Chapter 73: The New Army

"The New Army — the New Army We want must absolutely not be like the old guard-battalion system!"

Chongzhen felt the guard-battalion system had its merits, but its flaws were hardly few.

The Hongwu Emperor, our dynastic founder, created the guard-battalion system both to prevent the kind of military-governor separatism that plagued the former Tang, and to solve the combat-weakness that had crippled the former Song.

In the reigns of the Hongwu Emperor and the Yongle Emperor, it was precisely the soldiers of these guard-battalions who chased the enemy north, crushing even an empire as mighty as the Mongol Yuan beneath their heels.

Of course, the Ming civil and military bureaucracy's combat prowess at ruining a good thing once again manifested in the guard-battalion system — as the system rotted across the board, by the reign of the Zhengtong Emperor the capital itself was nearly lost, and the Zhengtong Emperor himself was carried off to the steppe by Esen of the Oirat tribe.

By the Chongzhen period, the soldiers of the guard-battalions might be a bit stronger than the Manchu Qing's double-rifle troops, but probably not by much.

The Ming guard-battalion soldier of today is no professional fighting man, but rather resembles a farmer tilling the soil — or, more accurately, a tenant of the guard-battalion officers.

By comparison, what Chongzhen admired most was the professional army of later ages — the dirt-poor land-forces of the Rabbit family, nicknamed the "Quilt Army."

In later times, that dirt-poor land army of the Flower-Planting family was teased by its own little bunnies as "dirt-poor but not dirt-poor, combat power five," forever appearing before the public eye as the very picture of rustic cluelessness — yet no one dared belittle the dirt-poor army's fighting strength.

After all, as one of the five great hooligans, it had gone head-to-head in direct confrontation with every single one of the other four great hooligans.

The one and only time in history the United Nations fielded a so-called "UN Army," it was broken on the hands of this very dirt-poor land army, still armed with millet and rifles at the time.

After the Joseon war, the UN Army, thoroughly humiliated by the Rabbit, simply rebranded itself as peacekeeping forces, and never again did a so-called UN Army appear.

We digress. Setting aside the combat power of the dirt-poor military bunnies, even in terms of the fish-and-water bond between army and people, they utterly annihilated the armies of every other nation.

Whether flood or earthquake, wherever danger appeared, that dirt-ugly camouflage green was certain to show up — and the people's reaction was always, "Holy shit, the military bunnies are here, we can relax now."

The common folk of the Rabbit family never had to worry, during floods or earthquakes, about someone rolling up in five-wheeled tanks, rifles locked and loaded, to conduct disaster relief.

Of course, that was the military bunny of the later-age Flower-Planting family. And what of the Ming's?

"Run! Hide! The army's coming!" — it was every damn bit as wretched as Jap devils entering a village.

In those times, or at least before the dirt-poor land army, "bandits pass like a comb, soldiers pass like a fine-toothed razor" was no joking phrase — especially when it came to outside troops.

Local troops might still show a shred of restraint out of hometown ties, or from the rabbit's habit of not eating the grass by its own burrow, and though they'd still prey on the locals, the outside soldiery — those rank-and-file brutes — had no such scruples, and their ravaging of the countryside was far more savage.

Since Chongzhen knew exactly how terrifyingly powerful the later-age dirt-poor land army — with its family-like bond between soldiers and civilians — could be, his goal was crystal clear: he wanted an army that could not be worn down, could not be broken, and could merge with the common people as one.

In Chongzhen's eyes, an army ought to be an efficient killing machine, a specialized organ of violence within an imperial system tasked solely with handling all destabilizing elements. The very idea of farming appearing in an army's duties was a joke in itself.

An army not composed of professional soldiers could not even be called an army — it would be more accurate to call it a militia or village braves.

Therefore, Chongzhen said to Liu Xingzuo: "Our knowledge of military affairs is limited, but We still have several requirements to lay out.

First: starve to death but do not seize grain; freeze to death but do not tear down houses; do not take so much as a needle or a thread from the common people.

Looking across the histories, only the army commanded by Yue Wumu could claim a hundred victories in a hundred battles. We believe its military discipline must hold lessons worth learning.

Being a soldier is not merely eating imperial grain — it is protecting home and country, defending the parents, wife, and children behind you. Therefore, military discipline must be gripped tightly and never relaxed.

Second: again, military discipline. As the saying goes, military orders are like mountains.

Once an order is given, even if ahead lies a mountain of blades or a sea of fire, you wade through it. So long as no retreat order comes from the rear, even if you fight to the last man, not a single half-step backward is permitted.

Only that is the kind of strong army — one that cannot be worn down, cannot be broken — that We envision in Our heart."

Liu Xingzuo, hearing this, replied: "Your Majesty speaks truly. The art of war says, 'In attack, fierce as fire; in stillness, immovable as a mountain' — this speaks precisely of military discipline.

On the battlefield, advance at the drum, withdraw at the gong. Only when the army moves like a limb at the will of the commander can it win a hundred victories in a hundred battles.

Yet this subject still has some doubts. If we cast aside blade and sword and rely solely on firelocks, I fear it will still be difficult to overcome the enemy.

After all, the Jianzhou barbarians' cavalry moves with extreme speed. Should they break into our formations, the consequences would be unthinkable."

Chongzhen, however, laughed and said: "Besides guns, do we not also have cannon?

And besides cannon, can we not develop equipment with shorter range than firelocks but greater killing power?

Moreover, on the firelock itself, we can affix a short-bladed bayonet. If the enemy closes in, can we not fight them off with the bayonet?

You, good sir, may seek out the 'New Treatise on Military Efficiency' and study it. Within it are many methods for employing firearms in formation — methods We also deeply endorse.

We hold that so long as logistics can keep up, mere Jianzhou barbarians are not worth worrying over.

That said, you had best curry favor with Vice Minister Xu — from now on, all your equipment will be developed by their Imperial Academy."

After the laughter subsided, Chongzhen continued: "Furthermore, this New Army shall recruit only sons of good families.

Any whose family includes merchants, any whose family includes officials, and any who themselves have served as clerks — none shall be taken.

All those recruited must have their ancestry investigated for three generations; only those of pure farming households, tilling the soil for three generations, may be accepted.

As for the three-generation background check, Minister Liu may seek the aid of Tian Ergeng of the Embroidered Uniform Guard — you must hold this gate firmly."

"As the saying goes, one craven soldier is just one craven soldier, but one craven general makes the whole army craven. We entrust the matter of the New Army to Minister Liu. Minister Liu, do not disappoint Us."

Liu Xingzuo, hearing this, dropped to one knee and performed the military salute, saying: "This subject shall not fail Your Majesty's weighty trust. Should any mishap occur, this subject offers his head!"

Only after Liu Xingzuo and Xu Guangqi had left the palace did Chongzhen finally exhale in relief.

He had pretty much emptied everything from his brain — even explaining things like the national-flag honor guard and military parades to Liu Xingzuo in painstaking detail.

Anything more — how could a mere programmer like himself know so much? He wasn't a national-defense university graduate, after all.

It was just that the Chongzhen Emperor's fate was truly not good — or rather, the scholars of this Great Ming truly gave one no peace of mind.

The news delivered by Tian Ergeng's section of the Embroidered Uniform Guard once again sent the Chongzhen Emperor into a fury, and once again raised the butcher's blade in his hand.

Only, this time, the butcher's blade was aimed at those scholars of Jiangnan.

Gonna try for an extra update today, you little bastards better bookmark and vote hard. Anyone with a booklist, give Us a wave. We'll shout 'double-tap 666, old pal, no problem.'

(End of chapter)