Although Wei Lianheng has not officially joined the escort team, this can be regarded as a vote, and Xia Nan admires his neat and neat personality. Pen, fun, pavilion www. biquge。 info

Xia Nan squinted at Zhou Bingkun, and didn't even bother to ask his name: "The salary I gave you is too little?" ”

Zhou Bingkun replied tremblingly: "Although the young ones are not talented and only receive the lowest level of wages, they are still much more generous than in Guangzhou......

"Have I ever beaten and scolded you?"

“…… The little one is often beaten and scolded by the owner in Guangzhou, but he has never been beaten by half a bad word here......"

"Then why are you doing this?"

Zhou Bingkun kowtowed like pounding garlic: "The owner spares his life, but the small one is the lard that blinds his heart." The small craftsmanship is not proficient, the salary is less than that of the villagers, the small one is unwilling, thinking that the imperial army is coming, anyway, it is a dead end, it is better to gamble, go to the official army to inform, not only can save his life, but also have a reward. ”

Xia Nan glanced at him with disdain, turned his head and said to the craftsmen present: "You eat by your craft, the more skilled you are, the more money you make, this person is so easy to work, I can't see you well, I want to sell you for a reward, if it weren't for our victory today, and we came back in time to help, plus this Wei Baihu is righteous, all of you present today will die without a place to be buried!" ”

The craftsmen were provoked to emotion, waving their fists and shouting: "Kill this villain who eats inside and out!" ”

"The owner is so good to us, this guy is so ungrateful!"

Xia Nan flashed aside, "How to deal with him will be left to you." ”

The guards and officers and soldiers got out of the way, and the craftsmen rushed in, punching and kicking Zhou Bingkun who was lying on the ground, foaming at the mouth, especially the boatman who walked by before the ghost gate closed.

After Zhou Bingkun was half dead, the boatwright suggested: "Kill him like this, throw him into the sea to feed the fish, and don't leave him a whole corpse!" This suggestion was agreed by all the craftsmen, and everyone lifted the dying Zhou Bingkun and threw it directly from the dock into the sea.

Xia Nan said to Lin Weiye: "We think of people's hearts too kindly, and the management system of the factory is still too crude. ”

Lin Weiye nodded: "Whether it is a textile factory, a steel factory or an arsenal, the technology is ahead of this era, and the necessary confidentiality and management system must be there." ”

Since Zhou Bingkun's defection, all factories have implemented a stricter management system, and fences have been built in the factory area and dormitory area, and there are guards guarding the door, and semi-military management has been implemented. This is done half-to prevent the artisan from escaping and leaking secrets, and partly to protect the artisan's safety. Of course, that's all for later.

After Xia Nan calmed the emotional craftsmen, he said to Wei Lianheng: "Wei Baihu is new to here, first familiarize yourself with the situation everywhere, I will ask you to settle down first, and then visit." ”

Wei Lianheng hurriedly said: "From today on, there will be no official position of Wei Baihu, only Wei Lianheng." Brother Xia's firearms are sharp, I admire them tightly, that must be disturbed. ”

A few days after the end of the war, Wei Lianheng, at the invitation of Xia Nan, visited the Ma Yuan barracks and training grounds.

The sturdy and neat three-story barracks opened Wei Lianheng's eyes, and in comparison, the barracks of the Thousand Households where he was located were simply a pigsty.

It wasn't until he had seen the training of the convoy that he fully understood why the officers and troops had lost. The guards train almost every day, and the daily assassination and shooting exercises cannot be beaten, and the officers and soldiers of the imperial court, even if they are battalion soldiers, can be called strong soldiers if they can practice a few times a month, not to mention the military households of the guard station, which are almost mainly engaged in farming.

He had a question in his heart, how many taels of silver and grain do these seven or eight hundred people train every day, and they don't farm or work, so how much silver taels and grain do they have to spend? In terms of combat strength, these people are up to the standard of the governor pacesetter battalion, but I am afraid that they are not much worse than the families of the border army generals, and the pacesetter battalions and the families are fed with silver, and in these years, there are nearly a thousand families who can fight is a very powerful force.

Knowing Wei Lianheng's doubts, Xia Nan did not give a direct answer, but took him to visit the textile factory. Although Wei Lianheng was a military attache and didn't know much about businessmen, he was still shocked by the orderly work of thousands of people.

Xia Nan said: "Thousands of pieces of cloth can be woven here every day, which can be shipped to Guangzhou every half month, and 20,000 taels of silver can be received every month. ”

Wei Lianheng was dumbfounded by this number, he had never seen so much silver, and he couldn't imagine what it was like to have tens of thousands of taels of silver. No wonder the other party can afford to raise a thousand families, and can also make such a well-made bird gun and cannon.

The more he learned about this force, the more Wei Lianheng felt that this defeat was a blessing in disguise. continues to stay in Qiongshan Thousand Households, with the character that he will not meet Shangguan, he can only be a hundred households forever, and he is destined to have no future. Now, as long as the imperial court recruits this team, he will have the opportunity to make a future.

The battle in July of the fourth year of Qiongzhou ended in a crushing defeat for the official army, and as the rout returned to the capital, up to the prefect's yamen, down to the peddlers' pawns, the entire Qiongshan County was shocked by the news.

In the prefect's yamen, the prefect Qin Bingyan was irritable, dropped a few cups, and asked everyone: "The official army has been defeated so badly, what strategies do you have to deal with it?" Wang Liangdong, a puppet, escaped with his life, and he couldn't escape the responsibility, and the official must join him! ”

Tongzhi Zhao Yuejin said: "Futai is cautious! The most urgent task at the moment is to stabilize people's minds, strengthen vigilance, and prevent the chaotic people from taking advantage of the opportunity of a great victory to attack the city. As for Wang Qianhu, Futai should not touch him for the time being, and at present, Fucheng is short of major generals, and it is the time to employ people, so that he can make meritorious contributions. If you can't fight in the field, you can always defend the city, right? ”

Qin Bingyan said hatefully: "What Zhao Tongzhi said is very true, then it will be cheaper for the time being." He calmed down and asked, "It's easy to defend the city, but what about the chaotic people on the high ground, and let him go around to make trouble?" If you incite the Li people, slaughter the villages, kill the officials and rebel, then the black gauze hat of the official will be difficult to protect. ”

Zhao Yue reassured him and said, "My lord, relax for the time being. Now, on the one hand, you can ask for help from the provincial capital, and on the other hand, you can send people to appease and make preparations with both hands. ”

An official said: "How can such a great traitor be appeased? ”

Zhao Yue retorted: "Once this battle is lost, how can there be troops available in Qiongzhou Mansion, if you don't appease you, you can have another good strategy?" ”

"What Zhao Tongzhi said is the truth." Qin Bingyan affirmed his opinion, "It's just that the official army has just been defeated, and it is appeased so quickly, where is the face of the imperial court?" Moreover, if the Qiongzhou Mansion Guard can't beat it, can't it be that the Guangdong battalion can't beat it either? (To be continued.) )