Chapter 238: The New Recruits

The Miao people lived in poverty and were more willing to become soldiers for food than the Li people. In the Ming Dynasty, the indigenous soldiers of the Miao, Yao, and Dong ethnic groups in the southwest were recruited to fight on many occasions. The most famous was Qin Liangyu’s White Pole Army. As long as they were well-trained and commanded, their combat effectiveness as infantry in this era was quite good. Wei Aiwen and his team’s recruitment activities in the Miao villages went very smoothly, but the time and manpower costs were ridiculously high. The Miao villages were more remote than the Li villages, located in higher and deeper mountains. If it weren’t for the guidance of the merchants, they would have had trouble finding the places.

In the end, Wei Aiwen recruited four companies in Changhua, two of which were Miao. If he had been willing to recruit without restraint, he could have recruited more people. Considering that the Li and Miao populations generally suffered from malaria and had poor physical fitness, requiring a large cost for treatment and recuperation, he desisted. It would not be too late to make full use of these populations in the future when resources were more abundant.

These soldiers were all concentrated in Changhua for quarantine and treatment, and for preliminary centralized training. The training camp was set up outside Changhua Fort. Their instructor was Old Di from the Training Directorate. He had been squeezed out by the “American faction” officers led by Shi Zhiqi for vigorously promoting so-called “German-style” training in the Marine Corps and attempting to equip the Marine Corps with mountain caps. He applied to the Training Directorate. Although Fu Sansi was not interested in his so-called “German-style” training and German style, he saw that Old Di was quite energetic. A military training instructor mainly needed enthusiasm, drive, and abundant physical strength. It was impossible to shout at new recruits and kick them every day without some physical strength. He was immediately appointed as a military training instructor of the Education Directorate, leading a group of sergeants and master sergeants to train new recruits and militiamen every day.

After the General Staff’s plan to recruit Japanese and Li and Miao new recruits as a public security force came out, Fu Sansi placed the training base for this group of people in Changhua. The public security force to be formed from these soldiers did not belong to the formal sequence of the Fubo Army, not even the quasi-military force of the National Army. If there was any similar analogy, the public security force was actually like “Blackwater”—mercenaries, but with a much lower cost.

Since they were mercenaries, it was not appropriate to train them at Maniao Fort. Changhua was sparsely populated, and the terrain was more complex than Lin’gao. More importantly, the local area had a certain infrastructure, which could be used for small-scale troop training without too much expansion.

The recruited Li and Miao soldiers were almost immediately put into basic training after the “purification” procedure. Changhua was sparsely populated and did not require a long period of quarantine. A medical team led by Lei En, sent from Lin’gao, conducted physical examinations and treatment for them. In the old world, Lei En had worked in the disease control department. Although he had not had much contact with malaria, he had at least studied it.

To reduce the consumption of drugs and avoid spreading the infection, a smear test for malaria parasites was conducted during the recruitment of soldiers. Those with more severe malaria were not recruited.

What puzzled Lei En, who was in charge of the testing, was that some of the applicants, although from villages with malaria patients, were not infected with malaria. It seemed that they had some kind of antibody. He remembered that some materials suggested that this was because thalassemia was common in the southwestern coastal areas, and malaria parasites could not infect thalassemia patients.

“Could this be true?” Unfortunately, the conditions in Changhua were limited, and Lei En could not test those soldiers for thalassemia for the time being.

What was sent from Lin’gao was not the traditional specific drugs for treating malaria in the old world: quinine, primaquine, chloroquine, or artemisinin, but the Chinese medicine preparations “Malaria Powder” and “Changshan Decoction,” which were experimentally produced by the Ministry of Health based on the prescriptions provided by Daoist Zhang.

These two preparations were formulas that were considered to have a certain effect after a large number of clinical applications by Chinese medicine personnel in the 1950s and 1960s, when China could not yet produce quinine and other anti-malarial drugs on its own. At that time, artemisia was also selected. However, the extraction and purification of artemisinin required a considerable scale of chemical industry as support, so the Ministry of Health could only temporarily use the less effective Malaria Powder and Changshan Decoction. They were produced on a small scale by the Runshitang Pharmaceutical Company and used in the hospitals and clinics under the Ministry of Health, as well as by the Li and Miao Affairs Office and the Religious Affairs Office.

Malaria Powder was made from a combination of atractylodes, angelica, and cinnamon twigs, and was prepared into a powder. When used, the adult dosage was 1g or more, and the child’s dosage was reduced accordingly. Half an hour before the onset of malaria, the “Malaria Powder” was wrapped in gauze and inserted into the nostrils for about 3-4 hours, and taken out after the onset of malaria until the sweating period. It could be used again before the next attack. One dose of the medicine could be used more than 3 times.

If the symptoms disappeared after use, a blood test could be done the next day. If it was positive, it could be used again. According to the clinical trials of the General Hospital of the Ministry of Health, this preparation and Changshan Decoction did have a therapeutic effect on some malaria patients. After a few times, the malaria parasites actually disappeared during the blood test.

However, the overall effective rate was not as high as stated in the books. But this was at least a means of treating malaria. It should be known that according to the standards of the old world, the effect of quinine, a specific drug in history, was also very general, not to mention its great side effects.

The two major religious sects of the Religious Affairs Office were the largest users of these two Chinese patent medicines. When proselytizing in the Li areas, medical and health methods were the most effective, and malaria was a common disease among the Li and Miao people. Daoist Zhang had originally obtained a large number of believers in southern Qiong with these two drugs.

The Li and Miao Affairs Office had also distributed many of these drugs, mainly by sending health teams. The main purpose of the so-called health teams was to trade with the Li areas. It was just that a health worker was sent with the team, bringing medicine to the villages for diagnosis and treatment. This diagnosis and treatment was free, and the main purpose was of course to win over the people. Secondly, it was also to provide independent diagnosis and treatment internship opportunities for the health workers and nurses who had attended the health training classes.

Mu Min herself had personally led teams to several villages and knew what this kind of health service meant in the mountain villages. So, it was not surprising to her that they were able to recruit many soldiers so smoothly this time. It should be known that at the beginning, many Elders were skeptical about whether they could recruit Li and Miao able-bodied men as soldiers.

The able-bodied men were undergoing the most basic drill training under Old Di’s shouts. The infantry companies composed of Li and Miao people were temporarily not prepared to be equipped with firearms—they were equipped with Type 1631 standard knives. Therefore, the training content was also greatly reduced. They did not conduct complex drill transformations and anti-cavalry charge exercises, nor did they conduct Minie rifle shooting training. They only conducted the most basic drill, basic tactical movements, and physical fitness training. After the basic training was over, they would undergo two weeks of tactical training for mountain warfare and village and town public security operations.

Mu Min watched the new recruits, who were wearing somewhat oversized training uniforms and looked severely malnourished, for a while. After a few days of training, their movements had begun to take shape. Then she turned her gaze with interest to Old Di. He was not wearing the uniform of the Fubo Army, but a “German-style” mixed uniform that looked hot. The upper body was an African Corps standard tropical shirt, while the lower body was wearing combat boots, German army leggings, and knee pads. He wore a double-breasted leather belt and a soft-top field cap—of course, all were domestically produced civilian versions.

Next to Old Di stood a young girl, wearing the uniform of a female student of the Lin’gao National School, holding a tin megaphone. Every time Old Di said a word, she would quickly pick up the megaphone and say a few words. This translator sometimes obviously did not know how to translate certain commands and had to discuss with Old Di. Most of the Li people did not understand Chinese—let alone Mandarin. Chinese language teaching could not be done overnight, so they had to learn while training.

Mu Min knew that this girl was Bi Da. When they left Changhua and returned to Lin’gao, they had taken her with them. She had studied Chinese at the National School for a period of time and had also received basic literacy education, obtaining a C-level diploma. As one of the very few “completely reliable” Li people controlled by the Li and Miao Affairs Office, she was sent back to Changhua as soon as her studies were over to serve as a staff member of the local Li and Miao Affairs Office. On the one hand, she acted as a translator, dealing with the local Li people, and on the other hand, she collected information on the local Meifu Li. Mu Min had read some of her reports, which were written in crooked simplified characters and full of typos.

Bi Da played a very important role in Changhua. Although they also had local people like Wang Daliang who had close ties with the Li villages, they were not from the Li villages after all. Compared to Bi Da, who was a native Li, they were inferior in terms of negotiation and information collection. In particular, Fang Jinghan had collected a large amount of first-hand information on the local Meifu Li through conversations with her.

Both Mu Min and Fang Jinghan, who was currently in charge of the daily affairs of the Li and Miao Affairs Office, attached great importance to her. Every time they came to Changhua, they would talk to her and bring her many booklets to personally cultivate her. Mu Min had even once wanted her to study for a B-level diploma at the National School.

It was not only the Li and Miao Affairs Office that had taken a liking to Bi Da; Daoquanzi was also full of interest in her. After a successful proselytizing activity, Daoist Zhang persuaded Bi Da to believe in the New Daoism. Then he wanted to cultivate this girl into a “libationer” of the New Daoism, to become his capable assistant in proselytizing in the Li areas—if possible, to become a role model.

Unfortunately, Bi Da’s enthusiasm for learning was average. The Li people did not have the universal recognition that “all things are inferior, only reading is superior.” Therefore, both the plan for further studies at the National School and Daoquanzi’s religious studies came to nothing. However, in the past two years, Bi Da could at least communicate with the Elders without any barriers, and her loyalty to the Council of Elders was also high enough. She was obviously quite qualified as a bridge between the Council of Elders and the Meifu Li.