A small soldier of the frontier army in the late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 693 Attacking the Stronghold
On the second day, Wang Dou led the guard battalion to inspect the area outside the entrance, accompanied by Wang Zheng, Zhong Yiyuan, Wen Wentao, Gao Dexiang and others. A group of children were riding on ponies, all of them were in high spirits.

Wang Dou had high hopes for the Xuanfu Town Military Academy, and even became the dean himself. At this time, it was called Jijiu. The entire academy is now quite large, and the children of officers basically enroll here, and there are also a large number of children of soldiers.

Their studies are temporarily divided into two categories: school captains and captains, all of which have different subjects such as walking, cavalry, guns, and luggage. The rank of sergeant, will become the main grassroots officer in the future.

Of course, after they graduate, they do not immediately take up positions such as team officers and armor commanders. They need to practice in the army for a period of time. In the early Ming Dynasty, there was an examiner who said that each official had to follow the former chief officer to study politics for a period of time before taking office. , Wang Dou is also prepared to do the same.

For captains, they are selected from among the outstanding school lieutenants in the army. Their study time is slightly shorter, and they are divided according to their expectations. In fact, the school lieutenants also have this kind of short-term training. After promotion.

Wang Dou is also considering setting up a general level in the military academy in the future, but right now, he is the only general in the entire Jingbian Army, which is too early.

Only the sons of these captains were qualified to accompany Wang Dou, and the rest were led by the instructors of each class to observe and imitate in different armies.

At this time, Wang Zheng and others were still early in graduation, and their ranks were all corporals. They wore small Jingbian army uniforms and three mountain caps. cap.

They looked left and right, happily, but they were disciplined. Wang Dou didn't let them speak, and they all dared not speak, Wang Zheng was no exception.

The goal of everyone's trip was a fort on the seaside of Miehu. At this time, the army gathered around the sand castle, and the tents stretched endlessly. The masters and apprentices were very prosperous, and the banner was clear. , who dares to attack this large army, but you have never seen a large formation, and you seem to feel a lot when you see it, and those who are used to it will not be aware of it."

There are many Tunpu pastures near Sandcastle and Haizi, and the villagers are constantly moving in, and the caravans are gathering more and more, making it very lively.

The customs outside the Great Wall, coupled with the defensive buildings of the small villages, also opened the eyes of the children.

After traveling for more than ten miles, I passed Fenghuang Mountain. The mountain is flat and wide but not very high. There are two roads in the grass, which are like post roads, but they are the roads traveled by gazelle and wild horses. Changed the name, crossed this mountain, and counted the hills again, and saw Angkun Naoerhai in the northwest, and Wang Dou changed his name to Huhai.

Climbing to the foot of the mountain, looking at Yunshan Mountain, and pointing to the mountain range in the extreme north, Wang Dou said: "That is Da Boyan Mountain, and there is Xiao Boyan Mountain in the northwest. After passing the mountain, there are as many gravels as possible."

Pointing to the northeast: "From here you can go to Kaiping."

Looking at the scenery beyond the Great Wall, Wen Fangliang's son Wen Wentao sighed: "It is better to travel thousands of miles than to read thousands of books. That's how it is outside the Great Wall."

Wang Dou glanced at him approvingly, and said with a smile: "That's right, for those who have not been outside the Great Wall, every word about the Northern Great Wall is just imagination, how can it be so true?"

Soon, the group arrived at Haizi, where the waters are vast and the water and grass are lush, and geese and geese can be seen everywhere, sitting or standing like humans, or flying around. This situation made Wang Zheng and others see it. Wow yell.

At this time, the soldiers from the guard battalion caught a wild horse, Wang Dou called everyone to watch with great interest, Zhong Tiaoyang said: "Wild horses are like horses, this is a wild mule, not a wild horse."

Wang Dou said with a smile to the children: "Today, when we enter the castle for observation, everyone needs to write a report on their experience. Whoever writes well will be rewarded with this wild mule."

All the children were overjoyed, gearing up for a while.

There are many Tunpu pastures around Haizi, and everyone entered, but it was a place called Guang'en Fort.

It is located more than ten miles north of Haizi, and there are mountains in the west and south. The fort wall is not high, only one foot, but the trench is very deep, and there are more than a hundred families in it. The typical Baojia system is implemented, that is, ten households One Jia, ten Jia and one guarantee, ten guarantees and one township.

Even under Wang Dou's rule, this was generally the case. After all, the Lijia system had long since been abolished in Ming Dynasty, and the Baojia system was also implemented in many places.

Of course, in view of the differences in geography, transportation, and economic conditions in various places, Wang Dou also adopted a flexible approach when implementing it. The principle of a rough establishment is ten households, no less than six and no more than fifteen.

The establishment of guarantors is based on the principle of ten guarantors, not less than six guarantors and more than fifteen guarantors.

Like the small forts outside the mouth, Guangen Fort has three chief officials, the defense, the head of the village, and the governor, representing the three divisions of military administration, civil affairs, and justice.

The defense can restrain the head of the village and the governor, but it must not interfere with the power of the two. The daily affairs are mainly to drill the village and protect the village.

In fact, at the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, the three divisions of Du, Bu, and Press were set up to handle local military affairs, civil affairs, and judicial affairs. The three divisions were at the same level. Although the purpose of decentralization was achieved, it also brought about the disadvantages of low administrative efficiency. Sometimes political affairs lacked leadership. To deal with, the last governor was born.

In view of this, it is really necessary for one person to be the leader and two to be the deputy. The three belong to different systems and can also play a role in restraining each other. There is also a master who makes decisions before the matter so as not to quarrel. , Natural defense is respected.

Whenever there is a war in these forts, they are also under the command of the nearby military forts. Generally speaking, one army fort is set up within the scope of a township. Are not the same.

Although the sparrows in Guangenbao are small, they have all the internal organs. There is no shortage of government offices, horse shops, granaries, and forage fields. There are no fewer temples. The school is also very large. Because of the war, there are many more shops. miscellaneous.

In addition to opening up farmland, this fort also planted flax and beets. To the east of the fort, there is a large vegetable field, and to the west, there are several livestock farms. Looking at the mental state of the villagers, Wang Dou nodded secretly. Tun Zhang, still capable.

Wang Zheng and others looked inside and outside the fort, and also watched the training in the village. They also had armor, that is, the red hat and the long body armor of green cotton cloth, but the armor was not lined with armor leaves, and there was no outer armor. There are copper nails, and there is no belt, only a cloth belt tied around the waist and a shoulder scarf.

Under Wang Dou's rule, every adult in Tunpu is a reserve soldier, and they will concentrate on drills from time to time. There are more than 140 adults in this fort, and they are divided into three teams. Most of them use bird guns, and the rest use spears and sword shields. Women, also have a spear, it can be said that the whole people are soldiers.

On weekdays, they leave a special person on duty, and the rest are busy with the garrison. For their work, people in the fort are arranged to do it for them, and this is the case in turn.

All the children were busy investigating that day, and each report was released the next day, each with its own advantages and disadvantages. Wang Dou watched them one by one.

When he saw his son, he nodded slightly. Among the crowd, there were still a few that stood out. For example, Zhong Yiyuan was relatively stable. The situation inside and outside the fort, what he saw and analyzed, and his writing was quite organized, but his pen and ink were slightly biased towards civil affairs.

Han Si and Wen Wentao are about the same level, both of them are more inclined to military affairs inside the fort, they describe in detail what they have seen, and even make suggestions.

Han Si thinks that there should be cavalry in the fort, and the sentry cavalry should be strengthened at night, while Wen Wentao thinks that the firepower is a little weaker, and some artillery should be added to strengthen the overall strength of the fort.

Han Hou didn't know if he was digressing, or he was more interested in commercial affairs and civil affairs. He described the business situation in the fort with great pen and ink, and listed in detail the transactions of an oil store, a bean store, and five grocery stores in the fort. He also noticed that nails were selling well.

Only Gao Dexiang, the son of Gao Shiyin, criticized the military affairs in the fort with great carelessness, saying that if he led the troops himself, he should do so.

The last one is Wang Dou's son, Wang Zheng, whose report is the most detailed and eloquent, covering military affairs, civil administration, and judiciary, which vaguely reflects a big picture.

After Wang Dou handed the children's papers to everyone, Zhong Tiaoyang and others admired Wang Zheng's papers, but when the defense officer saw Gao Dexiang's papers, his face was a little ugly. Waiting for the army?I am also a little worried about how the general will view himself.

The children didn't say anything after watching it, and they were very different from each other. In the end, the wild mule was rewarded to Wang Zheng.

……

Wang Dou felt that his son was growing up. He was studying in a military academy, and his teacher was Ye Xizhi, a civil affairs official. Under the influence of his ears and eyes, his vision and ability were being broadened day by day.

However, he was still dissatisfied with this newspaper, as there were obvious flaws in it, especially since he was his own son.

It's just that for children's education, it's best to praise first, and then point out the shortcomings tactfully, so after returning to Sandcastle, Wang Dou called his son.

At this time, Wang Zheng was thinking about how to train this wild mule into his own mount in the future. Each of them had a monthly plan, and the money in their hands needed to be planned and used. Buying a horse was not a simple matter.

He was still elated when he stood before his father.

Looking at his son, Wang Dou smiled, praised him first, and then asked: "My son, what experience do you have after visiting Guang'en Fort?"

Wang Zheng thought about it for a long time, and finally said: "It's not easy, a small fort, but there are so many things to do, military, civilian, and department, there are always so many miscellaneous things every day, my child still feels dizzy when I think about it now."

Wang Dou said with a smile: "It's just a fortress, but it's so difficult. If there are several townships, or even one road, what will you do?"

Wang Zheng screamed: "That child is about to vomit three liters of blood."

Wang Dou laughed out loud, thinking that his son had finally realized this, he changed the subject and said with a smile, "Then my son thinks it's my father's leisure?"

Wang Zheng said with some dissatisfaction: "Yeah, very free, more free than me."

Wang Doudao: "Then let me tell you, why are you so busy managing such a large territory and so many personnel for your father?"

Wang Zheng opened his eyes wide and was speechless.

Wang Dou said with a smile: "So, there is no need to do everything by yourself for many things. Delegate power to subordinates to do it. Just use good people."

He said: "There are so many things in a small fort. What about a road, a town, or even a country? This is why there was a prime minister in ancient times. People say that Zhuge is diligent, but in fact this is not advisable. He It’s just exhausting, manpower is sometimes poor, you have to do everything, don’t say you’re tired, you may not be able to do it well.”

He took out Wang Zheng's newspaper: "For example, in your investigation, you regard yourself as the three officials of the defense, the head of the village, and the governor? You have to participate in everything, and you want to know everything. If that's the case, are you busy? This is just a mere bunker."

Wang Zheng scratched his head: "What does father mean is that brother Yiyuan should be the head of the village, Han Si and Wen Tao will be in charge of the army, Gao Dexiang will be the governor, and the child will keep an eye on it?"

Wang Dou didn't know whether to laugh or cry, and said: "It's almost like this. What you need to master is the direction. For specific matters, different people can be responsible. Government affairs and military affairs are complicated. Don't you want to know everything in detail? Even if you know a little, how can you compare it?" A person who specializes in doing this?"

He said: "You are my son, and you can't look at things the same way as others. When others are doing things, you have to learn to manage people, look at people, let those who can do things go to their proper positions, and then delegate power to them. , Let them do things well, so that political affairs can go on smoothly, and those who manage people can also relax."

Wang Zheng's eyes are sharp: "Father taught well, it seems that we must make good use of talents, my son decided that when he sees outstanding talents in the future, he will be promoted."

Wang Dou shook his head: "No, everything should be done step by step, and the promotion of people is the same. If you get a high position suddenly, it will be unfair to others, and it will make people get carried away. Good things turn into bad things. It's not as good as a good selection system. All talents can be promoted and used, and they will rise step by step, so that they will not backfire."

Wang Zheng scratched his head and said, "It's so complicated."

Wang Dou said with a smile: "Of course, you think it's so easy for a superior? Managing people and judging people are not easy things. Moreover, it also requires the courage and ability to make decisions..."

He said gently: "Okay, I'll teach you up to here as a father, take this paper back, and revise it carefully..."

He waved his son to go out, and said to Zhong Tiaoyang who came in: "What's the matter?"

Zhong Tiaoyang said in a low voice: "General, there are some changes in the Tartars."

……

On the first day of September in the 15th year of Chongzhen, "Yuanyang Village", morning, Chenshi.

There was a loud noise, and a red six-pound gun on the hill spewed out thick smoke. The muffled sound of the cannon made the gunmen in front of them seem to be buzzing in their ears. The cannon body suddenly retreated towards the wooden floor.

After the shells were thrown out, balls of grass clippings and soil were brought up on the ground, and at the same time they slammed away. A wooden shield bundled with rough wood was smashed into pieces, and blood mist rose in bursts. The Mongolian soldiers were hit by the stirred up fragments, and they all rolled over, spitting blood.

Some people were stabbed by flying wooden thorns, clutching their wounds, howling in pain.

The sound of killing was loud, and the tide of Mongolian cavalry was attacking "Yuanyang Village". The soldiers and horses on all sides seemed to be invisible, and it seemed that their main force was here.

The sound of gunfire continued, the gunpowder smoke disappeared, and new thick smoke emerged. The entire "Yuanyang Village" was billowed with blank smoke, and the smell of gunpowder smoke was full of pungent smell.

Billowing Mengqi, wave after wave, passed along the edge of the village. They kept shooting arrows, intending to suppress the defenders behind the fence and cover the progress of the wooden shield. Their continuous rain of arrows seemed to make The front and back of the fence became a hedgehog meadow.

They fought back from behind the fence, they fired one after another, even the Mengqi who rode and shot from a distance, from time to time someone screamed and fell off the horse.

(End of this chapter)