In the eighteenth century, the European continent was full of strife and war. In 1701, the Bourbons of France and the Habsburgs of Austria fought over the succession to the throne of Spain, and the war basically affected the great powers of Europe. In 1740, over the question of the succession to the Austrian throne and the choice of the Holy Roman Emperor, the countries of the European continent once again began an eight-year chaos, and the whole of Central Europe was in chaos. However, after the end of this war, Europe did not usher in the dawn of peace, Britain and France in order to compete for colonial hegemony, launched a global war involving more than a dozen European countries, the battlefield throughout the European continent, North America, the Caribbean, the Mediterranean coast and India and the Philippines! It can be said that this is the first real world war in the history of human civilization.

Over the past 100 years, every war in Europe has shown a trend of gradual escalation, with more and more countries participating in the war, and the size of the army invested has also become larger and larger, which has put forward high requirements for the military mobilization capacity of each European power. However, at that time, European countries did not introduce the concept of compulsory military service, but formed a strange conscription system.

At that time, craftsmen, farmers, merchants, and scholars were generally considered to be the creators of national wealth, so countries did not consider serious people in military recruitment. The vagrants who roamed the towns all day long, the drunkards who drank in the bars, and the thieves and criminals who roamed the slums became the best source of soldiers for the army. Because the rulers of various countries believe that these inferior people do not create wealth for the country, but are a destabilizing factor in the problem of social security, it is better to recruit them into the army on the spot, which can be regarded as a legitimate occupation than to keep them as traitors in society.

Looking at the twenty heavily armed sailors sent by Colonel Aldrich to assist in his recruitment, Lin Zihan felt bitter in his heart, he didn't expect that the scene of the people's ** lords forcibly arresting the strong men would be born in his own hands! I don't know how much hatred will be drawn from this conscription, so don't be shot by my soldiers in the future.

The leading sergeant major said to Lin Zihan in a loud voice: "Lieutenant Wickham, Colonel Aldridge asked me to assist you in recruiting troops in the city of Portsmouth. By the way, the colonel also said, let the sir, you must recruit 180 posts within five days, this is an order, if it is overdue, it will be dealt with by military law! "Originally, the standard manning of a British company was 80 to 100 privates, 5 sergeant majors, 3 officers, and 1 flute, drummer, and flag-bearer, but this time the newly established independent company was not only to serve as the guard of the mission, but also to be assigned to each warship to serve as the fleet's melee firepower, so the Admiralty order expanded the size of the independent company to an unprecedented 180 men.

Lin Zihan waved his hand arrogantly: "No problem, isn't it just arresting?" In the afternoon we went to the taverns in Portsmouth, where there were probably quite a few drunkards who had not woken up. Barnett and Bert, the two rich children next to him, nodded in agreement, in their hearts, it was easier to recruit soldiers than to fight, right?

When Ai Wen heard and looked at Lin Zihan's heroic appearance, he couldn't help but smile a little bitterly in his heart, this commander's fighting skills are good, but unfortunately he still has no experience in leading troops in the army. "Sir, I have to remind you that there is not even a single beggar in the city of Portsmouth now, let alone a vagrant!" After all, this is his superior, and Ai Wen had to pour cold water on the three of them.

Damn, when did Portsmouth become so rich that it didn't even have a single beggar? In the future, New York, which was known as the capital of the world, had tens of thousands of homeless people, not to mention this era when half of the population had not been lifted out of poverty, which is simply unscientific. Although Lin Zihan didn't say anything, the look in his eyes was obviously distrustful.

Looking at Lin Zihan's puzzled expression, Ai Wen had no choice but to explain to the three military juniors: "That's the case, sir. First of all, Portsmouth is a military port, and every time a warship docks, the homeless people will temporarily take refuge in the nearby towns, and these untouchables are well informed, who would be so stupid as to wait for the officers who have replenished the army to arrest them?"

Ai Wen paused in his tone, observed Lin Zihan's face, and continued: "Secondly, the expeditionary fleet has been docked in Portsmouth Harbor for eight days, and those guys in the navy have already scraped Portsmouth to the bottom, can it be our turn?" Lin Zihan, Barnett and Bert looked at each other, they didn't expect that a small conscription would have so many twists and turns, if it wasn't for Ai Wen's reminder, he wouldn't have let the twenty or so sailors show the joke!

Ai Wen's joy of being promoted to an officer faded at this moment, and he looked at his future colleagues and superiors, it was simply a military trio, such an officer team still has a hairy soldier!

Only then did Lin Zihan pay attention to this second lieutenant Ai Wen, who was promoted from the navy, this is a real military adviser, otherwise with his knowledge of these three knives, and those two guys who look like little white faces, they really can't lead a company. Lin Zihan, who had an idea, was not afraid of jokes, and asked shamelessly: "Second Lieutenant Aiwen, then what do you say we are going to do?" If I can't recruit enough soldiers in five days, Colonel Aldrich, that old fellow, won't take the opportunity to turn my face on me. As soon as Lin Zihan's words fell, the three guys all rolled their eyes in unison, thinking that their chief really dared to say anything, and he was really a guy who was excellent in the back and stage! Of course, these are the results of Bert's brain opening up his own brain. In fact, it's not to blame Lin Zihan for not choosing what to say, Colonel Aldrich made it clear that he was out of trouble to find fault, and he was not angry in his heart, anyway, it was just a few scoldings left and right.

Ai Wen's sense of Lin Zihan is better, most British people are more good-looking, and there are really not many bosses who can ask their subordinates for advice. Evan no longer holds back, and speaks of his experience: "Lieutenant Wickham, I know that there is a town called Winterson near Portsmouth, and there is a tavern there that is a favorite place for many sailors, and maybe we can try our luck there. But I still have to warn you, sir, that even if you capture all the people in that tavern, there will be less than one hundred and eighty people, so you'd better be prepared. ”

Lin Zihan nodded and said: "Aiwen, at present, we can only take one step at a time, if it doesn't work, we will go to London, and the beggars in the East District can't be caught!" Of course, Lin Zihan's words were just to encourage his subordinates, if he really went to London to recruit soldiers, it would take more than six days to go back and forth.

After lunch, Lin Zihan borrowed enough horses from the barracks, took his three subordinates and twenty temporarily seconded sailors, and all of them mounted and went straight to Winterson Town. Fortunately, at this time, most European villages had the habit of raising horses, so there were no soldiers who could not ride horses. And just like that, a makeshift patchwork cavalry team appeared "gorgeously". In the afternoon, the town of Winterson is bathed in warm sunshine, and the moist sea breeze blowing from the sea just relieves the heat of summer. A well-dressed lady is strolling through the breezy streets with a sheepdog from Germany, forming a beautiful picture of the English countryside. At this moment, the sound of horses' hooves broke the silence, and a group of soldiers in military uniforms were galloping towards the town on sturdy military horses, frightening the nobles to lose their faces, while the servants nervously placed the salt-sniffing pots under the noses of the ladies and ladies, lest the delicate ladies and ladies faint.

Lin Zihan looked triumphantly at the galloping cavalry team, and his heart was agitated. Every man has a dream of a general in his heart, and he dreams of one day being able to command thousands of troops and horses to charge into battle, and it seems that this sentence is not false at all. The entire makeshift motley cavalry didn't slow down, but headed straight for the town's "Little Red House" tavern under Aven's belt.

After arriving at the place, Lin Zihan took the horsewhip and began to assign tasks.

"Barnett, you lead ten men to lock off the back of the tavern for me, and not a single rat can be released!"

"Yes, sir."

"Aven, you go to the magistrate in this town and explain it, and hope he will forgive us for our surprise visit."

"Yes, sir."

"Bert, you take the rest of the people, go in with me and arrest people!"

"Yes, sir."

The many drunkards and sailors in the tavern were pouring gin into their mouths and talking loudly about what they had seen at sea, unaware of the danger coming. Some of the dancers are like little bees, weaving through the noisy crowd, but not to collect nectar, but to sell themselves to those who want to vent, and earn a little bit of hard money to buy black bread.

Suddenly, the door of the tavern was kicked open with a thud, and a group of sailors in white linen jackets and black straight-leg trousers poured into the tavern with muskets, looking at the guests with shiny eyes as if they were piles of glowing gold coins. The whole tavern suddenly fell into silence, and everyone looked at the group of uninvited guests, wondering what these soldiers were doing here with their guns.

"Damn! I'm here to recruit soldiers!" A bearded man suddenly shouted to his feet, and then ran frantically towards the small door at the back of the tavern. However, the guy did not succeed in escaping, and two minutes later, Barnett, who was carrying his face, dragged the big man back like a dead dog: "Sir, do you want me to teach this bug a lesson and let him be honest?" ”

Lin Zihan just waved his hand, signaling that he didn't need to, and then walked in with a "knock" on his military boots. Bert, this guy was very dogged and found a chair for Lin Zihan: "Sir, maybe you need a chair to make yourself more comfortable." Since failing to challenge Lin Zihan three times in a row, Bert has finally conceded. has been in the circle for a long time, Bert has always followed people who are stronger than himself, and Lin Zihan obviously proved that he has the qualifications to be respected by Bert.

Lin Zihan didn't shirk either, he stood on the chair with a golden knife, pressed his hand against the men who looked like they were unlucky, and said, "Gentlemen, the carnival is over. Now, I declare, you have all been drafted into the Marine Corps Separate Company! Rejoice, gentlemen, for you are about to serve the great United Kingdom of Great Britain and His Majesty the Great King George III, in pursuit of your own glory and riches on that vast sea!" Lin Zihan's passionate opening remarks did not win everyone's applause and applause, but everyone in the tavern lowered their heads like frosted eggplants, as if they were silently mourning for themselves.

After Lin Zihan announced the order to be recruited, he ignored the silent crowd in the audience, called Bert and asked, "Second Lieutenant Bert, how many men are there in the tavern?"

Bert quickly took advantage of his position as a child of a merchant family, but after a while, he counted the number of people: "Sixty-seven in all, sir!" Lin Zihan scratched his head with some distress, and it took him a long time to pull in so many people, isn't this waiting for that guy Aldrich to find fault with him?

"Damn, let's just go straight to London and collect the team!" Lin Zihan said a foul language in Chinese, waved his hand, and let the sailors drive the men in the tavern outside, and the men who tried to escape quickly enjoyed the taste of the butt of the gun, and then they became honest.

As soon as everyone was about to leave, a middle-aged woman in a red puffy skirt ran over, grabbed Lin Zihan's hand and said, "Mr. Lieutenant, please don't take my husband away!" My husband is a decent person by profession, and he is not a vagrant. Mr. Lieutenant, please let him go! He went to be a soldier, what can I do with a woman's family alone. ”

Lin Zihan looked at this woman who was dressed up like a female vampire helplessly, pulled out her hand in disgust, and said, "I'm sorry for this, madam." Who is your husband? I'll let my men let him go. ”

The woman happily pointed to a man who had been lifted up by a soldier and said, "Mr. Lieutenant, you are such a good man. My husband was the man in a black jacket and brown straight-leg pants. Yes, yes, that's him. Lin Zihan and Bert looked in the direction pointed by the woman, and found that the guy was already drunk and unconscious, if it weren't for the sailors holding him with guns, I'm afraid he would have fallen to the ground and couldn't get up.

Just as the soldier was about to release him, a young man who looked to be in his early twenties said, "Sir, take this woman's word for it!" The woman was the owner of the tavern, and the man was not her husband at all, who had died of pneumonia four years earlier. That drunkard is just her mistress, who spends all day drinking in the tavern, where can he have any serious work? "It's human nature to look down on others as better than ourselves, especially when the lucky guy wasn't any different from himself a moment ago.

Lin Zihan looked at the pair of lovers with some gossip, and said jokingly: "Madam, it seems that your marriage has not been notarized by the priest, so he can't get God's favor, so I can only take your 'husband'...... Haha" As soon as Lin Zihan finished speaking, Bert, the kid, laughed out loud without figuring it, which made the tavern proprietress so ashamed that she couldn't wait to find a crack in the ground to drill into.

"Take it away!" Lin Zihan didn't go back to the ground and ordered. When the woman saw the soldiers driving her lover forward again, she suddenly became a little anxious, and hurriedly blocked in front of Lin Zihan: "Mr. Lieutenant, we can make a deal." I know where to recruit enough soldiers, but in exchange you have to let him go. ”