At the end of May, Liu Yan introduced a detailed plan for the expansion of the new army, changing the original three-level structure of battalion, headquarters, and outposts from two to two to three systems, with three outposts becoming one general and three headquarters into one battalion.

Liu Yan also struggled with whether to expand the army by increasing the establishment of the new army, but after thinking about it carefully, he rejected this idea.

The reason is also very simple: At present, there is a shortage of qualified grassroots generals in the new army, and the rash expansion of the structure will cause a serious decline in the command level of the new army at the grassroots level, which will then affect the combat strength of the new army.

According to Liu Yan's expansion plan, in the establishment of a battalion of the new army, the banner and team levels were not moved, and the strength of the sentry, headquarters, and battalion was increased, with the strength of the first outpost increasing to more than 280 people, the total strength of the first battalion increasing to 1,069, and the strength of the first battalion directly tripled, reaching more than 3,700 people!

Liu Yan abolished the post of picketer in each battalion, all the thousands of households led troops, and the military discipline picketing duties in the army were fully responsible for the town officer Xun Jingyun. At the same time, Liu Yan also raised the salaries of the officers and men of the New Army, from four taels of silver per soldier per month to five taels of silver, and the rest of the generals at all levels increased one by one.

For the artillery general, Liu Yan also vigorously expanded, at this time the output of the firearms supervision department has been very stable, and there are a large number of artillery in the arsenal that can be installed.

So Liu Yan expanded the artillery headquarters into a battalion, and Qianhu Qian Jian temporarily served as the commander of the artillery battalion with the post of Qianhu.

The artillery battalion also adopts the formation of a team-flag-sentry-general-battalion, with a team of 17 people in charge of two artillery pieces and divided into two artillery groups. One flag and four teams are equipped with eight artillery pieces, one sentry and three flags are equipped with twenty-four guns, one total and three sentries are equipped with seventy-two artillery pieces, and one battalion and three generals are equipped with a terrifying number of 216 guns!

This kind of firepower is absolutely second to none in today's Ming Dynasty, and it is difficult to have an opponent even in Europe at the same time.

Of course, these two hundred and sixteen artillery pieces could not all be field heavy artillery, Liu Yan could not afford to build them, and they could not be transferred in time when the army was marching.

The three general departments of the artillery battalion are the Tiger Zun Artillery Headquarters, the Franc Machine Gun Headquarters, and the Rocket Artillery Headquarters, forming a firepower distribution that combines far and near and can be used from both point to surface.

After the expansion, the artillery battalion can be described as strong and strong, not only equipped with the largest number of all kinds of artillery in the Ming Dynasty at this time, the most well-made, but also the number of artillery battalions reached about 2,600 people.

Liu Yan estimated that when Qian Yan saw this plan, he would definitely be so excited that he burst into tears.

According to this plan for the expansion of the three-three system, the new army will usher in the largest expansion, with the strength of the new army expanding from more than 9,000 to more than 28,000, and the monthly military salary expenditure will also soar from 40,000 taels of silver to more than 123,000 taels. This is not counting the daily expenses of more than 28,000 soldiers in the future, such as daily food and drink, uniforms, daily drills, logistics supplies, and military building, and so on, the military expenditure for a month is estimated to be 200,000 taels of silver!

At this time, Liu Yan also sighed that in history, Wu Sangui had asked Emperor Chongzhen for millions of taels of silver for the military expenses of Guanning Iron Cavalry, and Emperor Chongzhen also thought that Wu Sangui supported the army and respected himself, and opened his mouth at will. Now it seems that even if Wu Sangui asks for some moisture in the military expenses, it is enough to reflect the cost of raising troops.

If it weren't for the fact that the income of the workshops in various places has increased greatly, Liu Yan would not have panicked if he had money in his hands, and he would really not dare to expand the number of soldiers and horses on such a large scale.

Liu Yan ordered the commanders of all departments to immediately begin recruiting new soldiers, select and recruit them from the previously registered reserve soldiers, and select those who were not enough to be included in the ranks from the military households in various localities.

At the same time, Liu Yan ordered each battalion to receive military equipment from the arsenals in various places, and the Firearms Supervision Office and the Armor Supervision Office were responsible for transporting military equipment to the arsenals in various places, so as to maintain the full number of military equipment in Jimo Battalion City at all times.

Inspection Department of Xiaomeng Town.

After receiving the recruitment notice sent by the inspector, Shen Wen said goodbye to his father Shen Dong, brought a few clothes with him, and came to the inspection department.

At this time, a courtyard in the city has been turned into a military station, and all the recruits in the vicinity have gathered here, waiting for transfer.

Here, a soldier of the New Army issued a number plate and instructed Shen Wen to take it, which would be a voucher for registration.

Shen Wen nervously put it away, for fear that he would lose it.

Then Shen Wen and all the recruits who were gathered here were all ordered to take off their clothes and stand in a ten-by-ten queue, and several medical officers walked around in the crowd, ignoring the "shy" demeanor of Shen Wen and the others, and carefully examined everyone's bodies one by one.

Anyone who is disabled, sick, or too thin is counted as unqualified and taken out one by one. Then in front of Shen Wen and others, those new troops gave some copper coins to unqualified people and asked them to go back to their homes, but the new army did not want them.

"But the generals elsewhere are all wanted by everyone, even the ruffians, but the new army is carefully selected!"

Shen Wen muttered in his heart, secretly saying that Liu Yan was too harsh in selecting troops, who didn't want to have as many soldiers and horses under his command as possible, why did he still set such a limit?

At this moment, a soldier of the new army next to him said loudly: "All those who have obtained the number plate and passed the physical examination, put on their clothes and go to the south gate to wait for the transfer carriage!" ”

When Shen Wen heard the order, he hurriedly followed the team out of the city, only to see that dozens of large carriages had been parked on the official road outside, each of which could carry more than a dozen people.

"Everyone, listen well, board the bus according to the number plate called, do not cut in line, do not make noise, and do not walk around, otherwise military law will be engaged!"

Shen Wen hurriedly took out his number plate again, and saw that the word A seventeen was written on it, so he silently recited it in his heart.

At this time, all the recruits lined up in a long line, and in front of them there were new soldiers shouting numbers in turn, and the called recruits came out of the ranks and boarded the designated carriage.

"The recruitment of the new army is really unusual, and those generals elsewhere recruit soldiers and horses, don't they just issue a uniform, give a knife and gun, and then take them to the barracks for a drill. Why are there so many rules on the side of the new army? ”

Shen Wen looked strange, and then heard the soldiers of the new army calling his number: "A word seventeen!" ”

Shen Wen hurriedly picked up his luggage and walked out, and the new army soldier checked the number plate, then pointed to a carriage in front of him and said, "You go to the eleventh carriage." ”

"Yes, Master Jun."

The soldier of the new army frowned and said: "In the future, when you enter the new army, don't call it a military master, the same level is called Pao Ze, and the official is called an official rank, understand?" ”

"Yes, yes!"

Shen Wen was "reprimanded" a few words, and got into the carriage with trepidation, there were already three recruits in the car, Shen Wen and a few people smiled, which was regarded as a greeting.

Then all the recruits got into the carriage, and the convoy slowly moved along the official road.

Shen Wen was surprised to find that these carriages did not go to the same place, but at different forks in the road, going to different places.

The carriage that Shen Wen rode all the way to Jimo Camp City, and there were eight carriages that came here together. Seeing the city getting closer and closer, Shen Wen and all his companions raised their arms and cheered, and the door to a new life had been opened.

After the carriage entered the city, it came directly to the military camp in the city, and more than a hundred recruits, including Shen Wen, were concentrated on the school field, and there were also recruits transferred from other places, and many people had gathered in the huge school field.

Shen Wen looked around, it was the first time he had seen so many people, there were two or three thousand people, and just when he was amazed in his heart, a general in armor rode into the school field, accompanied by a large group of ironclad guards, majestic.

The person who came was Wang Yue, the commander of the rear battalion, and this batch of recruits was supplied to the rear battalion.

Wang Yue looked at the recruits who had gone through the first round of physical examination, with a habitual smile on his face, and said to the subordinates around him: "The second round of selection will start immediately!" ”

"Yes!"

With the sound of war drums, Shen Wen and other recruits were divided into several groups, and many new soldiers came over to lead the team and began to test everyone's physical fitness.

Push-ups, long-distance running, squats, sit-ups, etc., after those new soldiers demonstrated in front, they asked Shen Wen and other recruits to do the same, and all the recruits who did not pass the number were painted with a red X on the number plate, and the remaining passing recruits were recorded as a basis.

In this round of selection, more than 400 recruits were directly eliminated, and these people will be assigned to defend all parts of the Jimo battalion as a dun army.

Shen Wen benefited from working in the fields all year round and cultivated a good physique, although he was a little emaciated due to long-term hunger, but fortunately, his endurance was good, and he passed the test without danger.

At this time, Wang Yue looked at the remaining more than 2,000 recruits and said to his subordinates: "Okay, time is tight and the task is heavy, since these recruits are all young and strong soldiers with clean family backgrounds, then they should all be integrated in, and all the generals will immediately start training according to the plan." The adults have already given an order that all battalions should complete the reorganization as soon as possible and vigorously improve their combat effectiveness. ”

"Yes!"

Wang Yue explained some more, and hurriedly rode the war horse and left, he also had to go to the arsenal in the city, and now Xu Ming, Miao Shao, and Qian Jian were fighting over there, competing for the armament in the arsenal, and he couldn't fall behind, otherwise the good things would be snatched away.

"Everyone is on standby, and when they hear their number plates, they come to gather and collect supplies!"

Shen Wen suddenly breathed a sigh of relief, and finally chosen. But what happened next made Shen Wen dumbfounded.

"A word seventeen!"

Shen Wen hurried over, only to see that a mountain of various materials had been placed on the side of the school field, and a long table and chair were placed in front of it, and many soldiers of the New Army were maintaining order there and distributing things one by one.

"Don't be stunned, go forward!"

Only then did Shen Wen come back to his senses and hurriedly followed the team, one table after another, and the soldiers of the new army next to each table would come up with one or several things on the ground.

"It's soap, sea salt. Remember, sea salt isn't for you to eat, it's for brushing your teeth. ”

"With what? Just use a horsehair toothbrush! ”

"This is a towel, two for washing your face, two for wiping your feet, in the new army, you have to wash your feet and face every day, and you must take a bath every two days, otherwise your personal hygiene is unqualified, and you will be beaten with a stick!"

"Two sets of short fights, two sets of long sleeves, this is a training uniform, that is, daily drills are worn, these two sets of mandarin duck jackets are military uniforms, and they must be worn when the army goes out to fight and assembles for major events!"

"Two winter bedding and two summer futons must be cleaned, and they must be washed every half a month in winter and every three days in summer, otherwise military law will be engaged!"

"Two pairs of leggings, two pairs of military boots, leather belts, water hyacinths, belts, medicine bags and other items should also be counted one by one."

"This is your waist card, you are divided into the fourth team of the left general left post and the right flag of the rear camp, take your waist card to that side, and your captain will take you to the barracks."

Shen Wen was holding so many things, although it was very heavy and a lot, but his heart was happy.

Let's not talk about the quilt and towel, which are made of the best cotton and cotton cloth that they have never used at home, let's talk about sea salt, who is willing to use the best sea salt to wash? Ordinary people are reluctant to even eat, let alone brush their teeth!

"This new army is really coming to the right place!"

At this time, Shen Wen was very excited in his heart, with such a good treatment, even if Shangguan let him die, he was willing.

Then Shen Wen followed his captain to the barracks, met a group of comrades, and listened to the captain explain the precautions in the army.

"Next, you recruits must memorize all the military discipline of the new army within three days, and if anyone can't memorize it, just pack up their things and get out, and all the items they have sent will be recovered."

"Military discipline in the army must be strictly observed, and every day there will be a repression officer who will lead people to inspect, and those who violate discipline will be severely punished if they are found......

Shen Wen listened to the rules, and his fiery heart gradually cooled down: "Maybe the life of the new army is not only beneficial, but also requires a lot of effort!" ”

Some people died, but not completely......