Chapter 34 Noble Man
Chapter 34 Noble Man
If you ask me which position in the Qing Dynasty offers the most benefits, it must be the Salt Transport Commissioner.
All the officials who had served as salt transport commissioners were arrested and tortured. There was no doubt that none of them were innocent. At least all of them were charged with the crime of "huge amounts of property of unknown origin."
In Dream of the Red Chamber, Lin Daiyu's deceased father Lin Ruhai was the salt transport commissioner of Lianghuai.
Why was Lin Daiyu warmly welcomed into the Grand View Garden? The Jia family was a mere shell, and was on the verge of running out of money, so they were eyeing the property left by Lin Ruhai.
Lord Qiao was in charge of the salt transport in Lianghuai and also ran the Jiangbei grain station. He was very wealthy and promised to give out 30,000 taels right away.
The gentry nearby were not willing to lag behind, "We are also willing to donate more silver to support the militia training and expansion of the army to protect our hometown."
Wu Wenxi prayed silently, now it depends on whether this group training looks good for show or whether they can really fight.
Zhang Siwen, who was beside Shao Quanzhong, had the same concerns.
Shao Quanzhong asked Haiqing to lead the team to fight the bandits, but that didn't mean he would just give up. He brought ten of his personal soldiers to support the team.
Zhang Siwen rode his horse side by side with Shao Quanzhong, looking at the soldiers in front of him who had only been trained for more than half a month with a worried look on their faces.
"Second brother, each of them only fired five bullets in training, and they are being sent out to fight. Is this okay? And you let Third Brother lead the team, are you at ease?"
Shao Quanzhong subconsciously touched the back of his head. Hmm, thick hair, with a big cap, not bald. It’s good to be young again——
"Of course I'm relieved. Only by knowing ourselves and the enemy can we win the battle. You only see that we have little training, but you don't know that our opponent is worse, and you don't understand what level our team is in the world.
Our weapons are the most advanced weapons in the world, the tactics I train are the most advanced tactics, and our soldiers are the best soldiers in the world..."
"But, I only fired five bullets in total..."
"You're still holding on to the bullet issue.
Do you know how many bullets the British and French troops who defeated the monk king used in their training each year? The British used 60 bullets, and the French used 50 bullets.
Do you know how many rounds of ammunition the best troops of the old Russians occupying both sides of the Hunhe River use in training each year? Six rounds.
Do you know how many bullets the Prussians, who were about to show their might, used to train their soldiers every year? The elite had nine bullets, but the ordinary soldiers had none.
This is the number for a year. We only fired five rounds a day and you think it’s not enough?
Don't think too highly of the foreigners, they also lack money and their training is just so-so.
As long as we have enough courage when fighting with bayonets, we will be no worse than any powerful army in the world.
Our soldiers are no match for the elite troops of Britain and France now, and we can only crush the bandits armed with swords and spears.
If I had enough money and time, and gave me half a year to train 20,000 soldiers to fight against the British and French coalition forces, they would be the ones crying for help. What a pity—"
On the roadside, a group of officials and gentry saw the eleven war horses leading the charge from behind, and Lord Qiao waved to Shao Quanzhong, who looked full of energy.
Shao Quanzhong whispered, "Look to the right and salute!"
Eleven cavalrymen with pistols saluted together on their horses, and the people on the roadside cheered for their performance.
Mr. Qiao is not lacking in knowledge. He was the prefect of Songjiang, managed Shanghai, and joined forces with foreigners to suppress the Small Swords Society. He is a ruthless man who has seen the world.
The troops he reviewed looked three times stronger than those foreign soldiers and generals, and a hundred times stronger than the local Hunan Army.
I never expected that Taizhou could produce such a talented general, and now he is my subordinate!
Qiao Songnian suddenly felt proud.
Zeng Bohan is now the Minister of War and the Governor-General of Liangjiang. He is in charge of military affairs in Jiangnan as an imperial commissioner. What does he rely on to achieve this position? Isn't it the Hunan Army?
Are there such soldiers in the Hunan Army? No.
Who can train such soldiers? My subordinates can! Rounding it off means I can!
If I had trained such soldiers seven years earlier, what would the Minister of War and his haircut have to do with me? Now - it's not too late!
Although I am only a third-rank salt transport envoy in Lianghuai, I am in charge of all the money and grain in Jiangbei of the Qing Dynasty. Although I am not responsible for distributing the money and grain, I have the final say on who gets it first, who gets it later, and whether it is enough.
I want to use part of the money and grain to organize my own militia and train a strong army that is invincible in the world. Who is in favor and who is against?
What's wrong with being a third-rank official? Whoever conquers Jinling will be crowned king!
Can't I, Qiao, wear a crown with eight oriental pearls on my head? Can't I wear a robe with four five-clawed golden dragons on it?
Qiao Songnian's eyes began to sparkle, and his ambition began to grow uncontrollably. He muttered to himself, "People of the time should not say that her eyebrows are small, the reunion of three or five people will fill the sky..."
…………
As soon as Shao Quanzhong walked out of the north gate of Hailing City, Tian Xing came riding towards him.
"Second brother, I have already investigated clearly. There are more than 200 bandits in total. They relied on the fact that there are few soldiers in Hailing City and our militia was just established, so they thought no one could do anything to them.
They have already robbed the granary in the north of the city and are now entrenched in the Dutian Temple, intending to stay there and not leave.
They have no firearms, only swords, spears, bows and arrows, and most people hold long wormwood drills..."
Shao Quanzhong sneered, "A bunch of scoundrels with no ambition and no foresight have come here to eat at the government offices.
Don’t you think that if the government robs their granaries to fight against the Taiping Army and the Nian rebels, will they let it go?
Even if we don't come, there will be no soldiers in the city and no soldiers elsewhere?
The government may not have the time to deal with you if you are a bandit who steals some food, and you dare to pretend to be the Taiping Army. You are courting death, you are so stupid, and you are a good training ground for us."
Hai Qing came over and asked, "Second brother, how do you fight?"
"Shoot from fifty paces away. Kill as many as you can. If you run away, that's it."
Huh? Is such a random battle plan really a good idea?
"Shouldn't we try to kill as many enemies as possible? For example, set up an outflanking attack or an ambush?"
Shao Quanzhong patted Haiqing on the back and said earnestly, "Haiqing, do you know what it means to know yourself and know your enemy?
The most important thing in war is to know how many bowls of rice you can eat.
Our team is doing well, which is enough to fool our superiors and make money, but we can't fool ourselves.
It doesn't take long. I'll practice for another three months. I can do everything you said. Now -
What Sven said is right. We have only been training for half a month and we are still far from being very skilled. Using complicated tactics would be courting death.
Honestly, relying on the firepower advantage, it's good enough to win. If the enemy rushes up, these new recruits turn around and run away, I will have to serve as your reserve with my brothers. "
Shao Quanzhong's final trump card is his revolver and submachine gun style of fighting.
Although the personal soldiers have already started practicing pistol shooting, at critical moments, they can only serve as Master Shao's human loaders.
Haiqing received the instructions, bent down and smiled, then turned around and looked downcast.
He drew out his goose-feather knife and walked to the front of the team with a murderous look on his face.
"Brothers, this is our first battle as the Right Battalion's First Team. Our opponents are a mob. We have guns in our hands, and we must win this battle.
The regiment commander said that if we were defeated, he would personally serve as the reserve.
Today I am standing behind you. If anyone turns around and runs away, or crosses my line, I will chop off your head without any negotiation.
If anyone dares to take the lead and finally gets the group leader to take action, making our family lose face in front of Second Brother, we will make you lose your head.
Military police, listen up! No one is allowed to retreat, including me. Whoever retreats will be defeated.
Now, let’s go! "
(End of this chapter)