"Eunuch Xia, are you doing this to take revenge on me for the urgent memorial I sent to the throne?”Xiang Zhong gritted his teeth as he said this. If he was closer, he could even hear the sound of teeth grinding against each other.
Xiang Zhong could imagine that because of Xia Jian's memorial, those guys who had nothing to do would 'righteously' criticize him.
In the imperial court, there was a group of bureaucrats. They usually had nothing to do and were unwilling to do anything. They liked to throw dirty water at capable officials.
This group of people was called the censors.
These people were even more despicable than eunuchs. They did nothing but impeach, impeach, and impeach.
Moreover, they impeached some capable officials and generals. It was because of their empty talk and impeachment that the Ming Dynasty's century-old foundation was destroyed.
This group of bureaucrats developed into the notorious Donglin Party during the Wanli era!
Xiang Zhong didn't get the approval of the Ministry of Works to dispatch the craftsmen, and he even kept the stolen money for the expenses of the craftsmen camp.
If those idle bureaucrats knew about this, they might even accuse him of corruption and rebellion.
"Lord Xiang, I can't say that I want revenge. It's just that I don't like to be stabbed in the back. Oh, right, let me tell you, I'm a wolf, and I'll take revenge! If anyone touches me, I will bite them back.”
Xia Jian sneered. Xiang Zhong made it impossible for him to gain a foothold among the corrupt officials, so he would make it impossible for Xiang Zhong to gain a foothold among the honest officials.
Who knew how much he had taken from the court?
Ten thousand taels of silver? A hundred thousand taels of silver? Or a million taels?
The eunuch's anger could be seen clearly on Xia Jian at this moment.
Xiang Zhong had originally thought that Xia Jian's martial arts skills were only high, but his intelligence was lacking. That day when he killed the three commanders with his sword was the best proof.
Only now does Xiang Zhong understand that this ceremonial supervisor seal eunuch does things without fear, completely relying on his personal preferences.
"You, hmph, let's wait and see!"
Xiang Zhong flung his sleeves, slammed the door, and left, just like Xia Jian did that day.
Xia Jian shook his head in disdain. This guy actually dared to argue with him. If it wasn't for the system mission, he would have killed this guy long ago.
Countless people died every day in the border wars. If it wasn't for the mission, Xia Jian wouldn't mind adding another corpse to this pile of corpses.
Ignoring Xiang Zhong, Xia Jian brought his trusted aides to the already established craftsmen camp.
In the craftsman camp, other than blacksmiths, there were also carpenters, potters (who baked porcelain), stonemasons, and so on.
Xia Jian divided these craftsmen into two categories. Potters and stonemasons specialized in mine weapons, while carpenters and blacksmiths were used to make guns.
Carpenters made the stock, blacksmiths made the barrel, and those old handguns that could be used were used directly, and those that could not be used were replaced.
Two days later, the first batch of shotguns was produced under Xia Jian's supervision and design.
This hunting rifle was equipped with an ignition device. It did not need to be ignited by hand. It was hundreds of times better than the muskets that had just been invented in the west.
There was an ignition device, but it also required gunpowder with a very low ignition point. This reminded Xia Jian of the revolver that he used to play with when he was young.
Xia Jian could still remember the composition of the gunpowder. In addition, his chemistry knowledge was not bad, so he knew how to make this red gunpowder.
With the current craftsmanship of these blacksmiths, there was no way to make bullets, so they could only use marbles instead.
Although they couldn't make bullets, the marbles were fixed at the front end by a mason that imitated a bullet shell. It was filled with gunpowder with a high ignition point, making it easy for the shotgun to exchange for the marbles.
Xia Jian ordered his men to test its power. It was much less powerful than he had expected, but it was much stronger than the musket.
Xia Jian was prepared to let the craftsmen continue with the modifications, but unfortunately, the Mongolian army led by Mao Li children had already attacked.
"Report, Mao Li Qiu, the younger brother of the Mao Li child king, is leading the Mongolian army from Guyuan. They will arrive at this city in six hours!”
The scouts came to report, scaring the Ming army in Qingyang City like birds startled by the twang of a bow. They replaced the three commanders who had been killed and advised Xiang Zhong to retreat one by one. Otherwise, it would be too late.
Xiang Zhong banged the table and shouted,""The enemy is attacking. If anyone dares to say retreat at this time and disrupt the morale of the army, kill them without mercy.”
Xiang Zhong glared angrily at the three commanders, scaring them so much that they didn't dare to speak.
Seeing that the soldiers no longer mentioned the word "retreat", Xiang Zhong finally gave up and asked the scout,"Do you know how many Mongolian soldiers there are?”
"They have mobilized almost all of their troops stationed in Guyuan. There are about 20,000 Mongolian cavaliers!”the scout replied.
Twenty thousand? All out?
Xiang Zhong did not say a word. He paced back and forth in the hall. He seemed to be taking a leisurely stroll, but in reality, he was no different from an ant on a hot pan.
"Did you just say that the Mongolian cavalrymen were mobilized in full force? Are you sure?" Xiang Zhong suddenly asked.
"This subordinate can guarantee with the heads on my neck that Guyuan's Mongolian cavalrymen have been mobilized in full force, with about 20,000 soldiers.”
At this moment, a bold idea suddenly appeared in Xiang Zhong's mind!
He left 5000 soldiers to stay in Qingyang City, and the remaining 20000 soldiers followed him to Guyuan to recover the lost land.
Guyuan was like a pass. If they could seize it back, the Mongolian army would be like an old turtle in a jar. They would gather the strength of the border guards in the surrounding cities and surround them!
This was an opportunity. If they failed, not only would they not be able to take back Guyuan, Qingyang would also be lost. Even the nearby cities would be lost.
Opportunity comes with challenge. Xiang Zhong is faced with a choice.
In the end, Xiang Zhong voiced out this idea, and most of the people below objected to Xiang Zhong's risky move.
"I'm not asking for your opinion, but to select the five thousand soldiers who are willing to stay in Qingyang City!”
Xiang Zhong simply steeled his heart. With the military order out, no one dared to refute.
However, who would lead these 5,000 soldiers? No one dared to step forward.
The Ming Border Guards were weak in battle. Let alone five thousand against twenty thousand cavalrymen, even fifty thousand Ming Border Guards would not be able to suppress twenty thousand cavalrymen.
This kind of thing was already normal. The border guards and generals even felt honored to be undefeated in such a situation.
5,000 against 20,000 Mongolian cavalrymen was simply courting death!
The three temporary commanders felt that they were unable to persuade Xiang Zhong, so they steeled their hearts and went to talk to Xia Jian.
Xiang Zhong was indeed the commander, but Xia Jian was also the military supervisor. Based on their actual power, Xia Jian could control Xiang Zhong.
Would Xia Jian care about Xiang Zhong? He was too lazy to worry about that.
However, he still had to complete the mission. Otherwise, if he failed the mission, it would be bad if he was erased by the system.
Therefore, Xia Jian, who had been sitting at the side watching the show, suddenly coughed twice and said,"I'll stay. Just give me three thousand soldiers.”
This book is provided by FunNovel Novel Book | Fan Fiction Novel [Beautiful Free Novel Book]