stubborn thief

Chapter 379
Starting from the fourth day of May, the new city was full of gongs and drums, and a platform for worshiping generals was set up in the school grounds in the west of the city. The worshiping generals lasted for four full days.

Four Han army battalions, four garrison battalions, two training battalions and one guard battalion set up by the Marshal's Mansion assembled in turn, and the Grand Marshal awarded battalion flags, gold medals, seals, and drum music to each battalion.

Liu Chengzong awarded 44 generals, 320 school lieutenants, and [-] captains in one go, and awarded military honors to tens of thousands of soldiers in the army.

The generals, school lieutenants, captains, and soldiers here are all loose ranks, just like General Dragon and Tiger in Jianzhou Weinu, they are traditional Chinese military ranks and do not represent actual positions.

Official positions in the Ming Dynasty were composed of positions, ranks, honors, and titles. An official must have his position and ranks, and he can also have honors and titles.

The scattered ranks are equivalent to official ranks, official positions are actual positions, honors are major achievements, and titles are hereditary major achievements.

The scattered ranks and honors are the products of the development of the [-]th-class nobles in the Qin and Han Dynasties. When the [-]th-class titles were abused, the honors developed, and the honors became excessive. They continued to be perfected in the reforms of the Song Dynasty and became the later scattered rank and honor.

Daming has a system of scattered ranks and honors, and this set of things is very mature.

Liu Chengzong thought about bringing over the more concise military ranks in his mind, but he gave up after careful consideration.

Even if they move here, it is nothing more than changing generals Huqi, Jinwu, and Longhu to generals; generals Zhenguo, Dingguo, and Fengguo to lieutenant generals; big.

One of the improvements that Liu Chengzong can make is to reduce the rank of generals and increase the proportion of lieutenants, so as to avoid the phenomenon of high ranks and low positions in Ming Dynasty, and extend the scattered ranks and honors from generals to soldiers, so as to make scattered ranks The bit system is more perfect.

According to the characteristics of the Marshal's Mansion, the soldiers are divided into the third rank and nine ranks of material officer, tiger ben, and Xiaoqi, which correspond to the three stages of training in the training camp, learning in the middle military camp, and serving as soldier officers in each battalion, appropriately lengthening the training time for grassroots officers , Improve soldiers' treatment and sense of honor.

Mo Yujing's Tang soldiers headed north from Bajiao City, crossed the Yellow River from Sala Station, entered Hehuang, passed through Gaodianziying and Xining City all the way, and sent the urgent report to Juerwan New City.

Facing the urgent military situation, Liu Chengzong ordered Dai Daozi to lead Tang soldiers from Nanshan and Guide to the Heka grassland to investigate intelligence while completing the award.

On the fourth day after the awarding of honors was completed, on May [-]th, officers from General Zhaoyong and above were summoned to assign tasks to idlers who had no real positions and prepare for war.

Just as Mo Yujing guessed, Liu Chengzong miscalculated.

His analysis of the development of the war situation was indeed based on the fact that Huduntu had [-] troops, so he never paid enough attention to the war itself, but paid great attention to the control of the situation.

As a result of taking over now, Liu Chengzong, who was sitting in the hall, raised his hand and tapped his forehead... Huduntu sweated profusely and dispersed the soldiers. Who would have thought of this!

Chahar and Oirat had already traveled four to five thousand miles when they arrived in Qinghai, and traveled three to four thousand miles back and forth in Qinghai. After a long journey, even if Oirat was stronger, he couldn't stand up to Khan and beat him up.

But this couldn't stop Hudun Rabbit Khan from running away the soldiers, and immediately touched Liu Shizi's blind spot of knowledge.

He opened the mouth and said: "According to the original plan, the army should be allowed to rest for a while, so that the battalions will be familiar with and the commander's mansion will be established as a sixth department, but now the situation has changed, and the commander's mansion needs to complete the preparations as soon as possible. Newspaper, everyone distribute it to read.”

Intelligence mainly comes from three aspects.

The first is the news from Mo and Jing from Bajiao City.

On the Ganga Grassland to the west of Bajiao City, it has been found that Oirat has established four camps and [-] mountain outposts, with a total force of about [-], building equipment, grazing and resting.

Secondly, in the direction of Dai Daozi's Nanshan Fort, the Tang soldiers scattered in the Heka Grassland and Huangnan Xiaohetao sent back information.

Similarly, the Oirat Allied Forces were divided into several groups, ranging from hundreds to thousands, and camped on the grassland by the river. Dai Daozi recruited Mongolian sailors from the navy yamen, and was trying to follow the Mongolian horses galloping back and forth to find their main force. where the food is.

As for the last source of information, it was a letter sent to Nanshan Fort by Guoshi Khan of the Heshuo Special Department.

Guoshi Khan's words were more humble than before. While reporting the good news that Chahar Khan was about to die, he asked for surrender, and hoped that Liu Chengzong would allow him to work in Huangnan, Heka, Ulan, Dulan, Golmud, and Daxie. Dan and other places are grazing, and the tribute city is opened to issue gold medals. The Heshuo Special Department is willing to return with ten thousand horses and pay tribute every year.

Sitting on the left and right sides of the hall, Yang Yao and Wang Wenxiu read the information and letters. The two Dingguo generals from the Marshal's Mansion looked at each other. They could not help laughing at Guoshi Khan's letter.

For the generals of the Marshal's Mansion, the language of this bird letter is very familiar... This is how their invincible Grand Marshal wrote to Emperor Chongzhen asking for Qinghai.

Now Oirat's national teacher Khan also wrote a letter like this to ask the generalissimo to ask for land. Isn't this a dream?
But Zhang Tianlin, who was sitting next to her, didn't hold back, slapped her thigh, and immediately said to Liu Chengzong, "Early strikes have the advantages of early strikes, and late strikes also have the benefits of late strikes. Commander, please order!"

All the generals nodded and said yes, the situation is very clear, and people's determination to fight is also very firm, only the arrangement for the battle is left.

Knowing that Zhou Riqiang, who has been a civil servant all his life, was also forced to put on a military uniform because he was named Huaiyuan Captain, he saluted in the hall and said: "Marshal, the Navy Yamen is rushing to produce military rations, and they will be shipped to Nanshan Fort within three days. Military use."

Wang Kun, who was in charge of Juerwan, who was also awarded the title of Captain Huaiyuan, was not far behind, and saluted, "Juerwan can also rush to produce military rations, and it's closer here."

A smile appeared on Liu Chengzong's face.

The benefits of setting a loose rank are obvious. The loose rank is a way to distinguish grades, which is equivalent to what level of treatment they enjoy. It means that the Marshal's Mansion finally has an official position system, so that these people who do not fight have more enterprising spirit.

However, this is also a feature of chaotic management. Juerwan has cattle, sheep and rice grains, and the Navy Yamen has fish butter. They should have been grouped together for coordination.

Generals from all walks of life should also assign tasks under the leadership of the Ministry of War and brigade generals.

However, this kind of military discussion may be the first and last time. As long as the Marshal's Mansion crosses this hurdle and the elder brother Liu Chengzu and younger brother Liu Chengyun are transferred back from the Hekou front, the Sixth Department of the Marshal's Mansion will be managed.

In Liu Chengzong's heart, there are already candidates for the chief of the Sixth Department. The official office belongs to his father, the household office is the carrier, the military office is the eldest brother, the industrial office is my teacher, and the criminal office is reserved for Yang Dingrui. As for the ritual office, there is no suitable candidate, which makes him a little bit regret.

Yang He should be tied up.

He got up and went to the map in the hall, saying: "This time, the military ration matters are under the control of Xining Mansion. All ministries have stepped up their planning, and tentatively plan to garrison troops on three routes and dispatch troops on two routes."

Speaking, Liu Chengzong pointed to the two strongholds of Nanshan Fort and Guide City on the map, and said: "The shogunate of the Chinese Army was built on the Riyue Mountain and Daotang River. Army; the second battalion of Wang Wenxiu, commander of the right brigade, stationed in Guide City, threatened Huangnan, and helped the left brigade cross the Yellow River."

The two generals immediately stood up and responded to orders, together with Zhang Tianlin and Yang Chengzu, the left brigade generals; Gao Yingdeng and Wei Qian'er, the right brigade generals.

After the six people sat down, Liu Chengzong continued to order: "Tuntian Left Brigade Commander Xie Erhu led the second battalion to guard the Nanshanbao Liang Road, Tuntian Right Brigade Commander Basang to guard the Guide City grain road."

The two generals then got up, and their subordinates, Gas and Xiao Daiqing; Ah Liu and Bu Chi got up and responded.

This little Daiqing is Mergen Daiqing, the first Mongolian leader to occupy Haibei, and he contributed a lot with Liu Chengzong's southern expedition.

When he returned from Nangqian to the north, because he was Chuoketu's advance leader in Qinghai in his early years, Xie Erhu took away his followers and failed to participate in the follow-up operations. It was not reactivated until this battle achievement award.

After assigning tasks to them, Liu Chengzong looked at the last two generals leading the troops, Huang Shengxiao and Feng Ru, and said, "The two battalions of officials moved to Daotanghe on Riyue Mountain with the Chinese shogunate."

Caiguanying is the training camp in the past.

It's just that in the most elite training battalion under Yang Yao and Wang Wenxiu's command, the sergeants were assigned to the new two brigades and four battalions, but now the material officer battalion is just a reorganized ordinary army.

Caiguan itself was the local reserve soldier system in the Qin and Han Dynasties, and it was also the title of infantry. In Liu Chengzong's Marshal's Mansion, Caiguan was the lowest level of the three ranks of soldiers.

In Liu Chengzong's vision, the future army of the Marshal's Mansion should be composed of five levels of troops: the Huben Camp of the Chinese Army, the Veteran Field Camp, the Overseas Field Camp, the New Army Officer Camp, and the Hehuang Five-Town Camp.

Based on the elite veterans, after retiring from the army, they went to the five towns of Hehuang to train the people; the people who were excellent in the assessment were recruited and served as third-class officers in the new military personnel camp.

After the assessment reaches the standard of the regular army, he will be given a second-class talent officer and transferred to an overseas garrison camp to serve as the fourth commander; after passing the assessment, he will be promoted to a first-class talent officer and transferred to a field battalion as a soldier.

After the assessment and selection, he was promoted to the third-class tiger ben, and transferred to the tiger ben camp next to Liu Chengzong to learn the cultural art of war.

After completing the study of the tiger and cardinal stage, he will be awarded the honor of Xiaocavalry, and he will be the commander of the field battalion, the management team of the garrison battalion, and the hundred generals of the five towns. ranks.

Once this system is completed and operated normally, Liu Chengzong's army will no longer be the one-off army it is today, and will not experience any major defeats that will seriously damage its vitality.

It's just that at present, this system is more like Liu Chengzong's ultimate fantasy. He can't afford more troops, and because the northern Gansu frontier army is the next attack direction, it is very likely that he will not be able to train his own army in the future.

Liu Chengzong shook his head slightly, put the confusion aside, and asked Shi Cheng and me: "What's the situation with Master Craftsman about the lack of armor artifacts in each battalion?"

Shi Cheng and I sat in the back with a face full of apprehension, as if distracted by the military discussion.

Hearing Liu Chengzong calling him, he got up quickly, thought for a while, and said: "Return to the commander, the eleventh battalion has all the armor, but the seventh battalion has four heavy artillery and twelve light artillery that have not been cast; nine hundred carrying guns, The [-] heavy blunderbusses have not yet been made, and there are enough clay models, and the cannons can be delivered to the camp within a month...but the big blunderbusses will not be finished until Liqiu.”

Seeing his uneasy look, Liu Chengzong almost laughed out loud.

The newly organized Tuntian camp is not equipped with heavy artillery, and the muskets and artillery are all old weapons captured by the Ming army. In this regard, the Marshal's Mansion is very rich in armaments.

But Huben, Caiguan, and the Seventh Field Battalion are all elite troops, and their design is based on the past training camps. Except for cold weapons and armor, other firearms and equipment are self-made weapons.

On paper, each battalion should have four thousand-jin heavy artillery, eight three-hundred-jin light artillery, three hundred carrying guns, six hundred heavy guns, and six hundred bird guns.

With the sudden expansion of the Marshal's Mansion, there will naturally be a large number of gaps in self-made weapons, and the interval between wars is too short, so it is difficult to equip each battalion in a short period of time.

Even all guns and heavy guns can be manufactured in Liqiu, and the production capacity has exceeded his imagination. He thought it would be delayed until the New Year.

Therefore, Liu Chengzong did not criticize him harshly, but only asked: "What is the difficulty of the arsenal?"

Shi Cheng and I shook our heads and smiled wryly: "Going back to the commander, there is no difficulty. We have multiple mountain factories with sufficient materials and craftsmen, but the interval between wars is too short... But this is not the difficulty of the arsenal."

Liu Chengzong laughed first, and the generals didn't hold back, and burst out laughing.

The generals in the Marshal's Mansion didn't take the shortage of firearms seriously, because everyone knew very well that it took 45 workers to carry a gun, and [-] heavy guns. More than [-] man-hours were put there, and they couldn't be produced in a short time. Just can't make it.

I can't create it even if I kill Shicheng.

"The weapons at the moment are enough. I heard that there are many Oirat muskets, but not many cannons." Liu Chengzong laughed, and then said to the crowd: "Each battalion picks out blunderbuss from the warehouse, and try to replenish the firearms to half of the total force. , but don’t take too much, be careful that there are too many types of lead bullets, I will directly transport lead weights for you, and tell you to melt the bullets yourself on the battlefield.”

Liu Chengzong smiled, looked back at his father, and said, "Boss, there are enough horses for the various ministries to participate in the war, but there are only [-] donkeys and mules in the army, and they need to be recruited from Xining Mansion. We must gather [-] head."

The father sitting beside him took down his smoking pipe and nodded calmly in the light blue smoke: "Well, there are more than 2 in Xining, and there are some Lanzhou donkeys in Nianbo, and I will buy some from Hehuang, half a month. Get the donkey together in half a month, so you won't be delayed in fighting the war."

He Huchen, Yang Qi, and Wang Chengen were dumbfounded, seeing the usual appearances of the generals in the commander's mansion, the three of them looked at each other in blank dismay.

What did the father and son say?
They always thought that the rebels were poor ghosts. Even if Qinghai was occupied by Liu Chengzong, Qinghai was not a place given to them.

Compared with Ming Dynasty, Qinghai Marshal's Mansion is still poor.

Until now, seeing that the Marshal's Mansion has mobilized less than [-] troops to go to war, but they have to mobilize [-] donkeys and mules, and everyone is accustomed to it, they finally realized the huge gap between the Marshal's Mansion and the official army.

In the past when fighting in Daming, the commander-in-chief commanded the battle as a town commander. The war meant that the Ministry of War issued an order, and the commander-in-chief thought about how to complete the order according to what was in hand.

But during the simple conversation between Liu's father and son, they discovered that the battle at the Marshal's Mansion was not fought like this.

This is obviously because Liu Chengzong owned an army, occupied Qinghai, and created the small court of the Marshal's Mansion reluctantly to deploy various war supplies.

How does Daming compare with this freak who is all for war?

Liu Chengzong didn't notice the surprise of the three veteran soldiers, but stood up again, and said solemnly: "As soon as the donkey and mule arrive, everything is ready. Brothers, lead the army to the castle. Wait for me to return the victorious master and reward the army. I would like to serve you as officials and worship generals again!"

　good morning!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)