Chapter 344: The Soldiers' Carnival (Part 1)

"Right, there is one more thing; the Prince's Personal Army needs some adjustments right now."

Pacing back and forth a few times, Zhao Xu remembered the matter of the Prince's Personal Army's troop types, so he spoke to him about it.

"Thirteen thousand Infantry equipped with Flintlock and Artillery, thirty thousand Light Cavalry, ten thousand Heavy Cavalry, thirty thousand Navy, and ten thousand Chariot Battalion?" Chang Wei repeated the numbers Zhao Xu had given.

Not long after the Imperial Edict arrived, he had learned that the Emperor had permitted Yan Wang to expand his troops to two hundred and ten thousand.

The number Yan Wang gave now was exactly two hundred and ten thousand.

After pondering for a moment, he said, "Your Highness, this subordinate believes that among these thirteen thousand Infantry, two thousand should be reserved for Heavy Infantry. They are the ones who lead the charge in battles; while the power of the Flintlock is indeed great, if they fall into melee combat, their advantage will diminish, and we must still rely on the Heavy Infantry."

Rubbing his chin, he continued, "Moreover, the Heavy Infantry are also excellent at forming ranks on the battlefield to resist the impact of enemy cavalry. In case the Flintlock Infantry are thrown into chaos by enemy cavalry, we can have the Heavy Infantry step up to give the Flintlock Infantry a chance to reform their lines."

After finishing, he saw Zhao Xu looking at him with piercing eyes, so he chuckled twice, "Your Highness, this is just this subordinate's humble opinion. This subordinate just feels that although the Prince's Personal Army's Artillery and firearms are powerful, because their rate of fire is slow, if they are ambushed and fall into close-quarters melee, it will be very disadvantageous."

Zhao Xu was stunned for a moment.

He had been a bit too radical this time.

Chang Wei's words reminded him.

It seemed he really should reserve a quota for Heavy Infantry.

After all, the enemies he faced were not armies that also held Flintlocks and played "line-up-and-shoot" with him.

If that were the case, the soldiers wouldn't even need to wear Armor.

Currently, his enemies were all still fighting while wearing Armor.

It was inappropriate to completely abandon his own Armor advantage.

Thinking of this, he nodded, "You are right; then let's reserve two thousand men for Heavy Infantry."

"Yes, Your Highness." Chang Wei was suddenly beaming with joy.

So even Yan Wang had times when he was muddled; at this moment, he finally felt that His Highness Yan Wang had a touch of humanity.

And didn't always seem like an immortal,

capable of anything.

Seeing Chang Wei suddenly looking very happy, Zhao Xu did not know where his excitement came from.

Shaking his head, he asked, "Right, how are the soldiers' rewards coming along? I've heard that quite a few soldiers have been shopping in Yancheng these past two days; the merchants must be overjoyed."

When he arrived at the North Camp, he had seen many soldiers who had taken off their Armor and were wearing only their military uniforms, carrying large baskets of goods and returning to the camp in high spirits.

According to the regulations of the Prince's Personal Army, soldiers could rest one day every ten days.

These were the soldiers on rotation.

"Replying to Your Highness, about twenty percent has been distributed; it is estimated that it will be finished in another five or six days." Mentioning this, Chang Wei became happy again.

What Yan Wang said was indeed the truth; the soldiers who received their rewards were now all acting like nouveau riche.

The soldiers on rotation were spending their Silver lavishly.

A year ago, they were still living in such dire straits that they couldn't even afford to buy pants.

Now, the accumulated military pay plus the rewards had made them look like wealthy people.

And this was just the soldiers on rotation; now more soldiers wanted to go home, and they were constantly submitting requests to their commanders.

Zhao Xu nodded; he could understand the soldiers' current mood.

Having returned from the battlefield after a brush with death, it was only natural for them to spend some money.

They chatted for a few more sentences.

Zhao Xu ordered Chang Wei to resume the normal operations of the Military Academy in a few days, then walked out of the camp.

On the way, regardless of whether they were commanders or soldiers, as soon as they saw him, they all stopped to salute respectfully, their eyes filled with a trace of gratitude.

With Yan Wang treating them so well, their bloodshed on the battlefield was worth it.

Arriving at the camp gate, Zhao Xu mounted his horse and, under the protection of Xu Lie, headed toward the Prince's residence.

While passing through Jinhua Lane, he suddenly saw a familiar figure; it was Chen Hu.

At this time, there were two women beside Chen Hu: an elderly woman and a beautiful young girl.

He had met Chen Hu's mother when Chen Hu joined the army.

Comparing them now, the elderly woman was indeed Chen Hu's mother.

As for the young girl, she seemed to be Chen Hu's younger sister; he had mentioned back then that he had a younger sister.

The three of them were currently standing in front of a residence, talking to a merchant about something.

"Isn't that Chen Hu?" Xu Lie saw it too at this moment, revealing an amused expression.

"Let's go take a look," Zhao Xu said.

Back in Yancheng, life was naturally not as tense as it had been in Jinzhou.

In these leisurely days, his love for gossip seemed to grow with each passing day.

"Mother, this is the courtyard."

Looking at his mother, Chen Hu had a satisfied smile on his face.

After joining the Prince's Personal Army, he had brought his mother and sister to Yancheng.

He used his monthly military pay to rent a small courtyard in the city to support his mother and sister.

In their spare time, his mother and sister would do some needlework to supplement their household expenses.

Compared to the days of hunger and cold before, it was truly like heaven and earth.

However, with a large number of merchants pouring into Yancheng,

the price of renting houses in Yancheng was also rising with the tide.

Chen Hu felt it wasn't cost-effective, so he thought about buying a residence of his own.

Of course, this was just a thought; he had never expected it to be realized.

But because of his brave performance in the Autumn Hunt Battle against the Northern Di, he was promoted to Colonel, his military pay rose to twelve taels per month, and he had received some rewards during the war.

This time, he had taken another thirty-six taels of Silver, and his net worth was now over a hundred taels.

So, he took advantage of his home leave to buy this courtyard.

"Huzi, this courtyard must cost at least eighty taels, right?" Chen Hu's mother glanced into the gate, a look of surprise on her face.

Having lived in Yancheng for such a long time, she understood a little about how much a courtyard in Yancheng was worth.

In a remote residential ward, an ordinary single-entry courtyard house would cost around thirty-three taels.

This courtyard house in Jinshui Lane, a place close to Dong Shi, would surely cost double that.

The plump merchant accompanied his words with a smile: "Madam, you guessed right, it is eighty-two taels in total."

Hearing this number, Chen Hu's mother immediately pulled a long face, "Huzi, this is too expensive. You should just buy a courtyard in a remote area; what right do we have to live here?"

"Madam, that is a strange thing to say. If my Colonel does not have the right to live here, who does?"

Zhao Xu arrived behind them at this moment, a smile on his face.

Chen Hu turned his head and saw it was Yan Wang; he was startled and hurried forward to salute.

Having seen Zhao Xu before, Chen Hu's mother naturally recognized Yan Wang, and she hurriedly pulled her daughter along to curtsy, saying, "This commoner woman pays respects to Your Highness."

"Rise," Zhao Xu thought to help Chen Hu's mother up.

Remembering that men and women should not touch, he merely raised his hand slightly.

Chen Hu stood up and scratched his head in embarrassment, "Why would Your Highness come here?"

Zhao Xu laughed: "Now the whole of Yancheng knows that you Wangfu Army soldiers have made a fortune. I wanted to see what you all bought, so I came over when I saw you."

He then walked into the courtyard; it was an ordinary courtyard house, quite spacious and very clean.

He then said: "Not bad. If the Silver is not enough, I can add some for you."

Chen Hu laughed upon hearing this.