Chapter 8, Good Generals

The organization of the white pole soldiers is suitable for mountain warfare, but may not be appropriate in plains. A single type of troop can easily provide the enemy with a breakthrough point. In the view of Zhu Cilang, the Qijia Army trained by Qi Jiguang is more suitable as a benchmark.

Certainly, this requires substantial financial support. At present, Zhu Cilang is clearly unable to provide it, and it will only be put on the agenda after he ascends to the throne.

Zhu Cilang suddenly changed the subject, and Qin Gongming was taken aback for a moment, then shook his head: "I am incompetent; these local soldiers are far inferior in quality to the Shizhu soldiers, and it is likely very difficult to train them to the level of the Sichuan army"

Zhu Cilang let out a long sigh of relief

Qin Gongming inquired about the situation in the capital, and upon learning that the capital was in a precarious state, he was filled with rage.

In his view, the quality of the personnel is certainly important, but the training methods are also very important

Although they can see that the provincial governor is a loyal minister and will not be detrimental to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, it is difficult to ensure that there are not some malicious individuals lurking in the shadows. If these people were to harm His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, they would be beyond redemption.

Qin Gongming shook his head

He believes that with a general like Qin Gongming present, training according to the methods outlined in the "New Book of Military Effectiveness" will certainly be able to significantly enhance the combat proficiency of the twenty thousand local troops.

While the troops from Sichuan are indeed sharp, the Qin family did not leave behind a systematic training method. Moreover, the infantry's single type makes it not the best choice

Qin Gongming was born into a family of generals, and naturally, he had heard of the Qijia Army. In fact, the Battle of Hunhe was a collaboration between the Sichuan White Flag Army and the Zhejiang troops of the Qijia Army

After a long while, he clasped his fists and said, "I am willing to give it a try"

Zhu Cilang shook his head

These individuals are the most resilient, making them the most suitable foundation for forming a new army

The craftsmanship of this type of bird gun is very crude, often resulting in barrel explosions, to the extent that soldiers fear the gun as they would a tiger. Some even claim they dare not use the bird gun at all, preferring instead to use bows and crossbows

Upon hearing the words "Hunhe River," Qin Gongming's expression became somewhat despondent

Lu Zhenfei shook his head and said: "I do not know where Your Highness obtained this information. The Historical Department indeed once had this idea, but Governor Ma has not expressed any such intention."

He is just afraid that Qin Gongming will become stubborn and not give him any face

Report! Urgent report!

Zhu Cilang nodded slightly

When Zhu Cilang received the news of the fall of the capital in Huai'an, he did not rush to Nanjing. After entering the back hall of the governor's office and taking a seat, Zhu Cilang casually asked Lu Zhenfei: "I have heard that Governor Ma Shiying of Fengyang and Minister of War Shi Kefa of Nanjing are discussing the matter of my going to Nanjing to assume the regency. I wonder if Lord Haoyue has heard anything about it?"

The Sichuan Army led by the Qin family is renowned throughout the world, and in their view, the rest of the Ming Dynasty's military forces are insignificant, with only the Qian family army deserving respect. The strong only respect the strong, and this is what is meant by mutual admiration among those who understand each other.

If one cannot endure small grievances, great plans will be disrupted. In order to restore the capital, one must endure when it is necessary to do so

General Qin expressed the hope of training these local soldiers to be like the troops of Sichuan, is there a method to achieve this

Zhu Cilang spoke some words of encouragement to Qin Gongming, then left the General Headquarters of the Militia with Lu Zhenfei, passing through the city of Jiacheng and returning to the old city of Huai'an

Qin Gongming paused briefly and continued, "The Eastern Lurkers have repeatedly launched cavalry assaults, yet they have gained no advantage whatsoever. If it were not for that scoundrel Yuan Yingtai not sending troops for support, the outcome would still be uncertain!"

Zhu Cilang paused for a moment and said: "Is it possible to train the local militia according to the method outlined in Qi Shaobao's 'Jixiao Xinshu'?"

Certainly, he would not issue this decree. Firstly, the capital has mostly been breached, and rushing there would be of no help. Secondly, the combat capability of these local soldiers is indeed too low; sending them there would only serve to provide an advantage to the rebels.

Qin Gongming was indeed a historical figure, but he did not leave behind a courtesy name. Although Zhu Cilang was a professor of Ming history in his previous life, he could not possibly guess what Qin Gongming's courtesy name was out of thin air. Therefore, when he heard Lu Zhenfei refer to Qin Gongming as "Yuan Yi," he did not associate it with the Qin family from Sichuan at all

The brutality of the Battle of Hunhe River is difficult to describe in words. Among the 4,000 troops of the Chuan Army and the 3,000 soldiers of the Qijia Army from Zhejiang, with only a few managing to escape back to Liaoyang, the vast majority perished in service to their country. Had Qin Gongming been present on the battlefield at that time, it is likely that he would have also sacrificed his life for the nation.

Governor Lu Zhenfei warmly guided the Crown Prince on a tour of his governor's camp

Zhu Cilang was merely testing, and upon hearing this, he simply nodded lightly

Fortunately, a trace of bloodline has been left for the Qin family

Zhu Cilang, however, smiled without speaking

After inspecting the provincial governor's standard camp, Zhu Cilang and Lu Zhenfei returned together to the provincial governor's yamen

By the end of the Ming Dynasty, the officialdom and military had decayed to the core. To turn the tide, it is essential not to rely on those warlords; training local militias and establishing a new army are indispensable.

At that time, I did not accompany my father on the expedition

After Qin Gongming's explanation, Zhu Cilang finally understood that Yuanyi was his courtesy name, and Lu Zhenfei referred to him by his courtesy name because they were familiar with each other

In the early days, the Ming Chengzu established the Divine Machine Camp and vigorously developed firearms. At that time, the firearms troops of the Ming Dynasty were leading in the world. Unexpectedly, two hundred years have passed, and the proportion of firearms in the Ming army has instead decreased. It is only the Qijia Army whose proportion of firearms can exceed fifty percent, while the remaining border troops and the supervisory camps probably do not even reach ten percent.

The training methods of the Qijia Army are clearly outlined in the "New Book of Military Effectiveness"

Zhu Cilang believed that as long as he issued a decree, Qin Gongming would unhesitatingly lead the twenty thousand local soldiers north to assist the king

The young eunuch Liu Chuanrong and the guard Zhao Xin remained closely by Zhu Cilang's side, never leaving him for a moment

Even though Zhu Cilang does not have much understanding of military affairs, he can still comprehend the basic knowledge of formations written above

He sighed, saying: "Back in the day of the Battle of Hunhe, the army was divided into two camps. The guerrilla Zhou Dunjie and my father led the troops to cross the river first, in order to establish a camp north of the bridge. The commander Tong Zhongkui, Chen Ce, the deputy commander Qi Jin, and the assistant general Zhang Mingshi commanded three thousand troops from Zhejiang to set up camp south of the bridge"

This can explain it

Respected Sir, General Gao Jie has arrived in Huai'an and requests to be stationed in the city

Unlike those local militia, the soldiers of the provincial governor's standard camp were all dressed in bright red padded jackets, equipped with waist knives, long swords, and long spears, but their firearms were somewhat lacking. In addition to four tiger squat cannons and two small falconets, there were no other artillery pieces. The number of matchlocks was also very limited, essentially ensuring that there was only one for every ten men, and those were the least accurate bird guns.

... ...

Qin Qianshu was loyal to his sovereign and dedicated to his country, dying in battle at the Hunhe River, which I greatly admire

Certainly, Zhu Cilang would not place all his hopes on these twenty thousand local militia. He plans to recruit some miners in Yiwu and to enlist some laborers working at the docks along the Huaiyang Canal.

Currently, Zhu Cilang has proposed training the local militia according to the methods outlined in the "Jixiao Xinshu". Qin Gongming did not refuse but instead fell into deep thought

It turns out he is the son of Qin Bangping

Was General Qin able to be in the army at that time

At that moment, a personal guard stumbled and rushed to the entrance of the back hall

Lu Zhenfei was greatly displeased and scolded him before allowing him to enter

To change this situation, one must find a solution from the source. Zhu Cilang believes it is necessary to establish a firearms bureau, specifically for artisans to develop new types of firearms, and to set up factory assembly lines for the production of matchlocks and cannons

At this point, Qin Gongming's veins bulged on his forehead, and his hands were tightly clenched into fists

Loneliness has a thought