[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-stealing-ming":3,"chapter-stealing-ming-stealing-ming-chapter-150":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Stealing Ming",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1220767,1614,"Chapter 150: Section Seven: Arquebuses","stealing-ming-chapter-150",150,"\u003Cp>The \"White Armor Soldiers\" He Baodao spoke of were the Bayara guards. The Bayara guards were bondservants of each niru, their status equivalent to the retainers of Ming army generals. Skilled in archery and horsemanship, the White Armor Soldiers could be considered professional fighting men, their interests closely tied to their masters, and they were the elite among the Later Jin Eight Banners' combat troops. During Nurhaci's reign, each niru had three hundred banner men, of whom one hundred were armored combat soldiers and two hundred were unarmored support troops, yet there were only fifteen to seventeen White Armor Soldiers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Mm, yes, I agree.\" Huang Shi noticed that He Baodao had spat a bit of flatbread crumb along with a fish bone into his own bowl. He carefully seized the moment when He Baodao lowered his head to eat, and with a swift, inconspicuous flick, tossed out the thing that nauseated him slightly: \"Their will to fight is about on par, but when it comes to the men our troops have killed and the battles they've fought, they are far inferior to the Jianzhou slaves' White Armor Soldiers.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This time it was He Baodao's turn to respond in a low voice: \"Mm, yes, this humble general also thinks so...\" He Baodao stared blankly for a moment, then suddenly threw down the half-eaten flatbread and made to rise: \"They are far too inferior. We must drill them rigorously.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Huang Shi hurriedly grabbed hold of him: \"Brother He, I've said that after meals we must rest for half a shichen; the soldiers must not be rushed.\" Huang Shi had no intention of producing a batch of appendicitis cases — in this era, that was a disease with no cure.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"My lord, rest assured, this humble general is only going to discuss the afternoon drill with the officers. With the drill regulations personally written by my lord, this humble general would not dare act recklessly.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Since the regulations are there, why rush for this moment? Sit, sit, sit. Finish your meal first, then we'll talk.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Firefighting Battalion currently had one cavalry company and two infantry companies. The specific organization of the cavalry company was still under consideration by Huang Shi, and for now it was provisionally formed with two hundred and seventy combat soldiers. The infantry company organization was basically settled: each company had a theoretical strength of four hundred men — two hundred and fifty pikemen and one hundred and fifty arquebusiers. On Zhangsheng Island, nearly nine hundred infantrymen were currently participating in drill, more than enough to fill two infantry companies with a surplus.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because the unit was newly established, two troop reviews were held each month for inspection. Huang Shi, without any politeness, called these \"martial contests.\" Problems exposed during the martial contests would be discussed immediately, and detachments with outstanding performance would receive commendations. Huang Shi ordered that all commended detachment officers must report their training insights, and these would be recorded to refine and improve the drill regulations.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Huang Shi tugged at He Baodao to sit at ease and drink his soup. Alfalfa was truly a good thing — it had a huge yield, could be fed raw to horses, and when cooked could also supplement vitamins for people. Alfalfa soup with sea salt was not unpalatable; moreover, the Regional Commander chewed on this stuff alongside everyone else. Even Wu Mu often ate this wretched thing in public, so the soldiers had no real complaints.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Today Brother Yang sent over three more arquebuses. Now there are nearly ninety-five in the camp. This afternoon, ninety-five men will go practice with the arquebuses, and the rest will continue bayonet drill. What does my lord think?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because Huang Shi insisted on investing manpower into the waterwheel — in truth, just two blacksmiths and three carpenters — Deng Ken's arquebus production was rather slow. The cast arquebus blanks had to have their pre-set holes drilled larger by hand and then their bores polished smooth. Once a blacksmith became skilled, he could finish one gun barrel a day; occasionally there were rejects or a blacksmith fell ill, so each day they could produce three barrels or two.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Mm, I have no objection. You are the Zhangsheng Island Drill Mobile Corps Commander; you have the final say. By September we can gather enough for three hundred arquebuses.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Except for the very first month, no arquebuses had burst their barrels in the past two months; it was clear the craftsmen's skill was steadily improving. The reason arquebuses were counted with the measure word \"men\" was a Ming dynasty convention, and even Huang Shi felt that the arquebuses Deng Ken produced did not resemble guns, but rather something akin to a small cannon.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the earliest tests, Huang Shi and Deng Ken immediately discovered that the bird guns lacked sufficient power and could hardly penetrate two layers of padded cotton armor. If the opponent were Later Jin rattan-shield soldiers, the killing power would likely be very limited — only slightly stronger than bows and arrows, and comparable to a greatsword.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Deng Ken firmly maintained that an arquebus must have the ability to pierce rattan shields and padded cotton armor. He finally persuaded the hesitant Huang Shi to abandon considerations of agility. The arquebuses now produced on Zhangsheng Island had a heavy wooden gunstock, and the thick barrel mounted on it was so massive and weighty that a separate wooden support stick had to be manufactured — the arquebus had to be first mounted on the support stick before it could be fired; otherwise, the soldiers could not hold the gun steady, and with the recoil, heaven only knew where the bullet would end up.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Nearly a hundred soldiers drilled their firing under the sound of the officers' whistles... That's right, whistles. The carpenters had crafted several types of whistles for the officers to choose from, and the one currently in use was a wooden whistle that produced a sound both loud and shrill. The officers used long and short whistle blasts to direct the soldiers' technical movements and also to remind them not to skip any step.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The arquebusiers' right hands steadied the support stick; once it was set, their left hands pulled the trigger lever to bring the matchcord into contact with the touch hole. After firing, they released the support stick to let it rest against their waists, while simultaneously completing the series of technical actions: clearing residue, loading powder, tamping, and loading the bullet.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Very slow. Between two shots, an archer can easily loose three or four arrows. Training must be intensified.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just as Huang Shi made his assessment, a sharp short whistle blast rang out, and the arquebusiers fired another volley. Several shots struck the thick wooden planks opposite, which immediately burst open with large holes amid flying splinters. Despite the support sticks lightening the load, the arquebusiers were still rocked backward by the recoil.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Fortunately, the power is not bad — no less than a pike, hmm, perhaps even a bit stronger.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the soldiers cleared residue and loaded powder to the sound of the whistles, the support troops assisting the drill hurled clods of earth at them. The arquebusiers merely tilted their conical hats down slightly to avoid being struck full in the face, while their hands continued the motions with meticulous precision. The supervising officer on the right flank of the formation cracked his whip in the air with a satisfied snap. That officer also knew Huang Shi was observing discipline; if any soldier under his command tried to block or dodge, then it would be his turn to take a beating with the military rod.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, he still dared not stop the whistle in his mouth. This officer had already been beaten several times for blowing the whistle incorrectly until he could not climb out of bed. In truth, there was no shame in this — one had to realize that for the past two months, the entire roomful of officers and drummers had all switched to sleeping on their stomachs. During those days of daily convalescence, every one of them was either blowing a whistle held in his mouth over and over, or enduring the searing pain in his backside while desperately practicing beating the waist drum.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Tell those support troops throwing clods to put all their strength into it, swing their arms in a full circle, and hurl them at me!\" Huang Shi pointed with his horsewhip, and a messenger ran off at once.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After a while, the tension on the faces of the several officers accompanying the review turned to expressions of pride. Huang Shi also appeared very satisfied: \"This army can be used.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He Baodao once again suddenly sighed with emotion: \"My lord merely applies the military rod, yet the tyrannical Qin would extend punishment to the entire family. The legendary wolf-and-tiger troops — this humble general finally understands how they were forged.\"\u003C\u002Fp>",1491,"2026-06-04T07:54:30.907Z",1,"Novelzhen Translator","c19c3241c38a187ad1d5328ba0a97e076189f57cb4fcda9127e6e645111ec68a","stealing-ming-chapter-151","stealing-ming-chapter-149",323,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fstealing-ming-cover.jpg"]