"Miss, the blacksmith has also been recruited. Should we go back?" Qin'er said softly while massaging Li Shu's calves while sitting in the sedan chair.
"Why are you in such a hurry to go back? When we were in the capital, I asked Rui to borrow the Fire Dragon Sutra from my uncle's study and made a stack of rubbings. It would be a waste if I don't earn five or six blacksmiths to take back with me." Li Shu squinted her eyes and smiled slightly, like a fox.
Qin Er (o言o)... ... Miss, you are trying to get something for nothing. You are trying to get five... ...
"Let's go to Huaishu Hutong in Yonghefang. Wang Xiaoer said there is a blacksmith named Zhang there. He was originally a blacksmith in the Taizhou Guards' Arms Bureau. He once went to Southeast Asia to learn how to make Red Barbarian artillery. Later, he was injured and his eyes were destroyed. He was kicked out of the Taizhou Arms Bureau. Now he is down and out. This is a great opportunity to take advantage of the situation..."
Li Shu stretched out her hand lazily and pointed, ordering the sedan chair to go to Huaishu Hutong in Yonghefang to earn money from Zhang the blacksmith.
"Oh oh..." Qin'er came back to her senses, opened the curtains, and sent a message outside to Huaishu Hutong in Yonghefang.
About half an hour later, Li Shu left Huaishu Hutong in Yonghefang with a smile on her face and went to the next location.
Behind the sedan chair, a burly one-eyed man bowed to the sedan chair from a distance with tears of gratitude.
... ...
On the third day, when Li Shu and his party left Yangzhou, the team had grown a lot larger, with five more blacksmiths and more than ten blacksmith apprentices accompanying them, and four more luggage boats, loaded with iron ingots, copper ingots, saltpeter, sulfur and other items.
Half of the cargo on these newly added cargo ships was purchased by recruited blacksmiths such as Ou Zhige.
The iron and copper ingots on the market in Yangzhou were still in good condition, but saltpeter, sulfur and other items were almost sold out in a short time.
When Li Shu set out from Yangzhou to Yingtian, Zhu Ping'an arrived in Guangde with the recruited soldiers from Yiwu.
During the training, the new recruits from Yiwu showed their natural qualities: they were simple and honest, obeyed discipline and orders, were tenacious and patient. As long as they were given an order, they would obey it. As long as they were not stopped, they would keep going, even if they were exhausted... ...
After marching and training all the way, they have almost covered half the distance. The new recruits in Yiwu have already achieved the results of the college students' military training for more than half a month. They have begun to have the vague shadow of soldiers, especially under the leadership of Zhejiang Army veterans such as Liu Dadao, they march in formation in a very professional manner, which is quite intimidating.
Of course, Yiwu recruits also have many shortcomings, such as low literacy rate, slow learning speed, etc., but the shortcomings do not outweigh the merits, and these shortcomings can be improved later. Compared with the many advantages of Yiwu recruits, these shortcomings can be ignored.
Zhu Ping'an was very satisfied with the new recruits from Yiwu. They were worthy of the famous Qi Family Army in history. They lived up to their reputation. He thought that he had taken great advantage of Qi Jiguang. When he met Qi Jiguang again in the future, he would definitely thank him, although Qi Jiguang would definitely not know why he should thank him.
While the new recruits in Yiwu were still blank slates, Zhu Ping'an instilled in them along the way ideas such as "a soldier's mission is to defend the country", "a soldier's responsibility is to obey orders", "serving in the army and fighting is a soldier's duty", "never abandon, never give up", "military discipline is as hard as iron, national law is as heavy as heaven", and "the Zhejiang Army's top priority at present is to wipe out the Japanese pirates and rescue the people of Jiangnan" to shape their correct view of military personnel.
"I am a soldier, I come from the common people; I am blessed by the emperor's grace and I will defeat the Japanese invaders and wipe out the Huns;
I am a soldier, I love my king and my people; the fierce war has tested me, and my position has become more firm;
Hehe, I hold my weapon tightly and see clearly; whoever dares to invade my homeland will be beaten without mercy... "
The new recruits from Yiwu lined up in long lines, singing loud military songs as they marched through the fields of Guangde.
"My Lord has ordered that when you pass through the fields, you must not step on the furrows or damage the crops. Violators will be severely punished!"
"My Lord has ordered that you must not harass the people, or speak or act inappropriately. Violators will be severely punished!"
Zhu Ping'an's order was promulgated and all the new recruits in Yiwu dared not disobey. They all walked along the paths in the fields. More than 1,200 people passed by without damaging a single crop or stepping on an inch of the field furrows.
Of course, no ordinary people were disturbed.
Such strict marching discipline made the farmers working in the fields feel at ease. They no longer called their children to hide, but bravely sat in the fields or under the trees by the roadside to watch the Zhejiang Army recruits pass by, resting and talking at the same time.
"Whose soldiers are these? Where did Governor Zhang transfer these elite troops to go to the coast to wipe out the Japanese pirates?"
"What soldiers? Don't you see they are all wearing ordinary people's clothes? They don't look like soldiers."
"Not a soldier?! Didn't you hear them singing 'I am a Soldier'? Maybe they have a mission, so they changed into ordinary people's clothes and disguised themselves as ordinary people, just to confuse the Japanese pirates and do something ruthless."
"This military song is so well sung. I really hope all soldiers can sing like this..."
"What are you thinking? These days, such soldiers are rare. Most soldiers are worse than bandits. They are even more ruthless than bandits. If you meet bandits, you may be able to avoid disaster by spending money. But if you meet soldiers, haha, you can only wish for the best."
The villagers in the fields began to discuss enthusiastically, and were very curious about the origins of the Zhejiang Army's new recruits.
When Zhu Ping'an led the Zhejiang Army recruits on a training march, getting closer and closer to the Taohuaji training ground, his uncle Zhu Shouren and his two good friends, Wolong and Fengchu, arrived in Chizhou five days ago. Now five days have passed, and they have not yet left Chizhou.
They set out from home, took the Yangtze River waterway, and sailed downstream. It should have taken only a few days, but after ten days, they only left Anqing Prefecture and arrived in Chizhou. The journey had just begun...
It was noon and a cold wind was blowing.
"Brother Zhu, should we set off on our journey by boat?" Hu Wei and Xia Qiang said to Zhu Shouren who had just got up.
"Alas, I just can't bear it." Zhu Shouren sighed.
"Brother Zhu, what are you so reluctant about?" Hu Wei and Xia Qiang asked hurriedly.
"It is now the coldest month of winter, the wind is blowing, the waves are surging, look, a weak woman is looking out the window, she is wearing thin clothes and shivering... Although I cannot help the world, I don't want to be alone. In this cold weather, I would like to invite this poor weak woman to drink some hot soup, what do you think?"
Zhu Shouren pointed across and said.
Hu Wei and Xia Qiang followed Zhu Shouren's finger and saw a scantily clad woman on the second floor of Zuihualou across the street, waving a handkerchief to attract customers and flirting with all her might...
Hu Wei and Xia Qiang...