After bidding farewell to Li Xuan, Du Zhongxiao said to Shi Quanbin: "Regimental training, all units of the Xiang Army are scattered around, mainly artillery and cavalry, which one to watch first?" If you want to, I will call their commanders, and you can ask them if you have something to do with the regimental training. ”

Shi Quanbin said: "Let's go to see the artillery first, the officials pay the most attention to this." When leaving Beijing, the official family repeatedly told him that the artillery under his command was the most powerful, and no one could stop him, far from being comparable to the artillery of the forbidden army. Let me see how such artillery is trained and what is so peculiar. ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "In fact, there is nothing special about artillery, it is meant to be used like that, but we have spent our efforts and selected the right person to do this, and we have been learning together for a few years." In fact, the cavalry is not worse than the artillery, but the things of the artillery will be more complicated, and people can also choose, so they are naturally more generous than the cavalry. ”

Shi Quanbin said: "This is an official order, so we should pay special attention to it." After looking at the artillery, it's not too late to look at the cavalry. By the way, I heard that there are many schools in the camp and the army, and they can teach anything in the school, just like the subordinates of the iron supervisor. We're going to take a look at it too. ”

Du Zhongxiao naturally agreed. instructed his entourage to call Yao Shouxin to accompany Shi Quanbin together.

Shi Quanbin is a training envoy of the Lingzhou League, and his position is similar to Du Zhongxiao's Zhishi Museum, and the two of them are not bound by high or low official positions. According to the rules of exchanging literature for martial arts at this time, the bachelor changed the festival degree, the waiting system changed the observer, and Du Zhongxiao's Zhishi Museum was replaced by a martial arts, which was probably also a regimental training envoy. Dispatch is to determine what officials are to do, official position determines the salary, and office represents status. There is no clear distinction between superior and inferior, and officials are generally honored and inferior by their positions, and their own officials will be important if they do not take their posts.

After a while, Yao Shouxin brought his assistant Zhang Lin to come and accompany Du Zhongxiao to accompany Shi Quanbin.

Seeing that it was not early, Du Zhongxiao said: "Since the regimental training has come to watch the army, we will not arrange lunch today, let's go to the barracks over there, and eat with the soldiers, how about it?" Let's also take a look at what the daily life in the army is like. ”

Shi Quanbin said: "This is the best! Before I was instructed this time, I wanted to look at these subtleties. ”

Several people arrived at the nearest artillery garrison barracks, Yao Shouxin ordered, and Tan Chen, the commander here, hurriedly greeted him. After the salute, he took a few people to the place where they had dinner in the barracks. Unlike ordinary armies, the battalion is not allowed to make its own fire and cook in the battalion, and it is a unified meal. Moreover, except for officers of a certain rank, the families of non-commissioned officers are not allowed to join the army, and there is no daily life area in an ordinary military camp.

In other barracks, apart from centralized living and school yards and other facilities, there is not much difference between life in the army and outside. There are also their own living quarters, and even commercial areas, and where military discipline is particularly lax, there are even hook fence vasers and female prostitutes in the camp.

Looking at the neat barracks, Shi Quanbin nodded again and again: "The layout here is neat, and the military appearance is solemn, which is indeed not comparable to other armies." ”

When he arrived at the place to eat, Du Zhongxiao said: "The camp field is different from others, and the generals are not allowed to drink and feast privately in the army, and they can only eat in a specific place, which we call the canteen." Different status, different treatment, but not set separately. ”

As he spoke, he led Shi Quanbin into the cafeteria.

Unlike other places, the camp is officially three meals a day, and lunch is also a regular meal. At this time, it was time to eat, and many officers and non-commissioned officers entered the canteen, took utensils and sat down to eat. One person's tableware is two bowls and two plates, plus chopsticks and soup spoons, all of which are enamel products.

The officers' dining places are not separated from the non-commissioned officers, but there are specific areas with separate places to pick up meals. After entering the cafeteria, Du Zhongxiao took Shi Quanbin to take the tableware and said to him: "Our army has a lot of food, and the artillery and cavalry are better than the infantry. Ordinary soldiers and utilities are all rice and steamed buns to take until they are full. The dish is one meat and one vegetable, all with two plates. Two bowls, one for rice and one for soup, are self-serving. The envoys and officers at all levels ate better, and the dishes were different. The highest is three rice and one soup, with meat and vegetarian. ”

Shi Quanbin said: "If this is the case, the generals eat worse than other soldiers, and the utility soldiers are much better." ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "The battle is fought by them, and they don't know how much effort they spend every day, so it is natural to eat better." There is another one, our army uses a lot of oil, so we eat less rice, but the benefits are all in the stomach. ”

The average soldier in the army has two liters of rice a day, and the camp field work is far less than that, because the vegetables they eat use more oil. For people with heavy physical strength, there is no oil in the meal, which has a direct impact on the amount of food. If you have more oil and water, you will naturally eat less rice. And without oil and water, it is not uncommon for people to double their meals.

The army is full of ordinary meat dishes, how much does it cost to do these? As long as there are no low-ranking officers in charge of military supplies, the officers and non-commissioned officers can eat enough in their mouths, and the nutrition is sufficient. The farmer has his own vegetable plot and his own farm, which does not cost much. The bulk of military supplies are actually gunpowder, artillery shells, bullets, and other military equipment, which is different from other armies.

The rice and soup were served by the entourage, and several people took the tableware and went to choose their favorite dishes. The officers are well paid, and there are no cookers here, only the non-commissioned officers who clean up and tidy up, and they can cook whatever they like.

Shi Quanbin looked at the dishes on the table, there were meat and fish, and a few refreshing green vegetables, which were abundant. It's all fried in a big pot, and naturally it's not as delicate as it is sold outside, but it's enough for daily consumption.

picked up a portion of boiled mutton, a portion of meat fried lilies, and Shi Quanbin made another vegetarian dish. Suddenly remembered something, and said to Du Zhongxiao beside him: "Tiju, why is the fish here also considered a meat dish?" If this is the case, it is difficult to ensure that the food will be deducted. ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "The regimental training is good, and the fish in our army is also a meat dish." However, it is separated from the meat, and there is a fixed amount in January. ”

Shi Quanbin nodded and didn't say anything more. At this time, fish is generally counted as a vegetarian dish, even if it is a lay person who believes in Buddhism, he does not quit fish, turtles, shrimps and crabs if he abstains from meat. And except for some precious varieties, the price of fish and shrimp is very low compared with meat, which is basically the same as vegetables. If there were no special measures, the quartermaster would inevitably buy more fish and shrimp to offset the number of meat dishes and deduct military salaries.

Du Zhongxiao habitually felt that it was too funny to count fish and shrimp as vegetarian dishes, and they were still counted in meat dishes. Although the price is different, the nutrition is there, the nutritional content of fish and shrimp is similar to that of meat, but there is too much difference with green vegetables.

After the dishes, they arrived at a separate table on the side, and several people sat down. The retinue made rice and soup and put them on the table.

Shi Quanbin said offended, and was about to taste the taste of the food here, when several attendants put a cup in front of each of them, and there was yellow soup in it. Looking a little familiar, Shi Quanbin didn't remember what it was for a while, and asked Du Zhongxiao: "Lift, what is this?" ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "Group practice, this is juice." The camp and the army were well paid, and the average infantry had a fruit every day, whether it was pears or citrus, there must be so much weight. The artillerymen were better, and they drank juice. Now is the time for citrus to go on the market and drink orange juice. ”

When Shi Quanbin heard this, he couldn't help but widen his eyes: "Ah, I didn't expect the artillery to be so expensive, and there is juice to drink every day!" I looked familiar, but I didn't even remember it for a moment. In the past two years, this matter has also become popular in Beijing, but only large restaurants will give it to guests. Even in the palace, this thing is not available every day. But I didn't expect that in the artillery, it was just a daily routine. ”

The juice machine is a product of the year before the iron prison, and it was inspired by Du Zhongxiao. It's very simple, just squeezing the juice out of the fruit, but it's very rare in this era.