Late Ming Dynasty: Special Forces in 1645

With the "help" of two generals sent by Li Zicheng, the assault team quickly completed the selection of able-bodied men.

The number of family members alone was over a thousand, but in reality, there were fewer than eight hundred soldiers available for combat.

No applicants with elderly family members, wives, very young children, or daughters!

The rest, those with families, are mostly fathers and sons, uncles and nephews, or maternal uncles and nephews.

The selected able-bodied men were registered and then had them camped not far from the main camp of the rebel army.

Li Chengming then borrowed about ten days' worth of food from Li Zicheng, preparing to leave early the next morning.

These 786 available soldiers were organized according to the military system of later generations.

Ten able-bodied young men form a class, with a class leader and a deputy class leader.

The three classes form a platoon, with a platoon leader and a deputy platoon leader.

Three platoons form a company, with a company commander and deputy company commander.

Three companies form a battalion, with a battalion commander and deputy battalion commander. Since the number of people is still relatively small, there is no need to set up a battalion for the time being.

The reason they were called "young and strong" instead of "soldiers" was because, in the eyes of Li Chengming and others, these people had not received any formal military training and could not be considered soldiers.

Of course, it's not entirely the fault of the rebel army that they hadn't received military training. These people were basically joined after the rebel army left Xi'an, and there wasn't enough time for them to be trained.

At the same time, military training means a lot of physical exertion and a large supply of money and food. In the eyes of the rebel army, it would be more practical to use the money and food to recruit soldiers and expand their power than to use it for training.

As for how military capabilities are acquired?

After several battles, only veterans with certain military capabilities survived.

Instead of going to great lengths to train new recruits, it's better to train them in real combat, allowing for human selection and survival of the fittest. This approach is faster and more efficient!

Using real combat training is a brutal but also very practical approach.

Basically all peasant uprising armies followed this approach, which is why the peasant uprising armies at the end of the Ming Dynasty swept across the country very quickly, but their combat effectiveness was also very poor. In the early stages, they always made a great show of force when facing government troops, but they often collapsed at the first contact.

It wasn't until later, with the veteran troops that Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong had accumulated through countless battles, that they had the strength to confront the government army head-on.

Li Zicheng's rapid rise after being repeatedly defeated by government troops was also due to these veteran soldiers.

Li Chengming did not intend to follow the path of Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong, but rather to take the route of elite troops.

Only by training elite troops, and a large number of elite troops, can we have the strength to defeat the Qing army and pacify the country.

To train elite troops, you need two things: money and supplies, and time!

These two things are what are troubling Li Chengming the most right now. While selecting young and strong men, Li Chengming is also thinking about these two issues.

Without money and supplies, you can't train elite troops; without elite troops, you can't buy time; and without buying time, you can't develop industry...

Therefore, the crux of the problem is still to raise money and supplies!

The next morning, the commando team left with the thousand or so men.

Before leaving, Li Chengming specifically went to Li Zicheng to resign:

"King Chuang, today's parting may be the last. The situation is becoming increasingly clear; the Qing army is too powerful for any one country or region to defeat. The decision rests with you, King Chuang. I have said all I have to say; farewell!"

Li Zicheng was also deeply moved, saying, "Thank you for your advice, sir. You are a man of great talent. If you stay, I can appoint you as my chief strategist, and I will consult with you on all matters, big and small. What do you say?"

Li Chengming shook his head. "My ambitions lie elsewhere. I hope the King of Chuang understands."

This wasn't the first time Li Zicheng had tried to recruit Li Chengming, but he had always refused. This was just the last attempt.

So even though he was directly rejected, Li Zicheng wasn't too surprised. Instead, he clasped his hands in a fist and palm salute to Li Chengming, saying, "Take care, sir!"

After bidding farewell to Li Zicheng, Li Chengming and his comrades led more than a thousand men eastward.

A thousand people may not sound like much, but there are quite a few on the street, especially since these thousand people come from different places and speak different dialects.

Most of them were illiterate and had no military training, which made the commandos realize firsthand how difficult it was to manage a thousand people.

In the words of the assault team:

"Forget about taking them out to fight, I'm afraid dozens of them will get lost even if we travel all day!"

"If we didn't control the food supply, I'm afraid they wouldn't listen to our orders. If the food supply were cut off, I'm afraid the troops would fall apart."

"If we can't show them the benefits within a certain period of time, I'm afraid we won't be able to continue leading this team."

Listening to his comrades' complaints, Li Chengming said, "What you're saying is actually quite normal. They were willing to join the rebel army because Li Zicheng was famous, and they hoped to live a life of luxury after joining."

But what do we have? Just a bunch of nobodys. It's understandable that they're resentful. So besides making sure they're well-fed, we also need to show them hope!

The beginning is always the hardest, and the assault team members knew this too. After a few perfunctory complaints, they went back to doing what they were supposed to do.

Continue on your journey until you find a suitable place to stay.

In the evening, the observer came over and said, "Captain, didn't you say we'd like to run into some bandits or something and plunder them? Well, believe it or not, there really is a group of bandits in the deep mountains ahead."

Other government troops and local militias would find it difficult to wipe out this band of bandits, but we are different. We have drones, which will allow us to easily find their weaknesses and outflank them after we have scouted the area.

Li Chengming smiled and said, "It's like someone's just bringing you a pillow when you're sleepy. How big is that mountain stronghold?"

The observer said, "Based on initial observation, the mountain stronghold can only accommodate about two hundred people at most, but there is a large open space in front of it. We can take these able-bodied men there to set up camp and spend the night."

As for the fact that attacking this mountain stronghold required passing through a narrow passage, which was easy to defend but difficult to attack, Li Chengming didn't pay much attention to it.

There are no fortresses that are easy to defend and difficult to attack in the face of modern weapons.

The mountain stronghold's gate is located outside a narrow passage about ten meters long and two meters wide. After passing through the narrow passage, the valley inside is spacious and flat, surrounded by mountains on all sides with steep cliffs, making it an excellent natural fortress.

The disadvantage of this terrain is that once it is breached, it's like being trapped in a jar, with nowhere to escape!

The assault team first went to the mountain gate to shout a message. The bandits guarding the gate were terrified when they saw a thousand people coming to attack. They quickly went inside to report.

Before anyone could come in, the assault team took the lead, and with a few brave young men, they killed four bandits and seized the entrance to the mountain gate.

The demolition expert blew the heavy gate inside to smithereens with explosives.

When the mountain gate and narrow passage were completely under control, the bandits inside were still bewildered. Seeing the young men pouring in, the bandits, filled with panic, finally made the right decision:

surrender!

We have no choice but to surrender; these thousand men, just standing together, exude an awe-inspiring presence.

In ancient times, a large number of people did not necessarily mean strong fighting power, but a large number of people certainly gave people courage!

Therefore, it's normal that a band of less than 100 people was terrified by a thousand.

Li Chengming had always admired people who knew how to be pragmatic and wanted to meet their leader to see what kind of person could be so pragmatic.

But upon inquiry, they learned that their leaders had already escaped through a secret passage.

Li Chengming was stunned and speechless for a moment.

It seems we can't underestimate anyone.

There is no fortress that cannot be breached, nor is there a dead end that cuts off all paths!