Chapter 538

Qingzhou Barracks.

After leaving the military factory, Xiao Ming went directly to the Qingzhou Barracks with the rifled guns.

Compared to the lively training scenes of the past, the Qingzhou Barracks were somewhat deserted at this time. After a portion of the Qingzhou Army was stationed in Ryukyu and another portion went to Yunzhou, only five thousand soldiers were now stationed in the Qingzhou Barracks, responsible for guarding the security of Qingzhou.

However, in addition to these current five thousand Qingzhou soldiers, there were also remnants of soldiers who had escaped from Chang’an now in the Qingzhou Barracks. These soldiers totaled three thousand and were settled in the western training ground of Qingzhou.

When he arrived at the Qingzhou Barracks, the Qingzhou Army soldiers were conducting their usual loading drills. Luo Hong and other generals from Chang’an looked enviously at the Qingzhou soldiers, who were wearing neat military uniforms and carrying bayoneted flintlock guns.

In contrast to the Qingzhou Army soldiers, the Firearm Battalion from Chang’an seemed out of place.

“Your Highness.”

Xiao Ming’s arrival quickly alerted the generals who were observing the training. Luo Hong, leading the generals of the Firearm Battalion, bowed to Xiao Ming.

“Dispense with the formalities.” Xiao Ming helped Luo Hong up.

That day, Luo Quan had refused him, and afterward, Fiji had told him the reason. This made Xiao Ming deeply feel that Luo Quan was a man of great righteousness, and it was no wonder that through all the ups and downs over the years, Luo Quan’s position in the court had remained very stable.

Niu Ben now came over with generals like Lu Fei, Luo Xin, and Qi Guangyi. After saluting, Niu Ben said, “Your Highness, we are demonstrating the firearm formation to them.”

Upon entering, Xiao Ming had already figured out what they were doing. He said to Luo Hong, “What do you think of our Qingzhou Army?”

“The training of the Qingzhou Army is probably beyond the Firearm Battalion’s ability to catch up, and furthermore, the firearms equipped by the Qingzhou Army seem to be different from those of the Firearm Battalion.” Luo Hong shook his head.

At the mention of the flintlock gun, Niu Ben and Xiao Ming immediately felt a bit awkward. At that time, he had sold matchlock guns to the court and other vassal kings, and the secret of the flintlock gun had always been kept confidential. Now that Luo Hong was stationed at the Qingzhou Barracks, he finally noticed the discrepancy.

However, he mentioned it very subtly, but he must have had his own calculations in mind, knowing that Xiao Ming had held back something back then.

“Actually, the difference between a flintlock gun and a matchlock gun isn’t very significant. One uses a flintlock mechanism, the other a matchlock to ignite, and in terms of range and accuracy, there’s almost no difference. The only difference is the stability of firing, and another difference is the bayonet on it.”

Given the circumstances, there was no need for him to conceal the flintlock gun anymore, so he laid out the facts about it.

As he spoke, he had Niu Ben bring over a flintlock gun, then brought a matchlock gun from the Firearm Battalion, and demonstrated the firing mechanisms and bayonets of both to Luo Hong.

Holding a flintlock gun in one hand and a matchlock gun in the other, Luo Hong called two soldiers to experiment with a matchlock gun and a flintlock gun respectively. He found that apart from the flintlock gun being slightly faster from loading to firing, there wasn’t really much difference.

After this experiment, he didn’t think Xiao Ming had deceived Xiao Wenxuan, because in his opinion, there wasn’t much difference. After all, whether it was a matchlock gun or a flintlock gun, as long as the enemy charged forward under fire, they would still have to engage in close combat.

Relatively speaking, he thought the bayonet was very important.

However, even so, he still looked eagerly at the flintlock gun, his meaning obvious. Even if the difference was small, who wouldn’t want something slightly better?

“Your Highness, I, leading all the officers and soldiers of the Firearm Battalion, pledge loyalty to Your Highness.”

Compared to Luo Xin’s smooth talk, Luo Hong was more composed and taciturn. However, even the most honest person had a mind of their own. Luo Hong directly expressed his stance to Xiao Ming in front of the Qingzhou Army generals.

“Cough, cough.” Xiao Ming looked at Luo Hong and the kneeling generals of the Firearm Battalion and said, “Everyone, please rise. Since you are willing to follow me, I will naturally not treat you differently. I hope you will all assist me greatly in the future.”

Luo Hong did not rise, but instead said, “I have heard that Your Highness intends to campaign against Pengzhou to punish the Prince of Wei for his rebellion and treason. If Your Highness trusts our Firearm Battalion, we are willing to go for Your Highness.”

“This…” Xiao Ming’s heart stirred slightly.

Luo Quan’s words were still due to his concern that Xiao Ming did not trust them, and thus he wanted to prove his loyalty through military achievements.

As for Xiao Ming, he was indeed tempted.

The armies of Cangzhou, Laizhou, and Yizhou combined were only about fifteen thousand strong. Now, with the Firearm Battalion joining, they would have twenty thousand soldiers, which would reduce the numerical gap with the Pengzhou defenders.

After all, Pengzhou was the northern gateway to Wei territory, and the Prince of Wei had a large population and abundant land, with an army at least four times his size, and this did not include the private armies of local powerful families. Moreover, once a state of war was entered, it would be impossible to not fight to the death.

After a moment of hesitation, Xiao Ming said, “Since that is the case, I will not decline. After all, since you are my army, you should be treated equally. Now is indeed the time for me to use troops, and this battle of Pengzhou will include you.”

“Thank you, Your Highness.” Luo Hong was overjoyed, and the other generals of the Firearm Battalion also looked pleased. Xiao Ming’s words meant he had accepted them.

Shaking his head, Xiao Ming had Luo Hong and the others rise. Since Luo Hong had brought up the matter of campaigning against Pengzhou, Xiao Ming asked, “Commander Niu, have the armies of these three prefectures been notified?”

“Reporting to Your Highness, I have already issued military orders to dispatch the Cangzhou Army and Laizhou Army to Yizhou for rendezvous. Including the preparation of grain and supplies, it will take about twelve days to depart for Pengzhou, but what about the equipment?” Niu Ben stopped speaking there.

Xiao Ming knew Niu Ben would bring this up. He said, “I have just returned from the military factory. Song Changping will prioritize providing weapons to the soldiers of the three prefectures. In one month, at least half of the soldiers can be equipped. Besides, can’t we fight without firearms? How did we fight the barbarians in the Battle of Cangzhou?”

Niu Ben was stunned for a moment. He then realized that the entire army was now somewhat blindly worshipping firearms and had forgotten their original skills. He immediately understood, “I understand. Later, I will transport the plate armor, swords, and sabers to Yizhou.”

Xiao Ming nodded gently. In an era dominated by firearms, forgetting the skills of cold weapons combat was very dangerous. In fact, while firearms were still the mainstream in the current world, battles often involved a few volleys followed by a bayonet charge for close combat.

For example, the most renowned British Redcoats of the time, their method of operation was still to get within fifty meters for a volley, then launch a charge.

Precisely because of this, Xiao Ming was not arrogant enough to believe that equipping himself with flintlock guns would allow him to single-handedly defeat Great Yu Empire. After all, strictly speaking, he was still in the transitional phase of cold and hot weapons. Every battle required extreme caution and not the slightest carelessness.