Time Travel to 1859: The Iron-Blooded Soldier King

Shi Rongchun replied, "My boy, I don't have anywhere to get you those firearms. Is there no way for us to repel them? Are we doomed to fail?"

Liu Ye smiled bitterly and said, "Sir, we are not necessarily powerless to fight. I just said it is difficult. Even if we do not have sophisticated firearms, we can still rely on our fierce soldiers. However, with the current level of our Qing army, I am really not optimistic. Even if we get guns and cannons like the foreigners, the soldiers will lose their legs and flee at the sound of the cannons. We will still be beaten to a pulp! Please forgive me for being frank, but what we can do now is to rectify the army, do our best to rectify the army, enforce strict military discipline, and improve the combat effectiveness of the soldiers. Even if the foreign devils come, we can rely on the advantage of the artillery to fight!"

"That sounds nice, but without pay, the men are all hungry. How can they train? How can they enforce discipline? You can't let the horses eat grass, but you still want them to run? Where in the world can such a good thing happen?"

He Zhengqing curled his lips and replied.

Shi Rongchun said sternly, "Zhengqing, if you joined the army simply to earn a living, your explanation is not unreasonable. But is that your sole goal? As a soldier, if you only want to earn a living, unable to serve the court and unable to protect your fellow countrymen, what difference is there between you and a moth?"

He Zhengqing blushed and whispered, "Your Excellency is right. I will teach you a lesson."

Shi Rongchun sighed and said, "Alright, I know it's not easy for you. So, I will try my best to urge the monk king to allocate some money and food to ensure our daily training. As for the rest, we can talk about it later. However, training must not be relaxed. Who knows, one day in the future, the British iron warships and cannons will arrive at Dagukou!"

He Zhengqing bowed, kowtowed, and said, "Zha!"

Shi Rongchun called out calmly, "Liu Ye!"

Liu Ye turned around and bowed quickly, saying, "Sir."

Shi Rongchun continued, "Although I've spared you this time, I can't forgive you for your crimes. This time, you'll be in charge of the reorganization of the North Fort. After three months, I'll review the results of your reorganization. If I'm not satisfied, then, hmph, you'll have to bear the consequences yourself!"

Liu Ye's face turned bitter. Oh my god, if you want me to train, you have to give me time. With the current situation of the soldiers in the North Fort, it will take at least a year or two to confront the British army head-on. I am the one who is in charge of the training. If I change someone else, even if it takes three years, it will probably be in vain!

Liu Ye said bitterly: "Sir, I am neither a commander nor a general, not even a sentry officer. You want me to lead the training..."

Shi Rongchun sneered, "Aren't you capable? Your pistol-wielding ability is enough to shock the entire crowd. Even your commander is inferior to you. If you can't train a small Northern Artillery battery of several hundred men, what qualifications do you have for me to look up to you? Boy, don't let me down!"

Liu Ye's heart skipped a beat, and his chest straightened up. He said, "Sir, as long as you give me the corresponding power, I can give you a satisfactory result!"

Shi Rongchun asked.

Liu Ye replied, "I have full authority over training. Even Commander He has to listen to me when it comes to matters related to training!"

Shi Rongchun sneered: "Okay, Zhengqing!"

He Zhengqing hurriedly said respectfully, "Sir!"

"I formally appoint Liu Ye to oversee the training of the soldiers at the Northern Artillery Fort. You must fully cooperate for three months. If you don't see satisfactory results within three months, I will hand this guy over to you!"

"twitter!"

"What if someone doesn't obey my orders?

Liu Ye asked.

"Boy, I don't need to teach you this, right? Military law is ruthless. Anyone who dares to cause trouble will be punished by military law. The lightest punishment is flogging, and the worst is immediate execution!"

Shi Rongchun said firmly.

Liu Ye smiled slightly and replied, "Yes! Sir, I will definitely not let you down!"

He Zhengqing raised his eyebrows and suddenly said, "General, I have a humble request. I hope you can fulfill it!"

Shi Rongchun asked, "Speak!"

He Zhengqing replied, "I wish to become sworn brothers with Liu Ye. From now on, we will share life and death, joy and sorrow, and die for you, Marshal. Please be a witness for us!"

Everyone was shocked. He Zhengqing was a dignified commander and a third-rank lieutenant general, yet he wanted to become sworn brothers with a poor boy like Liu Ye!

Shi Rongchun, standing by, laughed heartily, "Excellent, excellent, excellent! Zhengqing, thank you for being so magnanimous! This is a blessing for our fort! Today, I will make an exception and personally preside over this ceremony for you!"

Seeing Liu Ye hesitate a bit, He Zhengqing shouted, "Liu Ye, be a real man, don't be so fussy. If it's okay, it's okay. If it's not okay, it's not okay. Do you think that because I'm not as good as you with a gun, I'm not worthy of being your brother?"

Seeing this, Liu Ye quickly replied, "Your Excellency the Commander has misunderstood. This kind of thing is naturally what I long for..."

"That's it, then! Someone, prepare the incense table for us immediately!"

He Zhengqing was impatient and immediately ordered people to prepare. Shi Rongchun was even more excited. One was his own powerful general, and the other was a talent he had just discovered. The general and the minister getting along well was a great thing and a good omen!

At that moment, under the witness of Shi Rongchun, the incense table was set up. He Zhengqing pulled Liu Ye to kneel and kowtow towards the north, and then saluted Shi Rongchun again. After the ceremony, the generals on the side cheered and congratulated.

He Zhengqing took Liu Ye's hand and said, "Okay, brother, we're brothers from now on! The responsibility of the North Fort rests on my shoulders, and it also rests on yours. Fix it up and make it look good. I'll back you up. If that kid dares to disobey me, I'll beat him to death!"

Shi Rongchun was in high spirits. Very good, very good. He had gained a lot from coming to the North Fort. Now the court was confronting Britain and France in the south and the situation was critical. With two such brave generals in charge of the North Fort, he felt more confident.

After seeing off Shi Rongchun and his party, Guo Ye had just returned to his residence when Xiao Hai hurried over!

"Brother Ye, Brother Ye, you are so amazing! I really admire you so much! I didn't expect you to be so capable! More than ten people were knocked down by you in the blink of an eye. It's amazing! I, I..."

Xiao Hai was so excited that he was almost speechless. He had never expected that the guy he lived with was actually a hidden master. Why didn't he show his prowess when he was bullied before?

Liu Ye patted Xiao Hai on the shoulder and said with a smile, "Why? Want to learn?"

In the past few days, Liu Ye has really taken a liking to this quirky yet kind little guy. He looks like he's only about sixteen or seventeen years old...

Xiao Hai chuckled and said, "Of course. You probably don't know this yet, but almost all the new recruits saw your competition with the commander. It was so exciting! Even if we could only be half as good as you, we wouldn't have to worry about being bullied! Now, every new recruit in the entire North Fort Camp wants to learn your skills. I've heard of a poem by Li Bai called 'Kill one person every ten steps, and leave no trace for a thousand miles.' You truly deserve it!"