Late Ming Dynasty: Oops, I am surrounded by the Donglin Party

"There are a lot more people." Zhang Shikang joked after everyone arrived.

After the Battle of Jiazhuang and the Battle of Jingshui, nearly half of the original 20,000 troops of the Beijing Camp were lost. The extra 20,000-plus troops were partly from Yang Sichang's former direct subordinates and were also troops that had been withdrawn from the Beijing Camp.

The other part was drawn from various towns in Shaanxi and Jizhou Town.

The number of troops stationed in each military town ranges from 8,000 to 20,000. Regardless, the current number of troops in the Beijing garrison is no longer a force that the other border towns can ignore.

This is actually the main reason why Zhang Shikang was eager to expand the Beijing camp.

After all, as the last force to defend the capital, the Beijing Army would generally not be the first to go into battle even if a war broke out.

It is said to be to protect the central government, but in fact it is more of a deterrent to the border towns.

Many generals from border towns were a little nervous at first, but Zhang Shikang's relaxed tone made them gradually relax.

“You are new to the Beijing Camp and may not be familiar with the current Beijing Camp, so I will just give you a brief introduction.

I roughly know what you are thinking, but if you think that you can sit back and relax once you arrive at the Beijing Camp and lead an easy life that you can't even imagine in other military towns, you are totally wrong.

Maybe it was in the past, but at least it won't be possible in the future. If you don't believe it, you can ask the original soldiers of the Beijing Camp in private." Zhang Shikang said calmly.

There have been many wars in the border towns, and the combat effectiveness of the soldiers is still acceptable. However, the soldiers in the garrisons inside the Great Wall and even the military camps in the capital have rarely experienced war disasters, and as a result, the military preparations have been neglected. This is something that everyone in the world knows.

Although the Beijing Camp won the battle under the leadership of Zhang Shikang, the soldiers under him could not help but hold on to the fantasy that the Beijing Camp was a paradise, not to mention that he, the leader, was also known as the most dissolute man in the capital.

However, Zhang Shikang still misjudged these generals. Perhaps his concerns were justified in the past, but at least not now.

"Marshal, you underestimate us. To be honest, we just want to fight now!" said a guerrilla general from Jizhou Town.

If it were in the past, he certainly wouldn't have said that. After all, in a war, casualties are inevitable, and if you're not careful, there's no one to collect your bodies.

But things are different now. The imperial edict of Emperor Chongzhen conferring the title was not just a formality, and it is still being circulated and announced in various border towns.

To be granted a title! This is something many generals would never dare to think about in their entire lives.

Now it has become a naked reality that the emperor really gives titles and military honors.

The dozen or so titles bestowed upon these mid-level generals made them extremely envious. If they had known that His Majesty was so willing to give it so, they would have fought the Battle of Jingshui even at the cost of their lives.

Therefore, they were finally selected to be transferred to the Beijing Camp, and they actually had mixed feelings.

The good thing is that if you follow the Marshal, you will never suffer any loss in the rewards you deserve. After all, the relationship between the Marshal and the Emperor is visible to everyone.

But in the same way, Zhang Shikang's concerns were actually their concerns. If the Beijing Army was really just to defend the capital, then they would not get any military merit.

No matter how rampant the Jianlu bandits were, they had never been able to break through the defenses of Beijing. Perhaps, even they did not dare to think about it.

Zhang Shikang's words made them happy. It was good that the Beijing troops did not defend the city. It couldn't be better.

"Look at what you are capable of. You become so arrogant after winning a battle?" Zhang Shikang asked half in a reprimand and half in a joking manner.

But it is true that Chongzhen's trip was not in vain. Not only did it boost morale and help them win the war in one go, it also changed the spirit of the entire Ming army.

Of course, Zhang Shikang knew that this change was not safe. Perhaps after a long time, or after another defeat, things would return to their original state.

If one wants to achieve a qualitative change in this spirit, it is far from enough to just have military pay and food to eat, even adding a title is not enough.

A truly strong and iron-blooded army has faith. This faith certainly does not come from the so-called religion, but rather a kind of consciousness, national consciousness, and ethnic consciousness.

Of course, this is something.

"I have seen all your military achievements. Now I will read out the rewards, punishments and promotions of the Beijing Camp after this battle."

After saying this, everyone present fell silent.

"Wen Bangguo and Niu Gang remain as deputy generals, and Wen Bangguo's cavalry battalion will be swapped with the newly joined infantry battalion.

Wei Shuangyong, the former lieutenant general of the cavalry camp, was promoted to deputy general of the cavalry camp of the Beijing camp, with 7,000 cavalry under his command.

After two major wars, a lot of war horses were captured. Although most of them were distributed, the Beijing camp still has 12,000 war horses, including the 4,000 horses given by Lu Xiangsheng before.

Although seven thousand cavalrymen do not yet have two horses for each man, it is still considered rare in a place like the Ming Dynasty where there is a shortage of horses.

If it were placed in other military towns, the cavalry might have been expanded to 12,000 troops long ago, but Zhang Shikang did not intend to do so.

He was thinking of finding an opportunity to contact the Mongols and buy another two thousand horses so that each of them would have two horses.

He has always believed that the quality of the soldiers is more important than the quantity.

Only if one person can ride two horses can he not be at a disadvantage in mobile warfare.

Otherwise, on the battlefield, if there is a cavalry fight between two people, the enemy has two horses and you only have one horse. You cannot catch up or run away, and it is not much different from having no horse at all.

Wei Shuangyong was not only granted a title, but also promoted to deputy general. Those who knew him congratulated him in a low voice.

"Sun Dasheng, the former guerrilla of the Ma Army Camp." Zhang Shikang glanced at Sun Dasheng, who grinned at him excitedly.

"Promoted to lieutenant general of the cavalry."

"Hey!" Zhang Shikang had just finished speaking when Sun Dasheng couldn't hold back his excitement and punched the table, causing the tea bowls on the table to jump up.

Sun Dasheng was undoubtedly the biggest winner among all the soldiers in the Beijing camp. As a guerrilla general, he captured the royal family of the Jiannu. He was not only granted the title of Marquis of Jinglu, but also the titles of Commander of the Light Cavalry and Prince Taibao.

The most critical issue is that Sun Dasheng is only eighteen years old.

The more crucial issue is that his father is the hereditary Marquis of Huaining, and he is the only heir to the Marquis of Huaining.

Even though his father was a marquis, the emperor still conferred him a title, which showed that he really valued him.

This is not the most important thing. The most important thing is the conferment of the title of Prince Taibao.

The Prince's Grand Tutor was originally an assistant minister of the Eastern Palace. Generally, unless necessary, the emperor seldom conferred official positions in the Eastern Palace on court officials, even if it was an honorary title.

The prince is ten years old and Sun Dasheng is eighteen years old. It is nonsense to ask Sun Weifan to protect the prince. By the time the prince grows up or inherits the throne, Sun Weifan will be too old.

But Sun Dasheng, who is eight years younger than him, may really have a bright future. The deeper meaning of this depends on how others understand it.

Of course, Sun Dasheng, whose mind was mostly confused, probably didn't even think that the only person in his eyes at this moment was his elder brother.

"Chen Dazhong, the former guerrilla commander of the Jizhou cavalry, was appointed as the lieutenant general of the second battalion of the Beijing cavalry.

Wu Dacheng, the former Ningxia Town Infantry Guerrilla, was appointed as the Lieutenant General of the Third Battalion of the Beijing Camp Infantry.

……

"The original firearms battalion of the Beijing camp was expanded from one battalion to two and a half, with one deputy commander appointed, Qi Dazhu, the former lieutenant commander of the infantry battalion.

The lieutenant general of the first battalion of the Firearm Battalion is Xu Wenyuan, the commander of the Firearm Battalion.

The lieutenant general of the second battalion of the Firearm Battalion is Chen Tao, the chief sentry of the Firearm Battalion.

The second battalion is a newly established battalion, and its soldiers are selected from the infantry battalion.

I would like to remind you that the Firearms Battalion of the Beijing Camp is not a supporting role. In the Beijing Camp, the Firearms Battalion will be the core, and not everyone can come in if they want to."

……