weaving

Chapter 1314 Giving Gifts

The second day, at noon.

A rider on a fast horse came galloping and delivered a letter to Ren Chen in Yuzhai.

Ren Chen could only recognize a few big characters, so how could he read this letter of more than a hundred words? However, he also captured a few literate scholars in the mountains to act as his clerks and military advisors.

Initially, he was afraid that these scholars had many evil intentions and might pretend to obey his orders but actually disobey them. Some of them might even tamper with his letters. They also used some sinister means and tested them repeatedly. Finally, they were scared out of their wits and dared not play tricks in front of Ren Chen anymore.

From this we can see that Ren Chen's current status is definitely not just due to luck, he does have some skills, even if they are just some tricks that are not worthy of being shown on the public eye, but among the gangsters who came from the local thugs and peasants, he can barely be considered a leader.

The content of Ji Zhiying's letter really made Ren Chen overjoyed...

The cold weapons of one hundred swords and guns are not the key. Fifty sets of armor, twenty long guns, two Portuguese cannons and ten muskets, as well as four mortars and four tiger squat cannons are also needed.

Although it doesn't look like a lot, it is enough to shock Ren Chen!

Cold weapons such as short swords and long spears were not very scarce even in Ren Chen's place, but those fifty sets of armor and guns were the things he had been longing for.

Armor has always been a rare item and even a contraband. It has been strictly forbidden for private possession of armor by the people in all dynasties. Once discovered, the person would be charged with treason. Even those from families of military generals were subject to the same punishment, unless they received special permission from the emperor. This is the origin of the saying "One armor is worth three crossbows, three armors will go to the underworld."

Take Ren Chen's team for example. Although he has more than ten mountain strongholds with tens of thousands of people, there are only three or four thousand people who can be called soldiers. But even among these three or four thousand bandits, there are no more than two hundred people wearing armor, and most of them are not wearing full sets of armor.

Henan is originally an inland area, so the officers and soldiers here naturally cannot be compared with the border troops in various border towns. Most of them are wearing military uniforms, and there are very few who wear helmets and armor. Only those who have official titles and are above a thousand households have armor, and many hundred households cannot even get armor to wear.

Therefore, even though Ren Chen was considered a powerful figure in western Henan and had conquered several counties, he did not obtain many rare items such as armor and guns, and most of them were very worn out and of little use.

Ren Chen was very excited now. He immediately ordered people to prepare wine and food, and sent people to the outside of the first mountain gate in advance to sweep the dust. He also brought out the opera troupe that he enjoyed, and asked them to play music in front of the mountain gate to liven up the atmosphere.

In order to demonstrate his military strength, Ren Chen also specially displayed the trump cards of his stronghold - one hundred armored warriors. In addition, there were five hundred strong men holding swords and axes behind him to show his strength.

…………

At 3:00 p.m., Ren Chen received news that Ji Zhiying would personally escort the military equipment and would arrive at Yuzhai in about half an hour.

It was not until three quarters after the afternoon that Ji Zhiying arrived with five hundred soldiers, carrying the armor, weapons, guns and other items promised to Ren Chen.

When Ren Chenchu ​​saw the flags and troops coming up from the mountain, he was extremely excited. He shouted for the band to start playing and ordered the band to line up.

He personally led the five leaders of Yuzhai and strode towards Ji Zhiying at the foot of the mountain.

There were fifty elite warriors walking in front of him. They were all wearing armor, and each of them was broad-shouldered and strong-willed. They walked up the mountain in neat steps, looking very majestic. Ren Chen was stunned on the spot. The might in front of him was too shocking, and he was a little frightened.

"General Ren, the commander of the Xuanwu Battalion of the Yongyi Army, General Shanhu, is here to greet you."

Ren Chen turned his head and saw a young man with a square face saluting towards him with his fists clasped.

Seeing Ren Chen standing there in a daze, the young officer who called himself Shanhu added, "General Ren, have you forgotten me? I am Little Tiger. When we were fighting in Gongxian, I was blocked in an alley by a dozen soldiers. It was you who brought people to rescue me."

After he reminded him, Ren Chen recalled this experience and said with a smile: "Good boy, you have grown up to be so successful. If you hadn't introduced yourself, I really wouldn't have recognized you."

Shanhu clasped his fists again and said with a smile: "How dare Shanhu forget the kindness of saving my life, Master Ren."

After he finished speaking, he immediately issued an order, commanding the fifty soldiers who had followed him up the mountain to stand on both sides of the mountain road, completely clearing the middle mountain road.

On the mountain road, the figure of a Ming army general appeared. It was Ji Zhiying, the captain of the Xuanwu Battalion of the Yongyi Army, who was riding a horse. Behind him were eight knights and behind them were three hundred and fifty infantrymen.

It can be clearly seen that the officers and soldiers walking at the back are carrying bundles of swords, guns, armor, and long guns tied together. Especially the cannons, with their black muzzles facing the mountain stronghold, it looks very oppressive from a distance!

Ren Chen was overjoyed to see that Ji Zhiying kept his promise. He ignored Shanhu beside him and strode towards Ji Zhiying.

But what he didn't notice was that Bai Zong Shanhu walked in front of the five leaders of Yuzhai and followed closely behind Ren Chen. Ren Chen just thought that he came to welcome Ji Zhiying and didn't care about it at all.

"Brother Ren, Zhiying is late and I'm sorry to have kept you waiting for a long time." Ji Zhiyingce greeted him from afar on his warhorse.

When Ji Zhiying got off the horse, Ren Chen quickly came to him, took his hand and said warmly: "It's not too late, not too late. I have prepared good wine and good food. Today, I must get drunk with my good brother."

"Not urgent."

Ji Zhiying waved his left hand and pulled him with his right hand to the team behind him, saying as they walked: "Come on, brother, check the weapons first, then we can go into the camp for a feast."

When the two men arrived in front of the team, they saw the soldiers spreading out bundles of weapons, as well as the bundles of packed armor, which were now all spread out in front of the team for Ren Chen to count and inspect.

Finally, the ten cannons were lined up in a row, with two Portuguese cannons in the middle, four mortars on the left, and four tiger squat cannons on the right. Shells and powder bags were neatly placed next to each cannon, and the ten black muzzles were pointed towards the mountain gate of Yuzhai...

When the afternoon sun shone obliquely on the gun barrels, there seemed to be powder sticks sticking out from the rear end of each cannon. It was not known whether it was a momentary oversight or there was some other hidden secret.

However, all Ren Chen saw were big pies in his eyes, and he was grinning so hard that he couldn't even close his mouth, so he couldn't see the subtle differences in the details.