Since the Accounting: A Chronicle of the Roman Khanate

Chapter 768 Wu Fan's Standard Infantry Regiment Plan

The story of the Romans is too ancient, and there are few similar precedents in the present day. Therefore, the reforms led by Zhu Wenkui were actually devised by them on their own.

When developing the training manual, Jessica and others believed that the biggest problem with their Ming army was that, like other European armies, it was very "feudal".

The armies in each region—or rather, the militias that could hardly be called armies, but rather spontaneously organized by local residents—differences were vast. Not only were there language barriers, but also differences in training levels, weaponry, and combat practices.

They are completely different. Fighting like this would definitely be very inefficient.

Wu Fan had encountered this problem many times when he organized his forces to fight against bandits and lords. Because the territory was actually scattered, even if there were roads connecting them, the transfer of people and supplies was very difficult.

In addition, the Wu region suffered from a severe shortage of administrative personnel and its organization was far less rigorous than that of the Ming Dynasty itself, resulting in many areas lacking sufficient warehouses and a well-developed military supply network.

When battles were necessary, the royal court had to start preparing from scratch—for example, in Bavaria, several knights loyal to the King of Wu were fighting with neighboring lords. The opposing side called for reinforcements from a bunch of relatives, so they also requested their lord to come and help them.

To help, local officials first had to contact them, scout out enemy positions, and assess the size and combat capability of the reinforcements needed.

If it's just a common rural conflict, with only a few minor lords fighting over water and land, then mobilizing militia from nearby counties and prefectures to reinforce them, relying on sheer numbers, would be enough to intimidate the other side and force them to negotiate. There might not even be any need to prepare weapons and supplies.

However, sometimes powerful nobles would set their sights on them. Whether it was improved farmland or newly constructed public facilities like irrigation systems and roads, the allure was immense, inevitably leading some to try and seize it. In such cases, it was necessary to mobilize a larger, more disciplined army.

Such large occasions require more careful planning.

Because local supplies are likely insufficient, and they can't just loot like the enemy, and besides, much of the weaponry isn't locally produced, so they can't just steal it anyway.

The opposing lords could purchase military equipment and supplies in advance, but the people under the King of Wu were generally not very wealthy, and they couldn't all buy them from Italy. Therefore, the vast majority still had to rely on the court for coordination and transportation.

As a result, officials at all levels had to arrange the transportation of supplies in advance. They had to calculate where the missing armor would come from, who had any spare crossbow bolts, how much gunpowder they would need, and so on, and then order their subordinates to transport the supplies.

Similarly, the same applies to personnel arrangements.

Although Wu's military force appeared large, its actual number of troops readily available for deployment was limited. Most militia were only willing to defend their local areas, lacked military experience, morale, and organization, making prolonged campaigns in distant lands unsuitable. Furthermore, long-term deployments would significantly impact production. Many areas were in dire need of reconstruction and had just begun to show signs of improvement; it was indeed best to avoid such deployments.

However, the territory of the Wu kingdom was scattered across various places, and it often faced situations where more than one place was in trouble at the same time. Therefore, it frequently encountered a shortage of manpower.

Therefore, it is also necessary to plan in advance which nearby troops are available to provide support and which troops are better suited to deal with these enemies. Because the number of soldiers is limited, it is essential to "use the best resources where they are most needed."

For example, if the enemy has a large number of cavalry and needs to use terrain such as forests and swamps for defense, a group of mountain people would be summoned; if the enemy also conscripts a large number of people and moves slowly, Mongol cavalry would be called in; if it is necessary to attack a fortress, miners and craftsmen from Bavaria and the Rhine River basin would be summoned. In this way, by making adjustments from all sides, security can be maintained at the lowest possible cost.

Of course, this also results in a slow response time. If the situation on the front lines changes suddenly, it's easy to be caught off guard. Moreover, due to the limited number and competence of administrative personnel, errors frequently occur. There might be a shortage of soldiers, or weapons might be sent to the wrong place. In severe cases, they might even get the timing and location wrong, sending reinforcements to other battlefields instead, leaving everyone speechless.

However, in this area, this is the only platform where ordinary people can effectively obtain external assistance.

The villagers of Alemany were not English; they were known for their fierce nature, and uprisings against their lords were frequent. However, while the lord could easily call for help, the villagers found it much harder. Therefore, most uprisings ended in suppression by a superior enemy force.

Now that such an opportunity exists, the locals certainly won't reject it just because of a few flaws. Besides, compared to the previous system, Wu Fan's makeshift mechanism at least had a system in place.

Moreover, the lords' recruitment of soldiers was completely undisclosed, as the entire mercenary market was "open source." Their armies and supplies also had to be pieced together in this same way, and they weren't even as fast as the Wu Kingdom. If the Wu Kingdom's dispatching, management, and information transmission were considered inefficient, then they could be considered practically non-existent.

Therefore, despite its seemingly makeshift nature, Wu Fan's troop deployments even allowed him the time to monitor the enemy's progress and make adjustments and remedial measures. As a result, no serious problems ever arose.

However, Zhu Wenkui believed that they couldn't just make do like this forever. Especially since he had lived in the Purple Horde for a relatively long time and had been in contact with its army, he felt that even in the West, they could do better.

He hoped that through reform, all teams could be standardized and unified as much as possible, getting rid of the various bad habits of feudal armies. Even if they couldn't immediately become like the Roman army, they should at least resemble a modern army.

However, despite Zhu Wenkui's relatively high targets, Jessica remained very conservative in formulating the plan. After conducting some investigation, he concluded that the average quality of officers at all levels in the army was poor. Many had been hastily promoted and lacked military education and command experience.

During his discussions with Tuohuan and others, Zhu Wenkui somehow gained inspiration. So, when explaining his goals, he would frequently mention, "My great-grandfather back then..." and so on, emphasizing that his great-grandfather was a peasant, as were the Prince of Zhongshan and the Prince of Kaiping. He reasoned, "If they could achieve it back then, we can too."

But after researching, Jessica concluded that the quality of the Ming army's officer corps at that time was truly astonishing. Let alone these men, even the Romans would probably struggle to compare. It's really hard to emulate…

Jessica himself was a typical veteran. Although he didn't show any particular talent at the time, he was extremely experienced. He had traveled all over the country, from England to Danzig, and had a good understanding of the military traditions of various places. He believed that standardizing all units was not just a matter of training difficulty. Rather, if everyone was required to use the same manuals and the same tactics, then given the current quality of the officers and soldiers, they would only force them to comply.

Currently, all the armies under the Wu Kingdom are primarily focused on resisting enemy invasions. In fighting the enemy, they largely rely on the advantages of the local people, leveraging their familiarity with the terrain, mobility, and stronger subjective will to fight, in order to strike the enemy by all means.

He worried that if he told everyone, "This is a universal solution that must be followed," they might blindly pursue a unified tactic and lose even their biggest advantage at present.

Therefore, Jessica suggested starting the coordination work elsewhere. In his view, the most suitable starting points were language, clothing, and armor.

There is a real need regarding language. Initially, their influence was relatively small, and they could barely manage. But now, it has expanded from Eastern Europe to Italy and then to the French border, spanning several major language regions.

At the government level, Mandarin is being promoted; otherwise, officials would need more translators than staff when traveling on official business. However, its promotion within the military is severely inadequate. Currently, the best course of action is to emulate the Purple Horde, not only by providing education and promoting literacy to facilitate the use of Chinese characters in official documents, but also by accelerating the promotion of a "military language." This should be the first step towards unified organization and standardization.

In addition, he suggested that the appearance of soldiers should be standardized. All regions, whether producing their own or purchasing from outside, should use uniform and standardized clothing and armor to ensure uniformity.

Some people in the Prince's residence questioned this, feeling that so much hadn't been done yet, and he was just going through the motions. But Jessica believed that this was only the first step towards unification, and a process that couldn't be ignored.

He had some experience training Hussites before. In his view, an army with a unified belief and a common goal from the bottom up would see a remarkable improvement in its combat effectiveness.

The various regions controlled by Wu Fan were not of the same religious sect—after the Great Schism of the Catholic Church, kings and lords in different places all chose the pope they supported. Not to mention, there were also "heretics" like the Hussites. And the more chaotic the environment, the more important it was to emphasize one's own consensus and highlight the characteristics of unity.

These people are all subjects of the Ming Dynasty. Regardless of which sect they follow or which rituals they practice, they all believe in Heaven, revere the Emperor, and believe that everyone should work together to eliminate the corrupt church and secular nobles who oppress the people and establish a better order. This idea is actually quite excellent and has great potential. Therefore, it should be openly and honestly displayed.

In Europe, the Church is the biggest patron of the arts. For a long time, the Church has strongly supported the development of fields such as architecture, music, and painting, believing that these art forms can visually convey a sense of grandeur, better resonate with believers, and strengthen their faith.

For the military, neat formations and uniforms convey a sense of grandeur and order, making it immediately clear to everyone that they are a unified force.

Furthermore, the organization, flags, and rank titles of regular armies in various regions must be standardized. Currently, everyone often comes up with their own haphazard names, and the King of Wu doesn't seem to care, accepting all those who come to him as his own. But this cannot continue. The various titles must be revised and rectified.

Based on this, some basic military skills training can be promoted, such as marching drills and earthwork exercises. In combat, it is also necessary to start from daily routines, first unifying and standardizing various disciplines in the camp—such as how to build fortifications, how to receive supplies, how to distribute spoils, and so on.

Once these skills have been mastered, the final step can be taken: the formalization of military training.

The ministers remaining at the Wu Prince's residence were also unfamiliar with these matters and hesitated to make a decision. However, Jessica's idea was approved by Tuohuan and Guo Kang. Zhu Wenku then sent the document to the Wu Prince's headquarters, but the reply was that everything was operating smoothly at present. Promoting Mandarin was acceptable. As for adjustments to the procurement of supplies, those were too troublesome, and the current financial and human resources were insufficient to support them, so it was best to set them aside for now.

Zhu Wenkui did some more calculations and realized that it would indeed cost money, so he began to hesitate.

Several accountants in the Prince's mansion argued about this topic every day. Jessica and the others were unwilling to give up, and finally conceded that if the pressure was too great, they could find a few places to conduct pilot programs.

Jessica believed that this experiment could begin with the least expensive infantry. He suggested finding a "template" for an infantryman and then having similar personnel learn from him. These individuals could then serve as the starting point for reforming the military system.

He believed that the most formidable infantry in the vast region west of the Purple Horde were the Swiss. Coincidentally, the Tyrol region, controlled by the Wu King's Palace, had close ties with the Swiss and shared similar environments and cultures. They had even previously hired Swiss instructors.

If a pilot program is needed, this system can be formalized and standardized in writing, and then a few thousand-commanders in Tyrol can be sent to try it out and learn the various tactics and techniques of the Swiss mercenary regiments. This way, even if the results are poor, the impact will be minimal, and the financial losses won't be too great. If it succeeds, the Tyrolean infantry regiment can be used as a model regiment and further promoted.

Zhu Wenku was also interested in this, but he was afraid that the Prince's Mansion and the military camp would still not allow it, so he hadn't figured out what to do.

As a result, Princess Ma also learned of this matter and reprimanded Zhu Wenkui. She said that he was being stingy at a crucial moment, acting more like a lowly housekeeper's wife than a prince. Back then, the Prince's mansion sent only a few minor officials, clerks, and Tartar officials to Italy, and they managed to raise money themselves and revitalize the economy of the entire state. Now that he has such good conditions, why is he failing?

As for training the troops, he's ignoring Old Yang's advice and instead listening to the camp's side. Isn't that getting things backwards? Judging from the writing style of their reply, it must have been written by those scholars. As for his father, he's probably still out having dinner and bragging.

Even if Lao Yang and his gang are uneducated, they've all actually fought in battles. If we don't listen to them, are we supposed to let Huang Zicheng lead the troops?

Zhu Wenkui was momentarily speechless and hesitated. Princess Ma then produced the document given to him by the King of Wu, instructing him to use it to directly issue orders to the five prefectures of Tyrol, Shanyang, and Shanyin, instructing them to begin preparations. She explained that these areas were closer to Dadu than to the King of Wu, so to maximize efficiency, they should proceed with the expedient measures first. As for other matters, she assured him not to worry about them, as someone would handle them later.

Zhu Wenku thought it made sense, so he began to implement it. Only after that did their unified training begin to be carried out.

(End of this chapter)