C3442 whipping

Since the head of the Chinese army led an expedition to Europa to fight the Franco-Prussian War, there has been a brief pacification in Asia, with all the powers retracted and all the armies of the countries redeployed.

This was a rare opportunity for peaceful development in Asia, especially in the South Sea where the Great Qing Dynasty had not received an urgent report in a long time!

The sudden news woke Ma Ming and the rest up from their slumber. Although they did not know what had happened, they knew that they had to calm down.

Ma Ming jumped onto the wooden tower that was on duty and shouted, "Brothers, I, Ma Ming, have promised everyone that I will gather a batch of food and distribute it to everyone in three days …"

"Not an only son. We still have brothers who eat at home, so I'll keep an account for all of you. In any case, you won't be hungry in the camp …"

"With the limited amount of food, we can first split it among those brothers who have problems with their families … "I guarantee that everyone will have at least a bag of rice, ten catties of cured meat, and a pot of oil by then …"

"After we disperse today, we will use the class as a group to do the statistics. We will negotiate with each other to see who will not be able to cook. We will give our brothers some rations to split …"

"Don't worry... The Emperor is coming back... The issue of military pay was easy to settle! Do you believe me, brothers? I, Ma Ming, am also a good man who can run horses on my arm.

"If I don't pay, I can sell my family's ancestors and make up for the losses of my brothers …" Do you believe me? "

These soldiers had all been slowly selected by the personal guards of the three hundred Empyreans. These soldiers had all been slowly trained and trained by the personal guards of the Empyrean God Clan. These soldiers were their immediate subordinates.

The rest of the comrades with better families also spoke up, "That's right, it's about time. When the class is having a meeting later, we'll help you gather some money, and you'll have to get through the tough New Year as well …"

The officer promised, his comrades would persuade him, and the base level Queue length would step in to coordinate with him.

As the camp's gates gradually began to disperse, the three treasures spoke out, "You are all soldiers of the Son of Heaven's Guards. You all understand the principle of military law as great as the heavens …"

"Today, you all have been in violation of the military rules. Fortunately, you did not take action. Otherwise, you all would have been shot to death!"

"What is it? You want to take the grain and leave? "

The squad Queue length who was leading the way immediately turned around and saluted: "Sir!" We'll remember the rules in our hearts, we won't forget them... According to the rules of the imperial guards, anyone who stirred up trouble was to be sentenced to twenty lashes for the first time and to three days in prison … Once again, we have committed a crime and expelled the military camp! "

"Brothers, we were forced to cause such a huge ruckus for a mouthful of food from my mother! But military law cannot be abrogated, and since the governor has promised food... Then come out and receive your punishment! "

"Yes sir!" With a loud clap of thunder, the three to four hundred soldiers that had barged in immediately saluted and turned around to take off their military uniforms.

The four hundred sturdy mountaineers, all of their bronze tendons and flesh were like lump of iron. They stood in a square formation in the barracks, receiving their punishment together!

In this era, corporal punishment was still very popular among the military. Whether it was the Chinese New Army or the Prussian Iron Army, all the armies in the English and French and the United States had corporal punishment.

Whip punishment was a very common type, but suddenly four hundred people were beaten up. It was too spectacular, even the Mawei Shipyard in the distance were in a commotion, causing many of the Western Engineers to look unwilling to do so.

"Oh, God! "Those soldiers just want their own military pay, not rebellion. Isn't it a little too harsh to take a beating like this …"

"Is this the army of the Qing dynasty?" Why is it so different from what the promotions say … "It's neat, strict, and doesn't feel relaxed at all …"

"Oh Qiao Zhi, you must know that these are all the imperial guards that the emperor himself directly served and were newly trained to do so … "It's different from the soldiers who are beggars in this place …"

"Execute the punishment!" The brigade commander of the first battalion of the second division, San Bao, roared. The other four hundred soldiers stood behind their comrades as they swung their braids.

The cowhide whip was a common tool of corporal punishment in the army camp. As it whipped through the air, it made a "wu wu wu" sound. Pa … The blow on his back was a blood-red mark.

Not a single one of the four hundred soldiers made a sound. All of them crossed their tails and bit down on the tip of their tongues. They were in so much pain that the muscles on their faces twitched. However, none of them made a sound.

Twenty lashes might not sound like a lot, but anyone who had experienced a lashing would know that it was painful. A lance was not something a child could use to whip a willow tree.

Even a healthy soldier would have to lie in bed for four or five days after receiving twenty lashes of the whip.

The atmosphere immediately became grim. No one dared to speak or make fun of them. Looking at their brothers who were being tortured, they couldn't bear it any longer.

However, no one dared to plead, and begging for mercy could only result in a heavier punishment!

"One, two, three … "Nine, ten, eleven …" The sounds of counting rang in everyone's heart, and the first one who could not stand it anymore was none other than Civil Servant Shen Baozhen.

"That should be enough …" That's enough... Alright, let me plead for mercy. Let this matter end here … If there's really no other way, we'll have to go back and punish them together with the next time! "

Although Shen Baozhen knew that this matter was not his main responsibility, the soldiers would often not understand the deeper conflicts in the imperial court.

The soldiers did not understand that the pay of the Janissaries was actually the responsibility of the court, and that Fujian had no obligation to raise money, at least not in full.

Right now, the problem of the thirty thousand people from the new guard army was still in the imperial court. The Ministry of Revenue did not have money, the Ministry of Internal Affairs did not have money, and the emperor did not have a small treasury.

Right now, Zuo Zongtang had ordered Fujian to prepare 1 million silver coins for the entire army budget. All of this money was actually money from the military expenditure in Pingxiang, which Zuo Zongtang squeezed out of his own pocket.

What remained were the military expenditures that Hu Xueyan had privately raised for the emperor from Jiangnan, which amounted to more than three million silver yuan. Of course, there was also the empress dowagers's more than two hundred thousand silver taels.

With just this amount of money, it looked like 4 million was not a small amount, but the New Imperial Army was a pure Western army! It was not something that could be raised just by paying soldiers to buy some rice noodles.

How was he going to deal with the money for the equipment? Even if the British gave the emperor a price, a cannon with 30 cannons would not be considered expensive if he were to charge 20,000 silver coins for it, right?

10 gates would be 200,000, 100 gates would be 2 million!

All that was left were military uniforms, rifles, leather boots, standard equipment, bullets, artillery shells … All of them needed money. A modern army with thirty thousand soldiers … Honestly speaking, it was not enough not to spend ten million silver taels!

However, the soldiers could not understand the twists and turns. They only knew that today's beating had something to do with Shen Baozhen.