Chapter 276: Leading Troops to Gao Mixian

Laizhou Prefecture, Gao Mixian, Northern Suburban Guanyi Station.

Gao Mixian in winter was prone to cold waves, and coupled with the abnormal climate of the Great Zhou in recent years, there had been continuous freezing rain for more than ten days, making it increasingly damp and bone-chillingly cold.

This was not a large county, and there was not much official business passing through here, so this northern suburban post station was usually deserted.

But today, early in the morning, five tightly covered large carts, guarded by hundreds of soldiers carrying muskets, arrived at the northern suburban post station, their momentum awe-inspiring.

This posture gave the station master Qiu Fu a fright, and he hurriedly took the station runners to receive them.

Qiu Fu checked the official documents and learned that this was the firearms soldiers of the Five Garrisons of the Love Shenjing heading to Liaodong for rotation.

The leader was Wei Yongzhou, a military officer of the seventh rank, which made Qiu Fu somewhat respectful.

He had been in this post station for more than ten years and hadn't seen any scenes, nor had he seen any officials. In his impression, the county master was a big official, and he was only of the seventh rank.

And he, this station master, was at most a manager of the post station, without any rank.

Actually, when this team of Five Garrisons soldiers arrived, Qiu Fu had already noticed this youth.

This Battalion Commander Wei was actually of the same rank as the County Magistrate, which made him a high-ranking official in his eyes, so he naturally entertained him with great diligence.

In the eyes of a small county courier like Qiu Fu, a capital official like Battalion Commander Wei was someone high and mighty; it was rare to encounter one in this godforsaken post station.

This Commander Wei was a rough and majestic military officer; how could he have a nephew with such an outstanding bearing? How they looked didn't match at all.

Commander Wei had been in the Five Garrisons of the Love Shenjing for many years and naturally knew the top noble families of the Jia and Shi families in the Love Shenjing, and they were extremely close in-laws.

They had been traveling day and night since leaving the Love Shenjing for more than ten days and had already finished most of the journey.

This Superintendent Jia was his superior's nephew, and a legitimate descendant of the Rongguo main branch. Moreover, Jia Cong's reputation in the Love Shenjing was also thunderous to his ears.

Qiu Fu was a man of little experience who had been in a small county all his life, and he didn't know what kind of official a "Superintendent" was.

Later, he heard that Commander Wei called the youth "Superintendent Jia," and only then did he know that this youth was actually Commander Wei's colleague.

Qiu Fu had never seen such a beautiful and elegant person in his life. Although he only wore ordinary sportswear convenient for riding, he still couldn't hide his noble and clear bearing.

Not to mention the surprise of this station master Qiu, this group of people was none other than Jia Cong, Superintendent of the Firearms Division, and five hundred Five Garrisons firearms soldiers escorting firearms.

But what happened later surprised Qiu Fu greatly.

That Commander Wei looked at the upper room, but didn't move in himself, instead giving it to a teenager who was traveling with him.

But how could this be possible? This teenager clearly looked like he was fourteen or fifteen years old, yet he was an official bigger than the county master.

Qiu Fu arranged the best official room in the post station for this Commander Wei and took him to check the room. He could see that Commander Wei was very satisfied.

Qiu Fu originally thought this teenager was Commander Wei's nephew, otherwise, why would he be so caring? Later, he thought it didn't look like it.

Meeting him, he naturally had to curry favor; there was never any harm in it. If he could build some friendship, he would have acquaintances in the capital in the future.

But looking at Commander Wei's respectful attitude toward the teenager, it should be that the teenager's official position was still above the commander.

And the Commander Wei who led five hundred firearms soldiers, Wei Yongzhou, was a trusted general promoted by Marquis Zhongjing Shi Ding.

It was mainly because among this group of rough military men, this teenager was too outstanding.

He also knew that Marquis Zhongjing Shi Ding valued this nephew very much, and even the establishment of the firearms battalion was because of this Superintendent Jia.

Although Wei Yongzhou was a brave military man.

But being able to be favored by Marquis Zhongjing Shi Ding from a small soldier and promoted to a commander leading five hundred soldiers showed that he was definitely not a fool.

Jia Cong carried such a deep background, both publicly and privately, which made him treat Jia Cong with respect.

Because the Ministry of War had strict time regulations for the rotation of firearms soldiers. If there was a delay, he, the commander leading the team, would be punished by military law.

And they still had to go to Dengzhou to receive cannons halfway, which would delay quite a bit of time.

So since setting off from the Love Shenjing, Wei Yongzhou had been traveling day and night to speed up the march to ensure that they arrived at Liaodong for rotation on time according to the Ministry of War's regulations.

Originally, seeing that Jia Cong was scholarly and a noble son who had been pampered, he was afraid that he wouldn't be able to withstand such a rapid forced march.

But the fact was completely the opposite. After more than ten days of rapid marching, even the elite soldiers under his command were a bit unable to hold on.

This Superintendent Jia had no complaints and supported it all the way, without dragging his feet, which made people look at him with new eyes.

When Wei Yongzhou asked him for his opinion on the march, Jia Cong said that as long as it didn't affect the safety of firearms transportation, all actions were decided by him.

This surprised Wei Yongzhou. Theoretically, Jia Cong was the person with the highest official position in this team.

Moreover, the main responsibility of the firearms soldiers was to transport firearms, and Jia Cong only required ensuring the safety of firearms, leaving the rest entirely to him.

This provided the greatest guarantee for him to arrive at Liaodong for rotation on time, and he felt very moved by Jia Cong in his heart.

And he also saw that this Rongguo son with outstanding literary talent was not as weak as he looked on the outside.

Seeing him galloping on horseback every day, his agile movements when getting on and off the horse were definitely not those of someone who couldn't even truss a chicken.

And that curved saber he never left his side, the form was strange, and the blade was heavy.

Wei Yongzhou was an expert who had rolled in the military, so he could naturally see that it was not a decoration, but a real sharp weapon for killing.

However, thinking about it, it was not strange. The Ning and Rong Jia families were passed down as military nobles, and the Dukes of the past generations were all outstanding famous generals with deep foundations.

It was normal for this teenager to have a few martial skills from his family.

Jia Cong looked at the continuous freezing rain, his fingers constantly rubbing, and ran to a large cart, opening one of the boxes of porcelain thunder-bombs.

Pushing aside the shock-absorbing cotton, he touched the surface of the porcelain thunder-bomb shell, feeling obvious moisture, his expression somewhat solemn.

Commander Wei on the side asked curiously: "Superintendent Jia, is there something wrong?"

"Commander Wei, after we entered Laizhou Prefecture, it has been cloudy and rainy for four consecutive days, and the air is damp. The firearms being transported have condensation phenomena on the surface."

Although Wei Yongzhou didn't understand what "condensation phenomenon" meant, he understood the meaning, which was that it was cloudy and rainy, and the firearms were damp.

As a commander of the firearms battalion, he knew that rainy days and dampness were the enemies of firearms, which would turn originally sharp firearms into useless fire sticks.

"Commander Wei, please select fifty careful soldiers and let the station master prepare two clean empty rooms."

"One room should have a fire burning, and the other should not. Let the soldiers separate the cotton wrapping the firearms from the firearms, and send the cotton to the fire room to be carefully dried."

"In the room without fire, use dry cloth to wipe off the water vapor on the surface of the firearms, and then repackage them."

"In addition, vacate one hundred military quilts to wrap the repackaged firearms, which can prevent moisture from invading again. I hope the weather will be better after leaving Laizhou."

Wei Yongzhou, as a commander of the firearms battalion, knew that these firearms were the foundation of their firearms soldiers. If something went wrong, going to the battlefield would be equivalent to losing half their lives.

He naturally agreed, personally selected fifty soldiers, and arranged suitable rooms.

In the room without fire, in order to handle the damp firearms as soon as possible and leave this ghostly place of continuous cloudy rain earlier.

Jia Cong and Wei Yongzhou both personally wiped the damp muskets and porcelain thunder-bombs.

When Jia Cong opened one of the boxes of porcelain thunder-bombs, the things revealed inside were different from ordinary porcelain thunder-bombs.

Ordinary porcelain thunder-bombs had white porcelain shells, but this box of porcelain thunder-bombs had dark brown porcelain shells.

The things filled in these dark brown porcelain thunder-bombs were not iron filings, but a mixture of chili, Sichuan peppercorn, and Zanthoxylum bungeanum powder.

The lethality of this kind of porcelain thunder-bomb was far less than that of ordinary porcelain thunder-bombs, but after the explosion, it would produce smoke that blocked the line of sight and could also make people lose their ability to act instantly.

This was equivalent to a combination of tear gas and smoke bombs of the future.

Jia Cong naturally knew the practicality of this thing better than anyone else.

Using it to block the enemy at a critical moment was even more effective than ordinary porcelain thunder-bombs.

This was also a sample newly manufactured by the firearms workshop under Jia Cong's suggestion, and there were only two hundred of them in the porcelain thunder-bombs transported this time.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 277 =====