"What's that thing? Why is its shape so strange?"

  "I heard it's a new weapon that was just sent over, called a fire lance..."

  "Shh, Lord Senko is coming, nobody say a word."

  Zhu arrived at the camp gate with his guards and saw a crowd of people gathered here making a lot of noise and showing great dissatisfaction, ordering his guards to disperse the soldiers.

  At this time, the officer in charge of sending and receiving equipment came over to report.

  "Greetings, Sir Commander of a Thousand Households! I have been ordered to transport military equipment here. Here is the inventory, please inspect it, Sir!"

  Zhu nodded to the guard to take over the list and check it out, while he himself asked the official:

  "This time you're sending some stuff over, but don't be like last time and send over a bunch of junk when I'm not around."

  "I dare not, I dare not. The last time was an accident. This time, it is by the order of the King of Yan, to transport 1,000 fine bows, 2,000 sharp iron waist knives, and 2,000 rattan shields... along with 200 new model landmine guns and two instructors." The official hastily bowed his head in response.

  "Huh? How come there are only two hundred, and you let me have three thousand soldiers but only get two hundred guns?" Zhu Neng immediately became angry. Last time, he said that the thousand households' troops were not real, and they took advantage of him and Qiu Fu entering the city to handle affairs, only sending a few thousand old and worn-out swords. This time, after replenishing the troops, they could only allocate two hundred guns, which was unbearable.

  "Enough, enough! This is the largest amount that can be allocated. These guns are newly made, and there are only three thousand of them in the entire Yan Wang San Wei, with each commander getting only two hundred."

  "Are you lying? Is it really just this much?" Zhu was glaring at the official and questioning him.

  "The humble official's every word is true, I absolutely dare not deceive the great sir of a thousand households."

  The guard also finished checking and walked back, handing over the list to Zhu Neng, indicating that there was no error or omission.

  "Hum! Leave the goods behind, you get out of here!" Zhu Neng coldly hummed and chased away the official who was transporting military equipment. He turned to his guard and said: "Go beat the drum to gather the soldiers, I want to test the power of this new handgun."

  The guards obeyed and went on their way. Before long, the sound of drums rose up, and all the soldiers had gathered in the martial arts arena.

  Zhang Feng originally wanted to bring his men to the camp gate to see what had happened, but halfway there, he heard the sound of drums and directly brought them to the martial arts arena.

  Zhu said to the soldiers, "Today, the King of Yan has sent us new-style hand cannons. Now, I will have two instructors demonstrate them for you, and we will establish a new hundred-man fire cannon team for future use."

  Two instructors stepped forward, picked up a fire lance and began to prepare. The two men first filled the gunpowder into the chamber, then inserted a wooden plug and rammed it in place. Then they put in several stone balls again and rammed them in place. Next, they opened the touch hole and inserted a fuse, pouring in a small amount of gunpowder. After finishing loading, the two men signaled to Zhu Neng.

  Zhu waved his hand and led the soldiers to set up several targets at distances of thirty, fifty, and eighty zhang from the handgun.

  Two instructors, one with a shoulder-held handgun and the other kneeling on one knee, aimed at a target thirty zhang away. The second instructor lit the fuse, which burned rapidly, and with a loud "boom", smoke burst out of the barrel. When the dust settled, the target was in shreds, and the stone balls that had been fired through it were scattered all over the ground.

  The soldiers watching from the side exclaimed one after another, and the lethality of this weapon was so great within a hundred steps that even some old soldiers who had seen firearms before did not think it would be so powerful.

  Just as everyone was in awe, the second shot rang out, and the 50-zhang target fell with a loud crash. The soldiers went forward to check and found that all the bullets fired were deeply embedded in the target, with reduced lethality but still very strong.

  The last shot, the stone ball only made a crack on the wooden target, but if it hit a person, it would be unknown.

  Zhu was delighted to see the effectiveness, thinking that it was indeed the new firearm brought from Ying Tian Fu by the King of Yan, and its power was truly formidable. Although it was more difficult to operate than bows and crossbows, its lethality was unmatched, and its sound was like thunder, shocking everyone. If used against the Northern Yuan cavalry, the sound could startle the horses, causing them to scatter wildly, throwing the enemy's formation into chaos. Our army would then take advantage of the situation and launch a surprise attack, leaving no chance for defeat.

  "Alright, alright, alright!" Zhu nodded to this point and gave three consecutive "goods". With a wave of his large hand, he ordered the formation of a fire gun squad, day and night drills, waiting for future use.

  Zhang Feng was also witnessing the power of this new pistol for the first time, previously it was just an introduction in books, but today he saw it with his own eyes and knew that what was said in the book was not false, and even surpassed it.

  Liuzi and others looked at the old soldiers with envy, admiring their opportunity to join the handgun squad and use this powerful weapon. However, they were not selected for the handgun squad because they had just joined the camp and lacked experience, and Zhu Neng wanted to maintain the strength of the handgun squad by choosing soldiers who had used handguns before and had rich combat experience. Zhang Feng could only watch from the side with envy.

  Time flies, and winter is approaching. The autumn harvest has passed, and the autumn grains collected from various places in Beiping Prefecture are being transported to Beiping City one after another. Next year's military rations are also on their way from Beiping to Xuanfu, Miyun, and other guards' stations.

  Shuntian Prefecture, Ji Zhou, Pinggu County

  Pinggu County is surrounded by mountains on three sides, and this area has given rise to many mountain bandits. The Zhongwei Camp of Yingzhou has sent troops to suppress them several times, but to no avail. Moreover, the Northern Yuan cavalry often harassed the borders, and the camp's military strength was insufficient, so they had no good way to deal with these mountain bandits.

  A grain cart on its way to the thousand households of Miyun is proceeding here, this grain team is escorted by the hundred households under the jurisdiction of the Zhongtunwei in Yingzhou, led by Zhao Baihu, who rides a horse at a steady pace. Escorting military rations is not an easy task, delivering them on time is what you should do, and being late for even a moment will cost your head, unfortunately, he was unlucky enough to be assigned this difficult task.

  "General Bai, look at the dense forests on both sides. This place is also far from Pinggu County. Shouldn't we speed up our march to prevent unexpected events?" Just as Zhao Bai was complaining in his heart, his chief flag bearer came over to offer his advice.

  Zhao Baihu felt it was reasonable and immediately ordered the grain team to speed up, trying to reach the next village before nightfall.

  At this time, the sound of killing came from both sides of the forest, and many mountain bandits rushed out to attack the grain cart. Zhao Baihu was greatly shocked, and he did not expect that these mountain bandits would dare to rob the military grain convoy, so he ordered his men to fight back.

  The soldiers charged forward with their swords, and at first glance, they cut down a number of bandits. Upon closer inspection, these bandits were pale and thin, and even their weapons were extremely tattered, nothing but crude farm tools. Zhao Baihu sneered at the sight, thinking that these must be some powerful and ferocious bandits who had come to rob the military's grain supplies. He didn't expect them to be a group of weak and feeble people. With a flourish, he spurred his horse forward, charging towards several of the bandits, swinging his sword and cutting down three men in quick succession.

  Zhao Baihu wiped away the blood splattered on his face and shouted: "Brothers, kill them all, let them know the consequences of daring to rob a military grain convoy!"

  "Kill!" A group of soldiers charged forward on command, some chasing after the bandits who had escaped into the forest. The commander who had just spoken saw this and was about to stop them, but thinking that the hundred households' leader had given the order, he couldn't countermand it, so he could only continue to be vigilant and attack the bandits.

  Two hundred bandits who had rushed out were either killed or fled after a brief fight. Zhao Baihu ordered the grain convoy to continue its journey, but the commander of the vanguard discovered that the twenty-odd soldiers who had pursued the bandits into the forest had not returned. He felt something was amiss and hastily reported this to Zhao Baihu.

  Zhao Baihu also felt that something was amiss, and just as he was about to order everyone to be on high alert, a sharp arrow shot out from the forest, making a "whooshing" sound as it pierced directly through Zhao Baihu's throat. Zhao Baihu groaned, wanting to say something, and reached out to grab the shoulder of his general flag, before falling off his horse with eyes wide open...

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