Zhang Jing and his men waited at the Zhejiang Army's gate for the guards to report. While waiting, Zhang Jing and his men observed the Zhejiang Army's camp.
The layout of the camp, which is located close to the mountain and beside the water, is a large and small camp. There is a fence on the camp, and a trench outside the fence. The trench is more than ten feet wide and ten feet deep. The bottom of the trench is filled with sharp wooden stakes, and the upper end is pointed. You can see that the end that is rammed to the bottom of the trench is blackened by fire to prevent the stakes from rotting. A wooden bridge is set up at the main gate. Outside the trench is a row of chevaux-de-frise, and outside the chevaux-de-frise are heavier antler obstacles.
There is a sentry tower every fifty meters in the camp, and armored soldiers can be seen patrolling the camp from time to time...
"The Zhejiang Army is too insecure. The camp is arranged like a hedgehog..." said the accompanying official.
"Haha, probably because he is too scared of death..." someone joked.
Haha, many people started laughing.
"Why are you laughing? The military camp should be on high alert. This is how it should be. This way, we won't give the Japanese pirates any chance to take advantage of us."
Zhang Jing glanced at them and said expressionlessly.
"Yes, yes, what the Governor said is very true."
A few people who were laughing hurriedly stopped smiling and nodded in agreement, but they didn't agree in their hearts. They felt that the Zhejiang Army was located in the hinterland, and there were no decent cities nearby, so there was no need to make such a fuss.
"If the Jiangning Camp had been as heavily guarded as the Zhejiang Army and strictly enforced the permission to enter the camp, the Japanese pirates would not have easily sneaked into the camp disguised as merchants offering rewards to the army and suddenly launched an attack, causing the entire army to be annihilated."
Zhang Jing said with some emotion, then turned around and instructed the people around him, "Go back and draw up a proposal, requiring each camp to set up camp like the Zhejiang Army and be on high alert, so as not to give the Japanese pirates any chance to take advantage of us."
"Yes, sir." The official accepted the order.
Soon, everyone saw Zhu Ping'an riding a horse and galloping out of the camp. He quickly turned over and dismounted, and went out of the camp to greet Zhang Jing and others. "The humble official Zhu Ping'an greets Governor Zhang, greets Lord Zhao, greets Lord Huang, greets Lord Hu, and greets all the lords... ... All the lords are here for inspection. I am late to welcome you. Please forgive me."
"Master Zhu, please stand up. We came here without asking for permission. What crime have you committed?" Zhang Jing said with a smile.
"Thank you for your tolerance, Governor. Please enter the camp, everyone." Zhu Ping'an respectfully invited everyone to enter the Zhejiang Army camp.
"Haha, Lord Zhu, it's not easy to enter your camp. The guards in your camp are very conscientious. After verifying our identities, they insisted on letting us wait outside for the report. You should reward them well for their diligence..."
Before leaving, one official glanced deeply at the gate guard and complained in a joking tone with ulterior motives.
The guards at the gate couldn't help but become nervous. Although in their hearts, their master Zhu Ping'an has always been fair and impartial, the situation this time is special. They have stopped the Governor-General of Jiangnan, the Imperial Envoy and other people of obviously high status outside the military camp. This official has also lost his face and complained in person. I wonder if their master will take the face of these bigwigs into consideration, lose his impartiality, and punish them
"Oh, verifying their identities and reporting to the camp is the military rule of our Zhejiang Army. It is their duty to follow the military rule, but since you have praised them for their merits, I will give them a small merit."
Zhu Ping'an glanced at the guards at the gate, and in their nervous eyes, he slowly spoke.
The official who filed the complaint suddenly turned pale. He had originally wanted to sue them to vent his anger, but he ended up helping them. He really shot himself in the foot. He was angry but couldn't say anything. It was his own fault for asking Zhu Ping'an to reward him.
"Thank you, sir."
The guard at the gate was overjoyed. He said, "A master is a master. He always makes fair decisions. I really deserved death for actually doubting whether the master would make a fair judgment. The master is always trustworthy."
"Why thank me? You should thank Lord Wang." Zhu Ping'an said with a smile, "It was Lord Wang who recommended you for the credit."
"Thank you, Lord Wang." The guard at the gate thanked the official who filed the complaint with a proud look on his face, his expression similar to the grin of Wang Yousheng in Drawing Sword.
The official who filed the complaint looked even darker and almost vomited blood.
Zhu Ping'an led Zhang Jing and his party into the camp for inspection. Zhang Jing and others were somewhat surprised to see the Zhejiang Army's well-planned, neat and clean camp. Other military camps were all messy, but the Zhejiang Army's was so clean and orderly.
"This is the camping area. All 2,008 soldiers in the camp sleep here. Each tent accommodates 150 people. Over there is the valley circulation area. All soldiers defecate there. Over there is the breeding area. The mules and horses of our camp are all raised there. In addition, we also raise 50 pigs, more than 500 chickens, ducks, and geese. We have also opened up a vegetable field next to the breeding area to improve the food for our army..."
As they walked, Zhu Ping'an introduced the layout of the Zhejiang Army camp to Zhang Jing and others, and he knew every part of the camp well.
“Wouldn’t it be smelly to raise pigs and chickens? If you’re spending your time on this, you might as well just purchase them.” An official shook his head and questioned.
"No, the soldiers take turns to take care of the livestock, and they sweep and clean the livestock pens every morning and evening to ensure that they are clean and odorless. As for the reason for raising and planting, firstly, it is to save costs. Our army has limited military expenditures, and the soldiers have a lot of training. They need to ensure that they have a certain amount of meat and vegetable meals every day to replenish their physical strength, which is very expensive. If they only rely on purchasing, the cost will be too high and it will be unsustainable. In this way, raising livestock and planting vegetables, the soldiers' leftovers and slop can be used to feed the livestock, and the livestock's manure can be used to grow vegetables, which can solve half of the meat and vegetable supply, reduce half of the cost, and ensure the supply of pork, chicken, etc. for the soldiers; secondly, in addition to training, the soldiers usually don't have any entertainment and leisure activities. Raising pigs and growing vegetables, doing it yourself, and having enough food and clothing can also adjust their spiritual life."
Zhu Pingan replied with a smile.
This is also because Zhu Ping'an referred to the experience of modern armies. I remember watching the story of the kitchen squad when I was a child, and the army raised pigs and grew vegetables.
"Well, that's good." Zhang Jing nodded when he heard it. The Zhejiang Army's method was very good. Raising pigs and growing vegetables could effectively reduce military expenditure and ensure a certain supply of meat and vegetable meals for the soldiers. It could be said to kill two birds with one stone.
At present, the imperial court is facing financial difficulties, and Zhang Jing is always worried about military expenses. If this method of the Zhejiang Army is promoted in all camps, it can save a lot of military expenses.
The army's leftovers and slop are thrown away anyway, so it's better to feed them to pigs and chickens...
After saying that, Zhang Jing was interested and asked Zhu Ping'an to take them around the breeding area. The clean pig pens, horse pens, etc. surprised Zhang Jing and others. The pig pens were even cleaner than those of ordinary homes, and there was indeed not much odor.
Fat pigs in the pigsty were gnawing on leftover slops and food scraps. Zhang Jing nodded repeatedly as he watched, thinking that this method of the Zhejiang Army could be promoted.