Chapter 12 12 Guns
After saying this, Father Wei stared at his eldest son, seeing that he was blushing and doing nothing else. He knew that the boy had no objection to the marriage.
Come to think of it, this guy is already sixteen, so he has probably been thinking about this for a long time.
But at this time, Wei Guangde, who still had a bit of modern thinking, asked a desperate question, directly drawing the blame on himself.
"Dad, where's mine? Can I ask my uncle to help me look for it as soon as possible?"
When Wei Guangde said this, he was actually just trying to have fun, but he didn't think too much about it.
But soon, he realized that Father Wei's face was not good-looking. He looked at his mother and eldest brother, and saw no change. Even Father Wei's face was darkened.
"Let me tell you something first. You are thinking about these things even before your hair is fully grown. Let me tell you, your father is counting on your eldest brother to carry on the family lineage. You will have to wait until you get the honor.
Your mission is to honor your ancestors. If you can’t pass the exam even at thirty years old, then fine, I’ll admit it.
But as I said before, don't even think about buying land with money. If you don't have fame, those lands will be sold to you, and sooner or later you will lose. "
Well, it was originally a casual joke, but unexpectedly it got caught in the crosshairs, and Father Wei said a few words.
Noticing that the atmosphere was not right, Wei Wencai immediately changed the topic.
"Dad, what's going on in Beijing this time? Why did you rush so urgently at the beginning and then you didn't leave when you got to Zhenjiang?"
Jiujiang Wei did not go north in the end, which must be because the crisis in the capital has been resolved, but the family is still very curious about what happened there.
As a personal participant, Father Wei should know more.
"What is said to the outside world is that the border troops drove away the Tatars."
Father Wei's attention was also diverted at this moment. He picked up the wine bowl on the table in silence and took a sip. The wine spilled on his beard, and he stretched out his hand to smooth it.
"Dad, is this news untrue?"
Seeing Father Wei's actions, anyone who is familiar with him knows that there must be something that has not been shaken out.
"After receiving the news that there would be no further transfer to the north, officers from more than a hundred households had a banquet. I heard someone at the banquet say that the border troops did not dare to engage in battle with the Tatars and had always avoided them. If you’ve robbed enough, you can leave on your own.”
What Father Wei said next shocked his mother-in-law and two sons.
Although they are all children of military families and know that the military equipment in the south is currently weak, it has always been said that the Ming Dynasty's northern frontier army is the most powerful in the world. Therefore, the previous military report said that Datong and the Tatars were engaged in battle. They had no doubt that the Tatars had fled.
Just kidding, what is the basis for the existence of the army?
That's combat power.
If there is no fighting capacity, what is the purpose of the army?
I thought that peace in the South would last for a long time and it would be fine if it had no fighting power. As long as the Northern Army's fighting power remained, it would not have a big impact on the current army.
Given the current situation at the guard station, is it possible that those dog officers can continue to embezzle military pay?
"Is the frontier army really no longer capable of fighting?"
Wei Wencai frowned and asked.
Father Wei shook his head, "I don't know. I heard it all from others. We didn't go there, so how could we know this?"
Having said that, Dad Wei thought for a while and continued: "When I came back, your uncle and I also talked about this matter, and he felt that the rumors were probably true.
Even if there is still fighting strength, it is estimated to have dropped drastically, otherwise the Tatars would not dare to attack the capital.
In fact, the situation in various health stations is similar now. The border troops may have had less military pay deducted, but there are also less farmlands there, and most of the military rations have to be supplied by the court. The officials are so stupid that they don't have enough to eat, and they still have to fight. Shit fight. "
"By the way, dad, you said before that in Zhenjiang, armor was not allocated, but equipment was given. What were you given?"
Wei Wencai will take over the Baihu Office in the future. The combat power of the northern border army seems to have little to do with him, and he does not want to continue discussing this matter.
But as Father Wei said before, he received money, food and equipment in Zhenjiang, but no armor. That would be strange. What equipment would Yingtian give them?
"The blunderbuss, there are ten blunderbuss on it."
Dad Wei said: "I asked Tang Sanwa and the others to try it, and they said it was okay, much better than the pile of junk in the warehouse."
"Firegun? What's the use of that?"
Wei Wencai heard that Di's equipment was a firecracker, so he was not interested.
Since Wei Wencai stopped studying, he has also endured physical hardships in the institute. He is familiar with the equipment in hundreds of households.
But when it comes to fire guns, he has no interest at all. It is better to shoot out one after another with the bows and arrows of Duan Da and others. The shooting frequency is much better than the fire guns that can be silenced for a long time after one shot.
That is to say, it is difficult to practice as an archer. That thing is not just about shooting out arrows, but also about hitting the target accurately.
Also, after shooting more than ten arrows, the archer's arm has no strength, which means that it has a certain strength, but it's not enough to overdo it.
Fireguns are simple, but their frequency is low and they are not very accurate.
"These muskets are pretty good. After listening to Tang Sanwa's words, I asked them to try them. The firing wire is directly clamped on the faucet of the gun. When activated, the firing wire is directly inserted into the ignition pool to ignite the ignition powder. The whole thing is with both hands holding the gun so you can aim.”
Speaking of this, Father Wei paused for a moment, seeming to recall the situation when he asked Tang Sanwa and the others to test the guns, but then he smiled and shook his head and continued: "At that time, I asked the people in the institute to fire a salvo. After one round of gunfire, , there are people in a row, and I can clearly see Tang Sanwa in the distance, and the few people behind are all submerged in the smoke, and they have a faint fairy spirit after the shot."
"Haha, so much smoke."
It was funny to Wei Guangde when he heard what his father said about the vagueness of the immortal energy. Wasn't it because the smoke was so high that it obscured his vision?
This actually has something to do with gunpowder. He knows this very well. Why is smokeless gunpowder a major technological advancement? Is it because there is less smoke and less residue after use, making it easier to clean the gun barrel.
Although he knew this, Wei Guangde didn't know how to make smokeless gunpowder, which meant that he didn't have the ability to engage in scientific research.
"It's not easy to use. It's better to just give money to that."
Wei Wencai shook his head and had no idea about the blunderbuss, "That's it? Are there any others?"
Wei Wencai was still a little unwilling and continued to ask his father.
"No, I have allocated some grain, gunpowder and other baggage and put it into the warehouse. I will give it to them at the end of the year. This year is not bad. In previous years, I could only get a few hundred taels of silver. I went out for a walk. , earn a lot more.”
Father Wei is still a little complacent. In previous years, he also deducted military pay, but he didn't get much in the first place, and he couldn't eat them all. He had to share some with the people below, so he could earn eight taels.
"Has the gun gone into the warehouse? I'll go check it out tomorrow."
Wei Guangde was still interested in guns. He heard that he had fired ten blunderbuss, so he naturally wanted to see it with his own eyes and give it a try.