Pang Yu thought for a while and then said, "You have been a boatman for a year, so you are indeed a suitable candidate. I know this."
"I have one more thing to do. I want to visit the clerk to learn how to read. I wonder if you will allow it."
"Oh, why does Zenglu want to be literate?"
"Every time the military orders, documents, and summaries issued by your lord are more and more written in words, we, the leaders of the army, are illiterate, so we always have to ask the clerks to read them, and sometimes we forget them after reading them.
There is a lot of inconvenience and some delays, so I thought that if I could read, I would save myself a lot of trouble."
Pang Yu smiled and said, "That's right to think so. However, there are many book offices in China. I will assign another book office. You can come over tomorrow to learn from him."
"Thank you, sir."
"If there is anything else, please tell me at the same time."
Wang Zenglu hesitated and said, "I have some ideas about military training here, and I have always wanted to report them to you for your detailed consideration, but I don't know if they are of any use."
Pang Yu looked around and said, "Of course you can say whatever you have thought carefully about. Only after everyone takes a look at it will you know whether it is useful or not. If you don't say it, the useful things will not be used, and more people will die on the battlefield. From now on.
Be bold and say that since we are free today, let’s go to the back office and sit down to talk.”
"Will it delay the adults' rest?"
"For those of us who lead troops, the business of beheading on the battlefield is nothing more important than rest. If you delay your rest, you will delay it. It is not a big deal. Even if you wake me up in the middle of the night, I will not blame you."
"My subordinate understands."
Pang Yu nodded, looked at Wang Zenglu for a moment and then said, "If you can think of a general who should be literate, you have taken the first step to becoming a true general."
…
"The day after tomorrow, our garrison camp will conduct a marching drill, and all personnel except the first bureau will participate. After arriving at Wangjiang, the 200th General Bureau will board the ship from Leigang, and the remaining four bureaus will return by land. This time they will hire mules and carriages
Transport food. The march plan has been sent to everyone. If you are illiterate, please ask the teacher to read it, or ask the literate people in the camp to read it to you, and keep it in your mind."
After Pang Yu finished speaking, he looked up and saw a group of rough and rude officers in front of him. Every time he sent an official document, he had a strange feeling because he knew that no one would understand it before sending it. In the end, these officers had to find the person who wrote the official document.
The librarian comes to read.
The daily training of these officers is also very hard. Probably no one will learn to read specifically, but Pang Yu is still ready to continue issuing official documents, because through this method, he found three soldiers in the camp who can read a little, and they have become
After becoming the treasure of an officer in his unit, his status in the battalion quickly improved, which would stimulate other interested soldiers to start learning literacy.
"Before starting today's meeting, I would like to specifically commend Wang Zenglu, the commander-in-chief of the second round. After daily drills, Yang Shuban, who is still following the Chinese Army, is literate. I will add an article to the military regulations. As long as the number of literate people reaches 300
Yes, officers above the flag captain will be rewarded with 10 taels at a time and their monthly salary will be increased by 1 tael. Soldiers and captains will be rewarded with 5 taels at a time and their monthly salary will be increased by 5 taels."
The officer on the opposite side was inhaling at the same time. I don't know if he was surprised that Wang Zenglu still had the energy to study at night, or he was surprised by Pang Yu's generous reward.
Due to the overall education level at this time and the low social status of soldiers, it was difficult for Pang Yu to recruit suitable talents. Most of the literate people had the status of scholars. Even a poor boy would rather be a government servant.
I don’t want to be a Qiu Ba. At least after recruiting for so long in Anqing, no serious scholar has come to apply. Among the three literate soldiers, two are from domestic slaves and one is from a rundown rural boy who has been studying for a year.
Landlord.
At the same time, Pang Yu was also very doubtful whether those children could meet the physical requirements of soldiers. Now besides giving rewards for literacy, Pang Yu could not think of any other way. Wang Zenglu's behavior reminded him that encouraging soldiers to become literate is the only feasible way at the moment. Soldiers cannot
Literacy can still be used, but if the officers are illiterate, Pang Yu can't figure out how they will manage the army in the future, and it will be difficult to expand the size of the army.
"Today I have specially convened a meeting with you all. We will not discuss the exercise schedule anymore. The main topics are situation briefings and various improvements in the camp. First, I will inform you of the situation around Anqing.
Pang Yu nodded to Guo Fengyou, and the soldiers came over and spread out two maps on the long table. One was a national map he drew based on his impressions, and the other was a regional map found in the cabinet library of the Anqing government office. It looked like
A bit difficult to understand.
The Chinese army specifically looked for painters to enlarge. What surprised Pang Yu was that he thought painters were a relatively rare profession, but he found them easily. The level was quite good, but when it came to military and weapons, he was at a loss.
"The rogue bandits who invaded our Anqing at the beginning of the year, including the Eight Kings of Xiying, the Sweeper King, Griyan, Yizhidanqing, etc., returned to Shaanxi in March and joined forces with the most powerful Chuang Wang Gao Yingxiang, Chuang Jiang, Lighting the Dengzi, Guo Tianxing, and Shooting
Tuantian and other troops gathered together, and according to the news from the Di newspaper and the traveling merchants, the main force of the rogue bandits was still in Shaanxi as of June."
Pang Yu used a bamboo pole to point out the location of Shaanxi. The officers on the opposite side stared blankly, including Wang Zenglu. They had never seen a map since they were young and had memorized the roads based on impressions. Suddenly they saw such an abstract thing.
It's probably hard to understand.
"There are no large-scale bandit activities in Henan. Huguang in the west is in the upper reaches of Anqing, and there are sufficient sources of information. No bandits have been found in the direction of Huangmei and Ezhou. In the north of Yingshan and Huoshan, in the mountainous area close to Anqing, there are a small number of bandits. Pedestrians on the road into the mountains
There is not enough information about the situation in the mountains. We only know that the county administration of the two counties is in ruins. The number of gangsters robbing passing passenger ships on the southern river has increased. Among the ships coming from the upper reaches this month, two have docked in Anqing. I have ordered the water to
General Manager Chen will step up inspections."
When it comes to Shuiying, Pang Yu himself feels unconfident. Most of the boats in Shuiying have gone with Caoliang, and the rest are also running business in Jiangnan. Recently, there are only five small boats in Anqing, just showing off near the dock.
Pang Yu blinked, drove away General Chen's image, returned to the table and put it down, "In general, the rogue bandits are mainly active in Shaanxi, and the situation around Anqing is relatively stable. This gives us time to train our troops. You should continue to supervise
The troops should train rigorously and do not relax just because there is no threat, because with the speed of the rogue bandits, there will not be much preparation time when they arrive."
"Now let's talk about the improvement of the army's armaments. You have tried several types of armor left in the garrison. The fish scale armor has the strongest defense. However, the scale armor that Anqing can make currently weighs about fifty kilograms. Due to the friction between the edges of the armor leaves,
It is necessary to wear thick cotton undergarments, and the overall equipment has extremely poor breathability and comfort. According to tests by the Guards Corps, in the weather in June and July, no soldier can last for half a quarter of an hour, and his physical strength is completely exhausted.
It will extremely affect combat. If this kind of armor is equipped, it will not be used in summer, so fish scale armor will only be used in specific battalions. Considering the climate conditions in Anqing, sergeants will be equipped with chain armor, and cotton armor will be added internally in autumn and winter to increase defense.
And keep warm.”
What is quite different from Pang Yu's perception is the defensive power of qualified cotton armor, which is very effective in dealing with slashing attacks. Treated leather armor is also quite defensive. Even an ax blade cannot break through it every time.
.Except for scale armor, other types of armor are difficult to deal with assassination attacks, and scale armor cannot effectively defend against heavy hitting weapons.
Pang Yu looked around, and none of the officers had any objections. After waiting for a moment, he said, "The Guards gathered archers, spearmen, and sword and shield men, and used the bandit weapons captured in Tongcheng to conduct a test on four different weights of chainmail armor."
After testing, based on the four considerations of weight, cost, defense, and manufacturing cycle, I chose 23 kilograms of single-layer chain mail."
Pang Yu didn't pause after speaking. He deliberately used a very clear tone to avoid anyone asking questions. Among the four types of chain armor, the best defense is the partially double-layered 35-pound chain mail, but the cost and cycle are very high.
It is longer. Considering the cost-effectiveness of the equipment, the 23-pound one is the best. But when facing this group of direct users, it is inconvenient to say this.
"This type of chain armor can effectively defend against chopping weapons. Among the bandits' weapons, the greatest threat to chain mail is spears, line guns and other stabbing weapons, followed by maces, heavy axes, sledgehammers, etc.
The last type of striking weapon is a heavy arrow fired directly within twenty steps. The arrow may open the lock or directly cut off the lock ring, but only a few archers can do it. Most well-trained archers within ten steps can
Do it.”
Pang Yu said and waved. Pang Ding on the right took out two pairs of chain mail armor and a pair of cotton armor from under the table and put them on the table for the officers to see. Yao Dongshan grabbed a pair of chain mail armor and put it on his body.
, the others had to gather around to study the other two pairs. The purchase of cotton armor was relatively smooth, because the Anqing Guards had to hand over the cotton armor to the Ministry of War every year, and this work was already a social procurement, and was done by private workshops in Anqing.
Pang Yu basically ordered it according to the specifications of the Ministry of War. Seven kilograms of cotton were beaten repeatedly to make it. After adding the cloth, it was less than ten kilograms.
In this way, the weight of a soldier's armor is about thirty kilograms, plus weapons, helmets, water bottles, portable dry food, etc., the total weight will not exceed fifty kilograms in winter, and the troops can still maintain sufficient mobility.
When everyone returned to their seats, Pang Yu continued, "Armor does not mean invulnerability, and there is nothing so good in the world. Providing armor to soldiers is not just to save their lives, but to allow them to kill enemies better. Let's talk about weapon improvements.
When I was in Tongcheng, I observed the soldiers and horses of the bandits in the city. They were good at riding horses and their weapons were mostly light and easy to carry. The most common ones were waist knives and long knives. The cavalry line gun captured under the east wall was only nine feet long.
After interrogating the prisoners, we learned that the spears used by the frontier troops ranged from one foot to four feet, and most of the rogue cavalry soldiers shortened them to make them easier to carry. Similarly, the long spears used by the rogue infantry were officially made from one foot to five feet.
One foot and seven feet, the rogues only left about one foot, the shortest was six feet, and the longest was only one foot and two feet. Generally speaking, their weapons did not do much damage to armored targets. The rogues themselves valued speed very much, and even the palm plate among them
They were not equipped with armor, and their defensive power was also low. However, the rogue horse soldiers, cavalry and bows were numerous. Therefore, the equipment of our Anqing garrison camp was adapted to the characteristics of the rogue bandits. The spears were one foot long, and the shields used by the sword and shield soldiers were increased to three feet five.
Cun, the shape of the waist knife remains unchanged, and the eight Jixiao postures practiced on daily basis need to be slightly modified."
After Pang Yu finished reading, he looked at the officer opposite, "Everyone in the camp works with weapons every day, so you should know more about this improvement than me. If you have any ideas, please speak up. If you don't have a good idea, we can discuss it alone now." .”
The officers were talking to each other in low voices. Wang Zenglu cleared his throat. Just as he was about to speak, Yao Dongshan stood up and said, "Request to speak!"
"President Yao Bai can speak."
"My subordinates feel that there are too few archers in the camp. Everyone on the horse soldiers of the rogue pirates has bows and arrows. They can't stop them with just a shield, so they have to shoot back to him."
"That's a good suggestion." Pang Yu waved his hand and asked Yao Dongshan to sit down. "As for long-range weapons, the thirty archers at the moment are probably not enough. They are just for emergencies. The options include blunderbuss, artillery, and firearms retained by the garrison. There are too many to use, but it is quite difficult to make new ones. There is a shortage of such craftsmen in Anqing City. If suitable equipment cannot be found by August, I will increase the number of archers."
Before and after the rogues invaded, Zhang Guowei mobilized a batch of artillery from the south of the Yangtze River. They were general cannons or Baizi cannons with thick and short barrels. They are now placed on the city walls. Judging from the appearance, they look just like the black powder cannons that Pang Yu had in mind before. There's quite a gap.
"Does anyone continue to speak?"
Wang Zenglu raised his hand, and just as Pang Yu was about to nod, he saw a soldier appear at the door.
"Sir, the people from Caogang just came to report that someone brought a cannon to the dock and said it was sent to the Anqing garrison."
…
There was a commotion outside the Anqing garrison. Many people came from all over to watch a gun carriage passing through Songyangmen Street.
Pang Yu greeted him at the gate of the mansion. He specially asked the artillery cart to enter the city from Shengtang Gate and circle around the city. This would allow more people to see it and improve his credibility.
The artillery cart finally arrived in front of the mansion, and the guards separated the crowd, revealing Bo Yu who had become thinner. He did not pull the artillery cart himself, but he was sweating profusely.
As soon as he saw Bo Yu, Pang Yu cupped his hands and said, "Mr. Bo, you have worked hard all the way."
Bo Yu was wiping his sweat, and when he saw Pang Yu, he quickly greeted him, "General, you're welcome."
He turned around and pointed behind him and said, "I have already changed a frame according to the general's instructions."
"Such a huge cannon can be transported smoothly by Mr. himself."
"Thanks to the help of the porters at the pier, it is much better than when we boarded the ship in Suzhou. Fortunately, we did not disgrace our orders and finally delivered the bronze cannon." Bo Yu was a little excited despite his exhaustion.
Pang Yu walked down the steps. The bronze cannon in front of him was indeed much improved than last time. Two larger wheels were added, and there was a tail wheel at the back. The gun body was fixed on the gun frame. Compared with those of the generals, , closer to the image of artillery in Pang Yu’s mind.
"Sir, you see, the gun body is still the same as you have seen, but the frame has been replaced. I made a special trip across the river to ** to measure the track gauge of the official road across Jiangbei. It should be the same length as Anqing."
Pang Yu smiled and nodded. He walked through the official road from Jiangpu to Luzhou. The ruts on the official road were roughly the same. As long as the carriages in Jiangbei were the same, they should be similar.
"I am going to order a few more cannons from you sir. The premise is that these cannons can meet my requirements. If there are any shortcomings, they can be improved."
When Bo Yu heard that Pang Yu was planning to buy more cannons, after all, this was a big business, his eyes immediately lit up, "Then I'll go to the dock immediately and ask someone to deliver the message, so that the craftsmen in Suzhou can make some preparations."
Pang Yu quickly stopped him, "Sir, don't worry, the first thing we need to do is to inspect the old cannon. If any deficiencies are found, sir, we will improve the new cannon."
Bo Yu asked in astonishment, "What is acceptance?"
"Mr. Bo, don't be offended. A military weapon does not require clothing, shoes and hats. If there are any shortcomings, human life will be needed to make up for them. Therefore, I must make sure that it meets the requirements. It just so happens that our battalion will conduct a marching drill. Please bring this copper door with you."
The artillery will follow the drill and travel by land to Wangjiang County before being shipped by ship. It will be test-fired in different terrains along the way. If the firing and transportation go smoothly, I will accept it."
"This...general, do you want me to follow you?"
Pang Yu looked at Bo Yu with a smile, "Of course, only by personally participating, sir, can we truly understand how artillery is used in our camp."
Bo Yu stayed for a moment. His original intention was to come to Anqing to settle the bill. When he found Pang Yu, he handed over the cannon and left. Now it seemed that he would be delayed for a few more days. After all, a lot of money had been invested in the cannon.
"Then I will go with the army." Bo Yu said and took out a letter from his arms, "I am going to see Mr. Ma before leaving. He asked me to bring it to General Pang."
Pang Yu quickly accepted it, and asked his soldiers to transport the artillery into the barracks with Bo Yu. He entered the garrison, stood inside the door, opened the envelope, and read it carefully.
Pang Ding was waiting by his side. After waiting for a long time, Pang Yu put the letter away.
"Let Jiang Guoyong lead the team during the Wangjiang exercise."
Pang Ding looked at Pang Yu in surprise. Because this drill involved water transportation, Pang Yu had been preparing for a long time, but now Wang Zenglu was suddenly asked to lead the team.
"What did Mr. Ma say?"
Pang Yu picked up the letter and took a look at it, "Prince Gongbi has been transferred to another country. The new Anchi Bingbeidao is about to take office. I want to go to Chizhou."
"Who is the new recruit Beidao? Master, do you know him?"
"Chief Secretary of Jiangxi Province, Shi Kefa." Pang Yu took a long breath, "I don't know him, but I've heard of him."