Chapter 578: East and West of the River

Chapter 571 East and West of the River

These Mongols and Solons were transported to the West Coast in batches from August 1858, and then packed on trains and transported to North Platte to participate in labor.

Although in order to make these Mongols and Solons reach the best physical condition, Liang Yao provided them with a diet that seemed very luxurious to ordinary people in the Qing Dynasty, and three meals a day, and took care of their eating habits. But Liang Yao did not treat them as masters. He did not support idle people. Based on the principle of making the best use of people, Liang Yao let them serve as laborers to build fortresses.

Of course, there are other considerations for letting them participate in labor, that is, to smooth their edges and select the most suitable soldiers from them.

Kekudi recognized Liang Yao, the general who was wearing a beautiful uniform and surrounded by a group of officers. Colonel Kruger, who usually had the final say here and was majestic, could only maintain a very humble attitude in front of this general and listen to the general's lectures.

Kekudi met Liang Yao when he was in Tianjin, and he called him Nikan at that time.

Kekudi didn't know how the memory of this general, who was highly respected by both Chinese and foreigners, was, whether he was a grudge-bearing person, and whether he would still remember him.

But he had had enough of this kind of life of plastering and brick-moving all day long. The Solon people were born warriors, not laborers on construction sites.

Perhaps some Solon and Mongolians were satisfied with this kind of life where they could have food and clothing as long as they worked hard, but unfortunately Kekudi was not such a person who was content with the status quo. This kind of dull life was not what he wanted.

Kekudi touched the inside of his thigh. Because he hadn't ridden a horse for almost half a year, his thigh muscles had regenerated.

"Ni, the general surnamed Liang."

Kekudi almost let it slip again, but fortunately he reacted quickly and took back the word in time.

"Kekudi, are you crazy?! You called him Nikan before, if he remembers this, he will kill you?!" Solon, who was standing by, saw Kekudi's abnormal behavior and hurriedly pulled the corner of Kekudi's clothes, reminding Kekudi not to cause trouble.

But it was too late. Kekudi had a loud voice. Although the noise on the construction site was quite noisy, Liang Yao still heard someone calling his name.

"Kekudi." Liang Yao stepped forward with his hands behind his back and looked Kekudi up and down.

"Ah? Do you still remember me?" Hearing Liang Yao clearly calling his name, Kekudi was very surprised. Soon, his expression became as droopy as an eggplant hit by frost.

Kekudi thought, it's over, it's over. This Liang remembered my name, and he must have remembered that I called him Nikan.

"I have always had a good memory. Since the third year of Xianfeng (1853), you have been fighting against the Taiping Army and the Lien Army in Jiangsu, Anhui and other places." Liang Yao said after thinking about it.

Kekudi can speak fluent Chinese. Liang Shaoqiong also told him that when the Yueyong attacked Gaozi Town, Duolong'e arranged this kid to be Liang Shaoqiong's spy. This kid is a man who doesn't care about his life when fighting.

Therefore, Liang Yao was more careful at that time and remembered Kekudi.

Of course, the most important reason that prompted Liang Yao to remember Kekudi was that during the Battle of Tongzhou, the Solon Cavalry led by Kekudi once defeated the attack of the British Indian Army's Sikh Cavalry Regiment. If it were not for the British Royal Dragoon Regiment to come to the rescue, the Solon Cavalry had been fighting for a long time and was exhausted. It is possible that the British Indian Army's Sikh Cavalry Regiment would be crippled in the Battle of Tongzhou.

"You have a good memory. You remember everything that happened half a year ago. Whatever, whatever, you can kill me or cut me up, it's up to you." Kekudi sighed.

"Why should I kill you?" Liang Yao laughed.

"When I was in Tianjin, I called you Nikan. Have you forgotten this?" Kekudi said.

"What about taking the position?" Liang Yao shook his head. "I'm not as narrow-minded as your old master."

"General Liang, we are all men. I'm a rough man. I'm straightforward. There's no need to be so roundabout. Let's be frank. Do you want me to work for you?" Kekudi said bluntly.

"Work for me?" Liang Yao sneered and shook his head, deliberately provoking Kekudi, "If you can't even beat the British lackeys, you are not qualified to work for me."

"Bah! If the British hadn't come down in person, I would have killed all those turbaned foreigners!" Kekudi said unconvinced, "As for those British, they are quite capable, but they are just relying on the advantages of foreign guns."

"If I give you a foreign gun, are you sure you can beat the British cavalry?" Liang Yao asked with interest.

"Of course!" Kekudi said very confidently.

When attacking Gaozi Town with the Shanzi Battalion of Yueyu, Kekudi secretly used Yueyong's gun.

Unlike the bird guns most commonly equipped in the Qing army, the foreign guns used by Yueyong used percussion caps to fire, which could be used on horseback and had amazing accuracy.

Especially the six-shot continuous hand guns used by Yueyong officers, which could fire six rounds at a time.

Kekudi was a middle- and lower-level officer who often participated in actual combat and personally led troops to charge and fight. He naturally knew the benefits of foreign guns.

If Duolong'a hadn't ordered the Solon cavalry to prohibit the use of firearms, he would really want to get a few Yueyong hand guns to play with.

"I'm afraid you wouldn't use it even if I gave you a foreign gun." Liang Yao shook his head and continued to stimulate Kekudi.

"Isn't it just a foreign gun? It's not like I haven't used it before." Kekudi, who has always been competitive, was naturally very unconvinced.

"Okay! I'll give you a foreign gun, I want to see if you can use it!" He wanted to ask his bodyguard for a volcanic rock lever rifle with the bullets ejected and 6 bullets and threw them on the ground.

The guards around him saw Kekudi bending over to pick up the gun, and subconsciously protected Liang Yao.

Liang Yao didn't care much. The volcanic rock lever gun had just been released and Kekudi had never come into contact with this kind of gun. Moreover, the operation method of the volcanic rock lever gun is very different from that of a regular rifle. Without systematic teaching, it is difficult to use it right away.

Keku, who was eager to try, picked up the gun and bullets on the ground and subconsciously stuffed the bullets into the barrel.

But no matter how he stuffed it, he couldn't stuff it in. He realized that there was something missing, and looked up and said, "Where's the cleaning rod?! You're lying!"

"This gun doesn't have a cleaning rod." Liang Yao said lightly.

"Nonsense! I've never seen a rifle that doesn't use a cleaning rod!" Kekudi just thought Liang Yao was playing with him for fun.

"Now you've seen it!"

As he spoke, Liang Yao snatched the volcanic rock lever gun from Kekudi's hand, reached out to ask the guard beside him for six bullets, skillfully opened the magazine on the side, quickly stuffed the six bullets into the magazine on the side, then closed the magazine and turned on the safety. He fired six shots at the fastest speed in his life until all the ammunition in the magazine was emptied.

This scene not only stunned Kekudi, but also the Prussian instructors beside him.

They had never seen a long gun or lance with such a fast firing rate.

Because the volcanic rock lever gun is much shorter than an ordinary rifle, these Prussian cavalry instructors always thought that Liang Yao's guards were equipped with a carbine specially used for attacking cavalry.

Unexpectedly, the firing rate of this carbine was so amazing!

You know, 10 years ago, when the general in front of him was still a colonel, he wanted to buy the Dreiser needle gun from Prussia at a high price. Who could have imagined that in just ten years, the military industry of the United States would progress so rapidly. It's really terrifying.

In fact, in the mid-19th century, the military industry and even the industrial strength of the United States were not inferior to most European countries. It's just that many Europeans have not yet adapted to this change and still look at the United States with the eyes of the late 18th century.

"General, can I see the gun in your hand?" Major Hermann von Speck asked.

He wanted to touch this unprecedented carbine with a very fast firing rate and a peculiar loading method.

Liang Yao handed the gun to Hermann von Speck. After playing with it for a while, Hermann von Speck praised: "Good gun! Good gun!"

The shorter barrel and lightweight design of this carbine are very convenient for cavalry to use while on horseback, and the lever action loading method is adopted, so that it can be shot quickly while riding a horse.

Hermann von Speck, who came from the cavalry, knew what it would mean if the cavalry was equipped with this rapid-fire carbine.