Chapter 52 Military rations, medicinal materials, water bladders
After the court meeting, Zhu Youxiao returned to the Qianqing Palace. Today's court meeting has changed the political structure of the Ming Dynasty. All parties since the Wanli period have been suppressed and cannot hold their heads up.
None of the three assistant ministers in the cabinet are party members, the six ministers and ministers are basically capable ministers and officials, and most of the officials selected by Zhu Youxiao are neutral officials. Whether it is the Three Parties or the Donglin Party, they are now irreversible. There was a wave.
Ah Hai's letter has been sent out, and now it depends on his father's reply. Zhu Youxiao is now eager to know the reality of the Chahar Department.
It has been nearly three months since Sun Yunhe left the border. I don't know how his investigation went. There are dangers on the grassland. I hope he can come back alive. Zhu Youxiao also needs his information.
"Go and bring in the big table that I made earlier, and also bring in the prepared sand and stones. Wang Chaofu, bring over the wooden box on my imperial desk!"
Before Zhu Youxiao ascended the throne, he spent half a month building a giant sandbox with his own hands. The sandbox was ten meters long and ten meters wide. After all, he was also a master of carpentry. Taking the time to build a sandbox was a piece of cake. a plate of.
It is not enough to rely on maps alone to fight a war. Maps are not as realistic as the sand table. Basins, plains, mountains, rivers, etc. are all not found on the current maps of the Ming Dynasty.
If you want to fight the rest of the war, you must not only know yourself and the enemy, but also have control of the situation and familiarity with the terrain. After all, you are going to someone else's house to fight.
"Announce Zhang Yu to come to Qianqing Palace to see me!"
"Bring that Ah Hailai here too."
Since Zhang Yu became the Minister of General Staff, he has been supplementing the knowledge of the grasslands under Zhu Youxiao's order. At the same time, Zhang Yu also studied the art of war crazily, hoping to show off his talents.
After Zhang Yu and Ah Hai came to the palace, Zhu Youxiaoping withdrew the eunuchs and maids from the palace, leaving only Wang Chaofu, Ma Xianglin and a group of personal guards in the palace.
"Ah Lai, I want you to make a sand table for me based on your assessment of the situation in various areas of the grassland and the map. All mountains, rivers and rivers should be marked. It should be centered on the two towns of Xuanda and Da, and extend all the way to the north. Is it possible to make one?"
"Don't worry, Your Majesty, I will do my best!"
"Okay, then I will leave this sand table to you. Remember, even if it is a small river, you have to put it out for me!"
"Zhang Yu, you must have read a lot of maps of the north during this period. You should also go and help!"
"Your Majesty, don't worry!"
Leaving a few of them to make sand table maps in the outer hall, Zhu Youxiao returned to Nuange and began to design and change the equipment needed for the army's departure.
The first thing to ensure when leaving customs is rations, water and medicinal materials. These three are indispensable. The climate and environment on the grassland are very harsh, which may cause the army to be acclimatized, contract diseases or cause plagues on the war horses. Zhu Youxiao must do his best efforts to overcome.
Once this happens, the combat effectiveness of the army will decline rapidly, and a large-scale infectious disease may even break out due to this, and it will be gone without having to fight the Mongolian army.
"All the imperial doctors from Xuantai Hospital come to Qing Palace!"
Zhu Youxiao knew nothing about medicinal materials, so he could only rely on the doctors of this era.
But Zhu Youxiao, the imperial doctor at Tai Hospital, is not very trustworthy, because they are too erratic. His medical skills may be fine, but his character cannot be guaranteed. Not to mention General Zhu Shou, he is taking advantage of his father. The lesson learned is there.
Zhu Youxiao just took this opportunity to test these people and see what kind of prescription they would prepare.
There is also the issue of food. This is the most important thing. How can we supply tens of thousands of troops and horses with rations for dozens of days? Zhu Youxiao is not going to engage in logistics this time because he does not have the strength to guarantee it. Since he cannot guarantee it, he might as well just do it.
Give up and go out to fight directly with the main force.
Everyone in the Mongolian army is on horseback, and they only have a few thousand cavalry in total. The rest are all infantry. If you want to compete with them in mobility, you are looking for death. You can only do it by surprise.
If your infantry logistics army encounters the Mongolian cavalry, it will basically be gone. Instead, your own supplies will be used by the enemy. No matter how you look at it, it will be a big loss.
Zhu Youxiao will mainly use dry food, slaughter livestock and dry the meat to make jerky. The army uses jerky to ensure the life of the sergeants. Moreover, if you light a fire on the grassland, it will be easily discovered. The jerky can be eaten directly while walking.
, the most appropriate.
This was the way the Mongolian army marched and fought, and Zhu Youxiao just copied it.
Zhu Youxiao also needs to carry some chestnut rice in case of emergency. This kind of rice has high quality, is not easy to get wet, and can be eaten by humans and horses. It may be able to save lives at a critical moment, and it can also be regarded as a fallback route for himself.
Although the army has water bags, they are far from enough, because these water bags are too small. Basically, one person has to carry several water bags, and they can only guarantee a person's water consumption for up to two days, not to mention ensuring that
The water consumption of the war horse must be sufficient, otherwise if you lose your way on the grassland and cannot find the water source, you will have to wait for death.
Zhu Youxiao also improved the water bladder used by the Tang army based on the equipment of the Tang army. This water bladder was wrapped in the skins of pigs, cows, and sheep, and the bladders of these animals were sewn together inside.
To make a water bag, you need to slaughter an animal, and only in the prosperous Tang Dynasty did you have the capital and large-scale equipment.
One of the key reasons why the Tang army was able to dominate the world at that time was that its equipment was so sophisticated and luxurious that it was simply not comparable to that of other countries.
The Mongol Empire's army was also equipped with this kind of water bladder back then, but only a few elites had it because the cost was too high. One water bladder required the slaughter of an animal, so most of their people still drank milk!
Based on this, Zhu Youxiao improved and drew a large water bladder, which was sewn together with the skins and bladders of multiple livestock to store water so that the water would not spill and evaporate. Then he created a scaffold to directly
Just put it on the horse's back.
Alas, war is really a waste of resources, money and food. There are only so many things that need to be prepared for a war. Let’s not talk about other things. I don’t know how many livestock have to be slaughtered. There are many other preparations that have not been started yet.
"I respectfully send you your holy greetings!"
"Come on, you are all the best in Ming Dynasty's medical skills. You must be able to popularize the knowledge of medicinal materials."
"I want you to prepare some prescriptions that can cure headaches, vomiting, dizziness, acclimatization, and refresh your mind. You can prepare a variety of them according to the climate outside the customs. Be sure to be comprehensive!"
"May I ask Your Majesty, what is the use of these prescriptions?"
"This is not what you should ask. Just go and prepare. You must prepare it before dark tomorrow. I am waiting for your prescription to buy the medicinal materials!"
"yes!"
Zhu Youxiao looked at their leaving figures and hoped that you would not disappoint me.
"Order Wei Zhongxian to keep a close watch and see what happens!"
"yes!"
After Wang Chaofu paid his respects, he slowly withdrew and gave instructions.