Strategy for the Revitalization of the Late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 123 Military Academy

In the early morning, in the north of Zhenjiang, the sun shines through the thin clouds, and the golden light shines on the vast river surface. Looking up, you can see sparkling waves.

At this time, hundreds of large and small warships were quietly floating in the waves at the mouth of the Yangzhou Grand Canal. Zheng Sen led most of the Fujian Navy and personally escorted them.

These improved large troop transport ships, supply ships, large frigates with twenty small cannons installed on both sides, as well as bird boats, sand boats, and sentry boats were all neatly arranged at the dock where the canal entered the river, ready to go, with countless flags on the ships fluttering in the wind.

This time, Zhu Cilang specially dispatched the Fujian Navy to escort the emperor westward to Jiangxi. At the same time, he sent Zheng Hongkui back to Fujian, preparing to summon Zheng Zhilong to Nanjing to re-establish the maritime trade pattern in the southeast.

The present was different. Facing an emperor who controlled the army and held great prestige, Zheng Zhilong had no energy left to resist. If he did not appreciate the favor, someone in the Zheng family would naturally defend him.

Zheng Zhilong was not someone who could not see the situation clearly, let alone be stubborn. On the contrary, in order to maintain his wealth and status, he could make concessions again and again. Now, Zhu Cilang could give him what he wanted, but he could also destroy it. At this point, he had no choice.

However, Zhu Cilang now had too many problems to solve and was very short of money. He naturally wouldn't use force to deal with such a money jar. Otherwise, it would be difficult for him to do other things in the future.

On the deck of the troop transport ship, the sunlight shone through the flags on the mast and onto the resolute faces of the soldiers on duty. They were wearing military uniforms and their eyes were very determined.

This time, Zhu Cilang led more than 3,000 infantry and cavalrymen to the west, all of whom were elite troops drawn from the Palace Army and the Beijing Camp. The chief general was Chen Fu, and the battalion officers were Lin Changfeng, Lin Changfu, and Li Benshen.

He did not have much trust in Zuo Liangyu's troops and the Eastern Route Army of the Shun Army. If he wanted them to accept reorganization, deprive them of the power to control the distribution of troops, money and food under their command, and even transfer some elite soldiers to form a new army, Zhu Cilang had to demonstrate strong strength.

These arrogant and powerful generals were used to being domineering and had long since disregarded the imperial court. Now that they had made great contributions, if one wanted to get their troops, one could not have any luck.

On the contrary, judging from their original historical performance, after the reorganization, the remaining troops of the Shun army were commanded by He Tengjiao, Du Yinxi and others, and became loyal to the Ming Dynasty.

Amidst the resounding sound of drums and trumpets, the fleet quickly set off, with warships of varying sizes leaving the dock one after another. On the main ship, Zhu Cilang stood at the railing of the wheelhouse, overlooking the entire fleet.

After a while, he turned his head and looked south with a serious expression on his face. His eyes gradually focused. To the south, the water and the sky met. Even the new city built on the back peak of Beigushan Mountain to prevent the Qing army from crossing the river from Yizheng was not visible at all.

The river breeze gently brushed across Zhu Cilang's slightly tired cheek, making him feel quite relaxed and happy. At this time, the river was rippling, the waves beat against the hull, the sound of the waves was pleasant, and in the distance a group of water birds were spreading their wings and soaring.

Zhu Cilang has been thinking these days about how to take advantage of the opportunity of rebuilding the Grand Marshal's Office and reforming the Ministry of War to enhance the status of military generals, while weakening the so-called heroes who have gradually evolved into interest groups.

Whether it was Ma Shiying, who looked like a treacherous minister, or Lu Daqi and others who claimed to be upright, they were all keen on contacting local people at this time, and countless gentry and scholars took the initiative to go and make friends with them.

Of course, Shi Kefa, Gao Hongtu and others were still of high moral character, but both sides also had their own positions and used their own power to provide convenience to those close to them, without leaving anyone out.

If left unchecked, the next imperial examination will surely lead to a scene that Zhu Cilang does not want to see, and those officials filling various ministries and departments will become the biggest obstacle to the institutional reform of the Ming Dynasty.

The problems of the Ming Dynasty could not be solved by simply killing a few corrupt officials. Appointing virtuous and capable officials was only a temporary solution, not a fundamental solution. Not to mention that Zhu Cilang had to deal with the increasingly fierce slave uprisings in Jiangnan and rectify and reform various tax systems such as land, grain, merchants, and salt, all of which directly conflicted with the interests of the old bureaucrats.

After all, Zhu Cilang was not a Qing Dynasty. At that time, there was no Eight Banners military and political group independent of the civil service system as the basic foundation for governance. Although the Palace Army and the Nanjing Beijing Camp had taken shape, they were still far from strong enough.

Therefore, he must continue to strengthen his base through early moderate reforms, and accumulate enough strength when those who will be on the chopping board in the future are unaware of it.
However, the disparity in status between civil and military officials in the Ming Dynasty was far from something that could be changed overnight. In this process, Zhu Cilang needed to rely on the power of the reformists in the civil service group to attack the diehards.

The most crucial thing among these is the army. As long as Zhu Cilang keeps the army firmly in his hands, he can always take the initiative in the struggle with the civil service group.

In fact, Chongzhen was aware of this problem at the beginning, but he had been in the deep palace for a long time and did not personally form a new army. Instead, he appointed a group of eunuchs who knew nothing about military affairs. The final result can be imagined.

Zhu Cilang naturally would not repeat the same mistake. There were a large number of capable ministers and generals under Zuo Liangyu and the Dashun East Route Army, and he had to personally subdue and control them.

Not long after the fleet set sail, Zhou Shixian arrived at the second floor of the wheelhouse, on the outer corridor where Zhu Cilang was. The Jinyiwei had already delivered the current military intelligence of the prefectures in northern Jiangxi and northern Hunan, as well as news of slaves from all over Jiangnan gathering to revolt.

"Your Majesty, after Zuo Liangyu passed away, Zuo Menggeng temporarily assumed his position. However, with the exception of Lu Guangzu, Hao Xiaozhong, Wu Xueli, and Zhang Yingyuan, the other powerful military leaders ignored him. Even Ma Shixiu now hangs around He Tengjiao and Ma Jinzhong all day.

However, Ma Jinzhong, Wang Yuncheng, Jin Shenghuan, Xu Yong, Li Guoying and others now obey He Tengjiao's command on the surface, but secretly extort gentry everywhere in the city where they are stationed, and even send troops out of the city to intercept food and wages.

Although He Tengjiao knew about this, he turned a blind eye and seemed to have no intention of dealing with them for the time being. He even sent someone to contact Du Yinxi in Changsha recently and seemed to be very interested in the bandits in Pingjiang and Liuyang.

After listening to this, Zhu Cilang nodded slightly:

"They have been secretly extorting gentry and secretly sending troops out of the city to plunder the state government's money and grain. The censor has already received reports. This time I went to Jiujiang to deal with these trivial matters."

He was not surprised by the behavior of military leaders such as Ma Jinzhong, Jin Shenghuan, Xu Yong, and Li Guoying. In the original history, most of these people could easily surrender to the Qing Dynasty and had no respect for the Ming Dynasty in their hearts.

However, these military leaders have served under Zuo Liangyu for so many years, and most of them were rebels themselves. It would be strange if they had any respect for the imperial court!

Now, each of them has made contributions in the "Nankang War", and of course they are arrogant and domineering, and even do not take He Tengjiao, the commander, seriously.

In the original history, He Tengjiao fled to Hunan to rectify the situation, and finally relied on his staff and the remnants of the Shun army to successfully stabilize the situation.

At that time, all of them were defeated by the Qing army, and the Dashun East Route Army was still considered traitors in the eyes of all parties. As the court minister who brought them together, He Tengjiao's prestige was much greater than it is now.

This is actually the reason why He Tengjiao is planning to attack the remaining Shun army in Pingjiang, Liuyang and other places at this time. The Shun army is now in the most difficult situation. If he takes advantage of the opportunity, he will definitely be able to recruit a group of people loyal to him.

Zhu Cilang could naturally think of this. Historically, He Tengjiao had used the Ming troops he had gathered from all over the country to check and balance the remnants of the Shun Army. In the end, he completed his control over the incorporated Shun Army by promoting lower-level generals of the Shun Army and excluding the top leaders of the Shun Army. Now the situation is just reversed.

After all, he had actually relied on this trick to complete the disintegration of the four towns in Jiangbei in history and formed the two main forces of the Palace Army and the Beijing Camp.

"In addition, Ma Jinzhong, Jin Shenghuan and other soldiers have been demanding pay and rewards since the Qing army withdrew. After Your Majesty arrives in Jiujiang, they will probably become even more aggressive. These soldiers are capable of doing anything." Zhou Shixian said worriedly.

"Don't call soldiers 'Qiuba' anymore from now on. Soldiers from the Palace Army and the Beijing Camp are not allowed to call them that. The same applies to soldiers from other units!" Zhu Cilang frowned and shouted.

Zhou Shixian was obviously shocked when he heard this. He immediately bowed his head, clasped his hands together and admitted his mistake, saying, "I obey your command!"

However, Zhu Cilang did not care at all about the soldiers under Ma Jinzhong and Jin Shenghuan demanding pay. He was worried that he would not have the opportunity to deal with these domineering military leaders.

"What's the situation with the rebel army?" Zhu Cilang asked again.

Zhou Shixian could see that Zhu Cilang was more concerned about recruiting the remaining rebels, so he specifically ordered the Jinyiwei to investigate the details.

"Your Majesty, the rebel army is currently concentrated in Pingjiang and Liuyang. Du Yinxi has already sent people to contact them and reached a gentleman's agreement with them. Changsha City and Yuezhou City are stationed with the Governor's Battalion and troops mobilized from Guangdong and Guangxi respectively. The rebel army should not dare to cause trouble.

According to military intelligence relayed by Du Yinxi's men, after repeated setbacks, the internal organization of the Chuang army was no longer as strong as it had been in the past. Tian Jianxiu, who had once fought alongside Liu Zongmin, now had only 7,000 soldiers left, with less than 2,000 in armor. Furthermore, with food supplies left in Xi'an and Wuchang lost, his prestige was almost gone. Yuan Zongdi, the former General of the Right Camp of the Chuang army, had only 3,000 soldiers left, and Liu Fangliang, the General of the Left Camp, who had fought alone, had only 10,000 soldiers.

However, their general Liu Tichun, a senior officer and a contemporary of Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong, commanded 30,000 men. His brother Liu Titong also had 20,000 men, bringing their combined forces to 50,000, with at least 8,000 in armor. Hao Yaoqi, the former deputy general, now commanded 40,000, while Wang Jincai boasted 80,000.

These generals with troops are not obedient to Tian Jianxiu and others. The rebel army has completely lost its unified command. Although those generals still retain the pseudo-marquisate and pseudo-earron titles in name, they are actually just a loose alliance of each other, each doing their own thing and keeping each other warm.

"There are still quite a few veterans left in the remnants of the Chuang army. After streamlining these 200,000 troops, we can at least gather 30,000 troops, which is enough to defend Yuezhou and Changsha next year."

Zhu Cilang smiled with satisfaction after hearing this. Du Yinxi and the Jinyiwei had done a great job. This time, he would definitely not allow this army to wander and eventually perish. In the original history, He Tengjiao, Zhang Kuang, and others harbored deep hostility towards the remaining Shun army, but their troops were no match for these defeated soldiers, forcing them to reach an agreement with them to jointly resist the Qing.

However, their governance capabilities were not enough to utilize the territory, financial and material resources of Hunan Province, and to support such a large army. They also did not have the military talent to command this army to recover Hubei and other areas. In the end, they implemented the wrong means of dividing and excluding the Dashun Army.

Faced with He Tengjiao's suppression and military incompetence, Tian Jianxiu, Zhang Nai, Yuan Zongde, Wu Ruyi, and even Liu Tichun, Hao Yaoqi and others, at the invitation of Tong Yanghe, the governor of Huguang and other places in the Qing Dynasty, sent envoys to Wuchang to contact the other side and request resettlement and supply of food and wages.

However, Tong Yanghe insisted on asking the Shun army to shave their heads, and the two sides ultimately failed to reach an agreement. This also led to the fact that a few months later, except for the two troops of Hao Yaoqi and Wang Jincai who remained in Hunan, Tian Jianxiu and other generals of the Eastern Dashun Army led their troops north into Hubei and joined the Western Dashun Army led by Li Guo and Gao Yigong who entered the Jingzhou area.

Zhu Cilang did not have a good understanding of the details of this period of history, but he knew that money and food were the key. Hunan had been through war for a long time, and unless the imperial court could directly control half of the farmland, the province alone would not be able to support these hundreds of thousands of troops and their families.

However, now that the Nanjing court has authority, Zhu Cilang can unify the allocation of grain, fodder, finances and taxes in the south, and Du Yinxi has prepared so long in advance, this is not a big problem.

In comparison, he is now more concerned about Ajige's deployment in Wuchang, Xiangjing and other places.

"What has Tong Yanghe been doing recently?"

"He is currently stationed in Wuchang with Wang Tizhong, and is recruiting the remnants of the surrounding rebel forces. Furthermore, after taking office, he has sent envoys everywhere, trying to appease civil and military officials in Yuezhou, northern Jiangxi, and other places, as well as the remnants of the rebel forces, promising them important positions. He also seems to have sent envoys specifically to contact He Tengjiao and Du Yinxi."

"This time, I'm afraid his efforts will be in vain. I will absolutely not let him succeed." Zhu Cilang said sternly, "The Jinyiwei will continue to closely monitor the movements of the remaining rebels. Have Du Yinxi stabilize them. Everything will be decided after I arrive in Changsha."

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

In fact, Tong Yanghe's situation at this time was quite similar to that of He Tengjiao in the original history. He did not have much strength. Before Ajige withdrew his troops, he appointed this Meilezhangjing as the "Governor-General of Eight Provinces" and left only a small number of Eight Banners soldiers to garrison Wuchang.

The Qing troops stationed in various parts of Hubei were almost all Shun traitors who surrendered on the way south. They were mainly Wang Tizhong and Zheng Siwei, and their military strength was relatively limited.

Now, the only thing Zhu Cilang is not sure about is whether Dorgon will continue to force shaving of the head. He feels that the other party will make changes according to the situation.

As a result, many soldiers in the Shun army might not be so determined to resist the Qing. Zhu Cilang had to take the initiative and gather these soldiers under his command.

After Zhou Shixian reported Wang Yingxiong's deployment in Zunyi, southern Sichuan, Chongqing and other places, Zhu Cilang immediately gave instructions, and new orders were issued from the main ship.

Zhu Cilang then returned to the temporary palace below the helm tower, where Chen Fuzheng was standing respectfully waiting.

"Have you got any idea about the Military Academy?" Zhu Cilang asked expectantly when he saw Chen Fu.

Chen Fu followed Zhu Cilang into the room in the rudder tower, took a deep breath, then clasped his hands and asked:
"Your Majesty, I have no idea. This 'Military Academy' is to train officers, I understand, but how to train them, what to learn, and who will teach them, I really haven't figured out how to implement it. I'm afraid I'll have to ask Instructor Zhang to do this. He's well-read and understands military tactics, so he should be better at this than I am."

Zhu Cilang looked at Chen Fu and thought that the other party had been forced into a corner, otherwise he would not have given up this lucrative job. In a sense, Zhang Huangyan was the one who shared his power.

"There's one thing you said just now that's correct—the Military Academy is used to train officers, but is it only used to train officers?"

"Your Majesty also wants to use this opportunity to reform the military system and build a strong army." Chen Fu became even more nervous when asked that, and immediately answered again.

"It seems you don't understand it thoroughly enough. You really need someone to assist you. Zhang Huangyan is indeed capable, but now is not the right time. He is currently being resisted by a group of battalion officers. If I transfer him to the Military Academy now, it will be difficult for him, and many people will not accept it."

Zhu Cilang paused, then continued:
"Chen Fu, you are also a veteran in the army. Let me ask you again, what is the difference between the Nine Frontier Army and the Eight Banner Army? And what is the difference between the Palace Army and the Beijing Camp and the Nine Frontier Army and the Eight Banner Army?"

After Chen Fu led his men to follow Long Nanxing, Zhu Cilang placed him in the position of General of Fengyang, responsible for curbing the forces of Liu Zeqing, Gao Jie, and Huang Degong. He was both a founding hero and Zhu Cilang's trusted general, yet he was not part of the Palace Guards, giving him a very unique position.

However, during the "Fengyang Defense War", he won the favor of Zhu Cilang with his outstanding performance and was rapidly promoted. His authority was once higher than Chang Denggui. Now he followed Zhu Cilang to northern Jiangxi and Changsha for inspection, which was actually a preparation for the establishment of a new army in the future.

In Zhu Cilang's opinion, his military talent was far superior to that of Tian Xiong, Bai Yongfu and others, but he was actually on par with Chang Denggui. What made him better than Chang Denggui was that he was very independent-minded and decisive.

In other words, Chang Denggui was more suitable as a deputy, carrying out various military tasks under Zhu Cilang. Chen Fu was more capable of standing on his own, not to mention the generals under him, who had been trained through dozens of battles, both large and small.

The "Military Academy" and a series of issues concerning military reform were the first questions Zhu Cilang threw at him.

"I think the difference between our Nine Frontiers Army and the Tartars' Eight Banners Army lies in their ability to fight in large groups. If a thousand men were to fight, the Nine Frontiers' elite troops would not be much weaker than the Eight Banners."

Chen Fu had participated in countless military discussions, so he was naturally familiar with this question. However, he also knew that Zhu Cilang's question was not about this, but about how the new army to be formed in the future could defeat the Tartar Eight Banner Army.

"But for large-scale military operations, as seen in the recent Jianghuai defense campaign, a front-line army is essential. The Beijing Camp regularly conducts drills with tens of thousands of troops, ensuring disciplined and well-behaved troops. The commanders of each camp obey orders, refusing to withdraw or flee without authorization, and giving their all.

The Nine Frontier Armies had been defeated repeatedly before because each battalion usually had only a few hundred or a thousand people in actual combat experience. If dozens of battalions suddenly gathered together to fight together, they would definitely be at a loss.

Since the Tartars started wreaking havoc in Liaodong, they have always led tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands of troops, each time they went out. Their cavalry had the advantage of mobility, so they were naturally able to win.

Your Majesty has been cleverly utilizing cities and rivers in this defense of Jianghuai, eliminating the Eight Banners' advantage in mobility while also controlling the scale of the battles. In each battle, the number of troops on either side has never exceeded 10,000, and this is precisely the reason."

Zhu Cilang did not get angry when he listened to these clichés that he had already said so many times in all the previous military meetings. Many things were said many times, but some people still did not get the point.

He nodded towards Chen Fu and said:

"In this battle, I have proven that as long as our equipment and training are good, our troops are no worse than the Tartars. Some of our soldiers can even defeat the Tartars in close combat.

As for the training of soldiers in each battalion, the generals and officers of the Palace Army and the Beijing Camp are all capable. The problem lies in how to further enhance this ability, train the soldiers to be stronger, and how you generals can teach your officers to command more soldiers.

This is the reason why I established the Military Academy! "

After hearing this, Chen Fu seemed to understand, but also seemed not to understand, and looked a little dazed.

Zhu Cilang looked at him, smiled, and continued:
"Three cobblers are better than one Zhuge Liang. If you all could read, you could summarize your experiences in training new soldiers, leading troops on marches, and commanding battles, pass them down, and continuously improve them. Eventually, you would be able to optimize the methods of training soldiers, leading troops on marches, and commanding battles.

From now on, situation strategy will be one subject, tactics of ambush, encounter, and pursuit will each be one subject, combat soldiers will be one subject, musketeers will be one subject, cavalry, artillery, and even night patrols will be one subject. Isn't the structure of the various departments of the Military Academy complete?

Now I want you to build the Ming Dynasty's military and political training system from scratch, step by step. The most critical thing is the inheritance and accumulation of professional military knowledge.

Only when the generals and officers of each army have inherited and accumulated this professional military knowledge, can our army finally achieve absolute victory over the Qing army at some point in time."

With such a clear indication, Chen Fu certainly understood. He was not a stupid person, but just a warrior who had just learned more than a thousand words. He just didn't know where to start for the time being as he had never done before.

But now, he already knew what he had to do - to train stronger soldiers, officers, and even generals in a shorter time and more efficiently!

Of course, he has not yet realized that the new system represented by this set of ideas and the power brought by this new system are a cross-era dimensionality reduction blow to the Eight Banners Army at that time.

(End of this chapter)