Zhao Tianlin chatted with He Rui until evening, still feeling unsatisfied. "Brother He, since you are in Tianjin, allow me to play the host. Call your subordinates, and let's have a meal."

"We must eat, but after eating, I need to hold a meeting with those young men to assign tasks."

After speaking, He Rui saw regret mixed with curiosity in Zhao Tianlin's expression, so he asked, "Would Brother Zhao be willing to participate?"

"Would that... disturb you, Brother He?" Zhao Tianlin asked tentatively out of politeness. Although Zhao Tianlin didn't like the Beiyang Army, He Rui was an exception. Hearing what He Rui would say at the meeting certainly piqued Zhao Tianlin's curiosity.

The group went to a small eatery next to the National Beiyang University. Everyone had a large bowl of noodles and a side dish, slurpingly eating their fill. Back at the dormitory, the young officers respectfully invited Zhao Tianlin to sit in the front row. Zhao Tianlin smiled, let the students sit in the front row closer to He Rui, and pulled up a stool to sit in the back himself.

He Rui took out a drafted document and copied it onto the blackboard while explaining.

According to the "square system" structure [^1]—Regiment, Battalion, Company, Platoon—one regiment has 64 platoons. Each platoon is equipped with one cultural instructor, requiring 64 people. These people do not need a particularly high level of education; graduating from higher primary school is sufficient, though middle school graduation is better. The age should be around 18. Marital status: preferably unmarried.

Zhao Tianlin was an educator himself. Upon learning that He Rui intended to establish cultural instructors in the army to eliminate illiteracy and popularize education among officers and soldiers during their service, he naturally agreed very much. He felt that He Rui was not the kind of person who spoke beautifully but did things unrecognizably. He listened to He Rui's specific arrangements with great interest.

He Rui's arrangement was divided into four stages.

**Phase One:** Hire some people to post posters and distribute flyers in Tianjin. Young men willing to apply should come to the National Beiyang University to sign up. The initial oral and written tests would be completed at the time of registration.

**Phase Two:** Conduct a preliminary review of the applicants. For all those who pass the preliminary review, He Rui and the young officers must go for a home visit according to the address left during registration. Through home visits, they would gain a more detailed understanding of the student's situation.

**Phase Three:** Evaluate the information from the home visits. Members who pass the evaluation will be invited for an interview. If they pass again, they will sign an enlistment agreement and be given a settling-in allowance. These cultural instructors must bring their luggage and move into the dormitories of the National Beiyang University for collective living. Once the number is filled, the unit will depart for the Northeast.

The young officers had no objections to this process, and Zhao Tianlin also felt there was no problem. Seeing that He Rui had assigned specific tasks, the young military men all showed a spirit of gearing up for a big job. Zhao Tianlin stood up to take his leave.

He Rui walked Zhao Tianlin to the school gate. Zhao Tianlin smiled and said, "Brother He really looks like he's running a school; you even have home visits."

"There are quite a few Shandong people 'Braving the Journey to the Northeast' [^2]. I am from Shandong, so I know a few things. If they weren't at a dead end, who would be willing to go outside the pass? Without home visits, how can we know if the families of those applying to be cultural instructors have clean backgrounds?"

Zhao Tianlin was also moved and couldn't help but suggest, "Brother He, regarding going to the Northeast to resist Japan, should we write this on the recruitment brochure? The Tianjin area has been oppressed by foreigners for a long time; many people have long held back a bellyful of anger."

"No need. Serving the country is a long-term endeavor; it requires people with perseverance. If it's just momentary indignation, there might be some effect in the short term. However, this kind of emotion cannot withstand the grinding of time and is prone to discouragement. Walking steadily and surely makes it easier to last."

"Brother He has great insight," Zhao Tianlin praised. "It seems Brother He has already planned carefully; I was abrupt."

"Brother Zhao wants to contribute to the country. How can that be called abrupt?"

Hearing He Rui voice his thoughts, Zhao Tianlin thought of another way. "Tomorrow I will find some friends from the newspaper office and ask them to recommend some newspaper boys. They walk the streets and alleys and are very familiar with the places in Tianjin."

"That would be much appreciated."

The two parted at the school gate, and He Rui went back to rest with everyone. Early the next morning, they started working according to the plan.

Although Tianjin in 1915 did not have the scale of the 21st century, it was still a famous large city in China at this time. Seven people ran around for a day and didn't even cover one-fifth of the urban area.

During the summary meeting in the evening, Zhong Yifu suggested asking Zhao Tianlin for help. He Rui shook his head. "Don't do that. If you can't stand asking strangers for help now, who are we going to find when we get to the Northeast?"

June 4th.

Formal recruitment in Tianjin had been going on for three days. It was past eight in the evening when He Rui and the others returned to the school dormitory one after another. The group of young lads lay directly on their bunks, not wanting to move a muscle.

Cheng Ruofan hummed and groaned, asking, "How far did we walk today?"

No one answered him for a while. Finally, Xu Jia turned over and sat up, thinking for a while before answering, "I think we must have walked sixty *li* [^3] today."

"Was it that far?" Cheng Ruofan's voice sounded ethereal.

"I went to visit six families who signed up," Xu Jia said, feeling exhausted again. He simply lay back on the bed, facing the ceiling, and said, "Adding the walking for distributing flyers, it must be sixty-something *li*."

"In these three or four days, haven't we walked more than two hundred *li*? No wonder I feel more tired than during field training."

Hearing Cheng Ruofan mention this, the young officers realized they had accomplished such an amazing feat. Thinking that this was just the beginning, Zhong Yifu sighed, "How many more days? If this goes on, I won't be able to walk anymore."

Just as the voice fell, the door sounded, and He Rui walked in carrying the smell of ink. Looking at this group of exhausted youth, He Rui shouted with full breath, "Squad, attention!"

With a rustling sound, the young military men struggled to stand up.

He Rui waved a stack of freshly printed papers in his hand. "Rest tomorrow for one day. We will organize a study session in the afternoon. This is the review process and the review form. Everyone can take a look if you have time. Now, you can rest."

After speaking, He Rui went out to bring in the remaining parts. The round trip took only twenty minutes, but when he returned to the dormitory, he saw Xu Chengfeng lying on the bed, holding a copy of the instructions, already asleep. The other young officers hadn't even taken one; they were sleeping soundly on their respective beds.

He Rui gently put down the rest of the contents, yawned, and lay back on his own bed. As soon as he lay down, a wave of drowsiness hit him. He Rui also fell asleep.

***

June 7th. 2:00 PM.

The young military men had rushed back to the school and were sitting in the classroom.

In the past two days, the unit's main energy had shifted from fully distributing flyers to the stage of investigating those who came to sign up.

He Rui presided over the meeting and ordered, "The meeting begins now. Please read the review requirements, Xu Jia."

Xu Jia was short and stout, with a deep, pleasant voice. "Passing Condition One: Clean background. There cannot be anyone in the family who has committed crimes or violated the law."

The young officers who had become review committee members picked up the review forms distributed to them, listening while reading.

"Passing Condition Two: Patriotic in thought, must not be close to foreign powers. Passing Condition Three: Politically reliable, preferably from worker or peasant families..."

***

[^1]: A "square" or "four-four" system implies a structure where each unit is composed of four subordinate units (e.g., 4 platoons per company, 4 companies per battalion, etc.).

[^2]: Chuang Guandong (闯关东) refers to the mass migration of Han Chinese, especially from Shandong and Hebei, to Manchuria (Guanwai) during the Qing dynasty and Republic era.

[^3]: 1 li is approx 500 meters. 60 li is roughly 30km.