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

Chapter 81 My Ideal
In the middle and late stages of ancient dynasties, due to financial difficulties, they were unable to supply the food and pay needs of the huge army, so they would inevitably reduce money and food, and only meet the material treatment of a small number of so-called elite soldiers.

What is good at the top will be bad at the bottom, and if it is reflected in the army, the general will inevitably use this part of the food and salary to give priority to supplying the most loyal and most effective personal guards around him.In this way, many soldiers are bound to be used by generals. The family system in the late Ming Dynasty is one of the typical cases.

This kind of army is full of resentment and extremely poor combat power. When they win, they rush in and flee thousands of miles when they lose. Even if there are some brave and skilled soldiers around the generals, this vicious situation cannot be reversed.

Generals who hold elite troops are bound to be in danger of becoming warlords. They only predestinate the interests of their own small groups and ignore the interests of the country.The army raised by the imperial court spent a lot of money, but at critical moments, there was a danger of defecting to the enemy and rebelling. There were too many examples of this in the late Ming Dynasty.

This was the case for the Xuanfu Army, the Guanning Army, and the Nanming Army of several towns at the time of the fall of the Ming Dynasty.Wang Dou didn't believe that with Wu Sangui's sophistication, he would do such a foolish thing as being a concubine for the sake of a mere woman. He just saw that the situation was not good and gave himself an excuse to defect to the enemy.

In the early stage of a dynasty, due to the clean government, sufficient food and salaries, and good treatment and training for the army, the so-called modern army did not have any advantages when confronting the early army of any dynasty.

The modern army only accumulated enough food and materials to maintain the equipment and training of the army because of the great development of industrialization and trade.In essence, it is to restore the composition and discipline of the classical Qin, Han and ancient Roman armies.

As long as there is enough money and food, what army can't train?Discipline and training are just side effects, and any general with a heart can do it.Qi's army and Yue's army have been trained hard and have strict military discipline, so they may not necessarily lose to any modern army.However, there was insufficient money and food, and the society at that time could only produce these few armies, which were short-lived.

Compared with the feudal army and the modern army, Wang Dou paid more attention to the modern army.

The difference between the three is not in equipment or training, but in thinking.

The feudal army and the modern army can also be well-equipped and rigorously trained, and both can rely on the skilled tactics brought about by strict training to fight. In essence, they all fight with compulsion and fear.But the modern army, inspired by certain ideas and beliefs, can voluntarily fight and judge.

At the end of the Yuan Dynasty, every four households of the Han people had a kitchen knife. Under the slogan of expelling the barbarians and restoring China, they sang, "holding a steel knife 99, and killing all the beards before giving up. I am a masculine man, why should a tartar be a horse and an ox!" Wearing shabby clothes and holding simple weapons, he defeated the invincible Mongols at that time with bravery without fear of life and death, which is the power of thought and belief.

From this point of view, the Han army at that time can be called a modern army, but the equipment is not as sophisticated as the army of later generations, but their ideological strength is not inferior to anyone.

Discipline, courage, loyalty, and knowing why to fight are the strengths of a strong army.He is well-equipped and skilled in combat martial arts, but he is ignorant in his thinking and doesn't know what he is a soldier for. In essence, he is just a simple-minded warrior with well-developed limbs, similar to the tooth soldiers in the army town at the end of Tang Dynasty!
Whether it was the end of the Song Dynasty or the end of the Ming Dynasty, it was the era when nationalist thoughts were surging and the debate between Hua and Barbarians prevailed, but a specific ideological system had not yet been formed. In addition, at that time, illiteracy was everywhere and the people were poor, which also hindered the birth of the system. , but that kind of simple thinking still exists in the hearts of many Ming people.

On this point, Wang Dou can use it, and he can also add many things he understands.

……

On the 26th day of the twelfth lunar month in the eighth year of Chongzhen, in the military camp of Shunxiangbao.

All the sergeants of Shun Xiangbao sat on the teaching ground in front of the camp, regardless of whether they were officers or soldiers, only Lin Daofu, Zhenfu Chi Dacheng and others sat next to Wang Dou.

Looking at the rough black and simple faces below, Wang Dou pondered for a long time. Wang Dou had no money to make military uniforms, so none of these sergeants wore military uniforms. Dressed in all kinds of clothes, only their straight sitting postures can tell that they are soldiers.

Gathered in front of the barracks today, all the soldiers were also surprised, they didn't know what Wang Dou was going to do, and it was very rare for the guards to lecture them on weekdays.

Finally, Wang Dou spoke. He said, "Some time ago, I heard that some soldiers thought the training was difficult and complained very much. I don't know why."

He glanced at everyone in the field, and when he caught his gaze, some people quickly lowered their heads, feeling worried. These people are usually complainers. Shun Township's army has strict military discipline. All the crimes.

Wang Dou sighed: "I, Wang Dou, am not a ruthless person. How can I not know the suffering of soldiers in training? How can I not feel distressed when I see it in my eyes?"

"It's just that I can't help it!"

"I know you practiced hard, and you blamed me for being cruel in private. If it's peacetime, why should you be like this? Everyone is a soldier and eats food. Although life is hard, you can still survive!"

"It's just that it's a troubled time now. Tartars plunder the border every year. If they don't practice martial arts well, how can they protect their homeland? Do you have the heart to watch your brothers die tragically and your sisters be ruined?"

"I, Wang Dou, also came from a small soldier. I know the suffering of the troubled times and the cruelty of the Tartars! Back then when I was a soldier in Jingbiandun and the Tartars plundered, my sister-in-law named Ma died tragically under the sword of the Tartars." Next, I watched helplessly, but there was nothing I could do, I hate it!"

Speaking of this, Wang Dou couldn't help but choked up.

Everyone below was stunned. They didn't expect Wang Dou to cry. It was the first time they saw the stern and steady defender showing his true feelings in front of them. They were all at a loss.

After a while, they shouted out in unison: "My lord..."

Everyone knelt down one after another, Han Zhong jumped up suddenly, and shouted: "Which fellows are whispering behind their backs to shake the morale of the army, stand up for me, I will be surprised if I don't beat him to pieces!"

"Master Defensive feeds everyone every day, just practice lightly, if there is anyone who doesn't know kindness, it's hard to tolerate!"

Wang Dou waved his hand and said, "Don't blame them, Chief Han, please sit down, and everyone should sit down too!"

Han Zhong sat down angrily.

Wang Doudao: "Actually, I don't have any requirements. I just hope that after training a strong army, it can protect the safety of Shun Township Castle when the Tartars invade. If I have that extravagant hope, I hope that there will be peace in the future. Food and land to farm. I listen to operas and books on weekdays, and I always envy Grandpa Yue and Grandpa Qi being sung by the people. I hope that Wang Dou, Wang Dou, will have such a famous day in history in the future!"

Han Chao stood up suddenly, and he raised his arms and shouted: "Follow the adults, protect the family and the country, and the world will be peaceful!"

All the sergeants stood up, and everyone raised their arms and shouted: "Follow your lord, protect your home and country, and the world will be peaceful!"

Under the turmoil of the crowd, even the old soldiers of Shun Township Fort were all excited, and many of them raised their arms and shouted.

Lin Daofu stood beside Wang Dou, and this stubborn middle-aged officer also said excitedly: "The military spirit is available, the military spirit is available!"

Wang Dou also stood up, waved his arms along with the crowd, his eyes seemed to be burning with fire, as if to devour everything!
……

After this baptism, the mental outlook of the Shun Township Army must have changed a lot. At least they understand why they have to practice so hard, just to protect their homeland.However, temporary incentives cannot last for a long time, and a long-term cycle system is needed.In the future, they will follow Wang Dou to fight everywhere, and they need another kind of ideological motivation to let them take the initiative to fight.

It doesn't matter if they don't understand at first, if this system is instilled in them every day, they will naturally form a thought.

But there is a lot of work to be done, where do the relevant thought control personnel come from?Unlike fighting, thought control requires a large number of senior intellectuals who are patient and meticulous. Such personnel must not be pure literati, but must have both civil and military skills.Where can such a talent be found in a small place like Shun Township?You have to find the future slowly, or cultivate it slowly by yourself.

However, the inner world of the sergeants cannot be ignored. Whatever emotions they have, they need someone to appease and understand them.Wang Dou had to temporarily ask the officers to pay more attention to the soldiers' mental state and listen to their voices.As for the officers, they can confide in Wang Dou.Right now, Shun Township Fort is just a small place, and Wang Dou is still busy.

At the same time, Wang Dou also plans to increase the daily entertainment activities of the sergeants, invite more opera troupes to sing operas, and invite storytellers to come and write books.When there is no drill in the afternoon, the sergeants can hold more activities such as Cuju and martial arts competitions to enrich their lives.

At the same time, Wang Dou is also planning to strengthen the training of officers. Now that the ideological control system in Wang Dou's army is not mature, Wang Dou can only train the modern army at best.To implement strict discipline and training, there are high requirements for the literacy rate and professional quality of the military officers.When Wang Dou has more talents in the future, he will regularly train these officers and select elites.

After the officers have been trained, the soldiers can be trained next.

At the end of the day, Wang Dou announced that the whole army would have a ten-day annual leave, leaving only a part of the guards.

In addition, each sergeant was given two buckets of rice and two catties of meat, which aroused cheers.

……

On the 27th day of the twelfth lunar month, the inside and outside of Shun Township Fort were full of joy, and everyone was busy celebrating the New Year.

Thanks to the distribution of grain, rice and meat, everyone can have a good year this year, and the rare sound of firecrackers also sounded.

Amid the joy, Wang Dou and his wife Xie Xiuniang went door-to-door to the widows and widows in the castle. Elders over 70 years old also gave each of them wine, meat and silk, which attracted a large crowd of onlookers and tears of gratitude.

Although Xie Xiuniang beside Wang Dou was small in stature and her appearance was not outstanding, but in the cold weather, she followed Wang Dou to care for the lonely, with a gentle and meticulous demeanor, which won a lot of praise.After that day, Xie Xiuniang was called a loving mother in the military household of Shun Township Fort.

On the 28th of the twelfth lunar month, compared with last year, there was only light snowfall in various parts of Baoanzhou this year. It seems that the year of next year will not be optimistic.

Wang Dou also saw the mansion newspaper that was just delivered today. Starting tomorrow, all civil and military officials of Ming Dynasty will have a five-day holiday.According to Wang Dou's mansion newspaper, at the beginning of the twelfth lunar month, Yang Sichang, the former governor of Xuanda, was replaced by Liang Tingdong, who was the right servant of the Ministry of war and the governor of the right capital, Xuanda Shanxi military affairs.

According to Wang Dou's understanding of history, this Liang Tingdong is also a joke character.In July of the ninth year of Chongzhen, the Qing army invaded the capital. Liang Tingdong and his supervisor Zhang Fengyi were afraid and did not fight. They took rhubarb medicine every day to seek death. In the end, they died under the crime in September. After death, they were still convicted of the crime .

In addition, General Zhenshuo, the former imperial envoy, and Lu Baozhong, the general officer of the Xuanfu, were also replaced by Li Guoliang, and they went out to burn wasteland every year as a routine.

It contained a lot of information, and Wang Dou read it very carefully. Although he had a better understanding of the history of the late Ming Dynasty, he could better understand the dynamics of various places in the Ming Dynasty by reading the Di Bao.

……

(End of this chapter)