Southern Ming: A boy soldier at the beginning, supporting the world

Chapter 16 Preparation
The organization of the army is mainly based on tactics, strategies and battle formations.

In ancient times, the lowest level of military organization was often the squad. The squad leader led four soldiers and held the flag in the middle to command during battle. The four soldiers were divided into four directions and advanced and retreated together.

During the Jiajing period, there were unprecedented border threats from the barbarians in the north and the Japanese pirates in the south, and the camp system gradually matured.

The famous general Qi Jiguang fought against the Japanese pirates in the south. Seeing that the garrisons were in disrepair, he recruited soldiers from miners and farmers to form the Qi Family Army. Based on the characteristics of the Japanese pirates and the terrain of the south, Qi Jiguang created the mandarin duck formation and the one head and one tail two wings system.

In order to adapt to this kind of tactics, the Qi family army changed the lowest level of organization to squads, each squad had a captain, ten combat soldiers, and a fireman. Four squads formed a large squad, called a sentry, and the chief was called a sentry chief.

The sentry was the basic organizational unit of the Qi Family Army, with one sentry consisting of about fifty people.

Later, Qi Jiguang served as the governor of Ji and Liao, in charge of the northern border defense. In view of the northern terrain and the characteristics of the enemy, he established the infantry battalion system:
Twelve people form a team, three teams with thirty-seven people form a flag, and the flag officer is in charge; three flags and one bureau have 120 people, and the hundred officers are in charge; three bureaus and one department have 449 people, and the battalion officer is in charge; two departments and one department have 899 people, and the thousand officers are in charge; three thousand generals and one battalion have 2,699 people, and the battalion officer is in charge, and an officer sitting in the camp is appointed for the central army.

This battalion system of two to three thousand men was very tightly organized, with the commander in charge of three subordinate units. It was quite close to the modern military system, and was conducive to the full use of firearms while being in line with the organizational and command capabilities of the time, having a far-reaching impact.

Jiao Lian had only 3,000 soldiers under his command, which was equivalent to a battalion. He had a large number of generals and lieutenant generals, and the organization was very empty. The most elite battalion, with a team as the basic organization unit, had only 50 cavalrymen.

Cen Danchu believes that to expand the army, we must first strengthen the grassroots troops. To strengthen the grassroots troops, we must first improve the team-level organization.

In front of Jiao Lian and others, Danchu said: "I heard that when Qi Wuyi (Qi Jiguang) founded the Qi Family Army, he was troubled by the squad system. According to the ancient system, a squad leader was in charge of four soldiers, which was not sharp enough in attack and short of manpower in defense.

"Therefore, Qi Wuyi divided one team into two squads and added a fireman, making it twelve people. They could attack when advancing and defend when retreating, which was very effective in dealing with the Japanese pirates. Over time, Qi's army changed the minimum organization of a team to twelve people.

"At present, our army uses squad as the smallest organization and team as the basic organization unit. All the standard battalions are cavalry, with five people in a squad and ten squads in a team, for a total of fifty cavalry.

"When cavalry is in battle, their formation is wider, their battle lines are longer, and they are divided into squads. Their disadvantages are not as obvious as those of infantry. However, it is very inconvenient to command.

"For example, if I am the captain and I am in charge of ten squads, it is impossible for me to take care of everything. During wartime, if we need to temporarily divide the troops or change the formation, the squad leaders are equal and not subordinate to each other, so we can only delegate the team leader or deputy team leader to command.

"The captain and the deputy captain are the captain's assistants. Once they leave, the captain will lack help. At the same time, the captain and the deputy captain are not the direct superiors of the sergeant, and they do not have absolute authority in front of the sergeant, so temporary command is not smooth.

"I would like to make an analogy. The commander is currently in charge of four troops: Ma Town, Bai Town, Zhao Town, and Biaoying. In the future, even if Zhu Zongchen becomes a town on his own, the commander will only be in charge of five troops and can take care of them.

"If the general is in charge of ten troops at the same time, he will probably be exhausted and easily exposed. If something happens in Yanguan, the general needs to send troops from two towns to support Yanguan. Will the general let Ma Zhen lead Zhao Zhen, or let Zhao Zhen lead Ma Zhen?"

The three of them smiled and said, "Well said."

At this time, the sun is about to set, casting the last ray of sunshine onto the earth.

The army camped on the spot and urged Guan Weifan to withdraw as soon as possible.

The personal soldiers brought the food. Today was a big drill, and the troops had improved their food by adding a meat dish.

Jiao Lian also added two main dishes, including fresh river fish, which was cooked very deliciously by the stoker.

Everyone continued to discuss business while eating.

Cen Danchu's thoughts flowed like a spring, and he said: "If our army wants to expand, we must first strengthen the organization. You can refer to the "Military Records" published by the Ministry of War during the Wanli period. A hundred people form a team, a team has three sentries, a sentry has three squads, and a squad has ten people.

"For example, I am the captain of the third team of the standard battalion, with three sentries under my command, and I only need to be in charge of three sentry leaders. In peacetime, the three sentries can be managed separately, with each taking charge of training, resting, and repairing weapons, and having regular drills. In wartime, one sentry is the regular soldier, one is the special soldier, and one is the reserve soldier, and they can be commanded as easily as using one's own arm."

"Well, that makes sense." Jiao Lian pondered and said, "The system of a team of 100 people has been in place for a long time. Our army is living in Guangxi, with more officers than soldiers, more soldiers than horses, and only 50 people in a team. "Back then, when the rebels reorganized their troops, they also lacked war horses. The fixed infantry team had 100 people and the cavalry team had 50 people. The standard camps were all heavily armored cavalry, with iron armor weighing more than 40 kilograms, and at least one person had two horses.

"Zhuoru, tell me, if the battalion is changed to a team of 100 men, where will the extra war horses come from? Where will the cavalry come from? Where will the food and horse fodder come from?"

Jiao Lian liked Cen Danchu more and more, and simply called him by his courtesy name.

Danchu was flattered. He smiled humbly and respectfully and said, "The soldiers in the standard camp are all from northern Shaanxi. They have followed the commander-in-chief for a long time and have never asked for military pay. When there is pay, they receive it. When they win a battle, they distribute the spoils. When there is no pay, they live a hard life.

"As long as they have food to eat and their families are not hungry, the soldiers in the standard camp never complain. After the army was expanded, the standard camp is still the standard camp, and the military pay remains the same as before."

In the chaotic times of the late Ming Dynasty, it was normal for the army to be in arrears with military pay. In addition, the situation was chaotic, and many people were desperate and had no food or clothing. They were satisfied to be a soldier and eat food, and did not expect additional military pay.

Many times, the army was extremely poor and could not even guarantee food. Some people even exchanged their own children for food, and some troops even killed people for food.

Danchu finished his meal, put down his bowl and chopsticks, and continued: "It is not difficult to recruit soldiers. There are many people who want to be soldiers and eat food. I think the source of soldiers is nothing more than prisoners, farmers, and miners. The people of Guangxi are brave and brave, and the Lu soldiers are famous all over the world. The Yao, Dong, Miao and other natives are hardworking and can climb mountains and cross streams. They are a good source of soldiers.

"The captives are all Han Chinese. We can teach them the truth and incorporate them into the army. Qi Wuyi created the Qi Family Army. After two months of training, the new recruits can adapt to the mandarin duck formation and the two-wing formation.

"Our army doesn't have many firearms, so it's easier to train. Cavalry needs to shoot while riding, which is a little harder to train. When recruiting soldiers, you might as well give priority to those who can ride and have smart brains.

"I think that if we expand the first-level organization of the corps to 100 people, we can mix new soldiers with old soldiers, so that the old can control the new, the old can teach the new, and the old can guide the new. For example, a squad is set at 10 people, which can be composed of four old soldiers from northern Shaanxi, four natives from Guangxi, and two prisoners.

"With veteran soldiers guarding the battle, new soldiers will not be afraid of battle. With the help of new soldiers, veteran soldiers can be more calm in battle and more confident of defeating the enemy. In this way, new soldiers will become veterans over time, and the army will grow stronger day by day."

Jiao Lian smiled. The young are indeed formidable. Dan Chu explained the recruitment and training of soldiers, which had always been a headache for him, in a very clear and logical way. It was definitely not just empty talk.

"There is another question, where do the war horses come from?" Zhao Xing asked.

Guangdong and Guangxi do not produce war horses, but Yunnan produces Dian horses, which have great endurance and are good at climbing mountains and carrying heavy loads for long distances. Unfortunately, they are far from Guilin and cannot help in an emergency.

Ordinary people do not like to raise horses. Horses have bad tempers, eat a lot, and have limited uses. Apart from being suitable for fighting, they are far inferior to mules, donkeys, cows and other livestock.

Cen Danchu had no good answer to this question, and said: "War horses are difficult to raise. The infantry battalion is fine, but the standard battalion should be composed entirely of cavalry. It is better to have a mixed organization of heavy cavalry and light cavalry.

"Heavy cavalrymen ride two horses each, while light cavalrymen ride one horse each. In wartime, heavy cavalrymen are in the front, charging into battle. Light cavalrymen wear cotton armor, rattan armor, or even no armor, and provide support from the rear."

This is the only solution we have for now.

Jiao Lian thought of another question and asked, "Danchu, after our army expands, we will have to set up a camp office and a grain station. Do you want to come to the camp office?"

The camp office is equivalent to the staff office, and the grain station is equivalent to the logistics office. When the army reaches a certain size, the camp office and the grain station are indispensable.

Cen Danchu said bluntly, "As the ancients said, a brave general must be born from the ranks. General, I still lack experience, and I would like to be a team officer and fight with the soldiers. Besides, I am in the standard camp, and I am ready to be dispatched by the general at any time."

Rather than being a clerk in the camp office, he wanted to lead troops to fight. In this chaotic world, we must seize military power!

(End of this chapter)