OBS Chapter 1239 Justified
Chapter 1239 Justified
Chapter 1239 Justified
In front of a simple courtyard, the wall was built with rammed earth, covered with vines, and a few unknown wild flowers swayed in the breeze.
Qin Hao raised his hand and knocked on the door. The wooden door made a dull sound. Not long after, the door creaked open and Aunt Zhu Bai appeared at the door. She was wearing a plain blue cloth skirt, her hair was neatly tied up, and she had a gentle smile on her face.
"Aunt." Qin Hao bowed with a smile.
Zhu Baishi did not welcome him in as usual, but took out a letter from her sleeve and handed it to him: "Hao'er, this is what your uncle asked me to give you."
Qin Hao was startled, took the envelope, opened it and couldn't help laughing.
"Is my uncle at home?" Qin Hao put away the letter and asked with a smile.
Zhu Bai looked around and lowered her voice and said, "He's in the study. I don't know what's wrong with him. He wrote this letter a few days ago and was waiting for you to come." She shook her head helplessly, "You know your uncle's temper."
Qin Hao understood and deliberately raised his voice and said, "Aunt, since my uncle is out visiting friends, I will come to see you in a few days."
After saying this, he winked at Zhu Baishi, led his horse and turned away. After walking a few steps, he could still hear Zhu Baishi muttering behind him: "This child..."
After Qin Hao left, Zhu Bai returned to the inner room and found that her husband had come out of the study at some point and was standing in front of the window, staring at the direction Qin Hao had left. The sunlight shone through the window lattice, casting mottled light and shadows on his thin face.
"I really don't know what you are thinking," Zhu Baishi couldn't help but said, "Why can't my nephew say anything to me in person? Why do you have to play dumb with me here?"
Mr. Zhu shook his head, his blue gown swaying gently in the breeze: "You won't understand even if I tell you."
Zhu Bai curled her lips and said as she put away the tea sets: "You scholars are so sour."
Upon hearing this, Mr. Zhu suddenly burst into laughter, with a hint of joy in his voice: "Yes, it's sour, it's really sour."
As the laughter died down, Mr. Zhu's gaze drifted toward the window again, as if he had penetrated through the layers of houses and seen somewhere farther away.
In the Bai family compound, Xiancao was busy in the kitchen, Bai Jiaxuan was squatting on the doorstep smoking a pipe, and the two brothers Xiaowen and Xiaowu were chasing and playing in the yard.
"Da, I'm back."
Bai Jiaxuan looked up at his son, the light from the pipe illuminating his wrinkled face, and asked nervously, "How is it, what did your uncle say?"
"My uncle had already expected that I would go, and he gave me a letter. I'm going to Xi'an right now." Qin Hao washed his face.
Xiancao came out of the kitchen with a spatula in her hand when she heard the noise: "Hao'er is back? The meal will be ready soon, eat before you leave."
"Aunt, I won't eat. I'm in a hurry." Qin Hao said as he went into the house and started packing.
After simply packing a few changes of clothes and taking some dry food, Qin Hao returned to the courtyard. Bai Jiaxuan had already stood up, Xiancao was standing beside him holding Bai Ling, Xiaowen and Xiaowu had also stopped fighting and looked at their eldest brother eagerly.
"Auntie, I'm leaving. Xiaowen and Xiaowu should stay at home and be obedient."
While Qin Hao was speaking, Heiwa had already harnessed the carriage and arrived outside the courtyard gate.
"Be careful on the road." Xiancao warned, with worry in his eyes.
Bai Jiaxuan just nodded, but his eyes followed his son's back until he disappeared around the corner of the village entrance.
Heiwa whipped the horse and the carriage galloped on the loess road, the horse's hooves raised clouds of dust. He galloped all the way and finally arrived in Xi'an before dark.
The setting sun dyed the ancient city wall golden. Qin Hao walked through the city gate, along the familiar street, and finally arrived in front of Governor Zhang's residence.
This is a magnificent house, with copper nails on the vermilion gate and two stone lions standing in front of the door, looking majestic. Qin Hao straightened his clothes and knocked on the door.
"Who are you looking for?" The door was opened by a doorman in his fifties, wearing a neat gray gown, who asked out of boredom.
Qin Hao cupped his hands and said, "I am Bai Hao from Bailu Village. I am here to meet Governor Zhang on the orders of Mr. Zhu Chenxi. This is Mr. Zhu's handwritten letter."
The concierge took the letter and looked at Qin Hao doubtfully: "Mr. Zhu? But is it the Mr. Zhu who persuaded Fang Sheng to retreat with his 100,000 Qing troops?"
"Exactly."
Upon hearing this, the concierge immediately changed his previous contemptuous attitude and returned the greeting respectfully: "Please wait a moment, let me inform you."
After about a quarter of an hour, just when Heiwa was getting a little impatient, the doorman opened the small door on the side of the main gate and welcomed Qin Hao in.
Qin Hao followed the doorman through the front yard. The furnishings in the front hall were simple and elegant. In the middle hung a plaque with the words "upright and open". Below was a rosewood eight-immortal table with armchairs on both sides. On the wall hung several landscape paintings, with vigorous and powerful brushwork, which were obviously the work of famous artists.
"Please wait here for a moment. I will go and report to my master." The doorman said and turned to leave.
Soon, a steady sound of footsteps was heard. Qin Hao quickly stood up and saw a burly middle-aged man striding into the front hall. He was wearing a dark blue gown, with a dignified face and a pair of bright eyes, as if he could see through people's hearts.
Governor Zhang said in a deep and powerful voice: "I have heard that there is a talented person in Bailu Village. His pigtail theory is well-known in Xi'an. Recently, he even sacrificed his relatives for the sake of justice, saving Shaanxi and even the whole country from the harm of opium. No wonder Chenxi praised you so much back then."
Qin Hao bowed deeply and said, "Governor Zhang, you are too kind. Although Bai Hao is not talented, he knows the word shame. Opium has poisoned the land of China, causing the country to be weak and the people to be poor. How can my descendants turn a blind eye to this?"
Governor Zhang nodded with satisfaction and motioned Qin Hao to sit down: "Chen Xi's letter only said that you have something to ask for, but I don't know what it is?"
Qin Hao sat upright and told the story of Bailu Village's training of militiamen. At first, Governor Zhang didn't take it seriously, thinking that Zishui County was meddling in other people's business, but when he asked Qin Hao how many militiamen he had trained, Qin Hao's answer surprised him greatly.
"About 120 people, maybe a little more in the future."
Governor Zhang paused with the tea bowl in his hand, almost spilling it. He put down the tea bowl, frowning: "You have only a few thousand households in Bailuyuan, why do you need to support so many militiamen?"
You know, according to the organization of the regular army, a company is only about 150 people. Zishui County's standing armed forces are less than people. No wonder the county is so nervous and sent people to investigate. If it were him, he would definitely be restless.
Qin Hao pretended to be indignant: "Now Zishui County is full of bandits, and the outside world is saying that the villages in Bailuyuan have made a fortune by growing opium. Those bandits want to squeeze the blood out of the people. In the past two months alone, there have been two kidnapping cases, and the kidnapped people were children. Even my sister was kidnapped when she was just one month old..."
Upon hearing this, Governor Zhang slapped the arm of his chair so hard that the teacups jingled. "These unscrupulous beasts! They even killed a one-month-old baby! Why didn't you report it to the police?"
Qin Hao complained bitterly: "If reporting to the authorities was useful, how could Zishui County be full of bandits? The villagers had no choice but to gather the young and strong in the clan to protect themselves."
Governor Zhang frowned and tapped the table lightly with his fingers. As a senior official, he knew something about the situation below. The county's armed forces were really limited, and those officials were busy trying to make money, so how could they care about the lives of ordinary people?
After a moment's silence, Governor Zhang finally spoke: "How about this, I will issue you a letter of appointment and appoint you as the head of the Bailuyuan Security Corps. But I have to make it clear in advance that since you are the head of this security corps, you must protect the peace of the area and eliminate all the bandits in Zishui County for me."
Qin Hao was secretly delighted and readily agreed. Suppressing bandits is a good idea. Not only can it train the combat effectiveness of the regiment warriors, but it can also seize guns, gold and silver, achieving multiple goals at one stroke.
Governor Zhang first praised Qin Hao, then lowered his voice and said: "You can't increase the number of people in your security team. If you give people a chance to talk about it, I won't be able to protect you anymore."
Qin Hao nodded repeatedly, but he didn't care. The world would be in chaos soon, so who would care how many people were in his security team?
Governor Zhang signed the letter of appointment on the spot and stamped it with the governor's seal. After doing this, he was ready to see the guest off and raised the tea bowl to signal.
Unexpectedly, Qin Hao had no intention of leaving. Instead, he shamelessly complained to Governor Zhang about his poverty: "Governor, the soldiers in the regiment can only use hoes and sickles as weapons, while those bandits have real weapons in their hands, and some even have heavy weapons."
Governor Zhang was both angry and amused: "You are relying on me!"
But after thinking for a moment, Governor Zhang gritted his teeth and said, "Okay, I still have dozens of discarded Hanyang rifles. Can I give them all to you?"
Qin Hao took advantage of the situation and thanked him repeatedly. After receiving the approval from Governor Zhang, he rushed to the military supply department without stopping.
The Quartermaster Department was located in a large courtyard in the west of the city, and there were soldiers guarding the door. Qin Hao showed Governor Zhang's approval note, and the guards immediately let him in.
The quartermaster was a middle-aged man with a round face. Seeing Qin Hao holding the note from Governor Zhang, he did not dare to neglect him and immediately took him to the warehouse to get the gun.
"These are obsolete Hanyang-made rifles. Although they are a bit old, they can still be used." The quartermaster said, pointing to dozens of rifles piled in the corner.
Qin Hao picked up one and checked it, and found that the condition of the gun was indeed average, but as long as it was disassembled and maintained with oil afterwards, it could be used for a while.
However, Qin Hao did not rush to leave. Instead, he quietly took out a silver note from his sleeve and stuffed it into the quartermaster's hand: "Thank you for your hard work, sir."
The quartermaster looked down at the amount on the banknote, his eyes lit up, and he coughed twice: "Ahem, I remember there is a batch of obsolete old weapons over there, wait here for a while, I'll ask someone to move them over."
About half an hour later, the quartermaster and several soldiers brought over several large wooden boxes. When they opened them, they found that in addition to more than 20 brand-new Hanyang-made rifles, there were also two Madsen light machine guns, more than 20 grenades, and 1,000 rounds of ammunition.
Qin Hao's eyes lit up and he was secretly happy: This money was not wasted!
The quartermaster remained calm and said, "Yes, they are all obsolete old models. They just take up space in the warehouse. I'll give them all to you."
Qin Hao smiled knowingly and quickly asked Heiwa to drive the carriage over. The quartermaster also called a few soldiers to help load the things onto the carriage.
As night fell, the lights on the streets of Xi'an were already on. Heiwa drove the carriage slowly out of the city gate. Qin Hao looked back at the ancient city with its dim lights, feeling filled with emotion.
With these equipments, the strength of Bailuyuan Security Group will be further improved. In this era of turmoil, force is the best guarantee.
The carriage moved forward slowly under the moonlight, and the wheels rolled over the loess road, making a dull sound. Qin Hao looked at Heiwa, who was full of excitement, and couldn't help but remind him: "Don't drive too fast. This carriage of ammunition is heavy. Be careful not to break the carriage."
Hei Wa showed his big teeth in embarrassment: "Brother Hao, can you give me one of those two machine guns?"
Qin Hao was happy: "It's not impossible, but you have to think it through. Machine gunners have one of the highest casualty rates in the army."
"I'm not afraid. Rifles are too slow. One bullet can only kill one bandit. Machine guns are more powerful. One volley of bullets can make those bandits cry for their parents." Heiwa's dark face was full of excitement.
"Okay, pick a machine gun, but it's very expensive, you have to take good care of it, if it breaks..."
Before Qin Hao could finish his words, Hei Wa patted his chest and assured: "As long as the gun is here and I am alive, even if I die, this machine gun will not break."
……
The next morning, when the first ray of sunlight fell on the land of Bailu Village, the sounds of roosters crowing and dogs barking could be heard one after another.
Because this batch of arms was so heavy, and there were also grenades, the carriage moved very slowly along the way. Qin Hao and Heiwa took turns to rest before driving the carriage back to Bailu Village.
When the carriage loaded with weapons stopped at the threshing ground, the surrounding soldiers were all excited.
"Oh my god, so many guns!"
"Haha, finally I don't have to train with fake wooden guns anymore. Real guns look more exciting anyway."
"There are also machine guns! Let's see which bandits dare to come to our village and cause trouble!"
Bai Jiaxuan stood in front of the crowd, looking at his son surrounded by the regiment warriors in the center, his eyes full of satisfaction and pride.
Lu Taiheng looked at the regiment warriors, each holding a Hanyang rifle, and couldn't help but feel a little worried: "Jiaxuan, are you guys going to force your way through the county government?"
At this time, Qin Hao had already come behind Bai Jiaxuan. Hearing this, he smiled and unfolded Governor Zhang's letter of appointment and held it high above his head.
"Master Taiheng, Da, Governor Zhang has appointed me as the head of the Bailuyuan Security Corps. With this letter of appointment, we can train brave soldiers just as we want, and we are not afraid of anyone."
Bai Jiaxuan's eyes were full of surprise. He took the letter of appointment and read it several times before he burst into laughter.
Lu Taiheng saw it all and felt extremely upset. Lu family's ancestor Lu Mashao had made a will before his death, that if any of his descendants passed the imperial examinations to become a scholar, juren or jinshi, he should fire a gun in front of his grave to let him know that the Lu family had produced a talented person.
Now that my son is in prison, I can no longer rely on him. Although my grandson is studying in Xi'an, the Qing Dynasty is gone now, and the imperial examination system is naturally gone too. If I want to fulfill my ancestors' last wishes, I can only pursue a career in politics and become an official.
Although the head of the security team is not a formal position, it is still the head of a team.
Captain, he has never seen such a high-ranking official in his life.
If the Lu family had such a talent, how many shots would he have to fire in front of his ancestors' graves?