The smile on Yan Dali's face froze, and he looked at Zhao Zheng in disbelief, "Village elders, why did you choose Old Zhao and not me? How am I inferior to an old man?"
Old Man Yan also said indignantly, "That's right, it's unfair. Zhao San is a wimp. He doesn't deserve to be elected as the captain of the eighth team!"
The Yan family's wife started to make a fuss, "It must be Zhao San who used a backdoor!"
Seeing the Yan family making a fuss, Zhao Yi was the first to jump out, "Bullshit, how could my third brother use a backdoor!"
Yang Zhaodi said angrily, "You Yan family members are talking nonsense just because they didn't get elected!"
"My father-in-law wouldn't use a backdoor!" Zhang Xiaoe frowned and said angrily.
Zheng Chunmei also shouted in the crowd, "Uncle Zhao was elected based on his own ability, I have no objection!"
"Zhao San'er is a righteous man, I have no objection!" This was the old lady of the Ma family.
Mrs. Zhou, unable to bear the sight of Zhao Zheng being bullied, stepped forward and said, "This is a fair election. The whole village is watching. You guys should be more careful about putting the blame on others. Do you really think everyone else is stupid?"
Suddenly, many people stood up and accused the Yan family of dishonesty.
Old Man Yan and his wife were so timid that they dared not say a word.
Yan Dali was so angry that he said, "Old Zhao, do you dare to fight with me? I will give you this position of captain if you win!"
Zhao Zheng smiled faintly, "Young and strong people are better than fists. What's your ability to beat me? No matter how powerful you are, can you beat a bandit with a knife?"
"Dali, being a captain is not just about relying on fists. Brains are important. The captain's biggest role is not to kill bandits, but to protect the villagers from harm."
"No need to fight, I admit defeat!"
Yan Dali clenched his fists and cursed, "Coward, you don't even dare to fight."
Then he said to Xu Youde angrily, "Village elder, he admits defeat..."
"Shut up!" Xu Youde was so angry that he slammed his crutch and said coldly, "This is the result of the discussion among the three of us captains. Do you think we will favor Zhao Zheng?"
"If you are so powerful, I can recommend you to the township protection team..."
The wife of the Yan family turned pale, "No, you can't go to the township!"
The old man of the Yan family trembled in his heart, and quickly subdued, "Uncle Youde, Dali is ignorant and bumped into you. We don't want this captain anymore!"
"What do you mean you don't want it anymore? Can you afford it?" Old Man Wang and Old Man Wu had accepted Zhao Zheng's benefits and felt a little guilty, but after being provoked by the Yan family, they were furious and immediately launched into a full-throttle attack.
"You have no brains, and your son has even less!"
"You want to be the captain? Only if the three of us die!"
Old Man Yan was terrified. He walked up to his son and slapped him. "Go, kowtow to the three village elders and admit your mistake!"
Yan Dali was also a little panicked at this time. He was just reckless, not truly fearless. He quickly knelt down and kowtowed.
Zhao Zheng sneered. This is the advantage of using the backdoor. The village elders will defend him!
Xu Youde looked at Zhao Zheng expressionlessly, "San'er, what do you say?"
"It's normal for young people to be hot-tempered. They don't know that old people are more experienced. Without the leadership of the village elders, our small mountain village would have been wiped out by bandits over the years."
Zhao Zheng sighed, "Uncle Youde, let it go because he is a first-time offender. At this critical juncture, we should unite and fight the bandits together!"
His words praised the three village elders and made his own attitude clear.
The three village elders were so happy that they nodded repeatedly.
"Since your captain pleads for you, let it go this time." Xu Youde pointed at Yan Dali and said, "If you are still not convinced, just hold it in and delay the unity of the village. Let me see if I dare to deal with you!"
The accusation of sabotaging unity was leveled at Yan Dali, who dared not utter a word. He stammered, "No, absolutely not!"
"Go back to the team!"
Yan Dali dejectedly returned to the team. He glanced at his family, all of whom were filled with disappointment.
The girl he loved, in particular, frowned, his heart suddenly filled with hatred.
Staring at Zhao Zheng's back, he roared inwardly, "Damn you, Old Zhao, you lied to me! Wait, this captain won't let you have your way!"
"The eight captains have been selected. Everyone else go back. The captains will hold a meeting at the village ancestral hall!" Xu Youde said, and everyone dispersed.
Arriving at the village ancestral hall.
After everyone was seated, Xu Youde said, "To prevent bandits, eight teams will need to patrol day and night. In addition to patrolling, they'll also need to set up secret observation points, which will require people on guard duty." "
The three of us suggest that the eight teams, two a day, allow the other teams to use their time for other tasks."
"But they can't stray too far from the village. From today on, you need to report leaving the village in advance. You can't leave the village without a valid reason!"
"If you think there's a problem, please raise it!"
Xu Youde glanced at the group.
Zhao Zheng was the first to say, "No problem, I'll follow the village elders' orders!"
The three village elders nodded silently.
The three Zhaos had a good grasp of social etiquette, and their promotion was well worth it.
Ma Dazhu cursed inwardly, "You flatterer, you only know how to flatter!"
Then he shouted, "I, Ma Dazhu, will resolutely follow the village elders' orders!"
For a moment, the captains' responses became louder and louder!
"Okay, since that's all right, we'll start training today, with at least an hour of training every day."
"For patrols, we'll pair them up in odd and even numbers. If Team One patrols during the day for the first round, then Team One will have to patrol at night for the second round. No team can avoid this!"
"Today, Team One will patrol during the day, Team Three will patrol at night..."
Zhao Zheng breathed a sigh of relief after leaving the ancestral hall. Thankfully, each team could train individually. If they were all together, slacking off would be difficult.
Everyone was so hungry, how could they even train?
If bandits came, they wouldn't even have the energy to escape.
Zhao Zheng was helpless. Mingzhou had 8,000 soldiers stationed, but they couldn't intimidate the poor and remote areas. They wouldn't send troops just for a small, wealthy village.
Firstly, mobilizing troops would cost a huge amount of food and supplies, and wouldn't achieve much.
Secondly, they were responsible for maintaining peace in their territory. As long as there wasn't a civil uprising, they wouldn't move if they could.
Those generals in Mingzhou would never send out troops even if they were beaten to death.
"Old Zhao, wait a minute!" Niu Dalei, the captain of the sixth team, stopped Zhao Zheng.
"Something?" Zhao Zheng and Niu Dalei grew up together, but their relationship was average, with no gratitude or resentment.
The reason why he was chosen was simply because he was a carpenter.
These days, craftsmen can make a living anywhere and are quite respected.
"We will be partners in the future, so we should cooperate more." Niu Dalei scratched his head and said embarrassedly: "I'm not afraid of you laughing at me. I'm okay at carpentry, but I'm not sure about being a team leader. Can you teach me?"