Since Dutch said he would guarantee the lives of the veterans, he naturally wasn't joking.
As the saying goes, if you're out in the world, your word is your bond. If he brandishes the banner of saving all veterans but only recruits some useful, normal people, then his grand image will eventually collapse.
At that time, hypocrisy will become his byword, and he will be one of the capitalists hanging from the lampposts.
The veteran buff and feminist buff he carries will not only fail to assist him but will instead become an obstacle.
Dutch rose to prominence by leveraging buffs; this is his foundation, so it cannot be destroyed.
Moreover, these are the first members to be used to pull buffs. At this time, Dutch must do a good job on the surface. Even if he supports these people for free, he must stack the Friend of Veterans buff.
Of course, if some particularly disgusting or ill-tempered individuals truly emerge, Dutch can only choose to have Bill and Mike carry out humanitarian destruction on them.
After a long dispute among the group, ten job openings for veterans were finally filled. Hosea stood behind, responsible for recording their names and home addresses, while also having Arthur rent a carriage to send these people back to the farm first.
Most of the ten veterans recruited were those missing a finger or a toe, or elderly members. Sweeping doesn't require much strength. Younger individuals were needed for other work, so this position was not suitable for their age temporarily.
As for those missing arms or legs, specialized positions will be recruited later.
Again, to rely on buffs, the first batch's prestige must be established first.
"Clap, clap, clap!" Dutch clapped his hands, quieting the disappointed and noisy crowd who hadn't been hired.
He looked at the veterans in front of him and said, "Alright, gentlemen, don't be discouraged. It doesn't matter if you weren't hired in this batch, because our factory is just being established. When we expand later, we will definitely need more people, and you will still have the opportunity to be hired.
Additionally, I have some connections with the Senator of Saint Denis. If our numbers grow later and my personal factory cannot hire all the employees, I might be able to talk to the Senator to give everyone a satisfactory job opportunity.
Alright, gentlemen, next, let's move on to our next position."
Dutch smiled and gave the veterans in the audience a reassurance, so they wouldn't harbor resentment for not being selected.
There's no other way; human hearts are indeed a double-edged sword, but for Van der Linde, any corrupted hearts can simply be eliminated, which is easier to handle.
However, these people today shouldn't have any complaints, because there are only about twenty people in the tavern, and Dutch can certainly recruit all of them.
And having just filtered out the disabled and the elderly, the remaining ones are all middle-aged or young people. They are physically sound and have been to war, making them excellent loaders and wagon drivers.
"Alright, gentlemen, for the second position, I will recruit all the rest of you."
As soon as this statement was made, the crowd cheered.
The veterans who had just been sad about not being selected as cleaners were now exceptionally joyful.
They could actually work in Mr. Dutch's factory; this was truly a great joy!
"Alright, gentlemen, please quiet down. Before I explain your job duties, I'd like to ask how many of you are expert marksmen?"
Veterans all know how to use guns, and there are many experts. In an era without airplanes or Tanks, the reason these veterans could win battles on the battlefield was either because they were good with guns or good at hiding.
Whether it's good marksmanship or being good at hiding, these are the talents Dutch urgently needs.
Upon hearing Dutch's question, fifteen people immediately stood up.
Fourteen of these fifteen people were younger, around Arthur's age, in their thirties.
The last one was around Dutch's age, in his forties.
Looking at the fifteen very confident individuals, Dutch was very satisfied.
"Alright, gentlemen, please allow me to test your marksmanship. Come on, gentlemen, let's go outside to test."
The entire group stood up and followed Dutch in a grand procession towards the desolate area around Valentine.
These people were destitute and had no horses at all.
"Arthur, go buy ten horses. We'll need them eventually."
Dutch instructed, then stood in the wilderness and began to test the marksmanship of these fifteen people.
"Bang, bang, bang…" The gunshots and the crowd attracted many passersby to watch. The upright bottles, used as targets, exploded one after another under the firing of the fifteen people, causing exclamations from the surrounding crowd.
Dutch was exceptionally satisfied with the shooting results of the fifteen people; in fact, he was extremely satisfied.
The entire test, in addition to testing accuracy, drawing speed, and reloading speed, also included high-difficulty tests such as moving targets.
The fifteen people who dared to stand out certainly lived up to their courage.
If we classify them based on the marksmanship of the Van der Linde Gang members:
Arthur is in a league of his own in the West. Whether in terms of plot, side quests, or overall performance, Arthur is a master marksman among master marksmen, both fast and divine, uniquely classified as a Western legend.
The second tier consists of John, Legendary Rat, Dutch, David, and Mike. Of course, Legendary Rat is now dead, so John, David, Mike, and Dutch can be classified as the second tier, master marksman level.
John has not yet received guidance from that old man in the first step, so his marksmanship has not yet reached Arthur's level, thus he is in the second tier. However, even so, he is already at the master marksman level.
The third tier includes the remaining members of the gang: Bill, Javier, Sean, Charles, Lenny, and others. Their marksmanship is also excellent, at the level of first-class gunmen. In any case, the O'Driscoll Gang truly has no room for resistance.
The fifteen people who were tested and dared to stand out also have a certain level of skill. Fourteen of them have the level of second-class gunmen. For those in the camp, they are trash, and anyone can clearly suppress them. However, for the gangs in the West now, this level of gunman can already be considered a significant threat. At the very least, they can hit seven or eight out of ten shots. In actual combat, one person fighting two or three is completely not a problem.
As for someone like Arthur, he can hit ten out of ten shots, whether it's a moving target, a flying target, or even shooting birds, it's ten out of ten.
How fast do birds fly? In today's society, people hunt birds by waiting for them to perch on trees before shooting. But Arthur can hit birds while they are flying, and consistently hit ten out of ten shots. One can imagine the intensity is simply superhumanly abnormal.
Anyway, once Dead Eye is activated, birds become slow motion.
These fourteen people are no match for Arthur at all. Individually, they can defeat five gunmen.
But Arthur, when singled out, can take on fifty of them without any pressure.