Daming: I am the Crown Prince

Whether it is my sister's marriage or my own marriage, there is not much to worry about, because many things have already been determined.

Therefore, it is enough to follow the normal procedures for some things now, and there is naturally nothing to worry about for other things.

Lan Yu arrived at Wenhua Palace. This guy has been very successful recently. Even though there have been no wars in the past few years, it seems that there is no place for heroes to use their talents, but at least his position is stable and he is basically the candidate for the number one general.

Originally, there were limited generals in the court who could lead the army. Especially now that Fu Youde had gone to Wuyuan, the young and strong Lan Yu was naturally the number one candidate for the general.

What's more, because of Zhu Yunhuan, some of Lan Yu's minor flaws would be deliberately ignored by many people. He has now begun to take charge of the Central Army Commander's Office, and his position has become increasingly stable.

When he saw Lan Yu, Zhu Yunhuan asked directly, "What do you think about the Shenjiying?"

Lan Yu immediately replied, "Your Highness, I think the organization of the Shenji Camp is excellent, but I dare not say anything."

Li Jinglong is now training the firearms unit, the Shenjiying. This task fell on Li Jinglong. Naturally, Lan Yu couldn't help but complain in his heart, because he knew how much importance Zhu Yunhuan attached to this unit.

But even if he was complaining, Lan Yu had some sense of propriety, because he had also heard that the organization of the Shenji Camp was actually compiled by the emperor, and the method of training soldiers was also researched by the emperor.

So this means that ordinary people really don't dare to find fault with it. Moreover, in Lan Yu's opinion, His Majesty is still as good as ever, and his methods of training troops and the positioning of the Shenji Camp are all impeccable.

Zhu Yunhuan smiled and said, "That's true. The Shenji Camp is different from ordinary guards."

This is also true, the general garrison has 5,600 people. But the Shenjiying is organized as a "camp", so it can be said that the organization is larger.

In fact, the Shenji Battalion had 3,600 infantrymen, all equipped with muskets, 400 artillerymen, equipped with field heavy artillery and large chain guns, plus 1,000 cavalry guards.

As for firearms, there is no need to mention them. There are 3,600 muskets, 200 multi-barreled muskets and large rapid-fire guns, 400 hand-held artillery pieces for self-defense, 160 large field heavy artillery pieces, and gunpowder or ammunition, etc., which are calculated separately.

Such firepower is quite fierce in this era, not to mention that it is equipped with 128 tanks.

In addition to these formal organizations, there were 2,400 cavalry as reserves and several thousand followers responsible for escorting the transportation of ammunition.

Five thousand people, that was just the official establishment. The number of troops assisting this firearms unit would also be more than five thousand.

Zhu Yunxun asked seriously, "What do you think of the fighting methods of the Shenji Camp?"

Lan Yu replied without thinking, "Your Highness, the method used by the former King Qianning to quell the Luchuan Rebellion was very good. The firearms were divided into three rows, the first row fired, the second row prepared, and the third row loaded. In this way, the firearms could fire continuously, and even war horses and war elephants would find it difficult to rush to the front."

The three-stage shooting is no longer a secret tactic. This tactic was used by Mu Ying when he was in Yunnan.

Lan Yu continued, "If we are dealing with some cavalry, I think if we encounter enemy cavalry, the Shenji Battalion should quickly form a formation and fire. The firepower should be uniform and continuous. After the battle, the Shenji Battalion will retreat and let others fight."

Zhu Yunhuan nodded and said, "I think so too. It's better for the Shenji Camp not to fight directly in close combat."

"Your Majesty has foresight and assigned cavalry to the Shenji Battalion. Even if it is to protect the firearms soldiers, it can also stop small groups of enemies from attacking." Lan Yu said very straightforwardly, "But I think that the Shenji Battalion can only fight by taking the initiative to kill and injure the enemy and undermine the enemy's morale. If you really want to defeat the enemy directly, you still have to use infantry and cavalry."

Zhu Yunhuan did not deny this statement. This was also his understanding. There was really nothing wrong with Lan Yu thinking this way.

The Shenji Battalion took the lead. If they encountered a large number of enemies, even if the firearms troops' attack could not kill a large number of enemies, it could disrupt the enemy's formation and deal a huge blow to their morale. In this era, fighting a war is particularly important for formations. If the formation is disrupted, it will not be long before defeat.

Zhu Yunhuan continued to ask, "What if the Shenji Camp kills or injures the enemy?"

Lan Yu immediately said, "If I were in charge, after the Shenji Battalion disrupted the enemy's formation, I would immediately send the cavalry to attack. Your Highness, these are not the cavalry of the Shenji Battalion, but the cavalry of the army."

Zhu Yunhuan nodded, and understood what Lan Yu meant. It would be difficult for the few cavalrymen in the Shenji Camp to directly charge into the enemy's formation, so a large number of cavalrymen were still needed.

Lan Yu continued to talk nonstop. He was naturally excited when talking about fighting. "After the Shenji Battalion fired a round of shots, in most cases the enemy's formation and morale would be disrupted. The cavalry could then charge again and the infantry would be able to charge."

It may seem like just three tricks, but sometimes that's how war is fought, without all the bells and whistles, just simple and direct.

However, for generals like Lan Yu, when to launch an attack, the coordination of various arms, etc., all require great timing, and it is not something that can be done easily.

Zhu Yunhuan looked at Lan Yu and asked seriously, "You mean that the Shenji Battalion has to cooperate with other armies in order to fight, otherwise it will be difficult to inflict heavy damage on the enemy."

Lan Yu did not hide his true thoughts and said directly, "Your Highness, I think the Shenji Battalion should guard the capital from within and prepare for wars from outside. But if the Shenji Battalion goes out to fight, it will be difficult to coordinate with other guards."

Zhu Yunhuan fell silent, because there was actually nothing wrong with what Lan Yu said, and he even pointed out some shortcomings directly.

Whether it is the Shenjiying or some other garrisons of the Beijing Army, their series of responsibilities are generally not much different.

Take the Shenjiying for example. It is one of the core parts of the Beijing Army. It seems to be not much different from other Beijing Army guards. The only difference is that if the emperor goes out, the Shenjiying needs to accompany him with guards.

But in essence, the Shenji Camp still has to carry out a series of combat preparations and training. If there is a war, the Shenji Camp will go out like other Beijing army garrisons and join forces with garrisons from all over the country to fight.

The Beijing Army is the core main force, and the troops sent by the garrisons in various places are more of a supplement. These can be regarded as the most common mode of troop deployment in the Ming Dynasty today.

Lan Yu continued, "Your Highness should also know that the Beijing Army is the elite of the Ming Army, but there are some differences among the Beijing Army."

Zhu Yunhuan had no way to refute such straightforward words, because the actual situation was just like that. The Beijing Army was naturally the best in the world. Now it was not like the middle and late Ming Dynasty in history when they could only rely on the border troops. However, to be realistic, the quality of the Beijing Army was not necessarily the same. Some of the Beijing Army had higher combat effectiveness, while others were mediocre. This was all very normal.

Lan Yu also continued, "I think that not all the guards in the capital army can be compatible with the Shenji Camp."

In fact, there are also factors of the military system of the Ming Dynasty here, including the Beijing Army. Usually, the local garrisons are only responsible for training troops, etc., and when fighting, a general is chosen to lead the army.

This is naturally also to avoid the situation where some military generals become too powerful to be controlled, and to avoid the situation where some generals in history directly turn the court's troops into their own private soldiers.

There is naturally nothing wrong with doing this, but sometimes there are situations where the generals do not know their soldiers and the soldiers do not know their generals, and there is no tacit understanding between the various departments. This is also a existing phenomenon.

However, Zhu Yunhuan did not intend to change this situation. This method was indeed not good, but it was also very difficult to find a way to have the best of both worlds.

It will be the same in the future. Officers will be transferred in various places and troops will be stationed in various places. We cannot let one general lead a unit for a long time. Otherwise, it will be easy for some accidents to occur.

Zhu Yunhuan looked at Lan Yu and asked seriously, "Tell me, how do you think these things can be changed?"

Lan Yu said in a flattering manner, "Your Highness, since we already have the Shenji Battalion, we can just get a Cavalry Battalion. The Beijing Army can be mainly composed of the Shenji Battalion and the Cavalry Battalion."

Zhu Yunhuan looked at Lan Yu with interest and said, "If I'm not mistaken, it's still difficult for the Shenji Battalion to lead a war. Is it the same for the Cavalry Battalion?"

Lan Yu was not embarrassed, he was so confident, "Your Highness, it is difficult for the Shenji Battalion to lead the war, and the cavalry is still needed. I think we should form an army and conduct long-term training with the Shenji Battalion and other units."

Zhu Yunhuan said directly, "Should we form another infantry battalion? Why not just form three major battalions? With these three divisions as the core, the three major battalions will assist the Beijing Army in going to war during war."

Lan Yu immediately said happily, "Your Highness is wise. I think the three camps will be able to defend the capital from within and prepare for war from outside. With the three camps as the backbone, the combat effectiveness of the capital army can be guaranteed."

Now, this guy Lan Yu is really taking advantage of the situation and is constantly thinking about developing military strength.

But if you think about it, there is nothing surprising. Lan Yu is just like that. He is a complete warrior. Xu Da was a general and a prime minister. Basically, apart from being a general, don't expect Lan Yu to do much in the court.

If you think about it carefully, what Lan Yu mentioned makes sense.

The three major camps can be said to be the most elite troops of the Ming Dynasty army, but they were formed under the order of Zhu Di.

The Five Army Battalion is a mixture of cavalry and infantry, and is the real main force. The Three Thousand Battalion is composed of cavalry, and is mainly responsible for the assault. Needless to say, the Shenji Battalion is a firearms unit, but in this era it can be regarded as an artillery unit.

During the Yongle period, during combat, the Shenji Battalion would be the first to gather and fire in unison, then withdraw to the sides of the battle formation to be immediately replenished by the cavalry from the Sanqian Battalion and the Wujun Battalion. After the Sanqian Battalion's assault, the Wujun Battalion would directly launch the final decisive battle.

Zhu Yunhuan couldn't help but feel a little headache, but after thinking about it, he said, "What you said is not wrong, but we still need to discuss it. How about this, you submit the memorial. Don't send it to me, send it to His Majesty."

Lan Yu was immediately embarrassed and said guiltily, "Your Highness, if I submit this petition, Your Majesty will definitely punish me."

It must be said that Lan Yu was usually arrogant and domineering, and sometimes he seemed to be outspoken in front of Zhu. But more often, Lan Yu was like a mouse seeing a cat when he saw Zhu.

Zhu Yunhuan asked in confusion, "You are talking about serious matters. His Majesty will only praise you for your loyalty to the emperor and the country. Why would he punish you? Don't scare yourself. You have performed well in the past two years and everyone has seen it."

Lan Yu said somewhat frustratedly, "Your Highness, if I submit a petition to form a cavalry and infantry unit, even if Your Majesty does not punish me, those civil officials will impeach me."

There doesn't seem to be any big problem with this, after all, Lan Yu has a special status. If he wrote a letter, it is indeed possible that some civil servants would impeach him.

Zhu Yunhuan said directly, "It's better for you to submit a petition. I am only the crown prince. What's the point of staring at the Beijing army all day? Now it's either you who gets scolded or I who gets scolded. Who do you think should get scolded?"

Lan Yu actually felt that this shouldn't be the case. Everyone knew that the Crown Prince was in charge of the Five Military Commandery, and many people also knew that the establishment of the Shenji Camp was the Crown Prince's idea and was done with the help of the Emperor. No one said anything about it.

However, Lan Yu still said directly, "Your Highness, why don't you let Chang Sheng go to submit the petition? He is not afraid of being scolded."

This is a real uncle. Although Lan Yu usually protects Chang Sheng, he will never show any mercy when it comes to pitting his nephew. Especially for some unimportant things, he will show no mercy.

Zhu Yunhuan said directly, "No, I know what kind of person my second uncle is, you know it too, and the whole court knows it. Even if we set up three major camps, it won't work without a military commander of some weight to propose it."

Seeing Lan Yu's depressed look, Zhu Yunhuan said, "There is no room for negotiation on this matter. You should submit a petition. My second uncle's status is different after all. We still have a relationship that has gone through many twists and turns."

Things have come to this point, and whether Lan Yu is willing or not, he has no choice but to accept this task.

After walking out of Wenhua Palace, Lan Yu realized something a little late, "That's not right. Your Highness is not familiar with military affairs. How come all these things seem to have been planned out, just waiting for me to jump in!"

If you can't figure out these things, don't think about them. Just do things down to earth.

Zhu Yunhuan thought about it and picked up the pen. He believed in Lan Yu's position, but sometimes he needed to be spurred on.

After writing the letter, he gave it to Zhang Fusheng and said, "Have someone deliver it to the Prince of Kaiping's Palace. Grandmother knows what to do."

Zhang Fusheng flattered, "Your Highness, do you need to send someone to visit the Duke again?"

Zhu Yunhuan looked at Zhang Fusheng and said, "You are quite smart. Let's send someone over. Let's not talk about other things about my second uncle. If there is anything to do, he has to do it." (End of this chapter)