Zhou Chong was shocked at first when he heard the news. From this incident, he finally realized the cruelty of the struggle in the palace, but then he smiled happily. From the attitudes of Gu Dayong and Zhang Yong towards him, it can be said that

It proved that Emperor Zhengde really valued him very much, and even two powerful eunuchs wanted to fawn over him. This made him even more looking forward to meeting Emperor Zhengde tomorrow.

Originally, Zhou Zhong wanted to keep the young eunuch Wang Gui at home for dinner, but Wang Gui was in a hurry to return to the palace. Zhou Zhong could not keep him any longer, so he sent him out of the palace in person. However, when the eunuch got on the carriage,

Zhou Zhong quietly handed the other party a banknote. When Wang Gui saw that it said one thousand taels on it, he was shocked for a moment, then stuffed the banknote into his arms, and the smile on his face became even brighter.

At the same time, he also promised that he would help Zhou Zhong greet Zhang Rui properly in the palace, which made Zhou Zhong even happier.

For a big eunuch like Gu Dayong, one thousand taels of silver may not be much at all, but for a little eunuch like Wang Gui who is running errands, it is a huge windfall, so Wang Gui has it in his heart

He has secretly made up his mind that if there is anything related to Mr. Zhou in the future, he will definitely rush to come. Then he will not be short of money to spend.

After sending Wang Gui away, when Zhou Chong returned to the restaurant, he found that Jinxuan and the others had already had dinner. One of them, Zhuo'er, was putting a few dishes in a food box to be delivered to Bai Mengwan's room.

Zhong Yi thought that it was really inconvenient for him to see Bai Mengwan now, so he told Zhuo'er the news that Zhang Rui had been demoted to sweep the floor, and asked her to tell it to him. However, Zhou Zhong estimated that when Bai Mengwan heard the good news, he would definitely do it tonight.

Too happy to sleep.

Sure enough, when Zhou Zhong saw Bai Mengwan the next morning, although the other person's energy seemed very excited, there were still a few bloodshot eyes from lack of rest. Compared with yesterday's embarrassment, Bai Mengwan was much better at this time, at least.

She had dared to come out to eat with everyone during breakfast, and after eating, she went to Zhou Zhong to thank him. However, Zhou Zhong smiled and told Bai Mengwan that in the future, we would all be a family and there was no need to be with him.

So polite. But when Bai Mengwan heard this, she blushed again.

When it was almost noon, Gu Dayong rushed to Zhou Zhong from the palace. Zhou Zhong originally thought he was leaving early, but Gu Dayong told him there was no rush and they could go after dinner. This week

Zhong finally realized that Gu Dayong had come to his place early just to have a meal.

Being able to have a good chat with such a popular person in the palace as Gu Dayong is exactly what Zhou Chong wishes for. After all, he can get a lot of useful information from Gu Dayong, such as Emperor Zhengde's preferences, the situation in the court and some other things.

Secrets, etc. These are all things that Zhou Zhong is very interested in.

After lunch, Zhou Zhong and Gu Dayong rode in the same car, and there was another car behind them pulling the gifts he wanted to give to Emperor Zhengde, and then drove to the western suburbs of Beijing, where Emperor Zhengde stayed in the military camp these days.

middle.

Since Chengzu moved the capital to Beijing, because Beijing is very close to the northern grasslands and may be involved in the slightest war, a huge military force has been maintained around Beijing all year round, collectively called the Beijing Camp, and the Beijing Camp is mainly divided into three parts, namely

They are the Fifth Army Camp, the Three Thousand Camp and the Shenji Camp.

Among them, the fifth military camp is a mixture of infantry and cavalry, with the largest number of people, and it is also the main force of the battle. The three thousand battalions are all cavalry, responsible for patrols and battlefield assaults. The Shenji camp studies firearms and is used for attacking fortresses and setting up defenses. At the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, the fifth military camp,

Both the Three Thousand Battalion and the Firearms Battalion were battle-hardened and were the main force of the Ming Dynasty. Even during the Zhengde period, these three troops still maintained considerable combat effectiveness.

Of the three major camps in the capital, Zhou Zhong was naturally most interested in the Shenji Camp that used firearms. This time Gu Dayong took him to the Shenji Camp. Speaking of which, Shenji Camp is the No. 1 camp in the world.

A firearms unit, which had experienced strength training in the early Ming Dynasty, made the Shenji Battalion extremely powerful in combat. At the same time, they were also highly trusted by the Ming Emperor. They were usually stationed near Sanhai in the imperial city, responsible for guarding the Forbidden City.

However, although the Shenji Battalion is stationed in the Imperial City, they are a firearms unit after all and often need to practice. With the loud noise of firearms, it is naturally impossible for them to practice in the Imperial City. Therefore, the Shenji Battalion is not allowed to practice in the Imperial City.

station, and also has its own dedicated training camp in the western suburbs outside the city.

After getting along with each other for these two days, Zhou Zhong discovered that the eunuch was not just about making money as he thought. At least Gu Dayong beside him was very familiar with many things in the capital. For example, he was going to the camp of Shenji Camp today.

Dayong introduced him to the history and current situation of Shenji Camp.

According to Gu Dayong, when the Shenji Battalion was first built, the entire camp had a total strength of 5,000 people, including 3,600 musketeers, 400 gunners, and 1,000 motorized cavalry. Moreover, Gu Dayong had a strong command of the Shenji Battalion.

The "three-stage attack" tactic is also very familiar, at least it sounds logical. However, after so many years of development, the number of soldiers in the Shenji Battalion has far exceeded 5,000, and the long-term peaceful life has also given the Shenji Battalion's combat effectiveness.

dropped.

In fact, not only the Shenji Camp, but also the Fifth Army Camp and the Three Thousand Battalion had the same problem. The number of soldiers in the entire Beijing Camp has been increasing, but the combat effectiveness has been declining. In order to solve this problem, the imperial court selected ten soldiers from the three battalions.

Twenty thousand people were organized into twelve battalions, called the Twelve Regiment Battalions. However, these twelve regiments and battalions also came from the three major battalions, so the internal rules still followed the divine plan, five armies, and three thousand.

divided into parts.

The camp Zhou Zhong and the others are going to now can be called the Shenji Camp, or one of the twelve regiment camps. According to Gu Dayong, the number of elites selected from the Shenji Camp is still 5,000, independent.

As a battalion, the organization of the camp is exactly the same as that of Chengzu, with every thousand people forming one team. Except for one team that guards the palace, the remaining four teams practice tactics every day in the camp, with a round of five days.

It has not been tested in actual combat, but at least the current Shenji Battalion is much neater in military appearance.

Zhou Zhong and his carriage left the city from Xizhimen, then drove southwest for several miles, and soon arrived outside a military camp. When they first arrived here, Zhou Zhong heard the rumbling of cannons in the military camp.

From the sound of the cannon, Zhou Zhong could tell that it was the Franco machine gun he had sent.

Hearing the sound of artillery outside, Zhou Zhong opened the car window and looked outside, and saw a huge military camp in front of him. The walls around the military camp were tall and strong. Not only were there sergeants standing guard in front of the camp gate, but there were also

Soldiers with muskets on their backs were patrolling. They looked murderous and heavily guarded. Although they had not yet entered the camp, Zhou Zhong already felt a murderous aura coming towards him, making him sit upright involuntarily.

When the carriage arrived at the gate of the camp, it was immediately stopped by the guards. It was not until Gu Dayong showed the pass that it was allowed to pass. Moreover, even after entering the camp, Zhou Zhong and the others encountered several more checkpoints.

, even after showing the token in the end, the guarding soldiers still opened the carriage and inspected it before letting them enter the camp.

After entering the camp, Zhou Zhong saw clearly some of the conditions inside the Shenji Camp. He saw that the buildings in the entire camp were extremely solid and had a certain defensive role. It seemed that this camp was not only used to train soldiers, but also

It is also a strong military fortress. For example, there are certain intervals between the buildings in the military camp, making great use of firearms.

After passing through some barracks with unknown functions, Zhou Zhong and the others soon arrived at the training field at the rear. They saw thousands of soldiers on the field divided into several teams for training. Each team was training on different items, or

They were practicing musket shooting, or practicing hand-to-hand combat skills. There was even a cavalry team practicing horse skills in a corner of the venue.

When they arrived at the training ground, Zhou Zhong and the others could no longer take the carriage. He and Gu Da got off the carriage and watched the soldiers training while walking. Although it was early winter and the weather was already very cold, the soldiers on the field

But they were all wearing single clothes, and all of them were sweating profusely. Coupled with the flying dust, these soldiers looked like natives. But even so, no one dared to relax, because for a moment

If you are not careful, you may be punched and kicked by the instructor next to you.

There is no such thing as human rights in this era, especially in the army. If you want to train a qualified army, you must rely on the fists of these instructors, otherwise those illiterate soldiers will not be obedient.

After passing through this bustling training ground, Zhou Zhong and the others soon came to a checkpoint. According to Gu Dayong's introduction, behind the checkpoint was the training ground for the artillerymen of the Shenji Camp. In fact, there was no need for Gu Dayong to introduce it.

There was a rumble of artillery fire from the front, and Zhou Zhong guessed where it was.

After being inspected again by the soldiers, Zhou Zhong and Gu Dayong finally passed the last hurdle. However, before Zhou Zhong could look at the artillery test firing range, they found a small training ground next to the road.

On the stairs, several young officers of the Jinyi Guards and several officers of the Shenji Battalion gathered there. These people lined up in a row, holding bows and arrows and shooting arrows at the distant target. It seemed that they were competing in archery skills.

Originally, Zhou Zhong didn't pay much attention to the competition between the officers, but when Gu Dayong saw what was happening over there, he walked over with a smile, and Zhou Zhong had no choice but to follow.

"Okay!" As soon as Zhou Zhong and the others approached, they heard a burst of cheers erupting from the small training ground. Zhou Zhong looked up, only to find an officer standing in the middle firing his bow left and right, and all his arrows hit the bull's-eye.

Although Zhou Zhong didn't know how to shoot arrows, he also knew that this kind of archery skill of shooting from left to right was very superb. What was even more rare was that he could shoot so accurately. It seemed that if nothing unexpected happened, this person should be able to win this archery competition.

"Mr. Zhou, let's not go to His Majesty's place for now. Let me introduce you to an important person around Your Majesty!" At this time, Gu Dayong suddenly said with a smile, and his eyes were looking at the man with outstanding archery skills.
Chapter completed!