Chapter 237: "False accusations" and the backward era of firearms
Chapter 237: "False accusations" and the backward era of firearms (two in one)
As these words were uttered, the barracks fell silent.
The young military officers seemed not to have heard clearly or did not dare to believe it.
Dismissed from office...expelled from the capital camp...all of them?
Tang Ping, who was surrounded by people, had a frozen expression on his face: "What did you say?"
"Didn't you hear clearly?" At the door, the military judge chief wearing armor and carrying a sword glanced at him, as if he didn't recognize his identity, and repeated it again.
That's right.
All of them, dismissed from office, immediately.
boom.
Inside the house, all the military officers felt as if they were struck by lightning. They were stunned by this sudden bad news. Several of them immediately asked in a lost voice:
"Why?"
The head of the Military Law Department glanced at them and said:
"We are only following orders. Please don't waste time."
The words seemed to contain the word "please", but in fact they were devoid of emotion.
Everyone hadn't come to their senses yet, and the only thing they could think of was the scene on the training ground in the morning.
But...how is it possible?
Not to mention that their behavior did not violate any military law, even if they were convicted of contempt of superiors, it would be impossible to dismiss them all.
What's more.
It would have been fine if they hadn't, but even the "young master" was not spared.
Who would dare to dismiss the future Duke of Zhenguo from his post because of such a small matter?
"I want to see Commander Shi." Tang Ping looked grim, but he didn't make a fuss. He stepped forward and said.
The head of the Military Law Department turned a deaf ear to him, not even looking at him, as if he was too lazy to talk nonsense. He waved his hand and said:
"Expel these people from the camp!"
"Yes!"
Behind him, a group of soldiers known for their cold-bloodedness rushed into the room.
"and many more!"
"We want to see the Commander!"
A group of young officers subconsciously tried to resist, but were stopped by Tang Ping in a stern voice:
"You want to resist the law? Listen to them!"
The young master was well versed in military law and knew that no matter what the reason, if he took action against the Military Court, he would not be able to protect these people even with his status.
Only then did everyone wake up and gnashed their teeth as they unwillingly had their official robes stripped off and their badges taken away.
Without even being given time to pack their things, they were immediately escorted out of the Shenji Camp by soldiers from the Military Court.
The commotion here also attracted the attention of many people in the camp, but they didn't know why.
Out of respect for the Military Court, I just watched from afar.
However, just as a group of military officers were driven to the gate, Tang Ping Wufu's intuition made him pause, turn around and look in the direction of the locked gaze behind him.
In the distance, at the entrance of the barracks belonging to the deputy commander, three figures were standing leisurely.
Leading the group was the smiling Zhao Duan, followed by Hou Renmeng and Qian Kerou.
At this moment, the two of them looked at each other from a distance. Tang Ping clearly saw that Zhao Duan gently waved at him, as if saying goodbye.
The smile on the corner of his mouth seemed to be mocking.
It's really him! !
Tang Ping's face turned pale, a surge of blood rushed along his spine to his scalp, his eyes were bloodshot, and his fists were clenched in anger.
"What are you looking at!"
A hand pushed him violently, shoving him out of the door as he lost his official position.
Tang Ping finally said nothing, turned around and walked away quickly, leaving only one sentence:
"let's go!"
He has lost his official position, but he is still the son of the Duke of Zhenguo. He wants to go home and ask someone for clarification!
The door of the room.
After watching the group of people disappear, Zhao Duan put down his hands and the smile on his face faded.
"Sir, I'm afraid the other party won't accept this... Moreover, with such a big commotion, aren't you worried about what the other military officers will think?" Qian Kerou couldn't help but ask softly.
Hou Renmeng also looked over.
Even with his courage, he was shocked by the handwriting of his master, and couldn't understand how his master could do it.
"Xiao Rou," Zhao Duan looked at the distant autumn sky and said softly:
"You've been following me for so long, when have I ever cared about what these scoundrels think? Well, I'm going to go back to my room and take a nap. If anyone wants to see me, please stop them for me."
Having said that, he stretched and went straight back to his room.
Only two subordinates were left looking at each other, thinking that there might be an explosion outside soon, and how could the master still have the mind to sleep.
……
……
Not long after.
"What did you say?!" In the barracks of the commander of the Shenji Camp.
As expected, Shi Meng's face turned extremely ugly when he learned about this major event:
"You said that the people from the Military Court bypassed everyone and directly stripped the young master and his men of their official robes and drove them out? Who gave them the courage?!"
The officer who came to report had cold sweat on his forehead and handed over an official letter with the seals of the Ministry of War and the Empress:
"This was left by the military judges."
Shi Meng snatched it away and glanced at it, his expression gradually becoming more horrified.
How could he not guess? Is this what His Majesty meant?
But... why?
Then I thought that the people who were dismissed from office were all the people on the "list" that Zhao Duan requested and didn't give him face...
Beads of sweat slowly oozed out of the temples of this burly, dark-skinned warrior, who found it unbelievable.
Is it... just because of this?
Just because they didn’t give face to the man surnamed Zhao, more than a dozen military officers were dismissed?
"Sir, the news has already spread, and I'm afraid there will be trouble." The reporting officer reminded.
Shi Meng clutched the official letter, walked quickly out of the barracks, and went to look for Zhao Duan.
Soon, as expected, they were stopped by the Lihuatang duo.
Shi Meng did not force his way in. Instead, he turned around and rode his horse straight into the city - since it involved His Majesty, it was no longer something he could handle alone.
……
Soon, they were in the Privy Council.
After Xue Shence finished listening to Shi Meng's report, the number one military officer in charge of military power in the Dayu Dynasty was stunned for more than ten breaths.
Then, he stared at the official letter in his hand, which had never been approved by the Privy Council, and stared at the bright red seal.
fell into silence.
In his mind, he couldn't help but recall that a few hours ago, he and Governor Wang were playing backgammon here, and speculated about Zhao Duan's possible "revenge".
But I never imagined that it would be such a sudden storm and make a fuss out of nothing.
"Sir, please say something."
This time it was Shi Meng's turn to play the role of urging:
"If it's any later, I'm afraid the news will spread throughout the Beijing camp."
Xue Shence stood up and paced around the room.
This incident seemed to be just the dismissal of a dozen low-ranking officers, affecting the son of the Duke of Zhenguo...but in the eyes of high-ranking military officials such as Xue Shence, what they really cared about was the turmoil that this incident would cause in the army.
If it cannot be properly resolved, it will only breed complaints.
As the actual superior "department" of the Beijing Camp, the Privy Council will inevitably be under tremendous pressure.
The key is what your majesty means.
"Come with me into the palace and ask to see His Majesty in person." Xue Shence stopped and spoke.
Without delay, the two military officials rushed to the palace and met the Empress of Dayu in the Hall of Mental Cultivation.
About half an hour later, the gatekeeper saw Xue Shence walking out of the palace with a gloomy face.
In the evening.
In the officialdom of the capital, the news spread like wildfire that on the first day that Zhao Duan entered the Shenjiying, he used his power to dismiss the young master Tang Ping and more than a dozen military officers.
And insiders have filled in the details of the story of Xue Shence entering the palace.
It is said that Xue Shence asked the empress why she was deposed, and the empress replied that it was a violation of military discipline.
Xue Shence asked again which military discipline had been violated, and the empress simply replied, "No accusation."
It is difficult to tell whether this story is true or not, but the result is that Xue Shence returned to the Privy Council and pretended that nothing had happened, and Shi Meng returned to the Shenji Camp in disgrace and did not try to resist again.
For a moment, all the ministers were shocked.
……
Baima Prison, the rear court.
Sun Lianying, with gray hair on his temples, sat in a bamboo chair and could not help being distracted after listening to the report from his messenger.
After waving his hand to send the people away, the old supervisor looked at the leaves above his head that were gradually turning yellow and muttered:
"What is this kid doing again?"
The imperial yamen, the governor's hall.
Ma Yan sat in the lobby, looking at the sky outside which was getting darker and darker. He inexplicably recalled the scene when Zhao Duan went to the imperial yamen to make trouble.
I thought that beating the eldest princess's son and arresting officials at will were crazy enough.
Unexpectedly, he went a step further and beat the man to the ground with one move.
Inexplicably, Ma Yan actually felt a little gloating: "This time, it's Xue Shence's turn to have a headache."
……
In the evening, Dong Xuan met Yuan Li again unexpectedly on his way home from Xiuwenguan.
"Grand Master, have you heard about the mess Zhao Duan caused today?"
Yuan Qingyi rolled up his sleeves and asked with a smile.
The octogenarian Master Dong glanced at the old bastard and shook his head.
"I only know that a group of reckless men who did not abide by military law were dismissed from office. Lord Yuan, please tell me, what did Zhao Duan do?"
The elegant and handsome Imperial Censor laughed and laughed:
"Maybe I heard it wrong. I just remember that every time Zhao Duan entered a government office, he would cause unrest in that government office and someone would get into trouble. I don't know whose turn it will be this time."
Bah... Didn't you instigate and promote Zhao to where he is today? Why are you pretending to be innocent... Dong Xuan shook his head and said:
"Lets see."
He was actually very curious about what Zhao Duan wanted to do.
...Li Mansion.
Under the cover of night, the "Little Prime Minister" Li Yinglong, who no longer rode in a sedan chair, jumped off the carriage and hurried into the house. The servants along the way saluted him and addressed him as "Young Master".
Li Yinglong nodded perfunctorily, and waited until he entered the study before he lightened his footsteps, showing a happy expression on his face, and said excitedly:
"Father, there's something exciting to watch!"
Then, the young minister, who had visibly become more low-key since the last incident, repeated the original news he had received.
In the study, on the large and expensive desk, there were piles of excellent rice paper and a mountain of pen holders.
With his beard almost touching his temples, Li Yanfu, wearing loose and gorgeous clothes, is practicing calligraphy with a pen in hand.
After An Jing finished listening to Li Yinglong's story, she slowly finished writing the last word on the paper, raised her sleeve with her other hand, and said in a hoarse voice:
"so?"
Li Yinglong was overjoyed:
"If Zhao Duan fights with the military officials this time, isn't that a good thing for us?
Whether it was Your Majesty who wanted to move against the group of former emperor's old ministers headed by the Privy Council, or it was that the man surnamed Zhao was getting too arrogant and self-righteous, now he has not only offended the Duke of Zhenguo, but also disgusted Xue Shence and his gang.
My son heard that there is a lot of discussion in the Beijing camp now, and the imperial guards such as the Yulin Guard and the Jinwu Guard in the city have also received the news... A lot of military officers share the same hatred of the enemy.
Haha, no matter what Zhao Duan had in mind, the chaos that had just occurred was probably beyond his expectations. If he couldn't handle it properly...
Oh, even if he is temporarily relied upon by His Majesty, after a few days, when His Majesty has defeated Wu Chen and needs to appease the soldiers, he will inevitably be pushed out..."
As he spoke, there was undisguised ferocity in his eyes.
The last grudge is deeply engraved in my mind.
"Finished?"
Li Yanfu didn't even raise his head. He dipped the brush into the brush washing pool and turned the brush:
"But what does this have to do with you?"
Li Yinglong was speechless, realizing that he had made another mistake, and hung his head in shame.
Li Yanfu did not scold him, but said leisurely:
“The real competition is not about the opponent, but about yourself… However, it’s not wrong to pay attention to this matter. Keep investigating. If there are any changes, report it immediately.
But remember, don’t get involved in anything and don’t think about doing anything.”
Li Yinglong let out a long sigh and smiled:
"That's what my father told me. My son will keep a close eye on him."
……
Unlike the top ministers in the court, they were curious and concerned about Zhao Duan's actions.
People speculated about the purpose behind Zhao Duan's actions and whether there was any conspiracy.
Most ordinary officials, not knowing the inside story, just watched the show with gloating delight.
And attributed Zhao Duan's behavior to: being too proud!
Some officials who considered themselves to be smart privately made the following firm judgment:
This time, Zhao Duan was used by the empress as a pawn to clean up the military officials' group.
But it is obvious which is more important, a favorite minister or the entire group of military officers.
"The Zhaos are now in high spirits. Anyone dares to offend them, but sooner or later they will all be punished... Those warriors are not easy to deal with. They are different from civil officials. If you offend them, you will suffer."
However, these discussions from the civil service group were not taken seriously by the parties involved at all.
……
Silent all night.
The next day.
When Zhao Duan arrived at the Shenji Camp again, he clearly felt that the atmosphere in the camp had changed.
The military officers and soldiers he met along the way all looked at him sideways, their eyes filled with awe and... an inexplicable resistance.
"Sir, I have inquired about the situation in the camp."
Not long after Zhao Duan sat down in his "office", Qian Kerou and Hou Renmeng came to report with anxious looks.
"Oh? How?" Zhao Duan asked, sitting leisurely in the big chair, with his hands folded.
Qian Kerou said worriedly:
“The dismissal of Tang Ping and others caused some disturbance at first, but it was quickly suppressed by Shi Meng.
Now, there is no trouble. The deposed military officer has been replaced by a deputy, but... the army is saying that they lost their positions because they offended you."
Hou Ren hugged his arms fiercely and said:
“To be precise, it’s not just the Shenji Camp, the same is true for the rest of the Jing Camp.
However, in the Shenji Camp, people are still in awe of you, more than anything else... Originally, when you shot an arrow in the training ground yesterday, many soldiers had a different impression of you, but... now I'm afraid..."
He didn't say all the words, but the meaning was clear:
Everyone in the Shenjiying was generally dissatisfied with the newly appointed commander.
I just had to put on a smile because of the authority.
"I see."
Zhao Duan did not look surprised, as if all the changes were within his expectations.
After briefly asking about the situation, he did not continue the topic and said:
"Go and bring me the information about firearms in the Shenji Camp. I want the specific details."
The two looked at each other, responded, and turned to get it.
Soon, documents were delivered to Zhao Duan's desk.
With his official position second only to Shi Meng, he could review almost all the information of the Shenjiying.
Of course Zhao Duan did not forget that his mission was to investigate the case.
On the first day of entering the Shenji Camp, he eliminated the destabilizing factors that threatened to intimidate him, and "killed" people to establish his authority, thus gaining a firm foothold.
Then the next day, we should start the investigation.
Since the core of the case was about firearms drawings and the disappearance of related craftsmen, then...it is natural to start from here.
The Imperial Court and the Privy Council investigated repeatedly several times, and Zhao Duan was not so arrogant as to think that he could find any clues with just one move.
He wanted to look at the information on firearms, but he just wanted to understand the situation in the camp first.
However, after he glanced through the information, a string of question marks slowly rose above Zhao Duan's head.
He raised his head and stared at his two men seriously:
"Any more?"
The confidential secretary was stunned for a moment, then shook his head and said:
"Some of the key information about the camp is here. Do you want something more trivial, my lord?"
"No," Zhao Duan pointed at the paper on the table with a serious expression and said:
"I mean, the firearms in the camp are... just these types?"
The two of them became more and more confused, and Hou Ren nodded fiercely and said:
"Yes, I have also checked it out, and it is indeed just these. Any questions?"
Zhao Duan said nothing.
Is there a problem? Of course there is, and it’s a big problem!
Before this, his imagination of the Shenjinying was roughly in line with the situation in the Ming and Qing dynasties in history.
But after reading the information in the camp, he was shocked to find that the firearms of the Dayu Dynasty were so backward and outrageous!
Are there any firearms? Yes.
But it only stays at the level of "rocket" and "artillery"!
Do not misunderstand.
The so-called "rocket" is gunpowder tied to an arrow, which is then shot out to cause casualties - this is also the reason why the Shenjiying attaches great importance to archery during martial arts performances.
The "cannon", although the name is impressive, is actually a catapult, except that it throws out "explosive packs" instead of stones.
The most advanced firearms of the Shenjiying finally reached the level of the Ming and Qing dynasties.
It's called "fire lance".
But it was not the prototype of the future firearm that Zhao Duan thought it was. Instead, it was something similar to a gun barrel that needed to be carried on the shoulders, with gunpowder filled at the bottom and "bullets" stuffed in the front.
The so-called bullets can be arrows, which can be realized by using the thrust of gunpowder to fire ten arrows at the same time.
Or simply an iron bullet.
What the Prince Jing's Mansion sent people to steal were the design drawings of the "fire lance" and the craftsmen who made it.
This "fire lance" is a "new type of firearm" that Dayu has only perfected and manufactured in recent years.
This finally explains why the soldiers of the Shenjiying Camp never used firearms during training, but instead used spears.
Why didn't Shi Meng react immediately when he heard Zhao Duan say "musket".
Because this "Shenjiying" is essentially a garrison camp composed mainly of infantry and cavalry, supplemented by firearms.
It cannot be said that the Dayu Dynasty did not have firearms, but they were far from being "developed" and were probably equivalent to the level of the Song Dynasty.
The "fire gun" that Zhao Duan was familiar with, that is, the fire gun with the prototype of a rifle... did not appear!
The famous Divine Fire Flying Crow...did not appear!
The more famous red cannon...did not appear!
As for the reason, it is very simple - peace has lasted too long!
During the 600-year reign of the Dayu Dynasty, although there were occasional small-scale battles, there were almost no real large-scale wars.
This resulted in there being no strong demand for the development of firearms... leading to slow progress in the entire technology tree.
……
"grown ups?"
In the room, Qian Kerou and Hou Renmeng saw him in a daze for a long time.
I couldn't help but call out softly.
Zhao Duan suddenly came back to his senses, his eyes slightly brightened, his heart beat like a drum, and he suddenly said:
"Please ask Commander Shi to come over. I have something to say to him."
The two were confused, and Hou Ren nodded and went out.
Qian Kerou stayed and couldn't help but ask curiously:
"Sir, did you find any clues from this?"
Zhao Duan said nothing, but had a strange look on his face.
Clues? None.
but……
He suddenly realized that the clues were no longer important.
Because he has more important things to do.
If, after all the hard work of Prince Jing's Mansion, all they managed to steal was a backward thing like a "fire lance"... then...
If I bring out more advanced firearms, how will you respond?
……
ps: The author went out to do some work today, and came back late. In addition, I was a little stuck in writing, so I updated late. This chapter is 5,000 words.
(End of this chapter)