silent throughout, like a statue.

Then The First Emperor said, "Summon Lu Sheng to the hall."