He weighed it up and down, the corners of his mouth twitching dismissively.

There was a moment of silence at the scene. Michael Bolton and Richard Cooper were the first to snap out of it, both shouting in unison, “Good!” and taking the lead in applauding.

With the two of them setting the example, everyone present also came to their senses and began to clap and cheer.

Many people were whispering among themselves: “Who is this person? How can he be so strong?”

“I heard his name is George T.!” “George T.? Never heard of such a person!” “I know him, George T.Andrew Clark, he’s quite famous around Caiyang…”

Seeing his big brother easily lift the largest stone block, George Washington also felt proud and kept clapping enthusiastically below. William Grant also nodded to himself—this lord’s elder brother truly had astonishing strength!

The thunderous applause and cheers from below made George T. feel excited as well.

He flipped his wrist holding the stone block, changing from carrying it to supporting it from below. Then, he picked up another stone block, and with a clang, stacked it on top of the one he was already holding. After that, he supported both stacked stone blocks with one hand and slowly raised them above his head.

At that moment, the scene instantly fell silent—no applause, no cheers. Even County Commandant Brian Turner was stunned by George T.’s natural strength.

Two stone blocks, weighing no less than two hundred jin, and he lifted them with just one hand. How strong must this man be?

George T. held the two stone blocks high and walked around the field with ease, as if what he was lifting were not over two hundred jin of weight, but two small pebbles.

He looked around at everyone present, his face not flushed and his breath steady, and said loudly, “It’s a pity there’s nowhere else to stack them. Otherwise, even if you added a few more stone blocks, I could still lift them!”

Wow—

The previously silent atmosphere was suddenly broken, and the crowd erupted in astonishment. George Washington, Michael Bolton, Richard Cooper, and the others clapped and cheered with all their might.

George T.’s display was truly a showstopper, deeply shocking everyone present.

That day, everyone in Xiangyang City heard that the volunteer army had a man of natural strength named George T.Andrew Clark, a man who could swing a thousand jin with one arm and had limitless strength with both.

After coming back to his senses, Brian Turner quickly walked up to George T., but when he saw the two stone blocks held high, he instinctively took two steps back and waved, saying, “Andrew Miller, quickly put the stone blocks down!”

George T. continued holding the stone blocks and asked with a smile, “Does the lord think I’ve passed the test?”

“You’ve passed, you’ve passed, quickly, quickly, put them down!” Brian Turner nodded repeatedly.

Hearing this, George T. laughed heartily, finally satisfied, and threw the two stone blocks to the ground, producing two dull thuds.

Some curious onlookers even ran up to try and see if they could lift the stone blocks themselves, but those who tried, even using all their strength with both hands, could barely lift them at all.

At this moment, everyone looked at George T. with eyes full of admiration and amazement, unable to help but give him a mental thumbs-up—this man is truly extraordinary!

Perhaps it’s just as the saying goes: gold will shine sooner or later. In this era of chaos and rising warlords, how could a talented person like George T. remain unknown?

Brian Turner came up to George T., grinning from ear to ear, and praised repeatedly, “Andrew Miller’s strength is divine, Andrew Miller’s strength is divine indeed!”

He praised him several times, then picked up the military badge the clerk had given to George T., tossed it back, and said solemnly, “With Andrew Miller’s bravery, how could you be just an ordinary soldier? Would you be willing to serve as a Junhou by my side?”

A Junhou is equivalent to a quzhang (company commander).

According to the Han army’s organization, five hundred men make up a qu, with one Junhou appointed; one hundred men make up a tun, with one Tunzhang; fifty men make up a dui, with one leader; five men make up a wu, with one Wuzhang.

Above the quzhang is the Jun Sima, who can command a unit, and above that is the Xiaowei.

Many TV dramas and storytelling works underestimate the position of Xiaowei, often saying things like “killed a little Xiaowei with one slash” or “shot a little Xiaowei with one arrow.” In reality, the position of Xiaowei is not low—the salary is over two thousand shi, and in terms of rank, it’s on par with a prefect or a commandant of a commandery.

Brian Turner is a county commandant; in the army, he doesn’t even reach the level of Xiaowei, at most he’s a Jun Sima. The position he gave George T. is Junhou, which is just below himself.

For someone who just joined the volunteer army to be promoted to Junhou right away is already enviable, but George T. didn’t care about it at all.

He joined the volunteer army not to become an official, but just to make a quick fortune. Once the war was over, he would return to his hometown, recruit soldiers and horses, and build up his own strength.

He was indifferent inside, but on the surface, he had to put on a show. He clasped his hands and bowed to Brian Turner, saying, “Thank you, my lord, for your appreciation!”

Brian Turner was in high spirits and laughed heartily.

The army of the Xin Dynasty was roughly divided into three systems: first, the capital army; second, the local army; and third, the frontier army.

The volunteer army was to be incorporated into the local army. As one of the bases for forming the volunteer army, Xiangyang’s county commandant Brian Turner would also lead the Xiangyang volunteer army into Yizhou to cooperate with Lian Dan’s capital army in battle.