plumnovel Chapter 46 The Troublesome Firearms Battalion
Chapter 46 The Troublesome Firearms Battalion
"Greetings, General!"
After calming things down at home, Liu Hu immediately sent someone to fetch Hu Cunmeng.
After returning to Shenjing, Hu Cunmeng was taken away by the Imperial Guards. After not seeing him for several months, Liu Hu found that Hu Cunmeng was living quite comfortably.
He was no longer as thin and sallow as before, and looked much rounder.
"How have you been lately? Have you been bullied?"
Liu Hu had tea served and asked with a smile.
"No, no one bullied me."
"Those Imperial Guards keep bothering me with stories about the Western Expedition; it's so annoying!"
Hu Cunmeng picked up his teacup, took a big gulp, and let out a comfortable sigh.
"It's good that you weren't bullied!" Liu Hu nodded, then asked, "Are you interested in continuing to work for me?"
"What the general is saying is nonsense. I was able to follow the general to the capital, so I had no intention of leaving the general..."
Hu Cunmeng got anxious and blurted out a few words in his hometown dialect.
"Alright, since you're still willing to follow me, then I'll petition His Majesty to make you my deputy."
Seeing his anxious look, Liu Hu almost couldn't help but wave his hand.
"Has the general's reward been issued?"
Hu Cunmeng hurriedly asked, although he was willing to continue following Liu Hu, he was also very concerned about the imperial court's rewards.
During this western expedition, he followed Liu Hu in battles across the north and south, and made many contributions.
If a reward is bestowed, the family's situation will improve considerably.
Ideally, he should be granted several hundred acres of land along the Wei River so he can be a landlord for a while.
"The title hasn't been awarded yet!"
Liu Hu put down his teacup and said with some sadness, "Because the commander-in-chief is seriously injured, the surrounding vassal states are not behaving themselves."
"His Majesty appointed me as the Deputy Commander of the Capital Garrison and Commander of the Firearms Battalion, and tasked me with training an elite force."
"At the same time, you also need to supervise Wanggong Factory. Initially, I will mainly be at Wanggong Factory, but you can take care of the firearms battalion for me."
"Thank you for your promotion, General!"
Hu Cunmeng immediately stood up, cupped his hands in greeting, and said...
Liu Hu himself is the deputy commander of the Beijing Garrison and the commander of the firearms battalion. As his deputy, I should be able to get a fourth-rank commander position.
It should be noted that when Liu Hu was on his western expedition, the highest official position he ever held was that of a deputy commander, which was not an official appointment by the imperial court.
Liu Hu, the deputy commander of the Beijing garrison and commander of the firearms battalion, is now on par with Zhao Zhong, the Earl of Zhongyong, who previously served as the heavy cavalry commander of the Lantian garrison.
If the Beijing garrison were to go on an expedition, Liu Hu would be qualified to serve as the commander-in-chief of the army.
Although Hu Cunmeng was somewhat content with a modest life, he was naturally willing to follow Liu Hu for promotions and wealth.
Besides, this is the Beijing Garrison, so there shouldn't be any danger, right?
Seeing Liu Hu leisurely sipping his tea, Hu Cunmeng felt insecure again.
Having dealt with Hu Cunmeng, Liu Hu's slight worry disappeared.
With Hu Cunmeng around, at least the artillery battalion's artillery wouldn't be a problem.
"Cat, I'd like to go to the Rongguo Mansion tomorrow. Do you think it's a good idea?"
Before going to bed that night, Liu suddenly asked Liu Hu a question.
Seeing that Liu Shi was a little uneasy, Liu Hu smiled and comforted her, "You are the matriarch of the household, you have the final say in matters of the household, and you can go wherever you want."
"So you agree?" Although he had some reservations about the Jia family before because Jia Daishan had let Liu Hu go first.
But after all, the Jia family had done Liu Hu a favor before, and now that Jia Daishan was in trouble, she still wanted to go there to represent the Liu family and bolster the Jia family's reputation.
If it were before Jia Daishan's incident, Liu Hu would have had to consider Emperor Anping's attitude.
But now that Jia Daishan is in such a state, Emperor Anping feels extremely guilty towards him. Even if Lady Liu goes there, Emperor Anping will only think that the Liu family is grateful.
Nothing happened overnight. Early the next morning, Liu Hu, dressed in armor and riding his precious horse, followed the official sent by Emperor Anping to the capital garrison.
Jia Daihua received the news last night and waited outside the camp gate early with the military officers of the Beijing Garrison.
"Greetings, Commander! Greetings, Generals!"
Although Liu Hu possessed an imperial gold medal bestowed by Emperor Anping, he was willing to offend these military officers from the founding line of the Beijing Garrison without cause.
When they were still some distance from the main camp, Liu Hu dismounted early and greeted Jia Daihua and his men with clasped hands.
"Greetings, Commander Liu!"
Apart from Jia Daihua and another deputy commander Niu Cheng, the other generals, regardless of their true thoughts, hurriedly returned the greeting to Liu Hu.
Jia Daihua looked at Liu Hu with a complicated expression. He never expected that the country boy from the Rongguo Mansion would grow up to be what he is today.
He's only sixteen years old, yet he's already the deputy commander of the Beijing garrison, second only to him.
As for the other deputy commander, Niu Cheng, he was also staring wide-eyed at the boy who was even younger than his own son.
With his full beard, he looked exceptionally honest and straightforward.
But Liu Hu knew that anyone who thought he was an honest and simple person was a real fool.
Through his observations while following Emperor Anping, Liu Hu discovered that, apart from Jia Daishan, only Niu Cheng, the seemingly honest and simple deputy commander of the Beijing garrison, was capable of leading an army of 100,000.
Unfortunately, because he came from the founding lineage and did not have the trust of Emperor Anping like Jia Daishan, he had no opportunity to use his military might, even though he had a million soldiers under his command.
"Greetings, General Liu!"
Although his heart was filled with complex emotions, Jia Daihua, being a seasoned actor who had played the fool for decades, returned Liu Hu's greeting with a clasped fist salute, his expression unchanged.
"Very well, the Jia family does have some connection with this young man after all!"
Jia Daishan became a cripple, and Jia Daihua also planned to lie down and stay with Jia Daishan for as long as possible.
Because he knew that Emperor Anping would not relinquish his control over the capital garrison, and Liu Hu's arrival was probably just the beginning.
After the official in charge of ceremonies finished reading the imperial edict, Jia Daihua handed over the command of the firearms battalion to Liu Hu.
"General, what should we do with the commanders of those artillery battalions?"
Hu Cunmeng's appointment had not yet been finalized; at this time, he was accompanying Liu Hu as a personal guard to familiarize himself with the military affairs of the firearms battalion.
"His Majesty has instructed me to quickly develop firearms capable of countering the Western barbarians. Once your formal appointment is granted, I will go to Wanggongchang. From now on, you will be in charge of the military affairs of the firearms battalion."
Liu Hu glanced at him and said matter-of-factly.
In Liu Hu's view, Hu Cunmeng's talent in using firearms was already among the best in the Great Zhou Dynasty.
"But you must remember, His Majesty wants an elite force. Those who are just filling in, those who are drawing salaries without working, and those troublemakers, all of them must be kicked out."
During this period, the combat methods of firearm battalions differed from those of cold weapons, with a greater emphasis on overall coordination.
Because muskets have a slow rate of fire, poor accuracy, and low power, the Great Zhou Dynasty did not pay much attention to musket soldiers. As a result, many descendants of military merits tried every means to sneak into the musket battalion to gain seniority.
Once these people joined the firearms battalion, they would use their status and background to falsely report losses and even embezzle salaries, thus making the firearms battalion even weaker.
In any case, the Beijing garrison had no chance to fight before, let alone the neglected firearms battalion.
The cavalry and infantry battalions were somewhat better off, after all, they were the main fighting force of the Beijing Garrison, and no one dared to cheat under the emperor's nose.
"Tsk tsk..."
"The Beijing Garrison's firearms battalion looks like it has a lot of men, but with that kind of fighting strength, it probably can't even beat the few thousand firearms soldiers in the Lantian Garrison."
Upon arriving at the firearms camp, looking at the messy barracks and the soldiers standing crookedly, Hu Cunmeng muttered disdainfully to himself.
Liu Hu turned his head and glared at him. If anyone else heard him say that, wouldn't he be afraid that they would make him die of lead poisoning tonight?
"Greetings, Commander!"
A greasy-faced general walked over, wearing armor that was clearly a size too small.
Seeing this, Liu Hu knew that this person had made a lot of money in the past.
Looking at the other fat-headed and big-eared officers and officials following behind him, Liu Hu couldn't help but feel a headache coming on.
Even though he had prepared himself before coming, seeing these people now, Liu Hu finally understood why Jia Daihua was willing to give up the most lucrative firearms battalion of the Beijing Garrison.
This must be completely rotten by now, right?
In Jia Daihua's view, this firearms battalion had probably become a powder keg that could explode at any moment.
Given his prestige and ability, even if he wanted to rectify the situation, he would probably be powerless to do so.
Because these people are all from the founding lineage, and the interpersonal relationships among them are intricate and complex. One wrong move could offend the entire founding lineage.
"General...?"
Just as Liu Hu was lost in thought, Hu Cunmeng quietly tugged at him from behind and then kept gesturing with his mouth.
Liu Hu suddenly woke up and realized that the firearms battalion commander who came to greet them had a rather unpleasant expression.
Several of the young centurions had stopped pretending and were now looking at Liu Hu with disdain.
"Very well, I love your unruly attitude right now!"
Jia Daihua was afraid of offending people, so he didn't want to make a move against those who came from the founding lineage.
But Liu Hu was different. He had no connection with the founding lineage, and his patron was Emperor Anping of the Great Zhou Dynasty. What did he have to worry about?
Moreover, Liu Hu even suspected that Emperor Anping's appointment of him as the commander of the firearms battalion was probably intentional.
If Liu Hu were to deal with these people, it would be like tearing flesh from the founding lineage, and he would completely offend the founding lineage.
"Is the Commander feeling unwell?"
Seeing that Liu Hu had not responded for a long time, the general standing at the front asked anxiously.
"Who are you...?" Liu Hu asked, puzzled.
"This humble servant is Liu Qingquan, Vice Commander of the Firearms Battalion, from the Duke of Li's Mansion!"
Seeing that this person could still answer him without changing his expression, Liu Hu immediately felt a sense of apprehension towards him.
It's no wonder that he was able to represent the founding generation in the firearms battalion; his composure was something that those who came after him couldn't match.
"So you are a descendant of the Duke of Li, my apologies for not recognizing you!" Liu Hu immediately stepped forward and replied with a smile.
To others, his appearance suggested that he was frightened by Liu Qingquan's background.
After all, as one of the Four Kings and Eight Dukes, the Duke of Liguo, although not as prominent as the Ning and Rong families, was still a top family in Wuxun.
Although Liu Qingquan was not a direct subordinate, he was not someone that Liu Hu, a country bumpkin, could afford to offend.
"Commander, you flatter me. You are the true young hero. Compared to you, we spoiled brats who just loaf around in the firearms battalion are like fireflies compared to the bright moon!"
Seeing that Liu Hu was so young yet managed to be ignored by the people behind him and deal with him, Liu Qingquan thought to himself that this man was not easy to deal with.
He then clapped his hands, and immediately a centurion came up carrying a plate.
"These are just small gifts prepared by the brothers for the commander's new appointment. We hope the commander will accept them with pleasure."
As he spoke, he ripped the red cloth off the plate, and the dazzling golden light almost blinded Liu Hu.
"This...this is so much gold! This much gold is probably enough to buy hundreds of acres of land in Chang'an!"
Hu Cunmeng, who was following behind Liu Hu, was stunned when he saw so much gold. He drooled and muttered to himself.
Seeing his infatuated appearance, the few playboys following behind Liu Qingquan sneered and looked at Liu Hu with even more disdain.
"Haha, thank you all for your kind offer!"
"I came in such a hurry that I didn't prepare anything. Since that's the case, I'll just borrow your flowers to offer to Buddha."
"Hu Cunmeng!"
"Ah...?" Hu Cunmeng was still fantasizing about how he would spend all this gold when he was suddenly startled awake by Liu Hu's voice.
"Take this gold and buy some wine and meat; consider it a small gift from this commander to the brothers of the firearms battalion!"
You're too green to try and drag me down with you!
Liu Hu looked at the officers of the thousand and hundred households who were standing there in a daze and sneered inwardly.
If he accepted the gold, Liu Hu believed that the news would reach Emperor Anping before nightfall.
Liu Hu did not believe that Emperor Anping had not planted spies in the Firearms Battalion. Even if the Firearms Battalion was incompetent, it was still an army near the capital.
Emperor Anping probably already knew about the situation of the Beijing Garrison's firearms battalion, but he simply didn't pay attention to it before because he didn't take it seriously.
Now that the Rakshasa people have firearms as an example, Emperor Anping has begun to pay attention to the firearms battalion, and thus first targeted the Beijing Garrison's firearms battalion.
"General...how many do you want to buy?"
After regaining his senses, Hu Cunmeng stared at Liu Hu in disbelief and stammered, "What do you mean?"
"We'll buy as much wine and meat as we have the gold; we can't let down the kindness of you generals," Liu Hu said with a smile, looking at Liu Qingquan as if asking them a question.
"Hehe... What the commander says is true. Since this gold is a gift for the commander, whatever you say goes."
Liu Qingquan chuckled a few times, his face turning somewhat dark.
I originally thought Liu Hu was just a country boy who had only recently become rich, and that this gold would dazzle him. I didn't expect him to be so difficult to deal with.
With a single trick of substitution, their scheme was foiled.
"It's all spent?" Hu Cunmeng was still a little incredulous and asked again.
"Yes, it's all spent!" Liu Hu emphasized again without changing his expression, thinking to himself, "Won't this guy get dragged down by these guys later?"
"you……"
One of the commanders couldn't stand Liu Hu's behavior and felt that Liu Hu wasn't giving them any face, so he immediately jumped out and wanted to say a few harsh words.
But Liu Qingquan immediately stopped him, and at the same time, he quietly shook his head at the people behind him.
Hearing that the newly appointed commander was hosting a feast with good wine and meat, the artillery battalion instantly erupted in excitement.
In the past, no one would even give these soldiers a second glance. The officials who came were, if not utterly useless, then skinned alive and scraped clean, just drawing salaries without working and lining their own pockets.