Chapter 39 of 100

Chapter 39

14 min read3,454 words

More than a hundred people worked together to thoroughly clean the camp, spending half a day clearing out several large piles of garbage. Each room was swept and wiped clean, and even the weeds on the two large open spaces were all removed.

Liu Jun also arranged for a dozen people to clean the well. A dozen people continuously drew water from the well until it was temporarily drained. Then, they sent someone down to scoop out all the mud and debris with buckets and laid several loads of clean river sand inside. After cleaning, the well water that gushed out was clear and sweet.

Li Chunjiang, acting as the laissez-faire boss, went to sleep. Liu Jun had to take on the role of the major steward, arranging people to do various tasks. After the cleaning was done, they began to divide the camp area. One of the two open spaces was designated as the training ground for the Left Banner, and the other for the Right Banner. As for the Central Banner, a slightly smaller area was allocated for their training.

Finally, the dozen large houses were also divided. The largest ones, the main hall, were used as the headquarters. The side rooms were assigned to Li Chunjiang and Liu Jun, one each.

Each team was arranged to live together, with the team leader and the cook sharing a room, and the ten combat soldiers sharing a room per squad.

The horse handlers and veterinarians were arranged to live near the stables. In the end, everyone was properly settled.

For dinner that day, Liu Jun distributed grain to each team, and each team started cooking their own meals. The cooks were responsible for cooking, while the others helped.

The first meal was quite good, with meat and vegetables served with steamed white rice, and even half a catty of rice wine per person. These were all gifts from the local gentry, including wine, meat, and vegetables.

After marching for half a day and cleaning for half a day, everyone was very tired. The new camp and new barracks marked a new beginning for the local militia. Liu Jun and Li Chunjiang both gave speeches, offering encouragement and painting a bright future. In short, the meal was quite enjoyable, and everyone was satisfied with this new life.

However, Liu Jun only smiled on the side. Li Chunjiang, who was already very familiar with Liu Jun, immediately understood that the local militia was still too young.

After the dinner in the canteen, Liu Jun and Li Chunjiang sat in the hall, talking by the oil lamp.

"Jiye, today Mr. Zhang mentioned something to me. Recently, a group of bandits has been active near Queen City, raiding and plundering, causing significant losses to many merchants in Queen City. He wants us to help suppress these bandits."

Liu Jun shook his head without hesitation. "Gongji, we have just recruited these people, and we haven't even obtained weapons or horses yet. Although they have been issued some military uniforms and flags, they look somewhat organized, but in reality, they haven't had a single day of training. If we go to suppress the bandits now, it would be like sending them to their deaths."

"Gongji, I oppose going to suppress the bandits now. Although the local gentry have been very courteous to us, giving us land, hosting us, and even a thousand taels of silver, and sending wine and meat as rewards, we shouldn't lose sight of our own capabilities. I think that now that we have moved into Queen City, the nearby bandits will certainly know. If they are smart, they will withdraw from this area and move elsewhere, in which case we don't need to take action. If they continue to operate here, it means they are very confident. These bandits are likely to be quite fierce and have some strength. If that's the case, rushing into action would be even more dangerous."

"But Mr. Zhang just gave us such a big gift and then made this small request. It wouldn't be right to refuse immediately," Li Chunjiang felt a bit embarrassed. Moreover, he didn't really take the bandits seriously, given that they now had over a hundred men.

Liu Jun felt a headache; Li Chunjiang often still had a scholarly air about him.

He thought for a moment. "Have you already agreed to Mr. Zhang's request?"

Li Chunjiang nodded, a bit sheepishly. "I had a bit too much to drink and agreed on the spot."

"Since you've already agreed, it's not good to back out now," Liu Jun said, smacking his lips. "Let's send the scouts to investigate the bandits' movements first. Once we have their whereabouts, we can discuss a plan. What do you think?"

Li Chunjiang nodded eagerly. "Knowing the enemy and knowing yourself ensures victory. That's a good plan."

The next day, just as the sky was beginning to lighten, Liu Jun was drawing water from the well to wash his face and rinse his mouth when a soldier on guard duty at the camp gate ran over to report. A convoy had arrived at the gate, saying they were there to deliver goods.

Liu Jun quickly wiped his face and rushed to the gate. By the time he arrived, Li Chunjiang was already there, directing people to open the gate and let the convoy in. It turned out to be Mr. Zhao, who had brought the military equipment they had previously ordered. There were several large carts, which made Liu Jun very happy.

"Knowing you were waiting, I urged them a bit. Fortunately, the goods were already ready, so it was just a matter of transferring them. Originally, it was supposed to take seven days, but I got them here in three," Mr. Zhao laughed as he approached Liu Jun and Li Chunjiang, eager to take credit.

"Thank you so much, Uncle Zhao."

Liu Jun went to receive the goods, opening the cargo boxes and having the large and small crates carried down, then counting them one by one.

"Uncle Zhao, is all this for us?"

"Yes, all of it is for you."

"But the quantities seem off. For example, we only ordered thirty muskets, but now there are a hundred, along with three hundred barrels. We originally ordered a hundred portions of gunpowder per musket, but now there are three hundred. Additionally, there are thirty three-barreled muskets, thirty fast-firing guns, and the corresponding gunpowder, which we didn't order."

Liu Jun was increasingly puzzled. Many of the items they hadn't ordered, or the quantities were wrong, but not in a way that they were short, rather in a way that they were excessively abundant.

In the end, Liu Jun was quite surprised to find that the cargo list included six tiger-squat cannons.

Mr. Zhao walked over calmly. "Check the cargo against the list to see if it matches."

Liu Jun, puzzled, checked the list again. The delivered goods matched the list, but the list was completely different from his order.

"Since it matches the list, there's no problem."

Li Chunjiang was also confused. "Uncle Zhao, what's going on here?"

"Ah, the extra items are all gifts from Mr. Mei. This includes seventy muskets, three hundred barrels, thirty three-barreled muskets, thirty fast-firing guns, six tiger-squat cannons, ten telescopes, twenty crossbows, lead bullets, rockets, crossbow arrows, and large arrows. All the extra items are gifts from Mr. Mei."

"Mr. Mei has high hopes for you. Don't let him down."

"This..." Liu Jun didn't know what to say. Mr. Mei was being too generous. These items might not mean much to Mr. Mei, but for their newly formed team, they were extremely valuable.

In the end, Liu Jun and Li Chunjiang gratefully accepted the military equipment.

Later, the Li family sent over 120 fine horses, along with several hundred dan of grain and a batch of horse feed.

With the military equipment and armor arrived, and the warhorses in place, everything was ready except for the final push.

---