Chapter 336: Navy or Fishermen

When Xiong and the others returned, they were warmly welcomed by the entire city. The battle they fought was truly magnificent; they wiped out a tribe of several thousand people without losing a single man. This greatly boosted everyone's confidence and gave them a profound understanding of the nation's military strength.

For the Soldiers, this battle proved their worth and washed away the shame inherited from the once-useless army. The current army is completely different from before.

Every Soldier felt a sense of pride, but one tribe felt aggrieved: the Navy. The Navy, primarily composed of the Zisheng Tribe, practiced rowing and water combat every day. In their hands, a Boat was as easy to handle as a Handcart on land for an ordinary person, and a Large Ship could also be controlled with ease.

The entire Huaxia now possesses three hundred Navy personnel, but they are not yet officially enlisted; they merely hold the title. Their designations are Captain, First Mate, Sailor, etc., and they are not organized like the Ministry of War.

This is mainly because their primary role at present is not combat, but transportation. For instance, when long-distance voyages or trade are needed, they are the ones relied upon. During their free time, they transform into fishermen to catch fish and harvest aquatic products.

Baifeng currently has no way to give them a suitable placement. For the time being, they are registered under the Ministry of War, but their actual management is handled by the Ministry of Revenue. Only when needed for war does their management and control return to the hands of the Ministry of War. Some young people are already dissatisfied with the status quo because they also hope to fight like Soldiers, even though their strengths lie on the water.

Baifeng is already taking steps to change this. There are currently several Large Ships under construction, which will be equipped with several Strong Crossbows. Among them is a type recently developed by the Ministry of Works that can fire a Crossbow with an Explosive Arrow. Baifeng wanted to make a cannon, but the difficulty was too great, and even if they made one, they would not have enough metal to make projectiles.

Therefore, they have to settle for the next best thing. As long as they can launch the Explosive, it will still cause sufficient damage, though the range and accuracy are harder to control because the shape of the Explosive is irregular, and factors like wind resistance are issues. There is also the matter of lighting and aiming, all of which need to be explored by the Soldiers in practice.

Materials are currently abundant, so Baifeng has prepared a very large quantity of Gunpowder. For the sake of his own safety, after Baifeng prepares the Gunpowder, the subsequent loading work is carried out by Slaves, so there is no fear of the formula being leaked.

As for the officials of those departments, they actually already know that Gunpowder is not a divine power, but something made by Baifeng, so there is no need for Baifeng to add any unnecessary mystery to it.

The Slave who once lit the fire for Baifeng has long since changed his status. Not only has he left the Slave registry, but he is now an official in Baifeng's Gunpowder loading workshop, affiliated with the Ministry of Works. He is a minor official, but his responsibilities are very important.

Baifeng is not afraid of waste at all. After the Crossbow was made, he had many matching Arrows produced for the Soldiers to practice with. They mainly need to grasp the timing of lighting and releasing; otherwise, if it were to explode in their faces, the resulting losses would be too great.

Their Gunpowder packs contain many shrapnel pieces in various places, and if splashed by them, it would definitely cause immense damage.

To ensure their safety, Baifeng requires that only one Crossbow be lit at a time during practice. Except for the operator, everyone else must watch from behind a protective wall. If the operator discovers a problem, they must also take cover immediately.

The Navy is the same, but since practicing on a Boat is too dangerous, they can only practice on land.

As a prisoner, Ya had no self-awareness upon arriving at New City. Instead, he observed the entire New City greedily like a spectator, as if he were about to become the master of this New City.

The Soldier guarding him could not stand his ugly expression and felt that such a thing stepping into New City was an insult to the city, let alone looking at it. So, he stepped on the back of Ya's knee, kicking Ya to the ground. When Ya climbed up, he placed his Knife sheath on top of Ya's head, forbidding him from raising his head. Only then did Ya recall his current status, obediently lowering his head to walk, only able to glance around with the corners of his eyes.

It was just that the Soldier felt it was a pity for his Knife sheath to be placed on the head of such a disgusting thing; he didn't know how many times he would have to wash and wipe it after going back to get it clean.

Xiong led the Soldiers to report to Baifeng and then handed over the Tiger Tally, which represents military power. The sense of ritual was very strong, making Baifeng feel for a moment that he had truly left the primitive era.

Baifeng took the Tiger Tally, lifted Xiong, who was kneeling on one knee, with both hands, and also signaled for all the Soldiers to rise. Xiong announced their battle results in front of everyone watching, but there was almost no loot. Even the little bit they brought back was embarrassing to mention, so he had the Soldiers bring Ya over; this was their greatest battle result.

Baifeng looked at Ya, who was being pressed to kneel on the ground, and felt only disgust. He didn't even have the thought of questioning him; perhaps this beast couldn't even understand their language.

So he directly summoned the Ministry of Justice and told them to dispose of this beast according to capital punishment.

Ya, who had still been harboring a glimmer of hope, knew his life was over when he heard Baifeng's words and the cheers of the people around him, so he wanted to raise his head to make a final struggle.

Just as he raised his head, he was stepped on the neck. He was babbling indistinct words in his mouth. Baifeng heard a little, but just thought it was unexpected that this thing could actually speak, though he didn't pay much attention to it.

The Ministry of Justice took Ya from the hands of the two Soldiers, then roughly dragged Ya toward the execution ground, and the crowd watching the excitement followed along.

Baifeng also wanted to watch. Subsequently, under the torture of the Ministry of Justice's executioner, Ya suffered for a long time, and then was beheaded while on the verge of death. His head rolled on the ground a few times, finally seeing the appearance of New City and Baifeng's face clearly, ending his life amidst the cheers of the crowd.