Cutting over the end of the Ming Dynasty: a dog-leg knife at the beginning

Chapter 217 Review

In the school grounds, nearly ten thousand powerful troops lined up densely, full of murderous aura.

The equipment of the Tianxiong Army is almost the same as that of the Wuyang Guards. They wear round steel helmets on their heads and iron armor. Six dark and shiny arc-shaped steel plates extend from the shoulders to the abdomen, covering the entire chest and abdomen. A set of armor, with a total weight of no more than twenty catties.The equipment of the musketeers is worse, except for the helmet, it is a leather armor, and two layers of chain armor around the neck. Anyway, they are shooting at the enemy at a distance of forty or fifty steps. Why do they need such good protection?Heng Dao Shou is armed to the teeth, not only wearing iron armor, but also holding a large shield embedded with a layer of iron leaves. When necessary, they will form a tight shield wall to block the enemy's attack.Six hundred cavalry rode tall horses with their heads held high and their chests held high at the rear of the army formation, full of fighting spirit. They were all armed with sharp weapons. In addition to the indispensable riding bow, there was also a three-to-four-meter-long The horse lance, a horizontal knife, and a dogleg knife, even the Guan Ning cavalry will salivate when they see it.

Surprisingly consistent equipment, surprisingly consistent mental outlook, the entire army is integrated into one, giving people an indescribable pressure. When the fiery red visors of thousands of steel helmets dance in the wind, the silent and shocking force , Even the Guan Ning army was dwarfed!

The guys around Sun Chengzong who were probably armed were staring at the silent steel jungle with green eyes, and thinking about the equipment of their own troops, the more they thought about it, the more wronged they were.

Sun Chengzong's voice was a little strange: "Jiandou, this...is this the elite soldier you trained?"

Lu Xiangsheng said: "Yes, Mr. Ge! Our Tianxiong Army has a total of 700 people, [-] infantry, and [-] cavalry, all here!"

Sun Chengzong pointed to the forest of guns denser than reeds: "These equipment are different from other troops!" Indeed, the barrels of these long guns are tough and elastic, and the one-foot-long blades are daunting. There is also a three-foot-long iron spear bottle, which protects the barrel of the gun tightly.The biggest weakness of the long spear is that once the head of the spear is broken, it becomes a fire stick. Therefore, an iron spear bottle must be added to prevent the enemy from holding the spear and cutting it off. The same is true for the long spears of the Ming army.It’s just that the big masters in the Ministry of War are really good at calculating. The spear bottle is only [-] centimeters long, which can only be said to be better than nothing. Once the enemy armed with a steel knife grabs the barrel of the gun, they can cut off the barrel of the gun with a single blow, without any effort ———As for the fact that the tip of the gun fell off when a general was performing martial arts, I don’t bother to talk about it. Anyway, in the eyes of those military bureaucrats who are better than Shanxi women, these details don’t matter.

Yang Menglong said: "It's just the same as other troops!"

Lu Xiangsheng said: "Mr. Ge, these spears are all made by ourselves. The barrels of the spears are strong and flexible, and the three-foot-long spear bottle is extremely difficult to cut off."

Sun Chengzong said: "It's much better than what the Ministry of War provided... Not bad, not bad!"

A general said: "In this way, the cost will be greatly increased. The iron material of a spear bottle can make three spear heads!"

Lu Xiangsheng said: "What's the use of making [-] shots of that kind of long gun that breaks as soon as you touch it?"

The man rolled his eyes.

The Tianxiong Army has [-] soldiers, including [-] cavalry, [-] musketeers, [-] pikemen, and [-] saber shieldmen. There is no artillery establishment yet.There are also [-] supplementary soldiers, who are responsible for such chores as feeding horses, cooking and repairing ordnance. When the losses of soldiers are too large, they will be recruited from among them.

"All soldiers?" Sun Chengzong was surprised.

Lu Xiangsheng said: "They are all fighting soldiers."

Sun Chengzong was silent for a long time, then patted Lu Xiangsheng on the shoulder and said, "You did a really good job!"

Lu Xiangsheng said: "Mr. Ge has received the award. Do you want them to practice for the sake of Mr. Ge's assessment?"

Sun Chengzong said: "Forget about the drill. Although I am old and dim-sighted, I can tell at a glance whether an army can fight or not. The Tianxiong Army is well-equipped and high-spirited from top to bottom. It is unbelievable that you can train such an elite soldier in just two years!"

Lu Xiangsheng said: "Mr. Ge is too much, but in fact, the method of training soldiers, including the equipment standard, is learned from Commander Yang!"

Sun Chengzong looked at Yang Menglong and was even more surprised: "What else is there?"

Yang Menglong said generously: "It's nothing. In fact, the equipment and training of the Tianxiong Army and our Wuyang Guard are almost exactly the same. The only difference is that they like to wear red jackets, and we prefer black jackets."

Lu Xiangsheng said: "The Wuyang Guard's training is rigorous, the soldiers are sophisticated, and the soldiers are ten times more courageous and resistant than the Tianxiong Army! Mr. Ge, Commander Yang is very talented. It is really good for him to be the commander of the guard." It's too condescending..."

Yang Menglong secretly cried out in his heart: "Boss, do you want to kill me?" What he was most afraid of was that Sun Chengzong would soften his ears and then give him a promotion. After becoming the commander of the guard, he started to lose money again!

Sun Chengzong was skeptical of Lu Xiangsheng's words: "Commander Yang, is this really the case? How did you come up with such a method of training troops?"

Without thinking about it, Yang Menglong said, "Do you still need to think about it? Just copy the training method of Qi's army!"

Sun Chengzong: "..."

I don't know how many copies of "Ji Xiao's New Book" kept by Qi Shao have been torn apart, but I don't see anyone who has trained an army comparable to Qi's army. He copied the Qi's army's training method and did it?genius!

Yang Tiancai looked at the huge phalanx of the Tianxiong Army and felt itchy. He really wanted to shout "Hello, comrades, comrades, thank you for your hard work" at the phalanx.But with the two big figures Sun Chengzong and Lu Xiangsheng here, it was not his turn to shine.Well, I must hold a military parade when I go back and have a good time!

At Lu Xiangsheng's invitation, Sun Chengzong stepped down from the general station and came to the square array to inspect the weapons and equipment of the Tianxiong Army.The incomparably sharp horizontal knife, the long spear that can pierce even heavy armor, and the surprisingly consistent musket caliber all amazed him, and he kept saying, "It's so good, so good!" But Yang Menglong was very dissatisfied. When Sun Chengzong walked a little farther, he asked for a horizontal knife. He flicked the blade and asked Lu Xiangsheng in a low voice: "Didn't I sell you more than 2000 broken-edge knives? Why didn't you take them out? Look at this thing, it's just a blade. The material is better, but the material of the blade is far inferior, can it be used!?"

Lu Xiangsheng also lowered his voice and said: "Of the two thousand broken blades, one thousand are hidden in the warehouse, another thousand and six hundred are equipped with cavalry, and four hundred are equipped with four hundred soldiers with the most exquisite sword skills... ..."

Yang Menglong shouted: "Why don't you take it all out and use it? Why are you hiding it?"

Lu Xiangsheng smiled wryly: "Do you think that everyone is like you, and you can equip all soldiers with precious swords that cut iron like mud? Do you know that even this kind of broken blade with steel clamping is already rare. gone?"

Yang Menglong snorted: "You can't find it! In my eyes, it is a second-rate product! I didn't sell it too expensive, so you would rather hide it in the warehouse than give it to the soldiers!"

Lu Xiangsheng still smiled wryly.Yang Menglong really didn't sell much expensively. This kind of sword that is as decisive as cutting tofu only sells for ten taels of silver, which can be said to be as cheap as slag.But for Lu Xiangsheng, he might as well sell it more expensively, at least in this way, he doesn't have to feel that he owes him such a big favor.

"I'll buy another two thousand broken blades later," he said.

Yang Menglong said: "This is true!"

……

After the review, Sun Chengzong let the army disband, with a somewhat relieved expression, he stroked his beard and asked, "Jiandou, do you know why the old man suddenly came to Daming Mansion in the midst of his busy schedule?"

Lu Xiangsheng said: "The lower official is stupid, please give me some advice."

Sun Chengzong said indifferently: "There are ginseng in the court. You sell military rations privately for profit, collect people's fat and people's anointing as military resources, and build weapons in large quantities. It seems that you have unruly intentions."

Lu Xiangsheng's complexion changed slightly, and cold sweat broke out on his forehead.Yang Menglong blurted out: "Which bastard did it? It's too poisonous!"

Sun Chengzong looked disgusted, and said: "Who else did it? Of course it is the gang of officials and censors!"

The Yanguan Yushi of the Ming Dynasty is now a street politician. He has no real power, and he doesn't have to do anything, just swear.They do two things all day long: scold the emperor and find fault with their colleagues.Being the emperor of the Ming Dynasty is very hard work. If there is a slight mistake, there will be a large group of officials and censors with green eyes drooling and rushing to chase after him. It is not enough to let the emperor bow his head and admit his mistake and pretend to be a grandson!If the emperor is so angry that he wants to beat them up, that is even more desirable. For these guys, being subjected to the imperial staff is definitely the most glorious experience. They are all looking for trouble, looking for the emperor's fault out of nothing, pointing at the emperor's nose and scolding bloody head, not because the emperor really made so many mistakes, but because these guys have itchy buttocks, and want to lie to the imperial staff, often The emperor was so angry that his face was ashen but helpless.As for finding fault with colleagues, it is the thing they are most willing to do———-Finding fault with the emperor is risky. Once the emperor hates you, he will promote you to an official and find a fault to kill you. Who will cry to you? go?There is no risk at all to find fault with your colleagues. Just use a magnifying glass to stare at every move of your colleagues. If there is a slight mistake, it will be exaggerated ten times and played. It's okay, the other party can't do anything to you. Who told you that you are a speech official and censor, and there are rumors and rumors—to put it bluntly, you have the power to make something out of nothing and catch wind and shadows?These guys are purely a group of mad dogs, who catch and bite whoever they catch, because the officials are not good at anything, and only when those guys with real power are overthrown can they have a chance to rise to the top. It's dead.Like Lu Xiangsheng who sells grain, the imperial court has not paid the Tianxiong army for several months. Of course, after the harvest, some grain must be sold to supplement military supplies. Immediately let the officials and censors find an opportunity to attack him, the memorial Flying towards Emperor Chongzhen like a snowflake, he almost buried him alive. Luo Zhi's crimes are even more creepy. Whatever the emperor believes, Lu Jiandou will die without a place to bury him!As for the evidence, it is never needed for the spokesperson, their duty is to hear the rumors, not to handle the case!

Lu Xiangsheng regained his composure and said, "Master Ge is very enlightened! I have indeed sold a lot of food, but that's because the imperial court has not paid military salaries for several months, and the military supplies are scarce! As for the mass production of weapons... I will not hide it from the elders. , Most of the weapons that the Ministry of War brought down were damaged, and many bows and arrows were unusable, especially the firecrackers, which exploded after a few rounds. For the safety of the soldiers, the subordinate officials had to put these firecrackers back into the furnace..."

Sun Chengzong waved his hand, motioning him to stop talking, and said calmly: "I pulled you up with one hand, can I still trust you? You have done a good job. Not only did you support nearly ten thousand soldiers, but you also let the three guards of Tianxiong approach you." The [-] military households have lived a life of food and clothing... Before you come back, the old man wandered around the market in Damingfu City, and talked to some ordinary people. The dazzling array of goods on the market will not deceive people, ordinary people That smile that satisfies An Xiang is not deceiving, you have done a good job! As for those officials and censors, if they fart, they will be able to do so!" Having said that, he smiled, Said: "The reason they attack you so hard is nothing more than seeing the prosperity of Tianxiong Sanwei, they are greedy, and want to bring you down and divide up the little things you have saved. You can smell it!”

Lu Xiangsheng said gratefully: "Thank you, Mr. Ge, for your trust!"

Sun Chengzong said: "Work hard and let more people live a better life. After returning, I will go to the court and ask the emperor to give you more power. Of course, it would be better if the Tianxiong Sanwei can pay tens of thousands of grains. Now, the imperial court is really short of money and food."

Yang Menglong muttered: "This is unfair... I only paid more than [-] shi of potato noodles for one guard, and tens of thousands of dan for his three guards. It's so unfair!"

Lu Xiangsheng said: "As long as the imperial court does not levy indiscriminately, what's the matter with lower officials paying tens of thousands of stones?" Due to the occupation of military fields and the bankruptcy of a large number of military households, the guards were already unable to make ends meet. In the middle of the Ming Dynasty, the guards had to be exempted from taxes. , and began to pay the guards.That's impossible. The military households in the guard will starve to death, so how can they pay taxes?It can only be exempted, but now that Tianxiong Sanwei and Wuyangwei have a good harvest, the court thinks that a little tax should be levied to prevent all the rats in the treasury from starving to death.Lu Xiangsheng felt that this was a matter of course, as long as the court could delegate some power, don't blindly send people to Tianxiong Sanwei to make trouble, so why not pay some taxes?

"The Tianxiong army doesn't have artillery yet?" Sun Chengzong asked, pointing to the soldiers who had practiced again in Tianshi.

Lu Xiangsheng said: "The Ministry of War has not yet allocated it."

Sun Chengzong said: "You can't do without artillery. An army without artillery will suffer a lot. When I go back, I will find a way to ask the Ministry of War to send you a dozen artillery pieces as soon as possible. You should step up your training, maybe... maybe you will soon Going to battle."

Lu Xiangsheng was stunned: "Elder Ge means..."

Sun Chengzong said: "Since the reconstruction project of Dalinghe City began, the situation in western Liaoning has suddenly become tense. I am afraid that a big war is inevitable. Now the imperial court has not many soldiers capable of fighting. If the Guanning army is not supported, I'm afraid that your Tianxiong army will be used, so you must be prepared!"

Lu Xiangsheng held his fists in awe and saluted: "The lower officials are always at your disposal!"

(End of this chapter)