On Tuesday, May 12, 1642, March 25, the sixteenth year of Chongzhen of the Ming Empire.

The Qianhu Institute of Weihaikou, Hainan has become the garrison of the Qiongzhou Battalion of the Guangdong New Army, and for a week, the Qiongzhou Battalion has been busy preparing for the formal formation and training from top to bottom. At present, the clothing and baggage of the 3,000 recruits have not yet been fully put in place, except for the officers and a few Ming troops in shabby mandarin duck jackets, the dilapidated inside and outside the city are full of men dressed as civilians repairing the camps, and it is impossible to distinguish whether they are soldiers or people.

In the early morning, the school field of the Qiongzhou camp is particularly lively, and the expanded school field is still leveling the ground, but all kinds of bells and whistles have been planted in the surrounding fences. Oxen and horses carrying heavy loads of grain and grass slowly entered the camp, and puffs of cooking smoke rose from the rows of camp tents on the east and west sides of the school grounds.

More than a dozen Ming army officers appeared outside the gate of the camp, and there were a few strangely dressed men among them, and as soon as the soldiers saw this posture, they all retreated to one knee and squatted down, bowing their heads and carefully looking at the pair of feet of these big men walking in front of them.

In front of a certain soldier, a pair of oily black and shiny leather boots appeared, and such luxurious and high-end cowhide military boots made the soldier couldn't help but take a few more looks. But to the soldier's surprise, the owner of the military boots seemed to feel something, and actually stopped and stood directly in front of the soldier. Xiao Bing was frightened for a while, and quietly raised his head, only to see a strangely dressed middle-aged man in front of him.

A crisp and gorgeous 6th Army dark gray officer uniform, with a pair of collar badges with staggered guns, and a pair of lieutenant colonel ranks on both shoulders; A tassel band hangs from the chest on the left shoulder, a ring of tassels encloses the black wall of the large-brimmed hat, a shiny silver cockade, and a short exposed hem at the back of the head; He wears a black armed belt around his waist, pedals with long military boots, and his hands are held behind his waist, and his posture is straight and symmetrical. This dress. Collars, sleeve corners, pockets, and trouser seams are all made of exquisite materials and exquisite workmanship.

It doesn't matter at first glance, there are many foreign strangers in this kind of dress in the team, and the only ones who are familiar are probably a few Fanyi soldiers who are said to be from Nanyang who yelled at him in the camp a few days ago. However, compared with the master in front of him, the uniforms of those Fanyi soldiers are much simpler.

Good fellow, you're actually accompanied by a garrison. It should be an official who is bigger than those Nanyang Fanyi soldiers, right? Xiao Bing swept the officer team in front of him again, and finally saw that Zhang Jianye, the chief instructor of the new army, was also present, and he was so frightened that he hurriedly lowered his head.

……

Accompanied by Zhang Jianye, Qiao Yan took several members of the Huamei Military Advisory Group and walked slowly in the barracks. On the side of the road, there was a cauldron in every few tents. Some of the fireheads are pouring vegetable leaves into the pot.

Thin rice porridge is boiled in a large pot, mixed with fresh vegetable leaves, and a fragrance is exuded. In the corners of the camp, there were all squatting recruits eating breakfast, all holding thick bowls and drinking vegetable leaf gruel, nibbling on their nests, almost no one looked up at the officers a few times, and occasionally one looked at each other, and quickly turned his head.

The pace is getting slower. When passing by a soldier who was licking the empty bowl, Qiao Yan finally stopped, quietly watching the other party's enthusiastic and focused bowl licking action, and in a camp tent not far from him, in the crack of the half-open door, you could see the figures of several junior officers eating and drinking.

"Hehe, don't hide it from Consultant Qiao, Qiongzhou Camp is a start-up. A lot of miscellaneous things are not cleared. The army's uniforms were not yet complete, and there was no spare clothing in the local health centers, so they had to postpone it for a month. Zhang Jianye saw that the expression of the Huamei military chief adviser changed, and thought that the other party was a little down on the various disheveled clothes in the Qiongzhou camp now, so he hurriedly explained.

The entire Qiongzhou battalion was nominally subordinate to the Qiongzhou Military Garrison, and the whole battalion knew that the grain, grass and baggage depended on the local government supply. But Zhang Jianye knows some of the inside story better than others, the real supporters of the New Army. But it is the squire of Qiongzhou who is based on the business name of the South China Sea, and behind these people are the Oriental Union Group and Huamei officials who are far away on the Pearl Island in the South Seas.

In order to prepare more than 3,000 quilts and uniforms for the new army of the Qiongzhou battalion, it cost tens of thousands of taels of silver, and it is said that Shen Tingyang, the Qiongzhou military commander, did not hand over the funds to the local government to handle it. Instead, it was handed over to the South China Sea firm. At present, the uniforms of the soldiers of the Qiongzhou battalion are being made by two Ming garment manufacturers in Qiongzhou and Hong Kong, and the garment-making machinery used was purchased from the Oriental Union Group a few years ago.

"Sergeant Major Makarov, are the people here still eating two meals a day?" Regarding Zhang Jianye's statement, Qiao Yan was noncommittal, but turned his head to a sturdy Chinese military sergeant major.

"I haven't seen such a tough and thrifty soldier in a long time, except for officers." Makarov shrugged his shoulders and looked like he was used to it, "Dinner will be a little richer, at least after my observation, the soldiers here will eat an extra steamed bun or a bowl of rice." I'm worried about the training that's about to start, unless they're going to do just three hours of walking a day. ”

Zhang Jianye on the side listened to this, and his face flushed slightly. He once had the privilege of observing the Chinese and American Navy, and even had a meal on a Chinese warship. I knew that the life of these six navy soldiers of China and the United States was extremely extravagant, not to mention the supply of tricks three times a day, all kinds of meat and meat were endless all year round, and the sailors went to sea every day with extra supplies of vegetables and fruits, which was called to keep them healthy on the voyage.

In this way, the food expenses of a gorgeous soldier can almost feed seven or eight Ming battalion soldiers. Even if the Qiongzhou battalion has the help of big families such as the Qiongzhou squire and the Nanhai merchant behind it, it can only maintain the current rations. If it is a half-dead military household in various health centers, the days will be even more miserable, and it is difficult to say whether you can eat a mouthful of oil and meat all year round.

Qiao Yan seemed to remember the days when he and Yu Shan were military households of the 6th Chelsea more than 20 years ago, and the unbearable images emerged from the depths of his mind. If you turn back time, maybe you will be deeply envious of the eating and drinking of the Ming Army of the Qiongzhou Battalion here.

"We're just helping them train, and there's no order that we're going to train them into an army like us." Yu Shan whispered behind him, listening to the tone, it seemed that he also had some resonance with Qiao Yan.

"Yo, have you seen it, it's the general of the South Seas!"

"This dress is in high spirits, which is quite different from the maritime merchants of the Oriental Union Group!"

"I heard my father say that it seems to be a descendant of the former Song Dynasty deserted generals."

A burst of chirping sounded, and a bunch of small officers with hair at the corners of their mouths that had not yet grown appeared at the side of the camp not far away, pointing at Qiao Yan and the others. Most of these people are low-level officers who are stuffed into the Qiongzhou battalion by local squires, and most of them are flag generals and team leaders, and the largest officer is only one hundred generals.

"Unorthodox! Strict orders have been issued in the army. When you enter the camp, you must be ordered to perform your duties. is so unruly in the camp, noisy and frolicking, like a market tile...... Garrison lords, the subordinate officer implores military law, and severely punishes him! An elderly general who was transferred from the Fubiao Battalion in Guangzhou suddenly trembled with anger when he saw the giggling appearance of these junior officers of the Qiongzhou Battalion.

As soon as the words came out, several Bai Zong or General Managers who had been watching the excitement also responded. It is a good idea to clean up the losers who stuffed these local squires in.

It's been more than half a month since they entered the camp, and almost no one has ever been serious with them, and now it seems that they are about to come to the real thing, so frightened that a group of petty officers have knelt down and begged for mercy, their whole bodies are trembling, and they are even blaming each other.

"Rush your guests. It's nonsense! Come on, each of you will go down and get ten military sticks! No matter how much Zhang Jianye wanted to give face to the local squire, but at this time, he had to show his authority in front of Qiao Yan and others, so he issued a military order with a cold face on the spot.

"The formal training will start in a few days, and the young man has just joined the army, which is understandable, forget it."

I saw a group of small hairy officers not far away, trembling with fright. Qiao smiled and waved his hand, then turned around with a thoughtful expression and continued to walk towards the camp.

Someone pleaded, and it was given to the bottom of the stairs, not only Zhang Jianye secretly breathed a sigh of relief, but a group of petty hairy officers also hugged their heads as if they had been amnesty.

……

The next day.

On a lookout tower in the corner of the camp, Qiao Xi and several non-commissioned officers of the National Defense Corps were leaning in front of the railing to look out, only to see that on the huge school field, more than a dozen military advisers of the Blackwater Security Company in black uniforms were roaring exhaustedly. Thousands of recruits from the Qiongzhou battalion in various costumes were at a loss like chaotic ants.

What was even more uncomfortable was that there were few officers present, and most of them sat in the pergola on the edge of the school yard drinking tea and chatting, as if this first day's drill had nothing to do with them.

"Mr. Lieutenant Colonel, this is not an army at all!" Seeing that there was no one around, Makarov couldn't help but start vomiting, "Start with recruitment." It's a bad farce. Whether it is an officer or a soldier, they are either 'bought' or 'sold'. Maybe the enemy just needs to fire one shot. The people here will run clean! ”

"Can you handle it? The Ming official army was not raised by us. Qiao Xi and we are only military advisers, not their commanders, and they don't take a penny from them. Yu Shan sarcastically on the side, seemingly reluctant to waste his precious business trip time here.

"Sergeant Major Makarov, Yu Shan, what do you think is the difference between the Ming officers and us?" Qiao Yan did not participate in the debate between Makarov and Yu Shan, but suddenly asked a question.

"The officers don't know what the soldiers are thinking, and the soldiers don't understand the officers, they're people of two worlds." Makarov thought for a moment and was the first to express his opinion.

"The officials eat and drink spicy, the little soldiers are cheap, and they are not a fart." Yu Shan rolled his eyes, and there was a lot of "knowingly asking".

"They lack a sense of teamwork and a sense of honor!" Makarov hastened to add.

"It's not enough to eat so much every day, and it's not enough to work in the fields, and when you go to the battlefield, you have the strength to flee for your life." Yu Shan continued to muttered impatiently.

"Well, military discipline can be achieved with sticks and whips, but what they lack is not weapons and ammunition, but trust, cooperation and courage, and even more so in relation to their future tactics." Qiao Yan summarized rather esotericly, and Yu Shan was stunned when he heard it.

"Qiao Yan, don't forget, they are the Ming officials, and we are just consultants." Yu Shan still can't forget this.

"A little change is fine, it's better than a little bit of the same." Joe smiled and nodded his head with his hand, then pointed to a corner of the school field, "Sergeant Major Makarov, tell them to build something there, and they will use it the day after tomorrow." ”

"Outward bound training at West Point? Haha, they're going to love it! Makarov was the first to react and grinned.

……

Two days later.

It was still extremely hot weather, Zhang Jianye and a group of generals and Bai generals continued to sit in the pergola of the school field, watching the six new armies separate their teams, and more than a dozen gorgeous Heishui mercenaries all had a leather drum in front of them, and many ropes were tied to the edge of the leather drum in a radial shape.

In addition to this, in the corner not far from the pergola, a whole bunch of things were covered with a canvas.

"Why is that?" Zhang Jianye turned his head a little strangely, but now the Huamei general counsel was not present.

"Good idea Mr. Lieutenant Colonel. A little game to make the lads sweat well. Makarov held a large teapot and drank a cow, which made the Ming army officers around him secretly frown.

When the Ming army officers who were observing the training were puzzled, Yu Shan appeared with an iron horn on his back.

"Damn, why did I just run out to bask in the sun......" Yu Shan muttered a commotion that only he could hear, strode to the center of the school field, and looked around at the six large squares. After brewing for a while, he raised the horn, "I have to play a few mini-games with you today, and the winning team will receive a special gift sponsored by the advisory group." ”

After speaking, the two Blackwater mercenaries standing by the pergola lifted the canvas behind them with force. A pile of neatly stacked boxes was revealed, all of which were gorgeous goods that Qiao Yan had temporarily borrowed from the Nanhai merchant in Qiongzhou City.

"There are 6,000 cans of Nanyang cans and 1,000 bottles of fine wine, which will then be awarded to the best team of the best people. Interested? Yu Shan took a can and a bottle of rum from a corporal, and held them up in front of him with a grin.

There was some commotion on the school ground, not to mention the ordinary people who lived very frugally in the days before joining the army, and even the petty officers from big families showed a trace of greed.

"That's not all, your Lord Zhang Shoubei said. The winning team will pay out of his own pocket and each will receive a reward of one or two silvers! Yu Shan continued to strike while the iron was hot, and even turned around and smiled in the direction of the pergola.

"This ......" Seeing that the head of Huamei actually made the decision for himself without authorization, Zhang Jianye almost jumped up from his seat, and the Ming army officers around him were even more discussed.

If you think about it carefully, I have also eaten a lot of benefits from Huamei over the years, although it hurts a little. If you really give a silver tael to each of the general team, it is not a big problem. Seeing that everyone was looking at him, Zhang Jianye could only stand up and nod with a smile.

This is terrible, the recruits of the Qiongzhou battalion in the audience cheered, although they didn't know what it was like, but they all showed eager expressions.

Seeing that the atmosphere is almost there. Yu Shan walked up to a leather drum, lifted the rope, and at the same time picked up a small ball sewn from cowhide on the side of the leather drum: "The first game is very simple, each team chooses twenty people. One person can only pull one rope. Lift the drum up and bounce the ball. In the time of a pillar of incense, the one who has the most turbulence is counted as winning, and if the ball is less than ten times on the ground at a time, it is not counted. Among these twenty people, there must be at least five officers. ”

As soon as he finished speaking, Zhang Jianye and the others on the pergola viewing table showed surprised expressions again. Let the officers and soldiers play on the same stage, although the army is rough and harmless, but there is a taste of disregard for dignity and humility.

"I'll explain how to play first, and the artillery team will come first! Hurry up and choose someone. Yu Shan pointed to a general team diagonally opposite.

After some noisy noise, a few Qiongzhou squires walked out of the team first, and then in the commotion, more than a dozen small soldiers also came out reluctantly.

Under the guidance of the Blackwater mercenaries, twenty Ming officers and soldiers held ropes and lifted the leather drum and formed a circle, with the leather drum in the center of the circle. Both the officers and the soldiers sensed a feeling that the leather drum was not within the control of their will, and even because of their nervousness, several small soldiers deliberately kept a distance from the officers around them.

The Blackwater mercenary's body cut into the human circle and held the ball in his hand above the leather drum.

"How many times do you think you can do it?" Yu Shan, who had already played with the company countless times, walked over and patted a certain soldier on the shoulder proudly.

"If you are a Muslim head, ten strokes is always okay, right?" The creep replied cautiously.

"Little tricks, there are hundreds of them!" The biggest flag in the human circle always hummed a number contemptuously with his nose, and several team officers who also participated in the game also echoed it.

"Alright, let's go!" Yu Shan didn't talk nonsense, and directly gave the order to release the ball.

Seeing the ball fall, twenty people all pulled the rope hard and lifted it up. The result was brutal, the ball only bounced on the drum surface and fell to the ground.

"Come again!" Mr. Qi seemed to be very unconvinced, rolled up his sleeves, and tightened the rope again.

The second time there was an improvement, and the ball bounced three times on the drum surface, and then it still fell to the ground in the scramble. 3rd, 4th ...... By the end of the 10th time, the best result of the artillery demonstration team was only four.

Frustration inevitably followed, as did the officers' invusing and accusations. It seems that the blame lies entirely with the minions, who innocently hold the rope at a loss.

"Everyone has different ways and no orders, how can they lift the drum and hit the ball. It's so laborious, ten strokes is a strange talk. In the audience, one of the generals frowned, and didn't seem to think of any good way.

The officers and men of the artillery corps in charge of the demonstration were so wolf. The officers and men of the other generals who were watching were even more whispering, and most of them came to the conclusion that it was impossible to complete this kind of crowd pulling ropes and carrying drums to hit the ball.

"Summarize the reasons for yourselves, why can't you go over ten." Yu Shan bit the wine bottle stopper in his hand and took a few sips comfortably, and the mellow aroma of the wine suddenly spread out. It caused all the officers and soldiers in the circle to have dry mouths.

"The standing is uneven, the arm height is uneven, the strength is uneven, and the drum surface is uneven." A team officer glanced at the circle of people standing in a strange shape, and was the first to express his opinion.

"In the case of the head of Islam, the small jue must be the same length of the rope to move synchronously." A soldier also said carefully.

"Hmm. When one person lifts the drum to touch the ball, the rest of the people only need to tighten the drum and move forward and backward with the ball. ”

As soon as the flag was finished, the officers and soldiers present all nodded their heads. Slowly, a lot of gossip came out one by one, and everyone regained the confidence to continue trying.

Seeing the summary scene of the exchange of the artillery demonstration team, Makarov pointed with a smile: "I bet. Their next attempt, will be at least ten. ”

Before the words fell, a look of disbelief came, and even Zhang Jianye showed an unoptimistic expression.

"Let's go!" Yu Shan gave the order again.

As before, the ball popped up in a small arc on the drum surface, but the officers and men of the artillery demonstration team, which had been neatly circled, shifted a little as a whole, and then the leather drum fell to the drum surface again. And the flag general who is responsible for juggling the ball is just right to raise the drum and touch the ball.

Four, five, six...... When the melodious sound of the ball hitting the drum surface came one by one, not only the eyes of the high-ranking officials who were watching around widened, but all the officers and soldiers on the school field held their breath, for fear that the ball would fall to the ground.

Ultimately. The ball still fell to the ground after more than 30 hits. But this time, there was no complaint in the circle, but everyone was happy, as if they had just accomplished something that could never succeed, and the young flag general in charge of juggling the ball even roared wildly. Not only did the demonstration team show their skills, but the others who pinched a handful of sweat also made the general team full of confidence.

After a few pillars of incense's acclimatization, the official competition began. The officers and men of the artillery corps, who had done the demonstration first, took the lead in controlling the rise and fall of the ball like a delicate machine, while the other generals were not to be outdone, and also methodically increased the juggling ball count.

In the end, the artillery team still won the final victory with a total of more than 500 shots, and all the officers and men of the artillery team poured into the field and lifted up the 20 people who participated on their behalf.

Outside the field, in the pergola, Makarov took out a cigar and smoked it in a fog, and all the senior officers of the Ming Dynasty were silent.

Immediately after that, the second game began again, this time, all the officers and soldiers came to the other end of the school field, and a hundred-meter-long "wall" appeared in front of them, the wooden wall was nearly four meters high, and the top was a platform on which people could stand.

The game is very simple, all officers and soldiers have to climb over this wooden wall, and then go down from the platform above, there is no ladder and no rope.

Nearly four meters high, in this era, it is directly a height that everyone can only look up to but cannot reach. When they heard Yu Shan say such a game, the officers in the pergola all stood up. In their eyes, it's more than that drummer.

"Suppose there is an enemy army chasing you behind, but you have a cliff in front of you, and you must climb over this obstacle in an hour to survive. First, you have to believe that you can do it. Second, there needs to be a huge sacrifice to do so......"

Yu Shan walked under the wooden wall, patted the wall, and said the essentials of climbing one by one, and the unbelievable expressions of the officers and soldiers watching around at first gradually became hot.

"I'll make the stake!"

"I'll do it too!"

The tall banner commander of the artillery team stood up, and then another sturdy soldier also walked out. The two walked to the wooden wall, squatted down with their horses, supported the wall with both hands, and exerted their waist and abdomen, looking steady, and then dozens of people immediately surrounded them, stretching out their arms and acting as a protective wall.

Another sturdy young officer stepped out. Without saying a word, he stepped directly on the body of the two companions who played the stakes and went up to the wall. The two ground stakes lifted the first officer on the wall with their shoulders, and then gritted their teeth and lifted each other's feet with their hands.

I saw that the officer on the wall stretched out his arm, and his hands slowly touched the top of the wall, and then with the strength of his arm, a carp turned over and went to the platform, and there was a thunderous cry of joy under the wooden wall.

With the first winner. The courage of the officers and men in the back was all aroused. One by one, the officers and men stepped on the ground and piled up the wall, while the officers and soldiers who had already reached the platform at the top of the wall were responsible for leaning over and pulling people. Even if someone accidentally falls in the process of climbing over the wall, there is a large group of people responsible for protecting it below.

One by one, more and more officers and soldiers climbed over the wall, and each of the commanders was full of strength in the competition, and the officers and soldiers responsible for playing the role of the ground pile also changed one after another.

It was getting dark. The vast majority of the officers and soldiers had crossed the wall, leaving only the last group of men who played the stakes, exhausted and fell to the ground gasping for breath.

"Very good, you have saved the lives of most of your companions with your own sacrifices, and they will always remember you!" Yu Shan walked out and lifted the shoulder shirt of a ground pile, only to see that the man's shoulder was already red, swollen and bleeding. So he clapped his hands on the spot.

The shoulders and clothes of the ground piles faded away, and both officers and soldiers, without exception, left shocking scars. But the expressions of the stakes were very proud.

The applause grew more and more, and gradually, the whole school field remembered the clapping and cheering, and the officers or soldiers who played the last group of ground stakes were held aloft by their companions. At this time, there is no longer a difference in the status of officers and soldiers. As for the final reward, probably no one cares anymore.

"It's more impressive than the battle formation of real swords and guns, and it's really well-trained, so cooperating with such a sincere and arm-like army, how can there be a defeat! From today onwards, my Daming Qiongzhou camp should be reborn. ”

Zhang Jianye secretly glanced at the Blackwater mercenaries who had withdrawn from the school field and the Makarov beside him. Finally, I smiled convincingly.

……

Just when Makarov and Yu Shan led the team to organize the Qiongzhou battalion for a unique outward bound training, Qiao Yan took his adjutant to visit Shen Tingyang, the Qiongzhou Military Reserve.

A training syllabus was put in front of Shen Tingyang, but the Ming official who was in charge of the Qiongzhou battalion did not say a word.

“…… According to the experience of our army, the officers and men of the Daming Qiongzhou battalion must be fully familiar with the Type 34A rear-loading flint gun. At least ten live firing per person per month, and at least three live firing per month for field artillery of the artillery team. In addition, in order to ensure the physical fitness of officers and men, during the training period, they must eat three meals a day, and at least one meal must have meat...... In addition, I hope that during the training period, all officers will be allowed to stay in the camp and will not be allowed to return home, let alone bring their dependents or courtesans into the camp. ”

Qiao Yan continued to explain the content of the training syllabus, but Shen Tingyang's face opposite him was getting darker and darker.

The sample of the 34A flint gun had been sent to Shen Tingyang early, and just by touching the body of the gun, Shen Tingyang knew that this was the best ordnance that was difficult for the Ming Dynasty to build. In particular, the original granular gunpowder that is convenient for long-term storage in moisture-proof paper bags is known to be refined products at a glance, and it is difficult to imitate and supply those inferior nitrate and gunpowder storage levels in the Ming Dynasty.

Ten live ammunition shots per person per month, and they must also be original ammunition, and the 3,000 people in the Qiongzhou battalion alone are 360,000 a year, and the silver consumption is at least 10,000 taels of silver. It is necessary to add meat to three meals a day, and the cost of military food is doubled.

In addition, it also includes detailed needs such as camp construction, going out to practice, changing quilts, etc., and Shen Tingyang is old face is straight to hear.

With such a large amount of money to raise the army, if such an elite of the new army is really trained, it feels like a thousand miles when you think about it. However, now the Qiongzhou battalion has barely made up the food and salary for a year, and the money paid to the Chinese military armament has not yet been fully implemented.

"The old man will tell the governor your good words, and Advisor Lao Qiao will bother a lot about the Qiongzhou camp drills." Not to mention refusing on the spot, Shen Tingyang could only politely surrender his hand.

Looking at the bitter expression on the other party's old face, Qiao Yan didn't say much, so he could only smile and nod slightly.

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