280 hired

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To be honest, the food of the White Dragon Army is still quite good.

On weekdays, there are enough coarse bread cakes and steamed buns, and every three or five days you can still see some meat and fish, and you can beat the tooth sacrifice.

Li Ke is a big stomach again, and he eats enough for two people at each meal, but Bai Longjun is not bad at this time.

Every time he opened a meal, this guy was like a hungry wolf pounced on food, and he hadn't eaten for hundreds of years, gobbling it up, rolling clouds, and finally adding the bottom of the bowl, and at first stunned the surrounding white dragon soldiers.

This is not to blame Li Ke, it is true that he suffered a lot in Daming some time ago.

I think that when he followed the liar pastor and ran to Daming to preach, he was really depressed, almost like asking for food.

Later, as soon as the pastor died, his bodyguard was even more lifeless, and he almost starved to death on the streets, not hesitating to end up stealing food from beggars.

Gradually, he developed such a eating style, eager to eat all the meals in one bite, for fear that others would come and rob him.

So in the two months since he came to the White Dragon Army, he has been doing the work of a groom, he is not tired, and he is comfortable, and he can eat enough every day, which has made him very satisfied.

Before, he even secretly pondered leaving this place, but in the end, because he was not familiar with the specific location of Yongcheng in Daming, he couldn't even recognize the road, so he didn't dare to escape.

According to Li Ke's thoughts, he most hopes to return to Macau and then return to his hometown by boat.

But for him, this is simply unthinkable.

Huaxia is too big, he is penniless and it is impossible for him to return to Macau, even if he goes to Macau, but he has no money, and he will not be able to take the ship back to Portugal.

I think that at the beginning, he followed Pastor Martin with great longing, and when he came to China, his mind was full of thoughts about making a fortune.

But the ideal is very plump, but the reality is too skinny.

After arriving in Huaxia, he didn't get any money, but he lost dozens of pounds of fat on his body, and he almost didn't starve to death.

As long as he remembered it now, the pastor who fooled him into coming to Huaxia would curse and curse the pastor.

Although Li Ke really wanted to return to his own country, Portugal, he was unwilling to go back so gloomy, and it is estimated that his life will pass in a mess.

That's why he didn't run away, and he had a faint intuition that told him that if he didn't do it here, he might really have a chance to get ahead.

And in the past two days, because it coincided with the Chinese New Year, the White Dragon Army had fish and meat at every meal, which made Li Ke very happy.

On the first day of the Lunar New Year, after Li Zixiao finished parading in White Snake Village, he remembered Li Ke when he inspected the weapons production workshop and firearms workshop under his hands.

During this time, he did forget about Li Ke, and after thinking about it at this time, he didn't delay and sent someone to call Li Ke.

A logistics captain of the White Dragon Army, who was in charge of managing the stables, found Li Ke and smiled at him: "Big tall, your good days are here, get up and come with me, our general is going to see you." ”

Li Ke was a little happy at this time, and faintly felt that his good days might really be coming.

Li Zixiao in his memory is a reasonable person, and he has no ill will towards him, and he controls such a large number of elite people, which makes him even more frightened.

There are five or six thousand people in Huaxia's hands, which is nothing to say, after all, Huaxia is too big, the population is large, and it is not uncommon for hundreds of thousands of wars to occur at every turn.

But it is different in Europe, where there are many typical countries in Europe, with many small countries, and some countries have a population that is not even as large as a county in China.

Five or six thousand elite men and horses are enough to be a powerful force in Europe.

Soon, Captain Wu took him out of the room, and then another person led Li Ke.

As soon as he looked at this person's clothes, he knew that this person should belong to the guard battalion, and during this time, Li Ke stayed in the White Dragon Army, and he also had a good understanding of the White Dragon Army.

The guards of the escort battalion are all the elites of the White Dragon Army, and they belong to a very strong kind of people, and the quality of their equipment is also quite good.

Each of them also wears a red armband on their arm, which makes it easy to understand their identity at a glance.

In addition to being responsible for defending Li Zixiao, the personal guards of the guard battalion also served as the escort of officers above the rank general of the White Dragon Army.

Li Ke followed the guard uneasily and came to the courtyard at the core of the White Snake Village.

After being briefed by the guard, Rick finally walked into the room.

The furnishings in the room are very simple, that is, a large table and a few chairs, on the table are a mess of books, drawings and other things, and a few simple maps are hung on the wall.

And Li Zixiao was sitting behind the desk at this time, and the things he was holding in his hand were also very familiar to him, it turned out that what Li Zixiao was holding in his hand was the Western saber that Li Ke was carrying.

Li Zixiao raised his head and looked at Li Ke who came in, and Li Ke hurriedly bowed his head and saluted him.

Li Zixiao put down the sword that Li Ke was equipped with, and said, "Li Ke Louis, I was so busy that I forgot about you when I came back.

But it's not too late to think about it, how about it, how have you been in our cottage during this time? ”

"Thank you General for remembering my name, I also have a Huaxia name now, called Li Ke, the general might as well call me Li Ke in the future!

As for how this time has passed, thanks to the care of the general, I have a good life here, I am well fed every day, and I will not die of hunger.

And every day for those war horses to forage and clean the stables, the days are also fulfilling. "Li Ke is bold, and he is not much afraid when he sees Li Zixiao.

Li Zixiao laughed and said, "Li Ke, your Chinese name?" Yes, you know how to follow the customs, okay, I'll call you Li Ke in the future.

Li Ke, I haven't seen you for a while, your Chinese level has improved a lot by leaps and bounds, but your accent has become even weirder, and it sounds so weird.

However, it is very rare for you, a foreigner, to be able to learn the super difficult language of Chinese. ”

"Li Ke, remember the first time I met, you told me that you used to be an artillery captain of a mercenary, and you are also proficient in the casting of artillery, don't you?"

"Yes, General."

"That's right, you've been here for a while, and you've seen that I have a lot of ironwork and a lot of craftsmen here.

I need a craftsman who can forge the cannon you use, and if you want, I can hire you to work for me, as I promised you to work.

You help me forge the cannon, and I want you to be an instructor for my artillery team and teach them how to better handle the type of artillery in your country.

If you work for me, I will never treat you badly, and I can pay you a much higher wage than you do in the country, I wonder if you are willing to do it. ”

When Li Ke heard this, his face was happy, and it was really similar to what he thought.

Then he nodded and said, "I am also willing to serve the adults, but to borrow a sentence from you Chinese people, we must be villains first and then gentlemen." Let's talk about my wages first. ”

Li Zixiao looked at this guy and said in his heart: This foreign devil is really practical.

However, Li Zixiao was also disgusted by this, anyway, he originally planned to pay him for his salary, which was also a rule set by Li Zixiao himself.

Even now, the White Dragon Army hires those migrant workers to build walled walls, workshops and other buildings, and they will also pay them.

"Okay, tell me how much you get paid every month when you are a mercenary artillery captain in your country? I want to hear the truth. ”

"When I was a mercenary, it was three silver coins a month, and when the priest hired me, he said he would give me five silver coins a month.

But alas, he only paid me a month's salary, and he still owed me more than seventy silver coins! ”

"Very well, I'm sure you're not lying." After Li Zixiao heard this, he nodded, knowing that Li Ke was not lying.

Li Zixiao looked at him and continued: "A silver coin in your country is converted into our silver, and it is only less than one tael.

Now I have hired you as a consultant in my firearms workshop, and as an instructor in the artillery unit, and I will pay you five taels of silver a month

If you forge a cannon that satisfies me, I can give you a raise.

But if you're a promiscuity, I'll send you to my mine and dig me coal for the rest of my life. ”

Li Ke immediately nodded and agreed: "It's completely possible, I believe that the artillery I have cast will definitely satisfy the general."

But I also need assistants, and the general must have at least ten skilled craftsmen for me, otherwise I would not be able to forge the cannon myself. ”

Li Zixiao immediately nodded and said: "It's completely possible, you can have as many craftsmen as you want, I have a lot of craftsmen, and you can transfer twenty people to your dispatch." ”

Li Zixiao did not lack craftsmen in his hands at this time, and Li Zixiao accepted compensation from Wanjia before, allowing them to hire a large number of craftsmen from Yangzhou and Jinling with high salaries.

"Deal, I won't disappoint the general." Li Ke was immediately excited, nodded and agreed.

Seeing that Li Ke was so confident, Li Zixiao was relieved, he believed that Li Ke would not joke with his own life, he should have real talent and real learning.

Of course, Li Zixiao still has to test him.

For a long time, Li Zixiao wanted to create a more practical artillery for the White Dragon Army.

Although Tie Pingliang can also cast cannons, at this time, the development of Western artillery is obviously faster than that of the Ming Dynasty, especially represented by Portugal, they have many types of artillery, which just meet Li Zixiao's needs.

The two types of artillery that Li Zixiao had the most in his hand at this time were the Frankie cannon and the Tiger Squat cannon, but both of them had shortcomings and could not meet the needs of the White Dragon Army.

Although the Furlong cannon has the advantages of fast rate of fire and easy reloading.

However, there are also problems such as short range and difficulty in casting due to deflatment.

In the face of the enemy, with the limited furlong cannons they currently have, they can also deal with the bandits, and the chaotic army may be okay.

The Tiger Squat Cannon is also a good choice in this era, as it is very easy to carry and has a large area of damage to frontal enemies when fired.

However, the Tiger Squat Cannon also has the problem of being too close to the fire, and it is even unable to suppress the enemy's bird guns.

In this way, he must solve this problem as soon as possible, so that when the White Dragon Army fights the enemy head-on, at least it must not suffer a loss in firepower.

The appearance of Li Ke also solved the problem he was facing at the moment.

And this guy not only knows how to cast cannons, but also used to be an artillery captain of mercenaries, familiar with the rules of use of Western artillery, and it is very good to serve as an instructor for the artillery of the White Dragon Army.

With such a talent, he had nowhere to find it, but he threw it into the stable and raised the horse for more than a month, wasting such a long time in vain, which is really funny to say.

And Li Ke is also very satisfied with this job, and the income makes him very satisfied.

He came to Huaxia to make money, and after the pastor died, no one here appreciated him anymore, so he had a skill but no use, so he could only send someone under the fence to serve as a temporary guard for the Fan family.

Now that he has finally met someone who appreciates him, and he is a **** old business, and the salary is also very high, of course he will agree.

"General, how many pounds do you want me to cast first?"

After talking about the treatment, Li Ke couldn't wait to ask in order to prove his strength.

Li Zixiao paused for a moment and asked rhetorically: "Then what cannon will you cast, and what cannon do you think is more suitable for us to use?" ”

"The artillery we use is different from your Huaxia cannon, the cannon used by your army, the model is too messy, we have divided the artillery.

We divide it from the weight of the shells, and there are generally two-pounder guns, three-pounder guns, four-pounder guns, six-pounder guns, eight-pounder guns, and twelve-pounder guns.

In my opinion, both two-pounder and three-pounder shells are a bit too small and have limited power, and we most often use four-pounder guns.

It is better for the general to start with a four-pounder cannon, and gradually cast a larger cannon in the future. ”

"So do you use copper or iron to forge your cannons?" Li Zixiao then asked.

For the artillery of this era in the West, it still uses the pound system for the time being, dividing the caliber of artillery, which Li Zixiao still understands.

"The four-pounder and six-pounder guns can be cast in copper, or in iron, and of course it is best to cast in copper, so that the cannon will not be easy to blow up, and it will be lighter.

But copper is more expensive after all, and we use iron more to cast cannons.

If the general wants to cast an eight-pounder or a twelve-pounder cannon, such a large cannon, then he can only use iron.

And this kind of large artillery, which can only be used to defend the city, cannot move with the army at all, they are too heavy. I wonder what the general wants to use to cast cannons? ”

Rick talks about these things endlessly, and it is just the same as in normal days.

"I understand what you mean, copper is softer and iron is harder, but if you cast a copper cannon, the texture is more uniform and not easy to have flaws, so there are very few explosions.

If you use iron, it will make the cast cannon cumbersome, but the cast iron cannon is easy to explode, you mean? ”

Li Zixiao was by no means a layman in this regard, and immediately followed his words.

Li Ke hurriedly nodded and said, "I didn't expect the general to know so much about artillery, it's true!" ”

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