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

In the late Ming Dynasty, an era of natural disasters and man-made tragedies, it was a luxury for ordinary people to have a full meal.

The 24,000 men in the Beijing camp were provided with food for the march and battle in a camping state, with three meals a day.

Not to say that everyone was well fed, but they ate better than ordinary people and even most of the Ming army.

These foods were hard-earned, so Zhang Shikang would certainly not waste them. The soldiers should train every day, and train hard.

This is not only a responsibility to the imperial court, but also a responsibility for one's own life after going to the battlefield.

The cook from the Fire Camp had already brought drinking water on a shoulder pole. All the soldiers were sweating profusely and drank it down with big gulps.

Fifteen minutes later, Zhang Shikang began to practice the second item, push-ups and sit-ups.

This is a golden exercise for home fitness that almost everyone knows in modern times, but it is very new these days.

Some soldiers looked at Zhang Shikang as if he were a monster, especially when they were doing push-ups, where they propped themselves up and pushed themselves to the ground?

Is this in Japan?

"For a standard push-up, stretch your arms straight and shoulder-width apart, place your hands on the ground with your fingers pointing forward, and straighten your torso and legs to form a straight line from shoulders to ankles.

Then bend your arms, lower your body straight down until your shoulders and elbows are at the same height, and then push your body straight up.

Do 10 sets of 15, start.

After Zhang Shikang demonstrated, he gave orders to everyone.

So the soldiers also started to curse. Zhang Shikang was so angry when he saw their clumsy appearance.

"Xu Wenyuan, why are you sticking your butt up so high? Do you want to be punished by me?

And you, are you in the hell? You're bending your arms and sinking too much, and your hips are not allowed to touch the ground to gain leverage."

The soldiers suddenly realized that the admiral was not in Japan.

Fifteen push-ups, most of them are not quite standard, but almost everyone can finish them.

Next comes sit-ups, twenty in a set, which requires two people to cooperate with each other.

After ten sets, everyone was exhausted. This time they were really exhausted. Running hurt their legs, push-ups hurt their arms and chest, and sit-ups hurt their abdomen. They lay on the ground like dead pigs.

It was almost noon, so Zhang Shikang led them out of the military camp. Soon, the Yongding River beach was filled with dead pigs.

Looking at his subordinates who had been basically exhausted by him in just one morning, Zhang Shikang was still quite satisfied.

He found that although the physical fitness of these soldiers was very poor, almost no one complained. Even if they could not run, they tried their best to walk fast. Even if their arms had no strength left, they still gritted their teeth and tried to support their bodies.

This is very rare.

At least in modern times, few people can endure it, not to mention that there are 5,000 people. Even Zhang Shikang was surprised that their collective consciousness did not collapse.

Could it be that modern people eat too much?

In fact, the training organized by Sun Weifan in the morning was also mainly based on endurance, but compared to running, training endurance in formation can only train personal endurance.

Running is different. It not only improves endurance and lung capacity, but also improves collective awareness. Under military orders, soldiers know that it is not enough to run alone, they also have to help their companions.

This subtle influence will also be reflected on the battlefield in the future. A truly strong army is not just one that can fight favorable battles, but also one that can withstand adversity and persist longer, which undoubtedly requires more collective consciousness.

Of course, there is another point: the faster and longer you run, the higher your chances of survival.

After all, they don't need to outrun the enemy cavalry, they just need to outrun other friendly forces.

After lunch, everyone had recovered some strength, but Zhang Shikang did not continue training. It takes time for muscles to recover. These days, not to mention protein powder, even meat is in short supply.

Zhang Shikang found the dozen or so old craftsmen left in the Beijing camp and asked them to take their troops to cut down trees and make common fitness equipment such as horizontal bars and parallel bars on the training ground.

During this period, he also consulted a dozen old craftsmen, but they were only responsible for simple tasks such as sharpening swords, arrows, etc., and knew nothing about firearms such as muskets.

However, it was also suggested that Zhang Shikang go to the Ministry of Works to inquire. The Ministry of Works had a special firearms workshop, and the firearms of the Shenjiying were also made by the Ministry of Works.

Zhang Shikang did not trust the Ministry of Works. All government offices in the Ming Dynasty were rife with bureaucracy. Expecting the Ministry of Works to improve firearms was nothing but a pipe dream.

He had planned to set up a workshop specializing in the research of firearms, but now he had neither the money, nor the time, nor the craftsmen, so he had to give up for the time being.

The next morning, Zhang Shikang took his 5,000 men for a run as usual, but he scheduled the run before breakfast.

Since his subordinates' physical strength had not yet recovered, Zhang Shikang began to practice the firearms battalion's main skill - muskets.

Fortunately, there were two thousand veterans in the newly reorganized firearms battalion, otherwise Zhang Shikang really wouldn't know how to teach them.

The Beijing Camp was still equipped with the most classic bird-beak gun of the Ming Dynasty. This bird-beak gun had a slender barrel and fired round lead bullets of the same caliber. It was also one of the oldest matchlock guns and had been equipped in the Ming Dynasty for more than a hundred years.

"Just tell me whatever you want to say. Don't you trust me, the admiral?" Zhang Shikang frowned when he saw that the old soldiers from the firearms battalion seemed to be hesitant to speak.

After being ridiculed by Zhang Shikang, a brave old soldier said:

"I heard that the firearms soldiers of the army fighting against the bandits are all equipped with Lumi guns. Our grandma in the Beijing camp doesn't love us, and our uncle doesn't care about us..."

"Made by the Ministry of Industry? Is it more powerful than our guns?" Zhang Shikang raised his eyebrows.

"Of course. When firing our bird guns, we need to hold the gun with one hand and ignite the powder with the other, so the accuracy is inevitable... What about the Rumi gun..."

"Does the Rumi gun fire spontaneously?" Zhang Shikang interrupted the old soldier with some excitement.

"What is 'Suifa'? I don't understand, but it's more accurate than our bird guns." Seeing Zhang Shikang's strange frown, the old soldier didn't dare to say anything else after he finished speaking.

"Damn it! It's unreasonable not to equip us with good guns!" Zhang Shikang suddenly became furious.

Being poor is fine, and it is tolerable if the clothes are a little torn, after all, it does not affect the combat effectiveness. But being inferior to others in weapons and equipment is very fatal.

In the past, Zhang Shikang thought the imperial court was poor and did not want to exploit it excessively, but Yang Sichang was in charge of an army of 120,000 soldiers, all of whom were equipped with Rumi guns, while he himself had only 5,000 men.

The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. At this time, his newly appointed quartermaster Fan Chengren came over.

Fan Chengren is in his early thirties and can be considered an old soldier. He can read and do some arithmetic. Zhang Shikang saw that he was honest and kind, so he dismissed the smooth-talking guy and replaced him with Fan Chengren.

Fan Chengren pulled Zhang Shikang aside, as if afraid that others would hear him, and said cautiously:

"Admiral, the food and fodder promised by the Ministry of Revenue should have been delivered yesterday. Please distribute the food according to the combat standard. The food and fodder in the camp is being consumed rapidly. The latest delivery should be tomorrow..."

"What? The Ministry of Revenue hasn't sent it yet? Didn't you send someone to urge them?" Zhang Shikang widened his eyes when he heard it.

"Sir, please keep your voice down. If the soldiers hear it, it might damage their morale." Fan Chengren reminded in a low voice.

"Hmph, even if we have to starve, this admiral will starve together with my brothers. Just say it, there's no need to hide anything." Zhang Shikang was furious and felt uncomfortable all over.

The soldiers around were deeply moved when they heard this. Not to mention that they were already used to going hungry, the admiral not only treated them as brothers, but also went hungry with them. At this moment, they just felt warm in their hearts.

Seeing Zhang Shikang say this, Fan Chengren could only straighten himself and said:

"I sent people to urge them yesterday, but the Ministry of Revenue kept making excuses. Today, before dawn, I sent people to urge them again, but the officials from the Ministry of Revenue beat them up. Wang Yousheng even had his head broken."

"Damn it! You're bullying me because there's no one in my Beijing camp!" Zhang Shikang gritted his teeth and raised his leg to smash the old bird gun in his hand into two pieces.

Then he glared at Fan Chengren and said:

"Where's Wang Yousheng? Tell him to come over. I'll take him to vent his anger!"

……