Mengshan Army

Yuan Shikai's new army is indeed not comparable to the green battalion soldiers that the Mengshan bandits have seen.Since the Hongyang chaos in the Xianfeng period, the regular army of the imperial court has disintegrated. The force of the Qing court was originally divided into two types, the Manchu (including Mongolian) banner battalion and the Han Chinese-dominated green battalion. The once fierce and invincible banner battalion After 200 years of entering the customs and establishing a government, it has been completely corrupted. In the early days of the war to pacify the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, the combat effectiveness of the officers and soldiers of the banner battalion has been proved to be lower than that of the green battalion, which the imperial court has always paid little attention to.In fact, Hong Yang’s Taiping Army destroyed both the Green Camp and the Banner Camp. The local armed forces represented by the Xiangyong formed by Yiyong Hou Zeng Guofan finally wiped out Hong Yang. Preparation and training.Later, when the Nianzi chaos broke out, the remaining banner camps and green camps in various places were reorganized one after another.Until the Jiawu disastrous defeat by Japan, which the imperial court had always looked down upon, the insightful people of the court learned from the painful experience and began to form a new type of army that was completely different from the green battalion.They abandoned the original banner battalion's Dutong, Shenling, Zuoling, Cuidingling, and vests. Some official positions are set up, and the lower levels are all in accordance with the new establishment of the Xiangyong Battalion set by Zeng Hou. 100 people are one sentry, five sentries are one battalion, three battalions are one banner, and three banners are one army.The general will lead the flag, the deputy general will lead the army, and the general will lead the army.

However, the new army that Yuan Shikai trained at Tianjin Xiaozhan was different from the above-mentioned formation.Speaking of the new army of the Qing court, the initial reason was the defeat by Japan in the Sino-Japanese War.The First Sino-Japanese War broke the dream of the Manchu and Qing courts.There was a loud call to improve the military equipment and retrain the new army.Hu Xunfen, who was the inspector of Guangxi at that time, was one of the main advocates who advocated reforming and training the new army. The month moved to the small station.

The "Dingwu Army" imitated the Western method to create and train a new army, hired Germans Hannagan, Schkner and Norwegian Mander as instructors, and carried out comprehensive reforms in terms of organization, training and weapons.

On April 1895, 4, just after the end of the Sino-Japanese War, Yuan Shikai, who performed well in the Korean Donghak Party Incident and came into the central vision, wrote to Li Hongzhang, expressing his views on the current situation.Not only did he analyze the reasons for the failure of the Qing army in detail, he put forward the idea of ​​adopting Western methods for military training, but he also stated his intention of "setting up a wide range of schools, selecting students, taking Yanxi people as teachers, strictly supervising classes, and taking them abroad to travel and study". Military Education Theory.Since then, Yuan Shikai has written many times, stating his military reform thoughts, and organized forces to translate foreign military regulations and military works into Chinese. Reviews Western military systems and military theory.For these hard-won materials, Yuan Shikai devoted himself to research on the one hand, stepped up his study of modern military knowledge, and enriched his own military theories; Theoretical and ideological preparation.Yuan Shikai's self-contained system of army building ideas won the appreciation of many important officials in the court, and won the title of "knowledgeable soldiers".

In December 1895, under the recommendation of the five ministers of the Supervising Military Affairs Office, Emperor Guangxu finally entrusted Yuan Shikai with the pilot task of rectifying the old army in Gyeonggi and training the new army to replace Hu Yunfen in training the new army.

The cunning Yuan Shikai knew the crux of the imperial officialdom. He knew that the support of the court ministers alone was not enough, and the support of the inner court was also necessary.Through a friend named Ruan Zhongshu who was a tutor at Li Lianying's younger brother's house, he got in touch with Li Lianying, the number one celebrity in front of Cixi.When Prince Jin, Prince Qing and the Minister of Military Aircraft recommended him to train the new army, the Empress Dowager, who lived deep in the inner palace but still controlled the overall situation, immediately approved it.Obviously Li Lianying played a big role.

After Yuan Shikai succeeded Hu Yufen, he recruited more than 5000 people on the basis of the original ten battalions of 2000 Dingwu troops. This is the capital of his new army.

Yuan Shikai regarded this rare opportunity as another important start of his career.He has already realized the importance of military power, and he has put in a lot of effort in training troops at the small station, and he has the energy to throw himself down and work hard.Not only could he call out the names of all the officers, but he could even recognize the lowest rank of shed heads, and he was familiar with their surnames.Yuan Shikai was well aware of the evil consequences of the old army's empty pay, so he resolutely put an end to this disadvantage in the new army, and even personally named and paid.

Yuan Shikai deserved to be Wanqing's first-class hero. He knew that it would be impossible to rely on his own strength.He first found Xu Shichang, a good friend from childhood, as the chief of staff. Although Xu did not understand military affairs, he was alert and capable, and played a very important role in Yuan Shikai's new army.In addition to Xu Shichang, Tang Shaoyi and Ren Shenxiu were also recruited by him as important assistants in his literary affairs.

In terms of martial arts, Yuan Shikai was recommended by others and searched by himself, including Liang Dianhua, Wang Shizhen, Duan Qirui, Feng Guozhang and others who graduated from the Armed Forces Academy.Except for Liang Dianhua who fell into the water and died at night, the last three are known as the "Three Heroes of Beiyang".Become Yuan Shikai's most capable assistant in the military.The rest, such as Cao Kun, Zhang Huaizhi, Lu Yongxiang, Duan Zhigui, Wang Zhanyuan, Li Chun, Lu Jianzhang, graduates of the Military Academy, all became cadres trusted and reused by Yuan Shikai.

In order to train the new army, Yuan Shikai hired more than [-] professional German soldiers as instructors for his new army.In order to improve the quality of the troops, Yuan Shikai established the camp military equipment school, which is actually his camp school, specializing in steps, horses, and guns.

Yuan Shikai governed the army very strictly, and the new army's military regulations, laws, and decrees were comprehensive and detailed.For those who are outstanding in compliance with rules and regulations, they will be rewarded with silver or promoted.Those who violated the rules and regulations were beaten with military sticks, arrows were inserted in the ears to show the public, their salary was deducted, and the heaviest ones were executed immediately.

Yuan Shikai compiled the "Twenty Articles of Concise Military Laws", in which eighteen kinds of phenomena are punished by beheading, referred to as eighteen beheadings.Including disobeying orders before the battle, retreating before the battle, fraudulent claims, fleeing, pretending to be sick, delaying the fighter plane, the leader died in battle and the soldiers did not advance, abandoning firearms, leaking secret orders, burning and looting guns, spreading rumors to confuse the public, fighting, leaving the camp at night Wandering, catching fire and causing accidents, smoking opium, drinking and gambling, setting up soldiers to disturb the people, lax guards, screaming and disturbing the army, etc., all will be beheaded.

Although Yuan Shikai’s small station new army used the names of the Huai Army’s battalion office, battalion, team, sentry, shed, etc., it had broken the framework of the old army in terms of organization and basically adopted the organization of the modern German army. Arms such as horses, artillery, engineering, and luggage, one army is divided into two wings, and each wing governs two or three battalions.Each battalion has a full staff of 1128 officers and soldiers.

Later, Yuan Shikai introduced the concept of standing soldiers and reserve soldiers in the West, and initially established a reserve service system. Soldiers retired from the army and returned to their hometowns, and still received a lower salary than when they were in service, similar to reserve service.The standing army has also made further reforms in the establishment. One army is divided into two towns (divisions), one town governs two associations (brigades), one bid for the cavalry team, one bid for the artillery team, one battalion for engineering, and one battalion for supplies. For the team (company), the team is for the row, and the row is for the shed (class).There are a total of 12512 officers and soldiers in the town, which is slightly smaller than the number of divisions in Japan.

The establishment was like this, but Yuan Shikai's new army still had a total strength of more than 7000 people when it entered the [-]th century.The imperial court was quite affirmed by Yuan Shikai's military training, and his troops, together with Dong Fuxiang's Gan Army and Nie Shicheng's Wu Yi Army, were collectively called the Beiyang Three Armies.Yuan Shikai's troops began to bear the title of Beiyang.

This time, Cao Kun led the third battalion of the infantry and the first battalion of the artillery team with a total of more than [-] people to Mengshan to suppress the bandits.

At this moment, Cao Kun was standing with Ma Jianxun and Li Fu on the tower of the east gate of Zhangjiazhai. In the distance, several torches were swaying in the wind, but the officers and generals were submerged in the deep darkness.

"This battle was not bad, but the casualties were a little higher." Cao Kun's voice at the gate of Jinmen came far away in the silence, "I will report to Lord Yuan and ask for credit for you." This sentence is of course true. Li Fu said, "Take your brothers back to Maoyang Town to rest, you have worked hard."

Although Li Fu's troops held the starting position of Zhangjiazhai, they lost 75 people, including 40 killed.Most of them were lost in the melee in the stockade.Thinking of last night's danger, Li Fu felt a chill down his spine.

Although Mr. Cao praised Li Fu, the serious casualties of the troops also caused Cao Kun's dissatisfaction.Cao Kun, who has always been generous to his subordinates, was unwilling to blame Li Fu at this time. After all, Li Fu defeated the bandits who had an absolute superiority in troops and held the village.

"Thank you, sir." Li Fu saluted Cao Kun in the dark, and left the gatehouse.

"Tomorrow your battalion will attack the mountain." Cao Kun said to the battalion officer, "The artillery must be dragged up, and we can no longer risk our lives. It's not worth fighting with a bunch of bandits. Do you understand? But the offensive must be fierce. Yesterday I transferred back to the first battalion to go to the east road. If the thieves can’t hold it, they must break out from the east road. The harder you fight, the more they will abandon the mountain and flee.”

"Understood, my lord. Please don't worry, with our three troops, we can go up with one charge." Ma Jianxun was full of confidence.