Di Ming

Chapter 153 "It's you!"

History records: The Ming Dynasty had garrisons, and the Qing Dynasty had the Eight Banners.

The Eight Banners system did not appear out of thin air. Nurhaci created the Eight Banners based on the Meng'an-Mouke system.

Of course, the garrison system didn't appear out of thin air. Its origin lies in the Yuan Dynasty's ten-thousand-household system.

Zhu Yin understood history and knew that although the garrison system and the Eight Banners system were very similar, they each had their own drawbacks and advantages.

Throughout history, the military advantages of the garrison system have lasted longer than those of the Eight Banners system.

The military advantage of the garrison system lasted for at least sixty years, until the beginning of the Zhengtong era.

However, the Eight Banners system became obsolete by the end of the Shunzhi reign, lasting only fifty years.

From a purely military perspective, the garrison system was clearly more successful than the Eight Banners system. This is because the garrison system was primarily a military institution from its inception.

However, the drawbacks of the Weisuo system far exceeded those of the Eight Banners.

The biggest drawback is that it reversed the course of history and went back to the old path of the hereditary military system of the Wei, Jin and Southern Dynasties.

The reason why the hereditary military system is the worst military system is that the identity of serving in the military for generations is solidified, which inevitably conflicts with the honor of soldiers.

Even though military households could later take the imperial examinations, it did not change the fundamental nature of the hereditary military system.

Under the hereditary military system, officers of the garrison became landlords at various levels, and the land of military households was annexed. In the end, they were nominally military households, but in reality, they were tenant farmers.

A century later, the military register of the Governor's Office showed two million soldiers, but it could not spare even tens of thousands of elite troops.

The Eight Banners system drew on the experience of the garrison system, prioritizing social organization over military organization.

There was no distinction between military households and civilian households, so it was not a hereditary military system.

Zhu Yin believed that the drawbacks of the Eight Banners system did not lie in the system itself. Its drawbacks lay in the fact that it was an organization of foreign colonial rule and a system of small clans governing large clans.

This makes it inherently reactionary, making it easy for it to become holistically corrupt and decadent through hedonism.

In short, it means: "The rapid decay of the Eight Banners was not due to a flaw in the system design. It was simply because it belonged to the Manchu Qing dynasty."

If the Eight Banners system had not been a Manchu system but a Han Chinese system, it would not have decayed so quickly and could have become an open military meritocracy, with people able to rise and fall, and enter and leave as they pleased.

Zhu Yin intended to use the Eight Banners as his base to counter the powerful vested interest groups of the Ming Dynasty.

Zhu Yin picked up the fire tongs, poked at the embers in the fire pit, and said again:
“Each of the Eight Banners was distinguished by its own banner, and each banner established its own fortress, registered its own records, and guarded its own territory.”

“The banner chief and others are not only military officers, but also township and village chiefs. The strength of a banner’s fighting force and the amount of grain it produces depend on the abilities of the banner chief. When going out to fight, the military achievements and battle results of your banner also depend on your abilities.”

“Banner chiefs are like temporary officials, serving a term of three years, with a maximum of two terms before being reassigned. They are either transferred to another banner or assigned to the military governor’s office.”

"Normally, all members of the Eight Banners, regardless of gender, should farm and fish, and in their spare time train in battle formations, horsemanship, archery, firearms, and sailing, as long as they are healthy and not old, weak, sick, or disabled."

"In this way, the whole nation will be a soldier. Not only will it be difficult for foreign enemies to invade, but production will not be delayed, ensuring a life of plenty, and the whole nation will also be martial."

“Otherwise, the proportion of soldiers is too high, and the burden on the people is too heavy.”

"The soldiers do not receive military pay. They are divided into four classes according to their abilities and seniority: elite soldiers, infantrymen, privates, and militiamen, and are given rewards and subsidies according to their respective classes."

Qi Jiguang nodded and said, "The method that Zhihu mentioned is the same one that I agreed to before. It's simply impossible to support 5,000 full-time soldiers when there are more than 10,000 civilians."

"If we were to take military pay, according to the standards of Qi Jiguang's army, the military pay alone would cost more than 100,000 taels of silver per year, which is too expensive."

Zhu Yin said, "Father is right, that's why we can't take pay. We don't take pay in peacetime, we only take pay when we're fighting."

“Normally, elite soldiers receive a training allowance of three taels per quarter. Privates receive two taels per quarter, and privates receive one tael per quarter. Militia members receive no allowance, only training rations.”

"In this way, not only will half of the military pay be saved each year, but it will also motivate soldiers to strive for excellence and differentiate between the good and the bad."

"Whenever there is a war, the best soldiers are selected first to go to war. The number of soldiers to be sent is determined by the number of soldiers needed, such as one out of five, one out of three, one out of two, or even the whole population is mobilized to be soldiers."

"Once we go to war, the corresponding subsidies will be doubled, which will be our military pay. If we achieve any results, we will also be rewarded after the war."

Upon hearing this, everyone felt that the Eight Banners system was very suitable for Daishan Island, which had a small population.

The Jinghai Navy is, after all, a maritime power. How many people can it possibly control? The population won't increase much for many years to come.

This is the biggest weakness.

The Eight Banners system created by Xiao Jieshuai was able to maximize combat effectiveness even with a sparse population.

If a small country does this, it could threaten a large country.

Zhang Jia thought of a problem: "This is good, but if we do this, then the distinction between soldiers and civilians will be blurred. Will there still be a standing army? Without a standing army..."

Zhu Yin laughed and said, "Brother Zhang, that's a good question. It can be summed up in eight words: 'On duty in shifts, guarding in rotation'!"

“Each of the Eight Banners selected two hundred soldiers to wear armor, totaling one thousand six hundred armored soldiers, to serve as garrison guards, rotating every three months.”

"These 1,600 armored soldiers are divided into four units: Daishan Camp, Qushan Camp, Xiushan Camp, and Yawei. Each camp has 500 armored soldiers, and the Yawei has 100 armored soldiers."

"All the warships are also divided into three battalions. The three battalions patrol the islands and are emergency response forces."

"As for the guards, these 100 men are responsible for guarding the military governor's residence and protecting the safety of the military governor, the military commander, and other generals."

"The 1,600 armored soldiers who were recently relieved of their posts are considered part of the regular garrison. However, these 1,600 men will not be replaced all at once; they will be replaced in batches..."

"We need to ensure that there are people leaving and entering the camp every month. Except for those on rotation, the others will do part-time farming and part-time training."

"In the event of a sudden war, those who have been stationed there before can immediately return to their camps, and the number of troops in each camp can increase dramatically."

Zhang Jia, who was always meticulous, nodded and said, "The commander is indeed very thoughtful. In this way, we can balance farming and warfare and be safe."

"So how should we arrange training for those who aren't on duty?"

Zhu Yin said, "Unless it's the busy farming season, we'll hold training every three days."

Everyone nodded. Three training sessions every three days—no more, no less—was just right.

It is clear that the commander had considered everything very carefully.

Zhu Yin also had knowledge of ancient military affairs, and had read Qi Jiguang's "New Book of Military Efficiency" and watched Nurhaci train his troops, so he had a lot of insights.

Those who don't understand ancient military training often assume that military training should be like that of modern armies, with high-intensity training every day, in order to produce elite soldiers.

This is a huge misunderstanding; it's far too simplistic.

The core of ancient military training consisted of large-scale drills (military formations) and physical strength training, along with endurance training. This required a great deal of energy.

Take, for example, large-scale military drills, which require long-distance movement, similar to playing football. Following flag commands, soldiers, clad in armor and carrying weapons, constantly move to different positions.

Not to mention mounted archery training and melee combat training.

In naval battle training, oarsmen must row at high intensity to increase power. Sailors must constantly pull the ropes and adjust the massive sails. Gunners must constantly adjust the heavy cannons and move cannonballs…

They're all physically demanding jobs.

Under the nutritional conditions of ancient times, long hours of training every day would make a person thinner and thinner, and their qi and blood would become increasingly depleted.

Even though carbohydrates are easy to replenish, trace elements are not.

Unless a diverse diet is achieved, with sufficient supplies of rice, noodles, meat, dairy, eggs, and vegetables, how could people at the grassroots level in ancient times possibly do that?

The Ming army's most elite nine border garrisons were supposed to receive only one liter of ration per day during peacetime and one and a half liters during wartime. This was the full ration; in reality, they received even less.

Even if the quota wasn't full, the logistical pressure of supplying military provisions was too much for the Ming court to bear, so they had to rely on merchants to transport the grain.

This is why elite troops in ancient times needed to build up their strength. In the environment of ancient battlefields, warriors who lacked strength and stamina would easily succumb to exhaustion and die.

Of course, a relaxed approach to training is even worse.

Therefore, in ancient times, it was necessary to strike a balance when training troops.

However, Zhu Yin still wanted to build a truly elite force that could train around the clock and be unparalleled in the world.

But not now; the time is not right.

It's not too late to start when he can provide sufficient nutrition.

It will be at least a year later.

After discussing the Eight Banners, Zhu Yin took out the blueprints he had drawn on the ship earlier.

There are shipbuilding blueprints for sailing warships, flintlock musket designs, and the most advanced European cannons of the 17th century...

These are things that can be built under the current conditions.

As for more advanced weapons, Zhu Yin could certainly come up with a plan. However, with current technology and materials, it's simply impossible to build them.

For example, what use is a design for an 18th-century British cannon if you don't have the large drilling machine or the metallurgical technology?

For example, even if someone drew up detailed blueprints, they couldn't build a steam engine now. It would only be possible after significant advancements in mechanical technology and materials science.

Zhu Yin handed a stack of design drawings to Ding Huogen and said:
"This is something new that I came up with after being inspired by the blueprints of the Governor's Palace in Manila and after much thought."

"Once we build them all, our warships, cannons, and muskets will be better than those of the foreigners."

Ding Huogen took it and looked at it for a while, his eyes filled with shock.

His expression was similar to Qi Jiguang's after seeing these blueprints.

When Qi Jiguang saw these drawings, he was amazed by Zhu Yin's ingenious ideas.

He didn't know if he could actually build it, but he knew that being able to draw something like this was no small feat.

This isn't just a child prodigy; this is a genius of unparalleled talent.

"General, we might be able to make these things!" Ding Huogen said excitedly. "This time, we brought back five or six hundred craftsmen, as well as iron, copper, and wood."

Zhu Yin laughed and said, "This is the second major thing: to set up a shipyard, an arsenal, and an ironworks!"

"All the skilled craftsmen were put to work in the three factories: shipbuilding, cannons, muskets, gunpowder, armor, and swords."

"We also need to recruit a group of apprentices as assistants to work on the site." "We have the money; even if it costs a lot of money, we'll make it happen."

Zhu Yin patted the thick stack of documents as he spoke, “How to build the three factories, how to set up the personnel, how to divide the departments… it’s all in here. Just follow the instructions.”

"The iron smelting methods here were also inspired and improved by foreigners; we can give it a try..."

Zhu Yin's materials contain information about 18th-century iron smelting techniques.

Many online sources from later generations claim that the iron smelting technology of the Ming Dynasty was so advanced, but this is all wishful thinking and a case of drawing up targets after the fact.

They found evidence that the Ming Dynasty's iron smelting technology was very advanced, but they didn't know that there was much more real evidence of its backwardness.

In reality, anyone with a more objective perspective would know that the smelting technology of the Ming Dynasty couldn't have been that good.

Two catties of iron imported from the Western Regions were worth three taels of silver in the Ming Dynasty!
The swords worn by high-ranking military officers in the Ming Dynasty required imported iron to be forged.

Generals like Qi Jiguang repeatedly complained that the Ming army's swords were inadequate.

Is this what advanced smelting technology looks like?
The truth is that metallurgical technology in the Ming Dynasty was in a period of significant decline.

Qi Jiguang suddenly sighed and said:

"The court's neglect of craftsmen and lack of ambition have truly led to major setbacks. Take iron smelting and forging, for example; the Ming Dynasty is already inferior to others in these areas."

Ding Huogen and others felt this deeply.

They had all served in the Ming army and knew how poor the quality of the government troops' swords and muskets was.

Poor quality is not only due to shoddy workmanship and shoddy materials, but also because the iron used is of poor quality.

Zhu Yin bluntly stated, "The court values ​​scholars above all else, and even despises military officers, let alone craftsmen and technicians?"

“Disregarding military men resulted in the neglect of military equipment, and the southern pirates and northern barbarians caused trouble for many years.”

"Then the craftsmen will be looked down upon even more, and the result is predictable."

As a time traveler, Zhu Yin was naturally very clear about this.

In the Ming Dynasty, iron smelting technology had declined to the point where crucible iron was widely used, even lagging behind Japan and far inferior to that of the Northern and Southern Dynasties period.

In the early Ming Dynasty, Emperor Taizu closed the state-owned ironworks.

The reason is: we can't use it all.

The so-called "unused iron" actually means there's too much low-quality iron and too little good iron.

As for metallurgical theory, the gap between China and the West is even greater.

The most critical problem was that the Ming Dynasty generally used coal to smelt steel, resulting in inferior quality iron.

Of course, the iron used in the Qing Dynasty was so inferior that it was disgusting; a large amount of crude iron could even be broken by a single drop and snapped in two by hand.

In fact, it wasn't just iron smelting; the entire technological system of China regressed during the Ming and Qing dynasties.

You'll know the answer if you think about it.

How could a dynasty that spent hundreds of years studying the Four Books and Five Classics for the imperial examinations and despising "strange and ingenious techniques" not have regressed in science and technology?
It's a pipe dream that such a social atmosphere can lead to progress.

Zhu Yin seized the opportunity to say, "The Ming Dynasty is now inferior to others in shipbuilding, firearms, iron smelting, and other skills because the Ming Dynasty only values ​​the Four Books and Five Classics and does not value the investigation of things and the truth."

"Not valuing the investigation of things and the truth?" Everyone seemed to be deep in thought when they heard this.

Zhu Yin's view was not new at all in the Ming Dynasty.

During the late Ming Dynasty, many people came to this understanding after being influenced by Western knowledge.

But these people are powerless to change reality.

If the Manchus had not entered the Central Plains and continued the history of the late Ming Dynasty, the Ming Dynasty might have corrected its mistakes and undergone reforms.

This is highly probable, because a wave of thought advocating for major reforms had already emerged by the late Ming Dynasty.

Unfortunately, the Manchu conquest of China interrupted all of this, and ultimately, they missed their chance.

Ding Huogen held the materials compiled by Zhu Yin and felt their weight.

Building three factories would cost a lot of money and carry significant risks. It's possible that in the end, the money will be spent, but the project won't even be completed.

But since the commander-in-chief and the military commander have been decided, we should follow their orders.

If successful, the strength of the Jinghai Army will soar to new heights.

Finally, they discussed the warhorses again.

Qi Jiguang suggested that they go to Korea to buy horses.

Despite its small size, North Korea possessed a considerable number of warhorses. Furthermore, it had easy access to trade with the Jurchen people.

Those yangban nobles in Korea would do anything for money.

As long as they're paid, they'll sell horses to pirates, or even to Japanese pirates; they'll do it.

Zhu Yin said, "My godfather is right. Although the warhorses in Korea must be expensive, this is the only way."

Although he could go to Liaodong, if he were caught by the Ming army while smuggling warhorses, he would be finished.

Buying warhorses from North Korea is the only feasible solution.

As for the domestic situation... even the Ming army itself was short of warhorses. Which of the nine cavalry garrisons wasn't short of horses?

The group discussed the matter until very late, and only after Zhu Yin gave many instructions did they announce the end of the meeting.

Early the next morning, Zhu Yin and Ning Caiwei, sisters, paid New Year's greetings to Qi Jiguang.

The generals also extended New Year's greetings to Qi Jiguang and Zhu Yin.

The sixteenth year of the Wanli reign finally arrived.

Zhu Yin was another year older.

Zhu Yin, in his capacity as military governor, immediately rewarded his generals with gold, silver, gemstones, fur coats, milk powder, and other items.

This was the first time Zhu Yin had bestowed rewards upon his generals.

Then, he announced the establishment of the Eight Banners and personally appointed the banner chiefs, deputy banner chiefs, and captains of the Eight Banners.

He also decided that he would personally come to Daishan Island to present the flag six months later.

On the evening of the first day of the lunar new year, Zhu Yin secretly met with his spies on the island, rewarded them, and assigned them new tasks.

On the second day of the lunar new year, after arranging everything, Zhu Yin, Qi Jiguang, and others took a boat back to Nanjing.

This time, Zhu Yin not only brought supplies such as sugar, but also selected more than a dozen reliable guards to increase his security.

Ning Caiwei also selected seven or eight brave and skilled female soldiers.

They spent a lot of money on tolls along the way, and finally the boat returned to Nanjing on the fifth day of the first lunar month.

Looking at the majestic city of Nanjing, Qi Jiguang said with deep emotion:

"After so many years, I have finally returned to Nanjing."

"Chih-hu, let's go pay our respects at Xiaoling Mausoleum first."

Zhu Yin shook his head: "My godfather has been stripped of his post and removed from the register of officialdom. How can he be allowed to worship at Xiaoling Mausoleum?"

Qi Jiguang then realized that he was no longer qualified to pay homage at Xiaoling Mausoleum.

"Let's go," Qi Jiguang said, his expression somewhat dejected. "To your house."

Zhu Yin smiled and said, "Father, we have a guest advisor in the family, who can be considered an old friend of yours."

Qi Jiguang couldn't help but ask, "Who is it?"

Zhu Yin kept everyone in suspense, saying, "You'll find out when Father gets there. Consider it a surprise for Father."

Qi Jiguang shook his head and didn't ask any more questions, instead chuckling.

"What kind of surprise could it be? Could that person be an absolute beauty?"

Zhihu is too clever; he's not like a child, he's more like a monster.

Only at this moment does it reveal a childlike innocence.

A large group of people changed into horse-drawn carriages and braved the snow to return to Qingqiaoli. When they arrived at the Zhou family villa, the first thing they saw was a large area of ​​newly built workshops.

Ning Caiwei hadn't been back for several months, and when she saw that the candy factory was finally completed, she was immediately a little excited.

My candy factory! The starting point of Ningyin Group!
As everyone entered the courtyard, Qi Jiguang looked around curiously, his gaze suddenly sharpening.

A familiar old man, dressed in a fox fur coat, stood in front of a blooming red plum tree, painting on the snow as if no one else was around.

"Huh?" Qi Jiguang exclaimed in surprise when he saw the figure.

The old man in the fox fur coat turned his head and immediately saw Qi Jiguang. He blinked and exclaimed "Eh!" His ink-splattered brush stopped in its tracks.

"General Qi?"

"Mr. Xu?"

"It's you!" The two said these three words at the same time.

Then, they all burst into laughter, looking up at the sky.

"Hahaha!"

P.S.: Volume 2 is finished, and Volume 3 starts tomorrow, so from tomorrow onwards, the titles will be four characters each. Regarding the Five Elements Flag, it's actually unrealistic because the five elements are mutually destructive, and each has symbolic elements that can easily cause ideological conflict. As for the Ming Dynasty's smelting technology, that's definitely a subject of debate. Thank you, goodnight.

(End of this chapter)