Volume 2: Soaring! The Overlord of the Region Chapter 324: The Giant Begins to Awaken (Part 3)
"Eh? Boss Zhang, you're not open today?"
"Hey, Mr. Liu, we won't be serving breakfast today. Eh? Why are you bringing so many children with you? Oh! Have you brought all the students from your school out?"
"Hahaha, Boss Zhang is right. Look, the Yanjing Daily reported the invasion of Siam and Japanese pirates. Because our dynasty was busy with disaster relief a few days ago, we built fewer warships, which led to these two clowns jumping around.
Yesterday's Yanjing Daily reported that in addition to the Changsha Shipyard in the south, our Ming Dynasty also built a new Binhai Shipyard in Tianjin, and has started to build warships. The keel was just laid the day before yesterday. Then these brats couldn't sit still! There was no other way, so I had to delay my studies for a few days and take these brats to Tianjin to see the shipyard. "
"gentlemen."
"Um?"
"Yesterday, it was you who read the newspaper and said that you wished you could go to Tianjin in person to see the Sea Dragon of the Ming Dynasty..."
" You little brat! Are you itching for trouble?"
"Hahaha~~ Mr. Liu, wait a minute, children should not be restrained in their words, children should not be restrained in their words. It just so happens that I and a few neighbors next door listened to the newspaper yesterday and made an appointment to go to Tianjin to see our Daming's new shipyard today. Have you had breakfast? I still have a lot of pancakes in my shop. I'll go heat them up and then we can take them and eat them on the road."
"I was just about to come to your place for breakfast, Boss Zhang. Well, Boss Zhang, please give each of these brats a steamed bun. Their parents gave them some copper coins this morning."
"Nonsense! You all came to cheer for the masters of the Ming shipyard. Why should I charge you for this meal? Wait a minute, it's just a reheat. It will be ready in no time."
Beijing and Tianjin in the Ming Dynasty were the first cities to realize cement hardening of official roads. At first, the road was six meters wide, but soon it became a bit crowded due to the huge amount of logistics. During the large-scale work-for-relief last year, Zhu Youdong widened the road to nine meters and added a two-meter-wide sidewalk on each side of the road.
Even so, when Boss Zhang, Liu Xiucai and others left Guangqumen in the east and had not yet stepped onto the Beijing-Tianjin Highway, they were shocked to find that there was a traffic jam!
After all, this is not a real highway, so there is no separation strip between the two lanes. Then, after the right side of the road was blocked, the crowd heading out of the city drove to the left lane in a hurry. The logistics between Beijing and Tianjin are extremely frequent, so there are also many cars coming from Tianjin. As a result, the entire road was completely blocked!
"Oh, this is terrible. We have been here for half an hour, right? We can't move at all! Mr. Liu, how about we get off the car and walk?"
"Walking? Well, Boss Zhang, if we walk, we won't be able to reach Tianjin tonight."
"Hey, it's okay. Beijing and Tianjin are densely populated along the way, and there are villages everywhere. So even at night, we won't sleep outdoors."
"Alas, that's all. I didn't expect that the people of our Ming Dynasty are so loyal and patriotic!"
"Yes, Mr. Liu, my store also needs to buy some food ingredients on weekdays. Some of them are shipped from Tianjin. I heard from the delivery guy that there are many people and cars on the Beijing-Tianjin Highway, but it is far from being as completely blocked as it is today. Are they all going to Tianjin to see the shipyard like us?"
"Yeah, hahahaha, the Ming Dynasty is united as one, and these few clowns will be wiped out in an instant!"
The two and other adults who were traveling with them were about to ask the children on the new four-wheeled carriage to get off, but they saw a group of soldiers in new military uniforms running towards them in an orderly manner.
"Ah, epaulettes, short skirts, double-breasted. Sir, this is the new army of my Ming Dynasty!"
"I know, I know. I didn't know they were the new army. I saw their badges and knew they were from the Fourth Town!"
After saying this, Liu Xiucai turned around and said, "Don't get off the car for now. Since the new army has arrived here, they will definitely not turn a blind eye to the situation today. Maybe they are here specifically to help us clear the road and restore traffic."
"Sir, we also want to get off the bus and take a look at the uniforms of the new army."
" Nonsense! There are so many people and cars here. What if you get separated after you get off the car? What if you get squeezed by others? How am I going to explain to your parents then?"
"Yes, gentlemen. Sit tight in the carriage. This carriage is much more stable than the previous ones and can carry more. But the rental fee is too expensive! It's two silver cents a day! Don't waste the money if you sit a little longer."
While Liu Xiucai and his men were discussing, the leader of the soldiers nearby had already opened his throat and yelled: "Dear people, dear fellow villagers. I am Li Xianzhong, the garrison commander of the Fourth Regiment of the New Army. Following the order of the Manchu general, I am leading 230 soldiers under my command to restore order for everyone. Please cooperate with me! Thank you very much!"
"This general is very kind. What do you want us to do? Please give us the order."
"Yes, General, we all want to go to Tianjin to see the warships of our Ming Dynasty! The sooner the road is cleared, the sooner we can set off!"
"Hahaha, thank you very much. We will definitely complete the clearing as soon as possible. Now please squeeze into the middle and make way for us on the sidewalk next to it! Thank you!"
Originally, according to Zhu Youdong's idea, he also wanted to do it all at once and organize the new army into divisions, regiments, and battalions. However, the Ming Dynasty had already had the official titles of general, deputy general, lieutenant general, and guerrilla for many years. It would be a bit unaccustomed for people to call you division commander or regiment commander abruptly. So Zhu Youdong retained the original title.
However, although the title was changed, Zhu Youdong did not compromise on the organization and strictly implemented it according to his own ideas.
Each new military town has a full staff of 15,000 people. After deducting various logistics, management, staff, auxiliary personnel and heavy artillery directly under the military town, there are actually 12,500 combat troops. They are divided into three infantry battalions, one cavalry battalion and one artillery battalion. The infantry battalion has a full staff of 3,000 people, the cavalry battalion has 1,500 people plus 3,000 war horses, and the artillery battalion has a full staff of 1,000 people - these are all artillerymen, and those who pull cannons and ammunition are counted separately.
The commander of each battalion is a lieutenant general. Below the lieutenant general is the guerrilla commander (roughly equivalent to the battalion commander in later generations, with more than 900 combat soldiers), below the guerrilla commander is the garrison commander (company commander, with more than 200 combat soldiers), and below the garrison commander is the captain (platoon leader, with more than 50 combat soldiers) - that is, above the guerrilla commander, it is a three-three system. Below the guerrilla commander, it is a four-four system.
In short, after hearing about the severe traffic jam at the east gate of Beijing, Zhu Youdong, while relieved, quickly ordered the new army to send troops to cooperate with the yamen runners of Shuntian Prefecture to come here to clear the traffic.
The one sent by the Fourth Town was Li Chengliang's youngest grandson, Li Xianzhong. He was two years younger than his elder brother, Li Chunzhong, who was now the general of the Third Town, and the same age as Zhu Youdong, and was only seventeen years old this year.
However, he was born into a military family and had studied at the Ming Royal Military Academy for three years. In addition, the new army was expanded too large and there was a shortage of officers everywhere, so he was assigned to garrison duty as soon as he came out.
"Hurry, hurry, hurry, let's speed up and ignore the traffic jams along the way. Run to the unblocked area ahead, and then clear the traffic one by one in the opposite direction. This is the fastest way! Damn it, we can't fall behind those idiots under Huang Shuai on the opposite side!"
"Hahaha, just wait and see, garrison commander. In a fight, the Seventh Town is no match for us. And when it comes to clearing the road, they're still not good enough!"
After the two companies of the Fourth Town and the Seventh Town desperately ran forward and kept telling the people on the road about their purpose, people who were stuck on the road began to cheer and encourage them. There were also scholars wearing round-necked and large-sleeved shirts bowing to them. There were also many children who ignorantly imitated the adults around them and applauded and saluted the soldiers. In the end, these countless cheers and encouragements gradually merged into a wave of heat and formed a unanimous cheer!
"The Ming Dynasty is mighty!"
"The Ming Dynasty will win!"
"Long live the Ming Dynasty!"
