Chapter Thirty-Six: A Hint for Tan Grandma

  Yang Qiu brought back two fake Madsen M50s to the camp, instantly causing a stir throughout the entire camp. Even Yue Peng and Zhang Wenjing put down what they were doing and rushed over after hearing the news. Lei Meng and Su Xiaohu, who had been assigned by Lao Yezi, stood proudly beside the machine guns, with the soldiers gathering around them making them even more proud, as if getting the machine guns was their achievement.

  Yang Qiu was different from other high-ranking officers, every day he would wear his uniform neatly and bring a sword, afraid that others wouldn't know he was an officer. Instead, he liked to wear ordinary military attire, during this time he also ate and lived with the soldiers, setting an example by training together, regardless of wind or rain. So, the storm of intense training gradually passed, and the soldiers slowly began to accept this somewhat unconventional battalion commander.

  In addition, Yue Peng and Zhang Wenjing also promoted a large number of young and strong grassroots officers by taking the opportunity to temporarily replace the regimental commander, so the atmosphere in the troops improved a lot, and the soldiers' courage also increased. "Sir, what kind of machine gun is this?"

  "Lightning-fast gun, also known as the Madsen light machine gun in Europe, was copied by Master Su Hongsheng a few years ago. I brought it back first to let everyone learn from it." Yang Qiu patted the machine gun and smiled: "Who can use it?"

  "I learned this when I was in Germany." Yue Peng stood up, walked to the machine gun and fiddled with it for a while, then frowned and said: "Sir, this is broken?"

  "It's fine that it exists, but who knows when it will arrive?" Yang Qiu muttered to herself, then glared and said: "Since you've used it before, you can teach everyone how to use it."

  "Adults? Are we going to get machine guns?" Zhang Wenjing's eyes lit up, but before he could indulge in his fantasy, Yang Qiu immediately struck down: "Let's wait until the Beiyang government is no more, then we'll talk."

  "Damn it, another Beiyang warlord, I just can't stand those guys."

  "Right, they think of everything first, all the guns are made in Germany, and so are the cannons. They give us all the outdated ones, it's really infuriating."

  "Alright, our turn to get equipped will come eventually. I heard this gun is not bad, and coincidentally Master Su has one, so he brought it back for everyone to practice with first. Although it's broken, we can still make do with it and let everyone learn more." Upon hearing the soldiers murmuring, Yang Qiu smiled, it seems that his subtle influence with Beiyang as the target is effective. He said to Yue Peng: "I can only lend this gun for half a month, so you should pick people to practice yourself."

  "Are you kidding me? Do I need to practice with a bad gun? Sir, isn't this bullying? Yue Peng's face turned black. In Germany, training a machine gunner takes at least three months, and to become proficient, they need to fire several thousand rounds of live ammunition. But here, we only get half a month, and it's with a crappy gun! And there's no chance to practice with real bullets! Isn't this just intentionally making things difficult for me?"

  "Not satisfied? Come on, let's have a one-on-one match, if you win, I'll take back what I said."

  Are you going to challenge me as the second Lei Meng? Isn't this looking for trouble! Yue Peng hurriedly waved his hand, pointing at Lei Meng who was watching the joke and said: "Don't bother, spare me, if the adults are itchy, go find Lei Meng instead."

  "What?! Ah, I've got a stomachache......" Lei Meng didn't dare to fight Yang Qiu one-on-one. For this period of time, he had suffered enough from the pain of being strangled and mysteriously knocked unconscious, so he quickly retreated in disarray.

  "Haha......" Even the usually fearless Lei Meng was startled, and all the soldiers burst out laughing. Even Qiu Wenbin and his men, who had been keeping an eye on Yang Qiu, couldn't help but admit that he had a way with the soldiers. This made them even more worried, as there were already few comrades here, and now another obstacle had appeared, making the prospects for their planned uprising suddenly seem bleak.

  After handing over the training of machine gunners to Yue Peng, Zhang Wenjing hastily pulled Yang Qiu aside: "Sir, people from Hunan have been waiting for you for a long time."

  "Someone from Hunan? Who is it? What are you waiting for?"

  Zhang Wenjing hastily explained: "It's Mr. Tan Yanqing of the Hunan Advisory Council, he has been ordered to come to the gun factory to take guns back to Hunan, this is not a recent strict inspection and prevention, you need to check after that can start."

  "Where is she?"

  "Loading at the dock."

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  Hanyang Arsenal was located at Dabieshan (now north of Guishan) adjacent to Yuehu Lake and the Han River, sharing a wharf with an ironworks.

  On the dock, a dozen or so Xiang soldiers who came to escort the guns were scattered and lazy, causing Tan Yankai to frown. The phrase "Zuo Zongtang has no Xiang army" revealed the decline of the Xiang army. In just a few decades, the troops that had conquered Xinjiang in the south and north wars had disappeared into the long river, leaving only these undisciplined soldiers in front of him.

  Tan Yanqun didn't want to intervene and couldn't even if he wanted to, so he simply gazed at the magnificent industrial buildings in front of him, secretly admiring them.

  Although Hunan is also adjacent to the Yangtze River, it is vastly different from Wuchang Sanzhong. In recent years, the situation has been unstable, and bandits have begun to multiply within its borders, so he is anxious to transport these guns back to hand them over to soldiers to calm people's minds.

  Suddenly, a string of neat footsteps came, Tan Yanqian and several managers of the Arsenal turned their heads to look, only to see a team of new army soldiers stepping in unison, carrying guns and jogging while running, after turning around the dock, they didn't greet them, immediately put down their guns and lined up in two rows, the leader shouted: "Attention!"

  The sudden sound of "Attention!" startled everyone, and before anyone could ask what was going on, the new commander of the 42nd Banner, Yang Qiu, had already walked over with Zhang Wenjing. Upon seeing him, Tan Yanqing hurriedly went over and smiled, saying: "Commander, we meet again."

  "Heh heh, I've been busy lately and kept Lord Tan waiting for a long time. Didn't miss the appointed hour, did I?" Yang Qiu said, waving his hand, and immediately several soldiers standing at attention began to board the ship to inspect it. This made the manager of the gun factory and those Xiang Army soldiers change their expressions, not expecting that this notorious "Manchu running dog" really took himself seriously."

  Tan Yanxin was not surprised, only that Yang Qiu could make the 42nd banner so obedient in just half a month. Looking at these neat and swift soldiers of the 42nd banner, he turned his head to look at the undisciplined Xiang Army behind him and sighed inwardly.

  "Magistrate Tan, I'm really sorry about this, but with the rebels causing trouble everywhere lately, we can't be too careful."

  "Hehe... the captain is being polite, if everyone were as diligent and responsible as you, things wouldn't be so chaotic." Tan Yanqian smiled slightly and invited Yang Qiu to board the cargo ship together.

  Inside the not-so-large cabin, a large number of long wooden boxes were piled up. After Hu Lao San and his soldiers carefully checked them, they immediately saluted and reported: "Report, one thousand guns made in Hanyang, thirty boxes of bullets, verified to be correct."

  Yang Qiu casually pulled out a Han Yang rifle from the box and demonstrated it for a while before praising: "Good gun."

  Tan Yanqian glanced at Hu Lao San and others, smiling: "Guns are good, but they can't compare to the soldiers of a great man. These generals really make me envy them."

  Yang Qiu smiled secretly, he brought Hu Lao San and others out just to let Tan Yanqing see his neat military appearance and discipline, leaving an impression on this "Tan Popo". Hunan is a land of fish and rice, it can be used in the future, especially when he is most lacking in political power now. The constitutionalists are still useful, so they first established a relationship and talked, so that they wouldn't have no common topic to talk about later.

  Having seen that he had succeeded, he didn't say much more and immediately took out the seal and stamped it on the official document. He even deliberately smiled and said: "Lord Tan's words are music to my ears! We who have chosen to shoulder guns must take responsibility for keeping one side safe! So no matter how good the gun is, it should be handed over to those who know how to use it. Those who don't know how to use it, even if their hearts are good, may only end up making things worse!"

  Tan Yanqun was just about to reach out and take the document when he heard this sentence, his fingers suddenly trembled, and he looked up and said: "General Biao, what do you mean by this......?"

  "Commissioner Tan, don't misunderstand. Yang Qiu is also speaking from the heart, hoping that everyone who uses guns under the sky will use them properly and not let them become a disaster." Yang Qiu suddenly became mischievous and whispered in his ear: "If you become the Governor of Hunan one day, don't forget to invite me for a drink! Hehe... goodbye."

  Hunan Governor?

  Looking at Yang Qiu's departing back, Tan Yanqin's heart suddenly shook violently, and his eyebrows were even more furrowed together. Not to mention that the Qing dynasty didn't have a position called "Hunan Governor", even if it did, with his qualifications, he probably wouldn't be eligible for the time being. But his words clearly had an underlying meaning, what was he hinting at?

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