Taichang Ming Dynasty

Chapter 24 The Foundation of the New West Factory
According to Ming military practice, those who trained or commanded the troops always had to take some empty salary and exploit the soldiers' blood. In short, no matter how poor the army was, the instructors should not be poor, and no matter how hard it was, the generals should not suffer. However, Xu Guangqi not only did not take the empty salary, but also tried every means to make the Jesuits pay him to train the troops.

His reasons were very sufficient. As long as he could use Western training methods to train a strong army and then achieve some results in Liaodong or somewhere else, he would be able to gain the recognition of the court.

But in reality, he didn't dare train his troops according to Western methods, because the Jesuit financial support would not only fail to solve the old problems, but would instead cause new ones. To put it bluntly, Xu Guangqi cheated the Jesuits out of money to train the Ming army.

In order to maximize the combat effectiveness of the small thousand men under his command, Xu Guangqi chose the expensive Qi family training method.

The first step is to select soldiers. Qi Jiguang's selection method can be summarized as five uses and seven non-uses:

It can be used by people who are strong, have good eyesight, have slender and flexible hands and feet, fear the government, have a blessed face and are under 30 years old.

But it does not need to be used by those who hang around in society, have fancy moves, are paranoid, like to talk big, are timid, are old hands who have spent their days in government offices, and those who are over forty years old.

In short, Xu Guangqi took the military pay allocated by the court and the subsidies from the Jesuit Society, and according to Qi Jiguang's military selection method, he barely found more than 900 young muscular men with strong limbs, honest character, law-abiding, and fear of the government to serve as soldiers.

He did this perfectly, paying every penny through the Ministry of War, and making payments in the name of the imperial court, not Xu Guangqi or the Jesuits. He also didn't dare to promote Catholicism in the army, as that would be courting death.

But the outcome was still good. He cleverly included the money and the troops in the letter he sent to the Jesuits in Macau. He said that one of the important reasons the emperor was willing to accept the Jesuits was because he valued the soldiers they trained. The Jesuits' money was well spent, so remember to bring more when you come.

The infantry battalion of the Qi family army was organized into teams of 12 people.

一个杀手队包括队总1人、藤牌手2人、狼筅兵2人、快枪手2人、镋钯手2人、大棒手2人、火兵1人。

At the same time, a bird gun team consists of 10 bird gunners, 1 team leader and 1 fireman.

The bird gun team and the killer team are usually composed of a one-to-one team.

3队为1旗，每旗设旗总1人，全旗官兵37人；3旗为1局，每局设百总1人，全局官兵共112人；4局为1司，每司设把总1人，全司官兵共449人；2司为1部，每部设千总1人，全“部”官兵共899人。

Three divisions form a battalion, which consists of one general, one lieutenant general, one firearms commander, and 3 officers and soldiers below the rank of general. The total number of combat soldiers in the battalion is 1.

However, Xu Guangqi lacked the funds and weapons to recruit and arm a full infantry battalion. So, he had to settle for the next best thing: 1.5 divisions, or six divisions, with three assassins and three bird guns, for a total of 6 combatants. He also recruited a baggage and scout unit totaling 3 men, and 3 unmanned personnel.

Now, these 942 people are busy building their barracks near Xi'an Gate and Taiye Lake, at the former site of the Xijishi Factory.

Lu Zhongqiu, 31 years old this year, is from Kaiyuan, Liaodong.

After the defeat at Sarhu, Xiong Tingbi, who was familiar with Liao affairs, was promoted by Emperor Shenzong to replace Yang Hao as governor of Liaodong. Xiong Tingbi took office, but before he could leave the city, news of the fall of Kaiyuan reached Beijing.

After breaking the city, Nurhaci carried out a small-scale massacre in Kaiyuan and enslaved the remaining Han people. But Lu Zhongqiu was very lucky that he was not in his hometown at that time, but in Tieling, a little further south.

Upon learning that Kaiyuan City had fallen, Lu Zhongqiu was devastated, as his parents, wife, and daughter were all in Kaiyuan. He had considered risking his life to return and see if he could find them, but in order to find a way out for his youngest son, Lu Shuangyang, who was with him, he could only reluctantly follow the frightened Tieling refugees southward to northern Zhili.

But finding a job wasn't easy. After arriving in Tongzhou, he and his fourteen-year-old son could only make ends meet by doing odd jobs. They lived a hard life, with no food to eat.

Lu Shuangyang heard that entering the palace would allow his father and himself to live a good life, so he wanted to go to Beijing to participate in the palace's recruitment activities. Lu Zhongqiu was very moved by Lu Shuangyang's idea, but he still found a stick and beat Lu Shuangyang severely, finally giving up his idea of ​​cutting off his descendants.

There was no joy in the midst of hardship, and the father and son lived a life of poverty and poverty. That was until Xu Shaozhan's recruiting officer set up a stall in Nanmen City to recruit soldiers.

"Dad, aren't we heading north?" Lu Shuangyang asked, tugging at his father's shirt. "Alas! How would I know what the court's plans were?" Lu Zhongqiu sighed. He had originally thought that after more than a year of training, they would leave Tongzhou and head north to Liaodong to reclaim lost territory. But he hadn't expected the troops to stay in Beijing, which had left him deeply disappointed. Even if there wasn't a national feud, there was still a family feud.

After joining the army, he and his son trained diligently, hoping to one day return to Liaodong and find their family. Because of his outstanding performance, Lu Zhongqiu was promoted to team leader. His annual salary was three taels of silver more than the others.

Since they lived and ate in the army, he saved all the wages he and his son earned, hoping to buy two mu of thin land after retaking Kaiyuan. This would give him a permanent property to support his parents and live a peaceful life. This was his greatest hope.

"Just get to work, don't overthink it. We're soldiers, we get paid and just follow orders." Lu Zhongqiu picked up a piece of wood and walked towards the place indicated by the supervisor.

Lu Zhongqiu suddenly felt like he was just the piece of wood on his shoulders. He had no say in where to move it or how to use it.

"Form a team!" After Lord Xu was promoted, this unit lost its chief officer, so it had to be temporarily replaced by Ye Ye, the chief officer of the First Assassin Bureau.

Regardless of whether Ye Baizong has the popularity and ability to overwhelm the other five Baizongs, his voice is definitely louder than everyone else.

"Damn it, it's almost time for dinner! What kind of team are you running?" Someone complained, but no one disobeyed. Although these new recruits had never been on the battlefield, their discipline alone was definitely among the best in the Ming Dynasty.

Each team, flag, and bureau was arranged in front according to its organization; while the baggage, scouts, and unorganized personnel were arranged in square formations behind the combat troops.

"He came during dinner time. He is probably the new leader. He wants to show us his power." Lu Shuangyang muttered behind Lu Zhongqiu.

"Shut up! Discipline. Haven't you had enough of the beating?" Lu Zhongqiu scolded in a low voice.

Lord Xu's way of training soldiers is very Qi-style fundamentalist, and he has taken the educational strategy of "big stick in hand, soft words in mouth" to the extreme.

If you stand in the wrong position in the team, you will be beaten; if you turn in the wrong direction when the team turns, you will be beaten; if you learn the orders and then forget them, you will be beaten; if you rank last in the regular assessment, you will still be beaten.

But Master Xu is very considerate. Not only will he beat you, but he will also come to visit you in person after you are beaten, tell you what you did wrong, and remember to correct it next time. Master Xu is very eloquent, and with just a few more words, he can make you feel that "I am sorry for being born as a human being."

But if you forget the pain after your wound heals and make the same mistake again, I'm sorry, but Master Xu will beat you again. And the process will continue until you stop making mistakes.

Walking in the middle of the crowd was a middle-aged man in a black robe. He was tall and looked strong, but anyone who had practiced martial arts could tell at a glance that his so-called strength was actually just puffiness.

The man had a beard and his face was at least a shade lighter than the people around him. It was obvious that he was a playboy who had rarely worked in the fields or been exposed to the sun.

The young master was flanked by the imperial guards, led by the Imperial Horse Supervisor. Their hands rested on their sword hilts, their demeanor preoccupied with facing a formidable enemy. However, the new recruits present didn't recognize their attire and assumed the more colorful the attire, the higher their rank.

It was not until the young master stood still and everyone around him, except a few guards, knelt down to salute and shouted "Long live the young master" that they reacted.

The emperor came in person.

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(End of this chapter)