hotmtlnovel Chapter 1238: Gun in hand, confidence in mind.
Chapter 1238: Gun in hand, confidence in mind.
Chapter 1238: Gun in hand, confidence in mind.
Bai Jiaxuan supported Patriarch Wang and walked slowly towards the threshing ground.
Although Patriarch Wang was old, his eyes were full of curiosity and anticipation. He leaned on a cane and followed Bai Jiaxuan through the village road slowly but firmly.
In the distance, a burst of orderly horn sounds could be heard faintly, sonorous and powerful.
“Jiaxuan, your group of warriors is really well trained. Just listening to the sound makes people feel at ease.” Patriarch Wang listened attentively and couldn't help but admire.
Bai Jiaxuan smiled, with a hint of pride in his tone: "It was all Hao'er's doing. I didn't expect that he could train these farmers so well."
The two men walked around a field and the scene of a threshing floor suddenly came into view.
More than thirty regiment soldiers were lined up in a neat square formation, and were conducting queue training following Qin Hao's commands. They were wearing short coarse cloth jackets and straw sandals, but their backs were straight and their eyes were as sharp as knives.
Qin Hao stood in front of the team, holding a wooden stick, scanning everyone with sharp eyes.
"Stand at attention!" Qin Hao gave an order, and the soldiers in the regiment put their feet together in unison, making a crisp "pop" sound.
"At ease!" There was another sound of orderly footsteps.
Patriarch Wang was stunned and tightened his cane unconsciously. In his entire life, he had never seen such a well-trained team. He even felt that the movements of these farmers were so neat that they were not much worse than those of a regular army.
"Each team conducts combat drills!"
Thirty people immediately spread out and faced each other in pairs.
"start!"
Suddenly, thirty figures huddled together, their shouts could be heard from a long distance away. The men who usually carried hoes, with their arm muscles tensed, pounced on the opposite side like tigers out of their cages. The momentum made the blood boil for Patriarch Wang who was watching on the side.
"This...how did you practice this?" Patriarch Wang muttered to himself.
Bai Jiaxuan smiled slightly and explained: "Hao'er said that physical fitness is the foundation. Without a strong physique, no matter how good your marksmanship is, it will be useless."
The more Patriarch Wang looked at it, the more frightened he became. He originally thought that the reason why the militia of Bailu Village was so powerful was because they had money, food, and excellent equipment. But now it seems that the real key is this young eldest son of the Bai family.
"Jiaxuan, where did your Haoer... learn these skills?" Patriarch Wang couldn't help but ask.
Bai Jiaxuan pondered for a moment and replied, "When he was studying in Xi'an, he met many military boys and was influenced by them."
Patriarch Wang nodded thoughtfully, already having a plan in mind.
The training came to an end, and the regiment soldiers lined up to rest. Qin Hao then looked towards Bai Jiaxuan.
"Da, Patriarch Wang, why are you here?"
Patriarch Wang grabbed Qin Hao's hand and said excitedly: "Brother Hao, I have finally opened my eyes today! Your group of warriors is truly amazing!"
Qin Hao smiled modestly: "Patriarch Wang, you are too kind. They still have a lot of room for improvement."
Patriarch Wang shook his head and said seriously, "Brother Hao, I have something to discuss with you."
Qin Hao glanced at his father, and when Bai Jiaxuan nodded slightly, he said, "Please go ahead."
Chief Wang took a deep breath and said, "We in Wangjiazhuang also want to form a regiment. We don't ask for it to be as powerful as you, but we just want it to be able to intimidate those bandits. But we lack someone who knows how to train us... So, we would like to ask for your help from Bailu Village."
Bai Jiaxuan frowned when he heard this. It was not that he was unwilling to help, but he was worried that this move would weaken the advantages of Bailu Village. After all, in troubled times, force is the greatest reliance.
Qin Hao noticed his father's hesitation and gave him a look. Although Bai Jiaxuan didn't understand what he meant, he still nodded in agreement with his son.
"Patriarch Wang, now that you have spoken, we in Bailu Village naturally cannot refuse." Bai Jiaxuan said.
Patriarch Wang was overjoyed and bowed repeatedly: "Jiaxuan, Hao'er, don't worry, we at Wang Family Manor will never ask for your help in vain! Just tell us how much tuition you want."
Qin Hao smiled slightly: "Patriarch Wang, you are too serious. However, training regiment warriors is not a matter of one day or one night. It takes time and patience."
Patriarch Wang nodded repeatedly: "I understand, I understand! As long as I can practice it to a certain level, it will be worth it no matter how much time I spend!"
The matter was settled, and the chieftain left with satisfaction. When he left, his steps were much lighter, as if he was ten years younger.
After Patriarch Wang walked away, Bai Jiaxuan could not help but ask, "Hao'er, why did you agree to help them train the regiment? If Wangjiazhuang has its own regiment, they may not look for us next time something happens."
Qin Hao smiled and explained, "Da, you have tasted the sweetness. But think about it, we were able to escape unscathed this time due to some luck. If we encounter more ferocious bandits, or if they are outnumbered, we may not be able to handle them."
Bai Jiaxuan took a puff of his pipe thoughtfully.
Qin Hao continued, "Helping Wangjiazhuang train its militia is ostensibly to help them, but in reality it is to strengthen our own strength. If all the villages in Bailuyuan can have a decent militia and support each other, will the bandits dare to attack easily?"
In fact, what Qin Hao was really on guard against was never the bandits, but the warlords. It is true that the number of militiamen that Bai Luyuan could support was limited, and they certainly could not fight against the warlords. But if Bai Luyuan could have one or two companies of militiamen, any warlord who came in the future would have to think twice.
The reason why I didn't tell Bai Jiaxuan directly was mainly because I was afraid of scaring him.
Bai Jiaxuan was silent for a long time, and finally sighed: "Forget it, let's do as you say."
Three days later, Patriarch Wang really brought thirty young and strong men from Wangjiazhuang to Bailu Village. At the same time, he secretly stuffed a bag into Qin Hao's hand. Qin Hao counted it and found that there were at least five hundred dollars in it. It seemed that Wangjiazhuang had really invested a lot of money this time.
These young and strong men in Wangjiazhuang are all strong and sturdy, and they are obviously carefully selected.
These people had witnessed the "power" of the Bailu Village militia before, so they behaved very humbly.
Qin Hao mixed the people from Wangjiazhuang with the militia from Bailu Village and began the first day of training.
"Today, we will start with the most basic physical fitness." Qin Hao stood in front of the team and said loudly: "Run ten miles around the village, with a time limit of thirty minutes."
The young men in Wangjiazhuang smiled relaxedly when they heard this. Ten miles was just a piece of cake for them.
However, as soon as the training started, they found out that they were wrong. At first, they could keep up, and some even ran ahead. But after a quarter of an hour, the soldiers from Bailu Village walked steadily and breathed evenly, as if they were tireless. The people from Wangjiazhuang were already panting and their steps were disorderly.
"Hold on! Don't fall behind!" Qin Hao's voice came from the front.
The young men from Wangjiazhuang gritted their teeth and followed, but their legs felt as heavy as if they were filled with lead. Their "strength" that they were proud of seemed so vulnerable in front of the militia from Bailu Village.
On the other hand, the militiamen of Bailu Village even had the energy to joke around.
"How is it? Are you okay?" Heiwa ran to a young man from Wangjiazhuang and asked with a smile.
The young man's face flushed, and he was out of breath: "You...you usually...practice like this?"
Hei Wa grinned, revealing his two rows of big teeth: "This is just the beginning of the warm-up."
The young men of Wangjiazhuang looked at each other in bewilderment, finally realizing the gap between themselves and the militia of Bailu Village. They put away their contempt and began to take every training seriously.
……
At the same time, the story of the Bailu Village militia fighting against bandits spread across the Bailu Plain like a spring breeze. People in the fields, wells, and mills were talking about how brave the Bailu Village militia was and how many bandits they had killed, as if they had seen it with their own eyes.
However, the news that concerned the village chiefs more was that Wangjiazhuang sent thirty young and strong men to Bailu Village for training.
Although the incident in Wangjiazhuang did not happen to them, what if it did? Who can guarantee that the bandits will not target them next time? After all, it is said that all the villages in Bailuyuan have become rich by growing poppies. Bailu Village and Wangjiazhuang have militia guards, so the bandits will definitely not dare to provoke them. Wouldn't they be left as fat meat to be slaughtered?
That morning, Xiancao was buttoning up Bai Jiaxuan's clothes when she heard the sound of wheels rolling over stone slabs outside the courtyard. Lu San came in trotting to report: "Patriarch, the carriage of Old Master Li from Lijiazhuang has arrived at the entrance of the village!" Bai Jiaxuan paused with his pipe, and the sparks from the pipe fell on the blue bricks. This was the third old patriarch to come to the door this week.
"Jiaxuan..." The white-haired old man Li walked into the courtyard with a red sandalwood cane, and two strong men behind him carried a heavy gift box. "I am shameless enough to ask for a cup of tea."
Seeing this, Xiancao hurried to the kitchen to boil water. When she turned around, she glanced at her husband's dark circles under his eyes with worry.
When the sun was setting, Bai Jiaxuan sent off the seventh group of guests and staggered to hold the hitching post in front of the ancestral hall. The smell of alcohol and sweat rose in the twilight, and he smiled bitterly at the training scene in full swing on the threshing ground. Thirty young men from Wangjiazhuang were competing with the militia from Bailu Village in grappling. Heiwa's beautiful shoulder throw drew cheers from everyone. Under the locust tree at the side of the field, more than twenty young men from other villages were squatting and looking eagerly.
"Da." Qin Hao came to his side without knowing when, and handed over a sweat towel soaked in well water: "Mr. Leng just sent over some hangover pills."
After Bai Jiaxuan took the pill and swallowed it whole, he explained the situation with a wry smile.
Qin Hao smiled when he heard this: "Da, just agree to it. As long as the tuition is enough, we will accept as many people as you want."
……
A week later, the threshing ground in Bailu Village was crowded with people and bustling with activity.
More than a hundred young men from various villages had been sent here, and the originally spacious threshing ground now seemed overcrowded. The sounds of training and slogans came one after another, and in the dust, Qin Hao called Heiwa over.
“Take three groups to the east open space to practice shooting! It’s too crowded here!”
Heiwa's dark face was covered with sweat. He responded loudly and jumped to the front of the team like an agile goat: "Group 3, follow me!"
More than 30 young men immediately followed in formation, carrying Hanyang rifles on their shoulders and marching in unison across the threshing floor. These were the militiamen from Bailu Village, and they were the only ones with real guns and live ammunition.
Bai Jiaxuan stood at the entrance of the ancestral hall, looking at the bustling scene, feeling both relieved and slightly worried. He turned the pipe in his hand several times between his fingers and finally put it on his waist.
"Jiaxuan." Lu Taiheng came over with a cane, his gray beard trembling as he spoke: "Isn't this a bit too big of a fuss?"
Bai Jiaxuan was about to answer when suddenly there was a rush of horse hoofbeats at the entrance of the village. They both turned their heads and saw a team of policemen in black uniforms riding horses and rushing into the village aggressively.
"Whoa--" The leading policeman pulled the reins, raised the horse's front hooves high, splashing a cloud of dust, and looked around.
"Who is the chief of Bailu Village?" the police captain asked loudly, his voice revealing the majesty of an official.
Bai Jiaxuan asked in confusion: "I am, what's the matter?"
The police captain dismounted, took out a piece of official document from his bosom, and shook it open in his hands: "The county has received a report that Bailu Village has privately gathered people to train soldiers with ill intentions! Chief Bai, come with us!"
As soon as these words came out, the training sounds on the threshing floor stopped abruptly. Hundreds of eyes looked over here, and the atmosphere froze instantly.
Heiwa was the first to rush over, his dark face full of anger: "Bullshit! Our regiment is here to protect the country and the people, when did we ever have any ill intentions?"
The police captain was stunned by this sudden questioning, and then became angry: "How dare you! Who are you to speak to the government like that?"
"I'm your black grandfather!" Hei Wa laughed in anger, "It sounds nice, but you just want to put people in jail and make money, right?"
With Heiwa's whistle, more than 30 fully armed militiamen quickly gathered and surrounded the police team. The black muzzles of the Hanyang-made guns were instantly aimed at the police officers present.
The police captain swallowed his saliva, beads of sweat oozing from his forehead. Looking around, he found that every soldier in the regiment had murderous intent in his eyes. He had seen such murderous intent rarely seen in regular soldiers. Damn it, were these still the honest farmers and mud-legged people in his impression?
"Are you, are you going to rebel?" The police captain's voice trembled, and his hand unconsciously reached for the pistol at his waist.
"Put down your guns!" Bai Jiaxuan was worried that things would get out of hand, so he hurried to stop them.
"Chief Bai." The police captain's tone softened: "We are also following orders, you see..."
"Da, don't worry, leave this matter to me." With the arrival of Qin Hao, the group warriors led by Heiwa consciously made way for him.
After saying that, Qin Hao turned to the police captain and said, "I'm not feeling well today. Go back and tell your superiors that we will go to the county government in three days to clarify the matter."
The police captain wanted to say something, but when he saw the unquestionable look in Qin Hao's eyes, he swallowed the words that were on his lips. He looked around and found that every soldier in the regiment had his finger on the trigger, ready to fire at any time.
"Okay." The police captain stammered, "Then three days later."
Before he could finish his words, he jumped on his horse as if fleeing and left Bailu Village in disgrace with his men.
After the sound of horse hooves faded away, cheers broke out in the threshing floor.
"The leader is mighty!"
"Look how scared those lackeys are, they don't even dare to fart!"
Amid the cheers, Bai Jiaxuan frowned. He pulled Qin Hao aside and whispered, "Hao'er, will this cause more trouble? If the county sends troops..."
"Da, don't worry." Qin Hao smiled confidently: "I've been prepared."
(End of this chapter)