?
When Wang Qinian bade farewell to Vézé with a gloomy expression, Vézé's expression was equally gloomy. He stared into Wang Qinian's eyes and didn't reply immediately.
Originally, Wang Qinian had some courage brought about by his grief and indignation. He could still speak normally: "This humble one is here to bid farewell to Lord Wei." However, under the pressure of Vézé's grave and stern expression, Wang Qinian grew more and more uneasy. Finally, he lowered his head.
"Brother Wang, do you think I'm playing with black magic?" Vézé didn't really want to do anything to Wang Qinian. From the bottom of his heart, he still hoped to recruit Wang Qinian. Therefore, Vézé was still making one last effort.
Wang Qinian didn't expect Vézé to be so polite even now. His expression softened. "Lord Wei, this humble one doesn't think so. This humble one isn't someone who doesn't know what's good for me. No matter what method you used, my brother's life was saved. If not for Lord Wei's mercy, my brother definitely wouldn't have survived until now. "
This was Wang Qinian's true words. Wang Qinian was extremely shocked by his brother's tearful complaint. After all, anyone would be shocked to hear that someone had placed worms in his brother's wounds. However, Wang Qinian didn't think that Vézé had any particular evil intentions. Given the severity of his brother's injuries, if not for Vézé's personal treatment, he would have long lost his life.
Wang Qinian also understood Vézé's intention to recruit him. He felt that Vézé knew some sorcery, but Vézé hadn't used it to do anything bad. If Vézé had really used such sorcery, Wang Qinian would have long become a walking corpse under Vézé's control. How could he have discovered that someone had placed worms in his wounds?
However, this degree of understanding not only made Wang Qinian's originally meager gratitude to Vézé fly to the highest heavens, it also strengthened his determination to leave.
Vézé stared at Wang Qinian for a moment. The little bit of expectation on his face had already disappeared. He said coldly, "So Brother Wang doesn't like our Taiping army?"
This time, Wang Qinian couldn't help but shiver. Since Vézé had said this much, there was no room for nonsense between the two sides. Most importantly, Wei Ze had pointed out Wang Qinian's true thoughts. Even though Wang Qinian had been saved by Wei Ze twice, and even though he had to work for Wei Ze to cast cannons, Wang Qinian still did not want to join the Taiping Army.
Raising his head to look at Vézé, Wang Qinian saw Vézé's disappointed expression. Although his heart was in turmoil, Wang Qinian finally chose to speak the truth. Since things had already come to this point, if he made up any more lies, it would be obvious that he had underestimated Vézé. "Master Wei, I really don't want to join the Taiping army. Master Wei saved my brother's life, and I am very grateful. I really have no way to repay Master Wei's kindness. "
"Then forget it! You can leave! " Vézé waved his hand at Wang Qinian. Since things had come to this point, Vézé might as well let Wang Qinian leave on his own instead of forcing him to stay.
After Wang Qinian left, Zhang Yingchen, who was sitting next to Vézé with the other high-ranking generals, said hatefully, "Prime Minister, why don't you hand this Wang guy over to me? I will definitely let him know the consequences of being ungrateful."
Lin Asheng came to report to Vézé about this incident, and Wang Qinian was scared out of his wits. He caused a ruckus in the hospital and even spouted nonsense. Although Lin Asheng had sent people to supervise him, he couldn't keep Wang Qinian locked up forever. Furthermore, the method of using maggots to treat pus scared not only Wang Qinian, but also some military doctors who didn't know about this matter.
Seeing that the rumors were spreading, Lin Asheng came to report to Vézé. Vézé quickly gathered the high-ranking generals and held a meeting to report this matter. It was easy to deal with other people and low-ranking soldiers, but if the high-ranking generals believed the rumors, it would be difficult to deal with.
The high-ranking generals had been through life and death together for at least half a year. Although there were many strange things about Vézé, and if they didn't learn well from Vézé, they would be beaten with a stick. But these were all clear things, and no one felt that there was anything shameful about it. After Lin Asheng personally described a few cases of using maggots to treat pus, the more superstitious Zhang Yingchen asked, "This really isn't some kind of magic, right?"
Lin Asheng glared at Zhang Yingchen angrily and said in a flustered and exasperated manner, "Nonsense! Definitely not! "
"Then that's good!" Zhang Yingchen originally didn't really believe that this was witchcraft, but when Lin Asheng's attitude was so certain, his little bit of doubt vanished like smoke in thin air.
As soon as they had unified their thoughts, Wang Qinian ran to see Vézé. After Wang Qinian got Vézé's approval, he left in a hurry. After he left, Zhang Yingchen was unhappy.
Wei Changrong sneered, "What's the use of killing Wang Qinian? If someone else knew some inside information, I'm afraid they would really think that we're guilty and kill him to silence him! "
"Then we're letting him go just like that? Saving them would be in vain? "Zhang Yingchen retorted unhappily.
"Wang Qinian also put in a lot of effort and helped us make quite a number of spring boards. If it wasn't for his younger brother making such a fuss, we wouldn't have been able to stop him if he wanted to leave after all the spring boards were made, "Hu Chenghe replied. The Taiping army didn't force people to join. It wasn't just Vézé's unit that didn't use coercive methods. The entire Taiping army was the same. When they went to the people's houses to invite them to join the Taiping Army, the brothers of the Taiping Army never sat on the main seats carelessly. Instead, they made sure that the heads of the people's families sat on the main seats, while the brothers sat on the guest seats. They earnestly and sincerely invited the people to join.
"What if this guy goes out and starts a rumor?" Zhang Yingchen was a little unwilling to let it go.
Hu Chenghe didn't quite understand why Zhang Yingchen wanted to deal with Wang Qinian so strongly. He said, "He and his younger brother went out alive and well. Even if it's nonsense, who do you think will believe it? Not only will they not believe it, but if his younger brother says that he was bewitched, I'm afraid the other commoners will dare to beat Wang Qinian's younger brother to death. "
"It'd be great if they really beat him to death. I'm afraid I won't be able to!" Zhang Yingchen saw that no one understood his painstaking efforts. He finally said, "Wang Qinian has helped us make a lot of spring boards. If he runs off to make them for Qing Yao, what will happen?"
This was a rather sharp question. The Taiping army leaders all looked at Vézé. Vézé wasn't completely unworried about the leakage of technology, but Vézé's view was different from his brothers. Historically, the diffusion of technology was inevitable. The flintlock spring that Wang Qinian imitated was based on the double-barreled handgun that Vézé had seized from Manchu Qing. If Manchu Qing really wanted to imitate it on a large scale, there was no need for Wang Qinian to run around. Manchu Qing had a flintlock that could be immediately copied.
"Let him go. No one is allowed to stab him in the back. If we really do something, people will think that we did something shameful. "Vézé made the decision.
Seeing that the leaders were either relieved or uneasy, Vézé smiled and said, "This battle was well fought. I'm going to give my brothers handguns to commend their contributions!"
Officers are given muskets for the purpose of fostering honour. The best way to do this was to use a variety of swords, but the military department didn't have the ability to produce high-quality swords. In addition, the troops had seized a lot of long swords and spears. The brothers in charge of hand-to-hand combat not only used long spears, but also a single sword on their back. The officers all had a single sword that was used to direct the firing. The only thing that could show the officer's status was the handgun.
Hearing Vézé's words, the officers' eyes lit up. The handgun that Vézé carried was decorated with beautiful patterns. The design was also quite beautiful. It was equipped with a leather holster that was inserted into the right side of his waist. It was indeed enviable. Knowing that they could also get a handgun like this, the officers were naturally happy.
"When will the handguns be given?" Zhang Yingchen asked happily.
Seeing Zhang Yingchen's anxious expression, Vézé smiled and said, "The day after tomorrow. Everyone, quickly recommend the outstanding officers in your troops. Apart from everyone getting a handgun, these outstanding officers must get one too! The spear would be given to whoever could train the battle formation well and lead it well! We can't let our brothers not know how to climb up the ranks in our troops! "
Vézé's troops only had the tactic of lining up and shooting. All the training was for the sake of constantly perfecting this tactic. In actual combat, the officers had to work hard to use this tactic to win the battle. Naturally, the criteria for commendation couldn't be anything else. Whoever could execute this tactic well would be rewarded. The army had a clear standard for bestowing handguns and promotions.
The officers were already deep in thought. They were all considering which of their subordinates would be the most suitable to receive the reward. The matter of Wang Qinian was soon thrown to the side. No one thought about it anymore.
"By the way, there's one more thing we have to do this time!" Vézé said.
The officers who were deep in thought all looked at Vézé, waiting for Vézé's instructions.
As only 130 handguns were made, only 130 people were given the handguns. The instructional brigade participated in the most battles. In the end, they were given a share of 100 handguns. In front of the 5,000 soldiers, Vézé personally presided over the handgun awarding ceremony.
On the high platform, a row of division commanders and brigade commanders stood with their hands clasped behind their backs, wearing small cowhide hats that looked like flowers on the left and right sides. The dense ranks of soldiers below them were a feast for their eyes. They had never seen so many senior military officers at the same time. They looked at the officers they were familiar with and the officers they were not familiar with. All the soldiers were inexplicably excited.
The loud voice of the emcee was so loud that the soldiers below the platform could hear it clearly. Prime Minister Vézé, the supreme commander of the army, was going to personally award the handguns to the high-ranking officers. This was a very important ceremony. At least in this era of China, this kind of ceremony was similar to worshiping ancestors. Only real family members could attend the ceremony.
The high-ranking officers received the handguns for a very short time. It was a rare sight. It was said that the handguns were as powerful as rifles. The soldiers were naturally envious to be able to achieve such power with such a short weapon. However, this was still a matter for the high-ranking officers. When the outstanding middle and low-ranking soldiers began to receive the handguns, everyone was really excited. These fellows were all acquaintances. If they could receive handguns from Prime Minister Vézé, it meant that every soldier had the opportunity to receive handguns from Vézé himself. The eyes of the officers were obviously burning. Although there were looks of jealousy and even disdain, the mood of the whole army was really aroused.
The last step, however, was something that every soldier had to participate in. Over the past two days, the uniform of the army had been modified. The original collars were sewn with a new vertical collar. The army required every soldier to have this vertical collar. As there were no female soldiers in the army, and there were not enough tailors in a small county like Yongxing, the soldiers learned to sew the collars on their own.
Vézé personally gave the bags of red collar badges to the two generals. After receiving the badges, the two generals came down from the platform and gave each pair of collar badges to the soldiers. This completely open process excited the soldiers. Although they did not have the glory of being personally awarded the collar badges by Vézé, the Prime Minister Vézé personally gave each bag of collar badges. In a sense, it was equivalent to Vézé personally giving the collar badges to everyone.
Although they did not know what the collar badges meant, and were not used to the uniform, at this moment, every soldier felt that they had a real connection with the supreme commander of the army.
Involuntarily, cheers and applause sounded, and more and more people joined in. Soon, all five thousand of Vézé's brothers began to join in.
Vézé took a step forward and waved his left arm at the brothers below the platform. Every one of the brothers below the platform felt that Vézé was waving at them, and the cheers became more and more intense. Until the emcees with loud voices shouted, "Silence! Quiet down! "The excited clamor gradually subsided.
Seeing that the audience had quietened down, Vézé took a deep breath, then shouted to the crowd, "Brothers, after wearing these collar badges, people will be able to tell that you are different from others at a glance. This is because you are dressed differently from others. However, what is the real difference between you and others? It is because you are a member of our army! From Yongan until now, our army has won countless battles and killed tens of thousands of Qing Yao. Today, he had asked everyone to wear their collar badges so that Qing Yao would be able to see them and remember them at a glance. Wearing these collar badges is to let Qing Yao know who defeated them, and who was able to cause Qing Yao to be utterly defeated every time, leaving corpses strewn all over the field. This is to let Qing Yao see our army and know that they are no match for us, so that they will tremble in fear! Therefore, I would like to ask everyone, are you willing to be like Zhao Zilong of Changshan, an army that can win every battle? Brothers, are you willing?! "
"Yes! Yes! "The veteran soldiers were already shouting.
"Yes! Yes! " Even the soldiers who had joined Vézé's army in Daozhou had participated in battles and won at Guiyangzhou. They also followed suit and shouted.
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