Since the Accounting: A Chronicle of the Roman Khanate

Chapter 753 Deepening Reforms and Promoting the Regularization and Modernization of the Ming Army

"Guo Kang and the others have always told me that the core of war capability lies in how to organize people, train and mobilize them, and maintain the long-term stable operation of this system." Zhu Wenku concluded, "As for this capability, among the people I've met, the strongest is Guo Kang, followed by Tang San."

"Sigh, is our kingdom so powerful that it can't function without her?" Lady Jeanne seemed to know that the reality probably didn't allow her to be willful, so she could only complain dejectedly.

“There’s nothing I can do about such key personnel,” Zhu Wenkui immediately said.

"That's because you're too weak," Jeanne complained. "Isn't your Zhu family supposed to be pretty good at fighting? Before, the princess would tell me about your great-grandfather's family's exploits every day, and I thought you'd inherited some of them. Think about it, if you were half as good as your great-grandfather, would we be so at his mercy?"

"How can you blame me for this?" Zhu Wenkui said in surprise, "What you're saying is outrageous. If I had his skill, I would have borrowed troops from the Qin people long ago, crushed those Yuan people, and gone home. Why would I be playing around with Sigismund and the like?"

"Furthermore, military capabilities have different branches. Even within the same army, the requirements for officers of different positions and ranks are not quite the same."

"For the commander-in-chief, there must be a strong ability to deduce and make decisions, to assess various situations in a timely manner, and then respond as quickly as possible; for the strategist, there must be a comprehensive knowledge, to consider all possible scenarios, and to prepare contingency plans; and junior officers should also have the ability to observe and judge independently, because orders from above may not be so timely, or even consider your needs, so you must understand the overall plan and then act according to the best option at the moment. More specifically, the requirements for infantry, cavalry, and artillery commanders in this regard are different."

"Of course, that's easier said than done. On the battlefield, being able to judge changes in the situation in time, make preparations in advance, and find the enemy's weaknesses is already a very high requirement. According to the Qin Kingdom, their standards are actually very low when they conduct assessments after a war. As long as every decision made by the commander does not violate the basic regulations, then they can be lenient."

"Doesn't that encourage everyone to do nothing and just follow orders from superiors?" Jeanne asked curiously. "When I was in Egypt, I often heard Guo Kang and others complain that many people in the government were just slacking off like this."

“It’s different on the battlefield.” Zhu Wenku shook his head. “On the other hand, if he could have such a calm mindset when considering shirking responsibility on the battlefield, then that person is probably no ordinary person…”

"Because the pressure on the battlefield is far greater than that on ordinary days. When facing the enemy's swords directly, when a large number of fully armed enemies are right in front of you and want to kill you, the thinking of officers about how to achieve greater results and protect their own side is very different from the thinking of officials in the rear government when they try to shirk responsibility and gain benefits."

“Most commanders who can arrange their troops step by step, perform at the level taught in military books, and handle situations according to standard procedures are already considered excellent. So, if someone does nothing on the battlefield and just mechanically completes all the tasks assigned to them by their superiors, then that person will most likely be commended or even promoted.” He shook his head: “The ‘proactive action’ I’m talking about is something that only very capable people can do.”

“When we were in Egypt, I told Guo Kang that we had too few artillery pieces and they were too scattered, which made them ineffective in battle. He then helped me ask the army for more people and also got our artillery pieces back, so we decided to use them together.”

"But during training, both the draft horses we brought in and the new recruits were terrified of the sound of artillery. Every time the cannons fired, they were more frightened than the enemy. Until I left Egypt, most of them were not very qualified. I was always worried that they would blow themselves up one day because they were so helpless. Because when people are too nervous, even actions that they are usually very familiar with can lead to inexplicable mistakes. We who are in charge of firearms are all too familiar with this."

"Not to mention the daily marching and camping, weapon maintenance, and duty shifts, which are also very tiring. Most officers are affected by these factors just like the soldiers, because even if they don't have to do the work themselves, they still have to spare energy to worry about these things."

"Therefore, the battlefield is a place where life and death are decided, and the pressure is on a completely different level compared to other occasions. In this environment, even just performing at the level of military strategy as taught in the book is considered very impressive. It is quite rare to find someone as at ease as Miss Tang."

"Just say nice things about her," Jeanne said, somewhat resentfully.

"I'm just stating the facts objectively," Zhu Wenkui said. "And you see, I'm not actually that incompetent. It's just that my area of ​​expertise is a bit different from my great-grandfather's. It's not appropriate to hold me to their standards."

“When we were in Egypt, Joanna from Florence brought a large group of famous Italian artists and calligraphers to visit us, do you remember? One of them was Leonardo Bruni.” He suddenly brought up another matter.

“Sarutati’s student?” Jeanne remembered.

“Yes, their lineage, starting with Petrarch, has advocated the concept of the ‘Middle Ages.’ Bruni’s paper refined this idea, dividing history into three parts: ‘Ancient,’ ‘Middle Ages,’ and ‘Modern,’” Zhu Wenkui said. “For Europe, the distinction between these three stages is very clear, including changes in military affairs.”

"For example, the classic Roman legion is the representative of ancient armies; knights and conscripted serfs are the representatives of medieval armies; and we are now standing at the beginning of 'modernity'. The dramatic changes in military affairs in our time, including the use of firearms, the regularization of infantry, the re-emergence of standing armies, and various new strategic ideas from the Qin Dynasty to your France, are all manifestations of the modernization of the military."

"And in my view, the core of a modern army is artillery. This is true both here and in the Ming Dynasty. It's just that there isn't such a significant change in the Central Plains."

"However, for newer weapons, such as artillery, it is relatively easy to observe the effects. Unlike other weapons, artillery requires a higher level of skill from the soldiers. Consequently, if used properly, the effects will be more outstanding. As we just mentioned, the combat effectiveness of an army largely depends on its organization. This is even more evident for artillery."

“According to the summary of the Great Qin Kingdom, as well as the experience of the Anglo-French War and even Old Yang and his colleagues, the requirements for a modern army are that it must have excellent training and maximize its standardization and professionalism. Artillery is undoubtedly the branch of service with the highest requirements in this regard. Without long-term learning in a stable environment and without the proficiency developed through extensive training, it is impossible to unleash true combat power.” “That’s indeed true,” Lady Jeanne understood.

“Look, I’ve organized a lot of people and have been training them. The firearms technology here is still too backward. I personally taught them the whole operational process, including the management of weapons and gunpowder before the battle, and the recovery and hit statistics of shells after the battle.” Zhu Wenku shook his head and said, “So, it’s not that I lack military capabilities. On the contrary, times have changed. Promoting the modernization of the army is the most effective way to exert military capabilities. I think this is what I should do.”

"Alright, alright." Seeing that he had already said that, Lady Jeanne could only nod: "So that's what you meant after all this time..."

“But speaking of my great-grandfather, before I came this time, the Princess had several portraits copied, and she asked me to bring one as well.” She told Zhu Wenkui, “I always feel like I’ve been doing this kind of work…”

"This means your mother values ​​you highly," Zhu Wenku explained.

“Is that so?” Lady Jeanne seemed a little guilty herself: “I didn’t notice at first because your great-grandfather’s portrait is actually quite popular here. From Greece to Italy, and even in my hometown in France, people treat it like a sacred icon and commission artists to copy and paint it, and then place it in public places, or even churches. So, it’s not a particularly rare painting.”

"Huh?" Zhu Wenku asked in surprise, "Why are they hanging up portraits of my ancestors?"

“Because these days, retro trends are popular among people with a bit of culture,” Jeanne told him. “People generally believe that the culture of Greece and Rome in the classical era was more prosperous than it is now. It’s just that after the Middle Ages, society became increasingly dark, and culture declined accordingly. Now, we need to rediscover the achievements of the classical era in order to escape the dark Middle Ages and thus promote the development of modern civilization. After these years of effort, the Middle Ages are gradually fading away, revealing the dawn of modernity. Therefore, we must work even harder.”

"Isn't this something everyone already knows?" Zhu Wenku pointed out. "What I just said is also a summary of this line of thinking by European scholars."

"That's alright. Everyone loves a beautiful and distant ancient world, a dark and incompetent modern era, and a glorious and great contemporary world that opposes and defeats the modern era. Perhaps this makes it easier for people to feel special and satisfy their vanity." Jeanne shrugged. "However, the influence of this trend is not limited to culture. With the spread of the retrogressive idea, many people have begun to hope that the Roman Empire can return to the world, end the current chaotic situation, and eliminate the disasters brought about by war and division."

"Especially in Italy, which is deeply suffering from division and surrounded by a wealth of ancient relics, yet powerless to change them. There, many people from the lower and middle classes have become 'spiritual Romans' through long-term influence. They are eager to rebuild Rome, achieve unification, and expel the foreign tribes that could endanger their lives at any time."

"Unfortunately, the Greeks of the Eastern Empire were far from meeting this requirement—they couldn't even solve their own similar problems. So, after your great-grandfather's deeds spread, many people immediately idolized him, hoping to be like him and solve the problem of the brutal northern barbarian invaders."

“That’s right. The ones who come to Italy the most often are probably the troops led by the Holy Roman Emperor,” Zhu Wenku nodded.

“Yes. Of course, from what I understand, it might be more than that.” Lady Jeanne shook her head: “Many people also hope to take this opportunity to get rid of those lords who only know how to fight amongst themselves and collude with foreign tribes to harm the locals—let me tell you, the people here really love the story of your great-grandfather cleaning up the remnants of the Yuan Dynasty and executing corrupt officials.”

"Well, that's only human nature, it's understandable..." Zhu Wenku said with a smile.

“So, these portraits are everywhere,” said Lady Jeanne. “And I heard from Donatello that there are actually two styles of ‘Mao Zedong portraits’.”

"What's going on?" Zhu Wenku asked hurriedly.

“The earlier batch didn’t look like this,” Lady Jeanne told him. “I heard that a batch of portraits circulated long before your Wu King’s Palace came here. According to Donatello and his colleagues’ research, it should be a version collected and circulated among the common people, which was spread through maritime merchants. The characteristic of this version is that the figures are very exaggerated. It is said that this is also due to the issue of divine theory. As for how it was circulated, and why there were still his worshippers in the Javanese Yuan fleet, I’m not quite sure.”

“There is another version, which is much more recent and has a very clear origin. When your family first arrived here, we stayed at the Hagia Sophia Cathedral, and the portrait you brought was hung there. Some priests were very curious about it and made copies of it. Thus, this version of the portrait became known.”

“The figure in this version of the portrait is more normal. However, the European public also disliked this overly normal style.” She shrugged. “People felt that he was just an ordinary, burly man named Seris, without any features that immediately made people think ‘this person is extraordinary,’ so it was uninteresting. Therefore, this version of the portrait was not as widely circulated, nor were there as many secondary creations by painters as the former.”

“The sculptors there are also more interested in the mythical version, feeling that this kind of version, which is not too conventional but has a legendary feel, is more suitable for art.”

"You can do that...?" Zhu Wenkui was dumbfounded.

"Well, we can't control everything anyway, so let's just let things take their course," Jeanne said with a shrug.

(End of this chapter)