The Soldier of the Red Mansion

Chapter 137 The Future of Hexiying
The rules in the capital are strict.

Wang Xin began to understand a little.

If you are in Yangzhou, you can just say hello to Lin Ruhai for many things.

This couldn't be done in the capital, where every step had to be recorded and traceable. Military drills not only required approval from the Governor's Office, but also from the Ministry of War and even the eunuchs in the palace.

Chen Yan, the Deputy Minister of the Ministry of War, rode in a sedan chair and arrived at the gate of the Hexi Xiaoying camp.

Upon learning of Chen Yan's arrival, Wang Xin came out to greet him in person.

Looking at the newly renovated barracks and the vibrant atmosphere, Chen Yan praised: "General Wang's management of the army is admirable."

Last year, this person took a shift from the local area to Beijing. I handled the procedures for him to be promoted to a guerrilla general myself. As a result, he has become a guerrilla general. He is only in his twenties and is a little too young.

Yuanwailang is of the fifth rank, and Youji General is of the third rank.

Although there is a big gap in grades, there is a difference between civil and military.

What's more, the Ministry of War is the superior department of the Beijing Camp, and it is the guerrilla general who has to flatter the Deputy Director of the Ministry of War. If it were Jia Zheng, he would be the Deputy Director of the Ministry of Works and his status would be higher.

Because Jia Zheng is not an ordinary official, but one of the important figures of a faction.

Official affairs are not just about rank.

It also depends on authority, relationships, influence, etc.

Just like Zhu Shenggong in the Eastern Army was just a servant, but who dared to treat him as just a servant.

Wang Xin was kind and invited Chen Yan to the main hall of the barracks. He had tea brought up and after a few pleasantries, Chen Yan explained his purpose. "The document you submitted to the Ministry of War has already been replied to, asking you to write a detailed set of regulations."

I didn't expect this to happen, so I asked curiously, "Is there something wrong?"

"It's a good thing."

People love to add icing on the cake. Chen Yan first gave a positive comment before smiling and saying, "They asked you to write because they value it. If they didn't value it, they would either approve or reject it."

It turned out to be the case.

However, how detailed should it be and what the superiors care about? Since Chen Yan has come, of course he has to ask clearly. Wang Xin asked in detail, who paid attention to it, what they wanted to see, and so on.

Chen Yan shook his head: "There are some things that even I don't understand, how can I answer you?"

Looking at the young general in front of him, Chen Yan patiently reminded him, "Don't worry about who's in charge. Just do your job with your usual meticulous attitude and wait for the results."

This is true.

Wang Xin agreed in his heart.

No matter when, opportunities come to those who are prepared.

I want to build a strong army, which is not only good for myself, but also for the Great Zhou and my subordinates. In short, it will be beneficial in every way. However, I will not force it.

If the higher-ups know that it is a good thing and support me, then I will do it with all my heart.

If the higher-ups don't support me, then it's no harm to just live my own life behind closed doors.

This guerrilla general of mine is not fake.

The loyalty of his subordinates is not fake.

Jiang Taigong was fishing, and those willing to take the bait.

"When do you want it?"

"The sooner the better."

"So I'll write it now?"

"Now?" Chen Yan looked surprised.

Wang Xin did what he said. He asked someone to bring pen and ink, spread them out on the desk, and started writing in front of Chen Yan. Chen Yan became more and more curious and came over to watch.

Wang Xin first wrote about the advantages and disadvantages of bird guns and Portuguese lances, then compared bows and arrows, and even the application ideas of the two, and then the tactics on the battlefield, one link after another.

Chen Yan didn't know what was good or bad, but when he saw such detailed numbers and text, he secretly admired them.

This man truly lives up to his reputation.

Although he is very young, he is calm and steady in his work, and he knows what he is doing. The casual attitude of this person shows that he is not just casually thinking about military training, but has thought it through carefully and has real ideas, otherwise he would not do it so easily.

After a while, Wang Xin finished writing, waited for the writing to dry, and then handed it to Chen Yan.

After seeing Chen Yan off, Wang Xin called Zhang Can and others.

"The firearms drill is probably accurate."

Since the higher-ups were paying attention, it meant they approved of the plan. They just needed to learn more, which shouldn't be a mistake. Wang Xin told everyone, "Five hundred musketeers and one hundred and twenty artillerymen will be selected from the entire army, based on various assessments."

Everyone looked serious.

This is not just a simple firearms training, but concerns the future of the entire Hexi Camp.

Because there are two thousand people in the Hexi camp.

We also need to train cavalry and improve the management of the rear camp. Now we need to transfer 620 soldiers, so the Hexi camp will be divided into three parts: one cavalry, one rear camp, and one firearms unit.

There are also archers and others in the camp, whose position will be auxiliary.

"The general requires every artillery soldier to be good at mathematics. Isn't this too much to ask?" Tang Ping couldn't help but speak up. Not only the soldiers under him, but many generals also complained.

In the past, students had to recognize words and write, and many people couldn’t keep up. Now, arithmetic has to be added, and it’s not simple arithmetic, but all kinds of arithmetic methods that seem astonishing, and even more people can’t keep up.

"If you're not good at it, practice more. If you can't keep up, learn more." Wang Xin shook his head and refused.

Nothing should be set in stone.

For example, in business, if businessmen can step out of competition, then they will be more energetic, have greater potential and be more competitive.

Another example is the army.

The army should never be a stagnant pool, but a place where the soldiers come and go as they please.

This not only improved the overall quality of the army, but also met the needs of the battlefield. The two thousand men in the Hexi Camp would suffer casualties in every battle. After ten battles, the Hexi Camp would be ruined. Therefore, they needed to constantly bring in and out men, increasing the number of men to reduce the casualty rate to a level acceptable to the soldiers.

But many generals were unwilling to do so.

Which general would be willing to let go of the servants he had worked so hard to train and the trust he had built up, and then recruit new ones?

This is also the reason why many generals are unwilling to use their elite troops to fight, but war itself requires the deployment of elite troops.

Wang Xin has his own advantages.

Not only soldiers need to make progress, but officers need to make progress as well. Every few years, some soldiers need to be removed, and some new soldiers need to be recruited, and even a group of officers need to be eliminated. Only in this way can the army remain young forever.

Others can't do it, or are unwilling to do it.

You have to do it yourself.

Because he is not afraid of his subordinates being indecisive, those who are indecisive will be eliminated in the first batch.

Such high requirements require loyalty from subordinates. Others don’t know how to achieve it and need to guess. I don’t need to, but I know how to do it. The old saying goes, it just depends on whether you are willing to do it.

Four words: lead by example.

These four simple words can stop most people in their tracks.

Therefore, Wang Xin was never afraid of others learning from him.

What's more, I am not that simple and have a lot of selfish motives. I dare to do this because I have my own advantages, and this is the best way for me.

He can lead an iron-clad army, and they are loyal to him.

It's not to harm anyone.

Don't harm others, but be careful of others harming you.

Wang Xin's request was granted.

Twice a month.

Each session lasts five days.

It is about eighty miles from Tongzhou City to Xianghe. The Hexi Camp is west of Tongzhou City, and the distance is even longer, about ninety miles. The roads between the two places are smooth and travel is convenient, so in five days, two days are spent going and two days returning, and there is another day for training.

In addition, he requested the Ministry of War to arrange for the Armory to supply gunpowder, lead bullets, artillery shells and other supplies to the Hexi small camp.

The Armoury Bureau of the Great Zhou Dynasty was responsible for supplying military equipment to the Beijing camp. In addition to swords, guns, clubs, hammers, etc., there were also various firearms such as muskets and rockets, as well as gunpowder, lead bullets, etc. It was just a matter of standard. Another problem was that the firearms currently manufactured by the Armoury Bureau were of varying quality.

Firearms are different from weapons.

Poor quality firearms can cause explosions and cause casualties to soldiers, which is one of the main reasons why soldiers in the Beijing camp have been reluctant to use firearms in recent years.

Zhu Shenggong arrived at the military camp early.

The Hexi small camp was the first to practice firearms. Not only did the Eastern Army send people to observe, but also officials from the Ministry of War and eunuchs from the palace.

Zhu Shenggong treated Wang Xin as his own, and asked casually, "Do you trust foreign craftsmen so much?"

“I don’t believe it.”

"Then why did you spend so much money to purchase it?"

"I believe in interests." Wang Xin said with a smile.

Zhu Shenggong was completely confused.

Wang Xin didn't keep the secret and explained, "If I were to buy raw materials like flint from those foreign merchants, they would pass off inferior goods as good ones. But I'm buying their finished products now, and to protect their reputation, they won't do anything bad."

The ancients were not stupid, and neither were the ancients of foreign countries.

If the Ming Dynasty seeks foreigners to purchase firearms, the foreigners will provide qualified firearms.

But if the Ming Dynasty looks to foreigners to purchase materials and raw materials, foreigners will provide inferior materials.

For example, the flint. The flintlock was invented in the late Ming Dynasty, but because the quality of domestic flint was poor, people tried to purchase it from the Spaniards. The Spanish merchants deliberately provided inferior flint, which in disguise blocked the popularization of the flintlock in the late Ming Dynasty.

Another example is sweet potato.

The Spaniards brought this plant from the American continent, which is 100,000 miles away, to Luzon for cultivation. Because there were few Spaniards in Luzon and they could not arrange for more people to farm, they brought this plant with them.

Knowing how powerful this plant is, they only plant it near the castle.

The area around the inland fortress of Luzon is a restricted area, and neither the indigenous people nor the Chinese are allowed to approach.

There were also regulations at the dock that anyone who dared to hide sweet potatoes would be hanged, so the sweet potatoes were brought to Luzon for decades before a sea merchant named Chen Zhenlong succeeded. He risked his life to entangle the sweet potato vines in a water-drawing rope and smuggled them back to the country.

Because there were only a few plants, the initial cultivation took time. After thirty or forty years, sweet potatoes began to become popular in the south, and after another twenty or thirty years, they became popular throughout the country. By that time, it was already the Qing Dynasty.

Knowing the nature of foreigners, Wang Xin was not too worried.

Today's Portuguese are focused on business and are willing to sell anything for profit. Just like in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, there are fewer rentiers and more cattle and horse people, and the nobles are very respectful of etiquette.

Even now.

There are not many businessmen who have the ability to engage in ocean trade, and currently they all pay more attention to their own reputation.

As the number of maritime merchants increased, morals became worse and worse.

Zhu Shenggong was full of admiration, "I didn't expect that you are not only good at leading troops, but also good at business."

Wang Xin looked confident.

If you go into business, there is a high chance that you will become a tycoon.

It’s a pity that it’s not appropriate to make business your main occupation now.

There is nothing wrong with doing business.

What could be wrong with a kitchen knife?

(End of this chapter)