readsfreenovel Chapter 158 West City Garrison Camp
Chapter 158 West City Garrison Camp
The first person was tall, handsome and elegant.
Zhou Chang recognized him at the first sight, even though she had only met him once before, but she always had a deep memory for people with good looks.
The Minister of War, Peng Pai, was a middle-aged man in his forties, with black hair and beard, a handsome appearance, sharp eyebrows, bright eyes, and a broad nose.
This person looks very handsome, but from what I have heard, what he has done...
I couldn't help but think of the name "Ma Feihu" again.
From a distance, Peng Paisi spoke briefly to Tang Mao, the commander of the imperial guards, and then led two people towards the east stands.
After he got on the stand, he bowed to Zhou Chang and said, "I am Peng Pai, the Minister of War, and I am here to see His Royal Highness Prince Yi."
"Lord Peng, there is no need to be so polite." Since Zhou Chang had already seen it, he also stood up to greet him and gave him a light support.
Looking closer, I can see that Peng Pai's facial features are very sharp and angular, and he is truly an extraordinary man.
The only drawback is that when you look closely, you can see two heavy dark circles around the eyes, which are called panda eyes, but it does not affect the overall appearance.
"Your Highness Prince Yi, I have brought the guards here to receive 10,000 bottles of frostbite cream," Peng Pai said solemnly, in a businesslike manner, but his words were not very impressive. "However... it seems... the refining has not been completed yet. I wonder when these 10,000 bottles can be delivered?"
"Guard Battalion?" Zhou Chang searched in his mind what it was for.
"It's Jindu's West City Garrison Camp. The task of delivering military supplies this time falls on them." The Peng faction was not surprised that Prince Yi didn't know about the garrison camp.
Zhou Chang also gained some impressions from Prince Yi's memory almost at the same time.
In the Lin State, all important cities are guarded by garrison camps, especially in Jindu, where there are large camps stationed on all four sides for rotational defense. The West City Garrison Camp is the camp where soldiers are stationed to the west of Jindu.
"Are the rest of the supplies ready?" Zhou Chang avoided answering the question about frostbite cream.
Peng Pai, the Minister of War, was in charge of the military preparations: "Yes, other supplies such as cotton clothes, shoes and hats, charcoal, medicinal materials, etc. have been prepared. We can set off after the frostbite ointment is received."
Zhou Chang couldn't answer when he would prepare the frostbite cream. It was already late, so he could only ask, "When do we leave?"
"Tomorrow at the hour of Mao." Peng Pai only had four brief words to say.
"Mao hour?" Zhou Chang counted on his fingers, but still couldn't figure out what time it was. He just knew it was the time when the emperor went to court, which was probably around five in the morning.
Peng Pai was good at observing people's expressions and knew that the frostbite cream had not been prepared yet, but due to his duty, he had to ask again carefully: "Your Highness Prince Yi, when will this batch of frostbite cream be completed? If it is delayed in sending it out..."
"How many people have come from the West City Garrison Camp?" Zhou Chang suddenly had an idea.
Peng Pai replied dryly: "Ten mule carts, forty-three people."
"That's great." Zhou Chang paced back and forth. "I'm short of manpower here, so let them help... After the frostbite cream is ready, just help bottle it."
“……” Peng Pai pursed his lips and said nothing.
"It's not in vain." Zhou Chang couldn't think much now. The most important thing was to get the wages.
The Peng faction always looked like it didn't dare to speak.
"What?" Zhou Chang was already anxious, but he couldn't show it on his face. "Sir Peng is the Minister of War, so he can't be incapable of such a small matter. I've said that nothing will be done in vain."
Peng Pai hesitated: "Your Highness, I am only responsible for handing over the supplies. As for the garrison camps... they have always been under the direct command of their respective generals. I am afraid that I have no say."
Although the Minister of War was a civilian official who could not lead troops to fight or command military commanders, he was still a third-rank official in the imperial court. Moreover, the Ministry of War was in charge of the assessment and promotion of military officers. Could it be that he could not even order the low-ranking officers of the garrison camp?
Zhou Chang didn't believe it, but seeing Peng's constipated expression, he couldn't say anything, so he slowed down and said, "Master Peng, go talk to them and help with the bottling. If everything is done, each person will get ten taels of silver."
"Your Highness Prince Yi, I'm afraid it's not appropriate for me to go and talk about this matter." Peng Pai was embarrassed.
"What's wrong?" Zhou Chang couldn't think clearly for a moment.
Peng Pai was speechless and wiped the cold sweat from his forehead with his sleeve.
After a while, Zhou Chang thought about her past work experience and realized that Peng Pai didn't want to take the responsibility, but she had no right to assign people from the West City Garrison Battalion, so she could only reluctantly discuss with Peng Pai: "Master Peng, just give it a try. This job is not a difficult one. Don't you want to finish the job as soon as possible? Just ask them to help."
Peng Pai paused, and finally had no choice but to nod: "Yes, since His Royal Highness Prince Yi insists, I will try, but I'm afraid it won't work."
Zhou Chang watched Peng Pai return, and he felt that there was little hope just by looking at Peng Pai's back.
After thinking about it, she realized that this was her own business after all. She should try it herself to see if she had the status and position. Besides, the deadline had already arrived, so she had no time to care about so many things.
Zhou Chang hurriedly took Gao Yuan and Shouhou and followed.
From afar, Peng was seen going to meet the people from the West City Garrison Camp. He seemed to have said something to one of the leading generals, then shrugged his shoulders, as if he had given up.
The Minister of War, Peng Pai, looks outstanding on the surface, but when it comes to doing things, he is as weak as a straw bag.
Zhou Chang couldn't help but complain in his heart, but knowing that it was none of his business, he strode forward.
On the east side of the training ground, the air was filled with the smell of snake blood, and snake oil was boiling in large black pots.
The chef sent by Siwei Medicine Shop is adding medicinal powder into the pot in batches according to the heat.
He felt a little excited, as this was a small achievement of his.
Shi Song, the director of the Imperial Pharmacy, also came over with sweat all over his forehead.
"When will all the frostbite cream be made?" Zhou Changxian asked Shi Song.
Although Shi Song was an eunuch, he had worked in the Imperial Pharmacy for many years and was still loyal to his duties: "Your Highness Prince Yi, this is the first batch of medicine that can be bottled after adding the medicinal materials. According to the twenty pots currently burning, it will take another four rounds to complete."
"Why are there only twenty pots turned on?" Zhou Chang frowned. Most of the pots were now idle.
Shi Song was helpless: "Your Highness Prince Yi, just now Tang Duwei arranged for half of the people to rest, and the remaining half can't work anymore."
"This won't do. We need to light up all fifty pots. We can't stop working even if we have to lay off workers." Zhou Chang said this, but in reality, there was no one on duty, so how could he not stop?
Shi Song was speechless and his face was filled with sorrow.
Peng's negotiations were fruitless, and when he was about to turn around to report, he found that Zhou Chang had already approached him: "Your Highness Prince Yi, they said that they have to leave for the front line early tomorrow morning, so they don't have the energy to do this."
Zhou Chang took the opportunity to walk over and made his words clear: "The more capable, the more work; the less capable, the less work. I'm not saying that they should take care of everything. It's just that there is strength in numbers, so just do what you can." "Instead of passively losing sleep, it's better to stay up late actively;
Instead of abandoning the pit proactively, they are still digging the pit passively;"