Ming Zuo

Chapter 103 Forming an Army [Ninth Update]

In March of Yangchun, everything recovers.

Zuoying ushered in two major events.

One is that the last batch of soldiers who worked at Chaoguan Wharf returned and filled the barracks.

So far, all three thousand troops from Zuoying have arrived.

Zuo Menggeng completely dismantled the original establishment, mixed veterans and recruits and reorganized.

In this way, veterans who have received training in advance can help new recruits, which greatly reduces the pressure of training.

The veterans who received training in the early stage were awarded different military ranks after training and assessment, and began to serve as middle and lower-level officers and non-commissioned officers in the army.

There are more than a thousand veterans who have received training for more than three months, and there are also more than a thousand new recruits.

In this way, basically one veteran can lead two recruits.

In this way, the entire army can have combat effectiveness as soon as possible.

On the school field every day, it is not uncommon for veterans to yell and beat recruits, and it has become the only way for recruits to progress.

This time is the most important period for Zuoying.

Zuo Menggeng didn't go anywhere, just soaked in the barracks, ate, lived and trained with all the officers and soldiers, and set an example in everything.

Under his example, all the officers followed suit, and the recruits quickly settled down, accepted the tempering of the barracks, and gradually became qualified soldiers.

The first batch of [-] cap guns at the gun factory has been delivered, and the scrap rate is very gratifying, only [-]%.

Zuo Menggeng evenly distributed the four hundred muskets to the four infantry brigades.Let the veterans master it first, and then teach the recruits.

On the school field of Zuoying, the roar of muskets finally sounded.

The recruits looked at the power of the muskets, and some people were scared to pee.But when they thought of the near future, they could also have such weapons, and their enthusiasm for training was unprecedentedly high.

"Remember the whistle, don't mishear it. One whistle is for formation, two whistles is for raising guns, and three whistles is for firing. Do you understand?"

The first shooting training class was presided over by Zuo Menggeng himself.

The veterans of a squadron lined up, each with a musket, all eager to try.

Regarding Zuo Ying's command method, Zuo Menggeng thought for a long time and adopted a combination of horn and whistle.For command on a larger scale, semaphores are used.

The way of using the drum as a command was canceled by him.

The sound of Chinese big drums is dull, which is fine if it is a cold weapon battlefield.But once the guns fired, the soldiers probably wouldn't hear them.

He didn't plan to get a Western-style snare drum either, so he asked craftsmen to make whistles.

This stuff shouldn't be too simple, just use an iron sheet.

The sound of the whistle is sharp and can be heard clearly even in a complicated environment.

After the officers got the trial, they all applauded.

So far, the whistle has become a tool for the Zuoying grassroots command.

For example, when the array is firing, the squadron is commanding with a whistle.One, two, three and long beeps each have different meanings, enough for the soldiers to understand and obey.

For larger-scale operations, use the trumpet, which is the charge.

The so-called tick-tack-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-dick

No matter how large the scale of the battlefield is, the voice will be insufficient as a command.

What is needed at this time is the flag.

Zuo Menggeng didn't flaunt any semaphore.

The battlefield is messy and the situation is changing. No one can always keep an eye on the semaphore of the command center.

Just in case a move is missed, it's a lot of fun.

Therefore, the semaphore of Houying is distinguished by color.

This method is the most simple and direct, and will not let the troops below miss the information.

Another big event was at Zuozhuang.

That is spring plowing.

Food is the most important thing for the people, and farming is a major event, and no one dares to ignore it.

Shandong's agriculture is two years and three crops, mainly mixed crops.

There were already crops in the field on the Zuozhuang side.

It was the barley and wheat planted by the former owner Feng Yuanwai.

After a winter, the wheat seedlings have grown a lot and gradually matured.

In February, Lao Qintou approached Zuo Menggeng and mentioned the irrigation problem.Zuo Menggeng personally made the decision and approved two water trucks for Zuozhuang.

Now this waterwheel can be put to great use. The water is brought up from the river and flows into the wheat fields along the winding canals, which greatly alleviates the drought.

Those who were not busy in the village were also mobilized and began to plow the vacant land for planting.

Most of the crops planted at this time are sorghum, millet and soybeans, as well as millet and other crops.

"Don't plant such a variety, it's not good for management. Let's only grow one kind, that is soybeans."

Accompanied by Lao Qintou and Chen Zhi, Zuo Menggeng inspected the farmland and put forward his ideas.

Old Qin was a little hesitant, but he had to say something about his stomach.

"Master, the fields can be mixed. It would be too wasteful to only plant soybeans. When it comes to Qiu'er, I'm afraid the harvest will be much less."

Zuo Menggeng didn't see it that way.

"We have very little land. If we plant everything, we will get less harvest. It is better to specialize in planting and increase the yield of a single crop."

He pointed to the wheat field again and said, "Next year, we will stop planting barley and focus on wheat."

Although the maturity of barley is in May, which is much earlier than the summer solstice harvest of wheat, and the cultivated land can be used for other purposes in advance, but the nutritional content, yield, and taste of barley are all insufficient, and it is far less practical than wheat.

Seeing that he even wanted to change this, Old Qin became very anxious.

"Young master, you can't. We don't have many fields in Zhuangzi. If we do this again, many people will go hungry."

Zuo Menggeng laughed.

"Old Uncle Qin, you don't think all of us, more than [-] people, have to rely on this little land to support us?"

"This……"

Old Qin was stopped by the question.

For a family of farmers all their lives, what they hate the most is wasting their fields, and they wish they could plant crops on every inch of land to be satisfied.

But what Zuo Menggeng said is also true.

The entire Zuozhuang only has a thousand acres of land, and no matter how intensively it is cultivated, it is impossible to supply the rations of more than [-] people.And there is also a military camp, which is a big food consumer.

Lao Qin became anxious and kept stamping his feet.

"What's the matter?"

Zuo Menggeng comforted him.

"What else can I do, buy food."

In fact, most of Zuozhuang's current rations are purchased from outside.

Although it costs a lot, there is no other way.

Fortunately, with the support of the major families in Linqing, it would be convenient for Zuo Menggeng to buy food.

Old Qintou was very dissatisfied with this situation.

"What's the point of buying grain all the time? Young master, I heard that you made a lot of money. How about...can't we buy more land? We farmers have enough strength, and we can plant no matter how much land we have."

Zuo Menggeng's head was full of black lines.

"Land is not easy to buy now, besides, money is still useful, let's talk about it later."

How to buy land?
No amount of money is enough.

There is no joy in grabbing land.

When Zuo Menggeng came here, besides planning the planting of crops, there was another big event.

He took the burden and handed it to Chen Zhi.

"These are Western crops. It is said that the yield per mu is amazing, and they are drought-resistant and do not require much water for irrigation. You can find a few open spaces in the village and try planting them to see how the effect is. If it is possible, we will promote planting next year. .”

Hearing that it was a new crop, Chen Zhi couldn't help but be more careful.

"Is there a way?"

Zuo Menggeng handed Xu Guangqi's manuscript to him.

"This is the method of planting crops written by Mr. Xu Xuanhu himself. Take it and study it carefully and teach it to everyone."

Hearing that it was Xu Guangqi's manuscript, Chen Zhi's eyes lit up like a treasure.

"After I go back, I will copy a copy of Duke Xuan Hu's handwriting, and Qian Zuo has to keep it personally."

Zuo Menggeng didn't take it seriously at first, thinking it was just an agricultural book.At this time, Chen Zhi reminded him to realize what Xu Guangqi's handwritten manuscript meant.

If this is obtained hundreds of years later, the original "Nongzheng Quanshu" will be invaluable.

Then think about who among the familiar people has a higher historical value. When the time comes, one person will get a collection of manuscripts, and future generations will not have to worry about food and drink even if they rely on these.

For the trial planting of western crops, Zuo Menggeng gave very careful instructions.

"When handling these crops, you must record in detail, and your experience must be written down. Even if you fail this time, it can become experience."

Because of the lack of culture, the ancient farmers could not pass on many valuable experiences.

This is also the reason for the slow development of agriculture.

However, the agricultural field is Zuo Menggeng's weakness. The only thing he knows is that potatoes and corn can effectively alleviate the food crisis.

As for how to adapt these American species to the land and climate of China, it can only be left to the local farmers.

Although the scholars in Zhuangzi don't know how to plant, they can help record and obtain first-hand precious information.

Waiting for more people who have mastered the knowledge to join in agriculture in the future is the time for great development.

Zuo Menggeng also has ideas about planting the streamlined open space.

"We can organize everyone to grow more vegetables, grow faster and harvest faster, which can effectively enrich everyone's table and make up for part of the food consumption."

In ancient agriculture, more emphasis was placed on the staple food, while the cultivation of vegetables was neglected.

Fortunately, the climate in the south is warm and humid, and the natural production of vegetables is very rich.But in the north, the people's diet became more monotonous.

Zuo Menggeng felt that this situation should be changed.

(End of this chapter)