Chapter 320: The Purpose of Discipline (VI)
The thief was still not caught immediately. Chen Tuiyi was a little disappointed. Seeing his mother's unhappy face, Chen Tuiyi smiled and said, "Mom, I will give you the money when I get my salary."
Madam Chen was not happy at all because of this. She said angrily, "Can you support yourself with that little money? A ninth-rank official is entitled to 31 taels and 5 cents of salary, and 31.5 hu of rice. Can the court afford so much money and food now?"
Chen Tuiyi didn't expect that his mother, who usually seemed to be indifferent to everything, could be so knowledgeable. He asked in confusion, "Mom, who told you this?"
"I still have to marry for you... Forget it! I won't say anymore!" Mrs. Chen was unwilling to continue.
Chen Tuiyi felt that his mother was judging his future husband by his salary, and he was really unhappy. After thinking for a while, he didn't want to get angry, so he could only mutter: "Three years as a magistrate, 100,000 silver coins, even if it's just bragging, you should think better."
"Bullshit!" Mrs. Chen shouted angrily.
Chen Tui was so frightened that he shuddered. He turned around and saw his mother shouting angrily: "Come with me to see your father!"
Chen Tuiyi didn't know what he had done wrong, and he didn't dare to move. Mrs. Chen saw that Chen Tuiyi didn't move, and although her feet were still bound, she still walked out as fast as she could.
Not long after, Chen Mingtai sat under the ancestral tablet at home and shouted angrily: "Why did you say that!"
Chen Tuiyi was so frightened that tears rolled down his cheeks, and he didn't know what to say. But Chen Mingtai showed no mercy and shouted, "Why did you say that?"
"I...I was just kidding." Chen Tuiyi replied with a sob.
"What a joke! You know how to joke!" Chen Mingtai was so angry that his hands were shaking. "I'm telling you! Don't say you don't know next time! A prefect in Qingzhou gets 100,000 silver dollars in three years. That's customary. It's money for filial piety! Not to mention what yours is, even if you were a prefect, do you think you could put that money in your own pocket? How much of the 100,000 silver dollars was used to bribe the superiors, how much was used to pay for friendship with peers and fellow townsmen, and how much was used to hire advisors and staff. Do you know? You're kidding, you know what a joke!"
Although Chen Tuiyi was panicked by his father's roar, he felt a sense of clarity in his heart. It turned out that this sentence actually meant something like this, and it was not a simple description of making money.
Chen Mingtai looked at his daughter with a puzzled look on his face. He asked, "What are you thinking about?"
"Dad, I know I am ignorant and I spoke nonsense. Please punish me. I won't dare to do it again next time." Chen Tuiyi replied. After that, seeing that his father still didn't believe him, he continued: "I will never be competitive again, Dad. Do you believe me? I will never argue with others again."
"Alas..." Chen Mingtai sighed. After a long while, he said, "People are greedy and eager to win. If you can't be vigilant about this, you will definitely do something wrong. My daughter, what our family lacks is capable children, and we don't lack the money to raise children. Don't worry, even if you don't get married for the rest of your life, our family can support you and won't let you go hungry. But when you become an official, it's completely different. If you make a mistake, you will regret it forever."
"Yes." Chen Tuiyi replied.
"Recite the 'Encouraging Learning' for an hour! Get up and recite!" Chen Mingtai said, then stood up and left.
Seeing that his father finally stopped being angry, Chen Tuiyi ran back to the study, got the book, and began to recite it obediently.
Chen Mingtai, who was eavesdropping, paused for a while before turning back to the study room when he heard his daughter reading. Mrs. Chen felt sorry for her daughter and couldn't help but sigh, "Can she remember it?"
"We have to tell her this. Our daughter is also a human being. I can't let her be beheaded or exiled!" Chen Mingtai sighed.
Madam Chen nodded, "Master, when Emperor Yongzheng was alive, killing corrupt officials was as easy as mowing grass. As you said, Master Huo is a man who rules the country on horseback. How could he tolerate such a thing? I can't explain why, so you have to worry about it." At this point, Madam Chen lowered her voice, "Father, why don't you let her be such an official anymore."
Chen Mingtai shook his head helplessly, "If our son is useful, I will never let our daughter go out. But in this world, it won't work without someone to hold up the facade. Huo Chong and I have different ideas. To be honest, if I see Huo Chong making mistakes, I am afraid I will be happy. Even with this thought, I can't go out to be an official now. There is no other way."
Madam Chen quickly consoled him, "Master is a man of noble character, and cannot stand those arrogant people."
"There are no cautious people in the conquest of the world. Look at Gao Pang's character. He would die without a burial place in peaceful times. However, when the world changes, Gao Pang rises up. A while ago, I heard a teacher in the academy say that he went to see Gao Pang to plead for the salt merchants. Gao Pang laughed and said, "How dare the salt merchants rebel?" Such words of disrespecting teachers and ancestors are useless. If Gao Pang can really stand firm, the more rebels he kills, the greater his merits will be. This is fate."
Mrs. Chen was also shocked to hear Gao Pang actually did such a thing. Finally, she said nervously, "What about my uncle's family..."
"We have to endure this."
The third year of Qianlong passed in a flash, and the Spring Festival was a lively one. However, as soon as the fifth day of the first lunar month passed, Chen Tuiyi immediately rushed back to the base to continue training.
Although the drill training is over, it does not mean that the training of this group of people is over. Chen Tuiyi and others began to stand guard in various departments. The captain first ordered everyone to line up, then walked from beginning to end, and then shouted: "Standing guard is the most basic job. Don't think of yourself as a wooden stake, and you can just endure the time and be done with it. If you don't do your duty well and the bad guys break in, everyone will suffer. Everyone can work with peace of mind in there, relying on the duty personnel to do their job conscientiously. You feel hard when you are on duty, but think about the peace of mind when you are not on duty. Remember the words of the governor, there is no such thing as a natural and peaceful life in this world. If there is a peaceful life, there must be someone who is carrying the burden for everyone. Okay, start now! Let's go!"
Chen Tuiyi did not expect that he would also be assigned to a small gate, so he was on duty with another person. Neither of them was equipped with a musket, but each of them was given a knife.
People were coming and going on the street, and many people looked at him. Chen Tuiyi no longer cared about being looked at, after all, being looked at for so long, this feeling was completely different.
Not only does Chen Tuiyi not care about how others look at him, he also looks at the people passing by. He thought this was a very boring job, but when he looked at the people coming and going, Chen Tuiyi found that there were always people on the street that he had never seen before.
The faces of those people don't matter. Those who wear short clothes here use a rope or cloth strip to tighten the belt, and the hem of the clothes is level with the thigh. They are basically all made.
Those wearing long clothes are of some status, and they are not as hurried as the short-sleeved gang. They walk forward with steady steps. The short-sleeved gang is in a hurry, pushing carts, carrying loads, and carrying things on their hands and shoulders.
Unlike what Chen Tuiyi had seen since childhood, the short-sleeved gang was always the majority. Looking at his military uniform, he saw that he was a typical short-sleeved gang. This reminded Chen Tuiyi of a question in the question bank, "Are there more workers or exploiters? Who should we unite to unite the majority?"
Before actually going out, Chen Tuiyi thought that everyone in the world was a member of the Chang Yi Gang, or that most of them were members of the Chang Yi Gang.
Now she finally understood that the long-clothes gang was a minority. And the long-clothes gangs were similar, but the short-clothes gangs were different. For example, there were a few short-clothes gangs at the end of the street that were different. While others were busy, they sat in different positions without moving. Although his face was not facing the door, he looked over from time to time.
Thinking of the captain's words, Chen Tuiyi said, "Hey, team leader. There are a few people over there..."
Master Liu cut off the head of a rooster in the temple and poured the blood into many bowls. The blood dripped into the wine and immediately formed different shapes, then sank to the bottom of the bowl. Master Liu threw the still-fluttering headless rooster aside and said to the men, "Brothers, let's get some wine. This overwhelming wealth is right before our eyes, so don't delay yourselves!"
After saying that, he took the lead and picked up a bowl of wine.
The others also took their wine, and the leader said, "Master Liu, is the imperial court lying to us?"
"The imperial court has already moved. We should at least charge into the government office and kill that governor. Then we will have accomplished a great feat. You have all seen the people sent by the imperial court. If you don't trust the imperial court, who else can you trust?" Then, Master Liu raised the wine bowl that he had used to swear an oath of blood, "Come on, brothers, let's drink!"
Without saying much, they drank the wine in one gulp, then picked up their tools, stuffed them with straw and firewood, and then pushed their carts and carried their loads, heading towards the nearby city.
When we got to the city, we saw the spies from afar. One of the spies stood up and walked away like everyone else. The two sides walked around and met in a secluded place. " Brother , you are here. I saw the woman guarding the door standing for a long time, afraid that you would not come."
The people here asked in confusion: "Isn't it here? But with a woman guarding the door, where does that door lead to? It can't be a useless door, right?"
"How could it be! Although the door is a small one, it leads directly to the backyard. Gao Pang never came out after he went in, so he should be at the back."
After exchanging information, someone asked, "Can't we wait until there's no one around?"
"We've been watching for several days. Gao Pang is also very scared. There are guards at all the gates. It's best to have this woman guarding the gate."
"Okay! Go ahead!" said the leader viciously.
Everyone turned back to the door and saw that Chen Tuiyi was still on duty. They moved closer and saw that some people were still more than ten steps away from Chen Tuiyi. However, Chen Tuiyi turned around and pointed at these people and shouted, "Stop! I told you to stop!"
They were all gangsters, and some were military veterans. As soon as Chen Tuiyi saw this, he knew he had been recognized.
They didn't stop and rushed straight in. They thought the woman at the door was a woman, but she turned around and ran back into the door when she saw that the situation was not good. The man who was guarding the door with her also ran away.
Seeing that they had alerted the enemy, everyone knew that it would only make things more difficult in the future, so they shouted, "Kill!" and rushed into the door and killed their way in.
Thinking that the woman should flee to a safe place, and that women had bound feet, how could they run fast, he followed Chen Tuiyi's figure. Unexpectedly, the woman in front of him ran not as fast as a rabbit, but also fast. He was already far away from her, and he couldn't catch up with her after chasing through two passages.
Suddenly, there was a yard in front of them, and the woman had already rushed in. Everyone knew that this was the backyard, so they rushed in immediately. But they saw the woman standing at the door, pulling out something and putting it in her mouth, puffing up her cheeks. Then, a sharp whistle sounded.
All the heroes were stunned. Blowing a whistle is a technical job. Who has ever seen ?
After a moment of silence, the woman blew the whistle twice, then turned around and ran along the aisle beside the house.
The heroes hurriedly chased after her. But they could not see the woman anymore. Just as they were wondering what was going on, they heard gunshots. Following the gunshots, a hero screamed. The leader looked up and saw someone standing on the roof, shooting at the people below.
"We've been ambushed! Let's go!" The leader didn't dare to charge anymore and turned around to escape.
However, the guards had already arranged their positions. They poured out from all directions and began to besiege the enemy. If it weren't for the desire to capture as many people as possible alive, they would have shot and killed the gang.
Not only was the Governor's Office attacked, but several other places in Zhenjiang City were attacked, especially the granary, where a group of people rushed to the government's granary and started shooting with muskets.
The granary guards began to fight back, but found that the firepower of these people was very fierce. There was no fuse on the musket. After loading the ammunition and pulling the trigger, the musket was fired. Bullets shot over.
Although they tried their best to resist, they saw that the enemy was still numerous, far outnumbering the people in the granary. In the end, they had no choice but to retreat.
When the attackers saw the Chinese guards fleeing, they immediately rushed to the door of the granary. Someone swung a large axe and chopped off the iron lock. The iron chain was removed with a loud noise, and the door of the granary opened.
"Ignite! Ignite!" someone shouted loudly.
Everyone on this trip used the fire-making tools provided by the Huaxia Imperial Court Supply and Marketing Cooperative. A small slide was fixed on a long iron sheet, and a flint was fixed on the slide. Pulling hard would produce a string of sparks, igniting the coals in a moment and lighting the torch.
Others were carrying bottles and cans filled with strong liquor, which they poured over the outside of the stacks and set alight with torches. Soon the smell of burning wood filled the air.
Seeing the grain stack on fire, the men began to retreat. However, the leader felt something was wrong, so he called the axemen and ordered them to chop open a grain stack.
This kind of grain stack is a large barrel made of wood, filled with rice. When you want to eat rice, open the bottom and you can put the rice out to be pounded. Unexpectedly, when you cut open the grain stack, not a single grain of rice comes out. Not only that, there is only some straw piled inside, and the top is sealed in a way that looks like a cap.
If you don't cut it open, you would really think it is full of rice.
The leader was shocked and quickly cut open several of them, only to find that they were all the same. The leader knew that he had been tricked and shouted loudly: "Brothers, hurry up, hurry up." While shouting, the leader turned around and ran, fearing that he would be blocked in the granary.
However, since the Chinese army had already made preparations, they would not play a half-hearted game. Luring the enemy deep into their territory was the first half, and catching the enemy in a trap was the second half.
Soon, the troops chased after them in two directions and launched a siege on the enemy from the front and back.
The company commander here lined up the troops, holding his saber high in the air, "Load the bullets!"
With a rustling sound, the troops were ready. The company commander watched as the enemy also began to reload, smiled contemptuously, and shouted, "Fire!"
Following the order, the saber in his hand was swung down vigorously like a baton or a military flag. Bang bang bang bang volleys of gunfire rang out, and more than a dozen enemies on the opposite side were knocked down immediately.
However, the enemy did not know whether they were frightened or not. Instead of running away, those who were not hit continued to reload. Just after the Chinese army finished their volley, the bandits raised their muskets and fired at the Chinese army.
There was no matchlock, no open flame. However, the enemy's muskets also spewed out flames and bullets. Several people on the Chinese side were injured immediately. The company commander had never seen such a situation before, and was stunned in surprise.
However, even as they paused, screams were heard in the ranks, and the soldiers who had been shot started shouting while covering their wounds. As a result of this commotion, the ranks were actually somewhat confused.
At this time, the enemy's thieves continued to reload bullets. Although the Chinese army used breech-loading rifles, the enemy had finished reloading earlier than the Chinese army and fired the second round at the Chinese army first.
Three hours later, Gao Pang learned that the enemies who attacked the granary were not surrounded and annihilated, and some of them broke out of the encirclement and escaped.
Hearing this news, Gao Pang only doubted his own ears. The battle between the Chinese army and the Qing army has always been simple and clear. The results of the battle are only victory and annihilation. How could such a thing happen?
However, the subsequent report was like this. The number of casualties was 59 wounded and 18 dead for the Chinese army. They killed more than 40 enemies and captured more than 30 alive. This exchange ratio was even a big loss!
Soon, the report came in. Some muskets were delivered to Gao Pang.
Gao Pang felt something was wrong at first glance. These muskets included rifles and hand cannons. From the appearance alone, they were very similar to the muskets of the Chinese Army.
Gao Pang was shocked. "There's a traitor! Is there a traitor?"
Hu Shuo rushed over, picked up the rifle, took a look, and sighed, "He is not a traitor."
"If it's not a traitor, then what is this?" Gao Pang couldn't believe what Hu Yue said.
Hu Yue sighed, "I only heard from the governor that there is such a flintlock rifle, but I didn't expect to actually see it."
The flintlock rifle was invented by Mahan, a Frenchman who was born in 1547 (mid-16th century) into a family of gunsmiths, locksmiths and watchmakers. It was improved on the basis of the revolver musket. The spring steel wheel was removed, and a piece of flint was clamped on the jaws of the hammer. An anvil was set next to the fire hole. When shooting, the trigger was pulled, and under the action of the spring, the flint hit the side of the fire door heavily, sparks came out, and the gunpowder was ignited and fired. It greatly simplified the shooting process, improved the firing rate and shooting accuracy, was easy to use, and had a low cost, which facilitated mass production. In the mid-17th century, many European armies were generally equipped with flintlock rifles.
Huo Chong certainly didn't know how to make a flintlock rifle, nor was he interested in making one. The Chinese army was even less likely to be interested in such a thing.
However, flintlocks appeared in the battle at this time, and there were quite a few of them. Hu Yue, who had seen the flintlock sample, looked at it for a while and sighed, "Sure enough, they are here."
