Rise From the Humble

When Zhang Jing and his party were about to leave the pig pen, the sound of cannons rumbled without warning, followed by another burst of compact boom-boom sounds. Although everyone knew it was artillery and firecrackers, they were still instinctively startled when they heard the sound of gunfire, just like ordinary people suddenly hearing firecrackers.

Of course, it was just a small shock. It didn't even take half a second, and everyone recovered quickly.

However, at this moment, I heard someone making a fuss, "Hey!"

"What's wrong?" Everyone looked at the man. Isn't it just the sound of gunfire that deserves your fuss?

"Look, these pigs are not afraid at all?" The man said to everyone, pointing to the pigs in the pig pen that were heartlessly eating swill.

"Oh, it's true. Aren't these beasts most afraid of Lei Zhentianwei? Why are they so calm? Is this a new breed?"

Everyone also discovered it at this time, and they were all surprised.

"Oh, these pigs and chickens, ducks and geese were all scared at first, but now they are used to it. The same goes for the mules and horses in our camp. They are all used to the sound of artillery fire. .”

Zhu Pingan smiled slightly and explained to everyone.

"Well, even animals are used to it. It seems that firearms training in your camp has been very frequent recently."

Master Huang said dumbly.

"My dear nephew, such intensive firearms training, damage and consumption of gunpowder are all a big sum, right? I know that you have made some money selling knife wound medicine, but you can't afford such consumption, right?"

Duke Wei couldn't help but shook his head and said with some heartache, feeling sorry for Zhu Ping'an for the money spent.

After hearing the secret method of creating medicine with a knife, everyone looked at Zhu Ping'an, and several officials could not hide their fiery eyes.

During this time, the secret medicine was very popular, and many people boasted its miraculous curative effects and rushed to buy the medicine. However, it was still hard to find, and the Zhejiang Army only sold it once a month. I heard that every time the Zhejiang Army sells medicine, there is a bustling crowd outside the camp.

Zhu Pingan must have made a lot of money.

"Uncle, how much money can we make? We don't know how to make medicines. We are just middlemen, that is, second-rate dealers. We get medicines from Miao Man, and most of them belong to them. We only earn a few hard-earned money. For our army's military expenditure, it is just a drop in the bucket." Zhu Pingan said with a serious face, pulling Miao Man over as a target to divert everyone's attention. The principle of keeping wealth hidden and making a fortune silently applies not only to individuals, but also to people. military camp.

Nowadays, the imperial court's finances are tight and military expenditures are difficult. If it is known that the Zhejiang Army is rich, it will be even more difficult to apply for military expenditures.

When it is time to cry out bitterness, we should cry out bitterness. Children who can cry will be fed by milk. This is a truth that has been consistent since ancient times.

Zhu Ping'an's explanation was quite convincing, and everyone's pink eye improved immediately.

"Since you don't make a lot of money, you shouldn't practice firearms like this. It doesn't cost anything to practice your cold weapons. This firearms practice is like a gold-eating beast. Shooting a fire blunderbuss is money, and shooting a cannon is even more money. , firearms are easy to break, this is a bottomless pit." Wei Guogong shook his head and lamented.

Wei Guogong felt sorry for Zhu Pingan from the bottom of his heart. Because of Zhu Pingan's help several times and the relationship with the Marquis of Linhuai, Wei Guogong regarded Zhu Pingan as one of his own. Seeing Zhu Pingan training like this, he felt sorry for Zhu Pingan.

"Uncle, the Japanese invasion is becoming more and more serious now, and the war to suppress the Japanese is about to begin. In order to improve the combat effectiveness of the soldiers as soon as possible, we can only intensify training. Although it costs a lot of money, we can't care about it at this critical moment of protecting our country and we can only rein in it. I tightened my belt, worked hard to save some here, squeeze some there, and managed to survive."

Zhu Pingan replied with a wry smile.

Everyone immediately thought of Zhu Ping'an's pioneering work of raising pigs, feeding chickens and growing vegetables in the military camp, and working as a second-hand dealer to resell Miao Man's secret medicine for knife sores. All these things he did were probably to save money and squeeze money to practice firearms.

"Hey, Mr. Zhu, firearms are supporting roles, and cold weapons such as bows, crossbows, and swords are the protagonists. You can fire cannons and muskets in long-distance battles, but once you engage in battle, you still have to rely on cold weapons. How can the enemy give you time to reload the firearms? After the engagement, the firearms also It’s just a fire stick. It can’t be used to hit the enemy to death. Mr. Zhu, why do you bother and spend so much money on training firearms? Military training should still focus on traditional cold weapons.”

An official sighed, shook his head slightly, and lectured Zhu Pingan with a look of disapproval.

"Thank you for the warning, sir, but I think that the future will be dominated by firearms. If you practice and use them, you will be able to influence the situation of the battle and become invincible."

Zhu Pingan said confidently that no one in the world knew the importance of firearms better than him.

"If you practice and use it, it will be enough to influence the situation of the battle and make you invincible? Haha, Master Zhu's tone is too loud. Firearms can only be used before engaging the enemy, and cannot be relied on as the main weapon. After receiving the enemy, you must rely on cold weapons."

“It’s okay for young people to be energetic, it’s okay to be passionate, and it’s okay to be confident, but it’s not okay to be arrogant.”

Several officials couldn't help but shake their heads.

Zhang Jing also shook his head imperceptibly. The lethality of firearms is not trivial. Firearms can and should be taken seriously, but they cannot be relied on. As everyone said, firearms are used before engaging the enemy. After engaging the enemy, you have to rely on cold weapons to kill. It is cold weapons that determine the situation of the battle. Only making full use of cold weapons and properly playing the special auxiliary role of firearms is the way to go in war. Blindly attaching importance to and using firearms is not the right way to fight. This is a misguided approach, and you will suffer big losses in the future if you take the wrong path.

Zhao Wenhua was also a little disappointed at this time. Zhu Pingan's understanding of firearms was too extreme, he was still too young, and he was too unstable in his actions.

Thinking of this, Zhao Wenhua couldn't help but look at Hu Zongxian, and couldn't help but feel happy and secretly happy. Hu Zongxian was still experienced and steady and reliable. Zhu Pingan left and Hu Zongxian came. It was a real profit.

When Zhu Pingan is regained through training in the future, he will have to rely on Hu Zongxian as the main one and Zhu Pingan as the supplementary one.

Hu Zongxian couldn't help but shake his head at this moment. He also disagreed with Zhu Ping'an's conclusion about firearms.

Firearms can only be used to a limited extent, and cold weapons must still be used in war.

This has been proven by history.

The Shenji Battalion specializes in firearms, mainly artillery and muskets. Does it pay enough attention to firearms? But how did it perform in the Tumubao Incident? Although it is a good idea for a monarch who does not care about political affairs to command the battle with an unlearned eunuch. It was a disaster, but in the duel between Shenji camp's fire weapons and sabers, they were completely defeated and completely destroyed.

I don’t know why Zhu Pingan is still so obsessed with firearms.