In the conversation between the two, Zhou Yan had a deeper understanding of the history of the Xia Kingdom, a tribe of less than 100 people, which developed into a powerful country with a population of millions and countless areas in more than ten years.

Listening to such miracles, his blood boiled, and after listening to the wars that the captain recounted, he knew that the world was so exciting.

And Yancheng at this time!

The rainy season has passed, with the arrival of the dry season, the field has been planted with more drought-tolerant potatoes, at this time, the potatoes have broken through the soil, the vast farmland, as far as the eye can see, the farmer's children in the field side of the canal led the little horned dragon grazing, a few bare-bottomed children, jumped into the canal, to avoid the hot sun, occasionally can catch some fish and shrimp from the water, the children enjoy the quiet time.

But this calm was broken by the sound of rumbling footsteps, and a cloud of dust was raised on the official road not far from the farmland, and groups of soldiers quickly passed by the edge of the farmland.

Looking at these soldiers in military uniforms and armor, the children were so excited that they climbed up the trees and stared at the troops passing by from afar.

This army does not carry spears, does not hang swords, and each soldier carries a strangely shaped stick on his shoulder, which the children here have never seen before, and they all guess what the stick is for.

At the front of the procession, Lin Bark, who was nearly forty years old, rode on a giant deer, and as a superior person, he seemed to have an aura of not being angry and arrogant.

Although he is not much older than Wang Lang, the hard life in his early years made him look much older than his actual age, and his original black hair was already half white, but his body was quite tough.

The new army behind him was the first musket unit of the Xia Kingdom, and under the hard work of the Ministry of Industry, the musket battalion was already equipped with 1,000 Taichu Type 1 rifles.

And this new army was split from the Royal Forest Army, so to speak, under the jurisdiction of Lin Shubark.

Today is the day to test the results of the training of this new army, and in the western suburbs of Yancheng, Wang Lang and civil and military officials will also go there to prepare for the review of this new unit with all firearms.

This is the first time that the musketeers have appeared in front of the world, Lin Shupi knows that this review must not be lost, this army has poured a lot of effort into Wang Lang, if the effect of the review is not satisfactory, this is not only Wang Lang's face can not be hanged, and his face will not look good on the face of the general soldier who supports Wang Lang.

Looking at the sky, Lin Shupi urged: "Order the team to speed up, you must rush to the school yard in an hour." ”

The general of the musket battalion, turning his mount, shouted to the team: "The whole army runs forward!" ”

The soldiers secretly complained in their hearts, such a hot weather, wearing heavy armor, carrying muskets, running forward was very uncomfortable.

But the military order was like a mountain, and although he cursed in his heart, he began to trot under his feet.

The long procession passed through the farmland quickly, looking at the distant army, and the children had not yet come to their senses.

"The army is so mighty!" A little child said excitedly.

"I must be a general when I grow up!"

"I'm going to be a general!"

"Li Er, you are still a general with a small body, you are not ashamed!"

The children climbed down from the tree and quarreled over the topic of who would be the general, and after the joke, no one was interested in the topic anymore.

At about ten o'clock in the morning, Lin Shupi arrived at the camp in the western suburbs on time with more than 1,000 musketeers.

In the huge school field, with the arrival of the musket team, it immediately became lively, and the civil and military officials on the high platform looked at this new-style army curiously.

Lin Jianya looked at the bark of the forest below, and snorted coldly: "This army doesn't see anything special, the formation is quite neat, and it is barely usable. ”

"Wasn't the Baron jealous of the Guards before? Why are you so optimistic about them now? Lin Huo looked at Lin Jianya with a smile.

Being said so directly by Lin Huo, Lin Jianya couldn't hold back on his face, and snorted lightly: "If this army is handed over to me to practice, the military power can only be better." ”

Lin Huo shook his head and smiled.

It was a rush of hooves outside the school yard, and it came quickly in this direction.

"Your Majesty has arrived!" The knight shouted loudly.

The civil and military officials got up one after another and looked at the direction of the official road from afar.

Escorted by hundreds of guards, Wang Lang rode slowly in the direction of the school yard in a vehicle.

Walking into the school field, Wang Lang stepped off the deer cart, glanced at the neatly arranged troops on the school field, and nodded with satisfaction.

"Greetings to Your Majesty!"

Under the leadership of Lin Huo, civil and military officials saluted Wang Lang one after another.

"Everyone, love Qing Ping!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Wang Lang slowly walked up to the high platform, leaning on the railing and looking at the army with their heads held high on the school ground, the corners of his mouth curled.

"Yes, yes! This is the demeanor of my Great Xia army! Wang Lang said excitedly.

"Your Majesty Shengming!" The officials shouted.

Lin Huo looked at the pendulum clock placed aside, and arched his hand: "Please take a seat, Your Majesty is still fifteen minutes away from the review, the weather is hot, Your Majesty is drinking cold drinks to relieve the heat." ”

Wang Lang nodded and said, "You guys should sit too!" ”

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

After the officials sat down, they wiped the sweat on their necks with their sleeves, and in such a hot weather, wearing a tightly covered court dress was definitely an extremely torturous thing.

Wang Lang drank a glass of juice with ice cubes, and suddenly felt much cooler.

Time passed slowly in conversations with civil and military officials, and at 10:30 a.m., the review officially began.

The civil and military officials all stood up, and Wang Lang walked to the front and looked at the neat army below.

Lin Shupi took off his helmet, stopped his waist and walked out of the ranks, saluted Wang Lang, and said loudly: "The Imperial Forest Army Musket Battalion, there should be 1,500 people, but it is actually 1,500 people, please review it." ”

Wang Lang took a deep breath and said, "Musket battalion, start the review!" ”

Lin Shupi turned around on the spot and shouted, "The musket team listens to the order, and the review begins!" ”

As soon as the words fell, the musket team phalanx dispersed like a wave, dividing into a small phalanx of three hundred people.

Each small phalanx was commanded by an officer, who prepared the demonstration according to the pattern of training.

With muskets in use for so long, the officers were confident in a review.

"Knock knock!"

With the sound of a steady drum, the first group of 300 people marched out in a neat pace.

The sound of the armor echoed in the school field like the sound of the tide, this sound sounded more beautiful to Wang Lang than any music, this is the voice of the army, this is the sharpest knife in the Xia Kingdom.

After the phalanx walked a hundred meters, the officer shouted: "Stand! ”

"Whoa!"

After the clashing of armor leaves, the musketeers stood still as if they had been immobilized.

Lin Jianya's eyelids jumped when he saw this scene, and laymen may not be able to see anything, they can only feel that this set of flowing movements is just good-looking, but as Lin Jianya, who is leading the scene with soldiers, this is a great thing.

Although it is only a short 100 meters, it is not a simple matter for so many people to be like one person, even among the armies under his control, the most elite army is inferior to these soldiers, and their faces are very ugly.

"Fight in formation! Disperse! The officer shouted loudly.

The original fifteen by twenty phalanx skillfully changed the line formation of three by one hundred people, and it took less than two minutes for the team of three hundred people to change the formation, and this efficiency made Wang Lang nod again and again.

"Ladies and gentlemen, look at the Musket Team!" Wang Lang said with a smile.

Lin Huo nodded and said: "This musket team is worthy of the army built by His Majesty himself, and it is difficult to find one comparable to it in the army of the Xia Kingdom in terms of the change of marching troops." ”

The ministers also nodded in agreement with Lin Huo's view.

"This is all in exchange for the hard training of the soldiers, and in the future, the army of my Xia Kingdom must be on par with them, so that they can be lone wolf soldiers and defend their families and defend the country!" Wang Lang said in a deep voice.

"Ministers, remember Your Majesty's teachings!"

The ministers said in unison.

At this time, the musketeers, who had completed the line formation, quietly looked ahead.

Under the command of the officer, charging, compaction, ignition, fixing everything is carried out in an orderly manner,

The first row took a step forward, mounted the muskets on the mounts, and aimed ahead.

The officer's command knife waved diagonally downward, shouting, "Release!" ”

"Bang bang!"

A hundred muskets were fired at the same time, and the sound was like thunder.

The target wall erected in front of it had already been riddled with holes from projectiles.

The officer ignored the results of this shooting, and after the first platoon finished firing, he quickly retreated, while the second platoon stepped forward and quickly launched a new round of firing after ignition.

After a long period of rigorous training, the real effect was seen at this time, such a complex rotation shooting, there was no trace of panic, although this was just a drill, there was no sense of fear on the battlefield, but to this extent, Wang Lang was already very satisfied.

White smoke curled on the school grounds, and the air was filled with a faint smell of gunpowder, and the civil and military officials had now opened their mouths in astonishment, watching in amazement as the musketeers fired round after round.

Listening to the sound of projectiles hitting the earthen wall, the officials could imagine what would happen if the opposite side was replaced by the enemy, and in the face of such a fierce attack, it was hard for them to believe that there was an army in the world that could not collapse under such an attack.

The first group of musketeers, after six rounds of firing, quickly adjusted their formation, formed a phalanx and retreated to the side, handing over the parade to the friendly forces below.

The sound of banging gunfire resounded in the land of the western suburbs, shaking everyone's hearts, although everyone had seen the power of artillery, but compared to artillery, this individual weapon gave them a stronger shock.

The advent of muskets made them aware that the pattern of warfare had changed, and that individual prowess was almost useless in the face of such killing machines.

In front of the rows of musketeers, you are as powerful as an ox and extremely brave, and even the bravest warriors will not be able to play any role if a bullet goes down.

Lin Huo swallowed his saliva and said, "Your Majesty... Your Majesty, with such an army, my Xia Kingdom will be the most powerful country in the world. ”

Wang Lang shook his head and said, "Not yet, do you know how much the equipment of these 1,500 people costed!" ”

"This minister doesn't know!" Lin Huo said with some embarrassment.

"Wood Wind! Tell me about it! ”

"Your Majesty! Colleagues, in order to make these 1,500 muskets, our Ministry of Industry spent a total of 30,000 copper coins before and after! ”

Mu Feng's words frightened everyone, 30,000 copper coins is not a small amount, and the annual income of the Xia State Treasury is only more than 300,000 yuan, and the musket team of 1,500 people alone spends one-tenth.

"Your Majesty, why is this musket so expensive!" Lin Jianya asked.

"This musket is extremely cumbersome to build, the manpower and material resources consumed are far from being comparable to spears and swords, the quality of steel in our Xia Kingdom is not good, and it is very troublesome to make steel suitable for making gun barrels, at present, it is impossible for us to install muskets on a large scale in a short period of time, and the musket team of 3,000 people is almost the limit."

After Wang Lang finished speaking, Lin Jianya raised his eyebrows, looked at Mu Feng and said: "Mu Shangshu, there are so many craftsmen in your Ministry of Industry, since there is such a good thing as a musket, why don't you think of a way to improve the steel, 1,500 muskets will cost 30,000 yuan, and a joint shot will cost 20 yuan, this is too damn expensive, who can use it!" ”

The corners of Mu Feng's mouth twitched when he heard this, and said: "Mr. Lin, do you think it is so easy to improve the technology, the craftsmen have not even returned home for several months for the sake of these 1,500 muskets, the ministers of the Ministry of Industry, who do not want to improve the technology of steel smelting to the extent that it is now, our Ministry of Industry is worthy of Your Majesty and the blood and sweat of the people!" ”

Lin Jianya snorted coldly, he was very incompatible with these civil officials who liked to drop their book bags, and when he wanted to mock a few words, Wang Lang said: "Technological improvement cannot be completed overnight, and this matter cannot be rushed." ”

Lin Jianya pursed his lips and looked at the school field.

At this time, all the musket teams had completed their drills, and the earthen wall that had been used as a target had already been riddled with holes under the blows of these thousands of projectiles, and it looked as if it could collapse with a slight push.

Lin Shupi saluted Wang Lang and said in a loud voice: "Your Majesty! The Musket Battalion has completed its drill, please instruct Your Majesty! ”

Wang Lang said loudly: "Warriors of the musketeers, your performance today did not disappoint me, your hard work was not in vain, you used your actions to let the ministers of the DPRK and China see your value, in the future you will be the regular army of the Xia Kingdom, and today you will have your own name!" ”

As soon as the words fell, the musketeers were excited, a unit with its own number, in the Xia Kingdom, is not only an elite, but this number will accompany them for a lifetime, the glory of the army is also their own glory, and compared to the ordinary troops without the number, the salary that the soldiers can get is not comparable to the ordinary army.

The double reward of honor and material things made these musketeers almost cheer, but thinking of this occasion, they forcibly held back the excitement in their hearts, and couldn't help but stop their waists more straight.