The reason why Chen Xuanli cared about Ma Lin was because Ma Lin had defeated his beloved son, Chen Dabiao, and made him lose a lot of face. Of course, with his status and magnanimity, he definitely wouldn't take revenge on Ma Lin. He was just a little curious about this kid who could defeat his son.
Chen Dabiao was Chen Xuanli's favorite son, and he had received his father's teachings. Both his military and martial arts were first-rate. Now that he had lost to an unknown Ma Lin, Chen Xuanli couldn't help but take him seriously.
"This Ma Lin seems to be an orphan, and he's not a soldier of the four armies at the North Gate, but a captain of the Anxi army."
This was all that Ang Lee knew, and Guo Xiang had told him of his own accord. Otherwise, he wouldn't even know this.
"A captain of the Anxi army? Assistant Minister Li, His Majesty said that you could choose artillery students from the four armies at the North Gate, but you actually chose the Anxi army. Isn't this going against His Majesty's will? "
Chen Xuanli was shocked. He had always thought that all the artillery soldiers were from the four armies at the North Gate, but he didn't expect Ma Lin to be a captain of the Anxi army. This greatly exceeded his expectations. He also didn't know how many artillery soldiers Ang Lee had recruited that weren't from the four armies at the North Gate.
Ang Lee smiled. "The soldiers of the border army are brave and fierce. I've already told His Majesty that suitable people from the border army will be selected to join the artillery unit. His Majesty has also agreed. It's just that this isn't a big matter, so the general doesn't know."
"So it's like that. Since even Assistant Minister Li doesn't know Ma Lin's background, why don't we go ask him? I want to have a good chat with Ma Lin and ask him who his master is."
Chen Xuanli was determined to get to the bottom of Ma Lin, the captain of the Anxi army who had defeated his beloved son.
Ang Lee naturally wouldn't refuse Chen Xuanli's request. He brought Chen Xuanli to the barracks of the 1st Artillery Brigade and found Ma Lin, who was celebrating his promotion to captain of the 3rd Artillery Brigade of the Tang dynasty.
Of course, there was another group celebrating in the barracks of the 1st Artillery Brigade. That was Chen Xuanli's beloved son, Chen Dabiao's 1st Artillery Brigade. Although they had lost to the 4th Artillery Brigade, they had at least gotten second place. Moreover, many of them were about to be promoted.. this was something to be happy about.
In fact, they were all powerful.. So, the 1st Artillery Brigade's five Artillery Captains............. that.................... so............ that........... so..... the top..... was...... and.......... the of..... this was........................
........................
. Ma Lin straightened his back and bowed to the two.
"Ma Lin, congratulations on getting first place today. Congratulations to all the soldiers of the 4th Artillery Brigade."
Ang Lee praised.
"Thank you, Assistant Minister Li. This lowly one will work even harder."
Ma Lin did not stand on ceremony and loudly replied.
"Ma Lin, you defeated the Great General's son in one move and got first place. The Great General thinks highly of you and came to see you."
Ang Lee looked at Chen Xuanli as he spoke.
"Young man, you've done well. You've truly made this general see you in a new light."
Chen Xuanli smiled and patted Ma Lin on the shoulder, affirming Ma Lin's results.
"Great General praises me too much. This lowly one does not dare to accept."
Ma Lin modestly replied.
"Ma Lin, this general heard that you're a captain of the Anxi army. Is that true?"
"Yes, Great General. This lowly one originally served in the Anxi army. When I returned to the capital with General Gao, I happened to run into Assistant Minister Li's selection of artillery soldiers. This lowly one personally witnessed the power of artillery, so I volunteered to participate."
Ma Lin truthfully replied.
"Haha! So that's how it is. No wonder this general has never heard of you. You're not in the North Gate Four Armies. "
Chen Xuanli smiled and then asked about Ma Lin's background.
My grandfather, Ma Zhenghui, was once the General of the Right Guard. My father, Ma Cheng, was once a general in the army. This lowly one's father died early, and there was no one to take care of him when he was young. All I did was wander the streets, doing nothing. Several years ago, I happened to come across' The Legend of the Horse Clan 'and was deeply inspired. Thus, I left the streets and went to Anxi to join the army. Through my contributions, I was promoted to captain of a regiment. I originally planned to serve the border for the rest of my life, using my flesh and blood to serve the Great Tang, but after seeing the power of the cannons, this lowly one changed his mind and joined the artillery.
Ma Lin was very straightforward and explained his situation in one breath. He had no intention of hiding anything. Of course, there was no need to hide anything.
"You Wei Wei General Ma Huizheng? So your grandfather was You Wei General, haha! Back then, when your grandfather was You Wei General, this general was just a small captain. So you're actually the grandson of a general. No wonder you could defeat my son, hahaha! "
After knowing that Ma Lin's grandfather was You Wei General Ma Huizheng, the knot in Chen Xuanli's heart was finally untied. His beloved son didn't lose to a nobody, but to the grandson of a general. This way, it wasn't too shameful. At least, Chen Xuanli didn't think it was shameful.
After hearing about Ma Lin's background, Ang Lee suddenly realized that this Ma Lin was a famous general of the Tang dynasty. During the An Lushan Rebellion, Ma Lin led three thousand elite Anxi soldiers to reinforce Fengxiang. He defeated the rebel army many times and became a fierce general that terrified the rebel army. In the end, he became the Left Servant of the Minister. After his death, he was given the title of Situ, Wu, to show Ma Lin's strength.
"The son of a general, he really is the son of a general!"
Ang Lee praised Ma Lin with all his might. He then asked, "Ma Lin, you originally planned to use your flesh and blood to serve the Tang dynasty. Why did you change your mind after seeing the power of the cannons? What is this?"
Ma Lin pondered for a moment, then tore open the front of his shirt and sternly replied, "Assistant Minister Li, in Anxi, this lowly one fought with powerful enemies many times. There are more than a dozen saber wounds on my chest, and many of my comrades died on the battlefield. A man of character should have died on the battlefield without any complaints, but this lowly one believes that it would be better if I could live. After seeing the power of the cannons, this lowly one feels that with these weapons, we can completely destroy the enemy with minimal losses. This is much more powerful than the strength of an ordinary man. Thus, this lowly one threw caution to the wind and wanted to join the artillery force."
"In just a few years, you actually have more than a dozen saber wounds on your chest. It seems like the border army is really tough!"
Ang Lee sighed and then personally tidied up Ma Lin's shirt.
"Assistant Minister Li, this lowly one has a presumptuous request that I hope Assistant Minister Li can fulfill."
Ma Lin was so agitated that he actually knelt before Ang Lee.
"Quickly get up, quickly get up. There's no need to be so formal. Just say what you want."
Ang Lee hurriedly helped Ma Lin up. Ang Lee was really not used to this kind of ancient etiquette that required people to kneel at the slightest provocation. He really did not like others kneeling in front of him.
"Assistant Minister Li, the soldiers on the border have it very hard, especially the army of Anxi. They have to use twenty thousand soldiers to maintain the land within a radius of several thousand li and pacify several hundred small countries. Once a war breaks out, the enemy is often several times stronger than us. Although our army is well-equipped, we suffer heavy casualties in every war. If we can deploy the artillery force to the border as soon as possible, it will greatly change the balance of power between us and the enemy. In the future, when we fight with the enemy, the casualties will definitely be reduced. This lowly one is willing to lead the Third Artillery Brigade to Anxi and open up new territory for the Tang dynasty."
Ma Lin spoke with a serious expression.
How could Li An not see through Ma Lin's plans? This fellow had run to Anxi to join the army precisely so that he could kill the enemy and bring glory to his family. He had the same sort of conduct as Duan Xiushi, but after seeing the immense power of the cannons, he felt that if he led the cannons into Anxi, he might be able to accomplish even greater feats, inflict even greater casualties on the enemy and preserve his own strength.
"Haha! Ma Lin, you really don't need to be in such a hurry. Train well in the capital, and there will be plenty of opportunities in the future. Since His Majesty had this official establish so many artillery forces at such a high price, it is precisely for the sake of sending them to the border in the future to intimidate and conquer the enemy. However, the artillery training is still not up to par, and the scale of the artillery force is still too small. It is still in the development stage, so rashly moving them to the border is not appropriate.
It will take at least a few years! "Ang Lee advised Ma Lin not to be in too much of a hurry. The artillery force was established to defend and open up new territory. It would be sent out sooner or later, but it had to be of a certain scale so that it could be rotated. Once one of the units was damaged, they could quickly replenish their equipment so that their fighting power would not be affected.
"Yes, Assistant Minister Li, this lowly one can wait. This lowly one will definitely train well."
Ma Lin loudly expressed his resolve.
After giving a few words of encouragement, Ang Lee and Chen Xuanli left the camp of the First Artillery Brigade and began to walk together.
"Great General, you've seen Ma Lin. What do you think of him?"
Ang Lee looked at Chen Xuanli and asked.
"This boy was born into a family of generals and has always wanted to kill the enemy and bring glory to his family. He is a very ambitious young man, much better than my son. His future is limitless!"
Chen Xuanli wholeheartedly replied. He could see that Ma Lin's talent and will were both above his son's. It was no wonder he could so easily defeat his beloved son.
"Great General, you're too humble. Your son is still very outstanding. If it wasn't for Ma Lin, your son would have won first place today."
Ang Lee comforted Chen Xuanli. He then clasped his fist and parted ways with Chen Xuanli.
Ang Lee had to return to the R&D center, while Chen Xuanli had to return to the capital to analyze the situation of the Dragon Martial Army.
After the 100 cannons were in place, the Tang dynasty's Third Artillery Brigade and the Tang dynasty's Fourth Artillery Brigade were immediately formed. Ma Lin was officially appointed as the Brigade Commander of the Third Artillery Brigade and Chen Dabiao as the Brigade Commander of the Fourth Artillery Brigade. More than 500 of the best artillery students from the Artillery Academy were added to these two brigades. They immediately began training and held exercises every month.
Suddenly, there were four artillery brigades in the capital. 200 cannons exploded from time to time. This earth-shattering noise could even be heard by Li Longji, who was in the Imperial Palace. In the beginning, Li Longji could still be excited when he heard the sound of cannons. However, after a while, he felt that it was too noisy. Thus, the four artillery brigades were moved to a position slightly further away from the capital. In other words, they were 50 li away from the city walls of the capital. This way, even if 200 cannons fired at the same time, it wouldn't affect the normal life in the capital.
Of course, this way, if Ang Lee wanted to inspect the artillery brigades, he would need to ride a horse for two hours. This would waste even more time, so the inspection frequency naturally had to be reduced. In any case, he had already taught them everything that needed to be taught. He just needed to let the artillery brigades train on their own.
Time passed very quickly, and in the blink of an eye, it was the autumn harvest season. The fruits on the trees were ripe, and the crops in the fields were about to be harvested.
Because the route was too long, the two strategic railways hadn't been completed yet. However, the autumn harvest couldn't be delayed. Moreover, in the Guanzhong region, other than the autumn harvest, there was also autumn plowing.
Under the arrangements of the Imperial Court, most of the million people who were building the roads returned to their hometowns to participate in the autumn harvest. Only less than 100,000 people were left to continue building the roads.
Among the 100,000 people, other than the technical backbone of the R&D center and the railway bureau, there were also many able-bodied laborers. The selection of these laborers was very strict, and they all came from families with more laborers. One less laborer would not have a big impact on the autumn harvest and autumn plowing of these families.
Such an arrangement could ensure that the laying of the railways would not completely stop because of the autumn harvest. It would just be a little slower.
This year's autumn harvest was different from previous years. In previous years, it had been manpower, but this year, there were thousands of harvesters in operation, especially in the Guanzhong region. There were the most harvesters, and of course, there were also many in the Luoyang region. In other regions, it was difficult to find harvesters because of the production problems.
With the help of these thousands of harvesters, the autumn harvest went very smoothly, especially in the Guanzhong region, where many harvesters were used. The autumn harvest time was shortened by an entire day, saving a lot of manpower.
After the autumn harvest, the plowers and water pumps in the Guanzhong region began to show their power. After seeing that wheat could grow in the winter, all the people and noble families in Guanzhong chose to plant wheat after the autumn harvest to increase the efficiency of the land and obtain greater harvests. The Imperial Court organized peddlers to sell wheat seeds and made it the most important part of the official work to satisfy the needs of all the people in a timely manner.
During the autumn harvest and plowing period, the Guanzhong region was filled with the roar of machines. Of course, there were also the cries of the cattle.
Perhaps because they saw that the plowers were too efficient, the owners of the cattle often used whips to whip the cattle, hoping that the cattle would move faster. However, no matter how they were whipped, the cattle's efficiency could never be compared to the plowers. It wasn't until the cattle cried out in pain and were unwilling to move forward that the owners of the cattle sighed helplessly and hugged their beloved cattle to comfort them for a while before continuing to plow the land.
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