Chapter 209: First Volume, Chapter 209: High-Salary Coach

First Volume, Chapter 209: High-Salary Coach

Upon hearing this, Qin Feng immediately beamed and said casually, "What? Fourth Sister, you're underestimating me too much! If it were someone else, their pay would be set by monthly or annual salary—but you, Fourth Sister, are a famed master known throughout Heaven; someone of your stature naturally deserves exceptional compensation."

"So! Fourth Sister's pay will be per lesson. For every class you teach the New Army, you get five hundred taels of silver!"

Faced with Qin Feng's flattery and the very real "high-salary hiring," Jing Qianying couldn't help but be swayed.

On one hand, she could earn money; on the other, it would ease her loneliness—why not?

After a moment's consideration, Jing Qianying finally nodded in agreement.

Seeing Jing Qianying accept, Qin Feng leapt up in delight and immediately performed an extremely awkward "mechanical dance," making Jing Qianying frown.

Thus, all three of the Qin Family's elder sisters had been lured away by Qin Feng.

Elder Sister Shen Qingci oversaw the Book Bureau's operations.

Second Sister Liu Hongyan oversaw accounting.

Fourth Sister Jing Qianying, as Special Hired Instructor, taught martial arts to the New Army.

Qin Feng's meticulously crafted camp, at last, began to run smoothly.

To instill a sense of belonging, Qin Feng sent Qin Xiaofu to commission a heavy-duty plaque, hung above the camp's Door, bearing three large characters: "Tianji Camp."

Yes, these three characters—"Tianji Camp"—were also plagiarized by Qin Feng.

He didn't worry about anyone claiming rights!

Since Old Qin had been swamped lately and had no time for home, Qin Feng simply moved into Tianji Camp and began designing weapons for the New Army.

The crossbows and Mo Dao he previously designed had been fully handed over to the Ministry of Works for production, saving Qin Feng considerable effort—he now devoted all his focus to armor design.

The quality of armor would directly determine the New Army's Combat Effectiveness!

Since ancient times, privately hoarding Armor has been a capital offense.

This reveals how vital armor was in ancient warfare.

In terms of Defense, Plate Armor was the pinnacle among all armors, especially European Plate Armor, designed to withstand not Bow and Arrow but firearms. As craftsmanship improved, European Plate Armor's joints gained excellent flexibility, yet its weaknesses were equally obvious.

First, it was cumbersome to wear; second, it was too heavy; third, its raw material was steel. After weighing pros and cons, Qin Feng abandoned the idea of manufacturing Plate Armor.

Ordinary armor, however, offered little protection against arrows.

The design concept for the New Army's armor must follow three key principles.

First, light and flexible; second, capable of stopping most types of arrows; third, easy to conceal. After comprehensive consideration and referencing later-era "bulletproof vests," Qin Feng gradually designed the prototype of the New Army's armor.

The front and back used two thin Iron Plates; inside each plate, a layer of Bamboo Plate was attached—first, to thicken the Iron Plate and add marginal Defense; second, to increase thickness so that even if an Arrow pierced the Iron Plate, the Bamboo would impede its penetration and minimize injury to the wearer.

From the start, Qin Feng never intended to fully block arrows—only to reduce their lethality.

The limbs used Scale Lamellar Armor, leveraging its properties to dissipate arrow kinetic energy or even "deflect" arrows outright.

Thus, it balanced lightness with arrow defense.

Though it was vastly inferior against Regular Army forces, Qin Feng never planned for the New Army to engage them head-on—he eliminated close-quarters combat from the outset.

If you can win, fight; if you can't, run!

Finally, to prevent this armor from looking too ugly, it was entirely lined with Inner Lining, wrapped in cloth—both for aesthetics and concealment.

Qin Feng summoned Qin Xiaofu, delivered the finalized Armor Blueprint to Lu Ming, and immediately began production—the first batch of New Army armor numbered three hundred.

Only after the three hundred soldiers were equipped and tested in actual combat would they decide whether to proceed with further production.

After armor came weapons.

The New Army's primary weapon was not bladed arms—but Bow and Arrow!

Since the New Army's main role was guerrilla warfare, it must fully embody "guerrilla": any close-quarters combat, no matter how well-equipped, inevitably caused casualties.

If the primary weapon became Bow and Arrow, and tactics followed "the enemy advances, we retreat; the enemy retreats, we pursue; the enemy tires, we strike," casualties could be minimized.

Hard Bow was excellent—high penetration, long range—but its excessive strength requirement and poor mobility led Qin Feng to dismiss it.

After comprehensive consideration, Qin Feng ultimately chose the compact, powerful "Mongol Cavalry Bow."

There were two secondary weapons.

The first was the Combination Spear: a standard halberd cut into three segments; only the spearhead remained intact, while the Halberd Shaft was wooden, with "Card Connectors" embedded at both ends.

Normally stored in a bag, side by side with the arrow quiver. If cornered by cavalry, it could be assembled for close combat.

Since the Halberd Shaft was not a single piece, its strength was greatly reduced—it could only be used for "thrusting."

The final secondary weapon was a short knife.

First, to clear brush and thorns; second, for surprise attacks.

After submitting the weapon specifications to Lu Ming, next came practical equipment.

Since operations would penetrate deep behind enemy lines, arrow consumption was an unavoidable problem—so the New Army was issued "Ammunition Bags," pre-filled with Yan Tou. When arrows ran out, soldiers could gather wood, fashion shafts, and attach Yan Tou to replenish their supply.

Military Rations were another major challenge.

The most portable and enduring ration was naturally Compression Biscuit.

But lacking foaming agents and high-pressure processing, Qin Feng could only design a cut-down version.

Rice flour mixed with Sugar, fat, and minced meat.

After mixing, pressed firmly into molds, then air-dried—though the taste was revolting, it could save lives on the Battlefield.

Thus, the basic equipment prototype for the New Army was finalized.

Initially, Qin Feng planned to form a Cavalry, but after much thought, he crushed the idea.

Shedynasty already lacked horses, and local horses' endurance and speed were inferior to Beidi Horses; moreover, hastily trained Cavalry stood no chance against seasoned Beidi Cavalry in Formation Combat—it was pure fantasy.

Qin Feng had no choice but to pour all his energy into the New Army itself.

Under Qin Feng's relentless investment, the entire Tianji Camp developed fastest in its Gongfang.

Besides Lu Ming and the high-paid Beijing Artisans, he also recruited numerous Civilian Artisans from surrounding regions—totaling over three hundred.

Just the artisans' salaries were staggering!

But to build a new army capable of fierce campaigns, Qin Feng could only grit his teeth and keep pouring money into it.

The Gongfang operated at full capacity, and within just the Four-Day Deadline, it produced all the Weapons and equipment Qin Feng had demanded.

At the same time, under the "training" of Jing Qianying, Shu Feng, Ning Hu, and Xu Mo, the Three Hundred Guards had become utterly numb.

Numbness meant Combat Effectiveness!

When Qin Feng ordered the summoning of the Three Hundred Guards.

The men previously known as "Local Governance troops" had undergone a complete transformation.

Heads held high, eyes straight ahead, the Jiaochang was dead silent—not even a breath could be heard.

Yet even so, the killing intent radiating from the Three Hundred Guards had long surpassed that of every Regular Army Qin Feng had ever encountered.

Qin Feng was satisfied with the training results; his face was full of smiles, but his heart bled.

"Fuck! These were all pounded out of my own money!"

Pick any guard at random—the total expenses for him alone were enough to train an entire First Battalion of regular soldiers!