The next moment!
Annihilate the enemy! Annihilate the enemy!
Annihilate the enemy! Annihilate the enemy!
Annihilate the enemy! Annihilate the enemy!
Fifty sharpshooters responded in unison to Fang Er.
Most of them were ordinary soldiers.
There were very few squad leaders like Li Danian and Liu Xuan.
Now that Fang Er was not only recommending them for merit but also raising their treatment, it would be foolish not to agree.
Where else would they work!
Just do it!
In this day and age, selling your life was just for a meal!
Moreover, Fang Er's decisive annihilation of the enemy had truly ignited their fighting spirit.
They were all strong young men around twenty years old!
They were tired of being idle soldiers in Chang'an City!
Most of these men were good young men from Guanzhong. They had witnessed countless wars since birth.
To be able to annihilate the enemy was the dream of countless brave men from Guanzhong.
Annihilate the enemy and give their descendants peace!
It was worth it even if it cost them their lives!
"Now, I appoint! Li Danian as the commander of the enemy annihilation army, Meng Zhong and Liu Xuan as squad leaders, and there are three more squad leader positions, to be selected from the top three in shooting performance!"
"Zhu Zi, distribute the scopes. Li Danian, Meng Zhong, and Liu Xuan, the three of you are responsible for teaching them how to use the scopes!"
Fang Er waved his hand, ending his rousing speech.
Damn it!
His throat was hoarse from shouting!
To motivate others, he had gotten so excited himself.
Who else could do that?
He handed over the scene to Li Danian and the others to handle.
Fang Er himself went to the workshop.
Leaning back in his chair, he drank tea and watched Zhao Gang and the others busy themselves.
In the evening, Fang Er returned to Fangjia Village, rubbing his sore arm.
He did not know that his speech from earlier had been relayed to Li Er verbatim.
Li Er had not expected such awareness at such a young age.
This significantly increased his favorability towards Fang Er.
He even considered proposing marriage to Fang Er for a time!
The next day.
There was still one day left before their departure.
Fang Er instructed Zhu Zi to oversee the training of the enemy annihilation army.
He himself, with Huzi and Dali, entered Chang'an City.
In front of the East Palace gate.
Eunuch Deng, who had been notified, personally came out to greet Fang Er.
"Oh! Lieutenant Fang, hurry up, His Majesty is waiting for you."
The cannons seized by Goguryeo had always been on Li Er's mind.
He wanted to know Fang Er's plans.
However, he had said before that he wouldn't interfere, so he couldn't ask again.
Upon hearing that Fang Er had arrived, he quickly sent someone to announce him.
Entering the East Palace, Li Er sat behind his desk, looking at memorials.
Seeing Fang Er enter, he put down the memorial in his hand.
"An Zhi, are your preparations ready?"
"Everything is ready, and we are waiting to depart tomorrow. Your subject has something to ask Your Majesty for permission for."
Fang Er cupped his hands in a salute.
"Oh? Sit down and tell me, Little Deng Zi, fetch a chair for An Zhi."
Li Er was curious about what request Fang Er had at this time.
The chair was brought over, and Fang Er, without politeness, sat down, shifting his weight to find a comfortable position.
"Your Majesty, those fifty sharpshooters, do not let them return to their original army. I suggest establishing a new army."
"Tell me the reason."
"These men are good prospects with excellent talent for shooting. I have equipped each of them with a sniper rifle, and they are getting familiar with its operation these past two days. Their performance is very good, so sending them back to their original army would be a waste."
Fang Er explained.
"This is easy to handle, it shall be as you say. Are the sniper rifles you mentioned the ones I tried last time?"
Li Er asked in surprise.
The secret service had only reported Fang Er's speech and not the matter of Fang Er equipping the sharpshooters with sniper rifles.
In their opinion, the rifle was just slightly different, and they did not know what it represented.
"Yes, I had artisans specially craft them, and it cost quite a bit! This money, Your Majesty, perhaps it is not appropriate for me to bear it?"
Fang Er said, feigning pain.
"How much?"
"Twenty taels of silver for a sniper rifle! Five taels for plate armor!"
Fang Er first held up two fingers, then held up a palm.
He was uncertain if Li Er would agree to such a bold request.
But to his surprise.
Li Er directly accepted the bill.
"Little Deng Zi, go to the Ministry of Revenue, find Prime Minister Fang, and get the silver according to Lieutenant Fang's stated amount."
Fang Er cursed in his heart.
"Holy cow!"
"Damn it!"
"I sold it too cheap!"
He did not realize at all.
Li Er was willing to spend twenty-five taels just for the scope!
Twelve hundred and fifty taels of silver.
It was carried into the East Palace by two guards.
In front of Li Er, the box was opened.
"Take this silver with you, do you have any other requests?"
Li Er felt that Fang Er was very reliable!
He felt the price was incredibly cheap!
"I promised them that after establishing the new army, their salaries would be tripled."
Fang Er glanced at Li Er's expression.
"That's easily said! I agree, but I also have a condition!"
Although he was happy to have gotten a bargain, Li Er was still thinking about those eight cannons.
"Those cannons that were seized by Goguryeo, I don't care what method you use, either bring them back or destroy them!"
"Your Majesty, rest assured! Your subject guarantees to complete the mission!"
Afterward, Fang Er left with the imperial decree to establish the new army.
He returned to the workshop.
He read the imperial decree to the enemy annihilation army.
These newly assembled soldiers looked at Fang Er in surprise.
He had only mentioned it yesterday, and today he had already obtained the imperial decree.
This Lieutenant Fang is no ordinary person!
Ignoring their expressions.
After reading the imperial decree, Fang Er said to everyone.
"For this march north, I have one more requirement for you all!"
"No matter when! No matter where! The guns in your hands, even a single part, must not fall into the hands of the enemy! As long as the person is there, the gun must be there! Do you understand?"
"As long as the person is there, the gun must be there!"
"As long as the person is there, the gun must be there!"
The soldiers shouted in unison.
The next day.
The time for departure had arrived.
Fang Er arrived at the workshop early.
Fifty enemy annihilation soldiers, fully equipped, each with a Dragon Tooth sword, a waist knife, and a large bag of pre-loaded bullets.
The bullets Fang Er provided were all copper-tipped bullets, already similar in shape to modern bullet tips.
The rising sun made their silver armor gleam.
Fang Er also summoned the five hundred musketeers from the Fang Family Guard.
For the sake of morale!
We cannot lose!
More than five hundred men, forming a cavalry unit, without any provisions, set off for Beiping Commandery!
It was a distance of nearly three thousand li from Chang'an to Beiping Commandery!
Fang Er dared not delay on the road.
They traveled at least four hundred li every day!
Everywhere they stopped, they used money to smooth the way, treating their mounts like honored guests.
Not to mention fodder and concentrated feed, they also added two eggs and a basin of fermented rice wine to each horse's meal.
The others were stunned.
Damn it! They ate better than people!
Under his extravagant spending, the warhorses were also very spirited!
They reached Beiping Commandery in six days!
Initially, Fang Er thought that Beiping Commandery was in the vicinity of Beijing.
But when he arrived, he discovered that it had nothing to do with Beijing at all!
What the heck!