[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-a-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army":3,"chapter-a-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army-a-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army-chapter-444":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","A Little Soldier of the Late Ming Border Army",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1205733,1561,"Chapter 444: Bayonet","a-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army-chapter-444",444,"\u003Cp>The establishment of the Grandmaster Hall drew much discussion among the common folk of the Eastern Route. Fu Mingqi, Jiang Hongsheng, Ye Xizhi, and others from the Education Department had not yet decided how to evaluate the Musketeer Hall and the Artisan Hall, but they loudly applauded the establishment of the \"Swordsman Hall\" within it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chatting privately among themselves, Ye Xizhi remarked, \"Marvelous. Since ancient times, Confucians have used letters to blur the law, and knights-errant have used force to violate prohibitions. The mere profit of a few acres of land has sufficed to make all the heroes of the realm bend their waists and willingly become the hawks and hounds of the Grand General.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He even used the post stations as an analogy to illustrate his point: \"When our ancestors established the post stations, it was to draw in the strong and capable, to make them bear loads on their shoulders and backs, to exhaust their vigor, to wear away their years, to fill their mouths and bellies, so that they would not dare to do wrong — there was a subtle purpose in it. Now the establishment of the Swordsman Hall serves exactly the same subtle purpose.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ye Xizhi and the others also discerned Wang Dou's painstaking effort to cultivate a martial spirit in the Eastern Route. Now, within every garrison village of the Eastern Route, a schoolhouse had been established. Besides learning to read, the students were also taught swordsmanship. The Education Department was still deliberating the compilation of a textbook titled \"Records of Great China,\" which would include chapters on the distinction between Hua and Yi, biographies of Great Chinese heroes, the Way of the Gentleman, the Way of the Warrior, and more.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With the addition of this Swordsman Hall, it was likely that the Eastern Route would thereafter possess an exceedingly flourishing martial ethos.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Many bold and heroic retainers also poured into the Eastern Route. Not only the Swordsman Hall, but also the establishment of the Loyalty and Righteousness Battalion gave them hope.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The fifth month of the fourteenth year of the Chongzhen reign.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The clamor from the capital had by now also reached the Eastern Route. Although the soldiers and civilians of the Eastern Route were surprised that the slave rebels possessed large numbers of cannons and bird guns, they were not afraid. As Officer Shen had said, how could their Eastern Imitation Army compare to our own genuine Western Imitation Army?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Nevertheless, the matter still stirred waves of heated discussion. The masses talked at length about how to deal with the Eastern slaves, and in every teahouse and wineshop, countless \"civilian military strategists\" emerged. Some shrewd individuals printed maps of Liaodong for sale; though crude, they were instantly snapped up by the crowds.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Amid the clamor of debate, Wang Dou was inspecting the army's drill at the great parade ground in the northwestern outskirts of Yongning City.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At that moment, the grounds were bustling with fiery activity, and the sounds of drill rang out without cease.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The various battalions were continuously being formed and successively thrown into training.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Dou had originally worried whether the garrison militiamen newly inducted into the battalions could quickly adapt to military camp life, for the training period would not be long, and soon the great army would again march out to Liaodong.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Grand Drillmaster Lin Daofu, however, was brimming with confidence. He told Wang Dou that the military stalwarts of each fort ordinarily trained according to the \"Shunxiang Fort Infantry Drill Manual,\" and every regulation was identical to that of the military camps. Although the men would not have much time for collective drill, after several years, each man was already thoroughly familiar with the basics of military affairs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Moreover, those selected for the army this time were all garrison militiamen for defense. These garrison militiamen were the outstanding ones from each fort. They were adept in military regulations and the use of weapons, and were in no way inferior to those who had trained in the recruit camps in days past.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sure enough, after his inspection, Wang Dou was satisfied with the degree to which the new recruits of each battalion were meshing together.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>By his estimate, these new recruits could be integrated into their respective battalions within a single month.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On the parade ground, the cannons roared, and the soldiers, to the beat of drums, advanced in orderly formation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was the battalions training how to adapt to cannon fire. In years past, the armies had trained how to adapt to bows and arrows; now, the times had already changed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The intimidating force of cannons was indeed extraordinary. The first time they faced cannon fire — even blank fire — the strength of the Border Pacification Army was such that there was still some stirring, but gradually each man grew accustomed to it. After the blank-fire training, the army formations would later have to adapt to live ammunition.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was training for facing cannon fire. Apart from this, in addition to combined battalion drills, the First-Class long-spearmen within were also practicing with saber and shield.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the future, there might be assault battles, trench warfare, and the like, where the use of the long spear might be somewhat unsuitable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the Border Pacification Army, whether long-spearmen or bird-gunners, all were issued waist sabers, so everyone practiced saber techniques.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Moreover, the First-Class troops were all veterans — what skill did they not possess? Back then, when they enlisted, they practiced only one move because the army had to be formed quickly. But having been in the army for many years, who was not proficient with saber, spear, sword, and halberd? So reviewing saber and shield was a trifling matter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Guangheng's cavalrymen were also training. His camp consisted entirely of First-Class troops, and their combat strength was exceptionally outstanding. In other camps, there were generally only two Company Commanders' worth of First-Class soldiers, with the rest mostly being Second-Class troops, the First-Class soldiers serving as officers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The horses of the cavalry battalion were uniformly warhorses. It is said that back then, the Qi Army divided horses into nine grades; Wang Dou simplified this into three grades: first-rate, medium-rate, and low-rate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>First-rate were warhorses. Currently in the Border Pacification Army, only the Cavalry Battalion, the Vanguard Scout Battalion, and the Guard Battalion used warhorses uniformly, along with some officers in each battalion who rode warhorses.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Medium-rate were riding horses, used by the mounted infantry. The First-Class soldiers of each battalion used medium-rate horses, and there were also some surplus warhorses.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Low-rate were packhorses, used by the Logistics Battalion, and also for hauling goods and plowing fields within the circuit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When Wang Dou inspected, Zhong Diaoyang was also at his side. He was now the Guard Commander and Central Army Officer. Xie Yike had been transferred to the Vanguard Scout Battalion to serve as a Company Commander, which could be considered a return to his old trade.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing Wang Dou come to inspect, the officers of each battalion came over one after another to greet him and salute. Wang Dou waved his hand, sent them back, and continued watching the training of each battalion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One military formation after another moved across the field. To the beat of drums, slogans rang out with fervor. Ahead of the military formations, there were also some skirmishers...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Indeed, they were skirmishers. The original plan was for each battalion's Squad Commander headquarters to have five Night Scouts, each Company Commander headquarters to have ten Night Scouts, and the battalion headquarters to have fifty Night Scouts. However, Night Scouts were truly hard to find. After discussion, the officers decided it was better to concentrate the Night Scouts in the Vanguard Scout Battalion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Therefore, the original quota of 170 Night Scouts per battalion was replaced with sharpshooters.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This proposal came from Wen Fangliang. Ever since shooting Zhang Xianzhong dead at Xiangyang, he had been brimming with interest in sniper-kill tactics.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The others deemed it feasible. Night Scouts were hard to find, but sharpshooters were plentiful in the Border Pacification Army.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After reporting and receiving Wang Dou's approval, sharpshooters were thus implemented in the army.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They mostly used flintlock Lumi muskets, employed on the battlefield to shoot and kill enemy officers or troublesome enemy troops.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Those skilled with the bow could also use arrows.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There were also men carrying heavy muskets. This was a type of large bird gun nicknamed \"Nine-Headed Bird,\" with formidable power that even war wagons could not withstand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This musket also came with a tripod and a swivel device, allowing for excellent aiming and support. It was three meters long, weighed over twenty jin, required two men to operate, and had an effective range of two hundred paces. Once this musket appeared, who could match it?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They also used the Soaring Hawk Cannon, which was even heavier at thirty jin. It likewise used a tripod and was operated by two men — one to fire, one to load.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This cannon used a breech-loading sub-chamber, giving it a fast rate of fire and formidable power. However, because it was breech-loaded, the manufacturing requirements were very high. The interior of the barrel had to be exactly flush with the mouth of the sub-chamber, without the slightest discrepancy, so as to facilitate the exit of the shot and prevent the leakage of fire and gas.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Watching the soldiers train, and those skirmishers, Wang Dou could not help but sigh with emotion: the age of firearms has arrived.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Turning to a corner of the parade ground, he also saw a large group of brawny soldiers training to throw something. The objects in their hands were round and dark, with a handle on one end and a long fuse on the other — these were the Great Ming's hand grenades, at the time called \"Ten-Thousand-Man Foe.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Among the crowd, an officer who was burly and tall but whose voice was full of a peculiar effeminate tone was saying, \"My Logistics Battalion doesn't have many First-Class troops, but those selected for the Grenadier Squad can all enjoy First-Class treatment. This opportunity doesn't come often; everyone must put in extra effort.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was Sun Sanjie speaking. Seeing Wang Dou, he hurriedly came over to salute. Wang Dou asked, \"How is it? What is the current number of the Grenadier Squad?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sun Sanjie replied, \"In answer to the Grand General, the brothers are very enthusiastic. The Logistics Battalion may lack other talents, but we have plenty of strong and sturdy men. Those who have passed the assessment and been selected now number two full companies.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Dou was very pleased. \"Good. Continue the selection. The Grenadier Squad must have at least six hundred men.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After the arsenal had produced a large quantity of Great Ming hand grenades, Wang Dou had considered establishing a Grenadier Squad within the army. The men with the greatest strength in the army could only be the soldiers of the Logistics Battalion. Moreover, the Logistics Battalion had few opportunities to earn merit, so this opportunity was given to Sun Sanjie.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Although Sun Sanjie's voice was peculiar, he was amiable and got along very well with all the other officers, so no one contested him for this.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Although joining the Grenadier Squad was rather dangerous, one enjoyed First-Class treatment as soon as one entered the squad, so the soldiers of the Logistics Battalion still enthusiastically signed up.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, the assessment was not such an easy matter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because of improvements to the gunpowder formula, the Ten-Thousand-Man Foe produced by the arsenal had been reduced considerably from its original size of a human head, but it was still heavy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the assessment, the men had to hold a Ten-Thousand-Man Foe and, from thirty paces away (45 meters), accurately throw it into a certain target, such as a ditch or a trench. This was not easy. So after a series of selections, the Logistics Battalion's Grenadier Squad now numbered only four hundred men.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Dou thought to himself, \"Hand grenades are very useful in defensive city battles, assault battles, and trench warfare. The ones currently used by the army are still too heavy.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, technological improvement was not something that could be achieved in a short time. If the Ten-Thousand-Man Foe were made too small, its power would not be sufficient, so he had to let the matter rest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Two days later.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the arsenal's testing ground, the officers looked at the bird gun in Wang Dou's hand, staring at each other in astonishment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Dou was holding a flintlock in his hand — that was nothing to be surprised about. What was surprising was that attached to the muzzle of the bird gun was a sword like a sleeve or socket.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everyone examined the thrusting sword: its blade was about one chi and five cun long, the hilt was hollow with a notch inside, and on the side of the arquebus muzzle there was a small protruding catch. Thus, after the sword was slipped on, the notch aligned with the catch, and a slight twist locked it in place.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhao Xuan hesitated and said, \"Is this… a four-barrel arquebus sword? But it doesn't look like one.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What Zhao Xuan referred to was a type of bayonet invented by He Liangchen in the fortieth year of the Jiajing reign of the Ming, but that bayonet was inserted into the muzzle, whereas this bayonet was mounted on the side and did not affect the arquebus's firing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Toward new things, all the generals of the Jingbian Army were curious, and each asked to examine it. Soon, several more arquebuses fitted with socket bayonets were handed to each of them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everyone scrutinized them carefully, and many even brandished them in their hands. The arquebus with its bayonet weighed around ten jin; as each man was a senior general, wielding it was naturally effortless. Even within the Jingbian Army, the soldiers were robust and strong, so using this type of bayonet-fitted arquebus would pose no problem.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They played with them for a long while before each stopped. Gao Shiyin removed the bayonet and toyed with it, laughing heartily: \"Grand General, you don't intend to have the lads under your command use these bayonet-fitted arquebuses from now on, do you?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Dou smiled faintly: \"This bayonet was developed by Lai Yuanlong and others at the armory, so I have named it the Lai-style bayonet.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To inspire a sense of honor among the craftsmen, whoever developed a weapon, Wang Dou named it after them. Previously, the army's matchlock guns had been named the Li-style fire lance by Wang Dou, which was meant to encourage the craftsman Li Maosen. After Lai Yuanlong developed the flintlock, Wang Dou named it the Lai-style self-igniting fire lance. When Li Zhifen developed a new type of gunpowder, it was named Li-style powder.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Dou said, \"Whether to equip the troops with it, I must still hear everyone's opinions.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gao Shiyin chuckled, fitted the bayonet in his hand back on, and said, \"After this arquebus is fitted with the bayonet, it is about five chi long (1.6 meters in later times). The long spears our soldiers use are about one zhang long. In hand-to-hand combat…\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There were many weapons on the testing ground, so Gao Shiyin picked up a shield and tossed the arquebus to Han Chao: \"Old Han, catch.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With his right hand he also picked up a bronze hammer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Han Chao had already grasped Gao Shiyin's intent and frowned slightly: \"Old Gao, what are you going to do?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gao Shiyin shouted, \"We are on the battlefield right now. You and I will personally demonstrate and verify.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The generals all grew excited, and fellows like Shen Shiqi and Xie Yike, who feared no chaos under heaven, raised whistles all around and cheered loudly.\u003C\u002Fp>",2633,"2026-06-03T14:05:53.320Z",1,"Novelzhen Translator","2f465e170d6a1f01cd7bec70330c2df066ea2489bf361c6aacefeec63a58d997","a-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army-chapter-445","a-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army-chapter-443",896,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fa-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army-cover.jpg"]