Guide to Traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty.

Chapter 860 0855 [Luoyang Military Academy]

The Kaifeng Military Academy has moved to Luoyang, and its address is chosen to be on the western foot of Wan'an Mountain.

At the north foot is the Tiansijian Horse Farm, and further north is the royal garden Dongxi Garden.

As an emperor, after the military academy moved here, Ju Ming naturally wanted to visit it.

Thanks to greetings in advance, teachers and students attended class as usual.

"See Your Majesty!"

Vice-principal Zhang Bor led several teachers and waited at the school gate for a long time. When they saw Zhu Ming, they immediately gave a military salute.

The principal of the military academy can only be the emperor. Firstly, it makes it easier for the emperor to control the officers and the army. Secondly, it also urges future emperors to pay attention to the military.

Zhu Ming responded with a military salute and was surrounded by everyone.

Zhang Xian and Yang Zaixing are also there. They have been coming to the military academy to select students in the past few days.

Moreover, they were students sent by various militaries for further studies, and they looked down upon ordinary students - these were originally middle and low-level officers or soldiers, and they were chosen to be sent to the court to learn the art of war because of their excellent performance and literacy.

"How's the selection going?" Zhu Ming asked as he walked.

Zhang Xian replied: "We have almost selected them. When they graduate in early summer, they can be taken to the south to train new troops."

Yang Zaixing said: "These students are all excellent, and they all have the talents of generals."

Ju Ming said: "It is still not possible to encourage growth. When the new army is established, they can be promoted to two levels according to their original military ranks. Specific military positions can be directly promoted to three levels as appropriate. For the deputy generals and senior officers of the new army, you must contact the Ministry of War. The Ministry of War selects and transfers generals.”

There is no rule without rules, and the Ministry of War cannot always be treated as a decoration.

After Ju Ming no longer personally took charge of the Privy Council, the Privy Council and the Ministry of War gradually became regularized, and the various powers of the Ministry of War were slowly restored.

On the playground entering from the gate, there were students from two classes, arranging for a confrontation.

The spear heads were removed and dipped in lime and used to poke each other.

Continuing forward, a class of students was practicing martial arts, holding a gun and repeatedly stabbing a piece of wood hanging in the air.

Zhang Bor said: "These are ordinary students who have never been on the battlefield. In their first year at school, they focus on training martial arts, formations and physical strength. The students sent by the various armies for further studies are different, and they pay more attention to the study of the art of war. ”

For ordinary students in the military academy, according to Ju Ming's idea, scholars from various provinces were encouraged to sign up.

However, due to age constraints, very few talents signed up. Young people, who have already been admitted to the scholar examination, naturally also want to be admitted to the imperial examination and the imperial examination.

As a last resort, Ju Ming issued an order to government schools in various places to encourage government students at county school level or above to register.

One after another, in recent years, more than 300 scholars have chosen to abandon literature and join the military to attend military academies.

Mainly divided into the following categories:
The first type is the disciples of generals. Generals in the former Song Dynasty or Ming Dynasty found that their descendants were not good candidates for the imperial examination, so they simply threw themselves into military academies early to find a way out.

The second type is the children of aristocratic families. They are mainly sons of common people or descendants of side branches. It may be okay to be a scholar, but it is basically hopeless to be a Jinshi. Being thrown into a military academy can develop connections in the military.

The third type is children from poor families. The family had some money to support their son's education, but because of lack of financial resources or because the imperial examination was too difficult, he also tried to take the path of a military academy.

Zhang Boring said: "The elimination rate of the family members is very high. They have a good academic foundation, but they do not pay attention to knowledge in the first year and are treated as new recruits and drilled hard. Some people often cry during the training, and some people run away in the middle of the night, or hide in There are no exercises in the barracks.”

"Take care of it!" Zhu Ming said with a smile.

Zhang Bor also laughed: "The first time you make a mistake, it's just a warning. The second time you make a mistake, you'll be punished by running. The third time you make a mistake, you'll be hit with a military stick. The fourth time you make a mistake, you'll be directly expelled. After expulsion, you have to notify the government where you are registered. , this person will never be allowed to take the imperial examination again. Since the establishment of the military academy, more than 20 people have been expelled, more than 80% of whom belong to aristocratic families. "

Ju Ming nodded in approval: "It should be so strict."

Zhang Tong added: "The new students who will be enrolled this spring are all soldiers who have made great contributions in defeating the Jin Dynasty. Although they must be literate to be selected, many of them can only barely write letters. In the first three months, we mainly teach them to read and write, and take time to practice every day. In fact, we have not formally taught them the art of war."

"Let's start today, choose those with the best culture." Ju Ming decided to audit a class.

Zhang Boring immediately went to make arrangements, and soon eighteen students were called to a classroom to start classes.

These eighteen people are all from the northern armies.

The highest level is a hundred-man general, and the lowest level is just a commander.

They were very excited to see the emperor and sat upright in class.

Zhang Bor himself taught as a teacher, and while writing on the blackboard with chalk, he said: "Open the "Synopsis of the Art of War" in your hands. This book was compiled under the personal guidance of His Majesty, and was co-authored by the Privy Council, the Ministry of War and the Lieutenant General of the Army. Finally, It was compiled by Mr. Zhong who has already become an official..."

"Since the Qin and Han Dynasties, there have been four schools of military strategists. They are military power and strategy, military situation, military yin and yang, and military skills."

"Military strategy covers the widest range and involves many elements. Your Majesty summarizes it as strategy and tactics, including temple calculations, military system, logistics, intelligence, tactics... and so on."

"The military situation mainly focuses on tactical application."

"Bing Yin Yang pays attention to astronomy, geography and formations."

"Soldier skills include the recruitment, training, and management of the army, as well as logistics such as military pay, military rations, and uniforms, as well as the research, manufacture, and use of weapons." "The four factions of military strategists have different emphases, and some overlap with each other. . Now we combine it and reclassify it into eight contents, namely: military system, logistics, intelligence, weapons, recruiting and demobilization (recruitment and discharge), drills, strategy, and tactics."

"Today we're going to talk about the military system."

"In the Ming Dynasty's military system, the emperor is the supreme commander of the entire army, followed by the cabinet, the Privy Council and the Ministry of War. The cabinet decides whether to send troops, and reports to the emperor for permission. The Privy Council decides how, when and where to send troops. The Ministry of War is in charge of selecting generals, Recruiting troops, training, and liaising with the Ministry of Household Affairs and the Ministry of Works for logistics.”

"The national army is divided into field army, garrison army and Cao army. The field army is the main elite force, including the Forbidden Army, which is also the field army. The garrison army is stationed in various places. It is responsible for conquering rebels and bandits in the country in peacetime and fights with the field army in wartime. The Cao army is responsible for transportation. During the war, the civilian population was also temporarily under the jurisdiction of the Cao Army, and the Cao Army also participated in the battle at critical times. "

"Each province has a general corps and a capital commander. The general corps is responsible for leading the army in combat and daily drills. The capital commander is responsible for recruiting, demobilizing and providing logistics. The general corps is directly under the Ministry of War. In a peaceful and prosperous land, there is no need for a general corps and daily drills are conducted. Give the capital a command. In war-torn areas, a province can have two or three general troops."

"There is also the position of deputy marshal, which is only set up during wars and is used to command the troops of several provinces. After the war, the deputy marshal must be dismissed. The position of marshal can only be temporarily held by the emperor, prince or prince."

"And the Protectorate's Mansion..."

"Let's talk about military ranks and military positions..."

Eighteen students listened carefully.

Some people seemed very excited. Although they had been in the army for many years, it was their first time to understand the full picture of the Ming Dynasty's military system.

Some people were slightly disappointed and felt like dozing off while listening. They came to learn the art of war, but it turned out that there were all kinds of institutions, official positions and systems, and they couldn't remember so much at once.

This class lasted for a full hour, and became more and more detailed later on.

Zhang Bor put down the chalk, clapped his hands and said, "Today, His Majesty the Emperor personally inspected the military academy and asked His Majesty to give lectures to the students!"

"Clap clap clap!"

The students were shocked and quickly sat up straight and clapped their hands.

Ju Ming walked up to the podium without saying anything vain. He pointed at one of the students and asked, "What's your name? What's your original position?"

The students there immediately stood up: "Report to Your Majesty. My name is Li Fu, from Hebei. I used to be a cavalry captain in the Eight-Character Army. The regular designation of the Eight-Character Army is the Seventh Division of the Ming Dynasty Field Army. In last year's war, I captured twenty-three prisoners. Jin Bing also captured a Jurchen general!"

Ju Ming praised: "With outstanding military exploits, it's no wonder that you can be sent to the military academy. How do you know how to read?"

Li Fu replied: "My family used to be a wealthy family in Hebei. The gold thieves came and killed us, and our family was destroyed. So I joined General Wang (Wang Yan) and went with him to kill the gold thieves. At the beginning, I couldn't fight, so I could only serve as a soldier." Later, I pestered my fellow villagers to learn how to ride a horse, and worked hard every day to practice my skills. When the Eight-Character Army formed a cavalry, I was selected. "

"What do you think is the use of learning these today?" Zhu Ming asked.

Li Fu gave a very simple answer: "From a high position."

Ju Ming praised: "This is a wonderful statement. You have grasped the essence of this class."

Zhang Xian suddenly interrupted: "Your Majesty, can Captain Li be transferred to southern Sichuan after graduation?"

Ju Ming smiled and asked, "Are you attracted to it?"

Zhang Xian said: "He has the talent of a general. It's a pity that he just entered the school this year and it will take two years to graduate."

Ju Ming asked Li Fu again: "How old are you this year?"

Li Fu replied: "I joined the army when I was fifteen, and I am twenty this year!"

Ju Ming was even more satisfied and asked other students one by one.

He soon discovered that the eighteen students in front of him had killed more than twenty enemies per person during last year's battle to destroy the gold. Even though there are many achievements in pursuit battles, they are still very rare. Some people even captured more than fifty enemies.

These students were very excited when communicating with the emperor.

Moreover, the emperor did not test the content of today's lectures, which made the students even more grateful - they couldn't remember so much!

Immediately, Ju Ming went to see his son again.

King Zhu Kang of Yu was running with a heavy load, wearing armor and sandbags tied to his legs. He was as tired as a dog sticking out its tongue.

Zhu Kang didn't dare to stop, and he was too embarrassed to stop.

Because the instructor had given him special treatment and secretly reduced the weight of his sandbags and armor. He knew about this and was a little unhappy at first, but soon became grateful to the instructor.

After running, take a short rest.

These military cadets, who had never fought in a war, were so tired that they lay down directly and did not even bother to pay homage to the emperor.

"All stand up!"

Ju Ming said to the instructor: "After they are tired from training, they are not allowed to sit down immediately, as this may lead to sudden death. Let them walk slowly and wait until their breathing has stabilized before resting."

Then, he turned to Zhang Bor and said, "This must be included in the military training manual."

"Yes!" Zhang Bor and the instructor responded quickly.

(End of this chapter)