Chapter 810 A Dream of Youth 342
Of the four bodyguards, only two returned; the remaining two stayed behind to protect Xie Ning.
Not long after the person left, Xie Qi also received a letter from home, so he came to ask Xie Ning to write a letter to send back to the capital, so that his parents and relatives could rest assured.
Xie Wangzhi's letter said that Chen Yunbai had already led his men to Bingzhou, and with his protection, Xie Wangzhi would feel more at ease.
Both Chen Yunbo himself and his men are among the best in terms of skill; otherwise, they wouldn't dare to go to the grasslands to trade.
Fortunately, he didn't have time to go to sea, otherwise he wouldn't have been able to get to Bingzhou.
"Bao'er, your handwriting is really good."
The brushwork is graceful and fluid, with a free and unrestrained spirit. The strokes reveal traces of white space, resembling the appearance of a dry brush lacking ink, giving it a unique charm.
Xie Qi was somewhat impressed; his calligraphy was also excellent, but when it came to the flying white style, Xie Ning was still the best, even Xie Wangzhi couldn't compare to her.
Finally, Xie Ning finished writing the two characters "Wenshui," put down his pen, and murmured, "...It seems we are destined to meet."
Xie Qi didn't hear clearly and asked, completely confused, "What do you mean by fate?"
"I have a special connection with this place."
Xie Qi's face immediately fell. "Don't say that. We almost lost our lives here. With the war in Hedong so bad, I'd rather not have this connection."
If he had known this calamity was coming, he would have stopped Xie Ning and Xu Hongying from coming to Taiyuan. He had no great ambitions, only wishing for his family's safety.
Knowing that Xie Qi had misunderstood, Xie Ning did not explain, but simply handed the letter to the guard beside him.
She then pulled out another piece of paper and began writing a notice. She wanted to recruit military doctors. Originally, she was also thinking of recruiting soldiers, but it was better not to stand out too much, after all, there was General Xu above her.
The hundreds of people she recruited in Songshi Fortress and the town were all incorporated into the army. Of course, General Xu gave her face and did not reorganize the army. Instead, he promoted Nasong Sanlang to adjutant and gave Xu Hongying the position of commander.
General Xu originally intended to assign someone to lead those hundreds of new recruits, but Xie Ning refused, and then she promoted Xu Hongying instead.
Firstly, Xu Hongying's skills were enough to suppress this group of soldiers; secondly, Xu Hongying's status made it easier for her to protect Xie Ning.
That's right, Xie Ning treated those hundreds of people as his guards, or rather, his private army. But keeping a private army is illegal, so he had to give them an official identity.
General Xu felt guilty towards Xie Ning, believing that Xie Ning had traveled a long way to save him and almost lost his life on his own territory. Therefore, he turned a blind eye to Xie Ning's actions.
Not to mention that Xu Hongying, whom Xie Ning mentioned, is a junior member of his family.
Although she was a girl, she was quite skilled and virtuous, and since she was family, General Xu reluctantly agreed after hesitating for a while.
Xu Hongying was relatively obedient at first, but Xie Ning was by her side. Although these soldiers were considered private soldiers, they still had official status and were entitled to the same treatment.
We don't need military pay anymore; we just need to be fed and clothed.
Xie Ning may not have much else, but he has plenty of gold. It's not a problem to support several hundred men. Yan Xi just happened to send a message, so he can use that as an excuse to get the money out.
The rest was just making some military equipment and weapons and producing medicine.
With Aqi Lan and Du Mingzhao handling the pharmaceutical work, Xie Ning doesn't need to worry too much. However, Xie Ning still needs to personally teach the craftsmen.
Xie Ning not only made the Thunderclap Bomb, but also modified other weapons. Fortunately, the prefecture had weapon workshops and skilled craftsmen who were able to not only realize Xie Ning's ideas but also optimize them.
Xie Ning was quite knowledgeable about firearms, but his understanding of cold weapons was superficial.
Therefore, he also learned diligently from other craftsmen while working in the workshop.
The large workshops naturally had divisions of labor, with major categories including woodworking, lacquerware making, vest making, crossbow making, saddle making, sword making, weapon making, leather armor making, gun making, gunpowder making, kiln making, oil making, metalwork, hemp making, kiln making, and so on.
The division of labor is very detailed.
The master even helped Xie Ning repair her sword.
Xie Ning's sword was made by Xie Wangzhi at everyone's request. It was a pair with Xie Qi's sword and served as a symbol of their status.
However, swords were rarely used on the battlefield. Soldiers mostly used daggers because dagger techniques were relatively simpler to train than swords. Only some generals carried swords.
Xie Ning's sword should not have been chipped, but unfortunately the Northern Jin army leader who ambushed her was too strong and managed to chip several nicks into her sword. Xie Ning was very distressed afterward.
After all, a good sword is hard to come by.
Now that a craftsman can repair it for her, Xie Ning is naturally extremely grateful.
When Xie Ning first joined the armory, everyone treated her with great respect, but they were somewhat dismissive of her. They respected Xie Ning's status, not her talent.
They vaguely knew that Xie Ning was a physician, but how could a physician manufacture weapons?
That's ridiculous!
However, Xie Ning proved them wrong with her actions. Even though she was a novice in the forging of some cold weapons, her knowledge of firearms far exceeded their expectations.
Xie Ning was surprised when she first entered the armory, since she had never had the opportunity to learn about these things before. Only after she truly delved into it did she realize that this was an era in which firearms and cold weapons were used together.
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