Chapter Twelve "Mind"

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  Liu Sihai stared blankly at Wang Hengyue, and after a long time, he did not respond. Wang Hengyue also did not urge him.

  "What a brilliant and upright gentleman!" Liu Sihai let out a long sigh, stood up and made a deep bow: "Sihai has been drifting for many years, achieving nothing. I had thought that I could only drag out a miserable existence, but unexpectedly today I met you, sir. You didn't hide anything from me, telling me everything, and I am willing to follow you, no matter the danger or difficulty, I will never regret it!"

  "Alright, Brother Zhenxing!" Wang Hengyue also stood up with a "whoosh": "Although my position is lowly, one day I will find you big guns, and let you show off the skills in your heart!"

  "In fact, our country's artillery isn't bad either." Liu Sihai sat back down and let out a sigh.

  "Where did this come from?" Wang Hengyue asked with a concentrated expression.

  Liu Sihai drew several circles on the table with his finger: "In our new army, there is a artillery battalion in each division and three regiments. In the mixed brigade, there should be at least one artillery regiment or more. The artillery of the Second Division's Artillery Second Battalion were all purchased from Japan, including 36 Japanese-made Type 29 7.5 cm mountain guns and 18 Japanese-made Type 31 7.5 cm field guns. The artillery of the Third Division's Artillery Third Battalion were all German-made, including 36 Krupp 7.5 cm light and heavy field guns and 18 Krupp 7.5 cm mountain guns. When they were transferred to Northeast China for garrison duty, one battalion of Krupp field guns was turned in and replaced with one battalion of Gruson mountain guns, becoming one battalion of field guns and two battalions of mountain guns."

  "Fourth, fifth and sixth towns also use British, French and German artillery. These are all new-style artillery, the elite of our country's artillery! The rest are the Hubei New Army, followed by the Jiangsu and Fujian New Armies, but they all have a certain scale. As for my Sichuan New Army, we also have two battalions of mountain guns. Our strength cannot be said to be weak."

  Wang Hengyue pondered and said: "If we were to fight the foreigners again now, what does Brother Zhenxiang think would be the outcome?"

  "It's bound to fail!" Liu Sihai said resolutely.

  This answer is almost identical to what Wang Hengyue had in mind. Liu Sihai's face showed a worried expression: "Having good weapons but no one to use them, even the best cannons are nothing more than scrap iron! The current imperial court is decadent, and local warlords have become powerful. Imperial decrees lose their effect once they cross the northern border. If we really go to war with foreigners again, will the imperial court dare to fight? Will the local lords be willing to fight? With the upper and lower levels not being able to unite, civil officials being greedy for wealth, and military generals fearing death, this kind of battle is doomed to fail even before it begins."

  "This is well said!" Wang Hengyue slammed his hand on the table in praise: "Good one! 'Does the imperial court dare to fight? Are the local lords willing to fight?' Even if the whole nation's military and civilians are united against the enemy, but the imperial court does not dare to fight, the lords are unwilling to fight, with a belly full of hot blood, yet nowhere to vent it, this imperial court will soon..."

  He almost said "doomed to perish sooner or later", and hastily stopped himself: "Brother Zhenxing's insight is indeed profound, and Hengyue is like clearing away clouds and fog to reveal a clear sky! If I can get Brother Zhenxing's help, it would be"

  "It's like Zhu Bajie met Sun Wukong, and the two became brothers!"

  "Get out! Your whole family are pigs!" Wang Hengyue laughed and scolded: "Zhenxing brother, first rest at the guest house for a night, tomorrow go to Rong County with me!"

  With Liu Sihai's help, Wang Hengyue felt a bit more at ease. The next day, early in the morning, several people had breakfast and set off.

  Wang Hengyue rented two more horses and gave them to Yu Lei and Liu Sihai to ride.

  Yu Lei gave Wang Hengyue a signal with his eyes and fell behind: "Sir, on this trip to Rong County, there are several people who must be met."

  "Oh, which ones?"

  "Sichuan has a famous 'Five Old Men and Seven Sages', among whom the most famous one is Zhao Xi, who was from there."

  "Zhao Xi?" Wang Heng furrowed his brow, feeling that the name was familiar, but he really couldn't remember who it was.

  Yu Lei said slowly: "This man is a jinshi of the 18th year of Guangxu, first-class in the imperial examination at Baohedian, compiler of the National History Institute, famous Confucian scholar and celebrity, known as the number one poet of the past thirty years. His calligraphy is elegant and majestic, known as 'Rong County Zhao's style', the three characters 'Dafo Temple' on the Big Buddha Temple in Rong County were personally written by him."

  "Mr. Wang, Mr. Wang." Wang Hengyue nodded slightly, recalling who this person was.

  This man was extremely famous, and by the time of the Republic of China era, when two factions of warlords clashed in Rong County, both sides tacitly agreed not to open fire at the east gate of Zhao Xi's residence, for fear of startling him. This shows just a glimpse of his prestige!

  Yu Lei continued, "If the master wants to stand firm in Rong County, he cannot do without Zhao Xi's help. As soon as the master arrives in Rong County, he should prepare gifts and visit him immediately. Although in this world, a famous scholar is not as good as a kitchen knife, but the two words 'fame' have a lot of meaning. If used well, the master can achieve twice the result with half the effort."

  Wang Hengyue nodded slightly and looked at Yu Lei, suddenly asking: "Yu Lei, are you really helping me or do you have other intentions?"

  "Both have." Yu Lei seemed unusually sincere this time.

  "Let's see." Wang Hengyue didn't know whether he was smiling or sneering: "I'll take a look at you staying by my side, and see if you're a threat. I see that you're over thirty years old, fully ten years older than me. In terms of cunning, I'm not necessarily your opponent."

  "An adult can rest assured to leave Shengyuan by your side." Yu Lei looked like he wasn't worried at all: "Shengyuan is genuinely willing to help adults, and in this world, apart from adults, there's no one else who would be willing to take him in. If the adult rises to prominence, Shengyuan can also bask in their glory; if the adult falls on hard times, Shengyuan will also suffer along with them. So from this perspective, at least for now, it's not necessary to doubt Shengyuan's loyalty to adults."

  This is a big truth, especially the last sentence of "at least for now" these four words. Being able to say these four words is also rare on Yu Lei's body!

  Yu Lei's voice was still very calm: "As for saying that there are other motives, Shengyuan does not hide it. Many people have grudges against Shengyuan, some have harmed Shengyuan, and some regard Shengyuan as a dog. Following the adults, another purpose is to take revenge!"

  "Oh?" Wang Hengyue's eyes fell on Yu Lei again.

  Yu Lei's face twitched a few times: "The humble scholar has no other requests, only asking the great lord to soar to great heights after his rise to power, and let the humble scholar have revenge for his grievances and settle his scores! Therefore, the humble scholar will exhaust his mind and think of ways to help the great lord ascend to greatness!"

  Will he rise to prominence? Only heaven knows when that will happen. Besides, Yu Lei is a meticulous person who handles matters carefully and doesn't need to be instructed, and indeed has some abilities, so he can be used for now.

  Wang Hengyue suddenly understood and burst out laughing: "Alright, Yu Lei, I'll agree to your request. If that day really comes, as long as it doesn't harm honest people, I'll let you avenge your grievances and settle your scores!"