Picturesque Rivers and Mountains in the Red Chamber

Chapter 386 Chapter 5.68 Summoned by Emperor Yonghe

Volume [-]

5.68 Summoned by Emperor Yonghe

September 50, the 25th year of Longwu, was a very important day for Zhou Yang, because he participated in the "Yumen Listening to Government", or the Great Court Meeting, for the first time. There was not much to say about the process. More than two hundred officials in Beijing only Standing in two rows, it was basically useless formalism, but he met Dai Quan after the court meeting, because Emperor Yonghe summoned him, and he was still in the imperial study room.

As soon as "Commander of the Left Guard of the Front Army of the Fifth Military Camp" entered the door, Zhou Yang hurriedly followed the procedures.

"Okay - give him a seat." Emperor Yonghe was obviously in a hurry and had no interest in listening to his beeping. "Zhou Aiqing, I saw the booklet you sent a few days ago, but it only mentioned the method of training soldiers. , why have I never heard of it? You want to issue firearms to everyone, is this really feasible?

I don't ask you where you got it, where did the money come from, if you encounter a battle on the battlefield, is it possible that you want your subordinate Erlang to carry a fire stick to fight with the enemy's steel knife and spear?Also, the imperial sister said that you can get two thousand kilograms of general cannon from the red-haired people overseas. I now allow you to dispose of it cheaply. When can it be shipped? "

"Your Majesty, isn't it written in the memorial?" Zhou Yang was stunned for a moment before he realized that he had just said something stupid. Emperor Yonghe's eyes became much stern when he saw it, "The power of firearms is far greater than that of swords and guns, and it will definitely be used in the future." It dominates the battlefield. Besides, the new self-generating guns are equipped with bayonets, so they can actually be used in hand-to-hand combat."

He almost talked until his mouth was dry. He briefly talked about flintlock muskets, infantry cannons, ten-pound field guns, and even line infantry tactics, infantry and artillery coordination, and cavalry applications. He later extended it to recruit training, including formations, A lot of modern concepts such as physical fitness, discipline and cultural literacy, and the training of grassroots officers were all discussed.

"Hmph, no wonder your memorial doesn't look like the handwriting you used in the martial arts examination!" Emperor Yonghe angrily threw the memorial on someone's head, "It seems that you do have a new set of exercises, Emperor." My sister also told me two days ago that the Qianhu you specially selected has done well in practice, and with the performance today, I feel a lot more relieved now."

"Thank you for your trust, Your Majesty!" Zhou Yang finally breathed a sigh of relief. He opened the memorial and flipped through it and found that it only contained a rough description of the configuration of the troops, training, and a budget for food and grass consumption, salary distribution, etc., which was in line with his requirements for Xing Xiuyan. , but clearly beyond the scope of Emperor Yonghe's comprehension.

"Of course I can trust Aiqing, but some things are not so simple." Emperor Yonghe's face turned sour again, "Can you explain clearly why the reported consumption of soldiers and horses and equipment of your guards exceeds that of ordinary soldiers? Three times that of a horse, or even half of that of Shenjiying?"

"Well, Your Majesty, this is the normal consumption of the training team. Once the war breaks out, the consumption of food and salary will be about double than usual - Your Majesty, please calm down!" Before Zhou Yang could finish speaking, a teacup was thrown at Zhou Yang this time. In front of him, the flying magnetic residue and tea residue fell directly on him, "Wei Chen is not exaggerating at all."

"Do you think I'm a fool? Or do your subordinates eat five times as much as other people?" Emperor Yonghe was obviously very angry. "You said, if you don't give me a satisfactory answer, just kneel here. Kneel down." Until it’s clear!”

"Your Majesty, the minister sent a batch of firearms to the Imperial Guard. They must be in place, right?" Zhou Yang said with a wry smile, "In any case, we should have a general impression these days, and there should be some consumption. Will you bring up the fold?"

"Qi Jianhui has already reported it. He is very satisfied with what you sent, but there is no special consumption." Emperor Yonghe said coldly.

"Huh?" Zhou Yang always felt that something was wrong, and after thinking for a moment, he realized, "Commander Qi didn't store it in the warehouse for a short trial, and then took it out and distributed it when it was needed, right? "

"Zhou Aiqing, this is what happens with firearms, and it's the same with strong bows and crossbows. Do you have any other ideas?" Emperor Yonghe still had a cold face, but at least he didn't speak with murderous intent.

"Your Majesty, this report and Wei Chen's explanation just now only cover the training methods, and there is also an intensity that is not mentioned." Zhou Yang finally realized the problem, and simply combined daily training, high-intensity physical fitness, and live ammunition shooting with We talked about the lifespan of weapons and other things, and then said in the quiet atmosphere of the Imperial Study Room, "Only by sweating more in peacetime can you bleed less in wartime. This is an iron law in the military!"

Emperor Yonghe:
Dai Quan:.
"I remember that Zhou Aiqing's in-law family is the Xue family of Jinling, right?" A smile slowly appeared on Emperor Yonghe's face.

"General Zhou, the current state affairs are difficult. Your Majesty has reduced the daily support in order to save money, even the food has been reduced by [-]%." Seeing that Emperor Yonghe just said a word and then turned around and sat back to the "office" of the imperial case, Dai Quan knew it very well. The current affairs officer took up the conversation and sang bad face, "The Xue family is known as 'pearls are like earth and gold is like iron', and it's time to pay for it."

"Why did Mr. Dai speak in layman's terms? How could he use private property to support the emperor's soldiers? The lessons learned by Shen Wansan from the previous dynasty are in the history books!" Zhou Yang waved his hands repeatedly with a frightened expression, "Weak ministers are not allowed to do anything." Dare." "Okay!" Emperor Yonghe, who was putting on airs just now, couldn't stand it any longer. "There are dozens of artillery pieces and thousands of blunderbuss. I don't see you being afraid either - the imperial sister has told me so. , you should bear it on your own first, so that when the court is rich, you will not owe me any money; also, don’t forget what you discussed with the imperial sister."

"Don't worry, Your Majesty!" Zhou Yang didn't show any pretense this time and simply bowed and agreed.

"Okay, you go down." Emperor Yonghe kicked people out after finishing his work.

"General Zhou, please!" Dai Quan waved his hand with a smile, and "kindly" opened the door for him. Zhou Yang naturally couldn't say much, so he followed Dai Quan's instructions and went out, just avoiding the light in the room. In time, he stuffed two hundred taels of silver notes into the damn eunuch's sleeves, and sure enough, he smiled even more "kindly".

After exiting the imperial study and going home, Zhou Yang checked that it was still early; after what happened today, he would be completely stable in the army from now on, and he had also cleared many of the time bombs in advance. Although he did not dare to say that there would be no problem at all, At least as long as he is still useful, it won't detonate in advance.

"Your Majesty, it seems that Xuan'er has a good eye, and this is useful." Not long after Zhou Yang left the house, the Queen came out with a tea tray and motioned Dai Quan to go out. That girl."

"The imperial sister has a good vision." Emperor Yonghe was also satisfied, "Although it does not match the way in the court, after all, she came back from overseas, but she seemed to have no intentions; the last time the imperial sister came back, she praised the thousand households very much. I listened to his performance again today, and after comparing the two, I think there is no problem; the only thing I am worried about now is his overseas approach."

"I think he has no problem in this regard." The queen said with a smile, "Didn't General Zhou just mention that all his firearms were purchased from the red-haired man through the second room of the Xue family? If he could make these things , it’s really difficult to reuse it; if it’s just outsourced, it’s probably not a big problem.”

"Not bad!" Emperor Yonghe nodded after thinking about it, "I also saw the samples he sent to the Shenji Camp. That time, not only Qi Jianhui, but also I was shocked by the power of these firearms, and then let Dai Quan sent it to the Ministry of War and ordered them to imitate it no matter the cost. Three or two years should be enough."

"Oh?" The queen's heart moved, and she realized that Emperor Yonghe didn't mention this matter when he was confronting Zhou Yangzou just now. "Since Your Majesty has made arrangements, I won't say much; it just so happens that he is Rong'er's As a concubine, I think it’s better to invite two younger sisters to serve as hosts in two days, and the whole family will be in harmony.”

"It's Zi Tong's arrangement." Emperor Yonghe nodded with satisfaction, "I remember that the girl from the Xue family he originally selected is now under Yongjing's name, right? Zi Tong might as well let her go with him. Come and take a look, if you are someone who can be praised, you might as well give him some grace, and you will be an eternal person from now on."

"Your Majesty, don't worry, I'll spare it for you." The queen agreed immediately.

At the same time, Zhou Yang left the imperial study and followed the eunuch who led the way to the outside of the palace. This time it was broad daylight, and he was not able to get the favor of "staying overnight". Even though it was almost noon, no one was in charge of food.

"Is that General Zhou in front of you?" Unexpectedly, as soon as he reached the east road of the Three Main Halls, he was stopped by a familiar greeting.

"Wei Chen has seen Your Highness!" Zhou Yang was still a little surprised, and in front of him was the First Prince Guo Kai whom he hadn't seen for a while.

"General Zhou, no courtesy!" The eldest prince nodded with a smile and actively asked him to follow. "I am sleeping for the time being. I have nothing to do, so I will take people out for a walk. I will see the direction you are coming from, but my father summons you?"

"Back to Your Highness, it's true." Zhou Yang was not prepared to hide anything at this time. He looked left and right at the eunuchs and personal attendants who had wisely avoided them. He reported all the key points of the performance just now, and then continued, " At the moment, Wei Chen only has new recruits in his hands, but it won’t take more than a month, and it’s okay to have a prototype.”

"General Zhou is interested." Guo Kai was obviously more satisfied. "Aunt Yongchang has mentioned it more than once, asking Gu to ask the general for advice when it comes to anything. Now it seems that it is indeed the case; please rest assured, general, as long as you are loyal to Zhou wholeheartedly, There will definitely be a bright future; also, Aunt Yongchang will have a family dinner in two days, so don’t forget it!"

"Thank you, Your Highness!" Zhou Yang knew that he did not waste his saliva this time.

(End of this chapter)