Chapter 20 "Weapon"

  ZHAO XI arranged a new barracks for WANG HENG YUE and others, which was very large, with bright houses, and all the equipment inside was exactly as ZHAO XI had said.

  This is somewhat flavorful, this is the first pleasant thing Wang Hengyue encountered after arriving in Rong County.

  In just two days, Yu Lei returned from Leshan with both bad and good news. The bad news was that Shi Feng Rong said that the silver ration had to be allocated, but Wang Qiang's loyalty to the country was deeply admired by Shi Feng Rong, who specially allocated a month's worth of silver ration for him as an emergency measure. As for what would happen after a month? Shi Feng Rong would repeatedly urge his superiors, but before that, Wang Qiang must think of another solution himself.

  The implication is clear: if you don't have money, giving Wang Hengyue a month's worth of silver is already a huge favor.

  Wang Heng was furious in his heart, and after spending half a day's effort, he only managed to get 300 taels of silver? And still gave Shi Fengrong an opportunity to embezzle the empty salary of 150 people every month?

  "Don't worry, adults. This is actually a good thing for you." Yu Lei didn't care at all: "Originally, the monthly allowance that adults gave to Shi Fengrong was unavoidable. Now, Shi Fengrong takes away 150 people's empty salaries from Rong County every month, and it can be considered as filial piety. Moreover, Shi Fengrong owes adults a favor every month, as long as he is in his position for one day, it will be easier for adults to talk to him in the future. Everyone has their own calculations in mind."

  Wang Hengyue sighed and could only do so.

  "However, in terms of military equipment, our silver has come into play. Shi Fengrong has indeed allocated a batch and it's already been sent over with the new recruits. The soldiers are currently waiting outside the camp."

  These words immediately lifted Wang Hengyue's spirits, and without a reward, he thought of another way. The weapons arrived, which was not bad either. Hurriedly, he led his men to bring the two carts full of weapons outside the camp, covered with straw and hay, tightly sealed.

  The team leader saluted Wang Hengyue: "Captain Wang, please inspect below. I have other official duties and dare not stay long."

  "Go ahead, go ahead." Wang Heng nodded and motioned for someone to move away the straw and hay.

  At one glance, his nose was almost crooked.

  Six Mauser rifles copied by the Sichuan Arsenal, two Snider rifles converted from muzzle-loaders to breech-loaders, and one Quick-firing rifle designed and manufactured in China, these three types of guns are barely usable. The rest are all lift-guns that have been eliminated since the Opium War and were once widely equipped and used by the Qing army! Looking at the back of a carriage full of gunpowder bullets.

  Alright, fine. The Opium War is still being used till now, no one uses it anymore, but I'm using it! These trash goods, looking at the entire new Chinese army, who else besides me is using them? Wang Hengyue was both angry and annoyed.

  "It's better to have something than nothing." Liu Sihai whispered in Wang Hengyue's ear.

  Wang Hengyue suppressed his anger and had someone seal up a letter with silver, sending it out. He turned around and burst into a rage: "Damn it! Does he really think this is a place for beggars? Giving me 300 taels of silver and sending over weapons that no one wants, what kind of new army am I supposed to train?"

  "General, calm down." Yu Lei seemed unflappable: "Being able to get these things is already a huge favor for you. Fortunately, there's no war nearby, so we can take our time to figure something out."

  "What's going on?" Wang Hengyue glared: "I've just finished bragging, and now I'm supposed to take down Lu Baoyin and deal with that scoundrel Yu...Yu Rui Xiang! Now you want me to use these firewood sticks to fight bandits?"

  "Who?" Yu Lei suddenly asked.

  "What a scoundrel, Yu Rui from the countryside, it's said that he colludes with bandits." Wang Hengyu responded casually and then looked at Yu Lei: "How is it, do you know this person?"

  Yu Lei's eyes flashed with a hint of murder, then he immediately spoke respectfully: "I don't recognize him."

  "Alright, alright!" Wang Hengyue waved his hand: "At least there are still a few guns that can be used. Come on, we'll start recruiting soldiers tomorrow! Xie Shuixiang, Li Yifeng, Xu Mu, Deng Xia, Pi Te, Liu Sihai, you six people are in charge of this. Remember, the weapons we have are rubbish, but the people we recruit must be useful ones, not like those opium ghosts I recruited last time!"

  "Yes!"

  Although I'm not in a good mood, after much difficulty, I finally made a start.

  Who would have thought that by the next afternoon, Wang Hengyue arrived at the recruitment office set up on River Street with a confident attitude, thinking that since Zhao Xi was helping him, the recruitment office must be crowded with people. But unexpectedly, in front of him, it was empty and deserted, except for his own men, there wasn't a single person!

  "Is anyone there?" Wang Hengyue's eyes widened.

  "No." Pete shrugged: "If there's still nothing tomorrow, I think I'll learn to play mahjong with them. At least it won't be so boring."

  "Get out!" Wang Hengyue directly called Li Yifeng over: "Zishan, where is he? You three are here, don't you have any charisma at all?"

  "It's not that the teacher lacks charisma, but something unexpected happened."

  "What's going on? What's happening?"

  Li Yifeng's expression turned serious: "I was just thinking of going to tell you. I also found it strange at first, but later someone from our school came to inform us that a foreigner had arrived in Rong County."

  "What's so strange about foreigners?" Wang Hengyue asked curiously.

  "The foreigner was originally nothing strange, but this foreigner is a bit different." Li Yifeng immediately followed up and said: "This person is from England, called Opien, and is said to be some kind of 'Dingli Shi' in England..."

  "It's Hercules." Pete added, as if afraid someone might not know.

  Li Yifeng nodded: "Not bad, this person was originally going to set up a platform in Chengdu, but for some reason he arrived at our Rong County first. Now he has set up a platform in the south of the city, with his tail held high and proudly saying that he wants to fight Rong County first, then fight Chengdu, later fight Sichuan, and finally fight all over China!"

  "Damn it!" Wang Hengyue cursed as soon as he opened his mouth, staring at Pete with a glare: "What kind of people are you foreigners?"

  "This has nothing to do with me." Pete, completely innocent, repeatedly said: "I am an American, he is a Briton, it's none of our business as Americans!"

  Wang Hengyue was also very clear that at the end of the Qing Dynasty, it was a common thing for foreigners to come to China and engage in martial arts competitions. To put it bluntly, they were just a group of foreign performers who came to China to suppress the Chinese people and, more importantly, to make money through these "martial arts competitions".

  However, in his own memory, these people have never taken advantage of anything.

  Chinese martial artists gave them too many lessons, with Ding Faxiang consecutively defeating two Russian strongmen; Fan Xudong furiously beat more than a dozen Russian boxers; and the Shaolin monk Shi Dequan from Mount Song, who stepped onto the stage three times, killed British royal boxer Chiswell.

  As for those great martial artists like Li Yidao, Du Xinwu and Huo Yuanjia who repeatedly defeated foreigners, they are everywhere!