Following Chongzhen's order, an infantry battalion of 500 people began a phalanx performance.
Each hundred households forms a square formation, with five people arranged horizontally, one corps per row, and twenty rows in columns. There are a hundred people in total, and there are several instructors in charge of training leading the team.
Five infantry phalanxes passed by one after another. These soldiers looked at a line directly, looked at a line from the side, and looked at a line diagonally. Lifting the legs and setting the feet are as neat as a knife or an axe. The footsteps made a neat sound as they fell, forming a resonance and amplifying the sound, as if the earth was trembling slightly.
Then five cavalry phalanxes came slowly, and the horses all moved in unison.
Ordinarily, this time is not enough to train such a neat phalanx of horses. For the sake of effect, Yang Fan temporarily lent the servants' horses to them for use.
There are only 28,000 war horses in the Beijing camp, of which 20,000 are used by various government offices and lent to officials for riding. Only 8,000 horses are left in the horse pens actually camped in Beijing. These 8,000 horses are also very thin.
Because the Ministry of Finance often defaulted on food and grass, the horses were not fully fed and were so hungry that they were skin and bones and could not be ridden at all.
The horse was so thin that the bony saddle on its back could not fit securely. The feeling of riding on it is absolutely refreshing. Those who could ride were borrowed by the Fifth Army Governor's Office and civilian officials, and the rest were unusable.
At this time, the five hundred horses passing under the platform were all majestic Arabian horses. I don’t know how much better the horses in Bijingying are. The smooth and oily fur shines like satin. Just looking at it makes people fall in love.
These corrupt officials were stunned when they saw such a good horse. Men of this era like good horses, just like men of later generations like good cars. This is a status symbol, a man's business card.
Many officials immediately became commotion and whispered. Prepare to go to Nanyuan to borrow a horse as soon as things here are over. Replace the war horse that you now own privately.
They have become accustomed to taking advantage of the public. I don't feel at all that there is anything wrong with me privately appropriating war horses for combat use, causing the army to have no horses to ride on, and affecting combat operations.
Several ministers in the cabinet and the ministers of the six ministries kept praising him. They had never seen such energetic soldiers since they entered the Ming court.
Are these soldiers still like the beggars in the Beijing camp? Why does he look like a different person? Completely unrecognizable.
The first impression they give is that of cleanliness. A military uniform is not the style of the Ming Dynasty. It looks gaudy, but when so many people wear it, it looks indescribably good.
People in this era were thin, so they wore armed belts to show off their figure.
Later, Yang Fan and Zhang Shize ordered their troops to stand by, and they came to Chongzhen to pay homage to the emperor.
Chongzhen Longyan was delighted and quickly asked them to stand in front of the emperor and continue to issue orders and direct the exercises.
Next, the cavalry performed a horse-riding bow shooting at a 30-meter grass target. The infantry performed a phalanx with large shields and spear assassination. The three-eyed gun shoots in three stages. Bird gun three-stage shooting. The Tiger Crouching Cannon is fired at close range.
Under the command of Zhang Shize's flags, drums and gold, the military formations advanced and retreated in an orderly manner, with orders and prohibitions being carried out, and teams and groups cooperated and coordinated. It was an eye-opener for His Majesty and all the civil and military ministers, and they all praised him endlessly.
Seeing their cheerful looks, Yang Fan sighed in his heart.
These flower stands are of no use on the battlefield.
None of the civil and military officials on the platform today have actual war experience. They are all just talking about war on paper.
What Yang Fan did was just to mess with them. It just looked good, but he couldn't win the war with this.
Speaking of this period of training, the biggest gain is to awaken the military consciousness of these officers and soldiers in the Beijing camp who were crippled by nobles and civil servants, and to standardize their daily work and rest habits and minimum military qualities. But it is still far from an army that can win the war.
At this time, there was already a flood of praises praising His Majesty on the platform. It seems that as long as we have these Beijing camps, we will be invincible.
Only Yang Fan knew in his heart that when he encountered Jiannu, these were just food delivery services. A capable soldier can be trained in just half a month. Now it's just a good start.
After the exercise, Chongzhen's face glowed red. When the praises of the ministers calmed down, he said to Yang Fan: "Yang Qing, I have read your memorial. I support your decision to purchase some winter clothes. After all, you are going to the bitter cold grassland. During the war, I must keep the soldiers warm and well-fed. Today, all the ministers in the cabinet, the governors of the Fifth Army Governor's Office, the six ministers, the ministers of Taipusi Temple, and the chief eunuch of the Royal Horse Supervisor are all here. You need to purchase what you need. Let me introduce the supplies to you.”
Yang Fan cupped his hands and said: "I accept the order. This expedition is a winter march. It will take a month of walking in the high mountains to reach Guihua City. This time, I will try my best to march from the densely populated areas of North Zhili and northern Shanxi to reduce the logistical burden. . But field and camping equipment are still indispensable.”
Yang Fan called a few soldiers over. Yang Fan pointed at them and introduced: "This set of cotton clothes and pants uses a total of four kilograms of cotton and one foot of coarse cloth. Beizhili purchased one hundred kilograms of cotton and one piece of coarse cloth (about four feet) for thirty Wenqian. Including labor and carriage fees, a set of cotton clothes costs five hundred and fifty wen."
Bi Ziyan, the Secretary of the Ministry of Revenue, immediately asked: "I have no objection to the price of the cloth. Is the labor and carriage fees too expensive? In addition, the capital only uses one pound of cotton to make a set of cotton clothes. A set of these cotton clothes and trousers is enough." Isn’t it too expensive to ask for four pounds of fine cotton?”
Yang Fan first bowed to Bi Shangshu. Lao Bi was a good and competent official. He was always very careful with his money and spent money wisely, thus saving the court a lot of money. If the court didn't have him managing the finances, I don't know if it could have been maintained.
"Master Bi, you don't know something. When you leave Zhangjiakou or Datong, the climate outside the mouth will drop sharply. The weather is much colder than Jinzhou. It is about the same as Tieling and Kaiyuan. Four kilograms of cotton is not enough, especially at night. It can be said that pee turns into ice, and if a cold wave comes, it can freeze rocks to crack."
"The reason why I ordered four pounds of cotton-padded clothes is mainly because I need to maintain flexibility in combat. Too thick cotton-padded clothes will affect combat. I also need to wear a cotton coat outside." As he spoke, Yang Fan picked up an old-fashioned military coat and a military hat. Scarf. Pass it to the elders and the governors of the Fifth Army Commander's Mansion to see.
Several soldiers at the back handed these things to the eunuchs and forwarded them to the emperor and ministers for careful viewing.
Chongzhen picked up the cotton coat and pulled it with his hands. He found that the fabric was strong and the dyeing color was correct and reliable. Pick up the knife, bloom a corner, and take out the cotton.
The cotton is all new and snow-white, and the cotton fibers are very long. So he nodded.
