Prince Chongzhen

Chapter 458 I don't really want to change clothes
"Marshal, Lao Chen is very brave in battle and has many clever ideas. Can't we replace him?"

Looking at the plaque in front of him with "Jia Zi Yuan" engraved on it, Chen Si made his final struggle.

After the Battle of Hanzhong, he was promoted to guerrilla due to his merits. However, when others were happily selecting men from the reserve soldiers, he received a piece of news that was like a bolt from the blue.

His battalion needs to change its uniforms.

According to common sense, this is a good thing. Firstly, the "Jingwu Type A" far exceeds the self-propelled gun in terms of range and accuracy. Secondly, the expansion of his battalion will all come from other battalions.

On the other hand, not only will his colleagues fail to get new weapons, but their outstanding soldiers will also be transferred to Chen Si.

Compared with this, he can be considered to have gotten a great bargain.

just
"Such nonsense! Replacing a new gun is something that others would beg for, so stop trying to be nice to me!"

After being scolded by Mei Chun, Chen Si immediately shut his mouth in shame.

He naturally knew that being the first to be equipped with new muskets was a great thing, but he also knew that if Mei Chun had not been fair, such a good thing would never have happened to an outsider like him.

No matter what, the performance of the new musket far exceeds that of the self-propelled musket, and its combat methods are completely different from those before.

If it were an ordinary time, the tactics would be different and he would just need to practice more and think more. But now another big war is imminent. If he replaces all his weapons with new ones, who knows if he can still catch up with the battle?

But this was not just Chen Youji's wild imagination.

As the saying goes, food and fodder must be sent before the army moves. In recent days, not only have batches of food and fodder been transported from the south to the Yingtian camp, but troops that were previously sent to Jiangxi are also returning one after another.

All these movements indicated that there must be new actions from above. Even though His Majesty had not yet issued an imperial decree, Chen Si already had a premonition that a great war was about to begin.

But now.
Hey~~~~~!

After sighing in his heart, Chen Si finally said nothing more.

In the root, the higher the rank, the more important it is to be the first to change clothes.
Hey~~~~~!

"Clap clap clap!"

While the two were talking, a soldier went to knock on the door. After a few breaths, the courtyard door slowly opened from the inside, and then an old craftsman came out to greet them.

"But General Mei of the rear army is here in person?"

"That's right, old man."

"I am Wang Quangui, the old man who was appointed as the head of Jiaziyuan. I heard that the general was coming, so I came here to greet him."

Wang Quangui bowed as he spoke, but Mei Chun was not arrogant at all because he was just a craftsman. Seeing the other party's greeting, he immediately returned the greeting.

"I'll have to trouble Dean Wang again this time."

"It should, it should."

As soon as he finished speaking, someone came towards Mei Chun and the others holding something that looked like an account book. Wang Quangui seemed to be accustomed to such scenes, and he started explaining without waiting for the other party to ask.

"Don't blame me, General Mei. There are too many important things going on. Your Majesty has set such a rule just to be prepared for any eventuality."

After these words were spoken, regardless of whether Mei Chun and the others still had doubts or not, they had to act according to the rules. After writing down all the required information, the group entered the courtyard under the leadership of Wang Quangui.

At this point, Chen Si knew there was no chance of turning back, so he gave up the last thought.

In fact, if he was willing to swallow his pride and ask Xiang Rensheng for help, this matter would not be a foregone conclusion. However, although he knew that the gap today was due to his performance back then, he still held his breath and wanted to prove himself with his military achievements.

If I really went to Xiang Rensheng for help because of such a situation at this moment, I probably wouldn't have to hold it in my anger.

While they were thinking, the group had already arrived at the warehouse door. Wang Quangui then went through the formalities in front of the warehouse manager. After signing each receipt, he took out more than ten new muskets from the warehouse.

The general appearance of this musket is no different from that of a self-propelled gun, but when Chen Si took it in his hand, he discovered that there were two triangular protrusions on the barrel, and the junction with the gun body was like a platform, rather than the smooth appearance before.

Seeing this, Chen Si had some doubts in his heart whether he was willing to change clothes first or not. He then pointed to Wang Quangui of different dynasties that he had discovered and asked.

"Master Wang, these two are somewhat different from the self-propelled guns, but I don't know why."

"General Chen really has good eyesight. No wonder His Majesty specifically asked you to be the first in the batch to change clothes."

As soon as he finished speaking, Chen Si was stunned. When he looked at his own commander, he was met with another round of complaints.

"Seeing the war, do you think I'm willing to let you squat in the back?"

According to Mei Chun's thinking, there were still more than 20,000 guards in his rear army hiding in the Yingtian camp and playing with swords. There was really no need to let his most outstanding battalion change their equipment before the battle.

But no one knew what had happened this time. His Majesty, who had always been receptive to advice, was stubborn and insisted on equipping Chen Si's troops, who had experience in battle, with new muskets.

Faced with such a situation, Mei Chun could only obey the order. Even though Chen Si's troops had participated in every battle since the attack on Zeelandia, he did not have the courage to disobey the imperial order.

Fortunately, it will take another month or two to complete the preparations, which should be enough time for all departments to get used to each other.

As his mind turned, Mei Chun turned his gaze to Chen Si again.

At this time, Chen Si was listening to Dean Wang's explanation very seriously, without any of his previous reluctance.

"Remember this. If you align these two protrusions with the enemy, you can hit them wherever you point. Put the ring on the bayonet on the gun barrel, and then put the handle on the wooden support."

As Chen Si spoke, he put the bayonet on the musket. He then tried to stab forward a few times, and then looked at Mei Chun with his big white teeth bared. It was unknown whether he felt the benefits of the new musket or was excited about the emperor's choice.

Cowardly look.

After rolling his eyes at the other party, Mei Chun thought about finding a place to test the range and accuracy of the new gun. But before he could say anything, another person ran over. When he looked over with some curiosity, he heard what the person said to Wang Quangui.

"Master, General Chang Guanlin and General Li Chengdong are outside the courtyard."

Hearing this, Wang Quangui apologized to Mei Chun and was about to go out to greet him. However, Mei Chun, who had always been honest, had another thought at this time and took a few steps before the other party left.

"Master Wang, I came here first, but this new gun cannot be shared with others."

Seeing Mei Chun's behavior, Wang Quangui was stunned for a moment. After half a breath, he finally understood what the other party meant, and then smiled and said, "General Mei, don't worry, the production of these new guns is not high, and His Majesty has allocated them all to your rear army. The two generals came to receive the new armor and self-made guns, but they have nothing to do with the new guns."

"That's good, that's good."

After laughing awkwardly twice, Mei Chun gave way and left. Then he and Chen Si discussed the various advantages of the new gun, but at the same time he became conflicted.

Although he and Chang Guanlin both came from the 48 guards of Yingtian, the Xiaoling Guard had always been independent of the Yingtian garrison, so the two had never had any dealings with each other.

Later, when His Majesty came to power, the two of them had never met each other by chance, and until now, neither of them knew each other.

According to common sense, as colleagues, there should be some interaction. If they happen to meet each other, they should contact each other to avoid lack of tacit understanding when facing the enemy in the future.

But after Wang Quangui's introduction, he already knew that this new gun was a real good thing. If those two guys saw it,
"Take the new gun back first, and make sure the two generals don't see it."

"Ah? Oh!"

After all, Chen Si was also a member of the underworld. After hearing these words, he immediately understood what his commander was worried about.

"Hey, brother, Dean Wang still has things to do, so you can just hand out the new guns first."

"Please forgive me, General. Without the signature of the president, I dare not use the money in the treasury indiscriminately."

"Didn't Dean Wang sign it before? Why do you want it again?"

"We have just received these fourteen samples. We still need to sign for the 1,500 new guns to be distributed to the rear army."

Seeing that the other party was so old-fashioned, Chen Si immediately became annoyed. Then he took a few steps towards the warehouse manager and started yelling at the top of his voice.

"How can you be so ignorant? His Majesty has already sent new guns to my rear army, and you are still stopping them. Aren't you disobeying the emperor's order?!"

According to what Chen Si thought, the other party was just a small warehouse manager, and he would not dare to stop him after being scared. However, to his surprise, the other party did not show any fear after seeing his appearance, but instead had a sneer on his face.

"General, you are too polite. It is true that you have received the emperor's order, but these rules are also set by His Majesty. If you are tougher than others, you can try to break through."

"you!"

"Chen Si! Is this the place for you to throw a tantrum?!"

As a high-ranking military commander, Mei Chun naturally knew that this factory was the lifeblood of His Majesty. However, before, he only thought that His Majesty valued the factory because of some of the great craftsmen inside. He did not expect that even a small warehouse manager could be so tough.

After this scolding came out, he couldn't help but re-evaluate the position of the factory in His Majesty's heart.

After this incident, Mei Chun's thoughts naturally came to nothing. After a while, a voice came from outside, and then he saw two generals led by Wang Quangui into the warehouse yard.

The three generals had their own etiquette when they met. After going through the formalities, Mei Chun exchanged a few words with the two generals, and then said to Chen Si nonchalantly: "I will have to reminisce with the two generals in a while, you can take your things back first."

"Yes, thank you for your help, Dean Wang."

Chen Si was also smart. He responded and turned directly to Wang Quangui. Then the other party walked towards the warehouse with a smile, and the warehouse manager took out the receipts one by one.

just
"I heard that this new gun is very powerful. Why don't you let a country bumpkin like me have a look at it?"

Chang Guanlin felt very depressed.

Very!

When His Majesty entrusted him with an important task, he was blocked outside the main battlefield by a small Fuzhou, and thus missed the Battle of Ganzhou where more than 100,000 enemies were annihilated.

As the saying goes, one wrong step leads to all wrong steps. Jin Shenghuan surrendered voluntarily, and he took Nanchang. But at this time, His Majesty had already gone south to Guangdong, and his vanguard army had no choice but to rest on the spot.

He didn't even want to think about what happened next.

Seizing Taiwan, pacifying Yunnan, supporting the bandits, and repelling Hauge, after each battle, the rear army equipped with self-propelled guns and Li Chengdong's troops stood out one after another. On the other hand, his first batch of expanded main forces not only maintained the same state, but even showed some trends of becoming second-line troops.

Faced with such a situation, he knew very well that he had to take the initiative.

Just when he was about to shamelessly petition His Majesty, he received news about a new type of musket.

At that time, His Majesty had already ordered that all these 1,500 new-style muskets be distributed to the rear army, and he did not have the courage to ask His Majesty to revoke the order.

It was a piece of luck. When he was trying his best to inquire about the new gun, the order came down to order the front army to replace the new armor. When he arrived at the factory, he happened to meet Mei Chun who came to receive the new gun.

You know, even with his position in the army and his relationship with Yingtian, he still couldn't find out anything. Now that he was dozing off, he decided to try to find out the quality of the new gun.

"Bah!"

"Eighty steps, right on the bull's eye!"

Since Chang Guanlin had started it, the Dragon Cavalry Commander Li Chengdong followed suit. Then Mei Chun followed them to the shooting range of Jiaziyuan with a look of despair on his face. After the first shot was fired, everyone was so shocked that they froze in place.

This distance is similar to the range of the Eight Banners' powerful bows, but even if they could pull the bows to their full length, they would not be able to achieve such accuracy. Coupled with Wang Quangui's calm expression, the generals present immediately realized that this distance was far from the limit of the new muskets.

"Dean Wang, how far can this gun hit?"

"One hundred and fifty steps should still have some killing power."

While Chang Guanlin was still in a daze and Mei Chun had a dejected look on his face, Li Chengdong, who had made great contributions to the musket, asked first. After hearing Wang Quangui's answer, he looked at the new musket with eyes that seemed to be about to spit fire, but then he heard the other party say.

"Your Majesty said that if one has good eyesight and good marksmanship, one can maintain this level of accuracy at around 110 steps."

As the words were spoken, a heavy breathing sounded at the shooting range.

As a military general, everyone knows what such a distance means. There is no need to talk about killing the enemy commander. Just killing ordinary enemy generals is enough to determine the situation on the battlefield.

Seeing the two's performance, Mei Chun knew that if he didn't leave, there would be another setback. Then he quickly asked Chen Si to take Wang Quangui away, while he stood in front of them.

"I heard that the new armor General Chang is wearing is filled with Su steel. This kind of protection should be much stronger than what we use," he said to Chang Guanlin. Li Chengdong beside him quietly took two steps forward, and then he flashed in front of him, and then said with a smile: "I heard that General Li's dragoons have expanded to 6,000. This time they will definitely achieve great success!"

Facing Mei Chun's obstruction, the two were really frustrated. In the end, they knew that they could not turn the situation around, so they could only say viciously: "Drink! You pay!"

(End of this chapter)