Chapter 54 Recruitment 【Ask for a monthly ticket, ah!】
In terms of weapons for the army he was about to have, Zuo Mengeng needed two different things.
Muskets and artillery.
As for other swords, armor, spears and other cold weapons, he only needs to equip a few.
Many people feel that the firearms of this era are not powerful enough. If they are not accompanied by cold weapons, they will be massacred indiscriminately on the battlefield.
In Zuo Mengeng's opinion, these people's understanding is actually wrong.
The power of muskets in this era was insufficient.
But he didn't think about getting a matchlock or a flintlock gun.
In his memory, there are more advanced muskets.
Today, Zuo Menggeng has gradually figured out how to deal with the things he inherited in his dreams.
The memories he inherited seemed to belong to someone.
This person should be an elite soldier in the future with very rich experience.
I have been involved in everything from military academy students, special forces, attaché counselors, military research, foreign military instructors, military weapons history, intelligence, etc.
In addition to these fields, I know some about military-related industries, but I only have basic knowledge in other aspects.
But Zuo Mengeng is a soldier, so these memories are of great help to him.
Especially when it comes to firearms manufacturing, the wealth of knowledge in his memory really opened his eyes.
It turns out that besides black powder, there are so many powerful things in the world.
Firearms can actually be made this way.
Zuo Mengeng summed it up and found that there was a powerful musket that could be manufactured in this era.
The only difficulty is that he needs to find matching gunpowder.
But gunpowder is just a chemical formula. Without large-scale industrial production, it can be made in this era with some effort.
As for this era, is it possible to defeat the enemy with pure firearms?
Zuo Mengeng's judgment is that it can be done.
There is a popular view that it was the appearance of Maxim that ended the cavalry.
actually not.
At Baliqiao, the British and French forces did not have Maxim, and Seng Gelinqin was not completely wiped out.
As long as the muskets and artillery reach a certain range and density, it is impossible for the cavalry to win.
Some people may want to make an issue of the cavalry on the battlefield in China during World War II.
But the question is, what equipment did the Chinese army have at that time?
Not to mention machine guns, rifles are not enough for one man, and the firepower density is simply not enough, so of course they cannot deal with cavalry.
Assume that there are no machine guns, and 10,000 soldiers, each armed with a 38-meter cap, line up in a line and fire in multiple sections, can the cavalry rush in?
Thinking about it, you know it's simply impossible.
So why didn’t the Chinese army at that time deal with the cavalry in this way?
First, there are not enough weapons, and second, the tactics have changed.
After World War I, trench warfare and skirmishing lines became the mainstream, and infantry lines lining up to kill had long been eliminated. The army at that time simply didn't know how to do it.
Furthermore, the cavalry faced during World War II was different from the cavalry in the past.
Before the 18th century, when infantry faced cavalry, the reason why linear array musket shooting was so effective was that cavalry was just cavalry.
But in World War II, when cavalry charged, were they just cavalry?
There are heavy machine guns and artillery behind it.
At this time, they formed a dense formation to deal with the cavalry. There was no need for the cavalry to rush up and kill them. Heavy machine guns and artillery could defeat the infantry.
The point of the infantry linear array bullying the cavalry is that I have firearms but you don't, and I have artillery and you don't. So I can hit you casually, but you can't fight back unless you rush in.
This is not because the firepower of rifles cannot deal with cavalry, but is determined by the actual situation.
In any case, as long as the weapons reach a certain level and the army is strong enough, it is enough to deal with the cavalry.
Zuo Mengeng went to Chaoguan Pier.
The project here is already on track.
The river has been dredged and ships can pass.
Because the banknote checkpoint was still unavailable, officials from the Ministry of Accounts changed their working methods.
Go directly to the ship to inspect the goods, add tax, and then release them.
However, the workload of today's banknotes has dropped significantly.
It's not that the officials are slacking off, or that merchants are afraid to come and go. It's just that the canal is about to freeze, making it impossible to sail.
In the past, the Linqing section of the canal was ice-free, and merchant ships could sail all the way to Dezhou before switching to land transportation to the capital.
The current Little Ice Age did not happen. The water surface froze and ships could not move.
However, this also resulted in a kind of abnormal prosperity.
The goods going north cannot be transported by ship, so they can only be unloaded in Linqing and transported by land transportation, which also makes the loading and unloading business booming.
But these have nothing to do with the refugees who are repairing Chaoguan Wharf.
The loading and unloading work is controlled by the locals. It is an opportunity for the locals to make money, and outsiders like them will not be allowed to interfere at all.
Seeing that the Chaoguan Pier was about to be repaired, they were about to lose their income again. Many of them were depressed and even felt uncomfortable eating lunch.
Zuo Mengeng came here under such circumstances.
"Do you all recognize me?"
All the refugees were summoned, and there was a large area of darkness.
There was a commotion down there, and everything was said.
"Thank you, young official, for the meal!"
"Without the little official, our whole family would starve to death."
"Young Master is the Bodhisattva who saves the suffering!"
When the dock was under construction, Zuo Mengeng often came here to supervise the work. Over time, the refugees had already known through various channels that he was the one who suggested using the refugees to work.
After eating well and receiving wages, everyone is naturally very grateful to him.
Listening to the gratitude and compliments, Zuo Menggeng smiled and pressed his hands slightly to calm down the scene.
"The dock work won't last long..."
The scene quickly cooled down, and all the refugees looked worried.
They are all poor people. Although working on the dock is very hard, they are not afraid of working hard. They are just afraid that there will be no food and the whole family will starve to death.
No work means no food, so they don't know what to do next?
Amid the sorrow of the refugees, Zuo Mengeng raised his voice.
"Let me introduce myself, I am...Zuo Menggeng, now the General Manager of Linqing Xiehou Yingqian."
The crowd was in an uproar, and they didn't expect that this young official was actually Mr. Qian.
Zuo Mengeng waited for the crowd to quiet down before continuing: "My back camp has just opened now. It is lacking everything, especially soldiers. Do you guys know who I am, and how little wages are paid to work here?
"
The crowd chanted.
"Young official is benevolent and righteous!"
Although it was the local gentry of Linqing who paid the money, because Zuo Menggeng often kept an eye on it, the refugees were never short of wages.
Zuo Mengeng asked again: "Are you full?"
The crowd was also much more enthusiastic.
“Eat enough!”
Those who cook for the refugees are the people from Zuofu Zhuangzi.
When Zhang Yan and Lao Qin led the group to work, they often spoke well of Zuo Mengeng to these refugees.
These refugees already know Zuo Menggeng very well.
Zuo Mengeng's voice rose again and was a little rough.
"In this broken world, it is difficult for people to live. It is not only difficult for the big guys, but also for the common people all over the world. But the world is too big, and our abilities are limited and we can't control it. But we don't want to just watch the big guy in front of us. Now in the rear camp
We have started recruiting troops. If you want to have enough to eat, just come to us."
When they heard about the recruitment of troops, the refugees were silent for a while.
I don't have a good impression of the military these days.
Many people know that the end of being a soldier is to be cannon fodder, and your life may be gone at some point.
But the work on the dock is about to be finished, and what should we do if there is no place to eat?
Could it be that if he continued to squat under the outer wall of the city, he might freeze to death one night and be randomly thrown into a pit and buried?
I don’t know when the soldier will die.
But if you don't serve as a soldier, you will die in a blink of an eye.
As long as they understand this, it will be easy for the refugees to make a choice.
The most important thing is that Zuo Mengeng has a very good reputation.
At least you don't have to worry about going hungry if you follow him as a soldier.
For a moment, the scene exploded. Almost everyone was clamoring and pushing forward, wanting to sign up.
Zuo Mengeng hurriedly asked Zuo Rong to beat the gongs and drums, and it took a lot of effort to restore order.
"Don't worry, everyone. I'm recruiting troops here. I need a lot of people. Of course, don't worry if there are some who can't come in. There are plenty of places to employ people. Anyway, we can't let you guys go hungry."
When the refugees heard this, they calmed down.
Many people are wondering, should they serve as soldiers to feed themselves, or should they do something else?
Seeing the strong will of the refugees, Zuo Mengeng finally felt relieved.
After returning, I discussed the recruitment regulations with everyone.
"Between eighteen and thirty years old, the body must be healthy and strong. If there are any literate among them, priority will be given."
Everyone was stunned when they heard this standard.
No army in the world has such strict age requirements for soldiers.
You can already imagine what an army composed entirely of the strongest soldiers would look like.
