"Zihou, I asked you this last time. It's been over a month. I'm going to ask you again. How is your Zhejiang Army training going?"
Zhang Jing asked, he knew that Zhu Ping'an led the Zhejiang army to wipe out the Japanese pirates in Shangyu by taking a shortcut. Zhu Ping'an had figured out the arrogant, conceited and arrogant habits of the Japanese pirates in Shangyu, and made arrangements in advance, making the Japanese pirates take advantage of a drug called Peacock Tail, which enabled them to be successfully wiped out.
In other words, this battle to suppress the Japanese invaders did not test the true level of the Zhejiang Army, hence this question.
"My lord, the Zhejiang army has been training for a period of time and has seen bloodshed when suppressing the Japanese pirates in Shangyu. Although they have not yet become elite soldiers, they are now capable of fighting." Zhu Ping'an replied seriously and responsibly.
"They are capable of fighting. Not bad, not bad. I didn't expect Zihou to be good at training soldiers." Zhang Jing couldn't help but nodded. Although the last battle to wipe out the Japanese pirates in Shangyu did not test the true strength of the Zhejiang Army, "capable of fighting" is indeed a good evaluation.
In fact, just the four words "capable of fighting" are already much stronger than most of the garrison troops.
In recent years, many garrison troops have fought against the Japanese pirates and were defeated in one battle, or even at the first touch.
"Your Excellency is too kind." Zhu Ping'an replied modestly, "This is also my first time to train soldiers. I stand on the shoulders of the predecessors, rely on my passion, and cross the river by feeling the stones. In fact, after such a long time, Ping'an still has many difficulties and confusions about training soldiers. I still need to ask your Excellency and the veterans for advice."
"Everything is difficult at the beginning. Zihou, you have done well. As for asking for advice, I am good at deploying troops, but not at training them. I don't have any good experience to share with you." Zhang Jing smiled slightly, and then changed the subject, "However, in the future, Zihou, you won't have trouble finding someone to ask for training."
Zhu Ping'an understood what Zhang Jing meant. Zhang Jing had already put the deployment of troops on the agenda. In a few days, many veteran generals would arrive in response to the deployment orders, and he would not have to worry about not finding someone to ask for advice.
"Zihou, what are your plans next?" Zhang Jing asked again.
Zhu Pingan replied with a serious face: "Train the troops and prepare for war, sharpen the troops and horses, and be ready to fight and kill the Japanese at any time!"
"Good!" Zhang Jing nodded with satisfaction. "If everyone is like Zihou, there is no need to worry about the Japanese pirates."
"Preparing for war is the fundamental duty of soldiers. Serving in the army and fighting in war is natural, and leading troops to fight in war is natural." Zhu Ping'an said modestly.
"It is natural to be a soldier and fight, and it is natural to lead troops to fight... Zihou said it well." Zhang Jing couldn't help thinking about Zhu Ping'an's answer, and then sighed, "But this natural thing is not so easy to do. After a long period of peace, the soldiers in the garrisons have been severely demobilized, many military households have fled, the soldiers are rarely trained, the combat effectiveness is weak, and they are afraid of fighting. When they go to the battlefield, they will collapse at the first touch and the first battle..."
Zhu Ping'an couldn't help but sigh as well. Alas, this is the current status of the military system of the garrisons!
In the past, Taizu said with pride, "I can support a million soldiers without spending a single grain of rice from the people." If Taizu knew the current situation of the garrison soldiers, he would probably be in death.
"Your Excellency is right. I have to admit that the current military system of the garrisons is really worrying. The soldiers in the garrisons in various places are not very good... ... I suggest that while you are mobilizing troops, you should also recruit soldiers to form a new army."
Zhu Pingan suggested.
Zhu Ping'an was well versed in history and knew that he had to deploy troops and generals at the moment. In fact, the situation of the Japanese invasion had improved rapidly since Qi Jiguang and others recruited soldiers and formed a new army to form combat effectiveness.
Therefore, Zhu Ping'an proposed the suggestion of recruiting soldiers, in order to speed up the process, recruit soldiers earlier, and destroy the Japanese faster.
"Recruiting soldiers to form a new army is not an easy task. The current military system of our Ming Dynasty adheres to the unspoken rule of 'separation of soldiers from generals'. If we recruit soldiers to form a new army, the cabinet must delegate military power to the generals. The new army formed by recruiting soldiers will inevitably be marked by the generals. Over time, there will be hidden dangers that the court will not be able to fully control the military power, or it will become a force that can be influenced by individual generals. This risk should not be underestimated."
Zhang Jing shook his head slightly. How could he not know the current situation of the garrison soldiers? He also wanted to recruit soldiers to form a new army, but the Ming Dynasty now implemented the garrison system, and recruiting soldiers and building an army was not an easy task.
"Uh..." Zhu Ping'an couldn't help but be stunned for a moment.
"This is not alarmist. The Yellow Turban Rebellion in the late Eastern Han Dynasty is an example. During the Yellow Turban Rebellion, the official army of the Eastern Han Dynasty was short of manpower and military funds, and its combat effectiveness was poor. The court was unable to suppress the Yellow Turban Rebellion, so it delegated power to allow local tyrants to recruit soldiers and form armed forces to suppress the Yellow Turban Rebellion. These armed forces became the private soldiers of the tyrants, and it is undeniable that they played a key role in suppressing the Yellow Turban Rebellion. But after the Yellow Turban Rebellion ended, these private soldiers of the tyrants became a major concern for the court. As a result, as you know, warlords split and fought each other, and eventually Wei, Shu and Wu divided the world into three parts, and the Eastern Han Dynasty finally perished at the hands of Cao Pi... ... Therefore, the court had to be extremely cautious about recruiting soldiers and building an army. It was not an easy task." Zhang Jing sighed and cited the example of the warlords' melee in the late Eastern Han Dynasty to further illustrate the hidden dangers of recruiting soldiers and building an army. He said that the court was very cautious about recruiting soldiers and building an army, and it was not an easy task to recruit soldiers and form a new army.
Zhu Pingan nodded when he heard this. He had not thought so far. Indeed, the recruitment system had such hidden dangers. Recruiting soldiers was a double-edged sword, which could easily turn over and become a separatist warlord, threatening the rule.
Indeed, the Ming Dynasty was very cautious about recruiting soldiers. In history, when the Jiajing Dynasty was suppressing the Japanese invasion, only a handful of people were allowed to recruit soldiers to form an army. Among them were the famous Qi Jiguang who recruited soldiers to form the Qi Family Army and Yu Dayou who recruited soldiers to form the Yu Family Army. The establishment of both was also limited, with only a few thousand people.
"However, Zihou can recruit some more soldiers. The emperor has granted you the power to specialize in militia training. It is legitimate for you to recruit soldiers and form a militia. Well, let's put it this way. Zihou is also good at training soldiers. I will give you another 1,200 quota and allow you to recruit soldiers on your own to make up your Zhejiang army's 2,000-man establishment. Starting from this month, I will allocate the food and wages for your 2,000 soldiers on time every month. As long as I am in office, I will never delay it for even a single day. Do you have the confidence to train the 2,000 Zhejiang soldiers well?" Zhang Jing changed the subject and looked at Zhu Ping'an with burning eyes.
Zhu Pingan couldn't help but breathe in excitement, stood up from his seat, and bowed deeply, "Pingan will definitely live up to your expectations."
"Okay, I will send the letter tomorrow, and you can choose a day to recruit soldiers." Zhang Jing patted Zhu Ping'an's shoulder with satisfaction, "As the saying goes, the more capable, the more work. You should recruit soldiers and train them well in the future. I will have important tasks for you in the future."
"Please rest assured, Ping'an and the Zhejiang Army will live up to your expectations!" Zhu Ping'an said with a firm face.
All the previous efforts were not in vain, the wine was not in vain, and the harvest was huge.