Chapter 24 Mutiny
Chapter 24 Mutiny
Evan had lost all his temper now, and looked at Shao Quanzhong pitifully, "Sir, I can do something for you, but can you lend me a tael of silver for food first?"
Shao Quanzhong patted Evan on the shoulder and said, "I don't have any money to borrow. I'll treat you to a meal."
In a small restaurant, three people ate ten dishes and several large bowls of rice, spending five hundred coins.
The main reason is that Evan has been hungry for two days, and Zhang Siwen is a big eater, so these two people can eat as much as four or five people.
Zhang Siwen has always followed Shao Quanzhong wholeheartedly because Shao Quanzhong was very skilled at begging for food. After meeting him, he could always have enough to eat every day.
Shao Quanzhong finished eating quickly and began to instruct Evan on what to do.
Evan was still swiping at the food on his plate, unable to open his mouth to agree, so he just kept nodding.
Although I haven't made any money since coming to the Far East, the food there is so delicious, especially after being hungry for two days.
Now he can't even afford the boat ticket back to Europe and is about to starve to death in Shanghai. This Mr. Shao is his only hope, willing to do anything for him as long as he provides him with food.
With a bulging belly and two personal soldiers holding silver, Evan set out in high spirits.
Half an hour later, Evan came back with a triumphant look on his face.
"Boss, I successfully bought eleven revolvers from that bastard Wall for one thousand taels of silver.
We couldn't bargain any further and we almost came to a fight."
This is quite good. Shao Quanzhong patted Evan on the shoulder to show encouragement.
The pistol that Shao Quanzhong wants to buy this time is currently only available in the United States. No matter how expensive it is, he plans to buy it and would rather be ripped off by Wall.
He took a box from the two bodyguards, opened it, took out a pistol glowing blue, and stroked it gently, his eyes full of tenderness.
"It was not easy, but I finally got my old friend back. It's not as convenient as the mirrored box gun, but it's much better than the oxtail knife."
This is a Colt M1860 Army revolver, which has just been equipped to active service in the US Army.
For this type of pistol, the cylinder cannot be swung to the left, so strictly speaking, it can only be called a revolver.
Shao Quanzhong reached out and took a nitrocellulose-loaded bullet from another bodyguard, stuffed it into the chamber of the revolver, pulled the folding bullet-compression tube under the barrel to compact the ammunition, and then installed a primer at the tail of the revolver cylinder.
Gently turn the wheel and load a bullet...
The whole process was very skillful and not at all troublesome.
This was already much faster than loading a muzzle-loading rifle that required a cleaning rod to load. Moreover, although it was troublesome to load, it was almost as convenient to shoot as the Mauser pistol he was more familiar with.
He loaded five bullets, leaving an empty space to avoid accidental shooting, raised his hand to measure, resisted the urge to test the gun in the street, and smoothly inserted the pistol into the holster.
He picked up the holster and found that the Manchu official uniform did not have a belt, so he handed the pistol back to Zhang Siwen with regret.
This is one of the reasons why he wanted to customize the new military uniforms. In addition to being handsome and refreshing to attract the attention of senior officials, the main reason is that they are suitable for combat with new weapons.
Seeing Shao Quanzhong playing with the gun for a long time, unable to let it go, and about to leave, Evan could no longer hold back and spoke carefully, "That - Boss - my job..."
Shao Quanzhong slapped his head and said, "Oh, I was so into guns that I almost forgot about it.
Come on, come on, follow me.
I'll find you a job as a private school teacher. The salary will be ten taels of silver a month, with free food, drink and lodging.
If you can stick with this for two years and teach the children German well, I will let you make a fortune and return home in glory. Are you willing?"
In this era, a monthly salary of three or four taels of silver for a private school teacher who was a scholar was considered high. Shao Quanzhong paid Evan, a foreign teacher, a monthly salary of ten taels of silver, which, combined with free food and drink, was already as high as the salary of a third-rank official.
Of course, officials of the third rank are also given rice, and they do not live on salaries, so it is considered a high salary anyway.
When Evan first heard that he was asked to teach German as a foreign teacher, he was very hesitant.
As a broker, he had no food to eat, but if he was successful, he could make a lot of money. However, the salary of more than 100 taels of silver a year did not attract him much.
But when he heard the following words, his eyes immediately lit up and he nodded quickly, "Yes, yes, please wait a moment."
Evan ran away as fast as he could and came back a moment later with a worn-out suitcase in his hand, which contained all his belongings.
Seeing that the boat did not leave, he covered his pounding heart, prayed, and quickly jumped onto the boat.
This is his chance to pay off his debts and make a comeback.
What could this official ask me to teach German to a kid for? It must be to send students abroad. If you want to send a group of people to study in Europe, you can't do it without hundreds of thousands of silver. If you spend so much money, how can you get less money as a matchmaker?
This is essentially still my old job as a broker, and it’s a big business. Teaching German is an initial investment.
…………
On September 25, the tenth year of Emperor Xianfeng's reign, Shao Quanzhong, who had been lingering in Shanghai for nine days, arrived at Shaojiawei, his loyal home.
The red paper temporarily pasted on the gate has been removed, the word "Yang" has been knocked off, and a stone with the word "Shao" engraved on it has been replaced.
Needless to say, this must have been done by Le Xiucai, who changed his role from "Zhuge Liang" to "sycophant".
Shao Quanzhong expressed that he was basically satisfied, and that it would be better if the character "Shao" could be made to look a little older.
Now the brand new word "Shao" is inlaid in the old stone, giving it a bit of a rustic nouveau riche feel. If Rong Hui came and saw it, she might not have a good impression.
After receiving the notification from the sentry, Mr. Le had already brought the strong men hired for logistics to wait at the dock beside the dike, and they diligently transported the purchased guns and ammunition to the warehouse.
"Brother Le, arrange a place for this foreigner to live. Find a bigger house in the village and set up a classroom that can accommodate forty desks.
Send someone to Shanghai to get a blackboard, and buy some chalk, quill pens, and ink. Well, get a hundred sets.
If you can’t buy it in a foreign company, go to the church there, they’ll have it.”
Shao Quanzhong did not find these things in Shanghai, and he did not have the time to look for them carefully.
This is quite troublesome and not worth spending time on.
As a warlord, you must not leave your team for too long. There is no way to buy guns, and others cannot replace you if they don't understand.
Le Xiucai obeyed the order and led Evan away first. Before leaving, he turned back and said, "My lord, the first batch of military uniforms has been prepared, and your set has been delivered to your house."
Shao Quanzhong had originally planned to go to the training ground as soon as possible, but after hearing this, he took Zhang Siwen back to the house first.
Zhang Siwen was a very qualified captain of the personal guards. He arranged two personal guards to stand guard outside the door, and asked the others to return to the barracks to change clothes, and followed Shao Quanzhong into Shao's house.
The two men found their new military uniforms and put them on. Shao Quanzhong fastened his belt, put on his pistol, looked in the mirror, and was very satisfied.
What's missing is a Western-style command sword with a guard. The oxtail sword is a bit inappropriate as a command sword, and the special sword for yamen runners is not suitable for fighting on the battlefield.
There is no rush for this, you can do it slowly when you have money.
When he turned around and saw Zhang Siwen's military uniform, he suddenly frowned.
The militia had not yet established military ranks, so the two men's uniforms were similar, except that their hats had a golden braid of a senior officer.
That's all fine, but Zhang Siwen's military uniform is made of cotton, while mine is made of tweed.
This won't work. Le Sen doesn't understand combat and his flattery has hit the wrong horse.
On the battlefield, if you wear conspicuous clothes, you will be shot.
Never mind, I'll just wear it for now as a formal dress for official events, and then I'll get myself a cotton military uniform later...
"Stop! This is not the place for you to roam around..."
Suddenly there was a noisy shouting outside the door.
"We want to see the group leader!"
"Why can we only get one or two taels of silver as military pay?"
"We heard that they were going to dismiss us, but we refused!"
Shao Quanzhong frowned and walked out with his hands behind his back.
Seeing that there were thirty or forty ruffians from the Zuo Camp surrounding outside, two bodyguards holding goose-feather knives stopped them from rushing in.
The four strong men leading the group were pushing and shoving the bodyguards.
"what happened?"
Hearing Shao Quanzhong's question, the four strong men suddenly exerted their strength, pushed away the two bodyguards, and rushed straight towards Shao Quanzhong.
(End of this chapter)