Chapter 9 Fully Armed

  Gu Zhenhua held Zhu Wang's neck and walked to the front of the warehouse like catching a small chicken.

  "It's this room." Zhu Wang pointed with a trembling finger, Gu Zhenhua pushed him aside and walked to the door, without hesitation, took out a dagger and cut off the lock on it with a "clang".

  Although the fear of Gu Gong had dissipated a lot by this time, the accumulated prestige was still there, so no one dared to move forward. As for Gu Zhenhua, he didn't have any fear at all.

  He pushed open the door and walked in without hesitation. The warehouse was very spacious, with all kinds of armor and weapons lined up inside, densely packed. Roughly estimated, there were more than 40 sets of armor, over 200 swords, as well as long spears and battle-axes, a dazzling array.

  Gu Zhenhua casually picked up a waist knife, pulled it out of its scabbard, and suddenly a cold light flashed before his eyes. Holding it in his hand, he lightly flicked it, producing a clear metallic echo. Gu Zhenhua had also learned about some cold weapons during his time in the army.

  In "Ji Xiao Xin Shu", Qi Jiguang recorded: the method of making waist knives, iron must be tempered many times, the blade uses pure steel, from the back to the front, use flat grinding and flat cutting, the blade is ground flat, no shoulder is sharp, the wonder lies in the tip...

  There is no doubt that this waist knife in front of us was made using the Damascus steel technique, representing the pinnacle of Ming Dynasty cold weapon manufacturing. During Qi Jiguang's resistance against the Japanese pirates, the Ming army's swords were clearly inferior to those of the Japanese pirates in terms of sharpness, leading some people to believe that the Ming Dynasty's weapons forging technology was backward. This is actually a serious misconception - the Ming government was severely corrupt and craftsmen held low social status, resulting in mass-produced weapons being hastily and crudely manufactured, with poor maintenance.

  Watered-down, discounted weapons won't do. The ones Zhu Chunshen has stored away are all top-notch, small-furnace masterpieces. They might be good enough to fool the big-headed soldiers, but for the Duke, absolutely no discounts can be given; on the contrary, they must be even more meticulously crafted.

  Gu Zhenhua inspected these military equipment, and suddenly showed a satisfied smile. With these things, the guards can be armed to the teeth, and their ability to protect themselves will increase greatly.

  "Everyone come in and take a look at what weapons suit you."

  Having heard Gu Zhenhua's call, these people finally came to their senses and didn't dare follow Gu Zhenhua at the first time. They were a bit ashamed. Lu Yong led the way and walked in, followed by Luan Hu, Tang Zhangxiong and others.

  As soon as Tang Zhanxiong saw the weapons inside, he let out a strange cry and rushed to the front of a large chopping knife in a few steps, tightly grasping it in his hand, with saliva flowing uncontrollably from his mouth. He muttered to himself: "Good stuff, good stuff!" Tang Zhanxiong excitedly said: "Brothers, does old Tang look like Guan Yu from the play? Do you want to see me perform the Spring and Autumn knife method again?"

  "Get out and roll on the ground." Lu Yong said ruthlessly: "We don't want to be chopped by you inside."

  Tang Zhanxiong smiled and said: "Lu brother, don't be surprised, let's go out."

  It's not just Tang Zhanxiong, the other guards are also extremely surprised, especially those who have been in the army, all of whom can't help but shake their heads and sigh.

  At this time, Sun Cheng also rushed over. Originally, he had been injured by an arrow and one of his arms was not very flexible. These days, he had been grasping the opportunity to rest and recover, and hadn't been busy running around everywhere.

  "Big brother, your arm is okay, right? We're still waiting for you to bring out the spirit of 'Fighting Three Lang'!" Lu Yong said with a smile.

  Sun Cheng swung his arm and burst out laughing: "With the spiritual medicine given by Fourth Brother, this arm is saved."

  Gu Zhenhua also smiled and said: "Big brother, that medicine is just to prevent infection. To be honest, it's because your body is strong and you recover quickly. Little brother doesn't dare take credit for it."

  Sun Cheng suddenly laughed and said, "Fourth brother, don't be polite. Anyway, big brother has made up his mind that you have the ability and vision. Our hope of escaping Beijing alive rests on your shoulders, doesn't everyone agree?"

  "That's right!"

  "Exactly!"

  "We all listen to Brother Gu!"

  ……

  These guards responded one after another, and everyone was not stupid. At this time, a brave and decisive person was needed to take the lead. Take these weapons in front of us, for example. If it weren't for Gu Zhenhua's daring and boldness, they would really have nothing to gain. Gu Zhenhua gradually established his core position in this team.

  While everyone was busy, Lu Shun also turned his small eyes around, searching everywhere for those large-caliber weapons. He found them a bit laborious to use, so he could only try to find suitable ones.

  "Fourth Uncle, come and take a look quickly!"

  Gu Zhenhua had just found a quilt when he suddenly heard Lu Shun's excited voice, and hastily walked a few steps to get behind him.

  "Shunzi, what did you find?"

  "Fourth Uncle, take a look at what's inside these wooden boxes?"

  Lu Shun pointed to the dozen or so wooden boxes in the corner, all of which were over a meter long and covered in dust. Gu Zhenhua's eyes lit up instantly, and he hastily stepped forward to the front of the boxes, using the dagger in his hand to chop off the locks on the boxes and open them.

  Gunfire!

  As expected, there were all firearms inside. Gu Zhenhua's interest in hot weapons far exceeded that of cold weapons. He casually picked up a rifle, the icy steel bringing a strong sense of security.

  "Awesome!" Just as Gu Zhenhua was carefully examining it, Sun Cheng also noticed and couldn't help but exclaim, taking three steps forward in two strides.

  Lümi Chóng! Gu Zhenhua is absolutely not unfamiliar with this, it's a kind of firearm that was imitated during the Wanli era. Its power is great, and the refined Lümi Chóng has a range of over 150 steps, far surpassing bows and arrows, and can be called the pinnacle of Ming dynasty firearms. It's also the most ideal weapon to counter the Manchu iron cavalry. Being able to obtain such a powerful firearm, Gu Zhenhua is simply overjoyed.

  "Big brother, is this really Lumi?"

  "Of course." Sun Cheng smiled and said, "Old Fourth, Brother has also been in the border army for many years. Three-eyed guns, bird guns, Lu Mi guns, self-igniting guns - he's played with them all, how could he mistake one?"

  As they spoke, Sun Cheng took the fire lance in his hand and examined it carefully, unable to help but exclaim: "What a great thing this is, truly a great thing!"

  "Uncle Sun, didn't you say that the fire lance is useless? One shot and it explodes, many soldiers' hands were injured, and it can't even shoot far!" Lu Shun asked, unable to hold back.

  "Haha!" Sun Cheng laughed and patted his head: "Foolish kid, the firearms of the border army are all crude and rubbish, these are fine works for the Duke to play with, how can they be compared? If our border army were equipped with such firearms, I'm afraid we would have eliminated the Tartars long ago!"

  Listening to Sun Cheng's words, Gu Zhenhua also felt deeply moved. The Ming dynasty was not without good weapons, nor was it without loyal and brave warriors, but the entire country had rotted away. Even with good things, they could not exert their power.

  "Everyone stop watching and move all the boxes out, count them one by one, and arm yourselves!"

  These guards didn't stand on ceremony either, and together they moved all the weapons out of the warehouse. Gu Zhenhua, Lu Yong, Sun Cheng and a few others counted them together.

  Waist knives 150, long guns 20, horse-cutting knives and big chopping knives 40, various helmets and armor 60. In addition to these cold weapons, what excited Gu Zhenhua the most was that he got 100 Lu Mi guns, and next to the box containing the Lu Mi guns, they also found 40 self-igniting guns!

  The so-called self-birth fire spear is the early flintlock gun. According to historical records, in the eighth year of Chongzhen, Nanjing Hubu You Shilang Bi Mao Kang manufactured China's earliest flintlock gun.

  Compared to the fire lance, the flintlock gun was absolutely a huge revolution. Unfortunately, this sharp firearm did not see large-scale use on the battlefield to kill enemies and make achievements, nor did it defend against foreign insults. Instead, it lay in the armory of the national duke's mansion and became a toy for the aristocracy to hunt with!

  Gu Zhenhua suppressed his anger and said to everyone, "Brothers, line up in order. Each of you will take a waist knife and a fire spear. The rest of the weapons can be chosen according to your needs."

  At the sound of the order, everyone got busy, with good things in hand, the original trash knives and guns were thrown aside, and they all changed into new armor, straddled sharp waist knives, and in an instant these guards had a strong military momentum.

  Gu Zhenhua also put on a thick cotton armor, waist knife, long gun, and fire spear, fully armed. His figure was originally very robust, with this equipment, he looked even more majestic and heroic, just like a great general!

  "Lao Si, no need to say, none of the great generals at Bian Guan can compare to your prestige!" Sun Cheng said with a smile, and others also echoed in agreement.

  Just as they were chatting and laughing, a sudden burst of hurried footsteps came, and more than a dozen people quickly walked over. The leader was none other than Cheng Guo Gong Zhu Chun Chen, and beside him was also Zhu Wang.

  "Now that the master has arrived, this guy, with a look of extreme arrogance and exasperation, shouted: 'You thieves, wait for the master's family law!'"