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

It was rare for Zhang Shikang to ask for praise in front of all the soldiers.

Zhang Shikang has no prejudice against centralization and democracy. He even thinks that centralization is more efficient and more suitable in times of chaos, but this does not mean that democracy has no merits in this era.

Compared with a general who is skilled in martial arts but unpopular, a popular general can burst out stronger combat effectiveness in a tough battle.

Zhang Shikang's examples were very straightforward and anyone who was not a fool could understand them. The guerrilla generals, captains and thousand commanders who thought they had a higher chance of selection were all thoughtful, while the ordinary soldiers were very happy.

Even though they had only known each other for a day or so, they could not help but feel that the Admiral was always considerate of them and was very kind to them, so they racked their brains to express their gratitude.

But these soldiers have little education and they just keep repeating the same few sentences over and over again.

"I am willing to die for the Admiral!"

"My Lord Admiral is extremely smart. I... I..."

"Long live the Admiral!"

……

Zhang Shikang was immersed in the praise for a long time, and even Sun Weifan couldn't stand it anymore, so he waved his hand to signal everyone to be quiet.

"As for the selection criteria for deputy generals, the specific selection details will be announced in the military camp later. Anyone interested can check it out for themselves."

The position of deputy general is above that of lieutenant general and below that of deputy general-in-chief. He is in charge of at least 10,000 soldiers and is already capable of commanding a military town. The selection criteria are naturally much stricter than those for lieutenant general.

One of the most important things is that one must be literate, because generals at this level can no longer just meet the requirement of tactics, but must also pay attention to strategy.

For example, it is not enough to just use the bow and crossbow. You also need to have sufficient understanding of their structure, the pulling force of the bow and arrow in stones, what is the pulling force at what range for maximum power, how much impact wind direction has on arrow feathers, and whether you can organize people to obtain local materials when supplies are scarce. These are all things that the deputy general should understand.

As for the bonus item of infantry and cavalry coordination in the selection of lieutenant generals, this is just basic skills for deputy generals. They need to have sufficient understanding of common battle formations, be able to review classic battles, know how to utilize terrain, and be familiar with logistics and supplies, etc.

In addition, the deputy general also has extra points, which is policy theory, or more precisely, the understanding, analysis and thinking of solutions to the current military situation.

Zhang Shikang roughly referred to some of the examination contents of the martial arts examination at that time, but also removed what he considered to be dross.

For example, the essays for the military examination actually included political content, which Zhang Shikang thought was unacceptable. He believed that the military could only be an extension of politics, not politics itself.

There is another requirement for the martial arts examination, which is the appearance requirement. Even if you are very capable but ugly, you will be rejected directly by the examiner. Zhang Shikang thinks this is unnecessary.

As long as you can win the battle, Zhang Shikang doesn't care even if you are extremely ugly.

After a brief introduction, under Sun Weifan's order, three infantry battalions and half of the cavalry battalion began their daily training.

Sun Weifan's training method is naturally the most traditional one in the Ming Dynasty. Zhang Shikang asked about it roughly last night.

The infantry is divided into weapons training, physical training, military formation training and military discipline assessment. Of course, each item is divided into several sub-items.

For example, the weapons include swords, knives, bows, crossbows, halberds, and spears. The weapons equipped by the Ming army are diverse, much more than the eighteen kinds of weapons.

Zhang Shikang had no objection to the traditional training methods, but he insisted on using his own method for his 5,000 soldiers.

Although Sun Weifan didn't know how Zhang Shikang was going to train, he didn't care much about the Firearms Battalion. This was actually the current situation of the Ming Dynasty.

The Ming Dynasty's army also has a chain of contempt. For example, the border troops despise the recruited troops from all over the place, the recruited troops despise the garrison troops, the garrison troops despise... Oh, there is nothing to despise about the garrison troops.

The cavalry despised the archers, the crossbowmen despised the spearmen, the spearmen despised the shieldmen, and all of them despised the firearmsmen.

Firearms at that time were not advanced enough. It took three minutes to reload a musket after firing one shot, and that was if you were relatively skilled. Cannons were even more outrageous; after firing one shot, you had to clean the barrel, which took even longer.

At that time, the artillery shells and bullets were all solid lead bullets, and the gunpowder used was black powder. They had a short range and poor accuracy, but were only effective in city defense battles.

If it were a field battle and after a few rounds of shooting the enemy cavalry suddenly attacked us, we would be massacred.

In large-scale combat, if one place collapses, it is likely to bring about the collapse of the entire battlefield. This is also a major reason why firearms soldiers are looked down upon.

Zhang Shikang looked at his 5,000 soldiers on the parade ground. At the same time, these 5,000 soldiers did not understand why the admiral chose them to be his direct subordinates when the cavalry was obviously the strongest.

“Soldiers, this admiral knows what you are thinking. It doesn’t matter if they look down on you, but you have to look up to yourselves.

Follow me and practice hard. One day, I will let you proudly tell them:

Times have changed, the Firearms Battalion is the strongest!"

I thought the soldiers would cheer happily, but long-standing ideas cannot be changed by just a few words, so Zhang Shikang decided to make his speech brief.

"From today on, I will be training with you. You must do whatever I do and obey my orders.

Everyone, listen to the command and run around the outermost edge of the training ground twice."

The Xishan camp was large enough to accommodate an army of 100,000 men, and the parade ground was naturally of the same standard. Zhang Shikang had ordered people to measure it long ago. One outer circle was roughly equivalent to twelve li in later generations, and two outer circles were roughly equivalent to fourteen kilometers in later generations.

This may not be a challenge for people who run regularly in later generations, but it is not that easy for those in the Beijing Camp who have just eaten a full meal and have neglected training.

According to Zhang Shikang's order, the five thousand people, divided into units of one hundred and led by their respective sentry chiefs, began to run around the parade ground. Zhang Shikang was responsible for leading the way and controlling the running speed.

The scene of five thousand people running together was quite spectacular, which made the soldiers from the other four battalions on the parade ground very curious.

After all, it's not possible to practice like this right after starting out.

"Sir Admiral, are you going to teach those firearms soldiers how to escape?"

"The Admiral is so young, I don't think he understands these things."

"But no matter what, I am still grateful to the Admiral."

"That's right, the Admiral still has to rely on us on the battlefield!"

"What are you guys whispering about there?

We must obey orders and prohibit them. Our Beijing Camp is different now. If you find it again, you will be punished by military law!"

……

"Keep in formation! Why are you panting after only half a lap?"

Seeing that his subordinates were already familiar with the normal running speed, Zhang Shikang supervised their running while he ran.

Most of the soldiers didn't understand, and Zhang Shikang didn't explain, but sooner or later they would understand.

Before the first lap was over, many soldiers had already begun to fall behind. It was not because they did not want to run, but because they simply could not run any more.

"Don't stop. If you can't run, then walk faster. Whoever stops will have their lunch cut in half! Hurry up!

Zheng Chong! How dare you sit on the ground? Get up now!"

Zheng Chong, the fourth son of the Wu'an Marquis family, sat on the ground panting, but when he saw Zhang Shikang's angry look, he struggled to stand up.

Although he had only been in the military camp for more than a day, Zhang Shikang was already at the peak of his career in the camp, and his various domineering remarks had already spread throughout the camp.

They admired Sun Dasheng of the Second Sons Group so much that they were even scared when Zhang Shikang was serious. That was something called majesty.

At the beginning of the second lap, nearly half of the people had fallen behind, but Zhang Shikang was shouting and urging them on like a praying mantis.

"Those who can still run, help them...those who can't run, don't...stop. Even if you have to walk, you have to...you have to finish these two laps!"

Zhang Shikang himself was also out of breath. He had only exercised for a few days in the Duke's Mansion, and his physical fitness was barely enough.

But he knew very well that it was because he was not strong enough that he needed more exercise. Although his ideal was to be a lazy and carefree young man, this did not conflict with physical exercise.

If you are in good health, you can lie down more comfortably and for longer.

After hearing what Zhang Shikang said, the soldiers began to support each other in groups of three or five, and continued to run staggeringly. Some of them could not run any longer, some had leg cramps, and some even fainted from running.

When the second lap was almost over, Zhang Shikang began to stagger and had no time to yell at his subordinates. Suddenly, he felt a lightness on his shoulder. It turned out to be Wang Jingduo from the Xincheng Hou family who helped him up.

"Brother, when it comes to running, you still have to look at me, your younger brother."

Wang Jingduo was smiling, and although he was sweating profusely, he seemed to still have some energy left.

Zhang Shikang pretended to be envious and said:

"You have...a good father!"

Wang Guoxing, Marquis of Xincheng, was very good at running. The reason was that he often neglected his family business because of fishing, and was chased and beaten by his wife.

So Wang Jingduo was also very good at running. Because Wang Guoxing wanted to beat him up, and he didn't want to be beaten, he had to run faster than his father. The father and son often had street chases.

"Hehe." Wang Jingduo thought of the past and shed bitter tears.

Finally, after an hour and a half, except for those who had lost the ability to move, the last soldier insisted on running two laps.

Five thousand soldiers, drenched in sweat, collapsed collectively on the parade ground, all of them looking as if they were too lazy to fight back even if they were kicked.

"Don't lie down, get up and stretch your legs!"

Zhang Shikang reminded him while shaking his legs left and right, and just as he finished speaking, a scream was heard beside him.

"Ouch! Ouch, my leg...my leg is cramping!"

Soon, at least hundreds of people had leg cramps. Zhang Shikang personally demonstrated by pinching the soldier's feet and pressing them forward, and the cramps were relieved in a short while.

Others followed suit, and many of them marveled at Zhang Shikang. They even thought that the admiral was just fooling around with them.

Looking at the expressions of the crowd, Zhang Shikang suddenly recalled his military training in college.

However, those memories seemed to be getting farther and farther away from him, and his gaze finally fixed on his subordinates.

The past is past, whether it is in the previous life or now, all he can grasp is the present.

Thinking of this, Zhang Shikang's eyes became sharp again.

"Rest here for a quarter of an hour, and then proceed to the next exercise."

……