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

Chapter 36: Supervisory Standards and Left Association
"Marshal Jue, are you looking for me?" Cen Danchu stepped into the signing room and stood at the door to salute.

Jiao Lian was discussing matters with Bai Guozhen. When he heard Dan Chu's voice, he looked up and motioned for him to come in.

The personal guards then closed the door, as if they were discussing something secret.

Danchu looked at Bai Guozhen and bowed.

Bai Guozhen, courtesy name Ganqing, was a native of Qingyuan, Guangdong. He was a deputy tribute in the first year of Longwu. He participated in the enthronement of Emperor Yongli and was granted the title of Supervisor of Discipline and Procurator. He now served as the Supervisor of Discipline in Jiao Lian's army.

The Ming army generally appointed military supervisors. Large armies were often supervised by eunuchs trusted by the emperor, and small armies were often supervised by civil officials. Bai Guozhen was loyal and had a good relationship with Jiao Lian. Rather than being a military supervisor, he was more like his staff.

Since the Hongguang period, military generals have been domineering, and there have been frequent cases of impeachment, humiliation, and even beating to death of military supervisors and magistrates.

Jiao Lian was devoted to making friends with the generals, and was humble and courteous, which made the generals feel at ease. He was also very courteous to the civil officials, strictly abided by the court system, and was "gentle and humble like a Confucian scholar."

Therefore, he had a good relationship with Bai Guozhen, and Bai Guozhen was happy to give him advice.

"Zhuoru, congratulations." Bai Guozhen said with a smile and returned the greeting to Danchu.

Danchu didn't know why, so he could only say, "Si Li is joking."

Tui Guan was an important official in the Ming Dynasty, who was mainly in charge of local criminal law, official assessment, etc. His other names include Tui Fu, Zhi Shi, Si Li, Tui Zhi, etc.

Jiao Lian was straightforward and said straight to the point: "Zhuoru, I have decided to promote you to the position of the Left Guerrilla Commander of the Supervisory Flag, commanding the First, Second and Third Teams. The order will be issued tomorrow."

Danchu was overjoyed and bowed, saying, "Thank you, Marshal, for your support."

It seems that the commander accepted his suggestion and added left and right brigade to the standard camp to facilitate the command of each team.

Bai Guozhen understood his thoughts and said without waiting for him to ask, "Marshal Jue has decided to set up a central army, a left wing, and a right wing in the Dubiao. The central army will be led by Lieutenant General Bai Guozhong, the left wing will be led by you, and the right wing will be led by Deputy General Jiao Ke."

In the Ming Dynasty, the military positions of general, deputy general, guerrilla, and assistant general were all recruited through the recruitment system, and their ranks were not fixed. Therefore, the three commanders of Jiao Lian's Du Biao had different official positions.

Generally speaking, the Central Army is not the main force in combat, and usually performs tasks such as logistics and management. The commander of the Central Army is a camp officer, and his status is lower than that of other commanders. Bai Guozhong is Bai Guozhen's younger brother. He is loyal and brave in battle, so he is suitable to be the commander of the Central Army.

The left and right associations are the main forces of the supervisory standards and the capital of Jiao Lian's livelihood. He feels at ease when Dan Chu and Jiao Ke are in charge of them.

Danchu could not help but say, "General, Feng Zhiji is arrogant and lawless, and has many conflicts with other troops. General, you placed him in the central army of the Dubiao Army, and you can still suppress him. If you transfer him to another general, I am afraid he will not obey your control."

In addition to the governor, Jiao Lian also had Ma Qijiao, Bai Gui, Zhao Xing, and Zhu Minru command the four garrisons. Feng Zhiji's qualifications and prestige were not enough to be on par with Ma Qijiao and others, let alone to form an independent garrison.

"There's nothing I can do," Jiao Lian said. "Feng Zhiji has made great contributions, but he didn't get promoted after the war, so he's very angry. I plan to let him form an independent army and make him the fifth regiment under my command."

Danchu also wants to form an independent army! Like Ma Qijiao, they can lead a battalion of 3,000 people, which is half a commander-in-chief, and enjoy a lot of autonomy. Even Jiao Lian cannot easily interfere with internal personnel. The battalion system under the recruitment system is the rule!

Now, Danchu is in charge of 300 to 500 people. In the future, he can manage 1,000 people. If he works harder, he can form an army on his own. Well, it's just two steps at most!

"I heard that the foreign soldiers are leaving?" Danchu was very concerned. The Portuguese mercenaries were skilled in operating the red cannons, and the musketeers performed well on the battlefield, leaving a deep impression on the Ming army.

Inspired by this, Danchu might be able to use matchlock rifles or even flintlock rifles to practice line shooting tactics and break the field combat advantage of the Eight Banners of Manchuria.

"Well," Jiao Lian said truthfully, "the salary of the foreign soldiers is too high. The most common musketeer gets eight taels of silver per month, which is enough to support ten Ming soldiers. The money was originally paid by the court, but it was only paid until May." The emperor is now in Fengtian, Liu Chengyin refuses to pay, and the cabinet can't pay either. I heard that in Macau, the Qing invaders sent people to put pressure on the foreign governor, and the governor also wrote to the foreign soldiers, asking them to disband and go back.

"However, the cabinet and the Imperial Observatory are on good terms with the priests of the foreign soldiers. The priests will stay and persuade the foreign soldiers to stay and serve. It is estimated that among the three hundred foreign soldiers, at least 20 to 30 people will stay."

The person who attached the most importance to the introduction of Western artillery technology in the Ming Dynasty was Xu Guangqi. The person who was best at casting Western artillery and commanding foreign soldiers was Xu Guangqi's student Sun Yuanhua.

However, the Ming people were mostly suspicious and fearful of the foreign soldiers. Xu Guangqi and his disciples were often impeached by court officials, and the Ming Dynasty's efforts to introduce Western artillery were not successful.

It was naturally a good thing for the Ming army that Qu Shisi was able to retain a small number of foreign soldiers.

When Cen Danchu heard about this, he was eager to try and said, "Marshal, can you please ask the cabinet to transfer the foreign soldiers to the governor's headquarters? If possible, we can also train some artillerymen and musketeers, so that we can be more confident in dealing with the Qing invaders.

"I heard that in the last battle with the Qing army, the foreign soldiers used bird guns, which could penetrate the Qing army's armor within fifty steps. The Qing army boasted that they were invincible in field battles, and bird guns might be a way to defeat the enemy in field battles."

Jiao Lian and Bai Guozhen looked at each other and smiled.

Bai Guozhen said, "I am discussing this matter with Marshal Jue, and I plan to lobby the elder to transfer the foreign soldiers to my army's governor's headquarters. Among the three heroes of the governor's headquarters, you are the most suitable person to command the foreign soldiers."

Jiao Lian said, "Instead of me going to lobby the elder, why not ask Zhuoru to go over there? Zhuoru is his student and will soon become his son-in-law."

Danchu's heart skipped a beat, feeling a little happy, but also a little inexplicably nervous, and said, "Marshal, you are joking."

"I'm not kidding you." Jiao Lian said solemnly, "I'll decide your marriage. I've sent someone to prepare gifts, and I'll propose to the elder tomorrow. His daughter was born in Jiangnan, well-educated, and a lady from a noble family. If she's willing to marry you, you can be happy."

Apparently, the Duke and the elders have already discussed it. Danchu blushed, and then he remembered the girl he saw at the Tingfeng Pavilion in the Resident Mansion that day.

Perhaps, my fiancée is her. I can't really remember her appearance, but she is undoubtedly very beautiful, and her temperament is also very dignified and gentle. By the way, she has some flesh on her face, not as thin as the old man. Very good, she has the appearance of a lucky husband.

In ancient times, marriages between men and women were arranged by their parents and matchmakers. Danchu and Jue Shuai were like father and son, so he was not polite and said, "Thank you for your kindness, Jue Shuai."

Jiao Lian was moved and said, "The elder has four generations of successful scholars and is a well-known scholar. We are both warriors, and I am very happy that you can marry his daughter. If your parents knew about this, they would be relieved from now on."

"Danchu, although you didn't get promoted this time, it's not because the old minister didn't recommend you well, but because of the treacherous officials in the court. You are the old minister's student, and you are also his son-in-law, so you should be loyal to your country and remain committed."

"promise."

The attack on Pingle was postponed.

Jiao Lian said calmly: "New soldiers need to be trained, prisoners need to be dealt with, the weather is too hot, and there is an epidemic in the army. The attack on Pingle must be postponed. Anyway, Chen Bang has stationed his troops in Xunzhou and will not touch Pingle for the time being."

Danchu asked, "How long do you plan to postpone it until?"

"One month. We expect to send troops to attack Pingle in mid-July when the weather turns cooler."

Danchu thought about it and thought it was feasible. He could use this month to train new soldiers and integrate the Dubiao Zuo Association.

I've been promoted and I'm going to have a family. It's great to have hope in troubled times.

(End of this chapter)