Bi Maokang had been to the military camp and saw what the Ming army was like.
But the feeling that Houying gave him was completely different.
The most obvious thing is that there is an active atmosphere everywhere in the back camp.
"How many days does your back camp have training?"
Zuo Mengeng knew what he was asking.
"Train every day and never slack off."
Bi Maokang was shocked.
"How can the soldiers endure the training every day? Aren't you afraid of trouble?"
Zuo Menggen pointed at those heroic soldiers and asked: "Dongjiao Gong, look at these soldiers. They are well fed, warmly clothed, their military pay is paid on time, their families have food and clothing, and they know why they are fighting. You
Say, will they still be unwilling to train?"
Why can't the Ming army train every day?
First, the generals are lazy and greedy for enjoyment.
The generals are not willing to endure hardships in the wind and snow, so how can they force the soldiers to do so?
Secondly, the food and clothing expenses of the soldiers of the Ming army were severely deducted. Even the soldiers in the early Ming Dynasty were seriously deficient in nutrition.
If the physical fitness is not good, if you practice every day, the soldiers will definitely not be able to bear it.
Even with insufficient capital, Zuo Mengeng was never stingy in military matters. The soldiers in the rear camp received three meals a day, and the meals were sufficient, so they were all in good health.
Third, the soldiers of the Ming army were not possessed by thoughts.
They serve as soldiers just because they are military households and cannot do anything else. Even if they are recruited as soldiers, they only come to serve as soldiers to eat and fill their stomachs.
Since it is for yourself, why are you willing to endure hardships and hone your skills?
Zuo Menggeng knew too well how great an army with ideas is, so at the beginning of building an army, everything else could be put in the back, but ideological indoctrination should be the first.
This is also the reason why the back camp can practice every day and improve its strength by leaps and bounds.
Maybe others still don't know the significance of this, but Zuo Mengeng knows very well that as long as he is given one year, when the rear camp is fully equipped, it will be easy to defeat tens of thousands of troops with three thousand men.
Going forward again, there is another open space and there are about a hundred soldiers.
However, these people did not queue up, practice holding guns, or practice assassination. Instead, they gathered around a large car and talked enthusiastically.
Bi Maokang looked curious and walked over casually.
Zuo Mengeng introduced him.
"This is the logistics squadron of the General Logistics Brigade of the rear camp. There are only these people now. They are studying the problems of grain and grass transportation and engineering erection."
Engineering men are like this. Once they hear something they don’t understand, they will definitely ask.
"Engineering erection?"
Zuo Mengeng used the vocabulary of this era to explain.
"Build roads across mountains and build bridges when encountering water. When the army is marching, the condition of the roads is very important, which greatly affects the marching speed and the transportation of food and grass. Therefore, the juniors set up such a military branch in the rear camp to perform their duties."
When he heard that transporting grain and grass had to be done by one's own army instead of using civilian men, Bi Maokang asked: "What are the benefits of this move?"
Zuo Mengeng explained it very carefully.
"Because they are specialized military services, what they have to do on a daily basis is to constantly study how to speed up transportation, how to reduce road consumption, and how to supply the entire army's consumption in the fastest and best way. Once these are done, the battlefield
The soldiers on board don't need to go hungry, don't worry about other things, and can concentrate on fighting. When the supply of the army is guaranteed, it will be easier to win the battle."
He also added.
"This move will not waste money or waste money."
When dynasties in the past were at war, it was also the time when the people suffered the most.
Not only did they have to abandon work in the fields and waste crops, but the court did not provide compensation. They even had to transport grain and grass for the army and prepare their own dry food.
If you are injured, you will not receive any pension, and medical treatment will also be a burden.
In every battle, the casualties suffered by these civilians were no less than those of the troops on the front line.
Bi Maokang certainly knew what it meant to not have to recruit civilian husbands.
But with so many civilian and military officers in the imperial court, who would have thought of setting up a professional military branch for this purpose?
The two of them walked closer and were spotted by the soldiers, but no one was panicked.
Bi Maokang noticed that when the soldiers greeted Zuo Mengeng, the smiles on their faces were sincere and cordial.
This is a general who loves his soldiers like a son and is deeply loved by his soldiers.
There is no doubt about the high prestige of such a general. On the battlefield, with an order, all the soldiers will be willing to die generously for him.
Bi Maokang could already imagine the scene of Zuo Mengeng's command flag being waved, thousands of troops going through fire and water, and the scene of destruction.
Zhang Yan is also here.
"Qianzuo, we are following your instructions and are studying how to improve the cart."
He led Zuo Mengeng and Bi Maokang to the cart and pointed it out to them.
"I asked an old carpenter to make a latch for the axle. Once the latch is removed, the two wheels can be removed."
A soldier showed me how to do it, and it was really easy to remove the wheels.
Bi Maokang was puzzled.
"The cart is used to transport grain and grass. Wouldn't it be useless if the wheels were removed?"
Zhang Yan didn't know Bi Maokang, but seeing Zuo Mengeng's respectful attitude, he didn't dare to neglect him.
"This old man doesn't know something. If you want to transport on the road, of course you need wheels. But if you want to cross the river, you need a bridge. But bridges are not always available, so we have to find a way to build a bridge ourselves. This big car
Improvements have been made, and the platform is larger and flatter. After removing the wheels, it can be used as a raft by throwing it into the water."
Bi Maokang was from the south, so of course he had seen rafts. When he saw the length and width of the cart, he knew that it could carry people and cargo in the water.
"It's really a wonderful idea. If you encounter a river blocking your way, you don't have to stand still."
Zhang Yan was very proud.
"It's not just that. Qian Zao said that it is not enough to use it as a raft. After all, the army marches only by rafts, which is slow and chaotic. So we guys thought about it, and in each vehicle
Such hooks are installed on the sides of the carts. When the time comes, several or dozens of carts will be pushed into the water together, and these hooks will be connected together to form a pontoon bridge. People and materials can pass through as directly as possible, just like marching on the road.
"
It seems that they have remembered everything Zuo Mengeng taught them, and they have used their initiative to create new gadgets.
Zuo Menggeng said this when he lectured the General Logistics Team for the first time.
"When you see the canal, as engineers, what do you think of first?"
"Of course we need to build a few more pontoon bridges to allow the army to pass quickly."
The soldiers kept it in mind and have come up with good ideas.
Zuo Mengeng was very concerned and asked: "Have you tried it?"
Sure enough, there is still a problem.
Zhang Yan said: "We tried it in the river and found that it is possible to walk on the pontoon bridge, but it is not possible to transport supplies. The pontoon bridge will sink."
Of course Zuo Mengeng knew why this was so.
No matter how big the car is, how big can it get?
With the area of the cart board, ordinary people can still support it when standing on it. But as long as it exceeds a certain weight, it will sink.
Zuo Mengeng couldn't think of a solution to this problem at the moment, so he could only give some ideas.
"Let's see if we can use screws to make the vehicle's shaft movable. When building a pontoon bridge, the vehicle's shaft can be removed and placed in the water as a pillar?"
Nowadays, the shafts of large carts are all nailed. If they are made detachable, they can naturally be used for more purposes.
A soldier said: "It's okay if the water is shallow, but it's of little use if the water is deep."
"This is just a stop-gap measure. It is unrealistic to build floating bridges on large rivers."
Even in later generations, it was difficult to build pontoon bridges on rivers hundreds of meters wide.
He has another idea.
"You guys are thinking about it, can you make some skin bags? You usually fold them up and put them away. When you want to make a pontoon bridge, just blow air into them and tie them to both sides of the pontoon bridge."
People over there in Shaanxi can make sheepskin rafts, which can be used even on the surging Yellow River. Ordinary rivers are naturally no problem.
Although people of this era do not understand the principle of air buoyancy, they also know what Zuo Mengeng is talking about.
Everyone kept it in mind and continued the discussion.
Bi Maokang left with Zuo Mengeng and was deeply moved when he saw the lively scene of officers and soldiers together.
"The general does not bully his subordinates, and his subordinates speak freely. Your army's appearance is unique in the world!"
Zuo Mengeng walked aside and chuckled upon hearing the words.
"Whether it is a general or a soldier, they are a whole on the battlefield. Only by uniting as one and exerting the greatest strength can we achieve victory. If the general treats the soldiers as slaves, the soldiers regard the generals as enemies. I am afraid that they have not yet fought with the enemy.
, he himself was in disarray. Our army aims at the equality of officers and soldiers. Except for different positions, everyone's status is the same."
True equality is impossible, but making soldiers feel respected and actively participating in military construction is definitely the only way to strengthen the military.
If Zuo Mengeng had said such words before, Bi Maokang would have thought it was a fantasy. But now he has seen and felt it in person, and he has the deepest impression.