After Zhang Ning returned to Changde Mansion, he decided to learn about the armament of the officers and soldiers. When he was in Nanjing, he had seen the guns, guns, swords and arrows equipped by the Ming Dynasty navy, but he only had a rough look from a distance; now he has the opportunity to understand in depth.
As a patrol censor who inspects local military affairs, he has every reason to ask for involvement in local military training, weapons management, etc.
Zhang Ning, who has been an official for so long, knows the Ming Dynasty's military decentralization system from the central to the local level: the provincial-level Commander-in-Chief Division (one of the three local divisions) under the Fifth Army Governor's Mansion; the prefecture below the provincial level,
The county-level administrative organization has a military strength of 5,000 to 6,000 people. The county office usually has a few hundred people, but they are usually farming. Every year, the provincial commander sends people to organize training during the slack season.
None of the civil and military officials in the above-mentioned military agencies have the right to deploy troops. Soldiers are half farmers and half soldiers. Their household registration is military and they have been passed down from generation to generation and have no way out. The power to deploy troops lies in the hands of the Ministry of War. If there is a war, the Ministry of War has the right to dispatch and appoint a general military officer to the local area.
Raise troops and horses. The generals who organize training in peacetime do not have military power. Those who have military power are people from the Ministry of War who are not familiar with local personnel. As the saying goes, "Generals do not specialize in troops, and soldiers do not private generals." The division of military power is conducive to preventing warlord separatism.
This kind of "army gathering" in the Ming Dynasty was actually the system of government troops since the Tang Dynasty. It was not a big problem during the Hongwu period in the early Ming Dynasty. By the Yongle period, because Emperor Yongle himself was an outstanding military strategist, the combat effectiveness of the government troops was still strong. But from then on
By the time Hong Xi arrived at Xuande, although the situation had not yet lost control, the long-standing shortcomings of the military system had gradually been exposed. Coupled with the huge military expenditures in the late Yongle period, the imperial court had decided to shift the northern defense line from offense to defense, exposing the combat effectiveness of the Ming army.
A gradual downward trend.
In the first month after Xuande ascended the throne, Prince Shaobao Yang Shiqi also wrote a memorial to remind him of this situation: The exile has not returned, the devastation has not recovered, and there are still people who are struggling to eat far and near; many soldiers and horses in the camp and the fifth army are thin and thin; the military academy is struggling only
Can be self-sufficient; soldiers cannot maintain their livelihood...
Zhang Ning has been working in the state apparatus for a period of time. He can understand the macro situation from paper, but he just doesn't know the details below.
He did not know the commander of the guards in Changde Mansion, so he had to first visit Zhao Ming, the prefect of Changde, and then contact the guards through an introduction. Although there was discord between the civil and military affairs in the Ming Dynasty, the social status and authority of civil servants were obviously higher than that of military attachés, and many matters would be resolved.
There is a situation of "civilian officials restraining military commanders". Local military commanders still dare not offend civilian officials from Beijing, and the power of speech is in the hands of the civil servants.
Commander Chang Dewei's surname was Luo, and his given name was Ke Di. He was a middle-aged man with a big belly. When Zhang Ning followed the prefect to meet him, he didn't see any discord between Commander Luo and the prefect. I thought the prefect was a decent official...
…In some places, there are deep conflicts between the civil and military parties. The court memorials also describe military commanders who were bullied but led troops to kidnap local officials. Of course, the military commanders will definitely suffer in the final outcome.
Zhang Ning was a little uncomfortable seeing Luo Kedi's low and polite attitude. Thinking back to his past life, if he was an officer of a certain military region, who would dare to take charge in the local government and who would have the authority to take charge?
Unexpectedly, the officers I saw in the Ming Dynasty pretended to be like Sun Tzu. It was probably because the warriors of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms were in power and scared the world. Since the Song Dynasty, the common people suppressed the warriors together, which led to the current situation. There were no guns in the Song and Ming Dynasties.
It is said that political power comes from the emperor... although Zhu Di proved this with his actions.
Zhang Ning proposed to go to the armory first, so he went to the west end of Fuqian Street, accompanied by the prefect and a group of officials. When he arrived in front of the yard of the armory, Luo Kedi was unable to dismount, and had to be supported by two followers with great difficulty.
Coming down, Zhang Ning couldn't help but ask: "How many years has it been since General Luo went into battle?"
Luo Kedi looked a little embarrassed and said in a low voice: "To tell you the truth, I have never been in a war. Mr. Zhang doesn't know something. Now the main task of our inland guard posts is to deliver food, followed by fighting troops. In previous years,
There are hundreds of thousands of troops deployed in the north and south, mainly in the Beijing camp, so there is no need for us. The imperial court is fighting in Jiaozhi in the south, and sends people to supervise the delivery of grain every year. How dare you miss the farm work? "
"You don't have military preparations. If someone causes trouble in the local area, how can the guard defend the territory?" Zhang Ning asked.
Luo Kedi said: "Usually when something happens, the prefect can mobilize the soldiers and horses responsible for arresting the bandits and it will be done. There is no need for a guard... What do you mean, Mr. Zhang, do we need to use troops in Huguang? I seemed to have heard from the prefect last time
What religion do you want to deal with?"
Zhang Ning glanced at the magistrate and said calmly: "It is not convenient for me to disclose the people in the court."
When the magistrate heard what he was saying about himself, he lowered his face and said seriously: "General Luo is a military general and it is natural that he does not practice military preparations. How can you tell Master Zhang to go back and send orders to all the people in the court? Do you want Zhang to go back?"
Sir, are you covering up your negligence?"
"Yes, yes." Two black lines appeared on Luo Kedi's forehead. He thought for a moment and said hurriedly, "Our Changde Office not only delivered the military rations as scheduled, but every province also sent people to train soldiers, and we all fulfilled them...
..." Of course, I don't know how many times I have been sent for training. Luo Kedi paused and said, "The armor, swords and guns in the armory are also regularly repaired and maintained, so we don't dare to slack off."
Zhang Ning listened solemnly and couldn't help but nod, as if the nonsense was interesting. While listening, he looked at the armor on Luo Kedi's body. He probably wore it to show off, but it did look like genuine chain armor, from the Ming army.
The armor is about this level. I heard that this kind of chain armor has high defense against arrows.
The iron helmet worn by Luo Kedi is very interesting. It is different from the hood seen on the Beijing city defense. Zhang Ning is not sure what it is called. It looks very much like the steel helmet of the British Army in World War II, but it has an extra red insert.
The tasseled hat has a very wide brim, which may be suitable for the southern climate, and it can also block the sun and rain?
Zhang Ning was led to look at the weapons in the warehouse for a while, mostly spears, spears, swords, crossbows and crossbows. Then he asked, "Are there any firearms in Changde?"
Luo Kedi thought for a while and suddenly said: "Yes! It was rewarded by the imperial court in Yongle."
Zhang Ning went to take a look. Only then did he remember some clauses in the Ming Dynasty laws that he had read in the capital. It seemed that local governments had no right to manufacture firearms. Only the Central Military and Military Affairs Bureau and the Second Ordnance Bureau could be ordered to manufacture firearms.
It is a highly regulated weapon.
Sure enough, there were only a few firearms in the warehouse, which were probably symbolic items. Zhang Ning could guess that, except for the two capitals' armaments and those troops carrying out large-scale combat missions, the local area still mainly used cold weapons.
"This one... hiss, it seems to be called a rocket." Luo Kedi pointed to an object and said. Unexpectedly, the prefect was more knowledgeable and corrected: "A swarm of bees, equipped with multiple rockets. When ignited, the sound is as loud as thunder.
It can intimidate enemy soldiers and war horses for dozens of miles. However, the accuracy is too low and the damage is limited, so we have to shoot out in a swarm to try our luck, and the number of hits counts."
Zhang Ning praised: "The prefect is very knowledgeable."
After hearing this, the prefect Zhao Ming smiled, and after being encouraged, he pointed to another artillery piece and said, "General Zhankou, it uses a wooden frame to support the ignition fuse and launch it. It is mostly used in shipboard water warfare and city defense. I don't know if Mr. Zhang has noticed it, but we
There are several such Zhankou generals on each of the four cities of Changde. I am responsible for overseeing the land of the emperor on behalf of the emperor. I fulfill my duty to protect the land and I dare not neglect it."
The comparison between the performance of "General Luo" and the prefect Zhao Ming left Zhang Ning speechless. Has it become a matter for civil servants to dare to fight and defend the territory?
The prefect showed some pride, and introduced several small and medium-sized fire guns one by one, called copper fire guns, hand guns, etc. Zhang Ning observed their structures and once again confirmed that the Ming army's firearms were still in the category of fire gate guns.
Stage. These small muskets have different shapes, but similar structures. They mainly have two structures: the front chamber is slender, used for loading projectiles, and the material is rough, so it is reinforced with iron hoops; the spherical raised part at the back is for loading gunpowder, and the side
There is a fire door on the wall, which is used to draw out the fuse for ignition.
Zhang Ning figured it out one by one and soon made a discovery. These muskets were equipped with a wooden feeder. It was speculated that it was placed between the projectile and the gunpowder to increase the air tightness. The air tightness of this kind of musket was too low.
, with the wooden sender, the range should be increased.
In less than half a day, Zhang Ning already had a good understanding of the armory, especially the firearms.
If he were to understand the rules of interpersonal relationships and power in the Ming Dynasty, Zhang Ning would find it more complicated, because everyone has been playing for thousands of years; but when it comes to equipment technology, he feels it is very simple... he has been trained in a modern system
It is really not difficult to get a complete education and figure out the simple physical device.
From the understanding of these basic firearms, Zhang Ning can boldly guess that Emperor Yongle's performance in the war against Mongolia may have been primarily to intimidate and create chaos, and the main force responsible for causing damage was cavalry. Because at this time, the firecrackers were really strong
It's too crude and crude. Except for the wood-sending material, which has some technical content, the other things have no technology at all.
He is usually a cautious and conservative person, but at this time he is very confident: Is it difficult to create a weapon more advanced than this kind of portal gun and primary artillery?
Of course, war cannot be won by weapons alone, especially before the invention of machine guns, cold weapons cannot be eliminated. But the road must be walked step by step. What Zhang Ning wants to achieve now is to prove to Yao Ji that his weapons cannot
Suffer a loss when facing the officers and soldiers, and try to persuade her to support his plan.
Then Zhang Ning went to inspect the situation of military households on the spot. They were not much different from ordinary people, and even had a heavier burden. The military attachés under Luo Kedi also joined the traveling team, as if they were trying their best to cover up some unfair rules.
Zhang Ning was not interested in investigating whether they were embezzling and annexing soldiers' lands. He said that blocking people's financial path was like killing their parents, so he had no need to offend those people.
Therefore, as long as Zhang Ning did not ask questions that thousands or hundreds of households should be wary of, but only asked about details such as how the army was organized and commanded during wartime, they all answered in detail.
{Piaotian Literature www.piaotian.net thanks all book friends for their support, your support is our greatest motivation}