Chapter 20 How to practice
At Mao Shi the city gate opened, and Yang Anxuan rode to the military camp. Far away, one could hear the sound of trumpets, followed by the sound of drums, urging the soldiers to get up and freshen up. Smoke was rising from the kitchen in the south, and cooking was being done.
The gate of the village was closed, and someone twenty steps away shouted an order, "Who is it? Get off your horse and don't charge into the camp."
Several bows were stretched out from the wooden village, and the arrows were pointed at Yang Anxuan with a cold light. Yang Anxuan secretly praised that the camp was beginning to take shape and Zhao Tian was running the army well.
After dismounting ten steps away, Yang Anxuan led the horse forward on foot and shouted loudly: "Marquis Yang Anxuan, please come into the camp."
After a while, the village gate opened, and Chen Hua came out with several people. The training of new recruits must be managed by veterans. Chen Hua, Sun Zhong, He Qing and others all came here with Zhao Tian.
In the new barracks, Zhao Tian is a Sima and a military lord. Except for Yang Anxuan, one person is selected from the original Xinye garrison. His name is Yan Zhuang and he is forty-two years old. There are four camp commanders, Chen Hua and Yin Ji each occupy one seat, and the other two One of them is a member of the Yang family, and the other is a former garrison; there are eight captains, and Sun Zhong and He Qing are both captains.
The thirty people who followed Yang Anxuan into the mountain to suppress bandits in Panlong Mountain all rose to one or two levels. This made Chen Hua and others deeply aware of the importance of following the right person.
On the seventh day of the first lunar month, the story of Yang Anxuan composing three poems on the Phoenix Tower spread like wildfire. Everyone said that he would be rated as a high-ranking scholar this year. He should hold on tight to such thick legs.
Entering the camp, Yang Anxuan saw a group of twenty people sitting in a circle. Someone was loudly preaching military discipline (1). Zhao Tian, dressed in military uniform, was leading people to patrol the camp.
Yang Anxuan did not disturb Zhao Tian and rushed directly to the kitchen. Soldiers are based on food. Eighteen copper pots are lined up in a row, and golden corn is tumbling in the pot.
Yang Anxuan picked up a spoon and stirred it vigorously in the pot. It was thick and laborious. It was much thicker than the porridge at the city gate. It was estimated that it could be inserted into the chopsticks without falling over.
The cook added some chopped mustard greens to the porridge. There was a row of pottery pots on the table next to it, containing dark pickles. Under the table is a basket with pottery bowls stacked inside, which are used by the soldiers to serve porridge.
After the reading was completed, the soldiers formed teams under the command of the corps commander, and then formed villages from the teams. Each village was assigned two copper cauldrons. There are 408 people, plus the veterans who trained them, such as commanders, captains, camp commanders, military lords, etc., there are almost 450 people.
The cook filled the pottery bowl with a ladle, and a bowl of porridge weighed about a kilogram. Each group received a pot of pickles, and the soldiers sat around and ate deliciously.
There was a lanky man who ate very quickly. He poured the porridge into his belly in three swipes. He then scraped the remnants from the bottom of the bowl with the picked pickles, carefully cleaned them and stuffed them into his mouth. He squinted with a happy face.
Yang Anxuan asked curiously: "Brother, are you full?"
The man grinned and said, "I don't know what it means to be full. I used to eat two meals a day (2) at home, with wild vegetables mixed with corn, and I could survive. Now I can eat three meals a day of pure corn, which is considered a blessing."
Yang Anxuan nodded, stood up and left, heading to the big tent. The generals of the military camp do not eat with the soldiers. The captain and above are given a piece of cake, the commander of the camp is given a vegetable, and the commander and above are given bacon (fish).
Zhao Tian and Junhou Yan Zhuang were already waiting. On the table were large earthenware pots containing porridge, a plate of noodles, and besides pickles, there was also a small plate of dried salted fish, which was golden and attractive.
Yang Jiaxuan did not pretend to share the joys and sorrows with the soldiers. The customs in the military since Qin were not something he could break.
While eating and chatting about training, Zhao Tian said, Yan Zhuang added, and Yang Anxuan occasionally added a few words when he thought of something.
After mentioning what he said in front of Yang Quanqi that day, "choose the strong, practice courage, understand military discipline, love the soldiers, and understand rewards and punishments", looking at Zhao Tian and Yan Zhuang's reaction to the conversation, Yang Anxuan knew that theoretical things would be difficult to impress these people who came out of the battlefield to fight. of veterans.
After breakfast, we started practicing. Yang Anxuan stood on the high platform and looked at these recruits, a mixture of young and old, different heights and messy clothes. Some of them were giggling with their stomachs bulging, some were looking left and right, some were scratching here and there, bowing their heads and shrugging, forming a formation. The twists and turns greatly disappointed Yang Anxuan, who had watched the military parade in his previous life.
The method of training soldiers is derived from Wu Qi's "Governing Soldiers", "Round and square, sit and stand, walk and stop, left and right, front and back, divide and join, and tie and untie".
It is similar to the training queues of later generations. Yang Anxuan didn't want to make any nonsense about "turn left, turn right, turn back, and walk in unison". He just followed the local customs.
Under the restraint of the corps commander and team leader, the new recruits reluctantly formed a formation and were divided into four groups for training. The first thing I practiced in the morning was sitting up, squatting down and standing up. Some of these people were fast and some were slow. They did it sparsely and it was simply miserable.
The soldiers and horses brought by Yin Ji, who could barely catch the eye, were mostly young men from the Yin family who had joined the army. They had been drilled before, and their energy and energy were far better than those of the other three groups. Yin Ji shouted loudly with his hands behind his back, feeling proud of himself.
Half an hour later, after a break, the recruits were swaying around, sitting in groups of three or two, standing sideways with arms folded, or even lying directly on the ground.
Then practice and stop. This time it was even worse. He walked crookedly, bumped back and forth when standing, and was completely out of shape.
After lunch, rest for half an hour, either sleeping or sitting, without making any sound. After the break, practice for an hour, and then learn to wear armor, hold weapons, and answer orders.
During the dinner at Youshi, all except those on duty should go back to their tents to have a rest and lie quietly on their beds. They are not allowed to sing songs or talk about lewd things, which can arouse homesickness and shake the morale of the army. If the captain finds anyone making noise during the inspection of the camp, military law will be enforced and he will be whipped twenty times.
For three days in a row, Yang Anxuan came to watch the new recruits train whenever he had time. Zhao Tian asked him what he thought several times, but Yang Anxuan just smiled and was noncommittal.
On the evening of the third day, Yang Anxuan did not return to the city. After patrolling the camp with Zhao Tian and others, he came to the big tent to summon the captain and above to discuss matters. Although Zhao Tian was a Sima, everyone knew that the real person in charge was Yang Anxuan.
Seeing Yang Anxuan's solemn expression, Yin Ji curled his lips and secretly thought to himself that if he hadn't received a letter from home asking him to follow Yang Anxuan's arrangements and train the new recruits with all his heart, he would have wanted to cause trouble.
"You have worked hard these past few days." Yang Anxuan said: "However, with all due respect, the results have been very little."
Yan Zhuang said disapprovingly: "These recruits are mostly farmers and have never practiced formation. How can they see results so quickly? In my opinion, it will take at least more than a month to see the results."
Yin Ji even sneered coldly: "Yang Junhou speaks lightly, why don't you try it, don't just talk without practicing."
Yang Anxuan glanced at Yin Ji with a straight face and said, "I'm about to talk about how to train troops. First, all the more than 400 people are disrupted, arranged in high and low order, and reorganized into teams."
"No." Yin Ji shouted immediately and said, "The clan soldiers I brought cannot be dispersed."
The three families of Yin, Deng, and Cen joined the army with 148 young men. The purpose was not simple. First, they wanted to gain a position as military lords. Second, they wanted to please the prefect. Third, they used the hands of the Yang family to support and train their own soldiers.
Yang Quanqi may leave his post, but these well-trained clan soldiers will not leave. The three families are equivalent to more than a hundred well-trained troops, not to mention that Yin Ji, Cen Minghu and others will be promoted in the army in the future. They can rely on these troops Qu, holding more military power, gradually took control of the army and horses in the county.
Yang Anxuan said sternly: "Yin Ji, I am not discussing this with you. If you do the following again, be careful and be severely punished by military law."
Seeing Yang Anxuan's murderous look, Yin Ji didn't dare to say anything and cursed in his heart.
"I see that these new recruits have no standing posture or sitting posture. They should practice military posture first." Yang Anxuan said.
"What is a military posture?" Zhao Tian asked with a frown. He was not satisfied with Yang Anxuan's intervention.
"The so-called military posture means that there are standards for standing, sitting, walking, and lying down. 'Stand like a pine, sit like a bell, walk like the wind, and lie down like a bow.'"
Yin Ji thought to himself that this man named Yang was very talented in literature. He talked about standing, sitting, walking and lying down, all of which were catchy. No wonder his eldest brother and him were good friends.
Others were also attracted by Yang Anxuan's words, and Zhao Tian asked again: "What does it mean to stand like a pine tree?"
Yang Anxuan walked to the tent and said: "Standing like a pine means standing upright like a pine, and also standing at attention and standing astride. When standing at attention, we should do 'three straight, three close, one open, and one raised' (3)..."
While talking and demonstrating, Yang Anxuan broke down the essentials of movements that he had memorized during military training in his previous life and practiced them again. Everyone was impressed.
Chen Hua smiled and praised: "The third young master is really gifted with talent. This posture looks much more energetic and relaxed."
Yin Ji didn't say anything, but he was a little convinced in his heart. Yang Anxuan stood tall and straight, with an indescribable energy all over his body, twisting upwards.
Wu Qi's "Governing the Army" says: If one person learns to fight, he can teach ten people; if ten people have learned to fight, he can teach hundreds of people; if a hundred people have learned to fight, he can teach thousands of people; if a thousand people have learned to fight, he can teach ten thousand people; if ten thousand people have learned to fight, he can teach ten thousand people. Teach into three armies.
Zhao Tian and others followed Yang Anxuan to learn how to stand, and Yang Anxuan was on the side giving instructions. After busy for half an hour, everyone finally learned it. They stood upright in the tent, with a strong spirit.
The next day, according to what Yang Anxuan said, more than 400 people were arranged according to height and staggered every four people. The reorganized troops looked much more orderly.
The recruits looked at the captain and the camp commander standing upright, with solemn expressions on their faces. They felt worried and moved a little faster.
Next, the captain practices the stance and teaches it to the commander and corps commander first, and then teaches the soldiers after the commander and corps commander learn it.
"Raise your head, don't hook your chin, what's on the ground... bang... tighten your belly, you're a skinny fucking monkey, hold out your belly and do something... bang, bang... make you laugh..."
Standing on the high platform, Yang Anxuan watched expressionlessly as the captain and commanders used whips to correct the new recruits' posture errors. Farmers and refugees had to be trained into shape in a short period of time. Corporal punishment was inevitable. Yang Anxuan would not have a wife. Kindness.
Hu soldiers went south, fought on the battlefield, and fought with their lives. If they drill more fiercely in peacetime, they have a greater chance of surviving on the battlefield. This is true benevolence.
It seemed like a simple stance, but the recruits were exhausted after the day. After dinner, Yang Anxuan followed Zhao Tian to inspect the camp, and they were snoring like thunder everywhere.
After practicing the standing posture, practice sitting up and "sit like a bell". With the breakdown of the essentials of the movements, Zhao Tian and others got started quickly.
In the next few days, Yang Anxuan also broke down the essentials of movements from left to right, walking to stop, front to back, dividing and joining based on his previous life experience. As for making circles and squares, dividing and joining, and knotting and untying. Now that you have the previous foundation, I believe you will be able to master it quickly.
Yang Anxuan looked at the walking and standing recruits with great satisfaction. At least they looked much more comfortable. Tomorrow was February 1st, and it was half a month's time for the mules or horses to be pulled out for a ride.
