Phantom Gunslinger

  The veterans of the assault camp had all fought in battles, but when they were bandits, bullets were scarce and it was impossible to conduct live-fire shooting training. The unlucky egg Luo Zi, who was possessed by Luo Yi, was notorious for not being able to hit a cow at a distance of ten steps. Now that there are enough bullets, Luo Yi ordered all soldiers to undergo strict shooting training. On the battlefield, good marksmanship means not only saving bullets but also increasing the survival rate of soldiers. Because if one shot doesn't hit, it gives the opponent an opportunity to counterattack. In defensive battles, if two or three shots don't hit the opponent, the opponent can rush into their own position.

  Luo Yi's marksmanship is not bad, but he is not suitable to be an instructor because his shooting skills are entirely based on his own intuition and extensive live-fire training. Xu Liangqing comes from a regular army background, has a good grasp of the essentials of shooting, and can shoot accurately himself, so he remains in charge of shooting training.

  As soon as the training started, even Lian and Lu felt embarrassed. The new recruits had never held a gun before, but that was nothing. Among the old soldiers of the assault battalion, nearly half didn't know how to use the sight or the aiming point, it's really unknown how they fought back then. Luo Yi looked at the old soldiers' bizarre gun-holding postures and couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat: This is truly an authentic mountain stronghold unit.

  Xu Liangqing seemed somewhat used to it, according to his words, when he was a squad leader in the Northeast Army in the past, he had led all kinds of clumsy soldiers.

  "There are no strong or weak soldiers, only clever or clumsy generals." Xulian Qing said to Luoyi, "There are no officers who cannot lead troops, only soldiers who cannot fight."

  "Are you confident in bringing these troops out?"

  Xu Liangqing said: "With 300 rounds of ammunition per person, what kind of soldier can't be trained? Which warlord had such a big budget back then?"

  "Let's train hard, 300 rounds are not enough, add another 300 rounds. Sweat more in peacetime, bleed less in wartime. The people we're training now will be the backbone of our troops in the future, and they'll lead even more soldiers. Spending as much money as possible is worth it." Luo Yi said with a smile.

  Xu Liangqing got this Shangfang treasure sword, and his training spirit was even stronger. He meticulously taught the soldiers from basic movements, telling them the key points of various shooting postures, teaching them how to measure distances, and how to use a range finder. Lu Shuangyong and Su Xiaofeng were two people in the assault camp who had relatively good military quality, and they had also received guidance from the master in the past, so they understood some knowledge of shooting and could assist Xu Liangqing's training.

  Luo Yi was too lazy to do such trivial things, so he took a gun and played on the training ground every day, shooting at various targets. Anyway, no one counted how many bullets he used, so he simply played with different styles, sometimes running while shooting, sometimes hitting moving targets, and sometimes firing continuously, imitating the way heroes in movies shot guns. However, his play also had a very good effect, that is, it gave soldiers an example, letting everyone know that there are many ways to shoot a gun, and their training will never end.

  That day, Luo Yi was practicing his shooting when someone far away greeted him: "Officer, what are you guys doing?"

  Luo Yi looked up and saw a fifteen or sixteen year old half grown boy standing outside the shooting range's wooden fence, holding a hunting rifle and smiling at the soldiers practicing their aim.

  "We're practicing shooting." Luo Yi replied, "Brother, you're a hunter, right? You also play with guns, come on in and have some fun together."

  Hunters seem to be a lively person, heard Luo Yi issued an invitation, carrying a gun and walked over. Luo Yi originally wanted to remind him to enter from the shooting range's gate, but he slightly sprinted for two steps, lifted his leg and jumped in. The fence of the shooting range is not high, about 1 meter 4 or 5, ordinary people really can't easily jump in.

  "There are two sons, brothers." Luo Yi praised.

  Hunter smiled and said: "Having been running in the mountains for years, these two are nothing."

  "What's your name?" Luo Yi asked.

  Hunter replied: "My name is Jiang Huiming."

  "How old is he?"

  "It's all over."

  "Only fifteen years old, can you shoot?"

  "Of course I will. Since I was a child, I followed my father hunting, saying that I can hit the target within 100 steps is not an exaggeration."

  "Ha ha, quite confident. Come on, let's find a target and have a shoot."

  Two people came to the place where the soldiers were practicing shooting, Jiang Huiming stood and looked for a while, asking Luo Yi: "Are they going to hit the center of that circle in front?"

  "Whatever." Luo Yi responded with a Sichuan-flavored reply.

  "Why don't these brothers aim for the center?" Jiang Huiming asked puzzled, as a hunter, his eyesight was extremely good, even from 100 meters away, he could see that the soldiers were not aiming at the center of the ring.

  Everyone was amused by his innocent question. Who doesn't want to hit the bullseye? The problem is, can you just hit it if you want to?

  "Come on, give it a try and see if you can hit the bullseye." Su Xiaofeng walked over and handed Jiang Huiming a rifle.

  Jiang Huiming put his own rifle aside, took the gun from Su Xiaofeng's hand, and praised it: "Good gun, feels heavy in my hands. Better than mine."

  After finishing, he pushed the bullet into the chamber, stood up and aimed at the target in front of him, firing a shot. Luo Yi picked up his binoculars to take a look, turned around and said to Jiang Huiming: "It seems... off-target."

  Jiang Hui Ming himself squinted and took a look, smiled and scratched his head, saying: "Not used to your gun, come on and try another shot."

  The second shot was fired, and Luo Yi clearly saw through the telescope that the bullet hit the bullseye.

  "Not bad!"

  Jiang Hui said with a smile: "I told you, one hundred steps pierce the willow."

  "Another shot?"

  "No problem."

  Jiang Huiming had already adapted to the rifle. This time, he almost didn't aim, raising the gun to eye level and pulling the trigger, another bullseye.

  Xu Liangqing stood by, speechless, but his face clearly showed a look of surprise. Seeing Jiang Huiming had finished the bullets in his gun, he threw over one of the rifles in his hand. Jiang Huiming raised his hand to catch it, took aim and fired, still a bullseye.

  "Come on, hit that target over there." Luo Yi pointed at the 200-meter target and said to Jiang Huiming.

  Jiang Huiming fired a shot, which was slightly off. He then adjusted and fired again, this time accurately hitting the bullseye. Xu Liangqing gave him another clip of bullets, and he fired five shots in quick succession, each one hitting its mark. Luo Yi noticed that Jiang Huiming had indeed never used a Hanyang rifle before and was unfamiliar with its trajectory. But he was able to find his footing within a single shot and adjust immediately, showing that his sense of the gun had reached an extraordinary level. He held the gun extremely steadily, and the recoil when firing seemed to have no effect on him. This was almost the realm of an exceptional sniper.

  Several officers exchanged a surprised glance with each other, and no one liked the god of guns more than them. Su Xiaofeng pulled at Luo Yi's hem on the side and said, "Luo Zi, think of a way to get him into the assault regiment, this is a good hand."

  Lu Yi looked at Jiang Huiming who was playing with great interest and asked: "How is it? Is it fun?"

  "It's fun," said Jiang Huiming, "Your guns are great, much better than mine."

  "Then just follow me and eat this ration, later you can play with this gun every day."

  "Are you a soldier?" Jiang Huiming hesitated and said, "I'm not a soldier. I've heard that being a soldier means getting beaten by superiors, I won't do it."

  Luo Yi said: "Come to my camp to be a soldier, the officer will definitely not beat you. Our team emphasizes equality between officers and soldiers, and those in power cannot beat those who are not. We give 8 taels of silver as military pay every month, which is more than what you can earn from hunting, and it's definitely enough for you to support your family."

  Jiang thought for a moment and said, "If I won't get beaten, I'd like to give it a try. I'm the only one in my family, and no one cooks for me usually. If I become a soldier, I won't have to cook for myself, right?"

  Lu Yi secretly laughed in his heart, this kid was indeed quite honest: "You said you're the only one at home, what about your parents?"

  "He's dead." Jiang Huiming replied, his voice didn't show any sadness, probably because it was something that happened a few years ago.

  "So who do you usually spend time with?"

  "I passed by myself. I went up the mountain to hunt, and after catching some game, I gave it to my neighbors, who would then give me food to eat. Sometimes when I ate too much rice, they weren't very happy either."

  Luo Yi said: "Alright, you can come to my place to be a soldier. I guarantee no one will hit you. You'll have enough rice to eat and meat every week. Every month, I'll also give you 8 yuan for pocket money, so you can buy some snacks yourself."

  "Eight bucks a month? That's great, now I can afford bullets."

  Luo Yi cried and laughed: "Brother, you don't need to buy bullets. Come here and I'll give you a rifle like this one. The bullets are yours to shoot, and if you don't finish them, you won't be able to eat. That hunting rifle of yours can just be used as firewood."

  "Alright, alright. Don't waste the shotgun, it's a pity. I'll give it to my neighbor instead." Jiang Huiming said seriously, "By the way, do you keep your promises? What if the officer beats me?"

  Su Xiaofeng said on one side: "This is our battalion commander, he is the highest authority for us, what he says counts."

  "Alright, I'll go back and tell the neighbors a word, hand over the guns to them. This afternoon I'll come to be a soldier, okay?"

  "Great success!" Luo Yi shouted.

  Wang Dacheng arrived at the sound of his name being called.

  "You go with Jiang Huiming to his village and take a look, understand his family situation. See if there are any relatives or something, greet those who should be greeted. Bring him back in the afternoon. This guy is a treasure, don't lose him."

  The last sentence was spoken in a lowered voice by Luo Yi, and Wang Dacheng nodded knowingly and took Jiang Huiming away.