Ming Dynasty: I, Emperor Chongzhen, swear not to go to Meishan

Zhu Youjian began to recruit new soldiers again. He wanted to form the Third Royal Regiment, a brigade-level establishment of 7,000 people. He recruited 10,000 people.

Casualties are inevitable in a war. Recruiting an additional two to three thousand people as a reserve team can replenish troops damaged in battle at any time, so as not to rush to the battlefield to use recruits who have not undergone formal military training for a few days as cannon fodder. .

According to his future plans, after the Ming Dynasty has eliminated internal troubles, wiped out foreign enemies, and rested for two or three years, it will then use external troops to sweep across the Eurasian continent. Wherever the troops go, it will be the territory of the Ming Dynasty.

By then, not to mention a hundred brigades, even a hundred divisions may not be enough. The majestic Eastern country has the largest population in the world. It would be embarrassed to call it Ming Dynasty unless it has an army of two to three million people. However, That was a few years later.

If it weren't for the serious lack of funds, commanders at all levels and grassroots officers, backward weapons, low production capacity and many other reasons, he would now want to destroy ten brigades of troops in one go.

This time the conscription is still mainly composed of children from farm families with innocent family backgrounds, but it is very different from the previous rounds of conscription. This time it is completely open. Young people from all walks of life can sign up to join the army. The prerequisite is that they can pass the deadline. Two months of recruit training and assessment.

The army is a melting pot, no matter you are a poor commoner who cannot afford three meals a day, a young man from a noble family, a yamen from an official family, a young prince from an honorable family, or a scholar. Scholars and scholars who arrived in the army were all treated equally, starting from ordinary soldiers. If they dared to violate military discipline, they would be punished equally.

If there is a difference, it is that most of the children from peasant families are illiterate, while the young masters from aristocratic families and scholars and scholars all have a certain cultural foundation, so promotion is easier and faster than the soldiers from peasant families.

How can commanders at all levels, even junior officers in squads and platoons, understand and carry out the orders and tasks of their superiors without any cultural foundation?

This is also the main reason why Zhu Youjian has always emphasized that free reading and literacy are mandatory in the military.

Because of the comprehensive and open recruitment of new soldiers from all walks of life, it caused a great sensation in the imperial capital. Many people came to watch the excitement and wanted to see which young men or dandies from aristocratic families signed up to join the army?

In the past two days, all the children from farmers came to sign up, and there was a large crowd. It is said that there are many young children from farmers in neighboring counties who have made an appointment to sign up for the army together tomorrow and the day after tomorrow.

As the old saying goes, these days, for children from poor families, being a soldier is also a way to make a living. What's more, the welfare benefits of the emperor's pro-soldiers are so good that they make people envious and jealous.

If it hadn't been for the emperor's rule that only farmboys who had never served as soldiers were recruited, it would have been estimated that all the 100,000 elite soldiers in the capital would have deserted and changed jobs.

On the third day, a sensational scene occurred in the capital. Many well-dressed young men from aristocratic families encouraged to sign up to join the army.

When the news came to the palace, Zhu Youjian just smiled indifferently. The so-called enthusiasm of these young men from aristocratic families to sign up to join the army was probably because the elders in the family were forcing them with sticks, so they had to go through the motions. I'm afraid not many actually signed up to join the army. people.

Zhu Youjian's guess was correct. Most of the young men from aristocratic families were forced to join the army by their elders with sticks, canes or various threats. All of them had almost the same wishful thinking in mind.

My son is idle all day long, only interested in eating, drinking, having fun, and even causing trouble for the family. He might as well be thrown into the army to train, get a small official position, and after a few years of experience, maybe he can be like Xu Yu and Lan Fang , Chang Buzhou became a general who unified the army.

The achievements of Xu Yu, Lan Fang, and Chang Buzhou have really made many fathers jealous. They are all naughty children who cause headaches to their elders. Why are the three of them able to become powerful generals in charge of an army? My son can’t?

However, the ideal is plump, but the reality is too skinny. Many dandy boys who have long been drained by drinking and sex cannot even pass the most basic and easy physical fitness test, let alone two months of intensive special training for recruits. , and was eliminated on the spot.

It's useless to stuff money. None of the officials responsible for recruiting troops dared to accept it. The emperor personally controlled the recruitment. Once discovered, he would be dismissed from his post or sent to a remote and cold place to perform hard labor. No one dared to make fun of his own life.