Chapter 574: Settling In

"Wu Dacai reports that the Fire-Step Battalion's drill is progressing smoothly, and they can now hold until the cavalry is thirty paces away before running."

In the Anqing General Military Headquarters, Pang Yu was examining Wu Dacai's petition. Pang Ding was reporting before him, and Mr. Yu was also present.

General-in-Chief Pang rubbed his forehead as he read. He had just completed a circuit of the mountain region, inspecting the defenses around Anqing, especially the local militia of several counties. Nominally under county jurisdiction, they were in fact all supplied with rations and pay by Pang Yu, and their command structure was entirely subordinate to the Anqing Battalion.

None of the counties around Anqing had changed their County Magistrates yet; they were still the same old acquaintances. The only one replaced was that Huaining County Magistrate whom Zhang Guowei had annotated with "drunk all day long."

The other County Magistrates were all used to dealing with him. Their working relationship with the Anqing Battalion had already been smoothed out. Even that slippery Gou County Magistrate in Susong had not caused trouble for the Anqing Battalion in a long time. Everyone kept to their own business without incident.

The Anqing Battalion's troops had returned from suppressing bandits and rallying to the king, and they were continuously expanding their forces. The Anqing region was thick with massed troops. The Roving Bandits in the mountains had long since gotten word, and not a single bandit group was seen emerging along the mountains.

The Mountain Battalion assembled one Si at Taihu, preparing to advance on Yingshan County seat. This county seat lay deep in the mountain region and had been breached and sacked by the Roving Bandits many times. Its infrastructure was utterly destroyed. Garrisoning troops there depended entirely on supplies from outside the mountains, so Government Troops could not stay long. Once they withdrew, the Roving Bandits would reoccupy it.

In the original history, the Yinghuo Mountain Area had always been controlled by the Ge Zuo Five Battalions, becoming a revolving door through which the Roving Bandits could freely enter and leave Huguang, Henan, and the various provinces of Nanzhili. This gave them enormous strategic flexibility: if a battle went badly, they would withdraw into the mountains to hide, shake off pursuit, and then reappear in another province, which the local forces simply could not defend against.

This time, Pang Yu was preparing to formally take control of Yingshan. Yingshan's river route was navigable by small boats, and an Official Road ran alongside it. Maintaining this supply line required setting up Garrison Forts along the way. This kind of attritional deployment would consume vast resources with little short-term effect to show for it. For other Government Troop units, it was entirely thankless toil. They were merely regional defense forces; no one would spend their precious rations and pay on operating in the mountain region.

For the current Anqing Battalion, Pang Yu's was a theater-wide deployment. Fang Kongzhao before him had held the same strategy, though he had ultimately been unable to execute it. But Fang Kongzhao's vision had been extremely precise.

Yingshan County and Huoshan County were the two county seats within the Dabie Mountains. The reason they could become county seats was that they controlled the chokepoints of the Mountain Roads. Once the Anqing Battalion controlled both county seats, it would not only cut off the road passage but could also use the county seats as bases to strike out in every direction within the mountain region. This revolving door would then be closed to the Roving Bandits, and in turn, it would increase the Anqing Battalion's own strategic flexibility.

Closing the Dabie Mountains revolving door was the first step in the strategic deployment against the Roving Bandits. The second step was to close the Central Plains revolving door in the Nanyang Region. Once these two revolving doors were cut off, the Roving Bandits would lose the foundation of their mobility.

This deployment was not as grand as the Four Main Fronts, Six Corners, and Ten-Sided Net, but the objective it sought to achieve was the same. It likewise required no small number of troops, something absolutely impossible with the current old Anqing military units. They still had to wait for the Fire-Step Battalion to be churned out, which was why Pang Yu was reading Wu Dacai's petition so carefully.

Pang Yu turned his head to look at Pang Ding. "Wu Dacai's report? I assigned you to the Military System Revision Group to go sit in and listen yourself, not to relay messages for Wu Dacai."

Pang Ding said cautiously, "Reporting for your lordship's Awareness: over the past ten-plus days, Zhuang Chaozheng has already sought out Wu Dacai to quarrel three times."

"What were they quarreling about?"

"Wu Dacai only lets people from the Personal Soldier Second Si be chosen for the general council. Most are given the post of Planning Adjutant. Planning Adjutants have to draw maps, arrange formations, and do calculations. In all these days, only two from the Second Si have passed and been appointed Centurion. Zhuang Chaozheng naturally sought him out to quarrel."

Pang Yu grunted. "If Wu Dacai went too far, did you remind him?"

"This humble one has already reminded him. He has agreed to let candidates from the Personal Soldier First Si go before the general council at month's end, and to enter the Martial Academy in advance to observe the Fire-Step Battalion's drill."

"When will the Fire-Step First Battalion be formed?"

"It should be formed within the third month. The problem is that currently, there is only one Fire Lance for every two men. Wu Dacai petitions your lordship to urge the Workshop to increase production."

Pang Yu saw that this was also written in the petition. He nodded and said, "Go tell Bao Yu to send a Deputy Supervisor to join the Military System Revision Group, responsible for matters of firearms, cannons, and Armor and Weapons. In particular, Fire Lance production must be expanded as quickly as possible. Newly made Fire Lances are to be issued first to the Fire-Step Battalion. The other old military units are not to be supplied for now."

Mr. Yu, standing to the side, said, "When issuing the formal order, should we add a line stating that this Deputy Supervisor shall not participate in the general council on promotions within the revision group, so as not to disrupt the Military Council revision group's work?"

"Mr. Yu's reminder is apt. Handle it accordingly."

Mr. Yu immediately continued, "Also, Bao Yu's illness has worsened. The Military Medic unit sent someone to see him, and physicians from the Prefectural City were also called in. Two renowned doctors from Nanjing and Yangzhou were also summoned, but the medicine they prescribed has shown no improvement after taking it. Every time he goes to the Workshop, he cannot stay for even a single two-hour period. This time he has been lying at home for two days. He submitted a petition saying he wishes to hand over his duties and convalesce for a while." (Note 1: Bao Yu died of illness in the thirteenth year of the Chongzhen reign.)

Pang Yu nodded. Bao Yu's health had never been good. After arriving in Anqing, he had been busy with Workshop affairs. He was, by nature, still more of a technical person and was not adept at management.

But Pang Yu believed that what the late Ming lacked most were technical personnel. There was Bi Maokang, who had previously lived in Nanjing. Pang Yu had once entrusted someone to contact him, but although this man had written the Military Equipment Illustrated and knew the principle of the Self-Igniting Arquebus, he had never actually manufactured one, much less achieved mass production. Bao Yu could not only manufacture but also combine scientific theory to write books and establish doctrines; he was an outstanding talent who integrated theory and practice. Pang Yu still kept him as Workshop Supervisor to ensure the Workshop's technical orientation, guaranteeing him rations and pay, allowing the Workshop to develop step by step.

Right now, the Workshop's most important task was manufacturing Fire Lances. Multiple types of Self-Igniting Arquebuses had already been introduced along the Guangdong coast and were in practical use on both Chinese and foreign ships. Pang Yu had purchased them all and brought them to Anqing for testing. Based on army requirements, they had been improved many times at the Workshop, and further battlefield-tested during the rally to the king. Only then was the gun model finally settled.

Between principle and mass production, what Pang Yu had to consider went far beyond the Fire Lance itself. Weapons used by the army required comprehensive consideration of price, lethality, stability, ease of manufacture, maintenance cost, ease of operation, and so on. A mass-produced gun model would not be optimal in every aspect; it would only be a product of compromise after balancing performance across all these factors.

The gun model currently in mass production at the Workshop was the one finalized after the rally to the king. That Firearm Team leader, Captain Jiang, had personally participated in the rally-to-the-king campaign and knew the strengths and weaknesses of every gun model like the back of his hand. After returning, the speed of improvement had been extremely fast. Because of the major matter of military system revision, all of the Workshop's resources were tilted toward Fire Lance Platform production.

Pang Yu had assigned personnel specifically to assist in management from the very beginning of the Workshop's establishment. Bao Yu's health had been deteriorating year by year, and the time he could devote to management had grown less and less. If he did indeed withdraw now, the impact on the Workshop would not be great.

"Have Bao Yu return to the Prefectural City to recuperate. The Workshop here will be split into several Branch Offices: Firearms and Cannons, Armor and Weapons, Optics, Printing, and Metallurgy. Personnel, rations, and pay will be separated and accounted for independently. Do not keep them lumped together any longer."

Mr. Yu immediately noted this down. The earliest products had been only swords, spears, and armor. Later, industries such as cannons, printing, glass, and coin minting were added. The scale grew larger and larger; the eastern shore of Shimen Lake was nearly built up completely. Now, firearms manufacturing had been added, making the accounts even more complicated. Splitting them up would facilitate management.

"Of the new equipment Wu Dacai requests in his petition: the Single-Hand Gun is approved. The Mountain Battalion Short Musket and the Mule-Carried Leather Cannon are approved. All the rest are denied." Pang Yu placed the petition back on the desk. "When the variety of weapons increases, not only do manufacturing costs rise, but the complexity of army operations increases, and logistics costs also rise. The main battle weapons of the Fire-Step Battalion are only the Self-Igniting Arquebus, cannons, the Waist Saber, and the Long Spear. If firepower is insufficient, then add Short Muskets and cannons. Do not increase the number of weapon types."

Mr. Yu took back the petition and was about to write all the annotations on it when he suddenly heard Pang Ding say, "Young master, I think that is not appropriate."

The room fell silent for a moment. Mr. Yu was also at a loss. This Pang Ding had always been Pang Yu's yes-man. Although his Execution sometimes fell short, he had never openly opposed Pang Yu to his face.

Pang Yu turned his head, stunned. Pang Ding shielded his face preemptively and said, "I've followed you, young master, through so many battles now. Going into battle only worrying about the cost of rations and pay won't do. I listened to the discussions in the Military System Revision Group and feel that some items are justified in their use."

Pang Yu paused for a moment, then said, "Then tell me first which items."

"That Lumi musket can be used." Pang Ding first took a step back. "I was also at Wangzhuang. It wasn't just the Firearm Team using firearms; cavalry and infantry both used them. Everyone said that although the Lumi musket is troublesome with its Fire Rope, it shoots accurately. The mounted scouts once used this type of musket to kill a lone Eastern Invader rider from several tens of paces away, preventing information from leaking. Other units that have used it mostly praise its accuracy. The Martial Academy tested it: the Self-Igniting Arquebus is not accurate and can only be used in volley fire as you said, young master. But the Lumi musket, after a month of practice, can be more accurate than a bow and Arrow."

Pang Yu did not go over to smack Pang Ding's head. He lowered his head and stared at the desk, thinking for a moment. This Lumi musket came from the Ottoman Empire. During a Siege, it could be used for precision shooting at enemies atop the walls. They had previously obtained some from the Southern Military Administration Arsenal, but they were not well maintained and required a specialized Fire Lance Platform. Still, the Workshop had trial-produced a few, which consumed considerable man-hours. Out of a natural aversion to matchlocks, Pang Yu had decided not to adopt this type.

"Bring Wu Dacai's petition here; let me look at it again."

Mr. Yu quickly handed it over. Pang Yu sat up straight and flipped to the armaments page. The petition listed the Lumi musket matchlock, written after the Rocket, requesting fifty be allocated to each Si. The reason given was that when this firearm was well-made, it had long range and high accuracy, primarily to be used against Eastern Invader mounted scouts and skirmishers, to counter the enemy's harassing bow and Arrow fire.

Pang Yu recalled in his mind the engagement with the Qing army at Wangzhuang. There would be large numbers of cavalry advancing forward to control the surrounding battlefield, creating the illusion of encirclement on all sides to shake the enemy's morale.

At Wangzhuang, the Qing army had been assaulting a fortified position, and the Anqing Battalion had a Village to rely on, so this sense of crisis had not been strong. But in a field battle, an army in that scenario could easily have its morale affected by sensory perception.

According to intelligence provided by the Xuan-Da Border Army, during the Battle of Julu, the Qing army had used cavalry to repeatedly harass the army formation with bows and Arrows. The casualties inflicted would steadily mount, and this process would continue until the Ming Army infantry wavered. Once the formation loosened, they would send Heavy Armor Soldiers in a frontal assault. The Ming Army would quickly collapse, while Qing army casualties remained entirely controllable. What followed was one-sided slaughter, which, for the Qing army, was an extremely high cost-effectiveness ratio.

No matter how much silver the Anqing Battalion spent, it could never surpass the Northern Invaders in cavalry numbers. Dealing with harassment by scattered cavalry was a major problem. Pang Yu's original plan was to equip large numbers of Fire Lances and cannons, using volley fire from Fire Lances or flat-trajectory cannon fire to counter bows and Arrows. But there was no particularly good method for dealing with scattered cavalry. From a cost-effectiveness standpoint, a small number of high-precision Fire Lances seemed more suitable than volley fire. This Lumi musket used a Fire Rope and had no Striking Hammer impact to affect accuracy. Its Gun Barrel was finely made. Although it would increase logistical difficulty, it should be worth a try.

Pang Yu used his brush to tick the Lumi musket entry, then handed it to Pang Ding. "The Lumi musket is approved. Have the Workshop begin production immediately. In the future, if you feel I have done something inappropriate, you must remind me more often. Explain your reasoning clearly; do not be constrained by the distinction between superior and subordinate."

The two men in the room hastily acknowledged the order. After putting away the petition, Mr. Yu said, "There is one more matter that requires your lordship to handle personally. The new Defense Circuit Intendant arrives tomorrow. It is Zheng Eryang, transferred from Yangzhou. His red notice of arrival has already been sent."

"The Huaiyang Coastal Defense Circuit is being laterally transferred to Anqing?"

"Yes, young master."

Pang Yu had dealt with this Zheng Eryang before but had never met him. Yangzhou was one of the two Defense Circuits under the Canal Transport Governor's jurisdiction. It was actually a Coastal Defense Circuit, the same rank as a Defense Circuit Intendant, but since there had long been no sea pirates, everyone was now accustomed to calling it a Defense Circuit.

During the Pure Stream River Campaign, Zheng Eryang had already been in Yangzhou. Chuzhou was actually within his defense area, but at the time he had been primarily defending Yangzhou and had not met with Pang Yu.

As far as Pang Yu was concerned now, it made little difference which Defense Circuit Intendant came. In terms of Rations and Pay, he did not rely on these civil officials. But the scale of the Anqing region's military expansion was very conspicuous. Previously, facing the direct threat of the Roving Bandits, quietly establishing a few extra Thousand-Leader Headquarters had been something Shi Kefa had held his nose and accepted. But now was the time of large-scale expansion.

Even if they avoided the Prefectural City, the Shipai Camp was on a grand scale and could not possibly be hidden from the people of Anqing Prefecture. But the military expansion was imperative. Pang Yu still needed to carefully re-establish a working relationship with this new superior.

Mr. Yu added, "That Supervising Eunuch, Lü Chaoqin, has also arrived."