Chapter 38: The New Army (Part 2)

  Yang reformed his exercise, feeling much warmer. He was about to find Sun Chengzong to chat with and discuss it.

  Here is a spacious house, outside are the newly trained soldiers in high spirits. Inside, there is only a small stove burning fire. It's just slightly better than outside.

  Sun Chengzong poured a cup of tea for the emperor.

  Yang reformed his hands, the intense training had accelerated blood circulation, he rushed into the house, heat loss slowed down, and his body suddenly felt much hotter.

  In the middle of the house is a huge sandbox, similar to Yang's reform on the platform, also a topographic map of Beijing and outside the pass, but smaller in scale and not as delicate as Yang's reform. However, the terrain signs are clear and distinct.

  "Haha, Master Sun, you're quite thoughtful. Looking at this sand table, I think that between our Great Ming Dynasty and the Eastern Barbarians, it's a matter of life and death! Either they, the Eastern Barbarians, will be exterminated or our Great Ming Dynasty will collapse and disintegrate! Thinking about the fate of our Great Ming Dynasty, I'm afraid that in the end, we'll be cut off... Alas..." Yang Reform let out a sigh, speaking the truth. In the 17th year of Chongzhen's reign, with his own hanging on Coal Mountain as a sign, the Great Ming Dynasty was finished, and the Later Jin ended with a complete victory.

  "Your Majesty must not be so pessimistic. Think of the millions and millions of people in our great Ming dynasty, and over 2 million troops, how can we fear a small Diyi tribe?" said Sun Chongzong.

  "Master Sun, don't try to comfort me like this. The truth is, I know it already. I suppose you do too. Although the Great Ming Dynasty has tens of millions of people, none of them are awake. Although we have a million-strong army, they're all useless. When the Eastern Barbarians come, I'm afraid our troops will be chased away like fish in a net or sheep being herded with a whip... Ha ha..." Yang Reform laughed and said.

  "Your Majesty, this... the Great Ming Dynasty still has an army that dares to fight, it's not as bad as you said. Although... most of the troops are not very good, even basic defensive battles are very difficult. It's not wrong to say that there is an army that dares to fight, the Liaodong cavalry and several other places have some combat effectiveness."

  "Heh heh, Master Sun doesn't need to comfort me, I understand the situation." Yang said.

  Sun Chengzong did not say anything more, Your Majesty is also very clear about military matters, what he says is basically eight or nine out of ten. Sun Chengzong's evaluation of the emperor in military affairs is quite high.

  "Master Sun, please explain to me how this new army will fight in the future, especially in field battles and against the Later Jin. Yang Reform handed over a small booklet to Sun Chengzong, which only explained how to train new infantrymen, without involving specific combat tactics. So, Yang Reform decided to discuss with Sun Chengzong the specific strategies for dealing with the Later Jin, otherwise, after the new army finishes training in basic infantry drills, there would be nothing left to train."

  "Your Majesty, the use of firearms against cavalry has a precedent in our dynasty's military tactics. Generally, infantry is placed in the center, relying on firepower to defend tightly, while cavalry is positioned on both sides to prevent enemy cavalry from launching a surprise attack. The cavalry on both sides can also launch a counterattack to defeat the enemy." Sun Chongzong clearly explained the cooperative tactics of infantry and cavalry to Yang Reform.

  "Hmm, is that so? Then what about the ratio of weapons? How is it?"

  "Your Majesty, about half to seventy percent of the infantry are armed with firearms, three rows of guns, taking turns shooting, maintaining continuous firepower. Others hold shields or bucklers, protecting the gunners, and when enemy soldiers rush in close combat, they use shields or bucklers to block the enemy. The front row also has cannons blasting away, dispersing the enemy's formation..." Sun Chengzong is also a veteran of many battles, and he is quite familiar with these military tactics.

  "Master Sun's idea is to first use cannons to bombard the enemy, then have the muskets fire in three rows in rotation to kill and wound the enemy. When the enemy charges close, rely on shields or broadswords to protect the musketeers?" Yang was puzzled, how did it turn out to be almost the same as what he had thought?

  "Not bad, Your Majesty. First, cannons blast, then firearms, and finally shields and pikes block the way. In this manner, if well-organized, it will be difficult for the enemy to approach. When the enemy's attack is exhausted or they show signs of retreating, the cavalry on both flanks will charge out and thoroughly defeat the enemy." Sun Chengzong replied thusly.

  ……

  Yang was puzzled by the reform, how did the Ming dynasty have such a battle method? How could it be defeated by the wild boar skin at that time? Puzzled and incomprehensible.

  "Master Sun, with such sharp tactics, why does our dynasty always lose to the Eastern Turks in battles? And it's not just a defeat, but a crushing one?" Yang asked, puzzled.

  ……

  This problem, Sun Chengzong also had a headache. The Ming Dynasty was not without sharp firearms, nor could they not produce powerful cannons, nor did they lack cavalry. Unfortunately, when encountering the Eastern Barbarians, they would always lose in field battles, for various reasons. For example, there were literati leading troops who had never seen the "world", and when they saw the enemy, they would be so scared that they would urinate in their pants. They could barely hold on for a few minutes before they couldn't hold it in anymore and went to relieve themselves. As a result, the soldiers discovered that their "boss" was nowhere to be found, assuming he had fled, so a large group of people ran away too, resulting in a great defeat, being chased by the enemy like sheep. Military generals relied on their personal guards to fight battles, but they also regarded these guards as their private property. Who would risk their own life for their private property?

  Sun Chengzong thought for a moment, hesitated for half a day, and looked around before saying in a low voice: "Civilians do not know military affairs, and generals are afraid of death..." One sentence summed up the reasons why the Ming dynasty was defeated by the bandits.

  This is also a true portrayal of the late Ming dynasty.

  For example, Wen Chenli finally produced a Yuan Chonghuan, who was a scholar and could also lead troops. Unfortunately, his strategic vision was poor, and at most, he could only be a division commander or regimental commander, or serve as a garrison commander to fight against the enemy face-to-face. Once it came to competing with the enemy in terms of strategy, his military IQ plummeted, and he still used the old tricks of being a division commander, regimental commander, or garrison commander in strategic-level competitions. This is a typical case of "scholars not knowing about warfare". The fear of death among martial generals can be easily explained. The household registration system can also well explain the problem of combat effectiveness of the Ming army at the end of the dynasty.

  A general's combat power comes from his personal troops, the others are just for show and making up numbers. Only personal troops can guarantee a general's status and wealth. Once they are defeated or suffer heavy losses, the general will lose his capital and won't be able to fight with all his might. Therefore, when it's time to test the endurance of both sides in battle, retreats often happen. So at critical moments, pig-like teammates will appear by your side.

  [Hmm, seems like I'm on stage again, boss, time to pay up.]

  It's reasonable to encounter a big sheepskin during a wild boar skin battle.

  The household retainer system is only suitable for small-scale bandit suppression and pacification wars, but not for large-scale field battles. There are inherent deficiencies in replenishment and consumption. You cannot transfer the retainers of General A to General B, even if you do, they will not become retainers of General B. The retainers are all self-contained systems, and the integration between different retainers is relatively slow.

  Yang can only sigh at the reform. Speechless.

  Half a response, Yang Reform asked again: "Master Sun, you said that this battle method has long been in our dynasty? Are there any precedents?"

  "Your Majesty, in the past when General Qi led our dynasty to war against Mongolia, we often used this battle tactic and it was very effective. We basically won every time." Sun Chengzong explained.

  "Fight with Mongolia? Can we win?... Uh......" Yang reform just remembered that at the end of the Ming Dynasty, there was another force, which was Mongolia. It's strange to say that when the Ming Dynasty fought against Mongolia, it was like fighting a useless person, and Mongolia would be knocked down in a few blows, never hesitating. However, once they encountered the Wild Boar Skin, they couldn't do anything. Is it really true that the Wild Boar Skin is an unbeatable opponent? [Boss, I seem to have appeared again......]

  "... Master Sun, why is this? Both are nomadic tribes, so why the results are vastly different?" Yang asked in confusion. [Actually, the wild boar skin can be considered half-nomadic at most, but they have horses and cavalry.]

  ……

  Sun Chengzong did not answer immediately. After thinking for a long time, he said: "This may still need to be explained in Your Majesty's words! The problem of combat will."

  "What's going on?" Yang Gaizheng asked.

  "It's actually quite simple. If the Ming army's fighting spirit can hold on until after suffering 30% casualties, then the Mongols would not have had a chance to wait for the Ming to suffer more than 30% casualties. By that time, the Mongols would have already dispersed. The Eastern Barbarians are different, I'm afraid even if the Ming suffered 40% casualties, the Eastern Barbarians would still be holding on. So it's very difficult for the Ming to hold on until the Eastern Barbarians collapse... and instead collapse first themselves. Therefore, after observing Your Majesty's emphasis on willpower, organization, and discipline, these three key elements, I finally had an epiphany. To defeat the Eastern Barbarians soundly, we must start by working on our fighting spirit and discipline!..."

  Sun Chongzong spoke his mind, also explaining to Yang Reform why they had different outcomes when facing the Mongols, the peasant army, and the Wild Boar Skins.

  Yang Reform now understands why Sun Chengzong would work tirelessly to train a new army for himself. On the one hand, as the emperor, it is his duty and responsibility to help the emperor; on the other hand, he probably also wants to test whether his own words are correct and can turn over the wild boar skin.

  ……

  "...That is to say, if we want to defeat the Eastern Turks tomorrow, it's possible that we'll need to withstand casualties of up to 50% without collapsing?" Yang boldly made a setting.

  "Your Majesty is wise, I also think so." Sun Chengzong nodded and said.