As soon as the sun and wind began to set in the east, horns sounded from time to time around Xinye, and several armies began to gather.
Zhang Jun stood on the high slope of Ma Gao, watching the flags flying and several armies in good order, he couldn't help but nodded secretly. Assembling tens of thousands of troops seems easy, but in fact it is very difficult to maintain order. The order of an army directly reflects its combat effectiveness.
Zhang Jun was satisfied with the initial appearance of Wang Xiaolie's army.
To the beat of drums, the troops began to take formation. Zhang Jun, as the vanguard, led his subordinates to the slope first. After the formation was completed, Zhang Jun rode his horse to the front of the formation and sang the promise loudly to the slope.
Zhang Jun couldn't help but applaud when he saw that the cavalry lineup below was neat and the soldiers were in high spirits. He said to Wang Xiaolie: "Let them demonstrate it."
Wang Xiaohunting got the order and sent a messenger down, ordering Zhang Jun to send ten men to shoot back and forth.
Zhang Jun sang the promise. Ten soldiers were selected, each went to the east and west sides, and rushed towards their position. In the process of rushing, arrow branches without arrowheads were used to shoot at each other. In terms of the number of arrows hit, the one who hits the most opponents wins.
With the sound of drums, knights from both sides galloped forward. When they were fifty steps apart, they all fired arrows. When they arrived at Zhang Jun's side, all ten of them reined in their horses and stopped without a single mistake. Each person shot six to ten arrows, and most of them hit.
Zhang Jun looked at it and couldn't help but praise: "Look at their superb riding skills and their accurate shooting, which is no less than that of veterans with many years of experience!"
After saying that, he said to Wang Xiaolie: "Look at your military formation, it looks very neat. The soldiers who are just here are superb in riding and archery skills. They can be considered a strong army. But their armor is a bit old. Some are even damaged. I wonder why?”
Wang Xiaolie said: "We were originally King Qin's army, and we didn't have enough ordnance. We have too many people, and many of the ordnance and armors were captured. How can we be picky? Now there are more than 20,000 people, and there are only more than 6,000 armors. The rest We could barely scrape together enough leather armor. There were more than 5,000 crossbows, which were collected from armor warehouses in several nearby states. It’s not that we don’t want the sergeants to use them, it’s just that it’s difficult to handle.”
Zhang Jun said: "It's really not easy. I will keep this in mind and will find a way in the future."
Whether it is iron armor or a hard crossbow, it is not easy to make. How many days has it been since Wang Xiaolie built his workshop in Xinye? The quantity is not enough at the moment. Nowadays, there are enough swords and guns in the army, but real weighty ordnance, such as iron armor and hard crossbows, are far from enough.
Zhang Jun retreated, Niu Gao and Shao Ling each led their own troops and changed various formations in front of the mound. I saw that the flags were neatly arranged and all the soldiers were high-spirited. Although the armor on their bodies was a little worn, the whole army was full of momentum.
Zhang Jun is young and not familiar with military affairs. Watching Wang Xiaolie's army today was just for fun. In his eyes, it was rare for the army to be in order and the soldiers to be in high spirits. As for the true combat effectiveness, it cannot be seen in this situation.
The exercise didn't end until noon. Niu Gao and Shao Ling retreated with their troops, while the reviewing officials were still in high spirits on the mound.
Wang Yan said: "The army I just saw is unparalleled. All the soldiers are tall and strong, and they are not recruited casually. If there are enough horses, good ordnance, and proper training, we can become a strong army."
Wang Xiaolie said: "The soldiers here are all recruited as soldiers, and they are well fed, so they naturally look taller."
"Are they all recruited like soldiers?" After hearing this, Wang Yan couldn't help but shake his head. Soldiers have been out of use for a long time, especially at this time, as long as each army can recruit soldiers, why is it so strict?
The soldiers of the Song Army were mainly ranked according to their height. The first class is the Tianwu First Army, which is 5.8 feet tall. According to later generations, it is required to be over 1.8 meters tall. The second level is Pengri, Shenwei and Tianwu Second Army, which requires 5.75 feet, which is over 1.78 meters. The third level is Dragon Guard, which requires 5.7 feet, which is over 1.77 meters.
These four armies, which are the main forces of the Song Dynasty, are Pengri, Tianwu, Longwei and Shenwei. Its commanders, the commander of the four compartments of Pengri Tianwu and the commander of the four compartments of Longshenwei, are both members of the Guanjun.
Wang Xiaolie only occupies several states, so it is impossible for him to make the same demands as the four main forces. Instead, the main force is those of the fifth class and above, and the height requirement is more than 5.6 feet, which is in later generations over 1.74 meters. These main forces are all required to wear iron armor, hold big axes, and can directly charge into battle. The second level is the sixth, seventh, and eighth level of the Song Army, which requires 5.4 feet, which is more than 1.67 meters. Those who are 5.35 feet behind, that is, more than 1.66 meters tall, are miscellaneous soldiers.
The second-class soldier, Wang Xiaolie, is mainly used as a crossbowman. The third-class soldier is used according to the situation.
Such physical conditions are unique among all armies at this time. Moreover, Wang Xiao's hunting army eats better and pays attention to nutrition. The soldiers are all very strong. It is precisely because of the extremely strict selection of personnel that the entire army looks very impressive.
After listening to Wang Xiaolie's introduction, Zhang Jun nodded: "That's how it should be! Only by carefully selecting soldiers and training them intensively can they become a strong soldier! Some generals now only think about gathering numbers in the army, regardless of whether they can How dignified it is to go into battle!"
Liu Ziyu and the others on the side also nodded secretly. No matter whether you are physically fit or not, as long as you join the army, you have to take care of one's livelihood. If there are too many unqualified people, the combat effectiveness of the army will naturally be weak, but it will cost a lot of money and food.
Wang Xiaolie was not familiar with other armies and did not know the situation in other armies. I just followed the Song Dynasty system, made some slight changes, and implemented it according to the actual situation. But I didn't expect that the military system was very chaotic at this time, and it was incomparable to others.
When the troops retreated, the entire scene was silent. The vigorous scene just now seemed as if it had not happened.
Regarding military affairs, Wang Xiaolie mostly relied on the system to figure it out slowly, without much practice. I actually don’t know what I should do during this military parade. Seeing that no one blamed the military parade for being bad, I felt relieved.
Nowadays, military parades actually mainly focus on whether the troops are in order or not, whether the formation changes smoothly or not, whether the orders are resolutely executed, and whether the flags are scattered. Those who can be well organized are considered to have a strong army.
Zhang Jun was also unfamiliar with military affairs. Although the armor and equipment in Wang Xiao's hunting army today are a bit worn out, they are generally quite satisfactory. Only Wang Yan is experienced in the military, and it can be seen that Wang Xiaolie's army is not skilled.
Back in the Yamen, Wang Xiaolie held a banquet. Zhang Jun led the people to sit down at the table and drink and celebrate.
After drinking for three rounds, Zhang Jun said to Wang Xiaoxing: "Looking at your military appearance today, few people in the world can compare with it. I come from the southeast, and although there are many famous generals there, it is difficult for you to enforce such orders and prohibitions in your army. According to this. It seems to me that in a few years, you can become a powerful force in the world!"
Wang Xiaolie said hurriedly that he didn't dare.
Zhang Jun said: "It's a pity that you don't have enough money and food here, and you don't have military reserves. It's a pity that the soldiers' armors are worn out. It's really a pity that I'm going to Sichuan and Shaanxi, where there are a lot of weapons and ammunition reserves, and it's not as difficult as here. Let's do this. I'll allocate an army from the army. Thousands of crossbows are my thoughts."
Wang Xiaolie thanked him hurriedly. The powerful crossbow is the superior weapon of the Song army. If used properly, it can greatly enhance the military strength. Most of the crossbows in Wang Xiao's hunting army were collected from the Jiazhan warehouse, and some were taken from Yang Jinjun's army. There were many quality problems. It would be a great thing to have one thousand more.
