Gou was a member of the imperial family in the late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 331 Escape
He stayed in the workshop in Zhaowuling for several days, and only left the workshop and returned to the Hundred Households Office after arranging all matters.

Compared to the less noticeable workshop in the mountains, the Hundred Households Office is bustling with activity.

In the past two years, a lot of military farms have been reclaimed by the hundred households, and most of the crops grown are coarse grains. The reason for doing so was a rule set by Zhu Shenzhui before, because he was very clear about the importance of food in the future. Although coarse grains taste better than fine grains, they have a higher yield and are easier to cultivate. Once a famine comes, food can save lives. When people are extremely hungry, they are willing to pay any price to have a bite to eat. Therefore, stockpiling food and making preparations in advance is the top priority.

Through the current border trade, Zhu Shencui has already stockpiled a lot of grain from various places, plus the coarse grain produced by the military farms, etc., the amount is not small. Zhu Shencui has invested a lot of financial resources and energy in this regard. As the grain in his hands increases, although the price paid is not small, Zhu Shencui does not seem to be satisfied at all, on the contrary, he feels a little anxious and insufficient.

This situation puzzled others, they did not understand why Zhu Shenzhui did this. However, under Zhu Shenzhui's strong request, they continued to stockpile food. At present, the food stored in Zhaowuling alone was enough for all the people in the Hundred Households to eat for ten years, and the stockpiling and preparation of food did not stop, and the number was still rising.

After carefully checking the grain stockpiling situation and personally inspecting the grain storage status, Zhu Shenzhui finally felt relieved. He instructed Lu Yisheng, who was accompanying him, to continue cooperating with the company to stockpile grain and ensure its safety.

"By the way, the information about grain storage in the Hundred Households Office must not be leaked out. Don't tell the people in the Hundred Households Office the details unless it is necessary." Zhu Shenzhui specifically instructed Lu Yisheng when he left the warehouse.

Lu Yisheng nodded and said that he understood. Zhu Shenzui had reminded him of this before, and he had always been very careful. Although the people in the centurion's office knew about the grain storage of the centurions, only a few of them actually knew the quantity. Moreover, those who knew were all people trusted by Lu Yisheng, and those who guarded the warehouses were all selected from the new army. These people were absolutely reliable.

Patting his shoulder with satisfaction, Zhu Shenzhui laughed. In fact, he had given the same instructions not only for Zhaowuling, but also for Yangtoushan and Wangjiacun. The grain storage in these three places was his lifeblood, and he must not be careless.

"By the way, Sixth Master, there is something I want to tell you but I don't know whether I should tell you or not..." After talking about the food, Lu Yisheng looked a little hesitant. He hesitated for a moment before speaking.

"What's the matter?"

"It's...it's this trip to the grassland...hehe, can I lead the team?" Lu Yisheng said hesitantly, with anticipation on his face.

Looking at his appearance, Zhu Shenzhui couldn't help but burst out laughing. After all the fuss, it turned out to be just this.

But Lu Yisheng could not be blamed. Ever since the first batch of new troops that went to the grassland came back, especially some time ago, Wang Jinwu and Li You also returned to Daming from the grassland and had a few drinks with Lu Yisheng and others. During the drinks, Wang Jinwu, a guy with a loose mouth, kept bragging about what they had done on the grassland. Not only did he talk about the battles in the past with great enthusiasm, he also talked about the fun of riding horses and hunting on the grassland and the Mongolian brothers drinking and eating meat with big bowls of wine.

We are all men, so how could we not be attracted by these things? Not to mention Lu Yisheng, who was robbed of his life by Wang Jinwu before, he had already regretted it. Ever since Lao Jin returned to Daming earlier, he had been bragging a lot. Not only Lu Yisheng was jealous, but even Yan Laosi and Lou Laoer were also excited. However, compared to others, Yan Laosi and Lou Laoer knew that it was unlikely for them to go to the grassland to have fun, because they were both disabled, one missing an arm and the other a broken leg, and they could not go to the battlefield at all. Only Lao Jin could barely make do.

Two months ago, Wang Jinwu and his team returned from the grassland. This time it can be considered a rotation, but the subsequent arrangements for going to the grassland have not yet been finalized.

This time Zhu Shenzhui came to Zhaowuling, and had been busy in the workshop for the past few days, so Lu Yisheng had no chance to talk about this. Today, when he accompanied Zhu Shenzhui to check the stored grain, Lu Yisheng couldn't help but ask this question, and took the initiative to request to go for a walk on the grassland as well.

Zhu Shenzui was not surprised by Lu Yisheng's request. In fact, Lu Yisheng had tactfully proposed this idea last year. However, at that time, considering that the civil strife in the tribe had just been quelled, Wang Jinwu and others could not be transferred in the tribe for the time being. To be on the safe side, Zhu Shenzui did not make any other adjustments.

But now it is different. With the return of Wang Jinwu and others, Zhu Shenzhui's new army has been withdrawn to the Ming Dynasty. The reason for this arrangement is to take into account the reaction of Bu Shitu. After the incident in Zhenlu Fort, no matter Zhu Shenzhui judged that Bu Shitu would not attack the Tenger tribe, he decided to withdraw his troops first for safety reasons.

Although his new army was small in number, there were only three squads from the initial training to now, and that was because the one who had returned was included in it. It was still short of Zhu Shenzhui's original plan to form a battalion.

In addition to the changes on the grassland, the troops were withdrawn this time to add another sentry to the three sentries in hand and complete the formation of a battalion as soon as possible. According to Zhu Shenzhu's idea, the basic unit of future battles will be the battalion level, that is, the battalion will be the command and combat unit. Zhu Shenzhu took this approach after careful consideration and formulated it after referring to Qi Jiguang's military organization and the basic military combat units of modern warfare.

So when a battalion is formally formed, the next step is to conduct overall training as a unit to complete the command, movement and combat coordination of basic combat units, thus laying the foundation.

"I agree to this!" Zhu Shenzhui said to Lu Yisheng with a smile. Lu Yisheng was overjoyed and grinned from ear to ear.

However, Zhu Shenzui told him that the new army would not move for the time being, because the next priority of the new army was the formation and overall training of a battalion, which would take time. In addition, Zhu Shenzui also planned to take advantage of this time to let the workshop quickly produce a few more newly completed revolvers to replace the current muskets in the hands of the new army, thereby enhancing their attack and defense capabilities.

Calculating the time, the new army will go to the grassland in the early spring of next year, and the whole battalion of new troops will be pulled there by then. When the battalion of new troops arrives, Zhu Shenzhui's subsequent plans will also be launched accordingly. This was considered when he asked Wang Jinwu to bring people back. Lu Yisheng played an indispensable role in training the new army and presiding over the work of Zhaowuling. Since he took the initiative to ask to lead the troops, Zhu Shenzhui would of course give him this opportunity.

"I understand. As long as I can lead the troops to fight a few battles on the grassland, it doesn't matter if I wait a little longer." Lu Yisheng nodded repeatedly, rubbing his hands and laughing non-stop. In his heart, he was extremely happy. Wang Jinwu, this stinky boy, was so proud of himself just because he led a sentry to fight a few battles. Humph! What's so rare about this? When I lead a battalion of troops over there, I will definitely be stronger than him. When I make a contribution, I must show off in front of him. Who let this kid brag in front of me over and over again?

The two of them talked as they walked towards the Hundred Households Office, and soon they arrived at the office.

"Sixth Brother!" They were chatting happily when a familiar voice suddenly rang out. Lu Yisheng looked up and saw Wang Jinwu waving at them cheerfully. He was stunned at first and then became a little nervous. Didn't this kid go back to the guard post? Why is he here again?
I just agreed with Zhu Shenzhui that I would lead people to the grassland next time, but Wang Jinwu didn't come back early or late, but showed up at this time. Could he be a worm in my stomach? Guessed my thoughts in advance? No! Last time, he got ahead of me and my job was taken away by him. This time, I can't let this kid take advantage of me again.

For a moment, Lu Yisheng muttered to himself, secretly wondering how to prevent Wang Jinwu from knowing what he and Zhu Shenzhui had just said. Based on his understanding of Wang Jinwu, this kid is no pushover. Last time when they were drinking, he said a lot about not wanting to come back. If he knew that he was going to take a battalion of people to the grassland this time, he would definitely steal his job again.

Wang Jinwu called out to Zhu Shenzhui and the others, and strode over here. He didn't notice the change in Lu Yisheng's expression, and when he came up to him, he called him "Sixth Brother" again, and warmly put his arm around Lu Yisheng's shoulders and greeted him "Old Lu", looking very affectionate.

"Why are you here?" Seeing Wang Jinwu appear, Zhu Shenzhui frowned immediately and asked directly why Wang Jinwu was in Zhaowuling.

"Hey, you're bored staying at home, aren't you missing Old Lu? I only found out that you, Sixth Brother, are here when I asked this. I just heard that Sixth Brother has another son, so I congratulate you. I came in a hurry and didn't prepare much, so this is for your nephew as a full-month gift."

As he spoke, Wang Jinwu took out a thing from his bosom and stuffed it into Zhu Shenzhui's hand. Zhu Shenzhui took a look and saw that it was actually a few gems the size of longan. Needless to say, he must have got this thing from somewhere on the grassland. Even though these gems have not been polished, they are of good size and will be a considerable amount of silver if converted into it.

After getting the things, Zhu Shenzhui, who was originally planning to ask more questions, calmed down a little. He put the gems away and asked Wang Jinwu, "Did you tell your uncle about coming here? Did your uncle agree to let you come?"

"Yes, of course I said it. I said hello to my father when I went out..." Wang Jinwu said without thinking. He looked serious, but his eyes were rolling around, revealing a lot of thoughts.

"Did you really say that? Don't lie to me, kid. If I find out that your uncle didn't agree, I won't forgive you." Zhu Shenzhui stared into his eyes and asked back. Wang Jinwu subconsciously avoided Zhu Shenzhui's gaze, scratched his head and chuckled.

"Well...my father did not stop me from coming over when I went out..."

"Haha, you sneaked out when your uncle was not at home, right?" Zhu Shenzhui directly exposed his lie. Wang Jinwu was not embarrassed. He still smiled and said that he wanted to tell it, but Wang Rong was not at home and he had no one to tell. It was not his fault.

(End of this chapter)