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

Chapter 37: Boy Soldiers

When Cen Danchu took charge of the Left Associated Army of the Supervisory Flag, he could set up the Central Army.

Generally speaking, the central army has a camp commander who is responsible for logistics and manpower matters, as well as military doctors, horse doctors, bow makers, arrow makers, drummers, gunpowder makers, tailors, etc. The total number of people is about 30 to 40, and their functions are very similar to those of the camp headquarters of modern armies.

Danchu had a lot of face, so he asked Jiao Lian to recruit 52 boy soldiers to strengthen the central army. These boy soldiers were nominally auxiliary soldiers, half of whom were his classmates in Huangsha Town, and the other half were orphans outside Guilin.

In order to win over their subordinates, military generals often adopted sons or even grandsons.

For example, when Mao Wenlong was the general of Dongjiang Town, he adopted Kong Youde, Geng Zhongming, and Shang Kexi as his grandchildren. After Kong Youde surrendered to the Qing Dynasty and was promoted to a vassal king, he was still very grateful to Mao Wenlong, "every time he talked about the current affairs of the general (Mao), he could not help showing his gratitude."

For example, Zhang Xianzhong commanded the Dashi Army with the help of his four adopted sons: Sun Kewang, Li Dingguo, Liu Wenxiu, and Ai Nengqi.

Jiao Lian was an open-minded person, born in a family of military generals, and disdained such things. However, he also spared no effort to win over the standard soldiers in northern Shaanxi and treat the children of the standard camp well.

Cen Danchu's subordinates are growing day by day, and it's time to train his own team. He was born a child soldier, so he might as well start by training his team from the child soldiers.

This was inspired by the Taiping Rebellion in later generations, which had widely recruited child soldiers, known as "pai wei".

Many Taiping generals were born as child soldiers, such as Ying Wang Chen Yucheng, Mu Wang Tan Shaoguang, Hu Wang Chen Kunshu, Shou Wang Fan Ruzeng, Xie Wang Tan Tiyuan, etc. Fan Ruzeng was the youngest, only eleven years old when he joined the Taiping Army. Chen Yucheng was even more successful at a young age. When he was still a child soldier, he led his troops to attack Wuchang at night and won the first merit.

Danchu was born in a low-class family, so he didn't have as many concerns as Jiao Lian. Given his age and status, he certainly wasn't qualified to adopt a son or grandson, but it was reasonable for him to train some boy soldiers.

The standard camp captured a lot of spoils, so there was more training. The central army did not have to participate in training, and the child soldiers were gathered together to attend classes and learn literacy and arithmetic.

The military training includes small drills and large drills, and the boy soldiers also have small tests and large tests. Today is the day of the small test, and Danchu came to the central army to check the boy soldiers' test.

"Zhuoru." A middle-aged Confucian scholar who was invigilating the exam saw Cen Danchu coming over and bowed calmly.

Danchu quickly returned the greeting and said, "Brother Shilong."

The scholar was named He Yun, with the courtesy name Shilong, from Changshu, Suzhou. He was originally a student of Qian Qianyi and was considered a junior of Qu Shisi. When Qian Qianyi became a traitor, He Yun severed his relationship with him and followed Qu Shisi to Guilin, where he served as a staff member of Qu Shisi.

Changshu was a city of great culture and Qu Shisi was highly respected. He was surrounded by a group of people of high moral character from Changshu, such as Yan Wei, Wang Yichang, Xu Shiji, etc. He Yun was well-educated and was sent by Qu Shisi to the Danchu Army to help him with military affairs.

"Is the child obedient?" Danchu asked.

"Haha," He Yun smiled bitterly and said, "Look at those two children."

Danchu recognized them. One was Cen Yong and the other was Yang Fang. Both were orphans from the standard camp.

Cen Yong is his cousin, and Yang Fang is his childhood friend. Neither of them is good at studying and are very resistant to taking exams, so He Yun punished them by making them stand in front.

"You are not doing your job well!" Danchu was furious and said to the guards beside him, "Take him out and beat him with twenty military sticks!"

"Zhuo Ru!" He Yun was shocked and advised: "Why do this? If you beat him with twenty military sticks, the child won't be able to get out of bed."

"No beating, no lesson." Cen Danchu was unmoved, so his personal soldiers stepped forward and really started to beat him with a stick.

Cen Yong and Yang Fang were naughty and talented since childhood. When Cen Dan first recruited boy soldiers, they were the first ones he thought of and he made them squad leaders. Now, they are leading the way in boycotting the exam. Where is the teacher's prestige? Isn't reading and learning to read just empty words?
"Ah! Ah!"

Yang Fang screamed in agony, Cen Yong gritted his teeth and endured the pain without saying a word. Dan Chu watched coldly, looking disappointed. Seeing this, the boy soldiers dared not breathe a word, sitting upright, thinking hard. Some of those who usually did not listen to the class seriously could not write down the answers at this moment, and they were very nervous and regretted it.

After being beaten with the military stick, Cen Yong struggled to get up and said, "Brother, I don't want to be a child soldier. I want to be a standard bearer and fight in the battlefield."

Danchu said sternly, "In the military camp, we should address each other according to our positions. You are not allowed to call me big brother."

“Yes, I will help you.” Cen Yong nodded, but he still looked dissatisfied.

Seeing that he looked unconvinced, Danchu said earnestly:
"Do you think I command the Left Army because of my military achievements? Where do my military achievements come from? Killing the enemy in battle? No! Killing the enemy in battle is just a common man's courage. I can achieve military achievements because of the strategies in books. If I hadn't studied hard in Huangsha Town, how could I have been recognized by the Duke? How could I have achieved so many military achievements by chance?"

Thinking of the past in Huangsha Town, Cen Yong was speechless. At that time, everyone was an orphan in the camp, and each one was more naughty than the other. Marshal Jue invited a private school teacher to teach, but none of the children listened seriously.

But my cousin Cen Danchu, for some reason, suddenly became a different person, reading voraciously, and was appreciated by Marshal Jue. After a few months, he went from a boy soldier to a standard soldier, from a standard soldier to a captain, from a captain to a guerrilla, and now he is in charge of four or five hundred people, which is really enviable!
"Go, get the test paper now and do it for me!"

"Yes." Cen Yong and Yang Fang answered weakly, and walked into the house with the help of the wall.

He Yun smiled bitterly and said, "Zhuo Ru's warning is much more effective than my earnest persuasion."

Cen Danchu shook his head, his brows revealing determination and persistence, and said: "Children are naughty. If you don't beat them with a stick, you can't kill their arrogance. Today, I am playing the villain here, and Brother Shilong will play the hero later. A filial son is born under the stick, Brother Shilong, don't be soft-hearted. If there are children who don't follow the teachings, you should beat them and scold them.

"The current situation is tense, and everything must be done strictly and quickly. Child soldiers are also soldiers. After entering the Dubiao Zuo Association, they do not need to participate in training for the time being. If they do not cherish the opportunity and study hard, they will be severely punished by military law."

He Yun nodded, as if he had realized something. These days, warriors are in power, and even boy soldiers are hard to discipline. Cen Danchu's method is indeed useful.

He Yun used "Three Character Classic" as his enlightenment textbook, with a small test every five days, each test consisting of 48 characters.

This was the second test, and the students had to write down 48 characters: "If a father does not teach his children, it is his fault. If a teacher does not teach his children strictly, it is his laziness. If a child does not learn, it is not right. If a child does not learn when young, what will he do when he grows old? If jade is not polished, it cannot become a tool. If a person does not learn, he does not know righteousness. As a son, you should be close to your teachers and friends and learn etiquette when you are young."

When the time was up, the test papers were collected one after another. Cen Danchu didn't waste time talking to the students and said, "This time, I will personally check the papers. If you make a mistake in one word, you will be punished with one military stick. If you make all mistakes, you will be punished with 48 military sticks. Follow this rule from now on."

……

"Cen Yong." Cen Danchu pointed out his cousin's name in a cold voice and expressionless face.

“Yes.” Cen Yong knew that his test results were not good, so he answered weakly.

"If you make sixteen mistakes, you will be beaten with sixteen military sticks."

Cen Yong had already been hit with twenty military sticks, and with these sixteen more, he might not be able to get up tomorrow.

"Yes." The guards were tired of beating, and almost every child soldier was beaten. They knew that Danchu was angry and felt sorry for the child soldiers, so they made a lot of noise but did little.

Dan Chu saw it but did not point it out.

After the beating, it was almost noon. Danchu walked up to the podium, his eyes were sharp, and he scanned the boy soldiers. He looked dignified and sharp, and he was no longer the playmate he once was. The boy soldiers didn't dare to look at him directly, and lowered their heads in fear.

Dan Chu said in a deep voice: "From today on, everyone must correct their student attitude, cherish the opportunity, and study hard. Tomorrow, I will send an old soldier to be responsible for discipline. If anyone disobeys, military law will be imposed."

(End of this chapter)