A small soldier of the frontier army in the late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 338
The army meandered westward, and it was almost at Yanqingzhou City before noon.

The area around Yanqing was one of the earliest places in Xuanfu Town to recruit people to guard it. There were many villages, and most of the villages were named after camps.There are 72 battalions in Zhangshanying, Dongmenying, Hujiaying, Zhuojiaying, Wanghuaying and so on.

The weather is getting hotter and hotter, and the army is heading west along the Qingshui River. The land of Yanqing can be regarded as a place with a relatively good ecological environment in Xuanfu Town, and the vegetation can be maintained—relatively speaking, the bare mountainous land, Withered grass and dry rivers can still be seen everywhere.It is impossible for the continuous drought of Ming Dynasty to have no impact on the land of Yanqing.

The official road was dilapidated and covered with dry loess. When a large group of people stepped on it, there was a cloud of dust. Fortunately, there was no wind, otherwise it would be fatal.

Different from the dead silence before, large-scale construction projects are being carried out in various places, land reclamation and road construction, and the large-scale construction of General Dingguo has already begun.From time to time, I saw crowds gathering by the roadside and river, including military households and civilian households.

These laborers were still dressed in rags and their faces were yellow and thin, but they were different from before. Now they all had hope on their faces, and they also cast reverent glances at the marching army.Seeing Gao Shiyin and others are very happy, and feel that it is worthwhile to suppress the bandits and Anmin.

The army went straight through the city of Yanqing, without stopping, and Sergeant Zhao Rongsheng, a spear sergeant of Renbu Ding, also strode in his team.The road conditions were not good, so Gao Shiyin's army was marching in a long snake formation.

Zhao Rongsheng's equipment is the typical spearman equipment of Shunxiang Army, a pair of iron armor, weighing about [-] catties, plus a waist knife and a spear.In addition, there are kettles, blankets, small tents, dry food and other equipment and supplies.In the past, the Shun Township Army had to carry all these things on their backs when they marched. Now they have horses, armor and other items on the horses, which makes everyone feel relaxed when marching.

In the past, due to the shortage of armor in the Shunxiang army, the soldiers often exchanged armor, and sometimes it was stripped off after wearing it for a few months.Just like before the battle last year, in order to gather the armor of the soldiers who went to battle, all the armors of the remaining soldiers were stripped off, and they only wore mandarin duck battle jackets.

Fortunately, in the 11th year of Chongzhen, Wang Dou had a lot of armor to suppress the bandits, so the armor of the sergeant was also standardized after reorganization.If there is no accident, until they retire, the armor and weapons issued will belong to them, and the same is true for the horses.

The Shun Township Army has formulated relevant regulations, which need to be kept properly. If any of them are lost, the sergeants and superiors will be punished accordingly.If there is any damage, send it to the bureau, hang up the battalion head, team, and name, and it will be easy to replace it with a new one in a few days.

But if they died or were wounded and retired, these armored horses could belong to their family and be passed on to future generations.This greatly encouraged the soldiers of the Shun Township Army.

Zhao Rongsheng and the other soldiers were very excited to own their own horses, and they scrambled to ask the veteran of the cavalry chief how to take care of the horses.Gao Shiyin's Thousand Headquarters also pulled out the relevant veterinary horsemen from the battalion to teach the sergeants how to take care of the horses.

But even though you have a horse, you need to learn how to ride a horse, but it is not a matter of a short time, and the horsepower is cherished, most of the marching team is on foot.

Zhao Rongsheng held his horse with great care, lest there be any damage to it.His lance was carried in the saddle-holster, as later cavalry carried their carbines.There was also a waist knife hanging from his waist.

Summer is here, so he is wearing a new summer suit, which is also a mandarin duck jacket.Narrow sleeves and fronts, red cotton fabric, bright colors, very eye-catching.Looking at the soldiers in the team, they are all like this, all of them are bright red.

Now that the army in Shun Township has become regularized, proper arrangements have been made for the supply of military supplies. Each sergeant has a set of winter and summer clothes, lined shoes and socks, and can apply for replacement if they are damaged.

Due to the battle, the red hat that Zhao Rongsheng usually wears on his head was replaced by an eight-petal hat and an iron pointed helmet, and the cotton shoes were also replaced by iron mesh boots.Red tassels fluttered on his iron helmet, but the old armor commander in front had black tassels fluttering on his helmet.In front, on the helmet of the team officer, is the blue tassel fluttering.

The red, black, blue, green, and purple tassels on the helmet, as well as the waist badges, military uniforms, and different marks on the cloak represent the regularization of the Shunxiang Army.Although this allows the enemy to see the composition of its own army at a glance, Wang Dou believes that the advantages of relevant adjustments outweigh the disadvantages.

Yesterday defeated Zhong Xiancai's superior veteran, Zhao Rongsheng has been promoted to a superior skilled sergeant, and on the waist card he just issued, there are two circles of red borders, representing Zhao Rongsheng's glory and identity.Last night, Zhao Rongsheng was so excited that he didn't sleep well all night. At this time, the heat subsided a little.

He looked eagerly at the other belt badge on the waist of the armor commander in front. On that belt badge, there was a circle of black borders and two circles of red borders, which represented his military position as a commander of the armor, as well as the same top-ranking badge. The status of an art sergeant.Think about when you can have such a waist card.

Zhao Rongsheng glanced at the looming waist badge on the front team officer...

People's hearts are not enough to swallow an elephant, but they have to go back to Shu, so don't blame Zhao Rongsheng for being greedy.

In the system of the Shunxiang Army, those who do not seek fame and fortune will become ambitious under the influence of their ears and eyes.Military merit, seniority, and ordinary sergeant skills are all considerations for promotion. If you are promoted to a higher position, you will have absolute authority over your subordinates, and the related treatment enjoys completely different.

In this system, you can't do without hard work.Wang Dou believes that the strict hierarchy in the army can stimulate the army's enterprising spirit to the greatest extent.After all, it is the inferiority of the whole human being to step on others, and it is also the driving force for the advancement of human civilization.

Classification is a good thing. The most important thing is to keep the promotion channels smooth. In this way, the inferior will go down and the capable will go up, and the army will always maintain vitality.

……

The army walked along the official road. In the past, the Shun Township army could walk dozens of miles a day wearing armor, let alone having horses to carry armor and luggage.Therefore, on this day, Gao Shiyin's army marched for more than 100 miles, entered the security boundary before sunset, and arrived at a place called Beisanying.

This is a local fortress, not far away is the guarded Mayukou Fort, along the northeast mountainous area, it is Chang'an Office on Fenxundao North Road, Xuanfu Town.The bandit "Tian Bawang" and others occupy the mountains in this area.

Smoke rose from the cooking pot, and the aroma of the broth filled the air. All the soldiers gathered together to chat and laugh loudly, and ate and drank the fried rice and fried noodles they brought along with the broth.

The Shun Township Army now does not have special firemen in each team, but only a few firemen in the headquarters, responsible for the supply of hot water and hot soup for the general, thinking that it means streamlining the army and simplifying administration.For this kind of temporary expedition, the sergeant can carry dry food and fried noodles for a few days, and there is no need to transport a large amount of food, rice and luggage to improve the army's mobility.

"Tomorrow's suppression of bandits will be a smooth one."

Zhao Rongsheng also chatted with his brothers in a circle. His Jiachang is a veteran who has experienced a series of wars in Tongzhou, Julu, and Pinggu. He was just an ordinary spearman before, and he was promoted to Jiachang after the war.In charge of Zhao Rongsheng and other first-class recruits.

Although they have been in the army for more than a year, they have never been on the battlefield. In the eyes of veterans, they will always be new recruits.

"It's no fun fighting bandits. If you want to fight, you have to fight the Tartars. It's fun to see blood!"

The old soldier's tone was lazy, but what he said always made people's blood boil. What Zhao Rongsheng and others like most on weekdays is also talking about the battle of Julu with the chief armor.Imagining the cruelty of the battlefield at that time, Zhao Rongsheng's heart always felt as if his blood was about to spurt out, and he only regretted that he was not there at that time.

"The battle at that time was really miserable!"

The old soldier was reminiscing about the past again: "Lu Duchen died in battle, General Mingwei died in battle, General Wu De died in battle, and all my brothers in Jia died, except me..."

The old soldier's tone was very calm, but the sadness in his words couldn't be concealed. There was a deep scar on his face, which made his face look a little strange.However, with him in the armor, the few recruits are very at ease. They have been on the battlefield and have veterans with rich combat experience by their side, which is always reassuring.

Zhao Rongsheng clenched his fists and hit the ground with all his might, until a big pit appeared in the underground soil. He did this when he got excited.

He shouted: "Hate me, I didn't have to go out to fight last year, otherwise, Lao Zhao, I would have chopped off the heads of a few tartars."

Although the battle last year was exciting, the few recruits in Jia came back to reality, and they were still a little worried: "Sun Jiachang, will we be in danger this time to suppress the bandits?"

Although I have practiced for a long time and have never been on the battlefield, I will always be a little nervous instinctively.

As soon as they spoke, Zhao Rongsheng said angrily: "Lai Dexiang, Luo Liangzuo, you guys are afraid of facing some bandits, how will you fight against the Tartars in the future? What you said really disgraced our Shun Township Army. "

The few people couldn't hold back their faces, and said in a hurry: "Old Zhao, you can't say that, the sword has no eyes, it's good to ask Mr. Sun Jia for advice, you don't want to see the casualties of the brothers, do you?"

Although Zhao Rongsheng is in his early twenties, he usually calls himself "Old Zhao" carelessly, and the brothers Jia Nei also call him that.

Seeing a few people arguing, Sun Jiachang smiled gently, his eyes looked at the few people under his command, just like a father looks at his sons who are blushing and thick-necked.In fact, he is only in his 30s, but after experiencing repeated battles and seeing many lives and deaths, he seems to see through the world of mortals.

He can understand the feelings of brothers Jia Nei, who has never been on the battlefield, who is not afraid?Wasn't he the same back then?
He said: "There will be no danger in fighting tomorrow. Those local bandits don't even have a few bows and arrows. Our army's guns are sharp and can defeat them from a distance. Maybe we don't need spearmen to fight. The war is over."

……

"Use a sledgehammer to kill insects!"

At this time, this is also the view of Qian Zong Gao Shiyin and others. The intelligence Si Yebushou who was detecting near the "Tian Bawang" cottage has joined Gao Shiyin's army.According to their information, the Shun Township Army came so quickly, they didn't react at all, they were still enjoying themselves in the village, and unexpected disasters were imminent.

When Gao Shiyin's army arrived at the North Third Battalion, they immediately set up a line of defense to keep away those who might spy.It was just that some local people tipped off the bandits, not to mention that these people would be shot and killed by the Shunxiang army gathered around the village.Even if they succeeded in reporting the letter, it would be of no avail if they did not understand the military readiness of the Gaoshi Yinbu and took corresponding protection.

Even if they were well protected, Gao Shiyin didn't care. He is a superstitious person who believes in force.In his opinion, his army has outstanding combat power, breaking through the stronghold and killing "Tian Bawang" and others is as simple as crushing an ant to death.

(End of this chapter)