Chapter 48: The Spark

Zhu Youxiao didn't even look at Chen Hong. He unfolded Qi Jin's routine memorial, glanced over it a few times, then set it aside.

The memorial's content was simple: Liaodong was plagued by war, the border was unsettled, and Qi Jin, as a Ming general, wished to serve his country loyally and share his sovereign's burdens. He specially requested that Your Majesty permit him to lead the Qi Family Army out through the pass.

Of course, the memorial wouldn't mention the name "Qi Family Army," but that was roughly what it meant.

Out through the pass?

Dream on.

The moment Zhu Youxiao heard Qi Jin's name, he had already made up his mind. He would absolutely never let Qi Jin and the Qi Family Army go out through the pass.

What was the Qi Family Army?

Perhaps many people in later generations knew of the Qi Family Army and knew it could fight well. But in Zhu Youxiao's view, that was only the surface. What he cared about was the Qi Family Army's composition.

The so-called Qi Family Army represented not just an army, but an innovation in tactics—a completely new combat system.

In Zhu Youxiao's view, the Qi Family Army's innovation could fully rival cavalry and replace chariots. It was the key to the transition from cold steel to firearm warfare, a prototype similar to later-era combined-arms operations.

The Qi Family Army made heavy use of cannons and muskets while also employing wagon formations. A dozen or even several dozen arms coordinated in battle, and cavalry had evolved into lance-riders—that was practically a BUG-level existence.

In this era, without large-scale mechanization, with firearms not yet so formidable, the Qi Family Army's tactics were the most fitting existence for this age. Coordinated cold-steel and firearm combat, coordinated artillery and musketeer combat, coordinated lance-cavalry and infantry combat.

In short, this was a very complex system. Yet under this system, Qi Jiguang had brought every arm's combat power to its extreme, combining them to produce a quantitative change where one plus one exceeded two.

A force like this—never mind fighting the Mongols or the Jurchen—could take on any army of this era without flinching.

Qi Jin's defeat at the Hun River Bridge was because the Qi Family Army numbered only three thousand and their equipment was lacking.

At Qi Jiguang's peak, the Qi Family Army had over twenty-four thousand men in twenty-four regiment camps. The combat power they unleashed was absolutely not what it was now.

Yet even a crippled Qi Family Army, in that battle at the Hun River, still produced results that chilled men's hearts.

Zhu Youxiao would have to be an idiot to let the Qi Family Army go out through the pass. If this army were lost, it would be the greatest loss to the Great Ming!

Zhu Youxiao had been studying military training all along, but how to train—that he had never figured out. He hadn't understood these things before transmigrating either.

In the end, the only method he could think of was to find famous generals—like Sun Chengzong, like Lu Xiangsheng—and let them train troops, then try to teach them some things from the later age.

But now, with the Qi Family Army, things were different!

He could completely use the Qi Family Army as the skeleton to forge a new army! A force that coordinated firearms and cold steel!

Cannons, flintlock muskets, lance-cavalry—all of it arranged. The cannons could be swapped for the famous later-era six-pounder or eight-pounder guns, the matchlocks of Qi Jiguang's time replaced with flintlocks, the armor replaced with water-powered stamped plate armor. Forge heavy-armored infantry and an entirely new wagon corps, paired with lance-cavalry equipped with flintlocks.

With this firepower, this formation, combined with the Qi Family Army's fearless spirit and strict discipline, the mandarin-duck formation's coordination, and its ahead-of-its-time command art—Zhu Youxiao refused to believe he still couldn't win!

Besides, there was Xu Guangqi, and Bi Maokang. If they still couldn't win, then don't let Chongzhen go hang himself—we'd find our own crooked-neck tree and string ourselves up.

Such an army didn't need to be large—build fifty thousand in the first phase. Zhu Youxiao believed that with this, he would have the strength for one decisive battle.

Of course, this would require enormous sums of money, but Zhu Youxiao wasn't worried. Even if he had to sell off everything, rob, or confiscate estates, he was determined to scrape together the funds.

And if all else failed, wasn't Wei Zhongxian still there?

Zhu Youxiao had made up his mind—this was how it was going to be done.

"Chen Hong." Zhu Youxiao glanced at Chen Hong kneeling on the ground and said irritably, "Stop playing dead. Get up. Send someone immediately with an edict—summon Qi Jin to the capital and have him muster all his men."

The Qi Family Army was a spark. Liaodong was rotten; spending time and money there was pure waste. Far better to set up a new stove and start fresh.

The Qi Family Army's reputation, its iron-bloodedness—these would be passed down. An army also had temperament and character, and that temperament and character were tied to its first military commander. If his character was formidable, the army was formidable—the army had a soul. From then on, no matter how many times the army's ranks turned over, its soul remained.

When a swordsman faces us in combat, even if death comes tomorrow, he must still draw his blade. Falling beneath an opponent's sword is no disgrace; not daring to draw one's blade—that is the true disgrace.

The Qi Family Army had such a tradition. The conviction that its first commander, Qi Jiguang, instilled in this army still remained. Their soul still remained.

The three thousand Qi Family Army soldiers Qi Jin led were this army's spark. Zhu Youxiao would absolutely not let this spark vanish. Zhu Youxiao would use this army to ignite a blazing inferno.

"This servant will go at once." Chen Hong scrambled up from the ground, turned, and ran out.

After Chen Hong left, Zhu Youxiao sat down again, leaning askew against the daybed, his expression gradually settling into calm.

Chen Hong quickly made the arrangements and returned, and he also brought a piece of news—Xu Guangqi had arrived.

Zhu Youxiao's mood improved even further. Xu Guangqi's arrival was perfect. This man was a great talent, and moreover the kind of great talent he needed.

Zhu Youxiao waved his hand and said, "Have him come in!"

At this moment, Xu Guangqi was still somewhat anxious. He had been training troops in Tongzhou to serve his country, out of utter loyalty. But the court was consumed by factional strife, his training efforts were obstructed at every turn, and no one paid him any attention—basically, it had failed.

These past days Xu Guangqi had grown disheartened, so he had submitted a memorial requesting resignation.

Xu Guangqi had originally assumed that after this memorial went up, he would simply receive an approval, and then he could go back to farming in Tianjin.

Farming and writing books—that was what he wanted to do. But to his surprise, after submitting his resignation memorial, not only did he fail to receive approval, he received an audience with His Majesty, and quite an urgent one at that.

For a moment Xu Guangqi couldn't make sense of it. What was this about?

"Master Xu, His Majesty bids you enter."

While Xu Guangqi was lost in thought, Chen Hong had already come before him and said respectfully.

Xu Guangqi hastily clasped his hands and said, "I am indebted to Eunuch Chen."

Xu Guangqi dared not be careless with Chen Hong—he had heard this was a eunuch who enjoyed great favor.

As for Chen Hong, he dared not offend Xu Guangqi even more. This man might look unremarkable now, but Chen Hong knew what treatment Xu Guangqi received from his master. In just these past two days, his master had asked eight times where Xu Guangqi was—clearly, he was in a hurry.