Evening, the palace.

Different from weekdays, Wang Ke did not place the banquet of the day in the flower hall with a stage under the hall, but placed it in a fine house next to the back garden, the back garden of this house has more than ten acres of land, lush vegetation, at this time the sun has fallen under the horizon, the sound of birds, the sunset, quite a bit of bleak feeling.

"Come, come!" Wang Ke raised his glass diligently: "Today, the two of you can come here with a lot of time, and the disdain is really brilliant!" After saying that, he drank it all, Zhao Youcai on the left hurriedly drank the wine in the cup, but Ke Congwen on the right was in a trance, sitting there like a puppet, as if he hadn't heard Wang Ke speak at all.

Zhao Youcai is not blind, looking at the other party's appearance, he also felt that something was wrong, so he cast a questioning look at Wang Ke. Wang Ke made a gesture of calmness, coughed twice, and said to Ke Congwen: "Lord Dusi, let me introduce to you, this Mr. Zhao is the confidant of Lord Lu Boqi, who patrolled the military affairs of Ningxia, Yulin, and Hexi, and Lord Lu is my year. Not long ago, it was Lord Lu who led the troops to break the chieftain Hudun Tuhan, and captured tens of thousands, and the cane was accumulated. I'm a great Ming scholar and a strong horse, except for Liaodong, I count Lord Lu! “

Although Wang Ke's words were not loud, but the words "military affairs" and "soldiers and horses are strong" were bitten very hard, although Ke Congwen was in a trance, but when he heard the words "soldier" and "army", he immediately sobered up, as the highest military governor of Zhejiang, he naturally saw the news from the Tang newspaper that the Ming army broke the Mongolian departments in Ningxia a few months ago, and remembered the previous promise Wang Ke made to him, how he didn't understand the other party's plan. He hurriedly raised his glass to Zhao Youcai and said with a smile: "It turns out that Mr. Zhao is working in the shogunate of Lord Lu, and he must be a first-class figure in Kong Ming's Guanzhong, and he must have made great contributions to breaking the Tartars." No wonder I just think that your birth is extraordinary, it is really disrespectful! ”

Although the military system was corrupted at the end of the Ming Dynasty, and the commanders of the mainland like Zhejiang had no actual military power, they were also the feudal officials of the second grade, and they deigned to take the initiative to toast to a prisoner in Zhao Youcai's district, which can definitely be said to be handed over. Zhao Youcai's whole person is a little Taoran. Hurriedly held the wine glass with both hands, and said with a smile: "Master Ke praised it falsely, the student is just running under the door of Master Lu, and he should accept some sundries, how can he be worthy of such praise!" ”

"Where, where!" Although Ke Congwen is not good at leading troops to fight, his kung fu is really not shallow, and he finished drinking the wine in the cup with a smile: "Although this general is the capital of a province, there is really a lack of a few staff members around him. As the saying goes, there are no weak soldiers under a strong general, and Mr. Zhao must be well-informed under Lord Lu, and he doesn't know if he can deign to the shogunate. Speaking of this, he was afraid that Zhao Youcai would not allow it, so he hurriedly said: "Mr. Zhao, please rest assured, Master Lu has me to talk about it, and I am in the scene." You only need to start once a month, and you will naturally pay the money! “

Zhao Youcai listened to Ke Congwen say this. I can't help but be a little moved, he is not greedy for that little money, but if you want to make a steady profit in ancient and modern Chinese and foreign business, the most convenient way out is the collusion between officials and businessmen. The reason why the first thing he did when he arrived in Zhejiang was to bring Lu Boqi's greeting to Wang Ke was to have a backer, after all, although he had the identity of a prisoner, he was away from home. If there is a conflict with the local gentry of the two Zhejiang, I am afraid that I will suffer. But if he becomes a shogunate commander of a province, no matter who wants to do it to himself in Zhejiang Province, he must think about it before he does it. With Liu Cheng's open-mindedness, he will definitely understand his own approach, and will not mistakenly think that he is not going to vote for him.

Thinking of this, Zhao Youcai had already made up his mind. He cleared his throat and said with a smile: "Since the adults said this, then the student can only admit it with a cheeky face!" ”

"Good, good!" Seeing this, Wang Ke on the side hurriedly raised his glass: "Master Ke is talented, and Mr. Zhao is the master, both are gratifying, and today coincides with his meeting, so it is natural to celebrate!" Speaking of this, he tapped his palm twice and instructed the maidservant on the side: "Bring the jar of rice wine sent by Mr. Xiuning Chenger a few days ago!" “

In a blink of an eye, the maid took the wine, Wang Ke personally knocked on the sealing mud on it, pulled out the stopper, and suddenly a rich aroma of wine filled the room, he personally poured a glass for each of them, raised the wine glass and said with a smile: "Come, today the two must not get drunk and not return!" ”

After three rounds of drinking, Ke Congwen couldn't hold back the anxiety in his heart anymore, so he pretended to be casual and asked: "I heard that Master Lu's subordinates are all tigers and wolves, but I don't know if it's true or not, can Mr. Zhao solve my doubts?" ”

"What's so hard about that!" Wang Ke said: "Mr. Zhao has a hundred elite soldiers around him on this trip, all of which were selected by Lord Lu, if Lord Ke wants to see it, he just needs to let them practice in my back garden!" ”

"This-" Zhao Youcai was stunned when he heard this, and he felt as if he had fallen into someone's trap, but he was already Ke Congwen's friend at this time, and the distinction between master and slave had been decided, so he couldn't say anything if he refused, so he had to smile and prevaricate: "The flowers and trees in the garden behind Lord Wang are luxuriant, if one or two are damaged, wouldn't he be the one who burns the qin and cooks the crane?" Why don't you choose a suitable place another day? ”

Ke Congwen saw that Zhao Youcai was prevaricating, and was about to open his mouth to urge but heard Wang Ke next to him laugh and say: "What's this, my back garden is originally ghostly, and I am about to use the Yang Qi of the Tiger Warrior under Mr. Zhao's command!" ”

Ke Congwen couldn't prevaricate, so he had to send someone to call Wang Xingguo, who was dining outside, and said to him: "Mr. Wang Qian, this lord is Lord Ke of Zhejiang, he wants to see Lord Lu's military might, you let people practice in the garden and see him!" ”

"Yes, Mr. Zhao!" Wang Xingguo responded, looked at the scenery in the garden, and bowed to Ke Congwen and said: "Lord Dusi, the first firearm in our army, the bow and crossbow, the second and the spear, and the last are the swords; This trip is to protect Mr. Zhao, the gun and spear are too conspicuous, so I didn't carry it, I don't know if you want to see the firearms, bows and crossbows or knives? “

"Firearms, naturally firearms!" Ke Congwen hurriedly replied, after he was defeated by the pirates this time, he learned from the pain, and felt that the most powerful thing in Hongmaoyi was firearms, which could take people's lives a hundred steps away, even if he was wearing heavy armor, he couldn't resist it, as the saying goes, he fought poison with poison, and it would be good if he could get a restraint method from this Mr. Zhao.

Wang Xingguo glanced at Zhao Youcai, saw Zhao Youcai nodded slightly, and he asked Ke Congwen, "My lord." If you want to practice firearms, point out a harrier! ”

Without waiting for Ke Congwen to answer, Wang Ke instructed the servants on the side: "Take a lantern and hang it on the pavilion on the hill, and make this a harrier!" “

"Wait!" Wang Xingguo stretched out his hand to stop the servant and owed to Wang Ke: "My lord." As you can see, if you want to demonstrate firearms, it's better not to use lanterns! “

"Why do you say that?"

"My lord, this firearm is different from a crossbow, which is no more than a hundred paces, and if it is more than one hundred and fifty steps, it will be difficult to hurt anyone; And firearms use fire to stimulate medicine and medicine to induce children, even two or three hundred steps away, and can also kill people. If it's a rehearsal. Someone walked behind a hill and happened to be hit, wouldn't he lose his life in vain? “

"That's a good point!" Wang Ke saw that Wang Xingguo was neither humble nor arrogant, so he gave his words, and couldn't help but feel a little good, and said with a smile: "Then what do you think should be good?" ”

"Take what you see under the mark, and take a round table, and cover it with a layer of cotton wool. Behind it is an earthen wall. In this way, even if the shot is missed, it will not hurt others. And the round table can not only see whether it is shot, but also see how much lead bullet into the wood, so that no one will be less gunpowder. ”

"Okay, just do what this Qian always says!" Wang Ke said with a smile, and after a while, the servants stopped according to his instructions. Seventy paces away from the hall, there was a round table, covered with a layer of cotton wool, and the center of the circle was marked with cinnabar as a target, and a lantern was hung on the trees on both sides, revealing the round table. Wang Xingguo shouted. Seven or eight sergeants who came up from the hall to fight against the birds, first fired a volley, and then reloaded the medicine one by one to fire, the sound of the birds startled a group of resident birds on the trees on both sides, flapping their wings and screaming and flying over the roof, Ke Congwen Qiang held back the choking smell of gunpowder, tried his best to open his eyes wide, trying to see the bullet marks on the round table in the distance, but the lantern swayed under the evening breeze, making the round table flickering and dimming. Ke Congwen couldn't help frowning, Wang Ke on the side saw this, made a gesture, and after a while, several servants carried the round table over.

"Yikes!" Ke Congwen looked at it, and couldn't help but grow his mouth, it turned out that the round table was densely packed with fourteen or fifteen gun holes, and the elm planks more than three inches thick together with the cotton wool on them were pierced, and the walnut-sized bullet holes and black holes looked very impressive, Ke Congwen couldn't help but shudder, and his face was immediately full of joy.

"Someone, get a wine glass!" He stuffed the wine glass into Wang Xingguo's hand with a smile: "Wang Qianzong is a well-trained soldier, and he deserves to be a strong soldier who pacifies and traps, but he is just a Qianzong, but he is wronged!" “

Wang Xingguo hurriedly took the wine glass and said with a smile: "My family will go to Beijing, and before parting, he said that he will promote me to be a garrison when he comes back!" ”

Ke Congwen wanted to dig the foot of the wall, but before the words came out, he was blocked back by the other party, and he couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed, Wang Ke saw it in his eyes, and hurriedly asked: "Then I don't know how many people are under Mr. Zhao's command this time?" “

Wang Xingguo glanced at Zhao Wende, and then replied: "There are forty shooters, forty sword players, and twenty riders!" “

Ke Congwen saw it in his eyes, and his heart became more and more anxious, seeing that the deadline set for him by the governor was getting closer and closer, and the soldiers under him were unbearable, his heart was like a cat's claw, and when he saw that there was an extra life-saving straw in front of him, he didn't grab it anymore. Seeing that everyone's attention in the hall was on the round table that was riddled with lead bullets, he secretly stretched out his right leg and gently kicked Wang Ke twice. Wang Ke nodded knowingly, stood up and said, "It's convenient to go outside, you guys drink slowly, and I'll be back later!" ”

Ke Congwen made a gesture when he saw Wang Ke retreating, and the maidservants in the house also retreated, leaving only himself, Zhao Youcai, and Wang Xingguo, and their hearts were settled. He picked up the glass, screamed suddenly, threw it on the ground, and reached out to cover his right leg in pain. Zhao Youcai, who was on the side, hurriedly asked, "Lord Dusi, what's wrong with you?" ”

"Hey!" Ke Congwen sighed: "It's nothing, it's just a sprain, in fact, there is nothing about the pain on the body, the pain in the heart is what matters." ”

"Heartache?" Zhao Youcai asked, "Where does this start?" ”

Ke Congwen waited for Zhao Youcai to ask this sentence for half a night, and hurriedly smiled bitterly: "It's also a shame to say, a few days ago, a group of Hongmaoyi pirates occupied Daishan Island, harassed Haijiang, and robbed merchant ships. ”

"I see!" Zhao Youcai looked at Ke Congwen's expression, and saw that although his right hand was covering his ankle, his brows were stretched and his teeth were loosened. He prevaricated casually: "That Hongmaoyi came thousands of miles away, and there must be very few soldiers." Although you have a small setback, but the two Zhejiang soldiers are more generals, and you will be able to win the battle again! ”

Ke Congwen saw Zhao Youcai's appearance, and knew that if he didn't show his face, he would definitely not be able to get the other party to agree. Anyway, there is no third person in this hall except for this Wang Qianzong, and this matter can't avoid him, as long as he seals with more gold and silver. As soon as he gritted his teeth, he knelt down in front of Zhao Youcai, hugged the other party's thighs with both hands, and shouted: "Mr. Zhao save me, Mr. Zhao save me!" ”

"What are you doing here, Lord Toji, hurry up!" Although Zhao Youcai was a little prepared, he was also startled by the other party's abrupt move, and hurriedly reached out to hold Ke Congwen's arms, wanting to help him up, but Ke Congwen just couldn't afford it, although he didn't practice martial arts, but he was also an adult man, and Zhao Youcai couldn't help him if he didn't get up, and he only shouted: "Mr. Zhao, please save my life!" ”

"Where does this start, you are a provincial capital and a second-class master, how can I save your life?"

"Mr. Zhao, don't you know, the governor has forced me to make a military order, to take down or drive away this group of pirates within fifteen days, and now there are only eight days left, how can I have time to recruit new soldiers? As soon as the fifteenth comes, he will go to the court and impeach me, and the court will condemn him, will not his life be saved? ”

"This-" Zhao Youcai sighed, he already understood Ke Congwen's intentions: "Lord Dusi, don't you want more than 100 people like me to go to the thief?" ”

"Sure enough, I can't hide it from Mr.!" Ke Congwen said with a smile: "That's exactly what I thought, and please ask Mr. to agree!" Then he will kowtow. Zhao Youcai hurriedly supported the other party, not daring to accept his big gift: "Lord Dusi, it is said that this is a soldier of the Ming Dynasty, and there is nothing wrong with handing it over to you to command the red-haired pirates." But I only have more than 100 people here, and most of them are northerners, who are not accustomed to water warfare, and I am afraid that they will not be able to fight against pirates who are longer than boats! (To be continued.) )

PS: I've been so busy these days, I forgot to ask for tickets and rewards, the results are so bad, it's almost the end of the month, and I routinely ask for tickets to be rewarded!