novelaction Chapter 197
Chapter 197
As the saying goes, things are accomplished in secrecy, and ruined by leaks.
Cui Wenkui and his group's large-scale mobilization of manpower had already caught the attention of the Rong family members in Suzhou Prefecture, who immediately informed Zhou Chu.
The Rong family disciples in Suzhou Prefecture had long been incorporated into Zhou Chu's ranks and were now all undercover agents of the Embroidered Uniform Guard. With government jobs and the backing of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, why wouldn't these beggars want to work for the government?
For Zhou Chu, these Rong family disciples were his eyes and ears in Suzhou Prefecture. He could foresee any disturbances. Under the interference of various forces in Suzhou, the Embroidered Uniform Guard could only see a very limited amount of things, far less than the Embroidered Uniform Guard in the capital.
The biggest gain from promising Jin Youcai to keep Xiaodao by his side was establishing connections with the Rong family. Both Zhou Chu and the Rong family felt they had made a huge profit.
"Sir, these people have ill intentions."
Shen Lian said with some concern.
"It's just a desperate act. It shows that they can't sit still anymore. If they don't act now, it will be difficult for them to find another opportunity to attack us once the dam is completed."
Zhou Chu sneered.
"They're just a bunch of wicked servants, a rabble, utterly vulnerable. Since they don't play by the rules, don't blame me for being impolite."
After saying this, Zhou Chu looked at Lin Lu beside him.
"Assemble the Tiger Legion; they haven't had real combat in a long time, have they?"
Lin Lu was also very excited when she heard this.
As the deputy commander of the Tiger Legion, he knew better than anyone the terrifying combat power of the entire Tiger Legion. Especially after so much training, each individual Tiger Legion soldier was incredibly powerful, not to mention that the entire Tiger Legion now numbered around two thousand.
Over the past two months, we've recruited more people, keeping the Tiger Legion's numbers around two thousand.
Whether it's the Tiger Legion or the Black Tortoise Legion, Zhou Chu followed an elite route, training them entirely as special forces.
In the future, we may recruit large corps, but those will be different units and units. The Tiger Legion and Black Tortoise Legion will not be too numerous.
In the past two months, since a large number of craftsmen from the Southern Garrison of the capital arrived in Suzhou, the efficiency of manufacturing breech-loading cannons and flintlock muskets has greatly increased. The breech-loading cannons were named the Great Ming Mother-Child Chain Cannons by Zhou Chu.
Today, the Tiger Legion's arsenal contains nearly two hundred mortise and tenon cannons and more than two thousand flintlock muskets, enough for every Tiger Legion soldier to have one.
Zhou Chu transferred almost all the artisans from the entire Southern Garrison Command, numbering four or five hundred.
During these two months, the Tiger Legion focused on shooting training. While it can't be said that every Tiger Legion soldier is a crack shot, their marksmanship is among the best in the entire Ming Dynasty.
After all, unless one is exceptionally gifted, shooting skills can only be developed through training with bullets. Zhou Chu instructed the craftsmen not to focus on manufacturing guns and cannons, but rather on bullets and shells. With ample funds, their production efficiency was astonishing.
The Ming Dynasty's efficiency in iron smelting and other manufacturing processes far surpassed that of other feudal dynasties.
"Blow the bugle, assemble!"
Lin Lu arrived at the Tiger Legion's camp and summoned all the centurions.
Upon hearing this, the centurions immediately perked up. They understood that although the deputy commander and the commander had come from the capital to train troops, they rarely gathered together in such a solemn manner.
Once assembled, it meant something big was about to happen, which greatly excited the centurions who were already itching to get started.
Soon, the bugle call sounded, and the Tiger Legion, who were training, quickly assembled in the direction of the drill ground upon hearing the bugle.
Liu Ji was a captain in the Jinyiwei (Imperial Guard) of Suzhou Prefecture, a seventh-rank official.
If this were in the capital, with an official of the third rank, even if he was just a lowly captain, he could act with impunity with the backing of the Embroidered Uniform Guard or the Northern Garrison.
But this is Suzhou Prefecture, where it's a rare opportunity to have an equal conversation with an official of the third rank, let alone a third-rank official.
Throughout the Jiangnan region, especially in Suzhou Prefecture, the Embroidered Uniform Guard held an extremely awkward position. They dared not offend anyone and had virtually no opportunity to make money.
At that time, although Liu Ji was a captain of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, he could barely support his family on his salary, let alone do anything else.
Everything changed after Zhou Baihu arrived in Suzhou Prefecture. This Baihu seemed to be extraordinary, and even the Qianhu treated him with utmost respect. Although Liu Ji did not understand the reason, he dared not ask any further questions.
The most basic skill for a member of the Embroidered Uniform Guard is to know what to ask and what not to ask.
Liu Ji still vividly remembers the Japanese pirate attack two months ago. When he first received the news of the attack, he was terrified.
Others might not know, but he knew very well that Inoue Saburo and his group of Japanese pirates were extremely ruthless, and many of Liu Ji's colleagues had died at the hands of these pirates.
However, this fear was quickly calmed down by Zhou Chu and the Tiger Army. When Liu Ji witnessed the Tiger Army easily annihilating the Japanese pirates like a skilled butcher dissecting an ox, he finally understood why the commander was so respectful to Lord Zhou.
Later, Liu Ji received an astonishing piece of news: one of the two young men who had been following Lord Zhou, Lord Lin Lu, was actually the princess's son and had even been granted a marquisate.
Upon hearing this news, Liu Ji gasped in shock, completely bewildered. He simply couldn't fathom what kind of person Lord Zhou was that he would need someone like this to serve as a bodyguard.
However, for Liu Ji and the other Jinyiwei of Suzhou Prefecture, Zhou Chu's arrival made them stand up straight. During this period, they were extremely assertive no matter which official they saw, and those officials were no longer as arrogant as before. They all became very easy to talk to.
Most importantly, since the operation to wipe out the Japanese pirates, Liu Ji and his men have each made a small fortune. The commander said that this money was a reward from Lord Zhou.
This made Liu Ji extremely grateful to Zhou Chu. He felt that the Jinyiwei of Suzhou Prefecture could not do without Lord Zhou, especially in the last two days, when each of them received more than a hundred strings of cash. This made the Jinyiwei of Suzhou Prefecture instantly rich, and they dared to do things they had wanted to do but dared not do before.
For example, at this moment, Liu Ji was enjoying music and drinking with his colleagues on a pleasure boat, having a great time.
In fact, not only today, but in the two months prior, Liu Ji and his colleagues would frequently visit pleasure boats or brothels.
However, brothels generally have a higher cost of living, and scholars prefer to go there. Flower boats are different. Although there are some high-end flower boats, most flower boats are more suitable for people like Liu Ji.
Liu Ji and several of his colleagues were off work today, so they wanted to invite them to a pleasure boat for drinks.
Just as the group was getting into high spirits, a commander of the Imperial Guards barged in.
"Stop drinking and carousing, Lord Zhou has things to attend to. Sober up quickly."
After the centurion entered, he picked up the tea on the table and splashed it on Liu Ji's face, who was drunk and bleary-eyed.
Upon hearing this, Liu Ji instantly sobered up considerably, wiped the alcohol off his face, and hurriedly stood up.
"What are your orders, Lord Zhou? We are ready to charge into battle for you."