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

Chapter 73 Training
After the Spring Festival, it was the second year of the Yongli reign, which was the fifth year of the Shunzhi reign in the Qing Dynasty.

On the sixth day of the first lunar month, the recruitment of soldiers was basically completed. A training ground was opened in the south of the city, with a total of five camps, including the standard camp, the central army camp, the war camp, and the guard camp.

At noon, after breakfast, the cavalry of the standard camp began to line up, and the new recruits lined up to receive clothes.

New soldiers were added one after another, from the 26th day of the twelfth lunar month to the 5th day of the first lunar month, new soldiers joined the cavalry every day. During these ten days, the captain Wu Jie organized queue training to teach the new soldiers how to line up and how to hold and operate weapons.

Yesterday the last five recruits joined the cavalry.

The captain of the cavalry team, Wu Jie, held the roster and began to call out the names of the new recruits and distribute military uniforms and weapons to them.

"Zhang Jia!"

"I'm here." A recruit who looked quite capable stepped forward and answered.

"What do you mean 'I'm here'? Answer 'yes'!" Wu Jie was so impatient that he walked up to Zhang Jia and said in a stern voice, "Zhang Jia!"

"Here!" Zhang Jia straightened his chest and answered loudly.

"Well, that's the way it should be. Our cavalry is not only the elite of the standard battalion, but also the elite of the entire Yong'an Town. We cannot allow a single coward. Although you are a new recruit, you must be an elite soldier."

"promise!"

"You are an archer, and you will be given a set of rattan armor, two sets of military uniforms, two pairs of straw sandals, a lacquered bow, twenty arrows, and a saber."

Lacquer bows were common equipment in Guangdong and Guangxi during the Ming Dynasty. This type of bow is well suited to the humid climate of Lingnan. It has a small bow force and a short range, but it has one outstanding advantage: it is waterproof, not afraid of wind and rain, and will not flip over.

The standard camp was Danchu's personal guard camp, and its weapons and equipment were good, but still very simple. The infantry camp was slightly worse, generally without armor, and the guard camp was even worse.

Zhang Jia happily picked up his armor and was about to leave.

Wu Jie asked: "Who gave you these clothes and weapons?"

"Marshal Cen!"

"Who do you work for?"

"Marshal Cen!"

"Yes. You must take good care of your weapons and keep them safe. Don't lose them!"

"promise!"

Zhang Jia took the weapon and returned to the team. With the help of the sergeant and the deputy sergeant, he began to put on the weapon in a hurry. There were ten people in the squad, only three were veterans, and the remaining seven were new recruits. Fortunately, the standard camp selected soldiers in advance, and the new recruits of the cavalry team could ride horses.

Soon, the new soldiers put on their armor and uniforms. Wu Jie looked around the team and said sternly:

"This morning, the whole battalion assembled for the first time. I was on duty and I got everything in order. Armor was fastened tightly, bows, sabers, and spears were carried according to regulations. The sentry sergeant came forward and corrected it. When the commander called the roll, everyone answered with full energy.

"When the Marshal distributes the salaries, everyone should hold their heads high and hold their weapons tightly. If anyone drops his weapon or behaves inappropriately in front of the Marshal, I will beat him with ten military sticks when I get back."

At 9:00 pm, the entire battalion assembled for the first time. Cen Danchu distributed wages to the soldiers and gave them a lecture.

At that time, many Southern Ming troops had stopped paying salaries, and the families of officers and soldiers could only struggle to make ends meet. Jiao Lian divided his troops and occupied Pingle, and the situation improved, but the various troops expanded their armies and still could not pay salaries.

Danchu decided to expand the army to 3,000 people. With the financial resources of Yong'an Prefecture, there was no problem with food for the time being, but there was still no way to get military pay.

If each person gets one tael of silver per month, that's 36,000 taels a year. Add in training and weapons, and you have at least 80,000 taels a year. If there's a war, the military expenses will increase dramatically due to supplies, rewards, and pensions.

Before the implementation of the policy of tenants paying grain, paying military salaries was simply a fantasy.

Despite this, it was still necessary and urgent to expand the army. Danchu needed the army to cope with the worsening situation, to implement the policy of renting and paying grain, and to accumulate military merits. In the middle of the Ming Dynasty, a general commander of a town often had tens of thousands of soldiers under his command. According to Danchu's plan, hierarchical leadership will be implemented in the army in the future, from town to town, in order of association, flag, battalion, team, sentry, and squad. A battalion has more than 500 people, a flag has more than 3,000 people, a association has more than 10,000 people, and a town has more than 30,000 people.

He was already the general of Yong'an Town. Even after the army expansion, he only had about 3,000 people, which was equivalent to the target size.

Anyway, the troops were finally assembled. Despite the financial constraints, Danchu decided to take out the precious silver and money to reward the soldiers.

Each guard was awarded 12 qian of silver, each infantryman was awarded 1 liang of silver, and each standard-bearer of the standard-bearer battalion was awarded 1 liang and 4 qian of silver. New recruits were awarded 2 qian of silver less according to their respective military branches. Those above the rank of sergeant were awarded additional rewards.

Battalion deputy Feng Lin held the roster and called out the names of the soldiers.

The cavalry team came to the cavalry team. Cen Danchu was in front, Feng Lin was behind, and several personal soldiers holding silver plates came to the cavalry team one after another.

"Wu Jie!"

Captain Wu Jie responded loudly: "Here!"

"Two ounces of silver as a reward."

The personal soldier brought a wooden tray filled with broken silver. Dan Chu took out a two-liang silver ingot and handed it to Wu Jie.

Wu Jie took it with both hands and said, "Thank you, Marshal!"

Dan Chu smiled, nodded to Wu Jie, and began to distribute rewards to the team leaders.

After the rewards were distributed, more than half an hour had passed. Feng Lin asked loudly, "Brothers, who distributed your rewards?"

"Marshal Cen!"

"Who provides your meals every day?"

"Marshal Cen!"

"Who gave you your uniforms, armor and weapons?"

"Marshal Cen!"

"Marshal Cen is our bread and butter. He provides us with food, clothes and money. From now on, we must follow Marshal Cen wholeheartedly, practice martial arts diligently, and make achievements on the battlefield!"

Wu Jie took the opportunity to shout, "I will serve Marshal Cen till death!"

More than 500 officers and soldiers of the standard camp shouted in unison: "Swear to be loyal to Marshal Cen until death!"

Danchu was very satisfied. When the shouts of the officers and soldiers subsided, he said loudly: "Dear brothers, just now, this town has given everyone a reward. Everyone's morale is very high and their voices are very loud. This town is very satisfied.

"Our Biaoying is the elite of the whole town, and it is also the town's own camp. No matter you are from northern Shaanxi, Yangshuo, Pingle, or Yong'an, when you arrive at the Biaoying, you are all the town's own soldiers and brothers. We all eat together, wear the same clothes, and live in the same house.

"The situation is very chaotic, and everyone is in danger. It is undoubtedly a wise move for you to come to Yong'an Town to serve as soldiers and eat food. This town will love you, protect you, and lead you to achieve success."

Upon hearing this, the officers and soldiers were filled with envy. Isn't the governor a living example? At the age of 18, he has been promoted to the commander-in-chief, married a lady from a noble family, and took in two concubines, one of whom is a daughter of a royal family, and the other is a daughter of a local powerful family.

With wives and concubines like this, what else could a husband ask for?
Danchu continued, "When you are a soldier, you must be a good soldier. The first thing is loyalty. Loyalty is the first virtue of a sergeant. Soldiers should be loyal to the sergeant, the sergeant should be loyal to the sentinel, the sentinel should be loyal to the captain, the captain should be loyal to the battalion commander, and the battalion commander should be loyal to the town. Only with loyalty at all levels can we unite as one and achieve unity.

"The second is to have ability. If a person does not have ability, he will accomplish nothing. If a soldier does not have ability, once a war breaks out, he will not only be unable to protect himself, but also endanger his own life and bring trouble to his comrades and superiors.

"Third, be brave..."

(End of this chapter)