But before this guy could go far, Huang Qiong's cold voice came from behind: "You'd better tell the deputy governor to do what I just said. After you finish explaining, go to Xiguan to find me right away. Note Stay here, bring enough weapons and artillery shells. If you put the cart before the horse and don't know what to do, I think you, a colleague, really don't need to go now."
After Huang Qiong finished speaking, the colleague picked up the hem of his official robe, hurriedly ran back to Huang Qiong, knelt down on the ground, with an expression on his face that was about to cry: "Return to England" As for the king, I don’t dare to have any delay in what you have told me, but I really don’t have any place for you to do this.”
"Your Royal Highness, as far as I know, the guns used in these cannons are prepared according to the secret recipe of the Guilin King. Compared with the general guns used in the army, they are more powerful. In the early years, Beizhi I once saw it in the Ministry of War. The special gun ammunition sent to the frontier army is different from the powdery gun powder used in ordinary armies. They are all granular. "
"These weapons are controlled by the imperial court, and the annual consumption and reserves are customized to a certain extent. Every year, local areas report losses. After being specially produced by the Ordnance Supervisor of the Ministry of War, they are uniformly sent to various places by the Ministry of War. In the army equipped with cannons, every year The amount of reserves shall not exceed the order of the Privy Council.”
"Every year, the Ministry of War, together with the Privy Council and the Imperial Palace Department, dispatches special personnel to inventory the inventory of the troops stationed in various places. Anything that exceeds the quantity ordered by the imperial court will be destroyed. According to the imperial court regulations, any unauthorized production by the military is tantamount to treason. But. The Ministry of War has not sent such a message to Hulao Pass for decades. At least since I took office, I have never seen it."
"My humble position is to be in charge of money, food and ordnance. Although I have slacked off a little since I took office and put more energy on handling conflicts between the military and civilians, I dare not slack off on these matters. Every year, the Ministry of War issues The ordnance, money and food provided by the emperor are all accounted for. I can confirm that during Lizong’s reign, the Ministry of War did not send cannon supplies to Hulao Pass."
"Not only that, but even ordinary guns are sent very rarely. As for the various artillery shells required, the Ministry of War has also stopped sending them since the Lizong Dynasty. The existing artillery shells in Guanzhong are all from before the Lizong Dynasty. I don’t know if I can still use it even though I’m in a humble position.” After that, the guy opened the accounts he had been holding under his arm, turned to the ordnance page, and presented it to Huang Qiong.
Although he is a bit dim as a person, he also knows that these weapons are related to his wealth and life. Therefore, he still pays attention to this. The Ministry of War has not sent this kind of weapons to the garrison at Hulaoguan for decades. He heard that it was extremely expensive to build, and he was well aware of it. Although he was frightened and spoke awkwardly, he thought it would be better to explain some things clearly first.
Otherwise, if the King of England had no place to look for weapons and cannonballs, he would think it was his own fault. Judging from the current power of the British king, letting him go home to eat himself is something he can easily do. You know, Beiliao has been trying every means to secretly acquire Daqi's secretaries. They even offered a pound of gold and a tael of gold at a sky-high price.
Having said this, the guy looked at the King of England, whose face was extremely gloomy after hearing what he said, and cautiously continued: "But although there are no newly created **, there are still some ** left in the pass. . It’s just that these ** have been hoarded for decades. Since they came from Hulao Pass, they have never been opened. I don’t know if they can still be used.”
"In addition, there are some ordinary guns in the pass, which were sent by the Ministry of War in the past two years. I thought, since they are all guns, these cannons should be able to be used. Your lord, see if you can let some old generals Just use it? Even if it's less powerful, I think it's better than nothing."
"You bastard, you are so stupid, you should be killed." After hearing this colleague's explanation, Huang Qiong couldn't help but curse, no matter how patient she was. But whether he was scolding those bastards in the Ministry of War or the colleague in front of him with this angry curse, I am afraid no one knows except himself.
"The crime of despising one's position deserves to be punished by death. Please forgive me, Your Majesty." Who Huang Qiong was referring to with these words is not yet known. But when he said he deserved to be killed, he frightened the colleague in front of him who had repeatedly made mistakes from the beginning. Thinking that the King of England's words that he deserved to be killed were directed at him, he kowtowed quickly. This kowtow was so sincere that even Zhao Wushu on the side felt pain for him when he heard the sound.
Huang Qiong was stunned by the kowtow made by this colleague who had misunderstood the meaning. After thinking for a while, I realized that this guy thought he was going to vent his anger on him. Seeing this guy's appearance, Huang Qiong wanted to scold him. But in the end, I still held back. He just said in a calm tone: "You'd better get up and answer."
After the guy stood up, Huang Qiong glanced at him and said: "I don't have the habit of venting my anger on others. Since there are no new guns, then send the inventory and ordinary guns to Xiguan. In addition, , we are selecting 200 more clever sergeants and giving them to some old men to command."
"Thank you to the King of England for your magnanimity. I will start handling it right away." Hearing Huang Qiong's instructions, this guy was very sensible. He also knew whether he could save some of the image in the heart of the British king who was currently in charge of the life and death of everyone in Hulao Pass. This was his last chance. Not daring to delay any further, he rolled and crawled down with Zhao Wushu.
Seeing this guy's hurried back, Huang Qiong shook his head in confusion. He is just a prince on temporary errands. Is it necessary to make him so afraid? Fortunately, he is from a noble family, so why is his mental quality so poor? However, although this guy is always worrying about gains and losses and can't figure out the priorities of things, he can still implement specific matters.
Thinking of this, Huang Qiong turned to Fan Jian, who had been following him but said nothing: "After the matter in Zhengzhou is over, please remind me. Didn't our Prince's Palace return a Sima? I made a mistake. , transfer this guy to the Prince of England's Mansion as Sima. The Sima of the Prince's Mansion is from the fourth rank, and his colleague is also from the fourth rank, so it can be regarded as a level transfer."
Regarding Huang Qiong's idea, Fan Jian pursed his lips and said happily: "My lord, didn't you promise him before that you would let him be the governor of Zhengzhou after the rebellion was over? Why did you suddenly change your mind now? In fact, on the surface, this guy I'm a little confused and can't distinguish the priorities of things, but in fact, my thinking is still okay. It's just that the flattery is a little wrong."
"Actually, it can't be said that his photography was wrong. If it were someone else who came to Hulao Pass, his behavior would be the norm in officialdom. Only by doing everything personally can he leave a good impression on the superior. Otherwise In these extraordinary times, a slight mistake or incompetence is enough to knock him back to his original form. It’s just that he didn’t expect that the prince wouldn’t talk about those vain things.”
Fan Jian always had the urge to laugh when he thought of this guy's various performances. But joking is joking, but Fan Jian knows that this is the normal state of officialdom. For the officials below, sometimes after these superiors return, a sentence in the memorial can determine whether they can keep the hat on their head.
If this person is the superior today, it could be someone else. He is a child of aristocratic families, and these aristocratic families in the court have a certain degree of influence through marriage and other means to advance and retreat together in the court. Ordinary differences will generally not find fault with them. After all, these people have family backgrounds that ordinary officials cannot afford to offend.
But today, this superior officer can not only decide the life and death of everyone in Hulao Pass, but he is also a dignified prince, so how can he not be trembling with fear. Sometimes the more nervous a person is, the more likely he is to make mistakes. And Huang Qiong is the kind of extremely pragmatic person. It's not surprising that the guy flattered him so much that he slapped the horse's hooves.
"He can't be the governor of a state. This guy's mind is not too busy, but his mind is too active. If he were asked to take charge of the government affairs of a state, he would make a mess. This guy is too superior. If he is allowed to be If a local official encounters a greedy boss, why should the people of a state be made miserable by him?"
"But this guy still has a certain idea in his mind. People like him must use it. But how to use it needs to be carefully weighed. If used in the right position, this guy can also It plays a certain role. If it is used incorrectly, I’m afraid this guy will make a mess.”
"It's better to keep this kind of person by your side for the time being. Anyway, after the incident in Zhengzhou is over, I will have plenty of time to take care of him. When will he come out and when will he correct his mentality of being an official? , it’s not too late to release it outside. As for now, let’s forget it.” Huang Qiong couldn’t help but shake her head when mentioning this guy’s various performances.
After answering Fan Jian, Huang Qiong did not speak. He took several found veterans and did not go to Guancheng. Instead, he followed the city wall and came directly to the place where the cannons were placed in Xiguan. Seeing these cannons placed on the top of Xiguan City, several veteran soldiers quickly stepped forward and inspected them carefully before turning around and saying: "Your Majesty, although these cannons are not well maintained, they may not be inoperable."
"Although these cannons were cast in the early years of the founding of the People's Republic of China, they were very strong when they were first cast. Although they have been exposed to wind and rain for more than a hundred years, you can see that there is not much patina on this cannon. Sometimes, it is better to be careful. The weight of the reloading gun should be gradually increased. Because some small cracks on the gun body are not visible to the naked eye. "
"Sure enough, it is an expert who knows and does not know as soon as he makes a move. At first glance, these old men are experts and know these cannons very well. I wonder, how many old men used to work in the army here to eat food?" Looking at several old soldiers With his neat skills, Huang Qiong suddenly thought of Jiang Xin, who arrested all the people outside the pass and imprisoned him. I am afraid that he had the same idea.
I also want to find gunners among the retired veterans around Hulao Pass. Otherwise, why did he go through so much trouble to catch so many people, and why did he go to all the trouble to transport these cannons weighing several kilograms to Xiguan? This guy should know that among the veterans who have retired from the nearby army, there are people who have served as gunners in the border army.
"The little old guys used to work in the border army to eat food. Later, when they got older, they really couldn't do anything anymore. So they took the severance money and returned to their hometown in Hulaoguan to settle down. We were at Yanshan Prefecture, where we had weapons and weapons on the border. The artillerymen at the battalion school have always been the gunners. Because the inland garrison does not have artillery, we have always served in the army in Yanshan Mansion and have never been rotated to garrison in the inland."
"To tell you what the prince doesn't want to hear, I have been handling these cannons for decades, just like a father handling his own son. However, the cannons we have in Yanshanfu Firearms Camp are better maintained than those in Hulao Pass There are too many. Like here, the inside of the barrel is full of mud, and there are also bird's nests?"
