Chapter 368: Zhu Cilang's Model Army

On the great drill ground of the outer Nanjing military camp, orderly footsteps kicked up dust that filled the sky. One square formation after another of pikemen and musketeers passed before a group of inspectors, first formed up as single arms. Every soldier was fully armed, a brand-new red battle jacket covered by a half-torso cuirass of riveted iron plates, shouldering an eighteen-foot pike, a turtledove-foot matchlock, or a matchlock musket fitted with a socket spike, eyes fixed straight ahead, wholly intent on the officers' commands.

These young officers, selected from the K'nan New Army, stood at the left of the first rank of their own square, wearing cuirasses sturdier than those of the common soldiers, each accompanied by a foreign drillmaster, an interpreter, a drummer, and a bugler.

At their commands, the advancing infantry squares suddenly began to change and regroup. Two smaller musket squares, each made up of one 120-man company, and one larger pike square, made up of two companies, merged three into one, forming a battalion-level Maurice formation — pikemen in the center, musketeers on both wings. The pikemen formed a five-rank line, while the musketeers on the wings formed twelve files, each file ten men deep.

After completing the change of formation, the battalion square continued forward, the pikemen advancing in step. The musketeers, meanwhile, advanced while rotating — the first man in each file made the motion of firing, then passed back through the gaps between files to the last rank and mimed reloading.

This tactic had been translated by Johann Adam Schall von Bell as the "ten-man rotating fire and reload method," its purpose being to deliver continuous, dense fire as the square advanced.

After the square had advanced a certain distance, a burst of urgent war drums sounded. At once the whole square halted, and a second change of formation began. The musketeers originally on the wings, in platoon-level four files, began advancing in succession from the heads of the wings, then wheeled left and right respectively, so that the two four-file columns moved toward each other until they met, then turned together into a four-rank line. When all the platoon-level four-file columns had followed in turn and completed their wheeling and re-forming —

a nine-rank line took shape, with a musket line in front and a pike line behind. The pikemen in the rear, under the officers' direction, then spread out slightly, forming a looser five-rank pike line with wider gaps.

Suddenly a piercing suona blast rang out. The musketeers who had formed the four-rank line scattered at once, turned, and passed back through the gaps in the pike ranks, running behind the pike line to form up again.

"Good! Good! The muskets and pikes work together superbly — they can fire by volley or by rotation, and the pikes can be used against enemy cavalry! General Shi, this tactic is not the typical Maurice tactic, is it?"

The one putting the question to Shi Rui'en was Zhu Cilang, the Ming Crown Prince and Army Commissioner. He was now reviewing the First Infantry Regiment of the Model Army, which had just completed its first stage of training, at the great drill ground camp, accompanied by Wu Sanfu, Wang Qi, Wu Guoyong, Hao Yaoqi, and other New Army generals.

The unit demonstrating the drill formations for Zhu Cilang was the First Battalion of the First Infantry Regiment.

The foreign drillmaster Shi Rui'en wore a very gaudy flying-fish robe — his current official rank was Assistant Regional Commander of the Grand Marshal's Office, concurrently serving as Guard Commander of the Model Army, and under Zhu Cilang's regulations he was permitted to wear a flashy flying-fish robe.

Hearing Zhu Cilang's question, posed in French, the foreign drillmaster Shi Rui'en at once grinned smugly and replied: "Your Highness, as you say, this is indeed not the typical Maurice tactic. Because most of your musketeers are equipped with bayonets, they possess a certain capacity for close combat. They will therefore play a greater role in future battles. Your infantry squares will be more aggressive than Maurice's squares.

Of course, once the socket bayonet reaches Europe, Dutch and Swedish tactics will certainly be improved accordingly. The pike's role on the battlefield will steadily diminish, and perhaps one day it will disappear entirely."

Zhu Cilang nodded. The foreigner Shi's judgment was close to what history recorded. He asked another question: "Roughly how long before it disappears?"

Shi Rui'en shrugged. "Your Highness, I cannot answer that question. At present, at least, we still need pikes. I would therefore suggest that once the training of the four European-style regiments is complete, you reorganize the four musket regiments into European-style regiments as well. Once a musket regiment receives a certain number of pikemen, it can be split into two European-style regiments. Your four musket regiments could then quickly become eight musket regiments, and you would soon possess twelve European-style regiments, one artillery regiment, and two cavalry regiments. That would be an army of enormous size!"

Twelve infantry regiments would mean 30,000 men; two cavalry regiments plus one artillery regiment would add 5,000. In that way the Model Army could quickly reach 35,000 men.

By European standards that would be quite large, but in China it could hardly be called enormous, and it would not suffice to support a campaign to recover the Central Plains. Still, His Highness the Crown Prince could rely on them to withstand one fierce assault by the Eight Banners' crack troops!

"Sanfu," Zhu Cilang called Wu Sanfu to his side, "draw another 8,000 pikemen and 2,000 baggage troops from the various divisions and assign them all to the Model Army. Those four musket regiments are to be reorganized into eight model regiments shortly. Also transfer a portion of the foreign drillmasters and officers from the existing model regiments to the new ones."

Wu Sanfu had long since ceased to be the K'nan New Army's Guard Commander, because the K'nan New Army no longer had a Guard Commander. But Zhu Cilang had not left him idle, making him Regional Commander of the Model Army — though of course he was still only an "order-relaying Regional Commander," with little real authority and no money to be made.

"This subject receives the order." Wu Sanfu accepted the order with great deference and asked no further questions, for his mind was not on military affairs at all, but on his sister's belly.

Wu Sanmei was already more than nine months pregnant and could give birth at any moment — whether she bore a son would determine the Wu family's future standing in the Ming dynasty.

Moreover, Wu Sanmei now had a formidable rival in Zhu Cilang's inner palace: Zheng Sen's sister, Zheng Chagu.

Although Zhu Cilang had so far restrained himself and not yet made a move, instead having Chagu study palace etiquette under Ning Xiangyu, Wu Sanfu had already found out that Zhu Cilang regarded this young Zheng girl with special favor. And the girl was exceedingly good at winning people over, lavishly generous and utterly indifferent to money! She had not been in the palace long, yet there was no one high or low who did not speak well of her!

If Wu Sanmei failed to bear a son this time, and Zheng Chagu beat her to it by producing a son first, Sanmei's position as first lady of the inner palace would be in grave danger!

Furthermore, Zheng Zhilong had many wives and concubines and many daughters — more than could be counted on two hands! If Chagu failed to bear a son, he could perfectly well send another daughter into the palace, and could even send several at once!

Wu Xiang, on the other hand, feared his wife, so he had few children — only two daughters, of whom the elder, Wu Sanjie, was older than Wu Sangui and had been married off many years ago.

What if Wu Sanmei truly could not bear a son? Who could be sent to help with childbearing? Wu Sangui did have two daughters, but they were too young, and moreover were not on the Ming side.

Wu Sanfu dared not think any further!

Just as Wu Sanfu was half-heartedly assenting to Zhu Cilang's orders, a clatter of hoofbeats suddenly rang out. Zhu Cilang turned to look and saw Chen Shifang, the Director of the Eastern Depot, galloping toward him.

Before the man had even arrived, he was shouting from the saddle: "Thousand Years! Lady Wu has gone into labor!"

(End of Chapter)