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

Chapter 76 Reunion

"General Xiao Yang!"

With a happy cry, Lu Xiangsheng's elegant figure appeared at the door of the military camp, smiling and bowing his hands to the dusty Yang Menglong.

Yang Menglong returned the salute and asked, "Lord Lu, are you safe? I haven't seen you for a while, so I miss you!"

Lu Xiangsheng said: "I'm fine, come in quickly... By the way, why did you come to Beijing just now?"

Yang Menglong made a strange face at the guard who stopped him just now and refused to let him in, and walked into the barracks.The soldiers guarding the gate of the camp didn't know him, and they refused to let him in, so he could only stay outside to drink the northwest wind, until Lu Xiangsheng came out in person, and he was able to enter the barracks. Of course, he didn't look good to those guys.

In the camp, countless soldiers were practicing, with swords and guns like a forest, and the sound of killing was loud. An iron-blooded aura unique to the military enveloped the entire military camp, making Yang Menglong's blood boil.He found that the equipment of Lu Xiangsheng's troops had improved a lot. They generally wore brand-new jackets. Some elite soldiers even wore leather and cotton armor. The flags were also brand-new, flying in the cold wind.He said happily: "Mr. Lu, it seems that you have been doing well during this period, and you have changed everything."

Lu Xiangsheng smiled: "It's all because of the wrong love of the Holy One. He ordered us to allocate a large amount of food, military equipment and armor, so that I can train this army into a capable division. Now our army has all put on military uniforms, and the missing weapons have been supplemented." , with these materials, I am confident that I can train this team into a strong team within two years!"

Yang Menglong was happy for him from the bottom of his heart, but seeing many soldiers with muskets in their hands, his brows frowned again.These rubbish muskets have left a shadow on his mind, and he is very unhappy to see these rags.He pointed to a musketeer team passing by, frowned and said, "Why did the imperial court equip you with these rags? Want to kill you?"

Lu Xiangsheng took a look and said: "Oh, that's a bird mill made by the Ministry of War during the Wanli period. The mill tube is made of fine iron. Although it has been in the warehouse for more than ten years, it is still very useful. Your Majesty, meet our archers. Not many, so I ordered the adjustment of fifteen hundred birds."

Yang Menglong opened his mouth: "The things made more than ten years ago are actually better than the ones produced now?"

Lu Xiangsheng smiled wryly, but did not speak.It sounds ridiculous, but it is true that the old antiques produced more than ten or twenty years ago are better than the current ones.In the last years of the Ming Dynasty, wars became more and more frequent, but the equipment of the Ming army became worse and worse. For example, firearms, which were the main equipment of the Ming army, became worse and worse by the end of the Ming Dynasty. The probability of killing the enemy is as high as that of killing oneself, so that the Ming army would rather use bows and arrows than muskets again.

The most terrible shortcoming of muskets in this era is that it is troublesome to load. It is normal to be able to fire one round per minute, and it is super-level to be able to fire two rounds. However, a well-trained archer can shoot at least one round in one minute. Fifteen arrows (of course, after shooting these fifteen arrows, his arm was so sore that he could hardly lift it.), the gap is too great.In the Anti-Japanese War, the firearms of the Ming army performed well, but in the Battle of Sarhu, these fatal weaknesses made the Ming army defeated under the fierce impact of the Houjin cavalry, and the muskets became a joke in the eyes of the Houjin army.But in any case, these bird guns are quite valuable. The barrels are all made of refined iron. It is not difficult to see Chongzhen's expectations for Lu Xiangsheng, how can ordinary generals get such favor from him.

Yang Menglong saw a group of soldiers carrying a very strange musket with six barrels, and couldn't help but curiously asked: "What is this?"

Lu Xiangsheng said: "The electric gun has five, six, ten, or even eighteen barrels, which can be fired in turn, and the firepower is extremely fierce."

Yang Menglong became interested: "Can you shoot a few shots for me to see?"

It wasn't a big deal, Lu Xiangsheng called a soldier carrying an electric gun, came to an open space, and signaled the soldier to fire at the target.The soldier sets up his gun, takes aim, fires, bang bang bang bang!There were four rings in a row, and a few holes were added to a target, which was fast enough.But there were problems with two barrels, and the soldier failed to fire after several clicks.Yang Menglong noticed that every time a shot was fired, the barrel turned once, and he couldn't help but marvel: "This is simply an enlarged version of a revolver!"

Lu Xiangsheng asked in surprise: "What is a revolver? Is it a firearm? Why have I never heard of this firearm?"

Yang Menglong said: "It is indeed a firearm, you will see it later..."

boom!boom!
With the unremitting efforts of the soldier, the last two shots were finally fired. A dozen shots were a big cloud of gunpowder smoke, and the sound of the shots was quite similar to that of modern rifles.Yang Menglong asked: "How far can you hit?"

Lu Xiangsheng said: "You can hit accurately within [-] steps, but if you exceed [-] steps, you will not be able to hit accurately."

Yang Menglong silently calculated that one step is 50 meters, and thirty steps is less than [-] meters, which is really hard to satisfy.He squeezed his chin and said, "This is a good thing, can you give me two to take back to play with?"

Lu Xiangsheng said: "This is not a problem." He waved his hand, let the soldier leave, and led Yang Menglong to his residence.

The place where Lu Xiangsheng lives is a tile-roofed house with several holes, and the ventilation and lighting conditions are good.He has no servants or personal attendants, just like ordinary soldiers, no wonder the soldiers are willing to sacrifice their lives for him, the soldiers' minds are so simple, whoever is willing to share weal and woe with them, they will sell their lives.Lu Xiangsheng poured two bowls of boiling water himself, sprinkled some tea leaves in them, pushed one of the bowls in front of Yang Menglong, and said apologetically, "The conditions in the army are poor, so I really can't offer you anything good, so I can only wrong you." .”

Yang Menglong said carelessly: "Who are we talking to whom? Do we need to say such things?" He picked up the tea and took a sip. The taste was so-so, obviously not a good tea.Lord Lu is poor, he doesn't even have the money to buy the packaged tea leaves, but it's been a long time since we've seen each other, it's a good enjoyment for everyone to sit together and drink tea while chatting, whether the tea is good or bad is the second.Lu Xiangsheng asked about the situation in the county, and he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief when he learned that everything was safe there and that Jiannu didn't invade again after he left.But then Yang Menglong told him that many of the wounded failed to survive, and after dying in extreme pain, he became sad again and let out a long sigh.

"More people died from wound infections than those who died in battle." Yang Menglong looked helpless, "There is no medicine, no skilled doctors, and once those wounded are injured, it will be very dangerous... By the way, during this period of time, the capital city How is the situation? Has Jian Nu taken any action?"

Lu Xiangsheng said: "When I led the army into Beijing, I didn't meet Jiannu's large group of troops. I only met their rangers a few times. When I arrived in the capital, I didn't have a chance to fight Jiannu. I assisted the friendly army in defense for nearly a month. , Jiannu withdrew, basically doing nothing.”

Yang Menglong's eyes widened: "They withdraw, shall we let them withdraw?"

Lu Xiangsheng looked bitter: "Thank God for being able to survive until they withdrew their capital. Who would dare to provoke them? Besides, the four cities of Zunhua, Luancheng, Yongping, and Qian'an are still under construction. Come back, the capital is safe from danger!"

Yang Menglong scolded angrily: "Damn it!"

Lu Xiangsheng lowered his head, as if he was suppressing his emotions. After a long while, he suddenly raised his head and said, "In a few days, I may have to bring troops back to the Daming Mansion."

Yang Menglong hummed, this was expected.Hou Jin has retreated, but still occupies the four cities in Guan Nei. These four cities are four poisonous fangs that are clinging to the capital and must be pulled out.Attacking a city is never an easy task. I don’t know how many lives it takes to recapture the fallen city. Although Lu Xiangsheng dared to risk his life, his soldiers also dared to risk their lives, but after all, they were just a temporary rebel army, and they did not accept Without any formal training, using this kind of troops to attack the city is just a joke. It is right and necessary for him to take this troops back and train them properly.

Lu Xiangsheng went on to say: "In the past few days, the Holy Majesty has summoned me many times and talked with me. I have also told the Holy Majesty many times about your heroic deeds of killing the enemy. The Holy Majesty admires you very much and agrees without hesitation to let you take over as Wuyang Qian. He has high hopes for you for the job of thousands of households, so don't let him down!"

Yang Menglong shrugged and said: "I will do my best. In fact, I am not very capable. I can make the military households of the Qianhusuo live a good life and the people in Wuyang live a good life. If possible, I can do it again. It’s almost enough to pay the imperial court a few stones of grain.”

Lu Xiangsheng shook his head with a smile, and said: "I think you are just lazy... In fact, I value your bravery and skill very much. Why don't you stop being a thousand households and come under my command, and we will train an elite team together." Teacher, serve the court, okay?"

This is the second time that Lu Xiangsheng has sent out the same invitation, but Yang Menglong still shook his head: "Master Lu, don't say this in the future...Since I have chosen to go to Wuyang, I will not change it. The path we chose Different, but the original intention is the same, let’s lead to the same goal by different routes.”

Lu Xiangsheng stared at him, feeling that he seemed to have changed, but he couldn't say exactly what changed.He sighed and said, "Okay, then I won't force it. Tomorrow I will accompany you to the Ministry of War to apply for military registration. The bureaucrats in the Ministry of War are not so easy to deal with. With your violent temper, you will definitely get along with me." They clash, which is extremely bad for you."

Of course Yang Menglong couldn't wish for it.

(End of this chapter)