Travel back in time and become Chongzhen, watch me turn the tide

The atmosphere in the Nanjing military camp was solemn and dignified. The troops heading north to Shandong had been reorganized, and the soldiers were in high spirits, their armor shining brightly. They only waited for the order to set off north to recapture Shandong.

This time, Shi Kefa was the commander-in-chief and Yan Yingyuan was the general, and they finally decided to send 6,000 troops.

Among them were 5,000 cavalry, drawn from the Loyal Guard Battalion. These cavalrymen were exceptionally skilled riders and archers, making them the elite of the army. Yan Yingyuan had put considerable effort into selecting them. After all, they were not merely ordinary soldiers; they were the grassroots military officers of the future Restoration Camp, the very foundation of its support.

Another thousand people were drawn from the People's Army.

When the People's Army was first established, veteran generals like Huang Degong, Li Chengdong, and Huang Fei were not optimistic about it. The main reason was Chongzhen's recruitment methods. They thought, if the army recruited only honest peasants, how could they possibly fight on the battlefield and compete with the enemy?

Yet, surprisingly, after just one month of rigorous training, the People's Army has already shown its formidable strength. Putting everything else aside, this unit excels in the area of ​​discipline alone, surpassing most other garrison troops. The soldiers move at the command, in unison, demonstrating exceptional discipline and execution.

Furthermore, as the first newly established military unit, Chongzhen not only implemented concepts and methods borrowed from later generations but also vigorously promoted literacy programs throughout the army. Acknowledging the power of knowledge, he required all soldiers to participate in literacy training, ensuring they mastered basic literacy. This initiative was unprecedented and innovative at the time, aiming to improve the soldiers' overall quality and lay the foundation for building a cultured, well-educated, modern army.

Furthermore, Chongzhen pioneered the concept of staff officers within the People's Army and created a new position within the army. These staff officers were responsible for providing professional analysis and advice for military decision-making, greatly improving the scientific nature and accuracy of military command and operations.

The People's Army's military system was completely different from other armies. In pursuit of efficiency and practicality, Chongzhen, rather than bothering with details, completely adapted the later military system, implementing it according to the army, division, brigade, regiment, battalion, company, platoon, and squad organization. This system, with its clear division of labor and close coordination, was conducive to improving the army's combat effectiveness and command efficiency.

Normally a battalion has no more than five or six hundred people. This time, the People's Army dispatched a thousand people, which was configured according to the number standard of a reinforced battalion.

In addition to the normal infantry companies, two cavalry companies equipped with cavalry self-propelled muskets and an artillery company equipped with flying cannons and falconets were specially added. In this way, the firepower configuration and combat capabilities of this reinforced battalion were greatly improved, and it already had the prototype of a later army.

The battalion commander of this reinforced battalion was Jiang Xuefeng, an old soldier carefully selected by Xie Quanfeng from the firearms battalion under Huang Degong.

While the People's Army was primarily composed of new recruits, a group of loyal and courageous veterans were selected from various towns to serve as grassroots military officers in order to rapidly build combat effectiveness. Of course, those who failed to adapt to the new training methods and combat concepts would be ruthlessly eliminated. Jiang Xuefeng, however, stood out from the rigorous training. His exceptional military prowess and leadership skills earned him promotion to commander of a reinforced battalion, shouldering the heavy responsibility of commanding this force.

However, the battalion staff officer, Chongzhen, recognized Gao Zhengyan, the scholar who had been recruited that day. His fellow villager, Gao Da, had also become the captain of the most powerful company this time, relying on his own strength. Both of them had distinguished themselves in the army.

In order to get north to Shandong as quickly as possible, Chongzhen spent a huge amount of money this time.

This time, the People's Army's independent battalion, with the exception of the cavalry company equipped with warhorses, also had packhorses for all other soldiers, ensuring speed and mobility. All soldiers were uniformly equipped with the latest matchlock rifles and paper-shell fixed ammunition. The spearhead company was even equipped with self-propelled muskets, all equipped with bayonets for close combat. This gave the unit a formidable combat capability, whether in long-range firepower or close combat.

The artillery battalion was equipped with fifteen flying cannons and five small-caliber falconets, representing all Chongzhen's current inventory, demonstrating his commitment and commitment to this northern expedition. To bolster the battalion's logistics, the carriages used were modified by Huang Minggang and equipped with shock absorbers. These new carriages were more flexible and capable of quickly transporting supplies even in complex road conditions, providing strong support for the frontline operations.

"Xianzhi, I'll leave the task of going north to you and Liheng this time." Chongzhen said with a solemn expression, looking at Shi Kefa firmly, his tone full of trust and expectation.

"I will definitely live up to your Majesty's expectations." Shi Kefa stepped forward and bowed respectfully, his eyes revealing determination and perseverance.

"Sir Shi, when you go there, you must unite all the forces that can be united. You can't place all your hopes on the gentry and powerful families." Chongzhen warned earnestly. He knew very well that although the gentry and powerful families had a certain influence, it was difficult to accomplish great things by relying on them alone. It was necessary to widely gather the forces of all parties.

"I obey your order." Although Shi Kefa disagreed in his heart, he could not disobey the emperor's order, and he also understood that Chongzhen's move must have a deep meaning, so he would not refute it in person, but just accepted the order silently.

"Liheng, this time you go, you must try to recruit those who are willing to fight for the Ming Dynasty." Chongzhen looked at Shi Kefa, then turned his gaze to Yan Yingyuan and continued, "But you must be careful that some people may change their minds due to the overwhelming strength of the Qing army."

"Yes!" Yan Yingyuan accepted the order loudly.

Although Chongzhen was anxious to go north to Shandong, he was not completely sure in his heart.

Over the years, the Ming Dynasty had fought against the Qing Dynasty, but suffered more defeats than victories. Although they had blocked the Qing army's attacks with the help of Shanhaiguan, Chongzhen couldn't help but feel uneasy about whether they could defeat the Qing Dynasty as they were now going deep into Shandong, which was not well defended.

What Chongzhen lacked most now was time. Although he had planned and schemed as best he could, all of this required time to settle and develop. Just like this People's Army, if he was given enough time to grow and become stronger, once it was fully developed, the so-called iron cavalry of the Qing Dynasty would be completely vulnerable to them.

Back then, the Iron-hat Prince of the Qing Dynasty, Senggelinqin, had 30,000 Qing cavalrymen defeated the 8,000-strong Eight-Nation Alliance. This does not mean that the Qing army was incompetent, but rather that there was a huge generational gap in combat power between ancient and modern armies.

Although Chongzhen still has some gaps in weapons and equipment compared to the Eight-Nation Alliance, he still has a certain chance of winning against the Qing cavalry, provided he is given enough time to grow and develop.

Of course, apart from these factors, Chongzhen still faced many problems. For example, the Jianghuai defense line he had carefully planned had not yet taken shape. Moreover, there was a major variable in this defense line, and that was Zuo Liangyu who was currently in Wuchang...