In the second year of Longwu in the Ming Dynasty, the first year of Lu Jianguo, and the third year of Shunzhi in Jianzhou, the morning of May 30 in summer.

In the severe drought, the water in the upper reaches of the Qiantang River was three feet deep.

70 miles southwest of Hangzhou, Fuyang County. The summer is scorching, the earth is cracking, and this year's summer grain is finished.

A huge army is crossing the river on a stretch of more than 10 kilometers, and people and horses can migrate.

Forward Zhang Guozhu, the chief soldier of Liu Zeqing Town, the former four towns of Jiangbei, and Tian Xiong, the chief soldier of Huang Degong Town. More than 6,000 Zhejiang green battalions, including Zhang Jie and Wang Dingguo, are developing in depth.

Jiangnan Governor Cao Cunxing, Li Yingzong, Yu Yongshou, Zhang Yingmeng, He Yinchang, Fan Shaozu, Wang Zhigang, Su Jianle, Feng Yong, and other 7 general soldiers, a total of more than 7,000 Jiangnan Green Battalion, have also crossed the river.

The faint mist on the river quickly dissipated, and the scorching sun soon baked the iron armor of the Bayalas, but the most elite veterans were unaware.

Manchuria is wearing the Yellow Banner Gushan Ezhen Tulai all over his body, pulling the horse's head, half a position behind the coach.

"Lord Belle, the minions in front have all passed."

Jianzhou Dorobele, Dingnan General Bolo snorted coldly after hearing this, waved his hand and whipped across the river.

Below Bolo and Tulai, the soldiers of the Eight Banners of Mele, Ezhen Jumala, Jixiha, and Towanwan entered eastern Zhejiang along the passage opened by the Green Battalion soldiers.

In December last year, the Ming army launched a large-scale attack on Hangzhou, but it was defeated. This failed attack exhausted the military resources of the Lu Jianguo, including the food and salary accumulated by the people in eastern Zhejiang over the years, the ordnance of the coastal guard posts, and even the vigor of the army.

After the victory of Zhejiang Green Camp in Hangzhou, they tried to cross the river, but were defeated by Wang Zhiren's sailors. After that, he did not dare to cross the river again and confronted the Ming army across the river.

Until ten days ago, a new wave of the Southern Expeditionary Army of Jianzhou arrived in Hangzhou, and Bolo was accompanied by the Eight Banners and the Nanzhili Green Battalion. This new reinforcement fundamentally changed the balance of power in Zhejiang.

Wang Zhiren of Qiantang Jiangxi Xing Ferry proved that the downstream defense line he was responsible for was still strong, and Bolo maneuvered the main force upstream, and the first heavy blow was dealt to Fang Guoan.

In the operation to cross the river, which began on 25 May, Jianzhou completely smashed the Ming army's defense line in only four days, and Fang Guoan's army fled.

The battle was going well, but there was no joy on Bolo's face. In the summer, when troops were used in the south of the Yangtze River, one injured the horses and the other injured the people, even if they did not fight and only marched, they had to pay a great price.

After Jianzhou entered the customs, it fought repeatedly in the south, and the battle and epidemic caused obvious attrition. For Jianzhou, which has only 100,000 men, this is an unbearable price.

Dolgon gave a death order, and the green camp must be in the front of the battle, followed by the Han army, and the Manchurian soldiers were only used to supervise the battle and fight a decisive battle.

Almost all of the Green Battalion troops that entered Zhejiang were the Ming troops of the four towns of Jiangbei and the Wuhu Battalion, and most of the people were dismissed in Jianzhou, leaving only the horsemen and elite soldiers among them. Although the number of the Jianzhou army was small, less than half of the Ming army, its combat effectiveness was far surpassing.

Bolo faithfully carried out the regent's orders, and the appointed striker to cross the river had just crossed the sea from Zhoushan to descend Zhang Guozhu.

In the past year, Zhang Guozhu fought with Jianzhou in Huai'an Sancha River, and in World War II in Nantong, withdrew from Huai'an all the way to Chongming, and then withdrew to Zhoushan. Zhang Guozhu did not descend in Huai'an, Zhang Guozhu did not descend in Miaowan, Zhang Guozhu did not descend in Chongming, and he surrendered in Zhoushan.

A day after Bolo crossed the river, Fang Guoan led 500 cavalry and 7,000 infantry to shave their hair and surrender. The palace relatives of Zhu Yihai of Lu Jianguo were captured by Zhang Guozhu, and a feast of green battalion soldiers to vent their desires began immediately.

Wang Zhiren of Xixing was powerless to return to the sky. The Ming army in eastern Zhejiang has the best military discipline in Wang Zhiren's department, the strictest army, and the most sophisticated equipment. In the difficult battle, Wang Zhiren's core force of nearly 4,000 people generally maintained the formation and withdrew to Dinghai.

The lonely city of Dinghai is impossible to defend.

Rong Guangde, the commander of the Chinese army, asked, "Guogong, where are we going?" ”

yes, where to go?

Going to Zhoushan? That's Huang Binqing's territory, and the small island will be crowded.

Wang Zhiren looked at the soldiers with confused eyes, remembering the conflict with Huang Binqing over the Zhoushan fish tax, as well as a letter from Shen Tingyang at the beginning of the year.

Wang Zhiren quickly made a decision, "Let's go to Daishan Island." ”

Jianzhou did not dare to pursue recklessly, and Wang Zhiren calmly loaded the baggage stored in Dinghai onto the ship. Before the Jianzhou cavalry stepped into the gate of Dinghai City, nearly 200 Wang Zhiren's large and small ships sailed out of Jiaomen.

Zhiren's main ship is a 10-zhang large bird ship with a pointed bottom and three masts, and a displacement

On the deck of the highest stern of the whole ship, Wang Zhiren looked back at Dinghai, when he left today and could he come back again.

Without Ningbo Mansion and Dinghai, the ship is now their home, but the wooden ship will decay in a few years. This group of soldiers with their families is like a group of wandering spirits on the sea

…………

Jiang Shangshi collapsed at the same time, western Guangdong.

Outside Haikang County, there is Leizhou Wei Horse Farm.

In the Ming Dynasty, in addition to the central Taifu Temple and Taifu Temple Horse Farm, there were also some horse farms in various local guards. In the whole territory of Liangguang, only Leizhouwei and Lianzhouwei each have a horse ranch.

Zeng Ying asked her son Zeng Wensi to have a chestnut war horse.

Compared to the Katiawa horse, this gelding is short, inferior in appearance, and has a head and a drooping neck. Guarding was less than 13 palms tall at the shoulder, while his native mount was 15 at the shoulder. (1hh approximately 10cm)

Riding the horse in an orderly manner, compared to his physique, the visual effect of riding this little war horse is not good.

Zeng Ying: "How?" ”

Shou Xuan shook his head, "How heavy does this horse weigh." ”

Zeng Wensi answered for his father, "About 500 pounds." ”

No wonder that the Katiawa horse weighed 420 kilograms, which was much stronger than this little warhorse.

Shou ordered the stirrup to open, "Zhongcheng, this horse can only carry soldiers with a relatively light weight, and it cannot hang heavy armor. ”

Zeng Ying sighed, "It's really a lot worse than the outside of the mouth of the Jian Servant Envoy." ”

The so-called extraoral horse is the Mongolian horse, and as far as the Mongolian horse that Shou Shu has seen is concerned, the shoulder height is only just 13 palms. It is this slight difference in size that the Mongolian horse has an additional 10-20 kg capacity than the broad horse in front of him. This weight means armor.

Shou Xuan said: "Brother Wen Si, what level is a horse with such a physique in Liangguang?" ”

Zeng Wensi: "It's a good war horse." If you continue to select, you can pick out a higher number of horses, but there are very few of them. ”

Shou Xuan nodded, the best war horses in Liangguang were about the average level of Mongolian horses, which was in line with his impression. Liangguang is barely considered to be a horse-producing land, and Guangma is also famous in the south. At that time, Yue Fei pursued Liukou Cao Cheng for thousands of miles to Guangxi, and the war horses in the army were killed. The governor of Yongzhou, Guangxi, raised 400 horses for Yue Fei, and Yue Fei was able to form a capable cavalry to level Cao Cheng in one fell swoop and surrender the brave general Yang Zaixing. During the Southern Song Dynasty, Guangxi had to send two or three thousand war horses to the Jiangshang army and Xingzai every year, and only a few of these horses could serve in the cavalry. Most of them can only do some chores and use them in non-urgent situations.

Despite its small size, Guangma was one of the most important military supplies in western Guangdong. Cavalry war horses are only a part of military horses, pack horses and communication horses, Guangmo still has a lot of uses.

Shou Xuan said: "Zhongcheng, we have to catch as many horses as possible. ”

Zeng Ying: "The old man understands that he is planning to send people to various places to buy horses. ”

Shou Xuan said softly: "Zhongcheng, all of them are purchased as young mares, and the bigger the physique, the better." ”

Zeng Wensi was a little strange, "The lord of the country, the war horse and the service horse are all geldings are preferred. ”

Orderly: "Qiongzhou can raise horses, and the population breeds faster when there are more mares." ”

There are horses in Qiongzhou, and those dwarf island horses can be described as cute, but this does not prevent them from becoming an important means of production on Hainan Island. The pony walks nimbally, is not afraid of mountain and dangerous roads, and is small enough to carry a 50-kilogram cargo for long distances.

Compared with Yanmares, the horses are short in stature and weak in ability, but they also have the advantages of being easy to raise, hard-working, and firm hoof. Shou Xuan is looking forward to what kind of horse breed he can get by crossing the Katiawa horse with the Cantonese horse.

The order is to run a ranch in Jonesy, not only to buy horses, but also to take as many horse breeders as possible. The Ma Zheng of Haibei Erwei has declined, but the skeleton is still there. Lian Zhou Wei and Lei Zhou Wei still have more officials who are proficient in equestrian arts, veterinarians, and herdsmen than other health centers. and the archives of horse breeding that have been accumulated over hundreds of years, which are valuable experiences that are difficult to buy with silver. Horses are very regional animals, and Lei Lian Erwei's horse breeding archives reflect the horse information that is most suitable for the two regions.

The Ma Zheng of Qiongzhou started with the transportation of Lei Lian Ma Zheng files.

He preliminarily negotiated with Zeng Ying about the matter of Kuma in Haibei, and he wanted to sit in Haikang County, the capital of Leizhou, to supervise the raising of food and wages by Haibei officials. Shou ordered to return to the capital city of Qiongzhou first.

The preliminary construction of the Qiongzhou Strait defense line has begun, and half of the recruited soldiers are on the construction site, and the other half are training at the Hainan Health School.

Shou Xuan found an acquaintance inside, Cao Junfu, a thousand households in Wanzhou. He is currently leading a battalion of 300 people in northern Qiongbei, still wearing the plate armor given to him by Shou Order, which is quite eye-catching in the Ming army.

The person in charge of organizing the military training in Qiongjun County is Dai Wenwei, a Tongzhi of Qiongzhou.

Dai Wenwei has been in a lot of use lately. Compared with other civilian officials in western Guangdong, Dai Wenwei and Li Zicheng have seen battles, and they know what it is like to strengthen the army, and how to start training the army.

Qiongzhou military training is still based on the original Ming army as the skeleton.

The officers and soldiers of Baisha Shuizhai were relatively strong in the combat effectiveness of the officers and troops in Qiongzhou, and they were once the only standing mobile force on Hainan Island.

The 4th Battalion of Lu Shi Yangwei was originally stationed in Fucheng, Danzhou, Qinglan, Yazhou and other places, but all of them were transferred to Qiongzhou Mansion by taking the opportunity of reorganization. In terms of establishment, the Yangwei 4th Battalion should have 1,683 officers and soldiers, and Shou Xian was very pleased to see that things were within his expectations, and all 4 battalions together now have only 821 people left. Among the 122 soldiers in the Yangwei Rear Battalion, only 30 were recruits, and the remaining 92 were Weisuo Banner Army. This is a common problem in western Guangdong, there is no money to recruit troops, and if you want to maintain the defense area, you can only draw the flag army. The number of the flag army was small, and many of the beacon camps and forts were in a state of abandonment after being transferred into the battalion.

In the same battalion, the treatment of the battalion soldiers is several times that of the Weisu Banner Army, which obviously has a negative impact on combat effectiveness, and unequal pay for equal work is a major personnel taboo.

After raising some money through miscellaneous items such as persuasion cases, Zeng Ying spent two months reorganizing the old army in Qiongzhou.

Zhang Shijie, the general of Qiongya, selected 600 people in Baisha Water Village as the core force of the new Qiongzhou Naval Division, and recruited and modified a number of warships from the civilian ships. The rest of the weaker soldiers and more than a dozen ships of the naval division scattered to Qiongbei and Qiongdong to serve as anti-smuggling patrols in the port. After the orderly undertaking of the coastal defense of Sanya and Qiongxi in this regard, the pressure on the Ming army in Qiongzhou was greatly reduced.

The existing soldiers in the battalion of the Qiongzhou Army have been turned into recruits, and military salaries are paid according to ranks, and the internal differences are no longer so big. The weaker soldiers retreated to the state and county to continue to maintain law and order. All the Weisho banner troops were recruited, and although some of them were in fact already households, 2,000 people were still forcibly mobilized in Qiongzhou. This part of the people was co-camped with the original battalion soldiers and handed over to the veterans for training.

Qiongzhou also mobilized 1,000 young and strong archers from the prefecture and county. As elsewhere, Zeng Ying encouraged the gentry in their respective prefectures to fund the formation of rebel armies. What is gratifying is that the gentry of Qiongjun, led by Wu Lutai, a living student of Ding'an, raised funds to recruit more than 1,400 soldiers. Wu Lutai originally wanted to scatter his family wealth to recruit more troops, but was persuaded by Zeng Ying. Now is not the time to mobilize in full force.

The people are in a joint camp with the volunteers, and this part of the people is mainly led by the talented students of various states and counties.

This is all the troops concentrated around the capital city of Qiongzhou for training, and all the local security is handed over to the remaining people, military households and some recruits, which is actually a bit empty.

There is also a potential source of troops in Qiongjun that is not in place, and the native soldiers of Li Yuan. The battalions, guards, and volunteers already included a number of Shuli soldiers who were almost indistinguishable from the Han people, and there were also Shengli Valleys in the deeper part of the mountains, where good mountain soldiers could also be recruited.

Zeng Ying asked Shou Xuan for advice on how to train soldiers, but he had no confidence in the Ming army.

Shou Order: 500 young men were selected from the rebel army to train with the Dongshui Port garrison and make a demonstration battalion. For the rest, he still suggested that Zeng Ying adopt "The New Book of Discipline and Effectiveness" and "Records of Military Training". The existing Ming army in Qiongzhou is still based on the official army as the backbone, and several generations of people have been exposed to the Ming army. The new military training method needs a new system to cooperate, and Joan County can't do it now. If we rush to carry out major reforms, we are likely to lose even the combat effectiveness we originally possessed.

If it is necessary to quickly form combat effectiveness, it is more prudent for the main force to organize the army in a way that the Ming army is familiar with. Besides, Qi Jiguang's things are indeed suitable for national conditions. Only newcomers like the righteous army, who have nothing to do with the official army, dare to try the European-style drill code. The 500 people selected were completely separated from the gentry and righteous army system, and they were trained as new troops.