Strategy for the Revitalization of the Late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 243 Military Achievements
In the following period, Zhu Cilang inspected the newly built weapons workshops, barracks and other military facilities in Hanyang City, especially the progress of the teaching corps' work in the army and the operation of the weapons test site.

In order to gain an advantage in future sieges, especially against strong cities like Beijing, the Ming army's weapons workshop specially developed siege mortars, which were currently undergoing intensive experiments and improvements.

This type of artillery was not invented at this time, but it played a great role in historical sieges, which attracted the attention of officials from the "Yingtian Weapon Bureau".

You know, Beijing was originally one of the strongest cities in the world. Now the Qing Dynasty followed Zhu Cilang's example and added battlements and earth walls outside the city walls. It would be almost impossible to capture it without more powerful artillery.

At the weapons testing ground outside Hanyang City, after a series of loud explosions, Zhu Cilang looked at the several balls of earth that burst out on the hillside in the distance of the weapons testing ground, and a happy smile appeared on his face.

Chang Denggui saw this and said immediately:
"Your Majesty, the target heights at the various mortar test sites have been set to match the height of Beijing's city walls. Even the earthen walls above them are backed by newly built bricks and stones. The mortars are far more powerful than the Red Cannon. The artillery workshops and artillery are still continuously experimenting and improving them, and they will surely be even more powerful next year."

This "weapons testing base" and the associated weapons workshop were originally planned to be set up in Wuchang City, but because Wuchang had been severely damaged before, Zhu Cilang followed Du Yinxi's advice and set it up in Hanyang City.

As a result, part of the troops that were originally supposed to be deployed around Wuchang City were now stationed in Hanyang. At this time, there were two combat camps stationed around Hanyang, which was easy to defend but difficult to attack. Even if the Qing army launched a surprise attack, it would not be possible to win easily.

Of course, the most important thing is that the Palace Army is constantly fighting with the Qing Army on the Nanyang front. Although Hanyang is far away, it has convenient transportation and it is not difficult to transport weapons northward. It is a naturally suitable weapons testing base. Setting up a "heavy artillery weapons testing base" in Hanyang can ensure that the Palace Army can respond to weapon improvements more quickly and agilely.

Because of the establishment of this heavy artillery experimental base, the scale of Hanyang City's weapons workshop, which was originally a small-scale construction, has greatly increased.

"Well done. The most crucial thing now is to figure out how to break the city. Dorgon, Ajige and others are very perceptive. Although they may not have learned the fundamentals of our methods, they have learned a lot of the forms. However, this has already created a considerable obstacle for our Northern Expedition."

Zhu Cilang paused, then continued:

"When the time comes to recapture the capital from the Northern Expedition, I will ask you to show your true abilities and speak for yourself. Otherwise, I will not recognize what you say now!"

"Yes, Your Majesty!" all the ministers said in unison.

Zhu Cilang smiled, then frowned slightly and said:

"The Qing court will soon take action, and we must act quickly as well. By then, we will know whether those Eight Banners still have real capabilities after a battle! Attacking the city may be the top priority."

"The Tianqi Army and Xiaoqi Army have been training for so long, just waiting for the Tartars to come. Dorgon used to look down on us, but now he has been taught a good lesson by us and finally feels the pain. Let's show the Tartars that he can't compare with our Ming Dynasty not only in firearms but also in cavalry." Lin Changfeng then vowed.

"Admiral Lin, it's better to be cautious when dealing with a powerful enemy like the Tartars. Although we have never been afraid of the Tartars, they still have tens of thousands of cavalrymen. If they are fully mobilized, they should not be underestimated." Zhang Huangyan reminded from the side. He was still wary of the strength of the Eight Banners cavalrymen.

After hearing this, Zhu Cilang turned to look at Lin Changfeng and said:

"How well has the Heavenly Cavalry been trained? Talk alone won't do. I want to see actual results. It's not time to let our guard down yet. We must be careful in everything we do and have contingency plans in place for any unexpected events."

"I have followed your majesty's instructions. Most of the Tianqi Army has been withdrawn to the plains between Hanyang and Jingzhou for resettlement and training. As long as your majesty wants to test them, I can summon them within three days." As soon as Zhu Cilang finished speaking, Lin Changfeng hurriedly bowed.

"Okay, I will take a good look in three days to see if the Tianqi Army has made any progress in other areas besides the cavalry formation. You must arrange it immediately." Zhu Cilang gave the order immediately.

"Yes, I obey your command!" Lin Changfeng bowed and clasped his fists again.

Back to the present, after watching the powerful mortars and the upgraded new mine bombs and other battlefield weapons being tested in the weapons testing field, Zhu Cilang and a group of generals had dinner with the soldiers in the military camp.

However, Zhu Cilang did not leave directly. Instead, he came to the Military Affairs Department, which was under the supervision of the "Five Military Governor's Office" and was responsible for the "Officer School" located in the military camp. This was also the most critical matter of his inspection in Hanyang this time.

With the rapid expansion of the Palace Army, the training of officers has become the key to further strengthening the army.

However, due to the limitations of historical conditions, Zhu Cilang had a lot of homework to make up.

However, no matter how complicated anything is, there is always a focus in the end, and one of the most important focuses of military construction is system construction and officer training.

At this time, Zhao Zhengdong, Gu Defu, Sun Da and other officers at the rank of captain and above were attending classes.

This is actually part of the construction of the "Five Military Governor's Office". Due to various restrictions, the Officers' School could not be promoted quickly and was difficult to normalize. So now that there is finally time, Zhu Cilang directly requested that it be established in the main cities where the army is resting so that it can be normalized in the future.

The gradual transformation of the "Five Military Governor's Office" into a staff department was actually a major trump card for the Palace Army to deal with the Eight Banners Army of the Qing Dynasty.

You should know that this transformation brings not only revolutionary development of the military command and decision-making system, but also a series of far-reaching additional changes, one of which is higher requirements for officers and the resulting professionalization and institutionalization of officer training.

In other words, whether it is the military formation and discipline at the tactical level, or the professionalization trend at the officer and soldier level, they are essentially requirements for the institutionalization, professionalization, and specialization of the military after the advancement of military technology.

In fact, the training and cultivation of the army, like all types of production, can only unleash powerful combat effectiveness through the combination of professional division of labor, scientific management, and more advanced weapons. These three factors promote each other and are mutually causal.

Scientific technology, scientific management, science is the primary productive force!

As a man of the future, Zhu Cilang naturally understood these key factors, which would drive military civilization through revolution after revolution over the next two to three hundred years. His current mission was to accelerate this progress within the Ming Dynasty.

Zhu Cilang looked at the dozens of officers who were attending class and listened to the senior military officers of the "Five Military Commandery" who were talking on the podium, and nodded with satisfaction.

These professional and systematic military knowledge will make the officers of the Palace Army stronger and more resilient on the battlefield. Even if they are temporarily defeated or even dispersed, they will be able to evacuate the battlefield faster and in greater quantities to preserve their manpower.

Of course, these are just the direct results of education. The Palace Army, including the Heavenly Cavalry Army, from combat soldiers, cavalry to artillery, currently has thousands of centurions, hundreds of battalion commanders, and hundreds of thousand commanders. In the future, perhaps one, two, or even more military geniuses will emerge from among them, thereby promoting the military civilization of the Ming Dynasty and achieving leapfrog development!
With such a large base of officers, this is entirely possible.

In order to better prepare for the "Cavalry Assessment" on the third day, Lin Changfeng had already returned to the military camp outside the city in advance.

The next day, Zhu Cilang originally wanted to continue the inspection, but it suddenly started raining. Fortunately, the rain was not particularly heavy and stopped in the afternoon.

But after the rain, the mobilization of the cavalry became more troublesome, which put a lot of pressure on Lin Changfeng.

Zhu Cilang was not a rigid person, so he naturally understood this. Moreover, the rain, which was neither too heavy nor too light, did not affect his good mood, especially after he saw the prosperous scene of thousands of miles of ships between Hanyang City and Wuchang City and in front of the port.

You know, Hanyang is now the base of the infantry, but Wuchang is another important base of the navy. At the same time, Wuchang, like Hanyang, has become a huge warehouse and material transfer station.

The Ming Dynasty navy was continuously transporting food, fodder, and military equipment here from Jiangnan and other places, while the Huguang navy was also continuously transporting various supplies to Jiangnan in preparation for the upcoming Northern Expedition.

This is also a point where the Ming Dynasty is far superior to the Qing Dynasty. The marginal cost of water transportation is extremely low, which makes the cost of the Palace Army's war much lower than that of the Qing Army. The fragmented and mountainous terrain of the south has little impact on the Palace Army in this regard.

Not only that, the Yangtze River basin spans east and west, is wide and long, and while providing convenience for transportation, it can also block the actions of the Qing army and provide defensive advantages.

With the complete recovery of Huguang, the commerce and production in Wuchang City, Hanyang City and other places were restored and developed. The soldiers near these places were the largest consumer group.

Among the supplies brought by ship, in addition to the usual rice, pickled meat, tea and beans, there were also a variety of goods, including cloth, cigarettes and various small handicrafts.

Three days later, Zhu Cilang had finished inspecting all the work in Hanyang City, and immediately set off with Zhou Shixian, Chang Denggui, Zhang Huangyan and others to the northwest of Hanyang City, a plain suitable for cavalry training, which had already become a grassland.

Lin Changfeng was naturally responsible for this matter. Although he was not directly responsible for the specific cavalry training, all matters basically had to go through his hands.

Moreover, after being tempered in so many major battles, he has become the most authoritative cavalry commander in the Ming Dynasty. This is the result of fighting in one major battle after another.

Of course, Lin Changfeng naturally has middle-level generals under his command who are responsible for the cavalry training of the Palace Army. They are also the most valuable cavalry talents in the Palace Army today. Zhu Cilang had previously only allowed Lin Changfeng to lead a small number of Tianqi troops to the north. In fact, it was also to withdraw the troops as soon as possible and carry out cavalry training planning in the south.

As the sun rose in the early morning, flags were already flying on the grassland northwest of Hanyang City. Two battalions of cavalry from the Tianqi Army were now lined up on it. Zhu Cilang and a group of senior officers, civil and military ministers were standing on the high platform, looking at the soldiers in formation below.

Of course, this general's platform is just a place to watch the cavalry assemble. Zhu Cilang is the emperor who personally visits the battlefield. Naturally, he knows that to check the training results of the cavalry, he must see the cavalry in action, otherwise it will just be a show.

This is also the biggest difference between him and Emperor Chongzhen.

After all, the corrupt Beijing army, decorated by the ministers, was something Emperor Chongzhen could admire with great interest, thinking that it was a strong army.

"Let's start!" Zhu Cilang gave the order directly without any delay, looking at the assembled cavalry.

And then, a loud military bugle sounded on the general's platform, officers shouted continuously, and orders were quickly passed down.

At the same time, flags were flying in the cavalry ranks, and more than 6,000 cavalrymen quickly jumped on their horses. The armor on their bodies kept vibrating on the horses' backs, making a rustling sound.

As dozens of cavalry teams, led by their respective captains and lieutenant commanders, began to advance towards the hilly area south of the grassland, the rumbling sound of tens of thousands of horse hooves trampling the ground at the same time was earth-shaking.

Upon seeing this, Zhu Cilang immediately rode his horse and followed, surrounded by the imperial camp. Looking at the magnificent cavalry team, he felt inexplicably excited, as if he was back on the battlefield again.

On the gently sloping hills to the south, smoke and dust were already billowing, and the figures of cavalrymen were galloping and jumping everywhere. The shiny armor on the cavalrymen flashed countless dazzling spots of light under the sunlight.

Zhu Cilang and the generals around him soon arrived at a small hillside, a position with the best view. Dense horse heads were jumping in front of his eyes. These war horses were now moving to the other side, emerging from the plain like a rolling black tide.

At the same time, the commanding brass trumpet of the Cavalry Corps sounded a series of military calls for the army to form up, and the densely packed cavalry immediately began collective movement again.

They almost all used the "bureau" as the most basic unit, and they skillfully arranged themselves on the various gentle slopes of the hills and mountains. They soon formed a dense formation with two formations in the east and west, two formations in the front and two in the back, and three rows in each.

Among those cavalry formations, many were war horses with violent tempers and wildness that had just been captured from the Eight Banners. They were now constantly digging the ground. The breath exhaled by tens of thousands of war horses and the soldiers on them even caused a layer of fog to spread in front of the formation.

Hundreds of cavalry flags formed an imposing array on the hillside. The cavalry of each flag was about two steps apart on the left and right, and the distance between the front and back rows was more than three times that between the flags. The distance between the two military formations was also more than three times that between the front and back rows.

(End of this chapter)