Chapter 167: Sun Chengzong Seems Rather Unimpressive

The autumn wind blew bleakly, whipping up dust and sand, snapping at the hem of Zhu Youjian's dragon robe with a sharp flutter.

He stood with his hands clasped behind his back, expressionless, his quiet gaze passing over the high platform to fall upon the squads of soldiers being called out of formation and dismissed back to their camps below.

The drums beat a muffled rhythm, officers' roll-calls rose and fell in waves, and the entire process was orderly, yet it exuded a heavy, oppressive atmosphere.

And yet, a closer look would reveal…

Zhu Youjian's mind had wandered again.

His thoughts had followed the Little Ice Age and drifted all the way to the technology tree.

In short, Great Ming's technology had to walk on two legs.

One leg was the school of practice.

This path was crude and direct — it did not inquire into the principles of investigating things to extend knowledge, but sought only immediate, visible results.

As a humanities student, his science was poor, but he remembered from his history textbook that Europe's first Industrial Revolution had not, in fact, involved much scientific content.

What technical content could the spinning jenny possibly have?

What technical content could the early Newcomen steam engine, hammered out by a blacksmith, possibly have?

Besides, there were still some vague concepts, some fragmentary terms, lingering in his mind.

Boil water, produce steam, push a piston, drive a connecting rod…

Although… he had no idea what a piston, a cylinder, or a crank-and-connecting-rod assembly actually looked like.

But no matter — just give it a try. In terms of scientific theory, could he possibly be worse than an English craftsman?

And could the skill of Great Ming's blacksmiths possibly be inferior to that of their counterparts in Europa?

No point overthinking it — just start doing it first.

Besides the steam engine, there was also the spring-fired mechanism of the flintlock, the casting techniques and caliber ratios of new-model cannons…

Anything he had some impression of, that did not require overly profound theoretical support, and that the top craftsmen of this era could figure out through trial and error — he was going to pursue it all.

Even magnets plus coils generating electricity, the left-hand rule, the right-hand rule… this knowledge, of which he retained only blurry memories, was not entirely beyond attempting.

How to store the generated electricity, how to apply it — he could not worry about all that for now.

Just produce it first, and that would be victory!

Let this Great Ming feel the shock of being electrocuted!

The Tianqi Emperor loved carpentry; he, the Yongchang Emperor, serving as "chief engineer" and enjoying a bit of ingenious craft, could be seen as carrying on the tradition — perfectly reasonable.

He firmly believed that, given enough resources, enough time, and tolerance for failure, relying on the wisdom of Great Ming's countless skilled craftsmen, they would eventually strike some unexpected sparks along this path.

Nine years of compulsory education and over a decade of reading web novels had stuffed far too many odds and ends into his head — surely some of them could blossom and bear fruit in this era.

The other leg was the school of theory.

This was the fundamental groundwork laid for the long-term peace and stability of Chinese civilization.

Starting from the most basic mathematics, physics, chemistry, and biology, building from the ground up a complete, integrated scientific system.

This path could not be completed by the efforts of one man alone; ultimately, it would have to rely on the wisdom of Great Ming's own people.

All he had to do was set the tone, foster an atmosphere of truth-seeking and pragmatism, and leave the rest to the brightest minds of this era, letting them deduce and explore on their own.

Compared to the difficulty of building a theoretical system from scratch, the greater challenge lay in how to subtly, imperceptibly sow the seeds of science in this land where Confucian thought ran bone-deep.

The slightest misstep would invite a massed assault from the entire Confucian world.

Borrowing the shell of the Western Learning faction and walking the path of pragmatic statecraft might be a good choice.

In this era, a group of scholar-officials led by Xu Guangqi had already begun to open their eyes and look at the world.

Only…

The moment he thought of these people, Zhu Youjian felt as if a fishbone were stuck in his throat.

These scholar-officials, steeped in the classics, actually believed in a foreign god from tens of thousands of li away?

In that later age when national self-confidence was at its lowest ebb, the spread of Christianity had still been an uphill struggle.

In this age when the bonds of sovereign and subject, father and son, and the bloodline of ancestors were paramount, how had they cast aside their ancestors to believe in a God with whom they had no connection whatsoever?

"It supplements and benefits the royal transformation, supports Confucianism, remedies the errors of Buddhism, and aids the present dynasty."

Zhu Youjian silently recited this line from Xu Guangqi's memorial of eleven years past, his brow furrowing slightly.

Old Xu, were you serious when you wrote that? Don't tell me you got brainwashed by a pyramid scheme…

If he could not figure it out, then he would discuss it when they met.

Gao Shiming had already received his decree and sorted out the personnel list of the Western Learning faction.

By his reckoning, within this month, Xu Guangqi, Han Lin, and Sun Yuanhua from the Southern Metropolitan Region, Wang Zheng from Shaanxi, Li Zhizao from Zhejiang, and the others should be arriving in the capital one after another.

Entering the capital alongside them would also be Qian Qianyi, Wen Tiren, Zhou Yanru, Hong Chengchou…

This tenth month, the stage of the capital was destined to be very interesting.

Zhu Youjian was still letting his imagination run wild, his train of thought having even drifted to the sensation that the Imperial Capital Hemisphere Experiment would cause.

Although he had not even figured out the specifics of how to create a vacuum, still — give it a try, who knew, it might just work?

"Your Majesty." A steady voice suddenly pulled Zhu Youjian's thoughts back from thousands of miles away.

He turned his head to see that Xu Yingyuan, the seal-holding eunuch of the Directorate of the Imperial Horses, had already ascended the high platform and was now bowing with clasped hands, his expression reverent.

"Your Majesty, over two thousand soldiers have been eliminated in this session, comprising four hundred and eleven files. All have been distributed and rewarded by unit, have received their written orders, and have been assigned to the various divisions of the Capital Camps."

Zhu Youjian came back to himself, nodded slightly, and his gaze instantly sharpened, switching from a wildly imaginative transmigrator back to that decisive, ruthless emperor.

He had come here today not merely for the dismissal and distribution of rewards.

Another matter was the true priority.

"Coordinate closely with Huo Weihua. You must ensure these men are evenly dispersed among the various divisions of the Capital Camps — do not let them form cliques."

"Additionally, prepare in advance for the selection of new warriors. When the border generals from each circuit enter the capital, their elite troops must be able to fill the vacancies immediately."

"As commanded." Xu Yingyuan acknowledged the order respectfully, then added, "As per Your Majesty's instructions, the eunuchs who distributed the wine kept individual records. Today… over thirty files smashed their bowls."

Not even ten percent? That's acceptable.

If over two thousand men were eliminated by such a near-blanket cut, and every single one silently took his reward and left, then this army would truly be beyond hope.

To have resentment, to have unwillingness — that is a good thing.

Let that energy simmer for now. Let it simmer well for two months, and the Capital Camps' reorganization will sweep through like a splitting bamboo.

Zhu Youjian was satisfied inwardly, but his face remained calm and unruffled. He merely nodded.

He slowly turned around, his gaze burning like torches as it swept across the six Company Commanders standing at attention: Cao Bianjiao, Zhou Yuji, Sun Yingyuan, Huang Degong, Wu Fangrui, and Wu Jisi.

After a moment of deliberation, he opened his mouth and asked:

"Among you six, who has read Qi Jiguang's *Practical Record of Troop Training*?"

As his words fell, Cao Bianjiao, Zhou Yuji, Wu Fangrui, and Wu Jisi raised their hands in unison.

Sun Yingyuan and Huang Degong exchanged a glance, their faces showing a trace of embarrassment, and silently lowered their heads.

Zhu Youjian's gaze did not linger on them overlong. He continued, "And what of Supreme Commander Sun's *Combined Questions and Answers on War-Chariot Tactics*?"

This time, besides Cao Bianjiao and Zhou Yuji, Huang Degong also raised his hand.

Zhu Youjian's brow furrowed almost imperceptibly. He looked at the officers before him and asked, "Then in your daily routine, by what drill manual do you train your soldiers?"

"Drill manual?"

The six men exchanged glances, clearly somewhat unfamiliar with the term, but they quickly grasped its meaning.

A canon of drill regulations — it was direct and easy to understand.

Sun Yingyuan was the first to react. He bowed and replied, "In reply to Your Majesty, this humble general… this humble general follows the common training methods of the guard stations. After entering the camp, I also referred somewhat to the old regulations of the Tengxiang Four Guards."

Wu Fangrui and Wu Jisi chimed in agreement, saying they too referred to the old regulations of the Tengxiang Four Guards.

But when pressed further — when these old regulations originated, and how they differed from guard-station drill — they hemmed and hawed, unable to explain clearly.

Huang Degong, Zhou Yuji, and Cao Bianjiao, on the other hand, answered that they had referenced Liaodong military law, and had also consulted some content from the *Practical Record of Troop Training* and the *Combined Questions and Answers on War-Chariot Tactics*. But at root, each still fought on his own, and no unified system had been formed.

Zhu Youjian sighed softly in his heart.

Since crossing over, he had always believed in "letting professionals do professional work," so in the area of military drill, he had not overly interfered.

He had merely applied some later-age management knowledge — introducing competition, stimulating vitality, getting them moving and drilling first, so as to select and weed out capable men through the training itself.

But after following the drills for a month, he finally discovered what was wrong.

This late-Ming army, it seemed… was not as professional as he had imagined.

The soldiers from Datong carried forty light arrows in their quivers.

The soldiers from Liaodong, however, carried thirty heavy arrows, and some officers even brought their own three-barreled hand cannons.

Yet when it came to the specific allocation of gunpowder and shot, each differed again.

The entire Valiant Guard Camp, outwardly unified in banners and mutually communicating orders, was internally a patchwork "Eight-Nation Alliance."

What kind of nonsense is this!

But in truth, he had only himself to blame for this…

On the third day after his enthronement, he had ordered Gao Shiming to fetch Qi Jiguang's *Practical Record of Troop Training* and *New Treatise on Military Efficiency*.

After meeting Sun Chengzong, he had also dug out Sun's *Combined Questions and Answers on War-Chariot Tactics*.

Regrettably, he had been tied up with personnel adjustments, screening capital memorials, implementing new policies, the Mongol campaign, and other matters — he simply had no time to read them carefully.

It was not until after the third Daily Lecture that he finally found the time to read these several military texts thoroughly.

Only after reading them did he understand exactly where this Valiant Guard Camp was going wrong.

Qi Jiguang's *Practical Record of Troop Training* was practically a military encyclopedia.

From soldier selection and daily training, to weapons allocation and formation drill, to military law and discipline, to setting camp and pitching fortifications — it covered everything, in exhaustive detail to a staggering degree.

It even specified how many men should share one latrine when encamped.

"For each banner of mounted troops, and for every two chariots of chariot troops, dig one latrine pit at that unit's own position."

"At night, relieve oneself in the latrine. At dawn, when the call to strike camp sounds, if departing immediately, bury it. If staying long, clean it, and when the camp gate opens, carry it far outside the camp and discard it. At night, no man is permitted to leave camp to relieve himself."

This military manual was even divided into multiple volumes. The Regional Commander, Assistant Regional Commander, Company Commander, Platoon Officer, File Leader, and common soldier each had entirely different content to study and memorize.

This was already a standardized drill manual in the truest sense.

Of course, it was also mixed with some dross, such as "Men today only seek an auspicious day, unaware of clashes with their natal affinities," or "The fourth day of the month is unpropitious for superiors" — but these flaws did not obscure its brilliance.

Yet, after drilling alongside them for a month, Zhu Youjian had never once seen anyone train troops according to this method.

Each man, in his own time, arrayed formations and practiced marksmanship with individual vigor, and could coordinate as one following the old Ming regulations — but in the details, there were problems everywhere.

And Sun Chengzong's *Combined Questions and Answers on War-Chariot Tactics* opened Zhu Youjian's eyes even wider.

This book, in a question-and-answer format, presented from a practical standpoint the various methods by which chariot camps, cavalry camps, naval camps, and others could cooperate under the geographical conditions of Liaodong.

However…

Written entirely in classical literary Chinese, it was plainly a military text meant for the "scholar-official" rather than the "commoner."

That could be overlooked.

But some of its contents, when read, truly gave him the feeling of "pray, let this humble monk stretch his legs a bit."

For example, one question asked: When a chariot column is bogged down in mud and comes under enemy attack, what is to be done?

The book's answer was: Immediately hold fast, then dispatch a surprise force to strike the enemy's flank, or skillfully lay an ambush behind the enemy lines. The enemy will certainly retreat, whereupon our army shall beat the drums and sally forth, and the enemy will flee in panic. To send scouts to reconnoiter the approach route and block it so they cannot advance is even more ingenious.

After reading this, Zhu Youjian nearly flung the book from his hands.

What does "skillfully lay an ambush behind the enemy lines" mean? When the eyebrows are already singeing, where do you conjure a surprise force to go ambush them?

What does "the enemy will certainly retreat" mean?

What if he doesn't retreat? What if he charges in and fights hard?

And since when is sending scouts to reconnoiter the route a standard operation? When did it become an "ingenious" stratagem?

After finishing this book, for the first time, Zhu Youjian felt doubt about his decision to appoint Sun Chengzong as Supreme Commander of Jizhou and Liaodong.

Old Sun, it seems, truly has no talent for military command.

And the content of this book… damn it all, it's absolute nonsense.

Forget it… I never expected the Supreme Commander of Ji-Liao to be another Chang Yuchun.

If he can just be a Li Shanchang — handling provisions, pay, personnel, and corruption properly — that will be enough.

As for the true method of training troops, it seems now that he, Zhu Youjian, can only rely on his own efforts.

Zhu Youjian drew a deep breath, and his voice turned cold and sharp.

"I have summoned you here today for three matters. They are interconnected, each link locked to the next. You must listen carefully."

The six men's spirits surged, and in unison they cupped their fists: "We obey His Majesty's decree!"

"The first: the enemy's situation!"

Zhu Youjian's voice was not loud, but it carried an authority that brooked no doubt.

"In military dispatches and memorials, accounts of the Jianzhou barbarians' tactics are always a welter of conflicting opinions, with no consensus."

"Some say the Mongols excel at archery, surpassing the Jurchen; others say the Jurchen horse archers, within five paces, make all who face them collapse."

"Some say the Jurchen armor is superb; others say our Great Ming armor is as flimsy as paper."

"Some say they wear double armor as death troops; others say it is merely a difference between cotton armor and iron armor."

"Claims like these, true and false, are impossible to distinguish. For men like you who have personally faced battle, it is still manageable — but what standard are those officers and soldiers who have never seen the Jianzhou barbarians supposed to rely on?"

"I want you to canvass every man under your command. Anyone who has fought hand-to-hand with the Jianzhou barbarians or the Tartar caitiffs — regardless of rank — compile everything they know and have seen into a volume! The enemy's tactics, formations, arms, equipment, habits — no matter how large or small, all must be clearly recorded!"

Zhu Youjian's gaze swept over them, and his tone grew heavier:

"Do not imitate those scholars with their empty talk. Every word, every sentence must draw blood, so that each word can save lives on the battlefield! Do you understand?!"

"We obey, Your Majesty!" the six men answered in a single voice.

Zhu Youjian nodded and said nothing more.

If they write it poorly, he would just send it back for a rewrite.

He was convinced that nothing would teach these martial men to speak plainly better than making them revise documents over and over.

Besides, men who had faced life and death head-on surely could not produce nonsense like "the red barbarian cannons reduced everything to pulp for several dozen li."

If anyone dared write that, Zhu Youjian would show him that under the military rod, there was nothing that would not be reduced to pulp!

"The second: the drill manual."

"Qi Shaobao's *True Record of Troop Training* can be called the most practical military treatise of all time, past or present. However…"

Zhu Youjian paused and looked at them.

"That book, after all, dates from the Wanli era. The enemy Qi Shaobao faced then were Mongols, not Jurchen. Today's firearms and tactics are all different."

"He wrote the *New Book of Effective Discipline* in the south and the *True Record of Troop Training* in the north — which shows that no military book holds an unchanging truth for all ages or applies universally everywhere."

"Therefore, this drill manual must also advance with the times and be revised anew."

"The six of you will read the *True Record of Troop Training* thoroughly for me, and then each write a policy essay explaining where the book is now wrong, where it should be changed, where it needs additions, and where it needs cuts. In ten days, I want to see them."

A light kindled in the men's eyes. The Son of Heaven was examining them — and giving them a chance to distinguish themselves!

"The third: field training!"

"Once the enemy intelligence is compiled into a volume and the new drill manual begins to take shape, starting from the eleventh month, every battalion of the Valiant Guard Camp will conduct field training twice a month."

"One forced march, one regular march. The specific routes, tasks, and requirements — Xu Yingyuan will distribute them to you when the time comes."

"I want to see with my own eyes whether the troops you have trained are soldiers who can fight, or mere showpieces that can only strut across the parade ground!"

He swept his gaze over the six men and slowly laid down his final bargaining chip.

"For the three matters above, the man who places first in each will receive an additional ten points when battalion commanders are selected in the twelfth month."

"Gentlemen, apply yourselves. I am waiting to see another Qi Shaobao emerge from among you!"

"Qi Shaobao never managed to obtain a marquisate in his day, but here with me, I will treat you with the rank of a state duke!"

This time, the breathing of all six men grew heavy and ragged.

Their voices, hoarse yet resolute, carried a yearning they had never shown before, merging into a wave of sound that surged toward the heavens.

"Your subjects would die ten thousand deaths and never refuse!"

Zhu Youjian nodded with satisfaction, glanced at the sky, and turned to Xu Yingyuan: "Order the meal to be served. I am returning to the palace first."

With that, he swept his dragon sleeves and turned to descend the high platform.

Behind him, the six company commanders knelt as one.

Then, across the parade ground, three thousand soldiers' armor plates clashed as they knelt like a receding tide.

"We respectfully see off Your Majesty! May His Majesty live ten thousand years! Ten thousand years! Ten thousand times ten thousand years!"

The roar, like a landslide and a tidal wave, resounded through the clouds.

Cao Bianjiao slowly rose. He glanced at the other five men beside him, their hearts surging just as fiercely as his own, and a raging fighting spirit blazed in his eyes.

Qi Shaobao, was it…

I, Cao Bianjiao — I am nothing but the name Cao Bianjiao!