The Qing Dynasty

Chapter 57 You've got to keep a close eye on those good things
No matter how much he sighed, fortunately these things now belonged to him, Teng Yuzhao, and would never appear again. The sad and lamentable historical tragedy of them being snatched away by the Eight-Nation Alliance would be gone. He would use these guns and cannons, which are almost the most advanced in the world today, to severely strike the invaders.

Teng Yuzhao tried hard to drive away the unpleasant memories, waved his hand, and said to Li Yulin with a smile.

"According to Master Qian, anything in Xigu that our Vanguard Army needs for expansion can be used at will."

"These guns, ammunition and other military supplies are urgently needed for our military expansion, so now they all belong to our vanguard army. Qionglin, you must keep those good things safe. No one can take a rifle without my order."

Hearing Teng Yuzhao say that these things now belonged to their vanguard army, Li Yulin felt very happy, but also a little depressed.

"Xingfu, there are so many weapons and ammunition in the Xigu warehouse. Yu Zhongtang must know about it. If he sends someone to ask for them, can we not give them to him?"

Teng Yuzhao knew very well that Yulu would not take anything from the Xigu warehouse, and he would ignore anyone unless Yulu sent someone to ask for it.

At that moment, Teng Yuzao said without hesitation, "No, even if Yu Lu goes by himself, you must not give it to me. Put everything on me."

Teng Yuzao did not say Yu Zhongtang, but called him by his name, and even asked Li Yulin to refuse Yu Lu's order. This was another test of Li Yulin.

Although Li Yulin was a little surprised and hesitant, he changed his mind in a flash, then nodded and spoke in a firm tone.

"Okay! I feel relieved with your words, Xingfu. No one should think of taking these good things unless they have your warrant."

"I'll go back and take out a few Maxim heavy machine guns from the warehouse, and put two on each side of the warehouse."

Teng Yuzao was very satisfied with Li Yulin's attitude. He stood up, patted Li Yulin on the shoulder, and spoke with a cold tone.

"Yes, for anyone who wants to break in and take these things by force, you can shoot them to death in the name of protecting military supplies under Yu Lujun's order. I will bear all the responsibilities."

"Report."

Following the report, Wei Jinghai walked in excitedly, "Sir, the foreign devils sent us 12,000 leather belts and more than 8,700 pairs of leather boots, but they were not from just one country. They were made in Britain, Russia, Germany, France, Italy, and Austria-Hungary. It was a bit messy. Besides, they didn't have more belts and leather boots. In addition to the 60,000 pounds as compensation for us, they also brought 50,000 pounds, 450,000 silver, and more than 60,000 eagle dollars. It's still a little short of the amount you said."

Wei Jinghai asked, "Sir, do you think we can now give them the bodies of the fallen foreign devils and their seriously injured soldiers? Or keep some of the wounded or the bodies of the fallen soldiers?"

Teng Yuzao said jokingly with a smile, "The foreign devils have scraped together so many things and money. Considering that it is not easy for them, just give them all to them. Don't leave any wounded or dead bodies behind. We should give them all. Not only should we keep our promise, but also show them mercy outside the law." Teng Yuzao's words made Wei Jinghai and Li Yulin laugh.

After Wei Jinghai left, Li Yulin said admiringly, "Xingfu, I really admire you. You returned the German prisoners and wounded, including the remains of their fallen soldiers, to Lehman and Christian. Now it has worked. The foreign devils dare not not pay real money to exchange for their wounded, otherwise their military morale will be hit."

Teng Yuzao smiled but didn't say anything. Instead, he shouted loudly from outside, "Li Dazhu."

Following Teng Yuzao's shout, Li Dazhui responded and ran into the machine gun bunker.

"Go to the nearby villages right away and hire a few more carts for one tael of silver per cart. General Manager Li will take away all the weapons, ammunition and supplies we have seized, as well as the goodies sent by the foreign devils."

After Li Dazhu ran out happily, Li Yulin said with some distress, "Xingfu, I admire your ability to make money, but you can't give such a good price for the car!"

Teng Yuzao waved his hand and said, "Qionglin, during this chaotic time, it's not easy for the common people. It's just a few dozen taels of silver that we have to spend. Let's not talk about this. I have something more important to discuss with you."

Li Yulin doesn't smoke, so Teng Yuzao lit a cigarette and took a puff before saying, "This time we seized more than a thousand rifles, all of which were the Russians' Mosin-Nagant 1891. This rifle is actually quite good, with high accuracy and good range, but it has a five-round magazine, and can only hold four rounds. The other round needs to be loaded from the top. Also, its caliber is different from the G98."

After talking about the advantages and disadvantages of the Mosin-Nagant, Teng Yuzao said reluctantly, "We must keep these guns well. They are not useful now, but we will definitely be able to use them later."

"In addition to the pounds and silver the foreign devils just sent us, we also seized some pounds, Italian lira, and Austro-Hungarian crowns in this battle. You should also take good care of these foreign currencies. The war will eventually be over, and these foreign currencies will be of great use in the future. Not only must they be kept well, but the silver sent by the foreign devils must be separated from the military expenses given by Yu Lu. This money is the private money of our vanguard army and cannot be used unless it is absolutely necessary."

"besides."

Teng Yuzhao was pacing in the machine gun bunker while smoking a cigarette.

"As for the number of new soldiers to be recruited, we now have sufficient weapons and silver for the time being, so the number of recruits should not be limited to 20,000. The more the better. We can greatly increase it. Let's temporarily set it at 50,000. It doesn't matter if we can't recruit enough in a short period of time. We can recruit slowly. In addition, those who have served in the military or can use modern firearms should be recruited first, and their conditions can be appropriately relaxed. We have too few people now."

"Also, after the new recruits come back, they must immediately seize every opportunity to train. You can formulate a reward policy. Those who can reach the standards for entering the vanguard army within half a month will be rewarded with five taels of silver. Those who can reach the standards within a month will be rewarded with two taels of silver. Those who can reach the standards within two months will be rewarded with one tael of silver. If they still cannot reach the standards within three months, their military ranks will be reduced by half."

"For those who know both Western and Chinese medicine, we can relax the restrictions, especially for Chinese medicine practitioners who are good at treating knife and gunshot wounds. Those between 18 and 50 can be admitted, and their resettlement allowances will also be greatly increased, from 50 to 200 taels, depending on their medical skills."

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(End of this chapter)