Chapter 1046: The First Brigade

Zhao Jin laughed in spite of himself. He had been overthinking it — this gift was no bad thing. The foreigner Louis and those two captured firearms craftsmen were still, in the end, separated by a layer of distance. If they could get a Han Chinese craftsman, that would be ideal.

Still, Zhao Jin had his doubts. How much could a Han craftsman really understand once he got involved in firearms manufacture? Would he turn out to be about the same as that master of theirs who invented the gun carriage and artillery cart? That was certainly valuable, but it didn't help much in the direction Zhao Jin needed. Then another thought struck him, and he asked, "You said this man's surname is Zhu?"

The surname Zhu was the imperial surname of the Great Ming. Many who bore it were of the imperial clan, and the Ming imperial clan and Xuzhou could never walk the same path. Xu Housheng smiled and nodded. "Yes, Zhu. Zhu Xingshu. He really is of the imperial lineage — says he's from the Chu Prince branch. But it's been so long, he holds no title whatsoever, so he's allowed to leave the city and earn a living. Don't worry, Big Brother. The moment anyone mentions the Great Ming, this man gnashes his teeth in hatred. He hates it to the marrow of his bones."

A member of the Ming imperial clan who loathed the Great Ming so fiercely, and who had actually been to the Southern Seas and was versed in firearms manufacture — this Zhu Xingshu was truly an interesting character. Zhao Jin couldn't help laughing. Xu Housheng chimed in, "He really is an interesting fellow. Would you like to meet him, Brother-in-law?"

"We'll talk about that once the busy work is done. The expansion and reorganization are about to begin. Settle them in first. Not meeting me won't delay their firearms research. I'll say the same old thing: be frugal and plan your spending, but on firearms, spend whatever needs to be spent." Zhao Jin said this with a smile.

After spending the Mid-Autumn Festival at home, Zhao Jin left his parents at He Village to see their granddaughter and grandson and to look after Mu Shulan, whose pregnancy was now showing. He himself would be staying at the council hall for this period, because the expansion and reorganization was a matter of the highest importance — there could be no errors, omissions, or delays. Moreover, for the current Zhao Battalion, there was no time to expand and reform at leisure. It all had to be done while in operation, and without causing chaos. It was an immensely heavy burden.

The first step was upgrading the Retainer Regiment to Retainer Brigade, and the regimental commander to brigade commander. When this title was proposed, there were no objections, since "brigade" was an ancient term used for military units. What surprised everyone was that this upgrade did not happen for all regiments simultaneously, but began with Chen Sheng's First Regiment. Chen Sheng's Retainer Brigade would have four regiments under it. The brigade commander directly commanded the First Regiment: one thousand pike retainers, four hundred arquebus retainers, three standard-bearers, three drummers, and two buglers. The Second, Third, and Fourth Regiments each had eight hundred pike retainers, one hundred arquebus retainers or archers, two standard-bearers, two drummers, and one bugler.

In terms of equipment, arquebuses, pikes, bows, and cannons were all Zhao Battalion standard issue. For armor, there were some differences between regiments. The First Regiment was fully armored, every man. The other three regiments each had three companies in full armor, with helmets issued to all.

Additionally, the First Brigade was assigned one cannon company with six three-pounder cannons, and two companies of mounted retainers totaling two hundred riders, all under the brigade commander's direct control to be deployed in battle. Beyond this, there were two Militia Battalions responsible for baggage and provisions. Each battalion had eight companies of eight hundred men, equipped with carts and horses, and coordinated with the local Cloud Mountain Firm to handle the First Brigade's logistics.

The First Brigade had a brigade commander, regimental commanders and deputy regimental commanders, company commanders and deputy company commanders, and platoon commanders and deputy platoon commanders. The First Regiment had only a deputy regimental commander, with the brigade commander serving concurrently as its regimental commander. The two militia baggage battalions were normally under the local Cloud Mountain Firm's jurisdiction, but in wartime came under the brigade commander's command. In this expansion of the First Regiment, aside from the First Regiment's original retainers, all other retainers were promoted from the militia. Militia who had long served on duty and garrison in Xuzhou, Pizhou, Guide Prefecture in Henan, and the Kong Estate, as well as those who had followed on past campaigns, were given priority for promotion this time.

The most outstanding militia companies were broken up and directly filled the vacancies in the First Regiment. The remaining companies were combined to form the Second, Third, and Fourth Regiments. Anyone familiar with the inner workings of the Zhao Battalion who looked closely would notice a pattern: the companies forming the new regiments were never ones that had operated or garrisoned together for long periods. After all, apart from the estate-protecting militia over at the Shandong farmstead, the militia in other places had all been stationed together in groups of several hundred to a thousand.

The regimental commanders, deputy regimental commanders, company commanders, and platoon commanders for the three new retainer regiments were all filled by men from the Guard Corps and the three regiments who had performed outstandingly and earned merit, at every rank. The deputy company commanders and deputy platoon commanders, meanwhile, were the former company and platoon commanders of the original militia companies, used at one half-rank lower.

In this expansion, aside from the cavalry and the Internal Guard, any retainer over thirty and any militiaman over twenty-six could no longer serve as a retainer or militiaman, and had to transfer into the patrolman ranks.

The First Brigade's First Regiment was garrisoned southeast of Jining City, along the Si River near the canal, forty li from Jining City and sixty li from Ziyang, the seat of Yanzhou Prefecture. The Second Regiment was garrisoned at an estate between Juye and Yuncheng. The Third Regiment was somewhere between the three counties of Chengwu, Dingtao, and Juye. The Fourth Regiment was along the North Sha River between Teng County and Zou County. The two militia baggage battalions were together with the First Regiment, and the mounted retainers and cannon company shared the same encampment with the First Regiment.

The order to upgrade Chen Sheng's First Regiment to the First Brigade was issued first, and the whole of Xuzhou began bustling for this task. Promoting militia to retainers was the simplest part. The selected companies went to their designated assembly points, and the Cloud Mountain Firm transported their equipment and supplies.

Even the Cai family fleet on the Yellow River halted all its shipping business at this time and stood by at the ferry crossing, ready to transport the assembled elements of the First Brigade north across the river.

The number of express riders dispatched by the Cloud Mountain Firm to various places greatly increased. Geng Mancang over at Yutou Town became incredibly busy. For such a large force to go to Shandong, sufficient rations and fodder had to be prepared.

Beyond the Cloud Mountain Firm's allocation of resources everywhere, the men in charge of every aspect of the Zhao Battalion were all frantically busy. Orders were sent out one after another to prepare barracks and every requirement for the newly formed First Brigade.

No matter how hectic things got, Chen Sheng's First Regiment — now called the First Brigade — still had its defense responsibilities. Moreover, Shandong needed a force of sufficient strength to go there and hold the region. So the formation of the First Brigade suffered no delays. The needed personnel and materiel continuously converged, were organized into regiments and companies, and then marched north.

The process of organization and preparation itself was already astonishing. Several thousand retainers, requiring the preparation of weapons, armor, provisions, and barracks. The march to Shandong needed carts, horses, ships, and support along the route. If the Great Ming's officials and local authorities were to handle such a matter, it would take months at the fastest, possibly a year if slow. And from top to bottom, everyone would reach out a hand to skim off their cut. The localities would wail in misery, and the newly formed troops would harass the common people, perhaps even commit crimes.

Yet for the Zhao Battalion, it was so simple and swift, almost conjured from flat ground. The order was issued, and in less than half a month, the force was already assembled. Now it had already crossed the Yellow River, and it was said the advance cavalry had already entered Shandong.

Such powerful organization and mobilization, such astonishing efficiency — anyone with a bit of understanding would be stunned by this speed. If they then saw the First Brigade's march and bearing with their own eyes, they would be even more shaken. It did not look like a newly formed unit at all, but rather a crack force that had campaigned for years, even a decade.

However, only a few could see this. In this age, the civil was exalted and the military debased; letters were emphasized and arms slighted. Even in martial Xuzhou, few could understand it, and those who did were usually already within the Zhao Battalion.

What truly shocked everyone was the order itself. This one brigade had nearly five thousand retainers alone. Add the baggage battalions, and it was close to several thousand more. And these were the Zhao Battalion's retainers, not the padded numbers of foot soldiers in government armies. Not to mention the six cannons, two hundred mounted retainers, nearly a thousand arquebuses, and several hundred archers. If you factored in the armor, it was even more staggering — nearly half the force was in full iron armor.

Just the numbers on paper were enough to shock and awe. Among the government armies, how many of the personal guards of those Regional Commanders, Vice Commanders, and Assistant Commanders could wear full iron armor? Those with horses might manage, but for dismounted personal guards, having half-armor was enough to call their general generous. Yet this First Brigade had over two thousand retainers with such equipment!

Chen Sheng directly commanded nearly seven thousand men. In the Great Ming's military garrison system, unless one was a frontier general on the Nine Borders, even a Regional Commander had only four to six thousand troops at most. And most of those soldiers were just padding. They carried weapons and could fight in formation, but they could only hold a line and win when the wind was at their backs. In true bloody battle and hard assault, it all came down to the personal guards of the commanding general and his subordinate officers. But everyone in Xuzhou knew the Zhao Battalion's creed was that every man must be able to fight. The retainers could bear heavy armor and sharp blades, fierce and unyielding, and the militia were not far behind. Chen Sheng not only had more troops under him than a Great Ming Regional Commander, but their strength far surpassed them as well.

To form such a massive force and then deploy it to Shandong — the entire military strength of Shandong province was probably around this number, and it was scattered across the strategic points of various prefectures and counties. What was the Zhao Battalion planning? Could it be they were about to rebel? But if they were rebelling, it shouldn't be so silent. The whole of Xuzhou and the territory they controlled should be mobilized, not this matter-of-fact process, as simple as the imperial court appointing an official.

In the past, whenever someone in the Zhao Battalion received a promotion, those with close ties to the battalion would go to that person's home to offer congratulations. This time, Chen Sheng was promoted to brigade commander. Everyone half-understood the title, but the swelling of the forces under his command told them exactly what this promotion meant. By all rights, the Chen household in Xuzhou city should have been thronged with visitors, the threshold worn down by people coming to congratulate and bring gifts. Yet in reality, very few went. Those who did were told that the old master had gone to He Village and was not receiving guests for the time being.

Chen Sheng was about to lead his troops north. Father and son would soon be parted. It was not strange that a father would want to see his son before that. But no one expected Chen Wu to sigh in grief the entire journey. When he saw Chen Sheng, tears streamed down his face. Chen Wu, ordinarily so rough and hearty, grasped Chen Sheng's hand, unable to speak. He just looked at him for a long time before finally opening his mouth. "My son, let's not follow the Zhao family's path anymore. Let's go to Jiangnan and live peaceful days, alright?"

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