Chapter 91: The Review Meeting

Chen Xin's office was packed with officers of squad commander rank and above. Chen Xin gave Zhu Guobin a slight nod, and Zhu Guobin began chairing the combat review. After first praising everyone, he called for reports by unit number. The first was Wang Zhangfu.

"Our First Killer Squad has summarized twelve points. After screening by Vice Squad Commander Lu, we are putting forward five."

"First, what affects combat soldiers most, apart from the bloodshed, is the screaming on the battlefield. We hope this can be added to training. Second, after casualties occur, the formation becomes incomplete. We suggest that in peacetime training, the fire soldiers can temporarily fill the ranks. Third, we hope for better armor. Fourth, there was no platoon flag. After we heard the assembly horn, it took us quite a while to determine the position. Fifth, this, well, this." He looked up and glanced at Chen Xin's expression.

Chen Xin smiled encouragingly. "Feel free to speak."

"Well, the thing is, our squad was in the very front row. Shouldn't the bonus be a bit higher?"

The moment these words were spoken, the roomful of officers fell dead silent. Wang Zhangfu was extremely embarrassed and cursed Zhong Laosi inwardly — that son of a bitch was always making trouble for him. But he was a man who took responsibility, and he hurriedly explained, "I raised this point myself. If the front and back rows are treated the same, then when we deploy in the future, everyone will want to be in the back row."

Chen Xin said, "Let's go through them one by one. First, the battlefield screaming — how do we train for that in peacetime?"

The captain of the Third Squad raised his hand. "We could have someone stand nearby and scream."

The captain of the Fourth Squad added, "It doesn't have to be every day. Once every five or six days would be enough."

Zhu Guobin laughed. "Who would we get to scream? How much silver would we have to pay for a whole day of screaming?"

Zhu Daichun, captain of the Second Squad, said, "I know who can scream. Those professional mourners at funerals are the best screamers. They can wail for an entire day, and it only costs one or two fen of silver a day."

The room erupted in laughter. Most of them had seen professional mourners — they could wail like ghosts and howl like wolves, with both sound and emotion to spare. This point was thus settled. On the next three points: everyone supported training the fire soldiers, because when they recruited, they had recruited everyone as combat soldiers. Except for Zhou Shao'er, the other three fire soldiers could actually serve as combat soldiers. Armor could not be addressed for the time being. The platoon flag was decided to be a six-chi square red banner, inscribed with only the character "Chen." Finally, they discussed the bonus.

Chen Xin looked at Lu Chuanzong and said to him, "Lu Lvzi, you led the First Killer Squad, and the Second Squad in the back row was also under your command. What do you say about this bonus matter?"

Lu Chuanzong chuckled. "I agree with what Wang Zhangfu said. There should be some difference. But even if you, my lord, disagree, it cannot be said that we are unwilling to stand in the front row."

Dai Zhenggang and Zhu Guobin both nodded in agreement.

The Second Killer Squad had been in the back row. Its captain, Zhu Daichun, looked at Wang Zhangfu with dissatisfaction. "Right now, everything is arranged by squad number. If the front row gets a bigger reward, then we'd also be willing to go to the front row. But then who would be in the back?"

Everyone looked at each other. Chen Xin also had a bit of a headache. Human nature was just this selfish. But the army was the least humane place of all, and they could not be coddled too much. After thinking for a moment, he said, "Both front and back rows are engaged in combat. The back row also plays an important role in achieving victory. Although the front row takes more attacks, the armored men are also in the front row. The back row may become the front row at any moment. My opinion is this: combat deployment is the commanding officer's decision. Whoever he assigns to go must go. From now on, each vice Squad Commander will separately control twenty percent of the bonus funds, to be given to the squads under his command that perform better, but not using front or back row as the sole criterion."

Seeing that the commanding officer had spoken, no one else had any other ideas, and it was settled for the time being. Chen Xin noticed Wang Zhangfu looking at him a little cautiously, and consoled him with a few words: "Wang Zhangfu, the spirit in which you raised this opinion is commendable. Not every opinion can be approved. In the future, you should still raise whatever you have to raise." Only then did Wang Zhangfu relax a little and quickly sat down.

Then it was the Second Squad captain's turn to speak. Zhu Daichun also put forward several points. He said in a clear voice, "First, after my squad suffered casualties in this operation, our formation has been incomplete during training these past few days. One trident-and-fire-fork soldier broke his arm bone. A new replacement would have to start training from scratch and is hard to integrate. Second, when pursuing routed enemies, we should use the Small Three-Talents Formation, which is more flexible. Third, in close combat, the arquebusiers can rush to the flanks and fire into the center. Fourth, we have too few archers. Fifth, the pike thrusts are too fierce. Most pikemen advance with body and step together and cannot retreat in time. Once the enemy gets inside the length of the pike, they are effectively empty-handed. Although in individual practice they train the short-use of long weapons, in battle they mostly cannot apply it. We suggest slowing the speed during the charge so the back row can better support..."...

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The review meeting lasted until the afternoon. After it ended, Chen Xin worked through the night with Zhu Guobin and the others to make revisions. Among the issues raised by the various squads, the most important one was that the Mandarin Duck Formation had complex troop types, and the training difficulty was indeed greater than that of the European single-type pikeman unit. Dai Zhenggang suggested that in future basic training for new recruits, every soldier should practice at least two to three types of weapons. The relatively similar pike, trident-and-fire-fork, and banner-pike would form one category. The saber-and-shield and the long saber really could not be grouped together. The long saber soldiers had done alright against the bandits this time, but against heavily armored enemies, those long, thin blades would struggle greatly.

"Switch to the saber-tipped club," Chen Xin said after considering. His confidence had greatly increased after this battle, and he truly wanted to test himself against the Tatars in the future. Against cavalry and armored soldiers, the saber-tipped club was more effective. The logistics squad's use of the saber-tipped club this time had also yielded decent results, and it was very versatile. Since they had not yet expanded the army, changing weapons would have little impact.

Zhu Guobin agreed. "My lord is wise. In the future, when you lead us to fight the Tatars, their Death Soldiers and Bayara all wear two layers of armor. The long saber's blade is long and thin, and the weapon itself is very light. Even if it strikes heavy armor, it may not be effective."

Dai Zhenggang laughed heartily. "Old Dai here likes the big club best. Once that thing comes down, no matter what armor, it smashes them dead."

Chen Xin laughed too at his words, but though the phrasing was crude, the reasoning was sound. Qi Jiguang had written the same thing. When the saber and club were added to the Mandarin Duck Formation after arriving in the north, the saber-tipped club Chen Xin now used had a shaft eight chi long, a blade just over two cun long, and a diameter of two cun. Whether smashing a horse's head or an enemy in heavy armor that was hard to penetrate, as long as this heavy club struck true — horse or layers of armor — it was death either way.

After laughing, Lu Chuanzong said, "My lord, we only have five bare squads of troops. After casualties, we have to replenish from scratch. Shouldn't we recruit more men, train them in peacetime, so we can easily fill vacancies when they occur?"

Chen Xin said approvingly, "Chuanzong makes a very good point. I did not consider this thoroughly before. This time I have already secured the troop quota. We will recruit more men."

Zhu Guobin and the others were somewhat excited to hear about expanding the army. What commander wouldn't want to lead more men? Lu Chuanzong asked in delighted surprise, "My lord, how many more troops can we add?"

"The troop quota from Wendeng Battalion here in Weihai — Yang Yunnong has already agreed to give it to me. It totals one hundred and fifty-nine men. They will be called the Waist-Catching Army. We will recruit two hundred men and begin basic training first. It's best to recruit fishermen or mountain folk."

Zhu Guobin and the others were completely oblivious to this. Zhu Guobin was still excited, rubbing his hands on his knees as he said, "My lord, we should also buy some horses. Before, with few men, it wasn't necessary. But if we have more men in the future, the marching column will be long. Relay horses, scout horses, and flank-covering riders will all be needed. This time, if not for the two retainer scouts from Baishiya, Weihai Guard would have suffered even greater losses."

Chen Xin recalled that Zhu Guobin had once been a Night Scout squad commander. Seeing his expression, he was clearly still most passionate about his old line of work. Chen Xin nodded. "First, plan the cavalry's organization and equipment, based on twenty men. After that, have Mr. Liu calculate the costs, and also write down how to train them. I will decide when I return. The opinion raised by Zhu Daichun of the Second Squad was good. Promote him to vice training officer for the killer squads. Transfer one squad commander from the firearms squad to serve as a full-time firearms instructor."

Zhu Guobin, hearing that cavalry was a real possibility, agreed repeatedly. He indeed had a special passion for cavalry. Seeing his expression, Chen Xin laughed. "Since Guobin is so happy, then focus entirely on leading the cavalry. Hand the firearms squad over to its current captain to lead."

Zhu Guobin said, "That captain, Shi Pingli, performed well this time. He is fully capable of commanding the firearms squad."

"From now on, Guobin will lead the cavalry and concurrently serve as military judge. Dai Zhenggang will be responsible for infantry training. After the new recruits' basic training is complete, the veterans will leave behind one intact killer squad. Everyone else will be broken up and dispersed into the new squads. At that time, I will readjust the organization and appoint squad officers."

"Yes, my lord."

"Additionally, Lu Chuanzong will be responsible for gathering intelligence on the surrounding bandits, compiling a summary, and mapping the nearby mountains and terrain. I will inspect it when I return. These bandits are excellent resources for training troops."

"What, writing stuff again?" Lu Chuanzong let out an exclamation. His last thrusting summary had taken a herculean effort and made him detest it with a passion.

"Correct, but you can find your subordinates to do it together."