That night, the husband and wife did not rest well, with Peng Wang and those officials constantly appearing in their minds. Mo Jiuye got up early the next morning to organize his brothers and subordinates to go up the mountain.
He had originally intended to let those old subordinates who had returned from the South rest for a few days, but plans could not keep up with the changing circumstances. In the current situation, it seemed that rest was out of the question.
Those old subordinates had arrived in the Northwest only one night ago, yet they already liked it here.
The living environment the Mo Family had prepared for them was a hundred times better than what they had in the South.
Among these people were chefs who had specifically cooked in the barracks. After arriving in the Northwest, they continued their original work.
The ingredients had also been delivered by Mo Jiuye after Mo Yuance returned.
The various fresh vegetables grown on the Mo Family's farmland, as well as the meat and grain He Zhiran had secretly taken out of the space—although it was the hot summer, the temperature on the mountain was naturally lower than at the foot of the mountain. The caves were even cooler, practically natural storage rooms.
The ingredients left in the caves could easily be kept fresh for days.
When Mo Jiuye arrived with his men, those old subordinates had just finished breakfast and were sitting together discussing how the Mo Family had not mistreated them, and had actually prepared so much delicious food for them.
Seeing the Mo brothers arrive, the old subordinates crowded around.
Although they had arrived in the Northwest yesterday and heard that the Mo brothers and the old Duke were still alive, they had only seen a few people.
Meng Huaining knew the Mo Family had important things to deal with today, so he had given Mo Chuhan a long vacation.
Therefore, the nine Mo brothers appeared before the old subordinates this morning.
Seeing the nine Mo masters, the old subordinates' eyes were brimming with tears, and some had already started sobbing loudly.
Wang Kai clutched Mo Junrui's hand tightly.
"Master, if you hadn't saved me back then and brought me to the barracks to train, I'm afraid I would have died on the road fleeing from the famine.
The reason I stayed in the South was that I hoped to see the enemies who harmed you die one day, so I could go to your graves and tell you the news.
When I heard that you were still alive, I didn't even dare to rest, for fear that I would wake up and find it was all a dream."
Although these people were all insignificant soldiers, the Mo brothers had never treated them as subordinates when leading troops, but as their own good brothers.
Hearing Wang Kai's words now, everyone present had reddened eyes, and several could not help crying loudly.
Mo Junrui beckoned for several brothers to come forward and comfort everyone. After the emotions had stabilized, Mo Jiuye solemnly said:
"You must have heard from Seventh Brother on the way back to the Northwest that the Mo Family is currently beset by enemies on all sides.
When I went to the South on business not long ago and passed through the South, I saw some brothers go to my father and brothers' graves to pay respects.
I knew then that you were not doing well in the barracks, so I thought that one day I would take you away from there.
Who would have thought that at this time, my Mo Family would be in peril again. I had intended to let everyone rest for a few days, but the enemies won't give us time to rest. Regrettably, I can only ask everyone to start training today."
As he finished speaking, Mo Jiuye took a semi-automatic crossbow from Tao Ran and showed it to everyone.
Before Mo Jiuye could explain the details of the semi-automatic crossbow, someone asked, "Master Nine, are these crossbow bolts?
I've seen the Emperor's imperial guards holding similar weapons.
It's said that the range of these crossbows is much longer than bows and arrows, and they're also more accurate."
"This is indeed a crossbow, but it's very different from the ones you've seen." Mo Jiuye said.
"Master Nine, this crossbow does look much more intricate than the ones used by the imperial guards. What are the differences?" an old subordinate asked.
Many of them had seen crossbows in public, and knew these were extremely rare, with reportedly only a hundred or so in the entire Da Shun Dynasty.
Yet each person behind the Mo brothers was holding a dozen or so, far exceeding the number of crossbows owned by the Da Shun Dynasty.
Mo Jiuye did not explain immediately. Instead, he raised the crossbow in his hand, aimed at a flying bird in the sky, and fired several bolts in the blink of an eye.
At the same time, before anyone could react, three birds of varying sizes fell in front of them.
The birds all had feathered bolts stuck in them.
The old subordinates kept rubbing their eyes, completely disbelief at what had just happened.
After a long while, someone asked, "Master Nine, if I'm not mistaken, you just fired three bolts in succession?"
Mo Jiuye walked closer so they could examine the semi-automatic crossbow more clearly.
Just then someone exclaimed, "Master Nine, there are still a dozen or so bolts in this crossbow?"
"That's right. This weapon is called a semi-automatic crossbow. It can continuously fire twenty crossbow bolts," Mo Jiuye said while removing the bolt clip so everyone could see more clearly.
"Not only that, installing the bolts is extremely easy. Just gently push the clip in and it's done. You'll never have a situation of not having time to install bolts when facing the enemy."
Mo Jiuye slowly pushed the clip containing the bolts back in, under everyone's gaze.
He inserted and removed the clip several times, then handed out the semi-automatic crossbows brought for everyone to practice first.
After all, with nearly a thousand people on the mountain, they could not have brought enough for everyone. Later they would send some people down the mountain to retrieve more.
His goal now was to let them get acquainted with the semi-automatic crossbow while quickly learning how to use it.
The bolts inside could be reused. They could spend the next two days practicing their aim.
What soldier isn't interested in weapons?
Even though several people had to share one crossbow, everyone was still extremely excited.
The semi-automatic crossbow wasn't difficult to operate. Especially the ones He Zhiran had bought from Taobao Treasure Mall, which came with a sight, so aim wasn't too big of a concern either.
As long as their arm strength was sufficient, and they didn't shake when firing, there basically wouldn't be any deviation.
In less than an hour, the soldiers had grasped the use and techniques of the semi-automatic crossbow. All that remained was more practice.
To get everyone proficient with the semi-automatic crossbow as soon as possible, Mo Jiuye brought more people down the mountain to retrieve enough crossbows and bolts.
Two days later when he came to inspect again, the soldiers could hit flying birds in the sky just like him.
Mo Jiuye was very satisfied with everyone's progress. Next was to teach them to use explosives.
