Chapter 982

Qi Guangyi’s gaze immediately focused on the carbine that Xiao Ming was talking about.

With Xiao Ming’s permission, he took the carbine and examined it carefully. The more he looked at it, the more excited he became. The carbine in his hand was indeed very similar to the Han-style rifle, but the difference was that this carbine was relatively shorter and very lightweight.

He now had some knowledge of firearms. This kind of carbine design was very suitable for shooting on horseback, but correspondingly, the range would be a little shorter.

However, even so, it was still a longer range than the barbarians’ bows and arrows, and they had always been at a disadvantage in long-range weapons in their battles with the barbarians on the grassland over the years.

Now with the carbine, they could completely reverse this disadvantage.

“Your Majesty, how many of these carbines are there?” Qi Guangyi asked excitedly.

“Not many. The military factory has produced a total of 8,000 carbines, which should be enough for this war. With this batch of carbines, you can form an elite rifle cavalry to deal with the barbarians.”

Xiao Ming led Qi Guangyi to the map. The area north of the Great Wall and west of Raozhou was still controlled by the Golden Tent Khanate.

“Eight thousand is indeed a lot.” Qi Guangyi asked expectantly, “Your Majesty, does it also use metal bullets like the Han-style rifle?”

Hearing this, Xiao Ming gave a wry smile. He said, “Don’t even think about it. Metal bullets are extremely difficult to produce, and the caliber of the carbine is 6.5 millimeters, so the caliber of the bullet is also different. This means that to use metal bullets, the military factory needs to build a whole new production line, which will take a long time. So for now, you will just have to use paper cartridges, which should be enough.”

Qi Guangyi was a little disappointed, but on second thought, it was much better than coming back empty-handed, and using paper cartridges now was only a temporary measure. Perhaps in a short time, they would be able to use metal bullets.

Thinking of this, he said, “I was a bit greedy. This kind of carbine is indeed suitable for shooting on horseback and is more than enough to deal with the barbarian cavalry.”

Xiao Ming nodded. To make it easier for the cavalry to carry, the carbine also had a strap so that the cavalry could carry it on their backs.

In this way, the cavalry could switch between close combat and long-range shooting at any time.

After showing the carbine, Xiao Ming continued, “The carbine is one thing, but the will to fight is another. The idea of ‘weapons are everything’ that has emerged in the army is very dangerous. It will make our soldiers overly reliant on weapons and forget that they are the fundamental reason for winning a war.”

In the past ten years, they had basically used superior weapons to defeat their enemies in every war, which created the illusion for both soldiers and generals that weapons determined the outcome of a war.

But he was very clear that weapons were only one factor in war. The fact that his country in modern times defeated a country with a generational gap in weapons was proof of this.

Qi Guangyi’s expression became serious when he heard this. He said, “I have always remembered the teaching that ‘when two brave men meet on a narrow road, the braver one wins’.”

“En, that’s right.” Xiao Ming patted Qi Guangyi’s shoulder. “This northern expedition will be commanded mainly by the two old generals, Niu Ben and Luo Quan. You cavalry must cooperate actively. I am waiting for your good news. The army has already assembled. You can depart after resting at home for five days.”

“Yes, Your Majesty,” Qi Guangyi bowed in response.

April 9th.

After several months of preparation, the army for the conquest of the Golden Tent Khanate assembled at the Qingzhou railway station. With the powerful transportation capacity of the steam locomotives, 80,000 soldiers went directly from Qingzhou to Raozhou.

Along with these soldiers, a large number of weapons, ammunition, and canned food also arrived in Raozhou.

“General, these canned foods are quite rich.”

After a day and a night of traveling, the first batch of soldiers and supplies arrived in Raozhou. Niu Ben, Luo Quan, and Qi Guangyi arrived on the first steam locomotive.

When checking the canned food that was sent, Qi Guangyi’s eyes were also opened.

He was not unfamiliar with military canned food. During the North-South War, canned food was a convenient supply for soldiers on their campaigns.

But since then, he had not seen any military canned food, because he ate ordinary food while stationed in Raozhou and did not need canned food.

So this batch of military canned food that was sent this time was a real eye-opener for him.

“Since the first canning factory made a fortune during the North-South War, many canned food factories have appeared in Qingzhou, and in order to attract orders from the Grand Council, these factories have also racked their brains to produce various canned foods. This is how we have such a rich variety of military canned food today.”

While speaking, Niu Ben pointed to different canned foods and said, “This is pork canned food, this is potato canned food, this is fruit canned food, this is biscuit canned food…”

Niu Ben was speaking, while Luo Quan was smiling. He said to Qi Guangyi, “The food for the army is getting better and better now. We didn’t have these conditions when we fought in the past.”

Qi Guangyi was dumbfounded. He had learned a lot today.

After checking some of the food, the three of them waited for the first batch of soldiers to assemble before walking into the city.

Upon arriving at the Raozhou camp, Niu Ben said, “The logistics for this war are not a problem. The conditions for fighting are much better than before. If we still lose this battle, we will have no face to return and see His Majesty.”

After a pause, he asked Qi Guangyi, “Now, tell me the specific situation of the barbarians.”

After a sound of agreement, Qi Guangyi walked to the map of the grassland. After a moment of thought, he said, “Since the barbarians were driven back to the grassland by us, the barbarians have suffered great losses. However, a lean camel is bigger than a horse. Although the barbarians are in decline, their strength is still strong, and the number of cavalry is about 260,000.”

“Although the barbarians lost Guandong, they did not lose many cavalry. What they lost the most were slaves.” Luo Quan said, “260,000 is not a small number, which is almost twice as many as us.”

Niu Ben nodded slightly when he heard this.

Qi Guangyi continued, “These 260,000 cavalry are not concentrated in one place but are distributed across the vast grassland. In order to avoid our attack, the Golden Tent of the Golden Tent Khanate has been relocated to this place, which is very far from us.”

“This is Ili, it is indeed very far.” Niu Ben’s eyes narrowed. Qi Guangyi’s map had already marked the distribution of the barbarians on the grassland.

On the vast grassland, the barbarian tribes occupied different pastures, and the strength of each tribe was different. These tribes seemed scattered, but he knew very well that once a war came, these tribes would unite and become their enemies.

Through Qi Guangyi’s introduction, their understanding of the current distribution of the barbarians became clear. Luo Quan then said, “Our infantry is equipped with Han-style rifles and uses Imperial Guard artillery. As long as we use the hollow square formation, the barbarians will be powerless to resist. So, there is no need to worry too much. The army will march into the grassland and kill all the barbarian tribes to eliminate future troubles!”

The novel has already been fully translated up to the final chapter. You can access it on my Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/caleredhair