Nanming Engineer

Chapter 303 My Heart Returns to the North
Xu Tiezhu replied: "The battalion is mainly equipped with firearms. Mr. Chen said that the weapons in the world are long-range. Whenever the two armies are facing each other, they will first shoot at each other with long-range weapons, and then fight hand-to-hand. A distance of ten feet is a point of strength, and all kinds of weapons are far away from firearms, and when building a strong army, firearms should be the first, so Mr. established the firearms battalion."

The two rode on horseback, and Wang Huan became more and more interested the more he listened. Chen Qiyu's idea of ​​building an army that Xu Tiezhu said was very close to the modern military system, so he couldn't help urging: "And then? What is the regulation of this firearms battalion?"

Seeing that Wang Huan seemed very devoted, Xu Tiezhu poured out what Chen Qiyu had taught him: "Mr. Chen said that there are three types of battalions, one type of cavalry, who come and go like the wind, and can advance and retreat freely. Running and covering maneuvers are all indispensable forces; the second type of chariots are used as baggage when marching, and as barriers when going into battle. With chariots, if there is a mobile wall, box cars are connected end to end in the wilderness and desert, with artillery in between. Strong crossbow, no matter how many troops you have, you can't get close, just stand by and wait until the enemy's energy is exhausted, and when they are exhausted, they will rush out and be defeated like an ear; Fill it in. The cavalry is the spear, and the infantry is the shield. Mr. Chen's firearms battalion is built on the foundation of the infantry."

"Mr. Chen said that ordinary firearms grow up and are cumbersome to use, so cavalry can only use simple firearms such as three-eyed guns, and bird guns can only be used by infantry, so the firearms battalion is the infantry battalion. According to him, There are 500 soldiers in Kuizhou, divided into three battalions, including 500 cavalry, 1000 and 800 chariots, and [-] infantry and firearms battalions."

"There are five hundred cavalry, and they all use Sichuan horses. However, Sichuan suffered a serious military disaster and the number of horses is scarce. The five hundred horses were collected by Mr. Chongming from Guizhou and Yunnan after a lot of thought; There are a total of 1000 vans, five people per car, with a captain, equipped with a bird uniform pole, and four soldiers, each with a spear and a mountain crossbow. The car board is the barrier; there are 240 people in the firearms battalion, all of whom have the same bird rod and one crescent axe."

"All the soldiers are mostly Shizhu locals, and occasionally a few refugees who have fled from other places and settled here. They are joint households as security, their family backgrounds are clean, and they are closely related to each other. They have strong cohesion and considerable combat effectiveness."

Speaking of this, Wang Huan made a gesture to interrupt Xu Tiezhu's narration of Xing Zhengnong, and said strangely: "The side car? But the side car that Sun Chuanting's Qin army used was passed down from Qi Jiguang?"

Xu Tiezhu nodded: "Exactly, but Mr. Chen has made changes. It is much thicker and is wrapped with cowhide to prevent fire, making it stronger."

"In this way, your troops are equivalent to the regulations of the Tianxiong Army plus the Qin Army's chariot battalion. Combining the two into one, taking the strengths of the two and complementing the weaknesses, it is extremely ingenious to form an army like this." Wang Huan mused, thinking secretly I admire Chen Qiyu for adapting measures to local conditions and using ready-made weapons and manpower to form a usable team in a short period of time, which is very remarkable.

"Yes!" Xu Tiezhu said: "Mr. Chen said that elder brother's Kuizhou army is dominated by exotic firearms, which cannot be replicated. We can only learn from the strengths of the various families and build an army suitable for the topography of Kuizhou Prefecture. Not to mention, it really works. .”

He turned his lips over and over, and couldn't help beaming with joy when he talked about it: "He Tengjiao sent two towns, Ma Shixiu and Wang Yuncheng, from the thirteen towns under his command, to attack the stone pillars and seize my silver mine. My little brother was hesitating when Mr. Chen arrived. , Formed an army in half a month. While asking Qin Taijun to send Qin Yiming and Qin Gongming two general soldiers to train troops, while recruiting people, they pulled up three iron cables at the critical point of Kuimen, crossed the river to block the road, and built water behind the iron cables. There are several villages, guarded by fire boats, completely blocking the waterway, forcing Ma and Wang to abandon their boats and go ashore."

"On the dry road, Mr. Chen will not let them succeed. There are many mountains in the north of Sichuan, and the roads are narrow. Except for the official road, the rest are bird roads that cannot be walked. The Kuimen official road is not wide at all. A few vans One block, destroying the mountain crossbow and shooting randomly, no matter how heroic you are, you can't get through. The bird commander ordered by Li Huai'en came one after another. Once the volley was fired, dozens of Huguang soldiers who were crowded together could be killed. Huguang soldiers Helpless, I stayed for more than half a month, cleaned up several nearby cities, and retreated by myself."

Wang Huan had already seen these battle reports, but Xu Tiezhu said it vividly at this moment, which added a bit of vividness. Wang Huan couldn't help being fascinated by it, and his gratitude to Chen Qiyu in his heart became more and more intense.

I must thank you face to face, without him, Kuizhou would not be safe.

Wang Huan then stopped Xu Tiezhu's nagging, and urged him to hurry up and go straight to Fengjie.

Fengjie Fucheng has been renovated and is more orderly than before. The damaged parts of the city wall have been covered with new stone strips and green bricks. The ground is made of loess and is solid and flat. Through the city gate and along the long street, as far as you can see, there are crowds of people. The streets are bustling with shops, flags and flags are waving, and the shouts and bargains are endless. The noise can be heard for miles across the city. The peddlers are playing tambourines, the porters are working hard carrying bags, and the merchants with big bellies are Waving folding fans, literati in Confucian shirts walked square steps, women staying at the rouge and gouache shop picked up their blushes, and various people walked on the bluestone streets. It was bustling with people, as if they were in a big city like Chengdu. illusion.

The street was crowded, and Wang Huan didn't like sticks to clear the way, so it took a lot of effort to get to the Yamen of the Shizhi Mansion, dismounted and entered. Wang Huan, led by Xu Tiezhu, went straight to the backyard.

Chen Qiyu's living room is in a small courtyard at the back. The courtyard is small, but there are bamboos and water. It is quiet and natural. Although it is summer, people feel cool.

There was a servant waiting at the door, who recognized Wang Huan, bowed to salute, turned around and gently pushed the door open.

Wang Huan walked a few steps quickly and entered the door ahead of him. A strong smell of traditional Chinese medicine came over his face.

The room is not big, and a step bed takes up most of the area. There is no one else in the room. Chen Kun, with red eyes, is squatting in the corner of the room, guarding a small earthen stove, boiling an earthen pot. The juice in the pot is boiling. with traditional Chinese medicine.

Hearing the sound of the door, Chen Kun turned his head and saw that it was Wang Huan who was coming. He was startled, and hurriedly stood up to greet him.

Wang Huan waved his hand, indicating that there was no need to do so, and his gaze was fixed on the bed.

An old man with a skinny face and a dead gray face was lying on the bed with his eyes closed. Although it was midsummer, there was a stove to boil medicine in the house, and the temperature was very high. The clothes were wet with sweat, but the old man on the bed was covered with a satin quilt.

"Mr. is afraid of the cold, and kept whispering cold in a coma, so he covered himself with a quilt." Xu Tiezhu followed behind Wang Huan, explaining softly.

Without saying a word, Wang Huan walked slowly to the bed, sat down on a stool, and looked at the sleeping Chen Qiyu with a complicated expression.

The cabinet ministers who are famous all over the world, the all-powerful figures, are lying quietly like an ordinary farmer's old man at this moment. No one would have imagined that this dying man almost changed the fate of the Ming Dynasty back then. His eyes were dimmed, his face was full of vitality like a withered old tree, and his body, which once stood proudly before millions of soldiers, no longer had the tall and straight posture like a green pine, and was wrapped in a quilt. like a statue.

Wang Huan closed his eyes, took a deep breath slowly, stretched out his hand slowly, and pinched Chen Qiyu's hand that was exposed outside the quilt.

The hands were thin and fleshless, as if they were just bones wrapped in a layer of skin.

Wang Huan squeezed it tightly, feeling the faint warmth of that hand.

There was a faint sob behind him, it was Chen Kun, squatting by the stove, weeping and boiling medicine.

The pulse in his hand, the rhythm of the beating was barely audible, Wang Huan tried his best to sense it, and then he could feel a slight tremor, which was so weak that it seemed to stop at any time.

It can never be recovered.

No one speaks, and the mind is self-contained.

Wang Huan held Chen Qiyu's hand and sat there for a long time like an old monk in meditation.

The smell of traditional Chinese medicine in the room is like sandalwood lingering around the beam, one after another, dyeing Wang Huan all over.

Chen Kun finally couldn't stand it anymore. He wiped away his tears, walked over to Wang Huan and said softly, "My lord, the governor has been in a coma for several days, and I won't wake up now. My lord, please be busy first. The officer will notify the adults immediately."

Xu Tiezhu also echoed: "Your Excellency is entangled in many things, and staying here is not an option. Just leave it to Chen Kun and me. Your Excellency, let's go first."

The two spoke sincerely and from the bottom of their hearts. Wang Huan was stunned for a while and felt that what he said was right. He was about to pull away, but suddenly felt that Chen Qiyu's hand tightened.

Wang Huan was taken aback, and quickly looked into Chen Qiyu's eyes, only to find that his eyes were still tightly closed, with no sign of opening them.

Immediately afterwards, the hand trembling with difficulty moved Wang Huan's hand slowly, and moved it to Chen Qiyu's heart.

Chen Kun and Xu Tiezhu who stood behind were both surprised and happy, and cried out in grief.

Chen Qiyu's eyes never opened, his complexion was ashen, except for that hand, his whole body didn't move.

Let Chen Qiyu hold Wang Huan's hand, and he listened in his heart.

The weak beating of his heart faintly shook Wang Huan's hand through the quilt.

Then, Chen Qiyu let go of Wang Huan's hand, raised it tremblingly, and pointed in one direction.

He pointed very hard, so hard that Wang Huan had to gently support it with his hands so that it would not fall off.

A drop of clear tears slowly flowed from the corners of Chen Qiyu's tightly closed eyes, and dripped onto the pillow along the dense wrinkles.

Wang Huan raised his head and glanced in the direction Chen Qiyu pointed. It was the other end of the bed, and there was nothing but the white mosquito net.

But Wang Huan knew that it was the north.

The direction of Beijing.

(End of this chapter)