On June 26, Zhang Cheng accompanied the surveillance eunuch Li Guofu to watch the cavalry camp in the martial arts hall south of Dushikou Fort.
After the expansion of the South Martial Arts Hall, there are now nearly a thousand elite cavalry stationed here. In fact, after the Battle of Julu, Zhang Cheng recruited Zhang Guodong, the former Qian Commander under Lu Xiangsheng, and some elite cavalry, leaving a total of nearly 800 elite cavalry.
In the past, he expanded the pro-military department and took away more than 400 cavalry. The current cavalry camp is based on the remaining 300 or so cavalry as the backbone, and also transferred cavalry from the forts and fortresses on the Shangbei Road.
There are one hundred people in the heavy cavalry department in the cavalry camp who are the elite cavalrymen returned by King Qin. They are all broad-bodied people. The rest are all strong and healthy cavalrymen selected from the North Road to serve as a charge for the duel.
The main force, strength and explosive power are the first requirements.
There are two hundred knights in the Ranger Department who are the elite knights returned by King Qin. Most of them are not collected at night. Others have also been sent out with the team to scout. They will serve as the main force of the Ranger Department and select some more.
Smart and skilled cavalry were added.
Rangers usually focus on surveillance and harassment. Most of them are equipped with three-eyed muskets and strong bows. Many of them are sharp riders who are good at riding and shooting, and their riding skills are even more exquisite.
There were still dozens of elite cavalrymen who had returned from King Qinqin, and the remaining cavalrymen on the North Road were less than 100. Among the newly recruited sergeants, more than 200 people were barely selected.
So far, the Assault Cavalry Department has just gathered more than 300 cavalry. The remaining insufficient number can only be supplemented by slowly selecting qualified sergeants. This cavalry cannot be rushed.
Fortunately, Zhang Cheng's current requirements for sudden riding are not high. First, he must be able to ride a horse and gallop, and second, he must be able to dismount and fight. Of course, it would be even better if he could fight on horseback.
The cavalry's combat requirements are different from those of the infantry camp, so the camp structure is also different.
Among the various departments of the cavalry camp, there are soldiers in a team, with a team captain inside; the second team is a first armor, with a captain outside, and the total armor is eleven people; then the third armor is a team, with a captain outside.
There are thirty-four people in the team.
Then there are three teams serving as one sentry.
There is one external sentry officer and two members of the guard and flag command, totaling one hundred and five people in the entire sentry.
The heavy cavalry department has three sentries with a total of 315 people, plus one member of the Qianzong camp, and four guards and flag soldiers, totaling 320 cavalry.
The Ranger Department has five sentries with a total of 525 people, plus one member of the Camp Qianzong and four guards and flag-bearers, totaling 530 cavalry.
According to the regulations established by Zhang Cheng, the Assault Cavalry Department should have seven sentries totaling 735 people, plus one member of the Camp Qianzong, and four guards and flag-bearers. The total number of cavalry should be 740.
people, but now there are only three hundred and twenty people in the three sentries.
There are now fifty elite cavalrymen under the command of the battalion general Zhang Guangda, who is directly in charge of the military officer, and the cavalry battalion's baggage department has not yet been established. Therefore, the cavalry battalion is now only full of 1,200 people, but it is Zhang Cheng's command.
The most powerful elite battalion!
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For two consecutive days, he inspected the infantry camp and the cavalry camp respectively. The supervising eunuch Li Guofu was generally satisfied with Zhang Cheng's recruitment and training of troops.
Although there is some element of Zhang Cheng's trickery here, he took advantage of the opportunity of purging the forces of Xue Liangqing and Wu Youlu to incorporate the garrison guards in Dushikou and Chicheng into his new army.
He also forcibly recruited the garrison of the forts in various places on the Shangbei Road, and the cavalry under Qianhu's command to supplement his own cavalry camp, but these were not Li Guofu's concern.
His mission was to see on the spot whether Zhang Cheng was dedicated to his royal duties, and to monitor how well Zhang Cheng was recruiting brave soldiers for the court, the Ming Dynasty, and Chongzhen.
Now, Li Guofu saw that Zhang Cheng was really working hard on recruiting brave soldiers and training troops, and it was almost impeccable. He was also happy in his heart, and he probably couldn't go wrong with this mission.
Now he only hopes that Zhang Cheng can train this new army into a powerful force as soon as possible. In the future, he will look for opportunities to make achievements on the battlefield, and he will be able to return to the palace and return to Emperor Chongzhen.
Thinking of this, the key point is that Eunuch Li Guofu was also in a good mood. Although he was running around for days and inspecting the infantry and riding camps, he never felt a trace of fatigue.
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In the backyard of the General's Office in Dushikou Fort City, Zhang Cheng had just finished dinner with his mother and aunt.
The ladies were clearing away the remaining dishes and cups on the table, and Zhang Cheng, his mother, and his aunt had moved to the tearoom in the east wing of Jiaoxiang Villa, where they were drinking tea and chatting.
"Cheng'er, the Ji's Mansion has accepted the appointment letter. Now it's time to prepare the gift." Aunt Zhang Han looked at Zhang Cheng and reminded him softly.
Zhang Cheng was stunned for a moment when he heard this. After a while, he recalled the appearance of Miss Ji's family that he saw when he was in the capital. She was a shy, charming and elegant lady.
He asked anxiously: "Cheng'er really doesn't understand, how to prepare for this, what items are needed?"
…
Zhang Cheng really didn't understand the wedding procedures of the Ming Dynasty. Although he knew what the matchmaker said and the three letters and six betrothal gifts, the details were also a mess.
In fact, three books and six betrothals refer to the three books and six rites. The three books refer to the documents used in the process of going through the "six rites", including letters of appointment, letters of etiquette and letters of welcome.
The "six etiquette" refers to the entire marriage process from proposal to marriage, which is the six etiquette methods, which means accepting, asking for the name, accepting the auspiciousness, accepting the invitation, asking for a date, and welcoming.
Now Zhang Cheng has entrusted the concubine of the Wu family in the capital to ask a matchmaker to perform the ceremony of acceptance and submit the letter of appointment to the Ji's Mansion. The Ji's Mansion has accepted it, so the next step is to perform the ceremony of acceptance and submit the letter of appointment.
The so-called ceremony of acceptance, also known as the great ceremony, is an ancient Han marriage custom and belongs to the fourth ceremony among the "six rites", also known as "acceptance".
"Book of Rites·Shihun Li" Kong Yingda Shu: "Those who accept the levy also accept the betrothal wealth. The levy is accomplished. The betrothal wealth is paid first and then the marriage is completed." This means that after this ceremony, the marriage contract is fully established.
That is, one month before the wedding, the man invites two or four female relatives, who must be fully blessed, to make an appointment with the matchmaker to go to the woman's home. At the same time, he must bring all the gift books and gifts to the woman's home.
At this time, the woman also needs to return the gift.
The regulations of the Ming Dynasty advocated frugality in betrothal gifts. "History of the Ming Dynasty·Zhi Thirty-one" for official weddings: "The acceptance of the betrothal ceremony is as auspicious, with Xuan Qi added, silk bundles, and letters, without the use of wild geese."
Although at the beginning of the founding of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang specifically issued an edict calling for strict frugality, including in weddings and funerals. However, from the middle of the Ming Dynasty, extravagance has become more and more popular, and high-ranking officials, wealthy businessmen, and powerful families have gradually begun to compete with each other.
Come.
…
At this moment, when her aunt Zhang Han heard Zhang Cheng ask what kind of betrothal gift she should prepare, she felt uneasy. Although she knew something, she was also afraid that she didn't know what she knew. Don't let Ji's family in the capital find fault with this matter.
Immediately he said: "Auntie, I don't know much about this matter. It's just that when the tax is collected, the groom's family needs to prepare the bride price and betrothal gifts, and everything must be in even numbers, which means 'good things come in pairs', and there are other things like
Red bean rope, red packets and red packets, gold ornaments, dragon and phoenix candles and a couplet, etc."
"It seems that this matter needs to be specially entrusted to those matchmakers who specialize in this matter. Cheng'er is getting married for the first time, and she is a young lady from an official family in the capital. We must not make her laugh at our stinginess, and we will lose the respect of all parties.
Face." Zhang Cheng's mother also said the same thing.
"I will send someone to Beijing tomorrow to find the officials from the Ministry of Etiquette and the matchmaker in the capital to handle this matter. But when should the wedding date be set?"