Newborn 1927

Peng Dahu suddenly spoke up, "Let me interject. This living allowance, in my view, is like military pay. Once it's decided to issue it, it can't be canceled, delayed, or withheld; otherwise… military pay disputes often cause major chaos. Can our mountain income guarantee this living allowance will be issued long-term?" He himself had served in the military and voiced his concerns. This question needed Yang Jiefang's answer, who countered, "Brother Peng, may I ask how much your monthly military pay was when you were in the army?" Peng Dahu replied, "A common soldier only got two silver dollars a month. If you reached the rank of company commander, your pay was quite high, twenty silver dollars a month. If it was paid on time and in full every month, it was pretty good. If our Qinglong Village could issue living allowances at that rate, hehe, in less than three months, I guarantee our numbers would multiply several times over."

Yang Jiefang turned and asked, "Manager Li, how are the wages calculated for the laborers we've recently recruited in our stronghold?" Carpenter Li replied, "Ordinary strong laborers receive two meals a day plus two jin of millet; those with skills receive a little more depending on their proficiency; their master craftsmen, or foremen, receive three jin of millet a day." In this era, the financial system was extremely chaotic, and the quality of silver and copper coins minted in different regions varied greatly. Ordinary people preferred to use millet, cotton cloth, and other goods as general equivalents in daily transactions. Yang Jiefang mentally calculated that two silver dollars could buy eighty or ninety jin of millet. The salary of an ordinary soldier was equivalent to that of a master craftsman, and this soldier was provided with food, clothing, and shelter. It was clear that being a soldier and receiving rations was actually quite a good deal. After a moment's thought, Yang Jiefang added, "Master Kong, then I suggest that the minimum living allowance for our combat personnel be set at two silver dollars per month."

Master Kong frowned and said, "You're quite generous. Although our village has some money now, it won't last long once we have more manpower. I'm afraid we can't support ourselves with just one vermicelli workshop." This reminded Yang Jiefang, who immediately asked, "Manager Wu, how's the vermicelli workshop's output?" Old Wu replied, "That foreign machine you bought is really good! If we put it into full production, it can crush tens of thousands of catties of sweet potatoes a day. But right now, everyone's rinsing speed can't keep up, and there aren't enough rinsing tanks, so we can only crush four or five thousand catties of sweet potatoes a day, producing a little over a thousand catties of vermicelli. One catty of vermicelli can be exchanged for three catties of millet, and one catty of millet can be exchanged for five catties of sweet potatoes. After deducting all costs, this vermicelli workshop can barely support the people in our village. If we want to give everyone subsidies, that won't be enough."

Yang Jiefang laughed, "Don't forget, we also have a pig farm. Right now, the pig farm has about two hundred sows. Each sow gives birth to two litters of piglets a year, averaging fifteen piglets per litter, so each sow can produce thirty piglets a year. Assuming an 80% survival rate, that's twenty-four piglets, and each pig yields one hundred jin of meat. Let's calculate how many jin of pork our pig farm produces each year!" Before he finished speaking, Kong Zongru said, "That's four hundred and eighty thousand jin of pork." He's certainly a master calculator; he's quick with the numbers. Yang Jiefang continued, "I promise everyone we'll eat meat once every three days, half a jin per person, so each person will only consume sixty jin of meat a year. And with extra meals during holidays, let's say one hundred jin per person a year. With over five hundred people in our village, that's only about fifty thousand jin of meat a year. How much is that left over in money?" Kong Zongru immediately replied, "If we exchange nine jin of pork for one silver dollar, that's over forty-seven thousand silver dollars. But the pig farm also has costs, I don't know the exact amount, but I estimate one thousand silver dollars per month. So, we can have a surplus of three thousand five hundred silver dollars per month." Yang Jiefang continued, "And the chicken farm, my plan is to raise over one hundred thousand live chickens annually. That will add tens of thousands of silver dollars in surplus. With these two sources of income, we should be able to provide living allowances for our brothers on the mountain!" This wasn't just empty talk; the numbers were laid out before them, and everyone smiled broadly. Liu Heizi couldn't help but praise, "Sure enough, Brother Wolf was right, following Brother Yang means you'll get to eat meat."

Niu Sanbian interjected, "Don't get too excited yet. To achieve such a large output, we need a lot of manpower. Right now, most of the able-bodied men on the mountain have been reassigned to combat training, leaving production behind. We can't manage so much work with just over a hundred elderly, weak, women, and children." Tian Wu immediately agreed, "Yes, we can recruit some villagers from nearby now, but by next spring, when everyone is busy, we won't have nearly enough manpower." Yang Jiefang said, "Then let's recruit some long-term laborers from other places. We'll provide food and lodging, and pay them wages. Some farmers without land will be willing to work. Recruiting three to five hundred people will solve the manpower shortage problem. Don't worry about us not being able to support them; there are many ways to make money. If we have enough manpower, we can explore other ways to earn money."

Master Kong said, "Finding workers is easy, that's not a problem. The problem now is that the Dragon, Tiger, Leopard, and Wolf teams each only have about twenty people, while your Liberation team has over two hundred. Isn't this manpower allocation a bit unreasonable?" Yang Jiefang immediately understood; this was probably the core issue of today's discussion. Hou Fei, quick-witted, immediately retorted, "Huh? What's unreasonable about it? Does our stronghold have regulations on the number of people in each team?" Master Kong frowned, somewhat speechless. Kong Zongru said, “Our stronghold doesn’t specify the exact number of people in each team. However, the other four teams only have about twenty people each, while your Liberation Team has over two hundred, more than double the combined number of the other four teams. That’s a bit unreasonable. In our stronghold, when something happens, each team takes turns. If it’s a good thing, it’s bad for your Liberation Team; if it’s bad, it’s bad for the other four teams. It’s better to have a balanced number of people in each team. Whether it’s a good thing or a bad thing, everyone takes turns, and no one loses out.” Hou Fei laughed, “It’s okay, we’re not afraid of losing out. If something bad happens and you’re too scared to go, we can go instead.” Sun Zhiyong patted Hou Fei on the shoulder and said, “Little Monkey is right, I agree.” The others also realized what was going on. No matter where you are, whoever has more men and guns has more power. The Kong family’s intentions were clear: they were targeting Yang Jiefang and wanted to weaken the strength of Yang Jiefang’s forces.

Yang Jiefang disregarded the Kong family father and son, but looked at the Black Widow and her daughter. He wasn't sure if this was the Kong family's or the Black Widow's intention. The Black Widow remained expressionless, her face as dark as ever, and his thoughts were unclear. Gao Huilan, however, smiled slightly at Yang Jiefang. He saw goodwill in her expression and immediately understood that Hou Fei and the others had been asked to participate in the meeting today, likely to support him. Yang Jiefang smiled slightly in return and nodded, indicating that he understood.

Team Leader Li Yichao coughed lightly and said, "You may not be afraid of taking a loss, but you have to treat everyone fairly! The brothers on this mountain have always shared both good times and bad times. We can't let the brothers below gossip and cause discord!" Clearly, Li Yichao was on the side of the Kong family. Yang Jiefang retorted, "Then what do you suggest? How can we ensure fairness?" Li Yichao said, "Your Liberation Team originally only had about twenty people. The others weren't originally part of your team. Now that they've been organized into combat personnel, they should naturally be evenly distributed among the teams. When new members join, they should be distributed in the same way to ensure fairness." Yang Jiefang didn't refute this self-serving approach, but instead turned to the others and asked, "Brother Peng, Brother Lin, and Brother Bai, do you three think the same way?" Bai Lang sneered and said, "Fairness and fairness my foot. Of course, whoever is more capable leads more men. Brother Yang's Liberation Team has over two hundred people, which shows he's capable. Unlike some people who have no ability whatsoever but think the entire Qinglong Village belongs to them. What a bunch of idiots!" Kong Zongru clearly knew he was being referred to, but couldn't respond, his face darkening as he lowered his head in silence.

Bai Lang's attitude was clear, and Yang Jiefang continued to observe Peng Dahu and Lin Baozi. These two had always been neutral and rarely expressed their opinions, but now it seemed they couldn't avoid it. Peng Dahu said, "To be honest, I'm not very capable. I'm having trouble managing these twenty-odd men. Having more men is certainly a good thing, but I'm worried I won't be able to command them." Lin Baozi agreed, "Yes, if something happens and you can't command them, that will cause trouble." This reminded Hou Fei, who immediately said, "Commander Li is very capable. He's only worried about having too few men, not too many. How about I transfer my squadron of over thirty men to your Dragon Team? Don't worry, my men are very obedient, and I'm obedient too. I guarantee you can command them." Before he finished speaking, Hou Fei chimed in, "I also have over thirty men here. If Commander Li still feels he doesn't have enough, transfer us over too!" Li Yichao and Kong Zongru frowned. Manpower could be transferred, but whether they would obey was another matter entirely. Such a systematic transfer of manpower was certainly not what they wanted. Li Yichao said, "You guys are fine. If you're really willing, just transfer a few people from the main hall and the lower hall over." Hou Fei immediately laughed and said, "That's not a problem either. I'll ask everyone later. If anyone is willing to follow you, I'll definitely release them; but if they're not willing, we can't force them, can we?" This stumped Li Yichao and the others. How many people were willing to abandon Yang Jiefang and join Li Yichao?

The atmosphere suddenly became tense. Yang Jiefang smiled and said, "Actually, I also think the current personnel structure is unreasonable. We originally planned to reorganize in three months, but it seems we can't wait that long. Since we've already discussed this issue, we might as well reorganize the combat personnel as soon as possible to facilitate future daily training and to handle various emergencies." Everyone was surprised and looked at Yang Jiefang. Master Kong asked, "Then how do you think we should reorganize?"

Yang Jiefang said, “We have over three hundred combat personnel in our stronghold, each with their own skills. We should use them according to their abilities and make the most of their strengths. For example, the ‘Flying Horse’ squadron consists of skilled horsemen from the stronghold. We can form a separate cavalry squadron for them. With enough horses, they can quickly maneuver and fight. Everyone knows this advantage, so I won’t elaborate. There’s also Bao Ziqiang and Chu Shiwu’s squad, who are good at intelligence gathering. We might as well form a separate intelligence squad. In addition, I think we should conduct a selection process throughout the stronghold to choose those with special skills and form a special operations team. The remaining people can be divided into 25 squads of 10 to 12 people each, and evenly distributed among the Dragon Team, Tiger Team, Leopard Team, Wolf Team, and Liberation Team. In this way, each of our five teams will have five squads, with an equal number of people. The intelligence team, cavalry team, and special operations team will be independent of our five teams, with the same status as our five teams, and will not be under the command of our five teams.”

Everyone could tell that Yang Jiefang wasn't joking; besides their surprise, their thoughts were naturally divided. Master Kong pressed on, "What does this special forces team do? Is it any different?" Yang Jiefang replied, "A special forces team is, of course, a detachment responsible for special operations. It must be composed of elite personnel, undergo rigorous training, be equipped with the best weapons and equipment, and specialize in high-difficulty missions. For example, infiltrating behind enemy lines to sabotage important enemy facilities, assassinating or kidnapping key enemy personnel, or infiltrating enemy ranks to steal valuable intelligence, and so on." The others didn't quite understand, but they knew this special forces team was no ordinary unit.

Yan Donglai spoke up, "I think I understand now. I remember you mentioned the other day that Lao Gui and I have the talent of special forces. Why don't you let me run this special forces team?" Yang Jiefang laughed, "My idea is for you and Brother Sun to be in charge of this together. Brother Sun is a good shot and is good at shooting moving targets. He's a ready-made sniper! Imagine if government troops come to surround and annihilate us, and the special forces team wipes out their commander and even their command post on the way. Wouldn't that make the battle much easier?"

Li Yichao pressed further, "What makes you think you can train a special forces team?" Yang Jiefang replied confidently, "I'll say it again: give me three months, and I can have one of your special forces squads take down one of your five. If you don't believe me, we can try." Li Yichao frowned; he could tell Yang Jiefang wasn't exaggerating. He nodded and said, "I'll be watching. If you really have that ability, I'll admire you!"

Yang Jiefang then asked, "Does anyone have any opinions or questions about the organizational structure I just mentioned?" The group exchanged glances, seemingly unable to offer any suggestions. Finally, Master Kong raised a question: "Commander Yang is magnanimous! This organizational structure is acceptable. But I'm afraid the brothers below might have objections. Even though they've been assigned, what if they harbor resentment?" Bai Lang sneered, "Heh heh, you're not only considering whether the brothers below are willing now, are you?" Master Kong frowned deeply but didn't refute him. Arguing with a junior would be unbecoming. He turned to Yang Jiefang and continued, "Since Commander Yang has proposed a new organizational structure, I believe he has a way to make these brothers willingly accept the assignments. What do you say, Commander Yang?" Bai Lang couldn't help but mutter under his breath, "Old fox, shameless." Black Widow immediately shouted, "Little Bai, how can you talk like that? No respect for elders, so rude!" Bai Lang immediately lowered his head, not daring to retort.