Great time travel

Chapter 613: Arrival of the "Red Uniform"

Chapter 13. The Arrival of the "Red Uniform"

When the first batch of zombies were about to be released in London, the village of Longbourne, 25 miles away, was still calm.

Wang Qiu and others were holding "Pride and Prejudice" and waited for the battle. Before the beautiful and lively Mr. Bingley and Mr. Darcy, another iceberg male god known for his arrogance, they ushered in an emigration from the north. Militia at Meryton.

(It has already been said that the small town of Meryton, only a mile from the village of Longbourn, was the haunt of the five Bennet sisters.)

——The size of the British Army in this era was very small, and the total strength of the entire army was only a very pitiful 5 people (including the [-] Indian soldiers hired by the East India Company), and they were scattered throughout the country. Canada to India halfway around the world.Therefore, this pocket army can only use the "regiment" as the basic strategic unit, and the rank of the regiment leader is a colonel.The "brigade" at the next level is a temporary establishment, consisting of several regiments when needed, and the brigade commander is routinely appointed by the most senior regiment leader, who is temporarily awarded the rank of brigadier general. dissolve.

As for the "divisions" and "armies" at a higher level... If you don't count the garrisons in overseas colonies, the total army in Britain at that time was about the size of a division. If you still need to appoint any division commander, wouldn't it Is it equivalent to grabbing the job of the commander-in-chief of the army?

The British army regiments are roughly divided into militia regiments (actually regular army regiments) and guard regiments. The latter are permanently stationed in the capital to protect the royal family. The former are scattered throughout the country and are supported by localities. They will only gather in the capital during wartime. Near London or some other port, waiting to embark on the expedition.

The town of Meryton, which is only more than 20 miles away from London, is one of the frequent distribution centers of various militia regiments of the British Army.

(It's pitiful to think about it. The British exploited the seven seas and conquered the world with such a small army, but the Qing's millions of soldiers and horses were moldy at home.)

Accompanied by the brisk "March of the Grenadiers", groups of infantrymen with quick-fire guns filed in from outside the town, and low-ranking officers in red uniforms rode high-headed horses, swaggering through the city in a high-spirited manner, attracting ladies and gentlemen. The cheers and infatuated attention of the ladies.

In the British countryside in this era, those ladies who have no worries about food and clothing, their daily life is very boring, and they can only use social interaction to fill the gap in life.Although the so-called social life is nothing more than exchanging some well-known gossip and gossip with each other.And with the arrival of these "red uniforms", the social life in the countryside, which was not rich and exciting enough, suddenly set off waves of turmoil.All the ladies and wives were very excited and waved to the red uniforms one after another, and some suspected "uniform control" guys became crazy.

Wang Qiu, disguised as Mr. Collins, stood at the door of a shop in Meryton Town, watching these vivid scenes with cold eyes.

By comparing the costumes of the onlookers on both sides of the street, Wang Qiu has to admit that the reason why these ladies and ladies in the British countryside are crazy about the red uniforms, and even become a bunch of brainless "uniform control", is probably the same. There is a certain reason.Because the British upper class clothing at the end of the eighteenth century was really lacking in beauty. The skirts of the ladies were all high-waisted and straight-cut, without curves, as if they were wrapped in curtains.No matter how slender the girl is, as long as the skirt is on her body, she will exude a pregnant woman's breath.Long skirts with whalebone skirts and wide and fluffy skirts like those in "Gone with the Wind" and "La Traviata" have not yet become popular in Britain in this era.

——Of course, this may also be a good news for some women who pay more attention to health than beauty: no need to corset their waists, no need to go on a diet, and no need to wear the kind of clothes that often strangle the ladies and deform the bones of high-class women. Horrible corsets with frequent dystocias (the terrible corsets came back intensified in the later Victorian era), and they didn’t even need to wear high heels (only French women generally wore high heels at that time, and British ladies mainly wore flat shoes, similar to Modern Women's Sneakers)…

As for the men's clothing for gentlemen... The men's coats popular among British gentlemen in this era are even more ridiculous. The hem longer than the knees is slit at the back, which is said to be for the convenience of riding a horse.The tops and jackets are all toga with large sleeves, and the trousers are all baggy, and they are all held by belts to prevent them from falling down.

In this era when dark-colored loose men's clothing is prevalent, relatively speaking, the British Army's straight red uniform is indeed the most eye-catching clothing that best reflects the male figure.At least in terms of visual effects, he is far more handsome than those gentlemen who follow the rules and wear dark clothes.Especially when applied to those handsome and burly young men, they become pieces of "little fresh meat" that can make infatuated women drool...

Unfortunately, in the eyes of the enemy, they are also pieces of fat that are easy to chew—for example, Nan Lixiang, an excellent sniper in the Japanese police, is dressed as a maid and stands next to Wang Qiu. The "red uniforms" in front of him were harshly evaluated: "...the older ones are bloated and bloated, while the younger ones are generally greasy and have loose muscles. They hardly look like they have received military training..."

"...Don't make a fuss, who knows what these people did before? Maybe they just bought this officer title a few days ago."

Wang Qiu said calmly, "...It is said that in the British Army in this era, many officers have never fired a gun, can't read maps, and some even can't ride a horse. This is a normal phenomenon... If you really go to the battlefield , even with the same weapon, I have the confidence to hit ten of them one by one..."

"...to buy officers?" Nan Lixiang blinked in disbelief, "...Can British officers still be bought with money?"

"...Don't you even know? All the officers of the British Army at all levels these days have to spend money to buy them!" Wang Qiu replied.

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——Although films such as "The Patriot" made by Hollywood in later generations boasted very exaggeratedly about the combat effectiveness of the Red Army of the British Empire in the late eighteenth century.But in fact, the British Army in this era is known throughout Europe for its combat effectiveness.Since the British government has long focused on the development of the naval fleet, it is also willing to use mercenaries who "call and go" in overseas colonial wars. As a result, the British Army, which has been seriously neglected, has become an army "Dubiously capable of beating Snow White's Seven Dwarfs" team.

At that time, the officers and ranks of all levels of the British Army were bought and sold directly with money!Any military officer can be promoted as long as he has money, basically nothing to do with military merit and seniority!The only exception is artillery, because artillery officers have to calculate ballistics and understand a series of complicated mathematical knowledge, which is really impossible for laymen, otherwise they may pour shells on their own heads.Therefore, at that time, the British Army had a special artillery academy, and only those who passed the examination could become artillery officers.However, this only raised the entry threshold for buying an official. If an artillery officer wanted to be promoted, he had to pool his own money to buy an official. Instead of relying on good grades or outstanding military exploits, there would be an official.

What's more, unlike the donated squads of the Qing Dynasty in China, British Army officers who are full of business spirit can also sell the official hats they bought on their heads, relying on the price difference between the two previous transactions to make huge profits—— The prices of military ranks at all levels will fluctuate violently with market conditions. For example, if a certain regiment is about to be stationed on a desert island in the Pacific Ocean, the price of officers of this regiment will plummet immediately.And if this regiment is to be transferred to a prosperous place like the capital London, the gold content of the officer position of this regiment will naturally increase in value accordingly.

As a result, soon some shrewd financiers saw the benefits and began to resell military officer positions like futures. With the help of their inside information, they continuously bought and sold majors and captains one by one, turning military officer positions into Investment and wealth management products like stocks and securities... When this kind of transaction was most prosperous, there even appeared an underground military officer position exchange, referred to as "official exchange".

Therefore, at that time, the promotion of officers in the British Army was to rob desperately on the battlefield, and gather a large sum of money to buy a higher rank...and if the king or prime minister wanted to promote a young officer, he had to obediently pay for it out of his own pocket Buying an official position for him can't be done with just a piece of official document.

In short, the British Army officers of this era were basically a group of laymen who spent money to become officials before they were tested and tempered by the Napoleonic Wars.Most of the time they spend money to buy military positions is not to seek development in the military, but to have a decent status such as "Colonel XX" or "Captain XX" in the social arena, and they can wear dazzling military uniforms to attract people. The attention of those ladies. (That's why in the romance novels of that era, there are so many military officers who dance and pick up girls all day long and don't do business, but they are just a bunch of playboys who spend money to buy officials) top umbrella.There are also some guys who are simply optimistic about the market prospects of a certain military officer position, so they preemptively build warehouses and reserve official positions, wait for the appreciation and then sell them to make a fortune, similar to those guys in modern China who bought several houses and waited for the appreciation...

In this way, the officer corps of the British Army has become an amazingly liquid trading place. All officers regard their official hats as a special stock and are ready to sell them at any time.Few of the military officers at all levels are competent, and the vast majority of the officers who bought positions with money do not have the minimum military literacy, and they are not even on duty at all.From enlistment to retirement, many soldiers have never seen the head of the regiment they belonged to—because the colonel is busy dancing and picking up girls in the city all day long, trying to marry a rich lady!Whenever a certain regiment is about to go out to fight, there will always be a group of pampered officers eager to sell their official positions at a low price, so as not to die on the battlefield.However, some poor people with a strong desire for fame took the opportunity to reach the sky in one step, buying the title of officer at a very low price, hoping to become famous in the war.

The officers of the British Army at the end of the eighteenth century were in such a situation of being resold all day long, so what about the soldiers?

At that time, the United Kingdom had not yet established a compulsory military service system. Whether it was the navy or the army, basically they could only rely on recruiting strong men, and the vast majority of recruits were discriminated against "social scum", including bankrupt farmers, Urban poor, vagrants, criminals, gangsters, etc. - At that time, European countries generally believed that craftsmen, farmers, businessmen and scholars were the creators of national wealth, so when countries recruited soldiers, they tried not to consider those who had serious professional people.And those unemployed vagrants who wandered around the town all day, alcoholics who drank for fun in bars, and thieves and criminals who shuttled through the slums became the best sources of army soldiers.Because the rulers of all countries believe that these low-class people who are not doing their jobs can not create wealth for the country, but are an unstable factor affecting social security. , it can be regarded as giving them a legitimate job, and being beaten to death is also a glory for the country.

When these "social scumbags" enlist in the army, one can imagine what kind of negative impression those rich-born military officers will have on them.The Prime Minister at the time publicly declared: "You must not train them in war, because it is almost impossible for a person who lives by that profession to be an honest person or a good Christian. Besides, war is a course that cannot be used up. No more knowledge is needed, so soldiers in peacetime are like fireplaces in summer." The Duke of Wellington, who commanded the anti-French coalition forces to win the victory of Waterloo, called his soldiers "scumbags recruited from all over the world, who only know drink wine."

And the way to train these "social scumbags" into fighters is to endlessly whip, punish, and drill—the officers of the eighteenth century firmly believed that soldiers did not need to think, and the right to think belonged to the officers.It is not necessary for the officers to reason with the soldiers, but to keep them under strict control, and to keep them busy and drilled so that they have no time for other things and consume the troublesome energies.As for the promotion, it is purely a dream. How can a poor ghost be qualified to be an official?

"...That is to say, the soldiers of the British Army are scumbags these days, and the officers are stocks? Can such a rotten army fight?"

After listening to Wang Qiu's introduction, Nan Lixiang couldn't help but feel a sense of embarrassment, "...how did this country survive?"

"...First of all, the only thing that is bad for the British is the army. The combat effectiveness of the Royal Navy of the British Empire is relatively guaranteed. And the United Kingdom is an island country. It cannot invade without defeating the British fleet...Secondly, in this day and age, other European countries Our army sucks too!"

Wang Qiu shrugged, and continued to explain to Nan Lixiang—because the plot of "Pride and Prejudice" contained many scenes about the "red uniform" officers of the British Army at that time, so he has collected a lot about The data of the British Army at the end of the [-]th century also had a video chat with several history professors who researched related topics, and also had a little dabble in the military systems of other European countries at the same time.

"...The British Army in this era is all about money. If you have money, you can become a high official. It seems unfair, but in fact, compared with the era of the feudal kingdom, it is already considered progress-you know, in this era In Continental Europe in the early years, officers came from nobles, while soldiers came from civilians. There is a world of difference between the two. For officers, the more noble their background, the greater the chance of promotion, while ability and seniority have little impact on promotion. For example, in France before the Great Revolution, the senior officers of the French army were usually aristocratic lords who had no military literacy and did not seek to make progress. There is no need to say anything about the art of war.

As for those officers who are really capable, there is no way to make progress-France at that time clearly stipulated that anyone who wanted to become an officer must be approved by a court genealogy expert and have at least one-sixteenth of noble blood.If you want to become a general, you must have the blood of a great nobleman, and those from a minor nobleman can only be a colonel at most.As for those who have no noble blood at all, such as the middle class and the descendants of capitalists, they can only be promoted to lieutenant in the French army of the Bourbon dynasty. Can't buy it.

This is no longer a glass ceiling in the workplace, but a prescribed steel armor plate, so the French bourgeoisie are naturally full of complaints.Apart from France, the armies of other feudal kingdoms in continental Europe are similar, with the same aristocratic supremacy and the same suppression of civilians.That's why after the Great Revolution, the turned French civilian officers were able to beat up the useless aristocratic feudal armies of European countries..."

Speaking of this, the red uniforms have all passed through the street, the soldiers are locked in the barracks and strictly controlled, and the young officers are wandering around the streets, whistling to the ladies, or pouring into the tavern to get drunk... Pretend Seeing this, Wang Qiu, who became "Mr. Collins", couldn't help shaking his head: "...Speaking of which, according to the description in "Pride and Prejudice", the militia group should not be stationed in Meryton until the end of September or early October at the earliest. But it's only the first ten days of September now... something must have happened, it seems that we need to find out..."

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Obviously, the red uniforms of the new militia regiment did not have much sense of secrecy. Wang Qiu, who was disguised as "Mr. Collins", only spent a few glasses of whiskey in the tavern in Meryton Town, and successfully passed a The lieutenant with a dejected expression roughly protruded from his mouth.

——At the time when Britain, Austria, Prussia and other European countries concluded the first anti-French alliance and prepared to assemble their own forces to jointly strangle the French revolutionary forces, their militia was also ordered to mobilize from the north of England to the south as a cross-sea attack Reserve team of mainland France.

Originally according to the scheduled schedule, it will take some time for their militia group to move from the old garrison in the north.Unexpectedly, the plague broke out in London recently. When the dignitaries of the Hanoverian dynasty left the capital in a hurry and fled to the countryside, they were also worried that London citizens would riot in panic and cause damage and losses, so they ordered various armies to enter the urban area of ​​London. To enforce martial law to maintain social order during the plague... For the army who was ordered to enter the epidemic area of ​​​​London to suppress the rioters, this is really a dangerous and meritorious job-the disease does not recognize people, and those who entered the epidemic The army that maintains order in the area is also likely to be infected with the plague.And most of the plagues these years are still hopeless.Its danger is at least comparable to that of the United Nations peacekeeping forces who were mobilized to carry out rescue missions in areas where the Ebola virus broke out in black Africa.

Obviously, the red uniforms of the British Army who spend money to buy officials today absolutely do not have the selfless, fraternal and dedicated sacrifice spirit of the "blue helmets" of the United Nations in later generations.Thinking of those dignitaries and dignitaries in London running to the countryside to take refuge in the countryside, but forcing them, the hard-working people from other counties, to be unlucky bastards in the plague-ravaged London city, the entire militia group complained and complained. .

However, the military order was difficult to violate. After talking to the superiors for a long time, they were allowed to rest for a week in the small town of Meryton on the outskirts of London, and recruited strong men in the town to make up for the shortage of troops. Then they had to enter the city of London to implement the martial law task!If it is not overdue, military law will be required!

Therefore, leaving aside the soldiers who were still kept in the dark, all the officers who had heard the news felt that their future was bleak and their life and death were uncertain, and they were all planning to have fun at Meryton, the last resting station, or It is to find a way to get out of the trap.

——After voicing bitterness with Wang Qiu, this drunken lieutenant actually sold his official hat to him again, saying that he was willing to transfer his title of lieutenant at [-]% off the market price. Slowly reduced the price to [-]% off... It's a pity that Wang Qiu now neither intends to leave Longbourn Village, nor is he interested in supporting him to go to London to experience the serious illness, so he resolutely declined...