Early the next morning, Zhu Ping'an went to find Zhang Jing to implement the promise he made at the dinner table yesterday, and issued a special approval document authorizing the Zhejiang Army to recruit 1,200 soldiers.
Zhu Ping'an was very excited when he got the approval document.
This is also thanks to the fact that the Zhejiang Army is a militia, not a regular army, that it was able to obtain permission to recruit soldiers so smoothly. Otherwise, don't even think about it. Zhang Jing has no power, and the court will not allow it in the short term.
The basis of the Ming Dynasty's military system was the garrison system. Recruiting soldiers broke the Ming Dynasty's military system and became hostile to the entire old Ming Dynasty officialdom. It was equivalent to snatching food from the six ministries and other government offices, and was bound to encounter heavy opposition.
Historically, Qi Jiguang went through a lot of difficulties in recruiting soldiers. It took him several years from application to approval before he finally got the approval.
If there had been no interference, according to the course of history, it would have taken at least two or three years for Qi Jiguang to get permission to recruit soldiers.
"Sir, I will go to recruit soldiers right away." After Zhu Ping'an got the approval document, he hurriedly said goodbye to Zhang Jing.
Being able to recruit soldiers two or three years in advance is a great advantage for the fight against the Japanese invaders. The earlier we recruit soldiers, the earlier we can put two thousand new troops into the anti-Japanese battlefield, the earlier we can change the anti-Japanese situation, and the earlier we can end the Japanese invasion.
Time waits for no one, time is precious and should not be wasted.
"Zihou, with this approval document, you can go to any military camp or garrison and select existing veterans. You don't have to recruit new soldiers. If you go down to recruit new soldiers, you have to train them from scratch, which takes a lot of time. If you select existing veterans, they have been trained and have a certain foundation. Wouldn't it be more effective to train them? It can save you a lot of time." Zhang Jing saw that Zhu Ping'an was anxious to recruit soldiers and reminded him.
How could Zhu Ping'an not know Zhang Jing's reminder? Zhang Jing was now the governor-general of Jiangnan, the governor of the military affairs of seven provinces. His approval documents were naturally effective in any garrison or military camp. However, Zhu Ping'an had no interest in the garrison soldiers. At the end of the year, the garrison soldiers had poor combat effectiveness, poor organization and discipline, did not obey orders, and were afraid of fighting. If they were recruited into the Zhejiang Army, the Zhejiang Army would be corrupted.
Therefore, Zhu Pingan rejected Zhang Jing's kindness without hesitation, "Thank you, sir, but I still want to go down and recruit new soldiers."
"Oh, Zihou, why do you go so far instead of near?" Zhang Jing asked.
"Sir, I think training soldiers is the same as educating students in private schools. Children who have just entered the school are like a blank piece of paper. As long as the rules are issued and a little education and restraint are given, they can develop good learning habits and character. On the contrary, those old students who have been in the school for many years are like a piece of paper full of scribbles. Even if you stare at them and urge them all the time, it will be useless and you can't cultivate their good learning habits and character. Training soldiers is the same. Although recruiting new soldiers requires more time to train, you can issue military laws to train them to obey orders; selecting old soldiers seems to save training time, but they have already been stereotyped and no matter how much training is done, they can't be trained to obey orders. Therefore, I want to go down and recruit new soldiers who are like blank sheets of paper."
Zhu Ping'an bowed and explained.
"Well, that makes sense." Zhang Jing nodded slightly, and then asked curiously, "Zihou, where are you going to recruit soldiers?"
Where to recruit soldiers?!
Zhu Ping'an blurted out "Yiwu" without thinking.
Yiwu, yes, it’s Yiwu!
Historically, Qi Jiguang recruited the famous Qi Family Army from Yiwu. With such successful experience, Zhu Ping'an naturally would not ignore it.
Qi Jiguang's recruitment of soldiers also went through a lot of twists and turns. Initially, Qi Jiguang recruited and trained a "new army" with Lishui and Shaoxing soldiers as the main force. This new army fought several small battles in Taizhou and other places, and won all of them. Qi Jiguang was very satisfied and proud of this. However, when Qi Jiguang was proud, this new army encountered a big battle, a tough battle, and then the Zhejiang army showed its true colors, retreated step by step, and fled in all directions... ...
Qi Jiguang was puzzled as to why this new army was defeated. This shouldn't have happened. This new army had all the factors to win: (i) Excellent generals: He personally commanded the battle on the front line. There was no problem with his command. On the contrary, he commanded very well and seized the weakness of the Japanese pirates; (ii) Superior manpower: There were more than 3,000 new soldiers on his side, while the Japanese pirates only had 1,000. He had the advantage in manpower; (iii) Excellent equipment: The new army was fully equipped, with a high rate of armor and firearms. The weapons were all made of refined steel, which was much better than the Japanese pirates; (iv) Well-trained: He had undergone high-intensity and strict training for more than four months, so he was well-trained... ...
With so many advantages, why did they still lose the first battle and flee in all directions? After thinking for a long time, Qi Jiguang finally figured out that it was a problem of manpower.
The Lishui soldiers are fierce in battle, but they like to negotiate conditions. They are fierce when it is beneficial, but if it is not beneficial or they feel they cannot fight, they are just a mob and will never work hard. The Shaoxing soldiers are not afraid of hard work and have no complaints, but they are unreliable on the battlefield. If the enemy retreats on the battlefield, they will pursue; but if the enemy attacks, they will retreat. In simple terms, they will fight if the enemy runs, and if the enemy does not run, then they will run.
The local water and soil nurture the local people, and the local water and soil nurture the local soldiers. This is the nature formed by the local water and soil for thousands of years, and it is difficult to change through training.
After this setback, Qi Jiguang had been worrying about finding the best source of soldiers. Later, when Qi Jiguang was passing through Yiwu on business, he saw a fight in Yiwu and discovered that the Yiwu people were tough, brave, aggressive, resolute and tenacious, as well as well-organized and disciplined. He was overjoyed and exclaimed that this was a source of soldiers sent by God.
Therefore, Qi Jiguang recruited soldiers on a voluntary basis and formed a powerful army in the world - the Qi Family Army.
Therefore, Zhu Ping'an did not even think about it and directly drew on Qi Jiguang's experience to start recruiting soldiers in Yiwu.
"Oh, why did Zihou choose to go to Yiwu to recruit soldiers?" Zhang Jing asked curiously.
"Ping An heard that Yiwu has many mountains and little land, and the land is barren and not suitable for growing food. The local grain output is the lowest. The local people make a living by mining. Mining often leads to competition for mineral resources. In order to survive, there are many cases of fighting for mineral resources every year. Miners on both sides of the competition often fight with weapons, which can last for a few days or a few months. There are many participants, and countless people are killed or injured. Therefore, the local people of Yiwu are brave and fearless. In addition, because the local people of Yiwu make a living by mining, the mine has requirements for organization and discipline. The local people of Yiwu have good organization and discipline, and are good seedlings for soldiers and fighting. I think that the people of Yiwu can become a combat-ready, brave and good army with a little training."
Zhu Ping'an bowed and explained in detail.
"Haha, Zihou knows Yiwu in such detail. It seems that Zihou has already chosen the place to recruit soldiers." Zhang Jing smiled slightly and nodded, "Then go ahead. I will wait and see." (To be continued)