The Qing Dynasty

Chapter 51: Betrothal
Liu Shijiu then continued solemnly, "Also, from today on, if anyone says that the Teng army is colluding with foreigners again, I will be the first to confront him."

Hearing that the vanguard army killed, wounded or captured more than 1,500 foreign devils, Master Qian was excited again. However, he still hurriedly spoke to Teng Yuzhao.

"Xingfu, when your cannons sounded this time, Yu Zhongtang was extremely anxious. There were not many soldiers in the city, so he had to find the Boxers in the city to come and help. However, no one was willing to come after he found several. Only Senior Brother Liu understood the greater good and was willing to lead his Qianzi Group to come and help."

Teng Yuzao could imagine that he rescued little Christian and his group from the Lihe Company and slapped the face of the world's number one group, but he also offended the Boxers badly. It was understandable that the Boxers in the city were unwilling to come out of the city to rescue him.

Although Teng Yuzao felt very sad that these Boxer leaders were short-sighted, disregarded the overall situation, and acted based on their likes and dislikes, none of these Boxer leaders were well-educated and understood some principles. It was already very good for them to be able to recognize a few words. Teng Yuzao could not blame them.

It is not easy for Liu Shijiu to come, so this person is worth making friends with.

Teng Yuzao bowed to Liu Jiujiu and said sincerely, "Captain Liu, you are willing to consider the overall situation without bearing grudges. I thank you."

Teng Yuzao pointed to the piles of guns and ammunition in front of the position and said, "Here are the captured British-made Winchester 1866 rifles, a total of , and there are also Italian-made Carcano rifles, , a total of rifles. These rifles and the matching ammunition are all given to Chief Liu as a token of my appreciation."

Liu Shijiu had long been envious of the mountains of rifles, but now that the war had begun, not only were the Boxers searching for quick-firing rifles, but even the local gentry and wealthy families were searching for guns everywhere to ensure their safety. The foreign rifles that usually cost more than 20 taels each had now risen to more than 100 taels each, and were still difficult to buy.

Moreover, not only were foreign guns in short supply, but bullets were also extremely difficult to find. The price of one or two taels of silver to buy a hundred bullets had already skyrocketed, increasing tenfold.

Now Teng Yuzao sent more than 200 foreign rifles and piles of ammunition. Liu Shijiu rubbed his hands happily, but said embarrassedly, "General Teng is too polite. Although I brought my brothers to help, I didn't contribute much. Moreover, I heard that the Vanguard Army was expanding, and these foreign rifles were urgently needed. I dare not accept this generous gift."

Since he wanted to befriend Liu Shijiu, Teng Yuzao simply played his part. He smiled and walked forward to hug Liu Shijiu's shoulders affectionately. "Captain Liu, you understand the overall situation and take the general situation into consideration. I deeply admire you. We should get closer in the future. These guns and ammunition are just a token of my appreciation. If you need anything in the future, just come to me, Teng."

Liu Jiujiu was greatly touched by Teng Yuzao's sincere attitude. He patted his chest and said to Teng Yuzao excitedly, "Since the general thinks highly of me, Liu Jiujiu, I won't say much. If the vanguard army is in trouble in the future, I, Liu Jiujiu's Qianzi Group, will risk my life to come to the rescue, without hesitation."

Teng Yuzao was waiting for Liu Jiujiu to say this. His vanguard army was in urgent need of expanding its manpower. Recruiting soldiers alone would not be enough in a short period of time. With the help of Liu Jiujiu's relatively disciplined Boxers, not only would they have a strong ally that could temporarily solve the vanguard army's urgent needs, but if they could also incorporate Liu Jiujiu's Qianzi Group in the future, that would be of great benefit to the vanguard army.

There are many young people in the Boxer Rebellion who are skilled in martial arts and hate foreigners very much. These people are all good soldiers. In time, many of them will become the backbone of the vanguard army to fight against the Eight-Nation Alliance.

Teng Yuzao was just trying to strike while the iron was hot to get closer to Liu Shijiu, when Liu Shijiu, blushing, clasped his fists to Teng Yuzao and said, "Thank you, General, for thinking highly of a rough man like me, Liu Shijiu. I'll just marry you. How about we call each other brothers in the future?"

As soon as Liu Jiujiu said this, he felt a little regretful. After all, Teng Yuzao was not an ordinary person like them. He was now a third-rank military official in the imperial court. How could he be so close to him, the leader of the Boxers who was once regarded as a bandit by the imperial court? Even Master Qian and Pan Jinshan were also a little uneasy. They were worried that Teng Yuzao would get angry and embarrass Liu Jiujiu. Master Qian was about to change the subject of Liu Jiujiu.

Unexpectedly, Teng Yuzao had already spoken, and as soon as he spoke, he surprised several people. Teng Yuzao laughed and said, "Brother Liu is eager to help others, and he is quick to speak. I get along very well with him. I couldn't ask for more. Why don't we just become brothers?"

He turned around and said to Li Dazhu, "Why don't you go get some wine? Brother Liu and I are going to drink blood wine today to become brothers of the opposite sex."

Although Li Dazhu also felt that his behavior today was inappropriate, he still turned around and ran to get the wine.

Fortunately, their current location was not far from the central machine gun bunker where Teng Yuzhao was located. Li Dazhui jumped into the trench and ran into the machine gun bunker in a few steps.

Liu Yuzhi hesitated for a moment, but still shouted to Li Dazhu's back, "Bring a few more bowls. We also want to celebrate the great victory for you, sir."

Liu Yuzhi only said that he wanted to congratulate Teng Yuzao on this great victory. He did not mention the fact that he and Liu Shijiu became brothers. He was just trying to see if there was any room for maneuver. After all, Teng Yuzao had said that it was absolutely forbidden for anyone in the vanguard army to have any relationship with the Boxers.

Teng Yuzao's words shocked everyone present. Not only Master Qian and Pan Jinshan were stunned, but even Liu Shijiu looked at Teng Yuzao with his mouth wide open in surprise.

He never expected that Teng Yuzhao not only readily agreed to his proposal of being brothers, but even wanted to drink blood wine with him to become brothers of different surnames. How could he not be extremely surprised?

Seeing that Liu Shijiu was still staring at him blankly, Teng Yuzao couldn't help but ask Liu Shijiu with a smile, "Brother Liu, are you unwilling?"

Liu Shijiu finally reacted, stretched out his calloused hands, grasped Teng Yuzao's hands tightly and said, "Yes! Yes! The general is willing to become a brother to a rough man like me, how could I not want to? This is the ancestral grave of my Liu family, I couldn't ask for more! I couldn't ask for more!"

Fortunately, Li Dazhui acted quickly and ran back with two bottles of wine and a few white porcelain bowls in just a short while.

Ignoring Liu Yuzhi who was secretly pulling at his collar from behind, Teng Yuzhao first pulled out a dagger from his riding boots, cut his middle finger, and then dripped a few drops of blood into the bowl filled with wine. Seeing that Teng Yuzhao did what he said, Liu Shijiu no longer hesitated, reached out and pulled out a sharp dagger from his waist, cut his finger, and also dripped the flowing blood into the wine bowl.

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(End of this chapter)