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

Gunpowder is one of the four great inventions of ancient China. Since the day it was invented, it has been continuously studied and used on the battlefield.

By the end of the Ming Dynasty, there were dozens of types of firearms in the Ming Dynasty alone. Bird guns and three-eyed guns were the gun-type firearms currently equipped by the Ming army.

As for the types of artillery, there are even more of them, including the Tiger Crouching Cannon for field battles, the Invincible General Cannon for defending cities, and heavy artillery such as the Red Cannon, which are big guys weighing tons.

There is also a kind of cannon called the Portuguese cannon, which was seized by the Ming people from the Portuguese country. In the Ming Dynasty, the Portuguese cannon became a general term.

The reason is that the craftsmen of the Ming Dynasty only imitated this one kind of cannon and made more than 20 different models, which shows the craftsmanship level of the Ming Dynasty craftsmen.

However, Zhang Shikang was very dissatisfied with the Ming Dynasty's firearms. He felt that the Ming Dynasty had added the wrong attribute points to the firearms and had gone astray.

The bird gun has been used for hundreds of years and it is still the same set. As for the three-barreled gun, it is an old trick used during Zhu Di's Jingnan Rebellion, and the rough guys in the Guanning Cavalry are still using it.

The artillery was even more outrageous. It kept getting bigger and bigger, and heavier and heavier. It was obvious that it could only be used to defend cities. Moreover, although it was big, the material used to cast the cannon had not improved much, which resulted in the barrel cracking easily when too much gunpowder was loaded.

Zhang Shikang had seen all those bird guns in the Beijing camp. In the history of the development of firearms, they were at the lowest level. Not only were they slow to load, had a short range and poor accuracy, they were also prone to explosion and could not be used if it rained a little.

It is said that at this time all European armies had been equipped with instantaneous muskets. It was probably at this point in time that the Ming Dynasty and those European countries began to fall behind in firearms, shipbuilding and other aspects.

Fortunately, not many people fell behind. Although Zhang Shikang did not understand the details of firearms development, he knew the general direction.

Sometimes when it comes to technological innovation, what the ancients lacked was an idea, someone who could break the window paper. He never dared to underestimate the wisdom of the ancients.

Everyone had no ideas about military affairs, and seeing Zhang Shikang so confident, they had no objections.

Only Sun Dasheng expressed his yearning for cavalry, but he was eventually persuaded by Zhang Shikang. It’s not that cavalry has no future. According to the development history of firearms technology, cavalry can still dominate for at least a hundred years.

The main reason is that the Beijing camp is too poor at the moment. Although there are 3,000 cavalrymen, there are only more than 1,000 war horses. Only two people can share one horse, which is embarrassing to tell others about it.

Due to the shortage of food and fodder, they could not even afford beans, so the horse herders fed the horses nothing but grass. The horses that ate only grass were not only thin, but also had no endurance, and were completely unable to meet the needs of combat.

The Beijing camp was in such a horrible state that Zhang Shikang really didn't want to get involved if it wasn't for the sake of a peaceful life in the future.

When it was getting dark, when Zhang Shikang returned to the barracks after taking a bath, the barracks had changed a lot.

It was really a great achievement for more than 20,000 people to work together for cleaning. In just one hour, the Beijing Camp gave people a brand new feeling.

Although the things were still the same, they were clean from top to bottom. In order to show off, some soldiers even polished the plaque at the entrance of the barracks until it was shiny.

There were no more dirty unwashed clothes in the military tents, and there was no more strong ammonia smell in the toilets. In short, although the facilities were old, they were much cleaner.

Especially Zhang Shikang’s new residence, which was the barracks of several deputy generals and lieutenant generals before, was cleaned even more thoroughly, and the tables and chairs were polished to a shine.

The soldiers all looked at Zhang Shikang eagerly, and Zhang Shikang did not hesitate to praise him:

"Well done, keep it up in the future, and take a shower after every practice.

Tomorrow the Japanese admiral will announce the specific selection criteria. Let's all go to dinner and go to sleep after dinner. Anyone who dares to cause trouble will be disqualified from the selection."

As soon as Zhang Shikang finished speaking, the soldiers began to cheer. Whether it was eating or selecting generals, it was great news for them. After all, one solved the problem of survival and the other solved the problem of future.

Zhang Shikang did not eat with the soldiers this time. His mother brought him a lot of delicious food. Of course, it was not that he complained that the food in the Beijing camp was not delicious. He really did not want to let his mother down.

After finishing their meal, Zhang Shikang and Sun Weifan sat under the oil lamp to discuss tomorrow's training plan. According to Zhang Shikang's request, Sun Weifan was mainly responsible for reorganizing the Beijing camp soldiers.

There were 5,000 people in each battalion, three infantry battalions, an understaffed cavalry battalion, and a firearms battalion. The roster of more than 20,000 people made Sun Weifan scratch his head.

However, although Sun Weifan was scratching his head, his eyes were full of excitement and he was full of energy. He had been looking forward to the day of taking charge of the army for many years.

Compared to this, Zhang Shikang was mainly responsible for the formulation of selection criteria, which was much easier than Sun Weifan, but Zhang Shikang was very unhappy.

He felt that he was definitely working overtime but was not getting any overtime pay.

Sun Weifan did not sleep all night and only managed to complete the reorganization work at dawn.

After breakfast the next day, all the soldiers gathered in the parade ground as usual.

Although Zhang Shikang also went to bed at eleven o'clock, he kept yawning on the reviewing stand. On the contrary, Sun Weifan, who had not slept all night, was still energetic.

All the soldiers of the Beijing Camp were reorganized into five battalions according to the new roster. After the reorganization, Zhang Shikang appointed four guerrilla generals who had performed well and were able to convince the people today to serve as temporary commanders of the three infantry battalions and the cavalry battalion.

Then he announced the election criteria that he had racked his brains to compile last night.

"The selection criteria for the lieutenant generals are divided into five dimensions: strength, bows and crossbows, martial arts competition, infantry and cavalry coordination, and support from grassroots soldiers."

According to Zhang Shikang's understanding, a lieutenant general was in charge of 5,000 soldiers, and what mattered was tactical matters, and he did not even require literacy.

In this era where cold weapons are still the main theme, personal heroism of generals charging at the front is still the main focus. Once the battle starts, it's all about charging. When two brave men meet on a narrow road, the brave one wins.

The military general is fierce, and the ordinary soldiers following him are also fierce. In fact, most of the guerrilla generals, lieutenant generals and other middle-level generals of the Ming Dynasty's border army came from the grassroots, and they relied entirely on the word "fighting".

This method of fighting has both advantages and disadvantages. Having generals charging in the front can certainly greatly improve the combat morale of the soldiers, but at the same time, as soon as the general dies, the remaining soldiers will basically collapse directly.

Zhang Shikang did not approve of this way of fighting, but before firearms became the real main force, there was no better way.

The five dimensions he mentioned may seem concise, but in fact each dimension has an explanation, and the details will be announced in the camp later.

For example, strength, in addition to explosive power tests, there is also endurance. Crossbows are not only about bows and arrows and crossbows, but also include archery on foot and on horseback. As for martial arts competitions, naturally the participants in the selection will fight against each other.

In Zhang Shikang's opinion, these should be the basic skills of a mid-level general. After all, he has 5,000 men under his command, and he must select a strong enough general to be responsible for the lives of the grassroots soldiers.

The coordination between infantry and cavalry is considered a plus point in the selection of lieutenant generals. It is not enough to be strong by yourself, you also have to be able to cooperate with other arms, so that the effect of one plus one is greater than two can be achieved.

The soldiers on the training ground had a general idea of the first four items, but Zhang Shikang's fifth item made many people frown.

A guerrilla general who had just been selected to command a temporary battalion asked:

"Admiral, what is the support level of the grassroots soldiers?"

As soon as the guerrilla general opened his mouth, the soldiers around him nodded. Although Zhang Shikang spoke in plain language, these people had been oppressed by powerful rule for too long.

Zhang Shikang paused for a moment and explained:

"For example, there are two candidates, Zhang San and Li Si, whose scores are similar, but Zhang San always beats and scolds you, is unreasonable, and bullies you.

But Li Si treats you very well. He doesn't bully you or steal the credit that belongs to you. He is clear about rewards and punishments.

So, who would you like to be your leader?"

"Of course it's Li Si!"

The soldiers below didn't even hesitate, although they still didn't quite understand. How could this be possible?

“This is the support of the grassroots soldiers. They may be generals, but they were elected with your help.

In this way, you don't have to worry about being bullied in the future. This is something that this admiral has racked his brains to come up with for you.

How is it? Are you satisfied? "