The fifth day of May.
On this day, the sun was blazing, and it was extremely hot inside and outside Wangjiazhuang. Except for the young and strong military households working hard in the fields, no one could be seen inside or outside Wangjiazhuang. The remaining military households and civilians all hid at home to escape the heat.
Suddenly, several generals wearing red military uniforms rode into Wangjiazhuang Fort. The first one was Dapan Fort Armor Commander Chen Xun, followed closely by the small flag officer Wang Yue.
Behind the two of them, Huangshan Dunjia Chief Shen Tuo, Shagou Dunjia Chief Zhang Yi, and Fengshan Dunjia Chief Wang Bo also rode horses to accompany them. They were all wearing red military uniforms and wearing the chief flag officer or flag officer around their waists. It is the waist badge of a small flag officer, and there is a weapon hanging on the saddle. It is very powerful to ride the horse through the streets.
Several people received a notice sent by Liu Yan, asking them to rush to Wangjiazhuang Baihu Official Hall to discuss matters today. They happened to meet outside the fort, so they rode in together.
"This damn weather, it's only the beginning of May and it's already so hot. It's so damn hot!"
Wang Bo yelled and cursed loudly, his military uniform was soaked through, and there were beads of sweat on his forehead and neck, as did the other people.
However, several people still did not take off their clothes, and even did not untie their clothes. This is the requirement in the "Infantry Drill Code". Whether they are generals or ordinary soldiers, Wangjiazhuang Dunjun must pay attention to their appearance and appearance. Anyone Do not go shirtless or do not wear military uniforms and armor correctly. Once discovered, you will be punished accordingly.
At this time, Wang Bo yelled loudly, and Chen Xun said with a smile: "Just be content. I heard that you lived very comfortably in Fengshan Mountain. You had wine and meat every day. If you hadn't You’ve been training hard, I think you’re going to gain weight!”
The other people laughed, and then looked at Wang Bo with interest, as if to see if Wang Bo had really gained weight.
"Haha, what's the matter? My military salary is not enough for food and drink. I still have to save money to marry a wife!"
Zhang Yi on the side smiled and said: "You still want to marry a wife? I see that you are not charming at all, and you are not elegant. It is better to marry a peasant woman, but I am afraid that you will not be able to marry other women." 33
Everyone laughed, and Wang Bo let out a strange scream, and started chasing Zhang Yi on horseback.
While everyone was chatting and joking, they unknowingly rode their horses to the entrance of Baihu Official Hall.
At this time, the flag officers Xu Ming and Miao Shao knew that everyone was almost here and had been waiting here for a while. When they saw everyone coming together, they both smiled and stepped forward to greet them with fists in their hands.
Everyone had been together since Liu Yan was promoted. They hadn't seen each other for a long time, so naturally they had to catch up with each other. They chatted for a while at the door of Baihu Official Hall, and then everyone saw Yue Ming, the flag officer, walking out of the door. .
"Haha, everyone, please stop being busy here. The team leader is already waiting inside. Let's go talk about business first. The team leader has prepared good wine and food tonight. Let's have a good time tonight. Get drunk and then rest!"
Now the chief flag officer Yue Ming is in charge of the allocation of money, food and materials for the Wangjiazhuang Baihu Office. To everyone, he is the God of Wealth, so everyone gives Yue Ming face and enters the Baihu Office chatting and laughing one after another.
In the main hall, Liu Yan was sitting at the top wearing the official uniform of a hundred households. He looked at the people filing in and said with a smile: "Okay, we haven't seen each other for a long time, and we finally got together today."
Everyone laughed, and Chen Xun was so excited that he almost wanted to cry. He clasped his fists and said, "Everyone has lost weight. You have worked too hard during this period. You must pay attention to your health!"
Liu Yan waved his hands and said with a smile: "I know, it's just that our Baihu Office has a lot of affairs, and I don't have the resources to do it."
Wang Yue was even more exaggerated and said tremblingly: "Your Excellency, you are dedicated to the country, and you are really a role model for us. We are sure that you, for the sake of national affairs, must cherish your own body, and you cannot..."
Chen Xun, who was on the side, rolled his eyes, slapped Wang Yue on the head, and said, "Okay, okay, you've gone too far."
Everyone laughed again.
Liu Yan also kept laughing, and finally stopped himself, and then asked everyone to sit down.
"Okay, let's get down to business."
Liu Yan picked up a document from the table next to him and said to everyone: "This is the strategy I drafted for the reorganization of each post."
"Now our Wangjiazhuang Hundred Household Office has a total of seven sentinels and piers. Above the sentinel level, the time is ripe to add another level of organization."
Everyone was very excited when they heard this. They saw Liu Yan waiting eagerly, and they were all wondering in their hearts what position they could get in this new level of organization.
Before Liu Yan opened the reorganization strategy, he added: "I originally planned to integrate the posts, with three posts as one headquarters, and the seven posts and piers of my Wangjiazhuang Baihu Branch into two headquarters, and the cavalry posts as independent One whistle.”
"But I thought about it all night last night, and I feel that this is still a bit inappropriate. After all, if you want to lead a general army, you must at least be an official with hundreds of households. To be honest, now you are serving as the general flag officer and the small flag officer. , commanding more than a hundred Dun troops at one post is already a step beyond his level."
Everyone was a little disappointed when they heard this. Liu Yan's meaning was already obvious, that is, the reorganization would be postponed.
Liu Yan looked at everyone's expressions and said: "However, this reorganization strategy will not be invalidated, but will continue to be improved. I plan to wait until I get married, and then let each sentry take turns to suppress bandits and train troops. Then it will be This is a great opportunity for you to accumulate military merits. When the outposts need to be expanded into one in the future, those with more military merits will be given priority for expansion."
Everyone's fighting spirit was rekindled, and they were secretly competing in their hearts, preparing to show off their talents in the battle to suppress bandits in the near future, so as to accumulate more military merits for each of them, which would be evidence of advancing to official positions in the future.
"Okay, now that I've said the first thing, let me talk about the second thing."
At this time, the chief flag officer Yue Ming stood up and walked aside, took out a flintlock bird gun, and handed it to Liu Yan with both hands.
"Look, this is the flint-haired bird gun made by the Firearms Supervision Department. Now Director Tan has begun to work hard to build this gun."
Everyone was overjoyed to see such a fine bird gun, especially Chen Xun, who was even more obsessed with bird guns. He was the first to rush forward, took the flintlock bird gun in his hand, and kept playing with it up and down. The other people also gathered around, pointing and looking at it.
Only Xu Ming and Miao Shao stood behind. They had seen it several times in the past few days, and even saw the power of the flint-haired bird gun with their own eyes. Naturally, there were no Chen Xun, Wang Bo, Zhang Yi, Shen Tuo, etc. People are so novel.
"Sir, are you going to change my clothes for me?"
Liu Yan smiled and said affirmatively: "This is natural. Now the muskets equipped by each sentry are still hung with match ropes. Not only is it difficult to fight normally in windy and rainy weather, but the filling process is also very long. In short, it is all kinds of inconvenience. And this The flint-haired bird gun is not only more powerful and has a faster rate of fire, but also eliminates all the disadvantages of match ropes, so it is natural that the entire army should be equipped with it."
Chen Xun laughed and said: "In that case, can we take this flint-haired bird gun back with us this time?"
"You think beautifully!"
Liu Yan smiled and scolded: "Although this change of uniforms is also part of the reorganization of each sentry, I am just informing you today. After you go back, you have to send someone to bring back to me the old matchlock blunderbuss that you are equipped with. Those matchlock blunderbuss After modification, they can all be turned into flint-haired muskets."
Chen Xun said in surprise: "Is this okay? Is there really no problem with the quality of those flintlock bird guns that have been modified from matchlock bird guns?"
Although only Chen Xun asked, the other people all had the same expression. In everyone's opinion, the modified flint-haired bird gun was definitely not as good as the forged flint-haired bird gun.
Liu Yan naturally saw everyone's worries and said: "You should be careful about this. Whether it is a matchlock gun or a flintlock bird gun, the barrel and the amount of powder are the same. The only difference is It’s just a firing device, there won’t be much difference in power and quality.”
Everyone felt relieved. Wang Yue said with a smile: "What your Excellency said is true. With Director Tan in charge of the firearms manufacturing department, no matter what kind of gun it is, the quality will naturally be good."
Everyone rolled their eyes when they heard this. Although they were accustomed to Wang Yue's flattery, they would not miss any opportunity to tease Wang Yue.
"Wang Xiaoqi is really good at talking. Weren't you worried just now?"
"Wang Xiaoqi was the first to frown when it was mentioned that the matchlock gun should be modified into a flintlock gun."
Wang Yue was not angry when he saw this. He first smiled, and then said loudly: "Of course I was worried just now, but with your explanation, I was convinced by your words. Is there any problem with this?"
Everyone laughed again, but Wang Yue smiled brighter and brighter.
Liu Yan watched everyone making jokes and started laughing.
After everyone was chatting and laughing for a while, Chen Xun asked: "I wonder how the preparations for your marriage are going?"
When she was in Dapanbao before, Chen Jiang helped prepare Liu Yan's marriage, but now that Liu Yan has arrived in Wangjiazhuang, Chen Jiang stayed in Dapanbao to preside over the soap workshop, and prepared for Liu Yan's marriage. Then it fell on Zhao Min.
Now Zhao Min is responsible for the civil affairs inside and outside Baihu's official hall, and at the same time helping Liu Yan prepare a series of trivial matters for getting married. Basically, he is so busy that he can't even eat.
At this time, when Chen Xun asked, everyone became more energetic and started asking questions one after another.
Liu Yan said with a smile: "There is no rush about getting married. With Master Zhao here, there won't be any problems."
Chen Xun said with a smile: "My lord, what you said is that Mr. Zhao is thoughtful and talented, so there will definitely be no problem. It's just that when your lord decided to get married, did you entertain all those people?"
What Chen Xun asked was naturally the Shangguan who Liu Yan was planning to entertain, as well as some distinguished figures.
Liu Yan had obviously thought about it and said: "The Shangguan from the Qianhu Office in front of Xiahe Village must send invitations, as well as the Song Inspector from the Ancient Town Inspection Department, all of them need to be invited."
"If that's the case, wouldn't it mean that even Dai Baihu, who lives in Qianhu Station in front of Xiahe Village, is going to post something?"
Zhang Yi said nonchalantly: "That Dai Baihu is nothing. Of course, you don't need to pay attention to it. Just leave a message to the defense master, Mr. Wang and Mr. Jia."
The rest of the people also agreed.
But Liu Yan had a different idea and said to everyone with a smile: "One more person is not much, but one less person is not much, and I have to collect less money!"
Everyone laughed, and Liu Yan immediately called everyone and said, "Okay, it's almost dark now. Let's go to the side hall to have a drink and reminisce about the past. By the way, we can also confirm the people who will be invited to the banquet. I can also make a list for Director Zhao as soon as possible."
Some people died, but not completely...
