Chapter 242: Firearms Drill, Dayu Military God Arrives
On that day, it was a long time after Zhao Duan left the Tianshi Mansion that the old craftsman from the Firearms Bureau hurried back to the yamen.
In the next few days, the production of new muskets began in the Firearms Bureau.
Considering the principle of confidentiality, the relevant information is limited to a limited number of people.
The military officers of the Shenjiying knew that Zhao Duan had done some things in the Firearms Bureau.
However, due to the need to "avoid suspicion" and fear of being implicated in the previous case, they suppressed the urge to investigate and did not even dare to make any inquiries.
He was afraid of being targeted by "King Zhao" and being accused of "having secret dealings with Prince Jing's Mansion" - this was a lesson for the young master.
Therefore, a strange scene happened:
Firearms development is in full swing.
However, the Beijing Army and even the Privy Council, who should have known all about this, tacitly pretended to be blind.
Anyway, I'm not going to see it no matter what, so I'll just let Zhao Duan do whatever he wants.
No one would have thought that new firearms were constantly being developed.
As for the civil officials such as "Little Cabinet Minister", they only knew the general situation and thought that it was Zhao Duan who was investigating the case.
Even though they learned that the Tianshi Mansion was suspected of being involved, they just thought that the thief Zhao was using his connections to assist in the investigation - similar things had happened more than once.
As the focus of countless eyes, Zhao Duan's next actions were truly confusing.
He pretended to work for a few days at first, but then he completely gave up.
He spent the whole day drinking and having fun with a group of military officers, and often did not go to the barracks to rest at home.
Later, it was said that King Zhao was bored one day and gathered more than 20 people in the camp to play Cuju.
Well, Zhao Duan was also very creative and made major changes to the rules of Cuju.
The people from the Firearms Bureau customized a strange "goal" and redefined the rules.
As a result, the new way of playing Cuju spread from top to bottom, and within a few days, it spread throughout the Beijing camp and into the entire imperial guards.
Zhao Duan, a fourth-rank military officer, was addicted to fun all day long, and Commander Shi Meng was unable to stop him.
We can only helplessly allow this evil trend to spread.
This made countless officials who were observing the situation, both openly and covertly, look at each other in bewilderment.
I couldn't help but start to doubt myself.
I wonder if they are overthinking it.
Zhao Duan joined the Shenjiying this time with no other purpose, just to gild his rank and get promoted?
For more middle and low-level military officers, the criticism of this "commander" who only knows how to have fun all day is getting louder and louder.
The resistance caused by the young master's dismissal from office continued to ferment.
…
Inside the Privy Council.
Xue Shence received more and more complaints from his military officers.
"Haha, Master Xue, I heard that the young master came to see you again today?"
At noon, a thin, fifty-year-old second-rank official in charge of the Privy Council walked into the hall with a smile and a joking look on his face.
Xue Shence was taking a break and glanced at his "colleague":
"Why does Lord Wang have to tease me?"
Then he asked him to sit down and have some tea.
The middle-aged governor, who looked more like a civil official than a military officer, sighed:
"These days, the young master comes to our house every day and has almost become a sight to behold.
Every time I come here, I have only two reasons: one is to ask for an explanation, to ask what rules they have violated and to demand reinstatement; the other is to file a complaint against Zhao Duan.
The Privy Councilor shook his head:
"Tang Ping's mind is as clear as a mirror, but he insists on asking questions even though he knows the answer.
Every time they come to our door, they're slapping us in the face... This is a pressure demonstration. I'm afraid the recent criticisms circulating in the Beijing camp are also due to them...
If Your Majesty doesn't speak, you and I will have to bear the brunt of this dilemma."
Upon hearing this, Xue Shence sighed and felt a headache.
If it was someone else, he would just send them away.
But when Tang Ping came to make trouble, he could only endure it.
Although the Duke of Zhenguo is not in the capital, there are still a group of military and powerful people in the capital who support the "young master".
Although Xue Shence is the number one military official, he also has to take care of the feelings of these military heroes.
"Hold on a little longer. Once Zhao's temporary assignment is over, things will calm down a bit."
Xue Shence shook his head, paused, and said:
"Besides, Your Majesty will not allow this person to continue to act recklessly."
Governor Wang glanced at him and said:
"Tell me, are we mistaken? Zhao Duan, after joining the Divine Machine Camp, hasn't shown any interest in investigating the case. Apart from the initial visit to the Firearms Bureau, he's only been having fun."
Xue Shence hesitated and said:
"Don't underestimate this person. Judging from his past methods, his current behavior may not be genuine."
Governor Wang raised his eyebrows: "Oh? You think..."
Xue Shence shook his head:
"I can't guess for sure, but... tell me, is this person deliberately trying to provoke us?
"Kicking out Tang Ping and the others was the first step. Now, eating, drinking, and having fun, undermining military discipline, is the second... Just wait for someone to lose control and attack him, and then Your Majesty can use this as an excuse to take action? To purge the military officers of Dayu?"
Governor Wang also frowned, feeling that the situation was difficult:
"If that's the case, it's really difficult to deal with."
These two big men, who could make the court tremble with just a stomp of their feet, were now helpless against a deputy commander.
In times of distress.
Suddenly, a messenger soldier came running in from outside the courtyard, stepping on the autumn wind, and stopped to clasp his fists:
"Your Excellencies, Zhao Duan, the Deputy Commander of the Divine Machine Battalion, has delivered an official letter!"
What?
The two were stunned, looking puzzled:
What could possibly happen to this idiot who is just holding a temporary position?
And submit it to the Privy Council?
Xue Shence waved his hand, and the soldier handed over the official letter. He glanced at it quickly, and his expression changed subtly:
"Take a look."
Governor Wang took it and also had a strange expression on his face.
The official letter stated that tomorrow in the Shenji Camp, Zhao Chenshi would preside over a military exercise to demonstrate new military formations and tactics.
Senior military officers from the Privy Council were specially invited to observe.
"What new tactics? Did Shi Meng report it?" Governor Wang couldn't remember.
Xue Shence hesitated and said:
"He had sent a letter before saying that Zhao Duan had indeed taken some soldiers away.
However... they all went out to play Cuju for fun under the pretext of training.
Besides, he is close to the Firearms Bureau, but because of the previous case, Shi Meng deliberately did not investigate to avoid trouble, so what he knows is not detailed.
Governor Wang was amazed:
"That's quite interesting. I'm curious what Zhao Duan is up to."
Xue Shence snorted coldly:
"Grandstanding."
He suspected that Zhao Duan learned that public opinion in the army was not good, so he planned to use the identities of the generals in the Privy Council to suppress public opinion.
He sighed in his heart, but still ordered the soldiers to send back the message:
Tomorrow morning, he will lead the generals of the Privy Council to go there.
Your Majesty's face must be given eventually.
"By the way, if we go there tomorrow morning, won't our young master be disappointed when he comes to the Privy Council?" Governor Wang joked.
Xue Shence picked up the teacup and said calmly:
"Then let's go together, so what?"
Governor Wang was stunned for a moment and looked at him thoughtfully.
…
…
On that day, the news that Zhao Chenshi would preside over the training and invite many important figures to observe spread in a small circle.
This has once again caused controversy. It has become a traditional military skill for new military generals to improve their reputations in the name of training.
People did not hesitate to speculate with the utmost malice that this was another show by Zhao Duan.
Only in the Firearms Bureau, Chen Huoshen, who had been working hard for more than half a month, was so excited that he couldn't sleep all night. He stroked the finished new musket in his hands and excitedly looked forward to the arrival of tomorrow.
No words were spoken that night.
The next morning.
The autumn wind is blowing.
When Zhao Duan got up, he felt that the autumn air was even stronger, and the green flowers and trees in his home also looked bleak and old.
"What a nice autumn with cool weather..."
Murmuring, Zhao Duan narrowed his eyes and looked at the floating clouds in the sky and the rustling autumn wind.
I thought: This is a good day for shooting practice.
A few days ago, he got the finished product of the musket, which surprised him greatly.
Gongshu Tianyuan was indeed a genius. He made innovative improvements based on the matchlock gun.
Using the sorcerer's thinking, a batch of "semi-automatic" muskets were manufactured.
The loading efficiency was greatly improved, which greatly enhanced his originally unsatisfactory performance.
It also prompted him to make the decision to conduct today's exercise.
Zhao Duan was dressed neatly.
As usual, he had dinner at home, then left the house and rode alone towards the outside of the city.
Hou Renmeng and Qian Kerou stayed in the Shenji Camp last night and prepared for today's training with Chen Huoshen.
When Zhao Duan arrived at the Shenjiying camp at a leisurely pace.
From afar, one could hear the sound of drums on the parade ground and the flags on the wall fluttering violently in the autumn wind.
"Sir, you are here."
Qian Kerou was waiting at the gate of the military camp. When she saw him, she hurried forward to lead the horse.
Zhao Duan smiled:
"Why, have the people from the Privy Council arrived?"
"Not yet, but the generals from the Beijing camp have already arrived," explained the secretary.
Since an important figure from the Privy Council is coming for today’s drill,
The generals of the "Three Thousand Camps" and "Five Army Camps" naturally arrived without delay.
When Zhao Duan walked into the training ground, he saw that a large shed had been set up on the edge of the ground.
It's like a pergola, with tables and chairs underneath.
At this moment, the three commanders of the Beijing Camp and dozens of senior military officers gathered here and talked with each other.
"Mr. Zhao, you're here!"
Shi Meng's eyes lit up, and he quickly stood up, called him over, and introduced the generals beside him one by one.
Zhao Duan ignored the others and only looked at the other two third-rank commanders.
The commander of the Fifth Army Camp was a middle-aged man with a certain Confucian temperament.
Wearing armor and a sword at the waist is a more formal attire.
The commander of the Three Thousand Battalion was a tall, thin man with a stern face. He looked at him with curiosity:
"Mr. Zhao, I have long heard of your great name."
Zhao Duan smiled, nodded and chatted with a few people for a moment.
There was a certain air of chatter and laughter in the conversation.
Not only did he not show any humility as a lower-level official, but he also acted like the master of the place.
"I heard that even Privy Councilor Xue will be arriving today. Zhao Chenshi is definitely the most respected."
The commander of the five armies, dressed as a Confucian general, sighed and asked curiously:
"But I don't know what Zhao Chenshi has prepared for today's drill. Why is it so grand? Most of the military officials in the entire capital are here."
Zhao Duan smiled slightly, did not accept his temptation, and just said:
"You'll know it later."
At this time, someone came to the barracks gate and announced loudly:
"Envoy Xue has arrived!"
In an instant, everyone in the huge parade ground stood up solemnly.
He looked respectfully towards the barracks door to welcome the arrival of the Great Yu God of War.
Only Zhao Duan remained seated, his eyes narrowed slightly as he muttered softly, "What a grand ceremony."
…
Typos should be corrected first and then replaced
(End of this chapter)
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