Chapter Ten: Training the New Army (Part Two)

For the military, it's best if soldiers possess a certain degree of literacy, especially officers. Otherwise, they might not be able to read maps or understand orders from superiors, which could lead to serious problems. However, there are currently very few literate men in the ranks.

He sighed again and said to Wang Tiqian, “Find two hundred literate eunuchs from the Inner Study for me, then assign them to the Capital Garrison to teach the soldiers to read. Don’t bother with complicated essays or anything like that—just make sure they can recognize a hundred of the most commonly used characters within three months. Is that too difficult?”

Wang Tiqian thought that learning a hundred characters in three months was about one character a day; only a fool couldn’t manage that. Confidently, he replied, “Your Majesty, it’s absolutely no trouble.”

A few days later, the reports from the Embroidered Uniform Guard changed again. Zhang Yan seemed to have calmed down somewhat and was often whispering secrets with Xiao Qian, so Zhu Youjiao ordered surveillance to be strengthened.

Today, with nothing pressing to attend to, he sent for some new flintlock muskets from the Armory, then had Wei Zhongxian summon Wang Tiqian to accompany him to the Capital Garrison. At the gate, Yang Guangkui and his men knelt to greet them. After they rose, Zhu Youjiao said, “I’ve long had this idea: kneeling should not be permitted in the military. Let’s implement this first here in the Capital Garrison, and then extend it nationwide. What do you all think?”

The assembled men were all military officers. Even when meeting with minor civil officials, they were required to kneel and bow, so naturally, they welcomed the emperor’s proposal. Lu Qin and Zhou Yuji had heard him mention this before, and now that it was finally coming to fruition, they were especially excited.

In the main hall, Zhu Youjiao demonstrated the turning-hand salute. In his previous life, he had enjoyed watching Hong Kong dramas and was always fond of this particular salute.

“It’s done like this. Subordinates greet superiors in this manner; equals do the same. Zhou Yuji, draft a military salute regulation and distribute it to the entire army. Next time I come, everyone is to salute, not kneel.”

Again, everyone knelt together. “We shall obey Your Majesty’s command!”

“You see, you see—didn’t I just say, no more kneeling? Next time, anyone who disobeys will be dealt with under military law. Now, let’s go see how my garrison soldiers are training.”

They went outside, where a squad led by Yang Guangkui demonstrated short-spear thrusting techniques. Upon closer inspection, these short spears were quite different from the usual ones, more closely resembling flintlock muskets with bayonets over a foot long affixed to the end. Internally, he praised Sun Yuanhua and Li Chaoqin—both men understood the purpose of these short spears, so they made them to resemble flintlock muskets with bayonets as much as possible, to minimize the difference soldiers would feel when switching weapons.

The soldiers looked neat and tidy, but their thrusts were uneven, and some whispered among themselves in the ranks. Yang Guangkui looked deeply ashamed, but Zhu Youjiao said, “This isn’t your fault. It’s only been three days—how could you expect perfection so soon? But the discipline is lacking. Pull out those who were talking and give them fifty strokes each.”

Yang Guangkui hesitated but had no choice. His guards dragged out the four whispering soldiers, each getting fifty lashes until they cried out in agony. The rest of the soldiers resumed their drills, now noticeably more disciplined and powerful in their movements.

Zhu Youjiao glanced at Yang Guangkui. “A soft heart is no way to command troops. This attitude of yours is actually harming them. If they don’t master their skills now, it’s their lives they’ll lose on the battlefield.” Yang Guangkui bowed his head in agreement.

Next, Zhou Yuji led his squad in a demonstration. The soldiers were full of spirit, marched with force, thrust in unison, and shouted “Kill!” as they lunged. Zhu Youjiao couldn’t help but applaud. The others looked at the emperor in confusion. Realizing this, he felt a bit embarrassed and explained, “Clapping is a sign of praise. These soldiers performed well, so I wanted to commend them.” Upon hearing this, everyone applauded together, which only bewildered the soldiers further.

After inspecting two more squads, they all returned to the hall.

Yang Guangkui asked, “Your Majesty, why are we not following General Qi’s methods and training with various weapons, but focusing only on the short spear? And this short spear is oddly shaped—the soldiers find it unfamiliar.”

“The Armory has fitted muskets with bayonets so that musketmen no longer need the protection of pikemen. I want to turn the Capital Garrison into a purely firearm-equipped force. This will greatly enhance our offensive power, though our defenses may drop. The bayonet will compensate for that.”

Just then, a eunuch brought several bayonet-fitted flintlocks from the Armory, and Sun Yuanhua came as well. Zhu Youjiao showed the gun to the officers. “Because of the current quality of steel, we don’t have enough bayonet-fitted flintlocks, so we’re using the short spears as substitutes for now. You see, the short spear matches the length of the bayonet musket, and the appearance is much the same. Sun Yuanhua, you were involved throughout the manufacturing; you can help them draw up a manual for musket drill.”

Sun Yuanhua had recently been promoted to Assistant Minister of Works, but he had spent all his time at the Armory and probably didn’t even know which way the Ministry’s doors faced. He replied, “Your Majesty, the problem of steel quality has been largely solved—thanks to your suggestion to use coke in smelting. The issue now is that the new furnace has only just begun production and output is low. We should be able to make five thousand bayonets by year’s end, and two thousand a month after that. I’ve written up a manual on manufacture and maintenance at the Armory, which should be helpful in drafting the drill regulations.”

“Very good. The cannons I ordered from Xu Qing in Macau should be arriving soon. Sun Yuanhua, review them—how to cast, how to improve, how to operate—everything must be governed by regulations. The manuals for use and repair can serve as a reference for the artillery corps’ drill book.”

Zhu Youjiao turned to Huiming. “Master, you are appointed chief instructor, responsible for short spear training. What’s the standard? You must have the soldiers practice on wooden or straw dummies, and wherever you call out for them to stab, they must hit precisely—no deviation allowed. Only then can they be considered barely qualified.”

Yang Guangao was surprised. “Shouldn’t our main focus be marksmanship with firearms? Does bayonet training really need to be this strict? And even if they stab wherever you call, that’s only barely qualified?”

Zhu Youjiao was amused. This ancient general seemed even more convinced of the superiority of firearms than he, a modern man, was. Smiling, he said, “So you believe firearms have an advantage over blades and spears. I do not. Muskets are not very accurate to begin with, and that will take time to improve. Moreover, until flintlocks can achieve a major increase in rate of fire, firearms remain greatly limited. On the battlefield, close combat is still what decides the outcome, so you must master the short spear. I’ll come personally to inspect your training when I can. I want to forge an army of steel with my own hands, and I hope you all will help me achieve it.”

The assembled officers saluted in unison. “We would gladly give our lives for Your Majesty!”