Chapter 370: New Outlook of the Ministry of Rites (VI)
Several old brothers came together to ask for a meeting with Qian Qing, and Qian Qing met them. He wanted to ask about their progress in the military academy, but when Qian Qing found that he was distracted, the old brothers who had been talking just now had shut up and stared at Qian Qing with surprise and confusion.
Qian Qing was stunned and found that he was really distracted. The reason for his distraction was simple. After hearing what the old brothers said, Qian Qing couldn't help but think of his children's future. The old brothers' incompetence was already obvious, and Qian Qing thought that his children must not be like these guys.
Even if his son could not reach Huo Chong's level in the future, he could not be worse than Qian Qing. However, this world was full of bastards who were not as good as Qian Qing. If the "probability" mentioned by Huo Chong was followed, it would be normal for the children to be useless!
Qian Qing was a little alert when he noticed that he was distracted to this extent. It was rare for him to be like this.
Qian Qing forced himself to cheer up and said with a smile: "Haha, since you are here, what I said is just to find excuses for your dissatisfaction. The master has said many times that we dare not tell the truth. Since you have come to me, I think you want me to help you. If you don't even dare to tell the truth, then what is the point of coming to me? Just say whatever you want!"
The old brothers looked at each other for a while, then lowered their heads. But there were always people who were more courageous, and one of them said, "Sister, His Majesty has staged a play. It's about the end of the Ming Dynasty. It says that the Guanning Army only knew how to use guns and bombardments. In the end, the Qing army that dared to fight in close combat was beaten like a jerk. We think this is looking down on us!"
Qian Qing was very unhappy, "Ha! If the master looked down on you, he would have kicked you out long ago! He called you to the military academy for training, isn't it just to make you more promising after you finish your studies!"
After hearing this, the old brothers were stunned, and even those who lowered their heads raised their heads.
Without waiting for these people to say anything nonsense, Qian Qing asked loudly: "When we first followed the master to fight, where was the master? Was he in front of us or behind us?"
"In front of us." The old brothers quickly echoed.
Another one even flattered Qian Qing, "At that time, the eldest sister always led us to charge! We all stood closer to the front than His Majesty!"
Qian Qing ignored the nonsense these guys were talking about and mocked them, "Ah! When the master is here, you are in the front, and when the master is not here, you hide in the back. All you know is to shout, "Go ahead!" Is this decent?
The old brothers turned their heads away, but no one dared to say anything to Qian Qing. After all, Qian Qing was never one to stay behind. Even though he was not always at the front when charging, he could always be seen at the front.
"You are all people who command thousands of troops. If you don't even know how to charge, then what are you commanding? Just keep quiet and let the commander who is charging command the charge, then nothing will go wrong. But! But! If that's the case, you are really not fit to be commanders! There are people who understand the operation of the entire army. They are better than you when they become division commanders and army commanders!"
Even if Qian Qing calmed down a little, he could easily deal with these guys. As expected, after the key points were revealed, the old brothers became anxious and shouted, "Big sister, you look down on us by saying that!"
After the guys finished shouting, Qian Qing sighed, "Brothers, the master has said this many times. In the minds of ordinary people, becoming a regiment commander, a division commander, or an army commander is the end. As long as you hold this position, you will have the ability to do this job well. This is what ordinary people think, and it is also the idea of the Guanning generals in the play. But things have never been like this. If this idea is right, the Ming Dynasty should not have perished!"
After saying this, Qian Qing suddenly felt that the new plays were really well-rehearsed, very good!
The story in the play is very simple, so simple that anyone can understand the truth. The new play "Sneaking through Jimen Pass" does not vilify the Guanning Army, but only describes the true appearance of a group of Guanning Army officers. One of the ideas of the Guanning Army officers is that if they become generals, they can do the job of a general well.
Whether or not they can do a good job is not important. As long as they can keep this position, the Guanning Army can continue to enjoy generous food and salary, act tyrannically, and live a life of luxury.
There are many scenes in which, whenever the Guanning Army was drunk and excited, the generals felt that in order to have such a wonderful life, the imperial court must last forever.
Such a feeling was indeed from the heart at that moment. However, when the effect of the alcohol wore off and they had to face the cruel reality, the Guanning Army officers and soldiers were all thinking about how to keep themselves alive first, maintain their lives until the next time they were drunk, and continue to express their loyalty to the court.
Unlike the Guanning Army, everyone in the Later Jin Dynasty understood that everything could only be achieved through their desperate fighting.
In addition to his own martial arts training, he supervised his subordinates' training. In addition to fighting, he also dealt with domestic and foreign affairs. He colluded with the Mongols and fought against them. When he didn't know the future, he fought hard for victory through intrigue and deception.
Qian Qing knew that Huo Chong wanted to use this history to warn the Chinese court that a happy life can only be achieved through hard work. There is no victory that is destined.
Qian Qing initially thought that this was a bit redundant, but now he feels that these dramas are not only not redundant, but also very necessary. Although these old brothers have not yet reached the status of the Guanning Army, their ideas are very similar to those of the Guanning Army.
However, the atmosphere at the founding of a nation was different from that at the end of the nation, and the old brothers did not dare to make trouble. It was not to the point where these people were too powerful to be dealt with.
So Qian Qing easily dealt with the requests of the old brothers, "Don't worry, as long as you can do it well. If anyone dares to make things difficult for us old brothers, I will be the first to say no!"
After hearing Qian Qing's statement, the old brothers felt that their expectations had been met, so they stood up and said goodbye. After all, the military academy was almost closed, and it was only because they were all old brothers that they were allowed to find other reasons to come out and see Qian Qing.
After sending these people away, Qian Qing immediately ordered the military academy to organize the newly recruited young soldiers to give Qian Qing an exercise.
Commander Qian had given the order and it was carried out quickly. Two days later, Qian Qing saw this group of young people at the drill ground outside the military academy.
These people were all around 20 years old, and were all selected from outstanding young soldiers through examinations and daily performance. Qian Qing felt the vigor and vitality just by walking in front of them. This energy was even more vigorous and sharper than the old brothers who Qian Qing had followed Huo Chong to fight against the Qing Dynasty.
Qian Qing saw innocence in the eyes of these young people. They knew they were soldiers and understood that they had to realize their own value and prove their abilities on the battlefield. Apart from that, they did not think about official positions or power.
When Qian Qing realized his joy, he quickly dispelled it. There was no need for joy on the battlefield. The Shura-like battlefield was never a pleasant place. The deafening sound of gunfire, the pungent smell of gunpowder, the tragic shouts of killing, and the screams and groans of the seriously injured. A normal person would go crazy in such a place.
Then the exercise began. It started with paperwork, with young soldiers quickly taking over troops that they had not previously managed.
Commands such as "Stand at attention", "At ease", "Everyone, look to the right", and "Count" were immediately rang out on the playground.
These were all basic drills. Facing the newly-initiated troops, the young officers completed the reorganization of their respective troops in the fastest possible time.
"Report, there are nine people in my class who are supposed to be there, but there are ten people there. Report completed!"
"Report, my platoon should have 34 people, but the actual number is 32. Report completed!"
"Report, my company..."
"Report, my battalion..."
Once the troops were counted, they began to execute the next step. The initial exercise was not complicated. The troops were organized into divisions and received orders to prepare for combat with the enemy fifty miles away.
The headquarters immediately dispatched a reconnaissance unit to conduct reconnaissance and map the terrain based on the military intelligence already obtained.
Since these were purely paper work, they were carried out according to the time. According to the paper data, the division headquarters began to understand the battlefield situation while completing internal control.
As the saying goes, knowing yourself and your enemy will ensure victory in a hundred battles. Once the troops have completed the battlefield structure, they will begin to mobilize them according to the terrain.
At this time, the various units under the division headquarters began to mobilize and deploy, first occupying advantageous terrain and building the division's position. Arrangements including building field fortifications and preparing field hospitals were completed step by step.
Immediately, the various troops began to move out. This was not just paper work, but actual action.
Although the battlefield is fictional, the hillsides, rivers, and ponds are all real scenes. Each unit began to move in different directions. The unit that planned to cross the river moved in the direction of the river.
The enemy was also fictional, so the troops were followed by a theatrical judge who constantly monitored the direction of movement of each troop.
Qian Qing didn't have the ability to clone himself, so he could only find a project to check. So he followed the artillery unit.
At this time, the Chinese Army's artillerymen were more professional. The artillery vehicles struggled to cross the rugged field terrain, and after arriving at the destination, they began to conduct various measurements.
Over the past few years, measurement equipment has become more professional. From the original judgment based on trigonometric functions, there are now gun scopes with rulers. Slide rules have also replaced the original method of visual inspection with fingers. There are even artillery calculation sheets. Artillery officers only need to fill in the listed parameters and then calculate. There is no need to write out the entire set of formulas by hand.
After opening the gun carriage and adjusting the level, the artillerymen conducted test firing according to the firing parameters. It was not possible to say that every shot was accurate at this time. At least there was no problem with the overall direction.
Qian Qing sighed in his heart. It seemed that the old brothers could indeed retire. If personal relationships were not involved, Qian Qing would prefer the young people in front of him rather than the old brothers who were used to the old tactics and did not make any improvements.
The target of the exercise was certainly not the Qing army, which was the biggest reason why Qian Qing felt that the old brothers were not making progress. Many old brothers began to complain when they encountered such exercises, saying, "This is not a war with the Qing army, this is a war with our own people. And, we ourselves don't have the ability set by the exercise headquarters!"
The lack of ambition was clearly revealed in these words. These people were expecting the one-sided massacre they were used to, not a real war. The old brothers were not only not used to such a war, but were completely against it!
Qian Qing rode his horse towards the headquarters, thinking that there was really such a situation in the play "Sneaking through Jimen Pass". The Guanning Army of the Ming Dynasty still used the tactics of the early Ming Dynasty. As long as the enemy made the slightest progress, they would be in chaos and curse the Later Jin for daring to come up with such a crooked way.
When Qian Qing first saw this, he was not deeply touched. Now he just felt that he completely understood Huo Chong's thoughts.
In "Sneaking through Jimen Pass", the Later Jin was full of vitality and brave in fighting. The Ming Dynasty was in a state of decadence and did not consider war at all. In the minds of the Guanning generals, war was to serve their power, and they did not think that the purpose of the Guanning Army's existence was to win the war.
Therefore, after such a scene, the commentator would point out that "the Guanning Army has regarded the country and the war as a means to preserve their personal interests, and regarded everything they should have fought for, bled for and sacrificed for as a tool to realize their personal interests. They are always thinking about how to maximize their personal interests. The Later Jin on the opposite side understands that only by uniting after the Later Jin can they survive and have a future."
The exercise was arranged for three days. On the first day, the troops discovered through reconnaissance that the troops they were facing in the exercise were not troops of the same number, but "Qing troops" twice their number. Not only that, there was another enemy force twice their number blocking their retreat and rushing over.
The equipment of the "Qing Army" was the same as that of the Chinese Army. When it came to shooting and artillery bombardment, they were not at all inferior. Their proficiency was also not inferior.
The exercise troops were under great pressure at the beginning, but the young soldiers made full use of the means of sneaking and marching, digging communication trenches in front of the positions, etc. They approached the "Qing army" and defeated the left wing of the Qing army on the second day with a series of surprise attacks.
However, in the exercise setting, the time left for this surrounded unit was short. The enemy's right wing saw that the situation was not going well and switched from offense to defense.
Qian Qing thought that at this point, the young men might choose to retreat. However, the exercise had already decided that once this unit retreated, they would encounter a Qing army that they had not discovered, and would be completely annihilated by the front and back attacks.
Many of the old brothers had participated in such exercises, and without exception, they were all wiped out. Afterwards, everyone cursed, as if the exercise headquarters had deliberately tricked them.
Qian Qing did not go to the headquarters, but the exercise staff sent various messages. The young people made a decisive choice.
Since the enemy situation was unknown and several areas were obviously undetectable, it was better to fight hard and annihilate the remaining "Qing troops" rather than risk retreating. Then, we would conduct a defensive operation on this familiar battlefield.
After the decision was made, the entire division made adjustments for the decisive battle. The young soldiers launched a tough battle under the command of the division headquarters under the command of the Ministry of Rites. During the battle, the instructors suffered heavy casualties because they were always leading the team at the forefront. Under the leadership of the instructors of the various companies of the Ministry of Rites, they turned back and launched a fierce attack on the remaining enemies.
Just as they had learned in military school, the members of the Etiquette Department always followed the rules and fought on the front lines. When the platoon leader finished fighting, the company commander would take over, and when the company commander finished fighting, the reconnaissance platoon of the battalion headquarters would take over.
Under the command of the exercise headquarters, the enemy also launched a "clever" attack, using "captured traitors as the vanguard, raiding the division headquarters and destroying it in one fell swoop."
This was the first time that a troop had faced such a desperate situation. Qian Qing looked at the people in the exercise staff department and saw that everyone was embarrassed but also looked expectant.
In fact, Qian Qing did not believe that the Qing army could create such a situation, but the battlefield was a completely unpredictable place. No one could guarantee what would happen.
Like the exercise staff, Qian Qing was looking forward to seeing the performance of these young soldiers. How would the young people perform in such a desperate situation?
Just as the exercise command had expected, the young people were also angry when they learned that the command had been taken down. They started to curse the exercise staff officers next to them , saying that they were making stupid arrangements.
At this moment, the few remaining officers of the Ministry of Rites suddenly asked: "If this is really the case, what should we do?"
The young men were silent for a moment, unable to answer. The young officer from the Ministry of Rites seemed to be getting angry too, and shouted, "According to the regulations, at this time, we have to vote to decide whether to continue to execute the order. Let's vote, do we want to fight to the end!"
Hearing the staff officers' retelling, Qian Qing felt his blood rushing faster, as if a fire was burning in his chest.
If Qian Qing was at the front line and learned that Huo Chong from the headquarters had been killed, there would be only one way, and that was to kill the enemy and avenge Huo Chong!
So many people have died, and we are in a desperate situation. Does your life or death matter? If you are afraid, then don't go to the battlefield!
The young people's choice was simple. When someone expressed his willingness to fight gloriously to the end, no one objected.
The troops gathered the last assault force and, under the leadership of the remaining supreme commander and logistics director, launched a fierce attack on the Qing army.
In the setting, the elite of the Qing army were sent out to fight. So this 500-man death squad fought their way into the center of the Qing army. When they broke into the Qing army headquarters and killed the Qing army headquarters, there were less than ten people left.
Thanks to the desperate fight of the commandos , the Qing army was finally defeated. The remaining troops were less than 1,500, and they quickly used the terrain and captured enemy weapons to prepare the final defensive position. They completed the preparations before the enemy's main force arrived.
At this point, the exercise was over. Qian Qing was overwhelmed with emotions. Thinking of the courage of the young soldiers, Qian Qing felt that the old brothers had really lost their edge.
The exercise command center was filled with joy and admiration. After more than a year, someone could actually complete this exercise script. This was something no one had expected.
Everyone remembered a few names, all of whom were members of the Ministry of Rites. It was they who showed amazing enterprising spirit in the face of adversity. If it weren't for them, this exercise would have ended long ago. It would have been even more impossible to see the situation of breaking through.
