Chapter 45 Xuzhou (II)

"It's Director Zhang's personal guard, Director Zhang wants to dust you down! Sir, you're really a member of the MIA! Without waiting for Boyan to respond, the little official had already congratulated him with envy.

"Director Zhang wants to hold a banquet? Give me the wind? Boyan himself, but he didn't quite believe his ears. Although on the way to the south, he had already predicted that even if he was in the spirit of buying horse bones, the attitude of the Huai'an Military Intelligence Department towards him would not be too bad. But the treatment of letting the director Zhang Song personally set the wine and wash the dust was never thought of.

"I guess I want to find you some information about the situation in the north by the way, so you can just tell the truth when the time comes. Let's Huaiyang here, we don't pay too much attention to it. Especially for people with military ranks, no matter how big the official is, they just raise their hands and salute. The little official saw that he was confused, and he was very enthusiastic about reminding.

"Then I'm going to be disrespectful about this meal!" Boyan thought for a moment and nodded. Then he pushed the door and walked out, said hello to the guards who came to invite, and then jumped on his mount, led by the other party, and quickly rushed to Xuzhou City.

Unlike the time and space where Zhu Dapeng was located, the city of Xuzhou in this time and space was almost next to the Yellow River. So it takes three to five minutes to get from the pier to the city gate. After entering the city, the streets became crowded by the way, and the two had to turn their horses to the slowest speed, and move slowly at a speed not much worse than walking.

Because of the imminent war, the entire city of Xuzhou has become a huge barracks. Every few steps ahead, you can see a group of non-commissioned officers led by the non-commissioned officers on duty, bargaining with the villagers who set up stalls on the streets. Most of them were dressed in civilian clothes, but their identities were easily identified. When walking, they all stand tall and pull their backs, and habitually walk in a long line. You don't need to shout a password at all, and you can keep the same pace with each other.

"Dare to ask my brother, how did these brothers train? How does it look like it came from the same general? "There is a way, the layman looks at the liveliness, and the insider looks at the doorway. After just a few glances, Boyan found that the soldiers of the Huai'an Army were different from the soldiers and horses he had seen before, and asked for advice with a smile at the guards who led the way for his family.

"If you go back to your lordship, it's because of the infantry drill!" The guard already knew his rank and origin, so he didn't hide it. After thinking about it, he explained very seriously, "The legions under our Huai'an Army have been using the same drill code since two and a half years ago. Sitting, standing, walking, the rules are exactly the same. In addition, the whole training of auxiliary soldiers has been carried out by special places since the second half of this year, and the instructors are all the same people, and of course the disciples brought out are all about the same! ”

"Who wrote that infantry drill code? Everybody, I mean, can all serving officers watch it? Boyan was overjoyed when he saw the hunt, and instantly forgot that he was ready to disarm and return to the field, and followed the tone of the guard's mouth to ask.

"As long as you are literate, you can go to the bookstore with a waist tag and buy it. There is no limit to officers or soldiers! The guard smiled and introduced in a low voice!

"Then, aren't you afraid of others, others stealing teachers?" When Boyan heard this, he was slightly stunned again, and asked with a little confusion.

In these years, for most military generals, the methods of using, training and raising soldiers are all secrets. Even a son-in-law refuses to show it, let alone an outsider? However, the Huai'an army sold their own training cheats casually, in case they were bought by other princes or Meng Yuan, wouldn't it be a weapon to the enemy?

"They, even if they read it, they can only learn the surface!!" The guard smiled again and shook his head with some pride. Not only the military training drill, but everything we have in Huaiyang, from artillery, grenades to waterwheels outside, what is not remembered by outsiders? Just look at the people who are doing business in Xuzhou City, I am afraid that there are thousands of people every day. Who can tell that they are not here to steal teachers? But what our chief manager has come up with, how can a random person learn to walk after a few glances? ”

"That's right!" Boyan shook his head with a smile. If you want to steal teachers, I'm afraid that the Mengyuan court steals the most carefully. Not only did the Ministry of Industry and the Ministry of War send meticulous work to Huaiyang endlessly, but with the support of Tuhuan Timur and Empress Qi, the Ordnance Bureau also set up a special organization in order to imitate qualified firearms and hydraulic equipment as soon as possible and catch up with the huge gap in the quality of weapons between them.

As far as he knew, until now, the Ordnance Bureau had very limited achievements in artillery and muskets. Even if you can barely draw a scoop according to the gourd, the cost and quality of the scoop cannot be compared with the "southern goods". Some wealthy princes and nobles even took pride in using "southern goods". Regardless of the slightest, Timur repeatedly emphasized that the national crisis is at the head, and everyone should be strictly thrifty.

"Just say this infantry drill!" Just as he was feeling it, he heard the guard add with a smile, "It's really easy to buy, but are there so many literate people in other people's armies?" The same thing, Takefu himself read and taught the soldiers, and the civil officials memorized it first, and then asked the people under him to do it, and the result was definitely different. You say, isn't that so?! ”

"That's right!" Boyan nodded admiringly. I don't feel that as a former deputy Wanhu, I was taught a lesson by an ordinary guard, what is there to be ashamed of.

The other party's words are also very reasonable, and the gap between the other princes, including Meng Yuan, and Huaiyang at the moment is not just the same as on the surface. After a long time of polishing by Zhu Butcher's seemingly nonsense, all walks of life under the rule of the Huaiyang Governor's Mansion have been reborn compared to the past. When others get the training manual, they first have to find a way to understand it themselves, and then they have to find a way to make it acceptable to officers at all levels. And at the level of centurion, there are almost few people on Meng Yuan's side who are literate. Let them take a "book of heaven" that they can't understand at all to train soldiers, and the result must be a toddler in Handan.

As for building firearms, it is not as simple as dismantling imitations. At that time, Li Hanqing, with the support of Tokto, spent all the treasury, but the artillery he created was clumsy and heavy, and it was very easy to explode. In the past two years, the six-fingered Guo Shu has cast the four-pound cannon in a good way, but the cost is also amazingly high. The cost of building a gate in the Ordnance Bureau is almost the same as that of smuggling one from other princes, and it is even higher than that of the other party who has poured several hands.

The two talked and talked, walked for more than two miles in the flow of people, and finally came to the place designated by Zhang Song. I saw that there was a five-zhang high restaurant, which was in the middle of Xuzhou City, rising from the ground. The golden glazed tiles, the red lacquered pillars, the dark blue brick walls, and the high cornices on the roof all show the majestic atmosphere of this place. From the second floor, the stained glass inlaid on each window adds a sense of luxury and mystery to the restaurant, making people feel that even if they don't eat any delicacies from the mountains and seas inside, it is enough to go up to the second floor and drink a bowl of cold water by the window.

"Is it Chief Boyan, Lord Zhang is waiting for you in the Yanshan Hall on the fourth floor, please follow me upstairs!" Several tall men in civilian clothes had been waiting downstairs for a long time, and when they saw Boyan's figure, they immediately stepped forward to clasp their fists and salute.

"Kill and kill! How can Boyan dare to wait? When Boyan heard this, he immediately flew off the horse and rolled off the horse. With worldly courtesy, clench your fists to everyone.

They are all tall and burly, and when they stand together, it is extremely easy to attract the attention of others. But the individual customers who were entering and exiting the restaurant seemed to be used to seeing it, not only did they not have the slightest fear, but they didn't even have the interest to take a few more looks. Just glanced at it in a hurry, turned his head and continued to go his own way, and no one had the time to ask a few strong men what their origins were.

"This, this Linfeng Building, I'm afraid it can also be ranked in the entire Huaiyang, right?! Lord Lao Zhang broke the bank, it was really killed, killed! Boyan was curious about the reactions of the people around him, and went around the bend to listen to everyone.

"In the whole Huaiyang, it ranks second, and in Yangzhou City, there is a higher one than this. Five floors, twenty-five feet high! Standing at the window on the top floor, you can see the Yangtze River in the distance! The guards in charge of the reception smiled and introduced proudly.

"It's so high, then, what about the officials of Xuzhou Mansion?" Boyan's thoughts are completely different from everyone else's. Frowning, he asked instinctively.

Although the Great Yuan Dynasty established the country on horseback, after the founding of the country, many rules were formulated by literati. Particular attention was paid to the hierarchical order and the differences between the officials and the people. In the capital, not only can no pavilion be higher than the palace, but even what color paint and what color bricks and tiles are used by the common people, how many steps there are at the door, and how many nails can be on the gate, all of which are clearly regulated. If you don't have a half-official position, no matter how rich your family is, you can't make the house more beautiful than the official office. Otherwise, the servants in the yamen will immediately come to the door.

Obviously, the rules on Huaiyang's side are completely different from most of them. Those guards were stunned by Boyan's question, and thought for a long time before they said with a wry smile: "Others have built a restaurant in order to make money, what is the matter with the prefect's yamen?" No matter how lenient they are, they can't help but let everyone's money be spent, right? Besides, this restaurant is also opened by Huaiyang firm, and the prefect Yamen also has a share in the money earned? They were kicked in the head by a donkey, and then they kicked out the money that was sent to the door! ”

"That's right!" Boyan nodded in admiration again. In such an elegant and luxurious restaurant, the food and wine sold in it are naturally sky-high. The city of Xuzhou is a transit place for goods from the north and south, and there are countless people who come and go every day. They are happy to eat and drink, and they may not feel distressed if they lose more than a dozen times in a meal. And the government only lost a little face, but in addition to taxes, it got a large amount of dividends, so why not?

As he spoke, he had already reached the fourth floor. As soon as I entered the Yanshan Hall, I saw a huge round table that originated in Huaiyang. The people who were sitting around the round table stood up and smiled at him when they saw that the guests had arrived.

Boyan is a newcomer, how dare he hold it up? Hurriedly raised his right hand to his forehead, and saluted the bronze-faced strong man who seemed to be sitting in the main seat, "Subordinate Boyan, I've seen Master Zhang!" The delay on the road is a little long, please don't blame the adults! ”

"Chief Zhang?" The bronzed-faced man was slightly stunned, and then smiled and sneered, "Why didn't you guys tell him the truth?" Didn't you say it earlier, you don't have to keep it a secret from your own people. With so many brothers in Xuzhou City, what are the risks of telling the truth to others? ”