Red Mansion Taoist

Chapter 228 Artillery
One year has passed, the weather has been smooth in Daqian, and the world is at peace.

Jia Qiang studied in the cabinet for more than a year. He was not clique-y or selfish. He got along well with the two bachelors in the cabinet, and his official reputation was excellent.

Privately, most of the entire nine-province army in the south, at least at the Qianhu level, is staffed by strong generals who are 100% loyal to him.

He does not need to bend the law for personal gain when arranging positions in the military. He only needs fair competition to make a thousand households with the strength of a warrior.

In addition, there are still five hundred warriors staying in Zhuangzi on the outskirts of Beijing.

These five hundred warriors are all rank five warriors, and they are all generals in the army who can be in charge of military affairs.

He had other ideas for the 550-turn Titan and had already prepared for it.

"Sir, He Kun has arrived at the canal dock!" A strong man came to report that day.

This kind of thing of conveying news should not be done by the Titans.

But it is true that he has trained too many warriors. From the northern army to the southern army, almost half of the Daqian army has been controlled by him. They have also passed the near-death test, and the number of qualified sergeants selected from them is extremely impressive.

While he was in the capital, his strong spirit allowed him to sense surveillance inside and outside the palace, and his every move was under surveillance.

He didn't need to think too much. Apart from the Supreme Emperor, the only one in the capital who could do this was Emperor Jingwen.

When it comes to confidential matters, he will use 100% loyal heroes instead of servants in the palace.

Jia Qiang left the house, ostensibly going to the Jinyu Hutong house, but in fact she entered the Jinyu Hutong house and went out from the other side.

There are not many servants left in Jinyu Alley, and there are several strong men guarding him, so the servants cannot detect his movements.

After leaving the house, he changed his clothes, hid his identity, and headed towards the canal pier.

This canal dock already belongs to his private property.

Over the years, as Jia Qiang's power has grown, his industry has developed significantly.

This canal wharf was purchased when his salt shipping business in Yangzhou expanded to the capital.

His Western-style gunboat was parked here to protect the canal dock.

Jia Qiang and Jia Gong, both wearing hoods and cloaks, their faces invisible, rode horses to the pier and boarded a large passenger ship parked next to the pier.

He Kun was already waiting respectfully inside the cabin door. In order to make him obedient, Jia Qiang used the "Feng Yue Baojian" to make him 100% loyal.

"Welcome, sir!" He Kun bowed his head and saluted.

"No need, how did things go?" Jia Qiang waved her hand and asked.

"A total of 250 -pound Folang machine guns have been placed in the cabin, costing million taels of silver!" He Kun reported softly.

"The money doesn't matter, can we get the gunpowder formula?" Jia Qiang nodded with satisfaction and asked again.

"The extra five hundred thousand taels of silver is the silver for the gunpowder formula!" He Kun replied with a smile, and he continued: "I built a gunpowder processing workshop in Jiangnan, but many of the materials for making gunpowder are controlled. Yes, we still need to order from overseas, so the production volume is not large yet!”

"The purchasing channels established this time must be stable and will be used in the future!" Jia Qiang said in a deep voice.

After he obtained the Western-style gunboat, he knew that forces in the West had reached out to the East.

He Kun was a big salt merchant in Yangzhou and had access to many overseas businessmen. Through this relationship and using a lot of favors, he was able to get in touch with Western forces and purchase this batch of Franco machine artillery. .

"Don't worry, sir, I will definitely maintain this channel. They are very greedy. You can hang them with just a little money!" He Kun was very confident in his business.

"I will take away the Folang machine artillery, and you will go back quietly!" Jia Qiang ordered in a deep voice.

He didn't want people to know that He Kun, a big salt merchant in Yangzhou, came to the capital and came to see him.

Over the years, He Kun was ostensibly attached to Emperor Jingwen, but in reality, Jia Qiang was the mediator. He shared the majority of the benefits, while Emperor Jingwen only held a small part.

He Kun's identity is too sensitive and would cause a lot of unnecessary trouble if exposed.

Jia Qiang got off the cabin. All the people on the ship were transferred by He Kun, so he easily collected 250 Franco machine guns, as well as a large amount of gunpowder and shells.

Shortly after he left the dock, the crew returned to the ship, and the ship sailed out of the dock and headed south along the canal.

Jia Qiang and the others rode their horses towards Zhuangzi on the outskirts of the capital.

"Wu Hou pays homage to the Marquis!" Entering the specially designated area in Zhuangzi, a rank-6 warrior quickly walked out and knelt down to Jia Qiang and saluted.

Wu Hou, the sixth-level warrior, is a rare warrior who can persist until the sixth rank. Currently, Jia Qiang has trained less than fifty sixth-level warriors.

All rank six warriors have hidden strength. Rank six warriors are not like rank five warriors. Although there are not many warriors of rank five, there are still some.

As for the sixth-rank warriors, there were some in the founding of the country, but rarely appeared after that. Every sixth-rank warrior appeared, causing a sensation.

Jia Qiang didn't want to cause any sensation, he wanted stability.

"Let people gather!" Jia Qiang ordered in a deep voice.

Jia Qiang went to a nearby warehouse and put in all the two hundred and fifty Franco machine guns and gunpowder shells.

By the time he had done this, there were already 500 rank-5 warriors standing in the training ground.

Although the five hundred rank five warriors were not wearing armor, the auras of the five hundred rank five warriors converged in one place, and their aura was still extremely astonishing.

"You are selected by me from millions of troops in order to build a special army. I have handed over the training plan to Captain Wu Hou. You will follow Captain Wu Hou to train seriously. I hope When I use you, you are the sharpest knife in my hand!" Jia Qiang looked at the 550-turn warrior and said loudly.

"Swear to death for the Marquis!" The 550th rank warriors responded excitedly in unison.

"Captain Wu Hou, you take this team to the northern grasslands for training!" Jia Qiang explained to Wu Hou again.

"Yes, Lord Marquis!" Wu Hou responded loudly.

This 550-level army of powerful generals led by Captain Wu Hou left the capital on this day, taking with them two hundred and fifty Franco machine artillery pieces.

In the hands of Captain Wu Hou, there is an extremely special training plan.

This training plan is not just the work of Jia Qiang. He also absorbed Daqian's method of training gunners, plus some artillery training content of later generations, and combined it into this training plan.

Jia Qiang has not yet thought about using some of the technologies of later generations. In fact, with his power, he already has the financial and manpower to research the technologies of later generations. But he also understood that there were too many people staring at him, and he didn't want to attract too much attention.

This army composed of rank 550 warriors will be the first mobile artillery unit in Daqian.

To launch the Franco machine gun, it needs to be placed on the gun mount. The possibility of moving aiming and shooting is extremely low, and stability is an unsolvable problem.

Jia Qiang had a crazy idea. It was feasible to use two fifth-level warriors to mount the gun mount. The five-hundred-pound Folang machine gun, coupled with the recoil force of the launch, was evenly divided between two fifth-level warriors.

Think about it, an artillery team composed of two hundred and fifty 500-pound Franco machine guns can move quickly and can even adjust the attack target at any time.

Who can resist such an army? Even an immortal from a long distance will suffer a big loss if he is not careful.

Of course, if you want this army to be combat effective, you must first ensure that all the 550-turn warriors are qualified gunners and have the ability to manually adjust the firing angle.

The training location arranged by Jia Qiang for Captain Wu Hou was the northern grassland, which was far away from Daqian. No matter how loud the noise was, it could not reach Beijing even if it was blocked by the Jiubian Army Town.

The reason why this plan is crazy is because in this era, no one except Jia Qiang can do it.

Even the emperor of Daqian couldn't do it. The purchase of five million taels of silver for the Folang machine cannon was easy to solve. Five hundred rank five warriors couldn't do it if they wanted to gather together, let alone five hundred. Rank 5 warriors all obeyed orders and were used as soldiers.

When a fifth-level warrior enters the army, he is at least a military attache at the level of a guard commander. Who would be willing to be an ordinary gunner.

Jia Qiang quietly sneaked back to her house in Jinyu Alley, and when she came back she heard that housekeeper Lu Xun was waiting.

"Lu Xun, what happened in the house?" Jia Qiang looked at Lu Xun's housekeeper and asked.

"Master, there is a decree from the palace for you to enter the palace immediately!" Butler Lu Xun replied anxiously.

Today is Xiu Mu, so even if there is any big matter, it will be dealt with until tomorrow.

Besides, Jia Qiang now seems to have great power, but as long as the nine provinces are in charge and does not leave the capital, the actual power is not great. She only controls the armies of the nine southern provinces in name.

In fact, in addition to the fact that the armies of the nine southern provinces are controlled by inspections in the nine provinces, they also have an original system to control them through the Ministry of War.

As for the government affairs on the cabinet side, Jia Qiang is just a cabinet minister, with a cabinet bachelor and many cabinet bachelors on top.

After the past two years, he has become more and more aware of the position of being promoted to the ninth provincial capital inspection station.

If he hadn't had the means to cultivate 100% loyal warriors and use this means to control the army, he might have become a nominal governor of the nine provinces.

He was stuck in the cabinet handling government affairs every day, and rarely went to the nine provinces to check the government.

This may be a restriction on his military power in the palace, but his military power is actually a bit too great.

Jia Qiang first returned to Jiahou Mansion, changed into python clothes, and then rushed towards the palace.

With the 'Ping Kou Sword', he entered the palace without stopping at the palace gate.

Entering the main hall of the East Palace, I saw that Emperor Jingwen was still busy approving the notes on the desk.

Jia Qiang couldn't help but shook her head. Every time he came here, he saw the same thing. Emperor Jingwen hardly had any time to rest.

"Here you go, sit down first!" Emperor Jingwen raised his head and glanced at Jia Qiang and said casually, and then ordered Xia Shouzhong: "Serve Jia Hou tea!"

"I pay homage to Your Majesty! Thank Your Majesty for giving me a seat!" Jia Qiang maintained her usual attitude and bowed respectfully to express her gratitude.

Xia Shouzhong brought tea, smiled at Jia Qiang and stepped aside.

Jia Qiang felt relieved, it seemed that Emperor Jingwen had good intentions for her.

This is the benefit of having a good relationship with Xia Shouzhong. Although Xia Guozhong only has a look, it can express Emperor Jingwen's attitude.

"The Emperor's body is getting weaker and weaker, and my government affairs are getting more and more complicated!" Emperor Jingwen finished approving the book in his hand, then put down the imperial pen in his hand and said as he walked.

If Jia Qiang hadn't seen the joy in Emperor Jingwen's eyes, she would have thought that Emperor Jingwen was concerned about the health of the Supreme Emperor.

He visits the Supreme Emperor every month, so he knows how the Supreme Emperor is doing.

The Emperor's health is getting worse and worse. Even if there are the best doctors in the palace and the best medicines are used, the Emperor's body can only be dragged on like this and the diseases on his body cannot be eliminated.

The Emperor's age and long-term illness are constantly eroding his body. There will be a day when his body cannot support it, and that is when his life span will be exhausted.

"Your Majesty, you also need to pay attention to your health. You should get more rest!" Jia Qiang advised.

"How dare I rest? Every detail here is related to the people of Daqian. If I don't deal with it well, I will be ashamed of my ancestors!" Emperor Jingwen shook his head and said.

He has an obsession with becoming a wise king. The Emperor's long-term distrust after he ascended the throne made him want to do better and achieve more brilliant achievements on the throne than the Emperor.

He is willing to pay for this. He treats every report and handles every government affairs conscientiously every day.

"Isn't the cabinet just an assistant to the Holy One?" Jia Qiang hesitated and then said.

"Cabinet!" Emperor Jingwen said with a chuckle.

Emperor Jingwen didn't say much to the cabinet, but just looking at his attitude it was clear that he was dissatisfied with the cabinet.

Jia Qiang has also been in the cabinet for nearly two years and knows the cabinet very well.

First of all, the two cabinet bachelors are not so much people of the Supreme Emperor, but rather representatives of the civil service system.

The remaining cabinet bachelors are also spokespersons for the civil service forces.

Even the Supreme Emperor cannot really affect the operation of the cabinet. This is why Emperor Jingwen clearly has the cabinet's opinions on many government affairs, but Emperor Jingwen still has to reconsider and find other solutions.

"Jia Hou, you have been in the cabinet for some time. I have discussed with the Supreme Emperor. Based on your achievements and recent performance in the cabinet, your position in the cabinet has been promoted to cabinet bachelor. There happens to be a cabinet bachelor who is too old. Prepare to retire!" Emperor Jingwen thought of the reason for asking Jia Qiang to come over and said with a smile.

In order to allow Jia Qiang to enter the cabinet, he began to make arrangements when Jia Qiang returned to Beijing.

If Jia Qiang can eventually become a formal member of the cabinet, it will also break the rule that cabinet bachelors must serve in local places.

In fact, Jia Qiang had too many achievements. Although most of them were military achievements, managing the army in the north was also a kind of government affairs, which became a key point for him to be promoted to cabinet bachelor.

Of course, what is more important is the recognition of Jia Qiang by the two central court masters, Tian University and Deng University. This makes Jia Qiang have no resistance to joining the cabinet and becoming a bachelor.

(End of this chapter)