Chapter 040
Cheng Shijie's words happened to speak to Sun Yuanhua's thoughts.
In the fourth year of Chongzhen's reign, due to unrest and the financial constraints of the imperial court, the original land tax of Liao was increased from nine cents to one and two cents, an increase of three cents per mu.
One tael of silver is equal to ten cents, one hundred cents is equal to one thousand cents, and one cent is equal to one copper coin.
To be fair, three pennies is really not much for ordinary people, because three pennies can buy at most three or four taels of pork, half a catty of fish and shrimp, or two taels of salt.
However, the problem is that the imperial court asked for an increase of three cents per mu. In each prefecture, it dared to increase the amount by three cents, and in the county, it even dared to increase it to three or four cents. Since then, many people have been forced to lose their families and their families.
Since July, people who have abandoned their fields and become refugees have poured into various prefectures and counties in large numbers. Now Shandong is like a pile of dry firewood. If there is a little spark, it will become a prairie fire.
This situation is something Sun Yuanhua does not want to see. Only by controlling the stability of Shandong can he consider reform and innovation. Even if there is a saying that a new official takes office with three goals, it is just to kill the chicken and scare the monkey, to make a small fuss, to harm the interests of most people easily, and will encounter a strong backlash, which is really not done by the wise;
What's more, Sun Yuanhua will not forget that he still has a large team of Jiangning people waiting for him to make mistakes.
But Cheng Shijie talked about his itch.
Cheng Shijie said: "Xiaguan does know a little bit about how to train soldiers. Now he has recruited more than 400 young men from Zuo Qianhu. In time, they will definitely become the pillars of Shandong... It's just a pity that Xiaguan lacks food, grass and armor. …”
Before Cheng Shijie could finish speaking, Sun Yuanhua said, "Let's not talk about this too much. Let's talk about your training methods first!"
Although most of the literati in the Ming Dynasty were powerless, they mostly liked to talk on paper. Although Sun Yuanhua was not a Jinshi, he also liked to talk on paper. His most proud political achievement was to unite his soldiers in the difficult situation of isolation inside and outside the pass. Faced with the siege of the slave army, he used Western cannons to make the eight cities and twenty-four forts he garrisoned stand firm.
It was because of these political achievements that Sun Yuanhua was able to become the governor of Denglai with an exceptional academic qualification. He was also famous for his ability to train troops and forge cannons.
Cheng Shijie is an old agency and is very experienced in dealing with technical bureaucrats like Sun Yuanhua. He smiled and said: "The Seven Books of the Military Classics" is the masterpiece of military work by the sages. Cheng is not talented and is fortunate to be familiar with the "Seven Books of the Military Classics". "I have a deep understanding of the method of organizing the army. Our dynasty has established a guard station since the beginning of Emperor Taizu Hongwu. However, the establishment of the guard station is a bit..."
Cheng Shijie elaborated on the shortcomings of the guard system in terms of establishment, soldier quality, and equipment, and then detailed his methods of managing troops, training troops, equipment, and giving orders to Sun Yuanhua.
Just like a thousand-household officer commanding ten hundred households, this is actually unfair. In an era without information technology, flat management methods are the most unscientific. A battalion-level officer with a thousand-household level is in charge of three to five people. It is most scientific to name subordinates, and each subordinate manages two hundred to three hundred people.
Cheng Shijie actually fantasized about the company squad organization of later generations. However, the problem was that it was the best organization for using automatic weapons in later generations, and it was explored through countless actual combats.
In fact, the establishment of the cold weapon period in ancient China has always been the shiwu system, but the names are different in the past dynasties. Taking the Qin army's establishment as an example, there are five troops and one corps leader; One person; five shi is a tun, and there is a tun chief; two tuns are a hundred, and a hundred generals are one; five hundred people, and there is one leader of five hundred; and one thousand people, there is one leader of two to five hundred. Among them, the "two to five hundred masters" are also called "thousands of people" and are already mid-level officers.
The organization of the Han army also inherited the organization of the Qin army, with five men in a corps, two corps in one shi, and five shi in one team. The team was set up, and two teams of 100 men were in the camp. The five tuns were one song, and the two songs were one unit. Set up another department, Sima.
Only the names are different, but the headcount is actually the same. The Tang army was organized in the same way, with different names. There were teams of fifty, two teams formed a brigade, and a brigade rate. Two or three brigades form a regiment, with a school captain, and the fourth, fifth, and sixth regiments are respectively designated as the captain of upper Zhechong, the captain of middle Zhechong, and the captain of Zhechong.
In the Song Dynasty, it became the capital. One capital is one hundred people, five capitals are one battalion, and the camp has a command. Only in the Ming Dynasty, 100 households became 1000 households.
Sun Yuanhua thought that Cheng Shijie was a general who was proficient in strategic-level command and training, but he did not expect that what Cheng Shijie was really proficient in was the art of managing and training troops in small-scale camps. These detailed cognitions are exactly what those scholars who can only talk about military affairs on paper are most likely to do. What is lacking is also the blind spot of Sun Yuanhua and all literati's theoretical knowledge.
Sun Yuanhua only knew that the guardsmen were unable to fight, but he did not know that the root cause was the establishment. One thousand one hundred and twenty people were a full complement of one thousand households, but the problem was that one thousand households simply could not command ten hundred households. household. Of course, if we are in the information age, let alone one thousand households commanding ten hundred households, it is like a platoon leader who can directly command thirty or fifty soldiers without any problem beyond the squad leader.
"Shijie, even if you train an elite force, how can you protect one side comprehensively?"
Sun Yuanhua pointed to the map and asked: "The area under Zuo Qianhu's jurisdiction extends 260 miles to the sea in the east, 75 miles to Fushan County in the west, 240 miles to Laiyang in the south, and 60 miles to Qingquan in the north (equivalent to 60 miles from east to west). (Three hundred and thirty-five miles wide, three hundred miles from north to south), how can such a large area be fully protected?"
"Your Majesty, prepare to use mobile defense!"
Cheng Shijie said: "When I train my troops, I first develop their ability to travel long distances. I don't dare to deceive Lord Futai. After training for more than a month, I can march eighty miles fully armed every day!"
"Eighty miles?"
Sun Yuanhua was very surprised when he heard this. The Ming Dynasty's guard army marched at a standard speed of thirty miles per day. It’s less than the daily training journey of Cheng Shijie’s servants.
Sun Tzu's art of war is to roll up one's armor and rush forward, stay at home day and night, travel multiple routes at the same time, and fight for a profit for a hundred miles, then capture three generals. General, half of his methods are achieved; if he fights for advantage within thirty miles, two-thirds of them are achieved.
Speed is everything.
And Cheng Shijie continued: "Xiaguan originally planned to use horse-drawn carriages to assist the troops in marching. During the march, the soldiers could ride in the cars and drive a horse-drawn carriage with two horses, which could travel hundreds of miles a day. Once there was banditry in various places, Xianguan could lead the troops. We can reach the coast of the sea within two days, and we can reach Laiyang in three days at most."
Cheng Shijie presented his plan to Sun Yuanhua.
Horse-drawn carriages were used to assist the march on land, and boats were used to march along the rivers and coasts. In Cheng Shijie's eyes, these retainers could fight at sea by boat or on foot on land.
Since the number of people is small and the supplies required are also small, the four hundred elites can take about fifty horse-drawn carriages and pull them away. Some of the horse-drawn carriages can also transport grain, grass and ammunition. As for the maritime part, four 400-ton gunboats can carry 400 elite troops to patrol along the more than 500 miles of Ninghai Prefecture's waters.
Sun Yuanhua and Cheng Shijie unknowingly talked for more than two hours. Seeing that it was getting dark, Sun Yuanhua also ended the meeting.
"Recruiting soldiers should be done slowly, but it would be a bit unfair for you to serve as Dengzhou Guard Zuo Qianhu again!"
Sun Yuanhua stood up and looked at Cheng Shijie and said: "Many things need to be peeled off and slowly figured out. You are full of talents and are dedicated to serving the court. Don't worry about your future. Isn't this Xian also born in Juzi?"
Cheng Shijie quickly bowed and said, "Thank you, Mr. Futai, for the promotion!"
Sun Yuanhua has now decided to separate the Dengzhou Guard Zuo Qianhu Office from the Dengzhou Guard, and is preparing to report to the court to demote Ninghai Prefecture to Ning Haijun.
The army and the state are actually administrative units, but the army is slightly lower than the state. In the Ming Dynasty, the magistrates were of the fifth rank and the magistrates were of the fourth rank. Once Ning Haijun was established, it would be like a small military region.
Cheng Shijie was originally a member of the Qianhu Guards, a fifth-grade military officer, and knew Ninghai's military affairs. He just wanted to stop everyone in the world from knowing that the most serious problem in the Ming Dynasty was actually the dispute between civil and military forces.
It is politically correct for civilian officials to suppress military attachés.
Sun Yuanhua left Cheng Shijie to live in the governor's Yamen.
When the servant took Cheng Shijie to stay in the guest room, he notified Cheng Shi, Cheng Hu and the servants to go to the house in Shiqiao Lane to rest.
Sun Yuanhua did not let Cheng Shijie go, which is good news.
Cheng Shijie decided to use his eloquence and knowledge to get something good from the governor Sun Yuanhua.
Sun Yuanhua was a master of artillery casting. He also had more than a hundred Western officers under his command, and he had cast dozens of new artillery pieces. These artillery pieces were all cheaper than Huang Taiji in the end.
It's better to take part of it yourself first.
It shouldn't be too much to set up an artillery department at Dengzhou Weizuo Qianhu Station with more than a dozen artillery pieces, right?
Cheng Shijie thought about carriages, war horses, and fire guns, and fell asleep happily in his heart.
The news that Cheng Shijie stayed at the governor's Yamen could not be hidden from others.
…
They both belong to Dengzhou City, and the commander of the Dengzhou Guards is Si Yamenli.
Jin Yousheng couldn't sleep either, because his staff had reported to him that the governor's Yamen had begun investigating the truth behind the annihilation of the gangster Qin Wu.
This matter was originally false. This military merit belonged to Cheng Shijie. Once the governor investigates, he will definitely not be able to hide it.
"Zuxin!"
Jin Yousheng looked at Huang Zuxin and smiled bitterly: "We are in big trouble!"
Huang Zuxin sighed and said: "We can't rush now. The only way is for Cheng Shijie to remember that we are all warriors..."
As long as the person involved, Cheng Shijie, doesn't change his story, then what is false will also be true.
"But we..."
Jin Yousheng suddenly remembered that his daughter had been sent to Zuo Qianhu Residence and lived there.
However, Jin Yousheng did not know that Cheng Shijie was not at Qianhuzhai during this period, nor did he touch his daughter.
Jin Yousheng didn't know it, so he quickly had someone prepare a generous dowry, and took his servants and dowry to Cheng Shijie's house in Dengzhou City.
