Sweep Yuan

Chapter 36 Shishan Theory Compilation

"Based on previous training and combat tests, the three-person team has performed well and will continue to be in place. The team leader can be elected by the team members themselves, but will be given priority in promotion."

The three-person team is not a formal organization in the strict sense, but rather a basic unit for convenient training and management.

The team was newly established, and the reason for the chaotic management was largely due to the weakness of the basic units, which could not effectively leverage the advantages of human resources.

Han Xin could command as many troops as possible, but in thousands of years of Chinese history, only one military genius has ever emerged who could command ordinary people as soldiers.

If landlords, farmhands, and guards with no experience in leading troops are put in charge of dozens, hundreds, or even more rabble, chaos is inevitable; it would be strange if it didn't.

If a large number of people are not properly organized and integrated with corresponding personnel, they will not only fail to generate combat effectiveness, but will also suffer from serious internal friction due to poor management.

The Red Turban Army in Xuzhou was not without capable people, but the circumstances of each unit were different, and their experiences could not be copied.

The day before yesterday, at Tianxianglou, Wen Sijiu was drinking with a group of old brothers when they talked about the issue of government positions. However, because each of the brothers had their own difficulties, the conversation did not go deep.

Wen Sijiu was preoccupied with something and didn't ask any questions, so Shishan continued his introduction:
“The titles of military officers have changed significantly. First, the nameplate has been changed to ‘Shi’ and the head of the nameplate has been changed to ‘Shizhang’.”

While the meanings of "什" and "什长" are indeed more accurate, the Mongols had ruled the Xuzhou area for over a hundred years, and the people had long accepted the concept of "牌子头" (a type of nameplate). Changing it back and forth would be completely unnecessary.

However, Wen Sijiu knew that the main point of Shishan was not here, so he just muttered to himself, nodded to indicate that he was listening, and asked the deputy commander to continue.

"Every five squads form a team, with the team leader as the team commander, and one flag bearer and one drummer. Every six teams form a battalion, with the battalion commander as the commander, and one deputy commander, one flag bearer, one drummer, and two order takers, for a total of 324 men."

"and many more."

This is no longer just changing a few job titles; it's a complete abandonment of the old military system.

Wen Sijiu had long known that Shishan had ulterior motives, and since he dared to make such a big move, he must have a reason for it, but he still couldn't help but question him.

"The various units of the Red Turban Army may differ in the number of people, but they all follow the same system of military organization and names as the government army. Why is it that when it comes to the deputy commander, a different system is needed?"

Ishiyama was not surprised that Wen Sijiu would question this issue, automatically ignoring the warning of "a different approach," and explained:

"The Tartars set up signs, hundred-household units, and thousand-household units, requiring each unit to march and fight when on horseback and to gather and produce when off horseback. It seems very mysterious, but in fact it is not fundamentally different from the Meng'an-Muke system of the Jurchens in the past."

Simply put, both were methods used by sparsely populated barbarian tribes in harsh, cold regions to unite their people.

The difference is that the Jurchens relied on fishing and hunting for a living, while also engaging in farming and animal husbandry, resulting in a relatively greater variety of produce and thus larger settlements.

The number of households in the tribe was set at three hundred, largely because the large-scale tribal hunts, which required division of labor such as encirclement, trapping, frightening, driving away, shooting, and capturing, needed that many people.

Through long-term production and hunting, each unit has developed relatively fixed tactics and coordination, and is also accustomed to carrying out independent combat missions with corresponding numbers and tactics.

The Mongol Tartars lived a nomadic life, following the water and pastures. Although the vast northern deserts stretched for thousands of miles, they were mostly barren land with very few fertile pastures. Pastures capable of sustaining more than a hundred herders for extended periods were even rarer. Their smallest administrative unit was the "banzi," which, due to their scattered settlements, typically consisted of five to ten households. Any settlement exceeding a hundred households was invariably a powerful, dominant tribe controlling fertile pastures.

"this?"

Wen Sijiu had only ever heard of the term "Meng'an Mouke." He knew very little about the history of the Jurchens, let alone the ancient history of their rise to power, or even the history of the Mongols in the northern desert during the current dynasty.

I had thought that military systems were extremely mysterious, but Shishan explained them so simply and clearly that I suddenly understood. Instantly, I felt a sense of powerlessness because of the huge gap between myself and the deputy commander.

Wen Sijiu hesitated for a long time before finally letting out a sigh and waving his hand to signal Shishan to continue.

"Xuzhou has suffered from war and famine, and its population is far less prosperous than that of Jiangnan, but it is also far superior to the barren Liaodong and Mobei. As long as there is enough money and food, let alone more than 10,000 people, it is easy to gather an army of 100,000.

However, if they cannot be effectively integrated, the more troops there are, the more likely things will go wrong.

Previously, we followed the organization of the government army, with one centurion in charge of ten banners. During daily training in the camp or short, slow marches, we didn't see many problems. But on the battlefield, where the sounds of battle were deafening and the situation was changing rapidly, everything went into chaos.

Without extensive training in flag and drum signaling, even a centurion on the battlefield could only effectively command three or five flags.

Assigning him more badges would not only fail to improve his unit's combat effectiveness, but could also cause chaos due to his inability to coordinate and command the actions of some of his troops—this is why organizational structure must be realistic.

Furthermore, the Mongol centurions, in addition to some being equipped with bows and crossbows and leather armor, also possessed weapons such as knives, shields, spears, hammers, and ropes. Moreover, each member was mounted on horseback and moved swiftly, enabling them to handle many complex situations and carry out numerous combat missions independently.

However, our team is newly established and lacks everything. The centurion unit is not only unable to carry out complex combat missions on its own, but it is also difficult to deal with a surprise attack by twenty or thirty enemy cavalry when marching in the field.

In fact, besides unreasonable organizational structure, insufficient training, scarcity of armor and weapons, inadequate command capabilities, and limited command methods can all affect combat effectiveness.

But one thing is certain—at this stage, it's better to divide our ten squads into two teams than to organize them into a single hundred-household unit; and it's better to divide ten hundred-household units together into three battalions than to mix them together.

The logic is simple. Wen Sijiu is not stupid. The more he thought about it, the more he felt that it was indeed the case. Then he thought of how Shishan had done all this without making a sound, and even deliberately sent him away to carry out the reorganization. He felt full of resentment.

"Since the deputy commander has such remarkable insight, why didn't you inform me in advance? I could have taken this opportunity of returning to the city to present it to the marshal and request that it be promoted throughout the army."

The strategy of expanding and reorganizing the troops is Shishan's established strategy. The current organization cannot remain unchanged and will inevitably be adjusted as the troops expand and the situation changes. However, he certainly cannot tell the truth to Wen Sijiu, the supervisor.

"Of course we have to report to Marshal Li. It's just that we didn't figure it out before. Besides, adjusting the military system is a major event, concerning the life and death of soldiers and the survival of the army. We have to try it out with a small team first, and only if it proves effective can we promote it further."

Furthermore, even if we believe this new organizational structure is truly effective, the Marshal probably wouldn't adopt it entirely.

Sesame Li was known for "listening to advice," and Wen Sijiu couldn't understand why Marshal Li didn't use a better position.

"Why?"

(End of this chapter)