Smuggling Daming

Zhou Zhong was shocked when he heard the news. From this matter, he finally realized the cruelty of the struggle in the palace, but then he smiled happily. Judging from the attitudes of Gu Dayong and Zhang Yong towards him, it can be seen that It proved that Emperor Zhengde really valued him very much, even the two powerful eunuchs wanted to curry favor with him, which made him look forward to meeting Emperor Zhengde even more tomorrow.

Originally Zhou Zhong wanted to keep the young eunuch Wang Gui at home for dinner, but Wang Gui was in a hurry to return to the palace, Zhou Zhong couldn't keep him anymore, so he personally sent him out of the house, but when the other party got into the carriage, Zhou Zhong quietly slipped a bank note to the other party, but when Wang Gui saw that it said 1000 taels, he was stunned for a moment, then stuffed the bank note into his arms, and the smile on his face became even brighter. He also promised that he would help Zhou Zhong greet Zhang Rui in the palace, which made Zhou Zhong even happier.

For a big eunuch of Gu Dayong's level, maybe 1000 taels of silver is nothing at all, but for a little eunuch like Wang Gui who runs errands, it is a huge windfall, so Wang Gui already has a lot of money in his heart. He secretly made up his mind that if there is anything related to Mr. Zhou in the future, he must rush to come, and then he will not be short of money to spend.

After seeing off Wang Gui, when Zhou Zhong returned to the dining room, he found that Jinxuan and the others had already had dinner, and Zhuaner was asking someone to put a few dishes in a food box to be delivered to Bai Mengwan's room. Thinking that it was really inconvenient for him to see Bai Mengwan now, he told Zhuan'er the news that Zhang Rui was demoted to sweep the floor, and asked her to pass it on for him, but Zhou Zhong estimated that Bai Mengwan would hear the good news.I'm sure I won't be able to sleep happily tonight.

Sure enough, when Zhou Zhong saw Bai Mengwan the next morning, although she seemed very excited, her eyes were still bloodshot from lack of rest.Compared to yesterday's embarrassment, Bai Mengwan was much better at this time, at least she dared to come out to eat with everyone at breakfast, and after eating, she found Zhou Zhong to thank him again, but Zhou Zhong was not happy with this. Tell Bai Mengwan with a smile.In the future, everyone will be a family, so there is no need to be so polite with him, but Bai Mengwan blushed again when she heard it.

When it was almost noon, Gu Dayong rushed to Zhou Zhong's place again from the palace. Zhou Zhong thought he was going to leave early, but Gu Dayong told him that there was no rush.They can go after dinner.Now Zhou Zhong finally understood, it turned out that Gu Dayong came to him in advance just to grab a meal.

Being able to have a good time with a celebrity in the palace like Gu Dayong is exactly what Zhou Zhong wished for. After all, he can get a lot of useful information from Gu Dayong.For example, Emperor Zhengde's preferences, the situation in the court, and some secrets, etc.These are things Zhou Zhong is very interested in.

After lunch, Zhou Zhong and Gu Dayong took the same car, and there was another car behind him pulling the gift he wanted to give to Emperor Zhengde, and then drove to the western suburbs of Beijing, where Emperor Zhengde stayed in the military camp these days middle.

Since Cheng Zu moved his capital to Beijing, because Beijing is very close to the northern grasslands, any war may be involved.Therefore, a huge military force is maintained around the city of Beijing all year round, collectively called the Beijing Camp.The Beijing camp is mainly divided into three parts, namely the Five Army Battalion, the Three Thousand Battalion, and the Shenji Battalion.

Among them, the five army battalions are mixed with infantry and cavalry, with the largest number of people, and they are also the main force of the battle. The three thousand battalions are all cavalry, responsible for patrols and battlefield assaults, and the Shenji battalion studies firearms for attacking and deploying defenses.At the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, the Five Army Battalion, the Three Thousand Battalion, and the Firearms Battalion were all battle-hardened and were the main forces of the Ming Dynasty. Even in the Zhengde period, these three troops still maintained considerable combat effectiveness.

Of the three camps in the capital, Zhou Zhong is most interested in the Shenji camp that uses firearms. This time, Gu Dayong took him to the Shenji camp.Speaking of which, the Shenji Battalion is the world's first firearms unit, and after the strength experience in the early Ming Dynasty, the Shenji Battalion's combat effectiveness is extremely strong. At the same time, they are also extremely trusted by the Ming Emperor, and they are usually stationed in the imperial city. Near Sanhai, responsible for guarding the Forbidden City.

However, although the Shenji Battalion is stationed in the imperial city, they are a firearms unit after all, and they often need to practice. With the loud sound of firearms, it is naturally impossible for them to practice in the imperial city. In addition, it also has its own special training camp in the western suburbs outside the city.

After these two days of getting along, Zhou Zhong discovered that the eunuch did not only know how to collect money as he imagined. At least Gu Dayong beside him was very familiar with many things in Beijing. Dayong introduced him to the history and current situation of Shenji Camp.

According to Gu Dayong, when the Shenji Battalion was first built, the entire camp was full of 5000 people, including 3600 musketeers, 400 gunners, and 1000 mobile cavalry. The "three-stage attack" tactic is also very familiar, at least it is clear and logical.However, after so many years of development, the number of soldiers in the Shenji Battalion has already far exceeded 5000, and the long-term peaceful life has also reduced the combat effectiveness of the Shenji Battalion.

In fact, not only the Shenji Battalion, but also the Fifth Army Battalion and the Three Thousand Battalion have the same problem. The number of soldiers in the entire Beijing Battalion has been increasing, but the combat effectiveness has been declining. In order to solve this problem, the court selected 12 soldiers from the three major battalions. Thousands of people are organized into twelve battalions, called the Twelve Regiment Battalion, but these twelve regiment battalions are also from the three major battalions, so the internal divisions are still based on the three divisions of the Shenji, the Five Army, and the Three Thousand Battalions. Partially divided.

Now the camp that Zhou Zhong and the others are going to can be called the Shenji Camp, or one of the twelve regiment camps.According to Gu Dayong, there are still 5000 elites selected from the Shenji Battalion now, and they become a separate battalion. The remaining four teams are practicing tactics in the camp every day, five days as a round. Although they have not been tested in actual combat, at least the current Shenji Battalion is much more tidy in terms of military appearance.

Zhou Zhong and his carriage left the city from Xizhimen, and then traveled several li to the southwest, and soon came to a barracks. From the sound of the cannon, Zhou Zhong could tell that it was the Francophone artillery he sent to shoot.

Hearing the sound of cannons outside, Zhou Zhong opened the car window and looked out, only to see a barracks occupying a huge area in front of him. The walls around the barracks were tall and strong. Soldiers with muskets on their backs were patrolling, looking murderous and heavily guarded. Although he hadn't entered the camp yet, Zhou Zhong already felt a sense of murder rushing towards his face, which made him sit up straight involuntarily.

When the carriage arrived at the gate of the camp, it was immediately stopped by the guards, and it was not released until Gu Dayong showed the passing token, and even after entering the camp, Zhou Zhong and the others encountered several barriers In the end, even after showing their tokens, the soldiers guarding opened the carriage and inspected it, and finally let them enter the camp.

After entering the big camp, Zhou Zhong had a clear view of the situation inside the Shenji Camp. He saw that the buildings in the entire camp were extremely solid and had a certain defensive effect. It seems that this big camp is not only used for training soldiers, It is also a solid military fortress. For example, there is a certain distance between buildings in the barracks, which makes full use of firearms.

After passing through some barracks of unknown purpose, Zhou Zhong and the others soon came to the training field at the rear. They saw thousands of soldiers on the field divided into several teams and practicing, and each team practiced different items, or It is to practice the shooting action of the musket, or to practice the ability of hand-to-hand combat. There is even a cavalry in a corner of the field practicing horse skills.

When they came to the training ground, Zhou Zhong and the others could no longer take the carriage. Now he and Gu Da got out of the carriage and watched the soldiers drill while walking. Although it was early winter and the weather was already very cold, the soldiers on the field But they were all dressed in single clothes, and all of them were sweating profusely. Coupled with the flying dust, these soldiers looked like natives.But even so, no one dared to relax, because if they were not careful, they might be punched and kicked by the coach next to them.

There is no such thing as human rights in this era, especially in the army. If you want to train a qualified army, you must rely on the fists of these instructors, otherwise those illiterate soldiers will not be obedient.

After passing through the hot practice field, Zhou Zhong and the others soon came to another checkpoint. According to Gu Dayong, behind the checkpoint is the training ground for the gunners of the Shenji Camp.In fact, without Gu Dayong's introduction, just the sound of rumbling artillery from the front made Zhou Zhong guess where it was.

After being inspected by the soldiers again, Zhou Zhong and Gu Dayong finally passed the last checkpoint. However, before Zhou Zhong looked at the artillery test range, he found that there was a small drill field next to the road. On the ground, several young Jinyiwei officers and several officers of the Shenji Battalion gathered there. These people lined up in a row, holding bows and arrows and shooting arrows at distant targets. It seemed that they were competing in archery.

Originally, Zhou Zhong didn't pay much attention to the competition between the officers, but when Gu Dayong saw the situation over there, he walked over with a smile, and Zhou Zhong had no choice but to follow.

"Okay!" Zhou Zhong and the others had just approached when they heard a burst of applause from the small training ground. Zhou Zhong looked up, only to find that a Jinyiwei officer standing in the middle was shooting his bow from left to right, and both arrows and arrows hit the bull's-eye. Although Zhou Zhong didn't know how to archery, he also knew that this kind of left and right archery is very superb. What's more rare is that someone shoots so accurately. It seems that if there is no accident, this person should be able to win this archery competition.

"Young Master Zhou, let's go to your majesty's place first, let me introduce you to an important person around your majesty!" At this time, Gu Dayong suddenly smiled and said, and his eyes were on the man with outstanding arrow skills. A young Jinyiwei officer. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets. Your support is my biggest motivation.)