The four Ouchi guards, Ma Ming, Duncheng, Bai Min, and Guan Lu, were completely dumbfounded. They didn't expect that in the middle of the morning training, Prime Minister Xiao would come to visit them with a group of civil and military officials.
"Ma Ming, Duncheng, Bai Min, Guan Lu... take a step forward." Zhao Yidao's shoulder was bitten by a bullet, but he still did not delay his vigorous tossing of the group of recruits, who were surrounded by his roar. The guard stepped forward, and the heels of his military boots clicked together, making a loud sound.
Xiao Letian walked up to them and stared at the four of them with bright eyes, his eyes wandering over their bodies.
"Well, that's right, you look a bit like a soldier now. It's completely different from the soft and flabby look you had before... Haha, I know you are very unconvinced after hearing this, and I also know that you are all no less than Master Long. Martial arts masters, but in my eyes, you were just like weak little reptiles before."
"There is no need to glare or be unconvinced. Think about it for yourselves. No matter how hard your fists are and how good your skills are, but you have a selfish heart and a soul that only knows how to retreat, then what else does your good skills have? use."
Xiao Letian paced back and forth in front of them. "I won't say much about what you four were like before, but you did a great job yesterday. I really didn't expect that when the order to charge was given, the four of you actually rushed to the top." The front is incredible, really incredible..."
"Why don't you want to be rewarded with money? Why don't you think about the fact that you don't have any weapons in your hands? Is your behavior like this in Sijiu City a typical example of someone with a brain in trouble? Hahaha..."
Xiao Letian's words made the four guards furious. They forgot the military regulations and Ma Ming shouted loudly, "Prime Minister, I don't accept it...Why do you look down on us so much? We are also dignified men. We also have our dignity. Enemy Right in front of us, why don't we dare to fight? You look down on people so much..."
Looking at the angry eyes of the four guards, Xiao Letian was not angry at all. He shook his head, "Am I looking down on you? I'm wrong. It's what you did before that made me look down on you. Look at your previous performance on the battlefield. The charge is rewarded with silver, the messenger is rewarded with silver, the enemy is outnumbered and we don't fight anymore, we turn around and run away... One by one, I can appreciate it."
"Of course, the four of you will definitely be unconvinced, but to be honest, the bravery and loyalty you have shown must have a pure purpose. Isn't it because you want to behave better in front of the nobles, and then change to become your wife? , it’s just an improvement in status..."
"Think about it for yourselves, if there is no benefit, will you risk your lives without thinking about it? No need to answer me, just torture your own hearts. In fact, I know the Manchus and the customs and customs of the Eight Banners better than you do..."
The four guards couldn't answer Xiao Letian's words. Thinking about the lazy atmosphere in Sijiu City, and thinking about those Eight Banners dudes who said they were beautiful but were extremely selfish in their hearts, the four guards lowered their heads.
"But..." Xiao Letian changed the subject, "But you did a great job yesterday. You really showed the qualities of a good soldier. You heard orders without any doubts, and you could forget your personal achievements when charging into battle. Big me, you have actually integrated yourselves into this group, I am very pleased about this..."
"Come here, give me a gun." Xiao Letian gave the order, and four honor guards walked over carrying four trays covered with red silk. Xiao Letian opened the red silk, revealing four exquisite Colt revolvers inside. , and Huang Chengcheng’s handful of copper-cased bullets.
The four eyes of Ma Ming and the others were red with excitement. This was the Citizen Rotor Foreign Gun worth a thousand taels in the Qing Dynasty. It could fire six bullets in an instant. Even the ancestors would have difficulty avoiding it as long as they were close at hand.
The gun is good, and the ceremony of giving the gun is even better. Prime Minister Xiao of Donghai gave the gun in front of all the new troops. This honor is enough for the four of them to brag about for a lifetime. When they return to Sijiu City, they will leave with the foreign gun given by the Prime Minister on their waist. When you get there, no one else will take a good look at you.
Isn't it true that all the heroes in the world seek face all their lives? What's more, the little emperor is still giving thumbs up to the prime minister behind him, and the eunuchs in the corner are still crying. Yin people just can't stand this kind of masculinity.
Ma Ming and the others, with their chests so high, allowed the honor guard to tie the cowhide armed belts on them. Finally, Xiao Letian personally inserted the pistol into the holster.
"From now on, the four of you can train with guns. This is a privilege given to you... Always remember the moment yesterday when you risked your life and charged, and never forget the spirit in your hearts... That is a soldier The military spirit you should have.”
"If you want to bring out a new type of army, you must change everyone's heart. Don't go back to the old path."
Listening to the prime minister's sincere instructions and looking around at the solemn gun-giving ceremony, the four guards' noses couldn't help but become sore.
When all the pistols were inserted into the holsters, Xiao Letian took a step back and shouted loudly, "Everyone... salutes." Hundreds of recruits and dozens of officers present, including Xiao Letian himself and Emperor Tongzhi, all stood at attention and performed the new military salute, even the queue Mr. Nobile, who was watching the ceremony from behind, all took off their hats.
The four guards were completely unable to control themselves at this time, and tears rolled down in vain. They were considered people who had seen the big world. They could enter and leave the Forbidden City at will, but today they were moved by this small gun-giving ceremony.
In Sijiu City, they were just slaves and court eagles. No matter how many rewards they received, the nobles and officials would still look at them with disdain. Only at this moment, they suddenly felt that they were upright people. Xiao Letian seemed to be in front of them. Several steel nails were smashed into his spine.
As long as the waist is straightened, it will be difficult to bend it again in the future.
The gun-giving ceremony ended quickly. Under the envious eyes of countless people, the four guards returned to the team and began super-intensive training. Zai Chun felt extremely happy when he saw the four guards working hard.
"Training, training, and training, the four guards will become the fourth company commander, the fourth battalion commander, and the fourth division commander... One day I will be like the master and train a powerful army that makes foreigners shy away. I firmly believe……"
The little emperor was in a daze when Shimazu Dairo's roar suddenly sounded in his ears: "Baga, the ceremony is over, why don't you return to the team, go back to the team immediately, and start training immediately, otherwise you won't be allowed to eat at noon today... Go and get an extra twenty A push-up, right now, right now..."
"Yes, instructor... twenty push-ups, right now." The little emperor ran to the edge of the playground and sat up and did push-ups in a orderly manner.
Xiao Letian, who walked to the door of the training camp, looked at the little emperor and the four guards from the corner of his eye. In addition to recognition, there was also some conflict in his eyes.
"Perhaps only this kind of collective life can eliminate the narrow nationalism complex in the hearts of the Manchu people. Zaichun, you must remember that in today's life, there are Han people, Japanese, Ryukyu natives and even people from Southeast Asia around you. Young people, including your enemies, the orphans in heaven..."
"You live together, train together, eat and sleep together, chat and brag... I hope you can remember their appearance, I hope you can understand this, only you Manchus can learn to integrate with all ethnic groups equally, you Qing Dynasty Only then can there be real hope for ZTE..."
"There is a long way to go, but fortunately you are still young."
After leaving the training camp, Xiao Letian immediately held a top-level secret meeting at the military headquarters. The top brass of the new army gathered together and began to analyze the situation in Japan. Due to the intervention of the French, the situation in Japan became more and more complicated.
"Everyone, since France has begun to send arms to Japan, it can only prove that the Tokugawa Shogunate and France have reached a secret agreement. The French power has begun to penetrate into Japan. They will not let us dominate Asia. Now Let’s brainstorm and discuss it.”
After listening to Xiao Letian's opening remarks, the room suddenly buzzed. People were whispering and talking, and the map of the Japanese archipelago in front of them had more than a dozen big heads.
Luo Huo was a representative of the hardliners in the New Army. He was the first to stand up, "Prime Minister, what else is there to discuss? Let our New Army directly participate in the war, with one thousand New Army as the bones and eight thousand Japanese troops as the flesh." , 10,000 troops are enough to sweep across Japan, even if the French army directly participates in the war, it doesn’t matter.”
At this time, the navy commander Cai Mao also stood up, "Yes, there are currently eight warships available in Ryukyu. Although they are not as powerful as the Western fleet, there is no problem in dealing with the Japanese navy. Our new cannons are enough to defeat Japanese warships." Crush them outside the range...Please give the Prime Minister's order, we can bombard Edo, and even lead a surprise force to capture Edo City..."
In sharp contrast to the enthusiasm of Luo Huo and Cai Mao was the calmness of Xiao Hexin and Sima Yun. "No, no, no, the Prime Minister asked us to discuss it together. That shows that the Prime Minister is also undecided. The war is not only about the battlefield, but also about politics. Don’t throw it away even if you think about it…”
"Our new army will directly participate in the war. Will the four southwestern lords agree? The victory in the second battle of Choshu has made them a little elated. The Maori family and the Shimazu family will allow our new army to land."
"There is a threat from the French. Why don't they agree? Do they think they can still defeat the French?" Different voices rang out from the crowd.
Xiao Hexin turned around and replied, "The key is whether the overthrow faction will believe our intelligence. The victory in the Battle of Changzhou has made them a little fanatical, and their internal power struggles have also emerged. Everyone has not yet defeated the shogunate." , they have already begun to consider the distribution of benefits after the war, and they will let us take a share of the pie."
As expected, Xiao Hexin already has a bit of a strategist's demeanor, and his level of analysis of problems is obviously not at the same level as Luo Huo and others.
The conference room once again fell into a stalemate, and people began to discuss various possibilities, while Xiao Letian himself began to think in other people's shoes.
"If I were Tokugawa Keiki, then I would definitely show weakness to the enemy, retreat step by step, and buy time for my army to train... Although the four feudal clans fell in power, they were not united, let alone the four great clans. The feudal lord, even Sakamoto Ryoma’s Kaiyuan Kai and Nakaoka Shintaro’s Land Aid Kai were quarreling because of their different philosophies.”
"In order to gain more rights, the four southwestern feudal lords did not hesitate to wield the butcher knife against their own people, not to mention that they were loyal to the emperor. After the Boshin War, the Southwest War soon came, and the great feudal lords did not hesitate to go to war with the emperor for their own interests. Such disunity Can we really continue the victory from our previous life?”
Xiao Letian fell into deep suspicion.
