Ming Dynasty man

Chapter 81 Military Rank System

Li Jing smiled and continued: "Fifth brother, after the stalls in the capital are completed, we will also spread a few spots in Shaanxi. From my point of view, something may happen in Shaanxi, so you send someone capable to keep an eye on it." point."

Seeing that everyone was puzzled, Li Jing smiled and did not explain.

Li Jing knew that if historical trends were followed, Apocalypse would soon die and Chongzhen would ascend the throne.

Soon after Chongzhen became emperor, refugees began to rebel.

Mr. Li Jing can't tell everyone that someone in Shaanxi is about to rebel, right?

I can't tell everyone that the biggest rebel leader in the Ming Dynasty will appear in Shaanxi in the future.

Although Li Jing didn't know where Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong were from, there was no doubt that these two people were from Shaanxi, and both of them started from Shaanxi.

Li Jing arranged intelligence personnel in Shaanxi in advance, mainly to grasp the movements of the refugees and the movements of the officers and soldiers, so that he could fish in troubled waters.

After thinking for a while, Li Jing continued: "Fifth brother, tell the people below that if you meet old and weak women and children who can't eat or are homeless, you can take in as many as you can. If you can't be resettled locally, you can Arrange for someone to bring them back to the mountain, and I will arrange it here. Well... let’s send them back, you will be suspected if you raise so many people down there.”

"Why take those people in? What can they do except eat?" Sun Meng asked puzzled.

Li Jing shook his head and said with a smile: "The old man may not be able to do much, but he can help us buy a good reputation. What about children, grandson, we will grow old one day, when these children have grown up, they will be ours. The most powerful team. As for women, you are full of men and don't know how hungry men are. There are so many brothers on the mountain who have not married, we must help the brothers find a wife."

"Hahaha." Everyone applauded and laughed.

With everyone's laughter subsided, Li Jing continued: "The fourth department is the equipment department. Everyone knows that our equipment is much worse than that of the army. In fact, even the equipment of the army has many shortcomings. This department specializes in the research of ordnance technology and the production of ordnance equipment, and I am going to let Zhao Shuangxi take charge of this department."

"Zhao Shuangxi is good at making weapons, but I don't know if he can study ordnance skills?" Gao Qi said.

"He is just the leader. There are so many craftsmen, let them figure out a way together." Li Jing smiled and said.

In fact, Li Jing had already made up his mind about how to improve his ordnance skills.

He, a modern soldier, has advanced gun concepts. Although limited by equipment, many advanced guns cannot be manufactured, but there is no problem in improving some performance on the existing basis.

Of course, it is one thing to understand the principles of firearms, and another to make them yourself.

Li Jing can only provide the ideas to the craftsmen and let them do it.

After thinking for a while, Li Jing continued: "Old Sun, you know that our cottage doesn't have much iron, and we can't make many firearms for the time being. We can only find ways to buy them from the army. So you have to do everything possible to help the cottage buy military supplies. , especially firecrackers and gunpowder, it would be even better if you can buy cannon."

"Why do we need so many firearms? Not only are they slow, but they are not accurate. I don't think they are as easy to use as bows and arrows." Sun Meng scratched his head and said.

"That's because the firearm technology is not good, and the user is incapable of using it. Let me ask you, how long does it take to train an archer without considering the physical condition of the archer?" Li Jing asked.

Sun Meng thought for a while and said, "I'm afraid it will take at least a year."

"It's fast to be able to barely pass the training in one year. A real archer can't be trained in three years." Gao Qi shook his head and said.

Li Jing smiled and asked: "Then let me ask you, how long does it take to train a gunner?"

"That's much faster. That thing can be used after a few days of groping, but the accuracy is not good. But the accuracy of the firearm is not high, and it can't be practiced even if you want to practice it." Gao Qi continued.

"That's right, the time difference between training an archer and training a firecracker is too big, and it requires extremely high physical fitness. Our brothers on the mountain may not be able to pick many people. But without archers, there is no Long-range suppression will definitely suffer in a war. Although firearms are not accurate, they are long-range attacks after all, and the closer the distance, the greater the power. Therefore, I choose to use firearms." Li Jing said.

Sun Meng nodded and said, "Understood, then I will try my best to find a way to buy firearms from the officers and soldiers."

"Okay, now let me talk about the last question. Everyone knows that we have been training according to the army's method, but we have not organized according to the army's standards. Because I think the official army's organization is not very practical in some places , I am going to make some changes. But before I talk about the changes, I have a question to ask the two brothers Sun Meng and Gao Qi." Li Jing continued.

"Excuse me, brother." The two replied.

"The two of you have been soldiers for at least ten years, right? So tell me, are you willing to be a soldier? Why do you want to be a soldier? Also, are you afraid of death when you go into battle to kill the enemy?" Li Jing asked.

Gao Qi glanced at Sun Meng and said: "To be honest, I don't want to be a soldier at all. But if there is a way out, I guess no one would want to be a soldier. Because soldiers have no status and are looked down upon by others. I am a soldier. Just to be able to eat the imperial food and support the family. As for the battle, you must be afraid of death, but you also know, big brother, that it is not okay to be afraid of death on the battlefield. If you don’t charge forward, the supervisor behind will kill you first .”

"Yes, it's a lie to say that you're not afraid of death, but if you die at the hands of the enemy, you can get some compensation, but if you die at the hands of the supervising team, your death will be in vain." Sun Meng continued.

Li Jingjing nodded and asked: "That is to say, although there are rewards for killing the enemy, in fact no one wants to fight, right?"

Sun Meng scratched his head and said: "You can't say that, the main reason is that the rewards given are too little, and they are often not cashed. It is not worth our efforts. If we give a lot and can guarantee cashing, it will be different, at least for me. is willing."

Li Jing smiled and continued: "Then let me ask another question. For example, our cottage is under siege. At this time, do you dare to risk your life? Are you afraid of death?"

"Then can you be afraid of death? Even if you risk your life, you must keep the cottage." Sun Meng shouted.

"Why?" Li Jing asked.

"Do you need to ask? Brothers' families are all in the cottage. If we don't defeat the enemy, the whole family will be unlucky. We have to work hard for our family!" Sun Meng said.

Li Jing shook his head and sighed: "That is to say, there is no way to do it, even if you are afraid of death. Alas! Soldiers who are only willing to fight to the death when they are protecting their own family, what is the use of such soldiers? Using such soldiers to fight a war will lead to defeat sooner or later. In fact, in the final analysis, it is because the soldiers have no status, the salary is not much, and they cannot even be paid on time. This makes everyone unwilling to serve as a soldier, let alone work hard. We must start from the root of the problem. That is to say, we must improve the status of soldiers, improve the treatment of soldiers, and improve the morale of soldiers, so that the common people will be willing to serve as soldiers and fight to the death."

"Brother, this problem is not easy to solve. For thousands of years, all dynasties have not been able to solve this problem." Gao Qi shook his head and sighed.

"Yeah, it's not easy to solve, but we have to find a way to solve it. Especially now that we are weak, this matter is even more important. I will briefly talk about my thoughts now, and you can see if it is feasible." Li Jing Said.

Ma Wu, Gao Qi and the others looked solemn, this is a major matter related to the survival of the cottage.

After taking a look at everyone, Li Jing said slowly: "I am going to implement a new military system in the mountain stronghold. All the brothers who have received training on the mountain are regular soldiers, called regular soldiers. Regular soldiers are divided into three classes, namely third-class soldiers. , second-class soldiers and first-class soldiers. Now all the brothers on the mountain are third-class soldiers for the time being, and their military pay remains the same. In the future, regular training and evaluation will be conducted. Promoted to a first-class soldier, the military salary will be increased by one or two."

After Gao Qi and the others understood what he meant, Li Jing continued: "No matter what rank a regular soldier is, as long as he makes meritorious service, he can be promoted to a higher rank. A first-class soldier is promoted to a soldier, and the soldier is divided into three grades, namely corporal, middle class, etc. Sergeant and sergeant. If there are soldiers with commanding ability, we will promote them to officers. The lowest-ranking officers are lieutenants, and they are also divided into three ranks, second lieutenants, lieutenants and captains. Above the lieutenants are colonel officers, majors, lieutenant colonels and colonels .Above the field officers are generals, major generals, lieutenant generals, and generals."

"It's a bit different from the imperial court's military system. But it's simple and clear." Gao Qi nodded.

Li Jingjing nodded and said: "A military officer determines how many troops he can command according to his position and rank. I want to make a special point. Everyone knows that in the same army, subordinates must absolutely obey the command of their superiors. However, on the battlefield The superior is changing rapidly, and sometimes the superior is not necessarily right, and the subordinate is not necessarily wrong. Therefore, once a subordinate disobeys the order of the superior, the officer must be punished only after finding out the reason. No matter what level the officer is, he cannot punish without authorization Lower-level officers, especially senior officers. That is to say, higher-level officers can only arrest lower-level officers who disobey orders, but they have no right to punish lower-level officers. The right to dispose of officers is only possessed by the Military Law Department, and the Military Law Department is temporarily in charge of me."

"In this way, will there be a situation where junior officers repeatedly disobey the orders of their superiors?" Gao Qi asked.

"There is no way for the time being. How can there be few people among us who really know how to fight? I am also here to select talents." Li Jing laughed.

After laughing for a while, Li Jing suddenly looked solemn: "Of course, if you disobey the orders of your superiors without a reason, even if you win the battle, you have to explain it clearly to me, otherwise, I will not show mercy."

(End of this chapter)