Jingtai: Making the Ming Dynasty Great Again

"Shi Heng, Sun Tang, and Fan Guang, each lead your troops to form ranks in the designated areas!"

"Yes, sir!"

The three battalions quickly separated, forming three huge square formations on the drill ground.

Zhu Qiyu stood on the command platform, looking down at the army below.

He could clearly distinguish between veterans and new recruits among these soldiers.

Those standing tall with sharp eyes were mostly veterans of the original three battalions of Beijing and some of the reserve troops and anti-Japanese troops.

Those who seemed slightly nervous were newly recruited soldiers.

Yu Qian first walked to the front of the first battalion led by Shi Heng.

This battalion, mainly composed of elites with combat experience from the original three battalions, the training army, and the anti-Japanese army, is the strongest among the three battalions.

Yu Qian ordered, "General Shi, first practice the basic infantry formations."

Shi Heng clasped his hands in acceptance of the order, then turned to face his troops: "On my command! Form the Crane Wing Formation!"

With the command flags waved and the drums sounded, the soldiers of the First Battalion began to move.

The front row of knife players quickly spread out to the sides, forming two wings.

The middle row of pikemen steadied themselves, while the rear row of archers and musketeers took alternating positions.

The whole process went very smoothly; they are all veterans, no wonder.

"Transform into a fish scale formation!"

The formation changed again.

This time, the soldiers formed a layered defensive array, organized into squads.

Swordsmen are in front, spearmen are in the middle, and ranged units are in the back.

Next up is Sun Tang's second battalion.

This battalion is half veterans and half new recruits.

"General Sun, conduct a drill on the advance and change of direction of the formation."

The Second Battalion was divided into twenty-one square formations, each consisting of one thousand men.

As the drumbeats changed, these formations began to advance.

"Turn left!"

The leftmost square formation turned first, followed by the adjacent square formations, like a long dragon winding its way across the training ground.

During the turn, the formation remained intact, with the swordsmen always facing outwards and the spearmen ready to thrust at any time.

Zhu Qiyu nodded to himself.

Sun Tang was a calm and collected man, and he was indeed skilled at leading troops.

Although there are many new recruits, they have already begun to take shape under rigorous training.

Finally, there was Fan Guang's third battalion.

This battalion had the most new recruits, with only about 5,000 veterans, while the remaining 16,000 were either inexperienced or newly recruited soldiers.

Fan Guang's expression was solemn.

He knew that his battalion was the weakest in combat, so he paid extra attention during the drills.

The third battalion quickly contracted, forming a huge circular defensive formation.

Swordsmen erected a shield wall on the outer perimeter, with spears protruding from the gaps in the shields, while archers and musketeers stood ready in the inner circle.

"Enemy attack! Frontal defense!"

Simulating an enemy frontal assault, the circular formation quickly adjusted, with shields stacked layer upon layer and spears forming a forest.

"Enemy attack on both flanks!"

The circular formation changed again, with the shields on both sides turning around, and the formation changing from a circle to an ellipse.

The drills of the Third Battalion were simple, but with so many new recruits, the movements were inevitably a bit sluggish.

The basic formation drill lasted for an hour.

Yu Qian returned to the command platform and reported to Zhu Qiyu: "Your Majesty, the basic formation drill is complete. Next, we will practice firearms."

Zhu Qiyu nodded, firearms were the most important thing for the Ming army.

Although firearms of that era were still considered very backward by Zhu Qiyu.

But compared to traditional cold warfare, this can be considered a kind of dimensional reduction attack.

Yu Qian turned around: "All centurions of the Shenji Battalion, step forward!"

About a thousand musketeers emerged from the three battalions.

This was the original configuration of the Shenji Battalion, which has now been reorganized and assigned to the New Third Battalion.

The actual number of people is more than this, but unfortunately, we don't have enough weapons right now.

Each musket squad consists of thirty-three musketeers, thirty shield bearers, thirty pikemen, three flag bearers, and four powder gunners.

This was the standard configuration of the Ming Dynasty's Shenji Battalion.

Musketeers were responsible for long-range attacks, shield bearers for close-quarters defense, spearmen for dealing with cavalry charges, flag bearers for relaying orders, and gunpowder bearers for carrying gunpowder pellets.

Yu Qian shouted, "Practice firing the muskets in three rows in succession!"

The three hundred musketeers quickly split into three ranks.

Dozens of straw targets stood a hundred paces in front of them.

"First column, ready!"

The first musketeer stepped forward and knelt on one knee.

"put!"

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Amidst the billowing smoke, dozens of holes suddenly appeared on the straw target a hundred paces away.

"First column back! Second column up!"

The first musketeers quickly retreated and began reloading.

The second rank advanced, raised their guns, and fired.

"put!"

Another salvo.

"Second column, move back! Third column, move up!"

When the third column finished firing, the first column had already finished reloading and moved forward again.

This cycle continued almost uninterrupted, creating sustained fire suppression.

Yu Qian explained from the side: "Your Majesty, this method of firing in three rows is an old system of the Shenji Battalion during the Yongle period."

After the first column fires, it retracts to reload; the second column follows, and the third column follows.

This cycle continues, ensuring that the firepower remains uninterrupted.

If enemy cavalry charge, the musketeers retreat, the shield bearers step forward to form a shield wall, and the spearmen thrust out from between the shields, specifically targeting the horses' bellies.

The Shenji Battalion was not a single-service firearms unit, but a coordinated force integrating various branches of the armed forces.

Zhu Qiyu hummed in agreement and asked, "What about the cannons?"

Yu Qian smiled wryly: "Your Majesty, cannons are heavy and inconvenient to move, and gunners need to be specially trained."

Although the capital city now has hundreds of cannons, there is a shortage of gunners.

I have already ordered the training to be expedited, but it will take at least ten months to complete.

Zhu Qiyu frowned. Everyone who had used cannons in sieges and defenses said they were good.

In siege warfare, cannons can blast through city walls and quickly open up attack routes.

Defense is more important. Launching a few shots at a great distance can both kill the enemy and disrupt their formation.

Previously, I was only considering whether there were enough people and machines, and I overlooked this issue.

This powerful weapon is now facing a shortage of operators.

Firing a cannon is not difficult; the difficulty lies in hitting it accurately.

Zhu Qiyu said seriously, "We must train the gunners as soon as possible, even if it means piling up cannonballs, we must still produce enough gunners."

His meaning was clear: with live-fire training, as long as you fire enough cannons, you can always develop sufficient accuracy.

Yu Qian opened his mouth as if to say something, but in the end he only said, "Your subject obeys the decree."

Zhu Qiyu looked at the soldiers on the drill ground: "Continue the drills."

Yu Qian accepted the order and resumed directing the drills.

After the drill, Zhu Qiyu, accompanied by Yu Qian, inspected the military camp.

They inspected the soldiers' barracks and food supplies, and inquired about the difficulties they encountered during training.

As Yu Qian walked, he said, "Your Majesty, the biggest problem now is still equipment."

There was a shortage of muskets, and many soldiers were still using old-fashioned bowl-shaped muskets, which had a short range and poor accuracy.

There are enough rockets, but a good bow requires long-term training to master.

Armor was in short supply; many soldiers only had cotton armor or even cloth armor.

Zhu Qiyu frowned: "Send someone to urge the transport ships in Nanjing to come to Beijing as soon as possible."

Just then, a member of the Imperial Guard rushed over and whispered a few words in Lu Zhong's ear.

Lu Zhong's expression changed slightly, and he quickly walked to Zhu Qiyu's side and whispered:

"Your Majesty, the three grain merchants Yongfeng, Guangyuan, and Shengtai have recently secretly transported 50,000 shi of grain out of the capital, suspected of intending to transfer it south."