On the seventh day of the fourth lunar month in the 18th year of Hongzhi, the Twelfth Battalion Commandant Wang Yue and Duke Guo Xun of Britain conducted an investigation into the Shenji Battalion. They found that the Shenji Battalion's Left Sentinel Deputy General Bao Jinchen, the Third Division Commander Liu Shiyong, and a total of 13 officers had embezzled military pay and pocketed their own money. There were other illegal activities to be investigated. The Emperor was furious and had the Imperial Bodyguard locked up and brought to the capital to await an investigation.
On the eighth day of the fourth lunar month, the Overwatch Council's Imperial Messenger Wang Liangchen and Minister of Military Affairs Chen Ting accused the Shenji Battalion's Left Sentinel Commander Yang Ling of bringing a woman into the camp and staying overnight. The Emperor issued an edict that Yang Ling would be punished with 20 strokes of the stick, demoted by one rank, and forfeited half a year's salary.
The next day, the Emperor summoned Yang Ling to the palace and severely reprimanded him. He also ordered Commandant Wang Yue to rectify military discipline and granted Yang Ling the Twin Tiger Talisman to lead the army into the mountains to practice martial arts.
At the foot of the mountain, groups of soldiers were divided into groups in the valley in front of them to practice shooting while marching and in place. The sound of cannons rumbled and smoke rose from all directions. It had been more than 20 days since Yang Ling led the army into the mountains to train.
The three divisions of the Left Sentinel Camp had a total of 4,500 people. Including the direct subordinates of the general and the supervising troops, the total was 5,000 people. There were 3,600 infantrymen, each with an infantryman's gun. There were 400 artillerymen, each equipped with a heavy field cannon and 160 generals. At the same time, each of these 400 people was also equipped with a hand gun for self-defense. The other 500 people were equipped with multi-barreled guns.
Yang Ling received the Golden Arrow of Command and was given full authority to handle the training and training of the soldiers. He led the entire army to use firearms and ammunition. When he pulled the troops into the camp, he almost thought that he had traveled through time and returned to the modern era. Other than Yang Ling's personal supervising troops, which were fast horses and long knives, the entire army could be said to be a completely firearms troop. Was this the army of the Ming Destiny Dynasty? Especially after passing through the fault zone of the Manchurian Qing Dynasty, Yang Ling's excitement was especially strong.
Even though the firing rate of firearms is slow, the range is short, and it is a fatal flaw when fighting alone against large cavalry units, but if we can maintain this momentum, then in the near future, when firearms suddenly close in, we will not fall behind the rest of the world. The most advanced and civilized country will not become the ignorant and backward race in the eyes of the Westerners, to be bullied and suppressed by others.
Even with these shortcomings, these firearms were still far more powerful than swords and spears in urban warfare and jungle warfare at that time. They were simply not something that flesh and blood and individual martial arts could contend against.
Yang Ling had seen the power of the Great General's Cannon at Chicken Crow Post. Although it was far from being comparable to modern weapons, the defense system at that time was similarly weak, so the destructive power of the Great General's Blossoming Shell was no less than that of the cannons of today. There were also those multi-barreled firearms, which were enough to cause massive casualties in the instant two armies clashed.
Although this kind of fully armed force was not the best weapon for expeditionary warfare, it was the most effective aid in the defense of the capital. Yang Ling knew that with his current authority and the disposition of this army, it was not appropriate for him to consider such a long-term matter. What he needed to do now was to make his army the most elite of the five battalions of the Shenji Battalion in the shortest amount of time possible, and perhaps even the strongest force of the Twelfth Battalion of the capital's army of one hundred thousand.
It was much easier to do this. After ten days of training with empty barrels, the soldiers could now skillfully execute the three-line battle formation and the three-stage marching shooting. Their shooting speed and shooting density had increased by more than three times. As a result, the combat strength of the left sentinel army immediately increased by a large margin.
The officers in the army who had originally doubted his ability were immediately convinced. Even Fatty Peng and Pockmarked Lian looked at him with eyes full of admiration. It was only now that Yang Ling clearly understood the army's reward and punishment promotion system, as well as the independent combat ability of the training squads, sentries, and squads. Soldiers who performed outstandingly could be promoted as an exception, while low-ranking officers who were lazy and incompetent would be dismissed on the spot. With this, the morale of the army immediately soared, and the originally lazy soldiers became as spirited as leopards who had been reborn.
Yang Ling stood on the hillside and watched the soldiers practice. After more than ten days of training, his fair face had become tanned, but his spirit and temperament had become more resolute and decisive. Yang Ling nodded his head in satisfaction. After being ordered to take off the forty kilograms of armor, the soldiers' marching speed and ability to respond to changes had clearly increased.
The officers who were originally extremely dissatisfied with the soldiers taking off their armor saw that the soldiers' reaction speed was twice as fast as before, and they had to admit that although the soldiers' ability to protect themselves had weakened, their lethality towards the enemy and their chances of avoiding harm had actually increased by a lot.
"Damn it, I've been leading soldiers for half my life, but I can't think of a way to have the soldiers stand, squat, and lie down and shoot in three rows? There's also a firing method where one person charges the powder, one ignites the fire, and one person is responsible for shooting. With three people and one gun, the shots are impenetrable. It's actually a hundred times stronger than the original 'Swarm of Bees'! "
Peng Jizu looked at Yang Ling with admiration and said to him, "Daren, the sun is scorching hot. Let's go under the canopy and rest for a while."
Yang Ling nodded his head and the two returned to the canopy made of tree trunks and branches on the hillside. Lian Delu rubbed his palms together and said, "Daren, these two days I've been watching my subordinates train the soldiers and I can't hold myself back anymore. As a general, I should take the lead. Why doesn't Daren allow us to go down and lead the soldiers to practice marching and killing?"
Yang Ling raised his cup and took a sip of tea. Glancing at the officers sitting in the tent, he smiled and said, "Oh, then tell me, as a general, how should he take the lead?"
Lian Delu replied, "Is there even a need to say it? To boost the soldiers' morale, as a general, one must charge at the front when fighting on the battlefield. The general of an army is the soul of the entire army. A valiant general will naturally be a valiant soldier. Hehe, it's not that I'm boasting in front of Daren, but when I fight a battle, I'm very brave. When the Miao stockade was quelling the rebellion, I was appointed as a baihu and personally led three hundred soldiers to sneak up the mountain in the middle of the night. I destroyed three of the Miao stockade's strongholds and took advantage of the chaos to kill the Miao stockade's Cave Master who was known to be able to fight ten thousand men. "
Yang Ling nodded his head and smiled, "Not bad. You are indeed brave. You are worthy of the position of baihu."
Hearing the praise, Pockmark Lian laughed out loud and glanced at the officers complacently. He heard Yang Ling continue, "If you still think like this, you should be a baihu for the rest of your life. There will be no chance for you to be promoted."
Pockmark Lian's laughter stopped abruptly. Peng Jizu snickered and looked at him with a sneaky look. He thought to himself, "I knew that Daren must have something else to say. I was right not to interrupt."
Pockmark Lian mumbled, "Why … does Daren feel that it's wrong for me to fight bravely at the front?"
Yang Ling sternly said, "Yes, but only when you are a baihu. When a general charges at the front, it can naturally boost the morale of the entire army and cause everyone to fight bravely against the enemy. But now you are a military official and have one thousand five hundred soldiers under you. Let me ask you, swords and spears have no eyes. If you charge at the front and are killed by the enemy in the chaos, who will command your one thousand five hundred brothers? Without a leader, will the whole army be annihilated? "
Although Pockmark Lian felt that Yang Ling's question was reasonable, as a general, would he shrink from battle just because of this? An unconvinced expression appeared on his face. Most of the other officers also had a strange look on their faces. Only two or three of them seemed to have understood something and began to ponder.
Yang Ling pointed to the strong warriors at the foot of the mountain who were under the command of the general, the sentry and the Centurion. They sometimes joined forces and sometimes split up. He said, "This is why I did not allow you all to go down the mountain and let these low-ranking officers lead the troops independently.
All this time, in your eyes, these officers have only been echoes and mouthpieces. They are only responsible for passing on your orders. They do not have the ability to independently command a battle, nor do they have the courage to independently command a battle. That is why the general has become an important figure in the army. That is why there are sayings such as' cannot change a general in the face of battle 'and' cannot change the commander of the three armies. '
But I believe that a general who only relies on his personal reputation and bravery to raise the morale of the entire army is the most failed general. Look, here, the movements and retreat of each troop are clear at a glance. As a general, you can know at any time where your troops are, where you have the upper hand, and where you are losing ground. You can issue orders at any time to adjust the distribution of power in the entire army.
If you rush to the front, not only will you not be able to see the changes in the battle situation between the enemy and us, even your subordinates will not be able to find you to command. If you die on the battlefield, the entire army will immediately become a plate of loose sand. Even if you outnumber the enemy by ten times, you will still be at the mercy of others. Is this the soldiers' incompetence, or is it the fault of the general? "
Pockmarked Lian was momentarily speechless. Yang Ling continued, "As a general, I do not need you to be able to kill a thousand men or fight ten thousand men. I only need you to be able to command in the middle and dispatch well. If you have the ability to train all the officers and officers under your command to be able to kill a thousand men or fight ten thousand men, then that is the talent of a general. That is an invincible army."
These were originally very simple principles, but in the ears of these generals who had never realized the usefulness of a pawn, it was truly a novel theory. A few generals who had been promoted from a pawn were the fastest to understand. They could not stop nodding their heads. Looking at their convinced and excited faces, Yang Ling could not help but secretly sigh, "It's a pity that I have never been in the army. Otherwise, I could write a book called 'On the Importance of Building the Army at the Grassroots Level'. Perhaps in the future, I could write a book called 'Yang Zi's Art of War'."
He drank a mouthful of tea and squinted his eyes to look at the forest on the opposite mountain. The slope there was relatively low and the trees were not dense. However, after looking for a long time, he did not see a single shadow in the forest. Yang Ling could not help but smile in satisfaction.
Yang Ling had transferred three hundred men from his personal army and the supervising troops to Yang Yiqing, Han Lin and Han Wu. These people were currently training in the forest. After more than ten days of hard training, it seemed that they had achieved some results.
Yang Yiqing's ability to search, assassinate and set up ambushes was top-notch. The father and son of the Han family were even more skilled than Yang Yiqing. Moreover, they had been hunting in the mountains all year round. They were practically natural-born experts in mountain and jungle warfare. Their ability to set up traps and track and track was superb. With the guidance of the three of them, it would not be long before they could train a special force of elite soldiers.
Yang Ling had already requested the Discipline Commission of South Town to provide a special batch of military equipment for the Imperial Bodyguard to use for reconnaissance and assassination. He looked at the forest in front of him and continued, "Let the soldiers train for another two days. When they are more proficient, it will be your turn to act. When the time comes, you will each lead an army. Think of each other as an imaginary enemy. Train them on how to march and how to deploy troops. Give them more practical experience. "
"Generals, to deploy troops, not only must you familiarize yourself with the soldiers under your command, you must also understand the enemy's strength, offense and defense. A real battlefield is not as clear as it is here, so the role of scouts cannot be underestimated." He thought of the chaotic battle at the Gourd Valley of the Chicken Crow Inn where the entire army was almost wiped out. He could not help but say with deep emotion, "A good scout can sometimes be equivalent to thousands of soldiers and horses. A single piece of news from them can determine the outcome of a battle. After all, Zhuge Liang, who can foresee things like a god, can only be found by chance."
Guard Guan smiled and said, "Your Excellency is right. Moreover, even Mister Kongming will miscalculate in his life, let alone us stinky cobblers."
The generals all laughed when they heard this. At this time, a soldier flashed in. Yang Ling turned his head to look and saw that it was his brother-in-law, Han Wei. He immediately nodded to the other generals and followed Han Wei out.
After Han Wei took his wife back to the capital, he also joined the army. Although in this world, good men did not become soldiers, their status was still higher than that of hunters or couriers. Furthermore, the salary of the soldiers in the capital camp was not only the highest in all of Ming Destiny's army, but the commander of the army was his brother-in-law.
Yang Ling followed him to a clump of trees and asked, "Brother, how did your investigation go?"
Han Wei said, "This matter is very strange. The evidence you found states that Bao Jinchen stole and sold the gunpowder and pellets. He even wrote clearly who he sold it to and how much he sold it to. He has clearly already submitted it to the palace, but Commander Bao and Bureau Head Liu are still charged with the crime of corruption in prison. The two of them are perfectly fine."
Yang Ling's body trembled. He said in shock and anger, "What? They are still alive? Who did they use to be able to cover up this crime? "
Han Wei shook his head and said, "You submitted that report to the Emperor, but the 13 imperial messengers of the Overwatch Council and the six officials somehow found out about the contents. You and I submit report after report every day, but the Emperor refuses to release it."
Yang Ling thought deeply for a moment and said firmly, "No, I have to go back. Miss Tang's life and death are unknown. I can't watch as the murderer gets away with it!"
Han Wei said in shock, "This trip will take a day and a night. You are the commander. If people find out you left the camp without permission, they will report you again."
Yang Ling said, "No matter. These two days, we have used up all the ammunition. The Emperor has given me the Double Tiger Seal. If there is a need for ammunition, it must be me. I can just go to the Ministry of War on the way."
※ ※ ※
On the night of April 28, it rained heavily in the capital.
This was the first heavy rain after a long drought. It fell from noon until night fell. The rain poured down in torrents. There was no one on the streets. The bluestone pavement was washed by the rain. The lanterns under the balconies glowed faintly. Two armored horses moved like a whirlwind, braving the rain to enter the capital.
The two riders were wearing straw raincoats and slightly bent their bodies to avoid the heavy rain. The strong horses swept across the rain-swollen road. The waves created by the horses' hooves were instantly smoothed out by the heavy rain. They flowed down without leaving a trace.
In the North Town Discipline Office of Dong 'an Gate, Yu Yong was sitting in a chair, sipping tea. He smiled as he watched the rain fall like a curtain. At the beginning of the year, he had bought three acres of fertile land in the suburbs of the capital. This year, it had not rained heavily. He had thought that this harvest was going to be lost. Heaven had eyes. Look at this heavy rain, the dry and smoking land will quench his thirst.
He was smiling as he calculated. Suddenly, two men in straw raincoats rushed through the curtain of rain into the hall. The rain quickly flowed down from their bodies, forming a small stream. Yu Yong raised his eyelids and glanced at them. He asked casually: "What's the rush? It's raining cats and dogs."
Yang Ling raised his head and saw that the man was wearing a silk robe. It was the blonde, blue-eyed descendant of a German noble. He took off his straw raincoat and said with a smile: "So it's Official Yu. Haha, why are you on duty today?"
Yu Yong saw that the person who had taken off his straw raincoat and was walking over was wearing the uniform of an ordinary soldier. On his handsome and thin face, a few locks of hair were still dripping with rain. His face was wet from the rain, but for a moment, he could not remember who he was. He could not help but be puzzled and asked: "Are you from the Ministry of War? Why are you trespassing into the Discipline Office? "
Yang Ling smiled: "Official Yu, you are a forgetful person. I am Yang Ling. Do you remember me?"
Yu Yong exclaimed. He suddenly remembered. How could he not remember someone who had been in the limelight recently? Yu Yong immediately smiled apologetically: "So it's Mr Yang. My apologies. Why are you … why are you dressed like this?"
Yang Ling laughed: "It's convenient to go back to the capital. Oh, is Official Mou here?"
He was asking about Mou Bin, the Northern Provost of the Provost of the Provost of the Provost of Peace Corps. Yu Yong was used to currying favor. He knew that this fellow Brocade Guard, who was dressed like a soldier, was a favorite of Admiral Zhang. Both Sir Mou and the Disciplinary Officer of the Thousand Households, Sir Qian, were very respectful to him. He hurriedly said, "Unfortunately, Sir Mou and Sir Qian left early in the morning. They have not returned yet.
Yang Ling was somewhat disappointed. He could not tell Yu Yong about these things. He could only casually say: "Oh, it's nothing much. I am returning to the capital on business and came to see both of you on the way."
Yu Yong chuckled: "Official Mou is considerate. The rain has not stopped yet. Why don't you sit down and have a cup of hot tea? Perhaps in a while the two of you will … Oh, what a coincidence! Official Mou is back."
Yang Ling turned his head and saw two sedan chairs being carried into the courtyard. When they reached the veranda, two men wearing flying fish robes hurriedly emerged from the sedan chairs and strode into the hall. Yang Ling hurriedly stepped forward and saluted: "Lowly officer Yang Ling greets Official Mou."
Town Envoy Mou Bin's expression was grave and his face was taut as he stepped through the door. When he saw Yang Ling, he was startled and asked: "Why are you back in the capital?" He did not wait for him to speak and immediately said: "You came back at the right time. Quickly, follow me to my room to talk."
Yang Ling saw that Qian Ning was following behind Mou Bin. Qian Ning's expression was also anxious, so much so that he had forgotten to greet him. He did not know what serious matter had happened and his mood was also tense. He hastily waved his hand, telling Han Wei to stay for the time being, and followed Mou Bin straight into the study.
As soon as Mou Bin entered the study, he immediately rushed to the desk and picked up a brush to hastily write a few lines of characters. He took out a seal and stamped it on the paper. He handed it to Qian Ning and said: "Quick, send someone to Tianjin Garrison immediately, invite Official Zhang to return to the capital immediately!"
Qian Ning complied. Taking the paper, he hurriedly ran out. Yang Ling could not help but anxiously ask: "Official, what actually happened? Why is your expression so grave?"
Mou Bin uneasily said, "Yang Tongzhi, we'll talk about the details later. Tonight you must rush back to the barracks overnight. I'm afraid the imperial edict for you to lead the army back to the capital will arrive soon. His Majesty … His Majesty fainted during morning court session and only woke up at night. I have been waiting in the Palace. Looking at the situation, this time His Majesty … I'm afraid things are not looking good for him."
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