Chapter 73: Asking for money, discussing resistance (1)
Shi Yiyi had been loaded into a prison car and escorted back to the capital. He was questioned about many serious crimes such as failure and concealment, and went to the market to behead his head. Du Qing successfully took over the post of governor of Xuanhua and assisted Ye Yongjia in organizing the new army.
Cai Xianqing and the two of them were sitting in the big tent discussing, when Ye Yongjia asked first: "I wonder where the new army's barracks are? I should go and take a look."
Du Qing replied: "It's not far from here. It would be convenient for you to call them all over and ask them one by one."
"Why bother to work all the soldiers? I will go there myself, just so they can set up a battle array in the open space and test whether they are proficient in using guns."
Du Qing thought for a moment and then nodded: "Then I'll take a rest and then go again. Mr. Cai, are you... going to come too?"
Cai Xianqing seemed to be thinking about something when he suddenly heard Governor Du calling him. He suddenly woke up and responded: "Ah... let me think about it."
"If Mr. Cai has anything to say, just say it!" Ye Yongjia saw what he was thinking and said quickly.
"My lords, I think we should first understand the basic information about the materials and smelting of firecrackers. Don't rush for success. Otherwise, when you meet the new army officers and soldiers, you won't be able to answer even a single sentence. Not only will you be looked down upon by others, but you will also be afraid.
Being deceived by villains.”
Du Qing said with a smile: "There is some truth in this. But I usually see those new troops who are not very skilled in skills, so how can they be deceived? It is better to understand the current situation first, and then make step-by-step plans.
It’s not too late.”
Ye Yongjia saw that Cai Xianqing was not happy, so he took the initiative to mediate: "How about this, I and Du Dudu will go to the New Army camp, and you, the chief, will go to the gunpowder factory to investigate?"
"At Master Cai's age... is it okay to be alone?" Du Qing turned to look at Cai Xianqing.
Cai Xianqing straightened her legs and patted her knees hard twice: "Don't worry, Commander! My bones are in very good shape!"
"Okay." Du Qing immediately walked to the desk, tore out a piece of paper, took out a pen and quickly wrote a line of words, stamped it, and handed it to Cai Xianqing: "Put this thing away and hand it to
The people in the factory will let you in; in addition, the accounting office is responsible for purchasing artillery, and they know a little bit about it. If Mr. Cai is interested, he should ask there."
Cai Xianqing stuffed the note, clasped his fists and thanked him: "I understand, I understand. Thank you very much!" After that, he turned around and walked out of the tent.
"Come out! Come out!" Du Qing pulled all the soldiers from the barracks to the school field one by one, and shouted loudly from the side, "Yes, you lean over there and take another step... That's it!"
Ye Yongjia was standing behind Du Qing. Under his gaze, the soldiers finally stood in line and held the muskets firmly.
Du Qingnai ordered people to set up a wooden sign eighty steps ahead and shouted to everyone: "Everyone fires ten bullets. The one who can hit ten hits out of ten will be given a big reward! If he fails to hit once, he will be beaten with a stick five times on the back."
Down!"
The soldiers, who had neglected their drills, became more and more flustered after hearing this, and their answers became weaker: "Yes..."
Ye Yongjia curled his lips slightly: "Let's get started."
The soldiers all went to get the lead from the barrel, filled it with gunpowder, and lit the fire on the match rope. Before they could take aim, they saw a flash of fire. Many people closed their eyes tightly, and the bullet hit the stone pillar in the distance.
On top, not even close to the target.
Ye Yongjia watched helplessly as they fired three times, but only a few of them hit the wooden sign. He was greatly disappointed and immediately interrupted the drill: "Okay, everyone, stop. Governor Du, I have something to say to you."
you say."
Du Qing nodded and accompanied him to a corner. Seeing no one around, he stopped Ye Yongjia and said, "Shilang Ye, it's time to talk."
"Do you have standards for the new army?" Ye Yongjia asked angrily.
"These tribesmen were recruited temporarily by Shi Yiyi. Even the quality of the firearms varies. Some are old and some are old. What rules can be established..." Du Qing sighed.
Ye Yongjia frowned and shook his head several times: "Then what is Shi Yiyi doing with this new army? He won't even pay for the troops! You have worked under him, do you know what's going on?"
"To be honest, when the enemy was approaching, Shi Yiyi was afraid that he would lose power, so he often spent military expenses on his direct descendants and never wanted to take care of the new troops. After that, more than ten people died, and muskets and artillery fell into the hands of the enemy.
"No, these are the ones that have survived..."
"What a bastard!" Ye Yongjia gritted his teeth and cursed.
"But now if we want to replace all firearms, we must use new ones. The cost for a border province is not enough, and it will affect the whole body. The task is really arduous." Du Qing just told the truth.
"Why are you saying it now?" Ye Yongjia's eyes widened.
"If you say these words in vain, I'm afraid you won't believe it." Du Qing said with a sullen expression.
"Oh, Governor Du, am I such a weak official? In this situation, if we don't open our hearts, how can we carry out the policy of innovation?" Ye Yongjia slapped his forehead, puzzled.
"It's the lower official's fault. I judged a gentleman with a villain's heart..." As he said that, Du Qing suddenly knelt down and looked directly at him with tears in his eyes.
With such enthusiasm, I would never dare to hide the truth like this! I am willing to be punished in the school grounds for this!"
Ye Yongjia hurriedly supported him: "Captain Du, if you can help me eliminate Shi Yiyi, you have already made a great contribution. How can you talk about being punished? When Mr. Cai comes back, we will think about how to spend it."
Du Qing, however, knelt down straight on the spot, holding everyone up to help him move. He refused to get up even though he was beaten to death: "Despite this, the officers have neglected their training and cannot be solemn. The responsibility is still mine. The subordinates can't bear to be blamed.
I am willing to suffer the punishment on behalf of everyone!"
Ye Yongjia saw that he was sincere and could not be persuaded, so he sighed: "Okay."
Du Qing returned to the school field again. With a stern look on his face, he strode onto the stage and scanned the people on the field. Some soldiers only raised their eyes slightly and saw the scary face, and immediately felt that
There was a chill that made one's hair stand on end.
He winked at Ye Yongjia, but the latter did not move at all, so he had to go to the shelf to get the military stick, put it in his hand, and said to everyone: "I just said, if you don't hit once, you will be hit with five sticks."
If you shoot three times and most of them miss, then you should shoot fifteen times! Who will do it?"
The soldiers frowned and were silent.
"Okay, in that case, as the governor, I can't escape the blame!" After saying that, he turned to look at Ye Yongjia, "Master Ye, I am a low-ranking official who is incompetent in guarding the masses. I am willing to take the blame for everyone!"
After hearing this, the sergeants were talking among themselves when they saw Du Qing coming over. He threw his stick to a soldier, then immediately lay down on the ground and said, "Just beat him, don't show mercy!"
The soldier was holding a stick and shaking all over.
"Hit!" he roared.
The soldier had no choice but to close his eyes and hit him hard with the stick.