Chapter 809: Effectiveness

Latest website: "Hahaha, this, this is truly a double blessing. If it weren't for the fact that we still have to fight, this general would really like to go back with His Highness to see the new-style firearms." The generals were stirred, and Chang Wei laughed aloud.

They had originally thought that the front-loading rifled muskets they were equipped with were already the pinnacle of firearms.

They had not expected Wang Ying to have come up with a new-style firearm again.

This was truly too unexpected for them.

"No need to be anxious. If production goes smoothly, we will deliver the new-style firearms while fighting, and simultaneously train in using the new-style firearms during the war," Zhao Xu said.

Currently, his Personal Army is mainly facing the armies of the Great Song Rich Clans.

The rifled muskets are indeed sufficient.

But once Jiangnan is unified, the rifled muskets may not necessarily possess much of an advantage.

After all, with the industrial strength of the Western Lands, they can mass-produce modified rifled muskets on an assembly line, and soon they will be equipped with the same kind of rifled muskets used by the Personal Army.

Furthermore, in this war, although the combat power displayed by the Mercenaries was not as good as the Personal Army, it was much fiercer than the Rich Clans.

And in the future, what they will face will be the regular army of the Western Lands.

Although he believes that the Personal Army can still win against the regular army of the Western Lands.

The price paid will inevitably be significant.

In this way, the cost of his foreign strategy will increase greatly.

Therefore, it is very necessary to continuously improve the army's level of firearms and maintain an advantage.

After briefly introducing the characteristics of the rear-loading rifle to the generals, the generals became even more excited, each one eager to give it a try.

However, although they wished they could be equipped with rear-loading rifles immediately, they also knew that it would still take some time from the birth of the first rear-loading rifle to mass production.

The supporting Steam Engine, Lathe, and craftsmen all need to be prepared.

Moreover, the Bullet for this rear-loading rifle also has to be produced from scratch, requiring the installation of a Percussion Cap at the bottom of the paper-cased bullet.

After resting for a day in Jinling City, Zhao Xu headed to the Niu Tou Tan ferry the next day,

preparing to take a Steamship back to Yanzhou.

Before leaving, he ordered Chang Wei to send men to transport the silver and gold in Jinling City to Yanzhou and deliver it to the Royal Bank.

At present, the wealth obtained through war is all placed in the vault of the Royal Bank, in preparation for simultaneous expenditures or as reserves for issuing Song Yuan.

At the same time, he instructed Chang Wei that if there is no clever tactic for a guaranteed victory, then one must fight steadily and surely.

Relying on Jinling City, advance step by step, first take the southern part of Ningzhou, then conquer Zhezhou, and afterwards advance toward Jiangzhou and Haizhou, eating away at the Rich Clans' territory bit by bit.

"Woo woo..."

The Steamship sounded its whistle in bursts, sailing downstream, preparing to enter the Canal and then head straight to Yanzhou.

Chang Wei and the other generals saw him off on the shore, giving a collective military salute to Zhao Xu.

Zhao Xu stood on the deck, returned the salute to everyone, and then looked toward the rolling Bolan.

After an hour of sailing, Zhao Xu arrived at Yang City.

At this moment, he saw Wangfu Army soldiers on the shore escorting Rich Clan soldiers, and he couldn't help but smile slightly.

Without a doubt, these Rich Clansmen were the soldiers captured during the Battle of Niu Tou Tan.

According to his orders, the Wangfu Army soldiers were leading them to see the development of Jiangbei.

Thinking of this, he ordered the Steamship to dock, preparing to conduct a spot check to test whether his strategy was useful.

Because he had changed into plain clothes before departing, he looked like a wealthy merchant's son.

Coupled with the fact that the Steamship attracted most of the attention of the people on the shore.

His appearance did not cause any Bolan.

It was not until he approached the Wangfu Army soldiers that he was recognized by them.

Seeing Yan Wang suddenly appear by their side, the Wangfu Army soldiers were startled and hurriedly wanted to give a military salute, but Zhao Xu immediately waved his hand, signaling them to pretend they didn't know him.

Then, he followed this small squad composed of twenty soldiers and continued to walk north for a distance.

Before long, a Fortress standing in the countryside appeared before everyone.

Zhao Xu then asked a soldier in a low voice: "Why did you bring them here?"

The soldier said: "Reporting to Your Highness, after capturing these soldiers at Niu Tou Tan, we divided them into squads according to their surnames and the places they came from. This squad of thirty are all surnamed Su, from Su Family Village near Yang City. They are all clansmen of the same surname as the great Rich Clan Su Mian of Yang City."

Zhao Xu understood and nodded secretly, expressing his approval of their approach.

After walking for another quarter of an hour, Zhao Xu's party arrived at Su Family Manor.

Seeing the familiar village, the Rich Clan soldiers became visibly agitated, and some even let out suppressed sobs; the closer they got to the village, the slower they walked.

Just then, the people in the village noticed the Wangfu Army soldiers and the detained captives.

Especially the mischievous children at the entrance of the village, who shouted and called to their friends.

"Mother, Father is back." Just then, a mischievous child screamed, pulling at the woman beside him.

The woman was already stunned, and besides her, many others were also stunned.

Then, some villagers rushed out from the crowd and threw themselves at the detained captives.

Some were the captives' wives, some were the captives' parents, and they cried in a chorus.

"Now, you may each return home. Assemble here tomorrow morning. Do not harbor any thoughts of escaping, otherwise, you will be executed without mercy," the leading soldier said at the right moment.

Zhao Xu nodded; anything more they said would be superfluous. Letting them hear it from their loved ones and witnessing it with their own eyes was enough.

"Many thanks, many thanks..." The captives were moved to tears.

From the time they were captured until now, they had not suffered any abuse.

Whatever the Wangfu Army soldiers ate, they ate.

Just this point alone touched them somewhat.

After a round of thanks, they were led away by their respective loved ones.

The Wangfu Army soldiers then guarded the various main roads of the village to prevent them from escaping.

"Shuanzi's mother, during the time I was away, did they give you and the child a hard time?" A man among the captives returned home and asked as he grasped the woman's hand.

"They did," the woman replied, still wiping away her tears.

The man was instantly enraged, "I knew they didn't have good intentions when they sent us back; it was nothing more than wanting to humiliate us. Hmph, this is bullying us too far! What did they do to you?"

"Pfft," the woman burst into laughter through her tears upon hearing this, "They allocated six mu of land to our family, and Shuanzi has to go to the Public School to study every day. With me, a woman, having to manage everything inside and outside the house, if you say that isn't giving me a hard time, then what is?"

The man's angry expression seemed to freeze instantly, his face turning beet red. He hesitated and asked, "You're saying our family now has six mu of land?"

"Indeed, and Shuanzi's Public School doesn't even cost money. In the time you were gone, Shuanzi learned quite a few characters and can even do accounts now."

Having said that, the woman said to the mischievous child beside her, "Come, show your father what you've learned."

The child giggled, "One plus one equals two, two plus two equals four... ninety-nine plus ninety-nine equals one hundred and ninety-eight."

The man was dumbfounded, simply unable to believe his own ears.

Whether it was the arithmetic coming from his son's mouth or everything his wife had described.

Afterward, he seemed to have become mute; he went to the courtyard and squatted there for the entire night, refusing to return to the house no matter how the woman tried to persuade him.

When dawn broke, he followed the requirements of the Wangfu Army and returned to the village entrance on time.