Chapter 143 My Heart's Delight
He thought everything that had just happened was dazzling enough. But seeing the scarecrows of different heights that had suddenly been erected in the far distance between the training ground and the high platform, he suddenly felt that things might not be so simple.
The idea of using scarecrows was Hongzhao's. At this time, not everyone had a telescope, and demonstrating muskets would require firing them. Soldiers would then have to report back and forth how many rings were hit on the target. Although this would reveal their strength, the back-and-forth reporting was not very intuitive.
He ordered his men to make many scarecrows, specifically instructing them to make the straw around their heads loose, ideally the kind that would fall apart immediately if shot. Judging from the current state of the figures, it seems the people from the Imperial Construction Bureau listened to his instructions.
A team of one hundred people stood in neat formation, with the first fifty on horseback and the last fifty on foot, appearing in perfect unison in the center of the training ground. Each person held a brand-new, still warm, and gleaming black spear.
Logically speaking, the Dzungars had seen muskets before, but Buhe still couldn't help but take two steps forward, pressing his upper body tightly against the railing and leaning half his body out to look with wide eyes.
The soldier was holding something he had never seen before; it looked much shorter and had a shiny bayonet on the front.
At this moment, Yinzhen was also putting on a serious and ordinary air, but the corners of his mouth that he couldn't suppress almost revealed his guilty conscience on his face. The thirteenth and fourteenth princes next to him were also completely surprised that their little nephew, the crown prince, could cause such a stir in a month. They both crossed their arms and watched with great interest.
Fifty infantrymen weaved through the cavalry, raising their modified spears to thrust, parry, slash, and chop at the scarecrow. Their movements were perfectly synchronized, and the power and ease of their actions were evident from the fact that the scarecrow's chest and abdomen were almost falling apart.
After a series of combos were demonstrated, the fifty men made a clean exit, leaving the final showdown to a cavalry phalanx of fifty men armed with muskets.
These fifty men were the cream of the crop, having undergone rigorous selection processes upon receiving the mission. Though the mission itself was unknown, each one trained with extraordinary diligence. Now, witnessing the Emperor himself in attendance, and even the presence of envoys from the foreign Dzungar Khanate, their faces flushed, their adrenaline surging as if injected with some kind of hormone.
The horses lined up directly in front of the scarecrow, their movements practiced as they cocked their guns, raised them, and aimed. Everyone on the high platform watched with bated breath. Then, at the leader's command, a deafening explosion erupted, the combined force creating a sonic boom. Even those on the high platform were shaken, causing some to instinctively cover their ears.
One shot wasn't enough. The cavalrymen below, having practiced their muskets a hundred times and memorized the movements, swiftly fired three shots at the scarecrow in front of them.
Everyone squinted and looked ahead. They saw that in the far distance, all the scarecrows, regardless of their height, had their heads explode in an instant. When the smoke cleared, all that remained were a row of headless straw shells with empty abdomens.
Yinzhen could see clearly that those three shots were not like the previous muskets that needed a match to be lit, but were many times faster and more agile than before!
His usually inscrutable expression almost crumbled. He clenched his fists tightly behind his back, his throat bobbing with excitement. He knew this must have been his You'er's idea; this child was a blessing from heaven!
Having lost so many children before, he always felt it was because of the many sins he had committed in the first half of his life, and that Heaven was slow to forgive him. But now it's not that Heaven hasn't forgiven him; it's that Heaven has been too kind to him, bestowing upon him such a beautiful and gifted child. Even if it were just this one child, it would be worth it!
He glanced sideways at Buhe beside him and was not surprised to see that Buhe's jaw was almost agape, and he was leaning half his body out as if he wanted to crawl in front of the scarecrow to examine it closely. The railing wasn't very high to begin with, and he wasn't exactly a light-weight person.
If it weren't for the quick reflexes of the Fourteenth Prince, Xun Junwang, who pulled him back just as he was about to collapse, he would have surely fallen to the ground. At that point, even if the envoy wasn't executed, he probably wouldn't have lived much longer.
Buch then realized his rudeness, awkwardly touched his nose and was about to speak when he heard the sound of horses' hooves below again.
All the soldiers who had just entered the arena returned to the field, standing shoulder to shoulder with their horses, almost filling the entire training ground, leaving only a passageway in the middle.
Hongzhao, riding his jade-bridled horse, both he and his horse held their heads high with an air of noble pride. He rode to the center and turned his horse to face the high platform. Even though the distance was considerable, Hongzhao could still keenly sense that his father was in a truly good mood.
He loosened the reins, cupped his hands in greeting, and proclaimed loudly, "Your subject wishes the Great Qing Dynasty prosperity and longevity! May Your Majesty live ten thousand years!"
After he finished speaking, the soldiers behind him immediately followed suit: "May the Great Qing Dynasty prosper! May His Majesty live a long and healthy life!"
The sound came like a mountain roaring and a tsunami crashing and washing over, and even the palace maids and eunuchs serving on the high platform couldn't help but feel excited, let alone the emperor.
Those who could serve by the Emperor's side were naturally all perceptive. Including the thirteenth, fourteenth, and seventeenth princes, the group of people knelt down in unison and recited, "May the Great Qing Dynasty prosper! May His Majesty live ten thousand years!"
Buhe hadn't fully recovered yet. Seeing everyone kneel down, he followed suit, kneeling down in a daze and mumbling his words.
Yinzhen clapped his hands together and exclaimed "Good!" three times, each time in a higher tone. "The Crown Prince has done an excellent job in organizing this military review. All participants will be richly rewarded! The Crown Prince should be rewarded even more!"
After receiving a look from his thirteenth brother, the fourteenth prince, Yinzhen, slowly walked up to Buhe and deliberately brought his face close so that Buhe could see him clearly—"Envoy, now that you have finished reading the book, please come this way."
Buhe looked up blankly, staring at Yinzhen's face for a long time. Then, he almost collapsed to the ground in despair. This person seemed to be the former Grand General Wang... Wasn't it said that the Emperor had exiled him to guard the imperial tombs? How did he suddenly appear behind him?
He felt that the Qing Dynasty would have been better off killing him from the very beginning; how could he explain himself to the Khan if he were left alive?
Seeing the mischievous grin on Yinzhen's face, it was only when Yinzhen spoke up in a good mood that the farce was broken.
"The envoy has come to discuss the marriage. Please follow me to the banquet hall."
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