Chapter 34 Boring training

Standing outside the small courtyard in front of Li Ping's house, you can have a good view of the flat land at the foot of the mountain that is as big as a football field.

This piece of flat land was purposely leveled and specially used for centralized training and review.

At this time, on this flat land, hundreds of officers and soldiers were training in an orderly manner as usual.

Although it was already mid-July (mid-to-late August in the Gregorian calendar), the sun was still a little bit harsh, but no one in the team moved or wilted under the sun.

Rows of tanned soldiers walked upright and neatly under the guidance of the "one two one" command and the sound of whistles.

If it weren't for the high buns on their heads, the uniform sleeveless jacket-style uniforms on their upper bodies, the straw sandals on their feet, and their still skinny bodies, they would look like a group of high school students undergoing military training.

Because of the hot weather, no one wore any other clothing except their uniforms.

Making uniform uniforms for the soldiers was not because Li Ping had any preference for the outermost vest-style clothing, nor was it because he wanted to keep the dressing style as consistent as possible with other officers and soldiers.

In fact, it is a waste of time.

Uniform full-body military uniforms are never cheap.

The cost advantage of livery is very obvious at this time.

Just like these uniforms are uniformly earthy red on the edge and cyan on the inside, it is also because they are cheap. These two colors are the most easily available dyeing in nature at this time.

Historically, countries with unified military uniforms mostly used red or blue. In addition to the eye-catching and oppressive colors, low cost is also one of the important reasons.

As for straw sandals, it is not that Li Ping has not yet solved the problem of providing at least one pair of cloth shoes to each soldier, but that the ordinary cloth shoes of this era cannot withstand the wear and tear of queue training.

Not to mention Li Ping couldn't bear it, even the soldiers were heartbroken.

Changing into straw sandals during training soon became a rule.

Queue training is the training that Li Ping values ​​most at the moment, taking up most of all training time in his camp.

Spear training, which is directly related to combat, is only organized for about half an hour every afternoon. Knife and bow training is only for a small number of soldiers who have knives and bows, as well as officers above the length, and the daily training time is not long.

More than half an hour.

Due to the serious lack of high-calorie foods, physical training, which is not very intense, is only organized in the morning.

Many people did not understand this arrangement, and the officers and soldiers in the camp had many complaints and discussions. Li Shengcai, who came to play, even laughed at Li Ping for knowing only this little thing. Of course, he did not forget to ridicule him for training the queue.

Zhao Jin occupies about one-third of the military training.

Li Ping didn't want to explain, nor did he need the understanding of the officers and soldiers in the camp. All he needed was their execution.

He plans to maintain a high proportion of queue training for about a month, and then reduce its proportion to half and maintain it for another month. This is his plan.

It's a plan, because Li Ping doesn't know whether he can achieve the training effect he wants at each time point.

After all, this is not an era when most people in later generations have learned a lot of discipline concepts and common sense about queues before joining the army.

Here, Li Pingguang spent countless efforts to make the mostly ignorant rural soldiers distinguish left and right, so much so that in the first ten days of training, the soldiers had to wear shoes on their left foot and leave their right foot bare to strengthen their understanding.

Know.

I recall an anecdote about a warlord in the early years of the Republic of China that I once read. A certain warlord was good at military training, and every squad leader in his army could shout commands very well. This shocked many surrounding warlords, and everyone regarded this warlord as

The army is considered to be the strongest.

It seemed like a joke at the time, but now it seems like I was too superficial.

Today, Li Ping did not rush to the training ground to train with everyone. Instead, he stood outside the small courtyard where he lived with Ma Yong, the commander on duty these days, and watched the overall training from a height.

They had been watching for a while.

After the implementation of unified training, Li Ping set up the position of duty commander, which is held by three sentry commanders in turn, one every five days. During the duty period, he is responsible for the overall coordination, supervision and allocation of ordinary tasks such as the training of the whole camp, life and other aspects.

.

The purpose of setting up a duty commander is to enhance his subordinates' ability to grasp and control the overall situation. This is actually copying the practice of later armies.

Li Ping's understanding is that the term "chief" is easier to be understood by ordinary soldiers and civilians with very low education. The word was derogatory due to the specific historical conditions of the year, but the word itself is actually very popular.

.

However, there is also a big difference in that it is impossible for the grassroots commanders of later generations to hold the position of duty officer. This kind of position is held by the regiment leaders in turn at the lowest level with rotation requirements, that is, at the regiment level.

Analogize to the above.

This is because the army of later generations has a complete set of mature organs. Command is initiated by the commander and implemented by the organs.

Letting grassroots commanders serve as duty leaders will cause command reversal and cause huge trouble and chaos to the troops.

But Li Ping's army now has no organs. What he needs is to cultivate comprehensive officers as soon as possible to share his pressure and strengthen the control of the army, so he has temporarily adopted this method.

In particular, its troops have not yet adopted the flag-recognition command and control method common among the Ming Dynasty's military, which requires higher and more comprehensive capabilities for individual commanders.

The main reason for not building a flag-type force was that Li Ping was not familiar with it.

It is impossible for him to adopt a set of command methods that are completely different from his habits and that he barely understands. After all, he himself does not know a few flags until now, and he does not agree with this type of military model.

Looking at the slightly busy captains, commanders and even corps commanders in the field, and listening to their command commands one after another, Li Ping knew that the basic training of this unit was on the right track.

Although they are still immature, they have basically taken shape and all they need is time to settle.

At this time, his thoughts inevitably drifted to deeper troubles again.

The cultivation of discipline and the establishment of an organization are not unfamiliar and complicated to Li Ping, who has been in the army for more than 20 years, has conducted recruit training, led a company, and has been in charge of troop management training for many years.

The real challenge is how to cultivate the faith of this army and how to keep them loyal. This makes Li Ping's head hurt.

An army without faith is a soldier for food, promotion and wealth. It is bound to be unjust for the sake of profit. It can change sides at any time, and the king's flag changes at any time on the city wall. The countless warlord melees and the following crimes in history are typical examples.

The soul of an army is faith, organization and discipline are only its bones.

An army with faith can have countless legends, while an army without faith can only be a vulnerable mob.

The fundamental reason why Li Zicheng's peasant army suddenly became stronger was that he put forward the political slogan "No food will be paid when the king comes" and promoted his political ideas with strict military discipline.

"Protect the territory and the people, eliminate violence and bring peace to the people" is a slogan used by many armies in history. It is also the idea that Li Ping was able to temporarily instill in the soldiers after repeated weighing, but it is also a very unreliable idea.

"Loyalty to the emperor and patriotism", when the Ming Dynasty was about to come to an end, and the Nanming regime that was later established was difficult to trust, Li Ping did not dare to mention it randomly. He did not want to set a trap for himself and make it easier for Ming Dynasty officials to seize his army.

control.

And now is not the time to "restore China and expel the Tartars".

The Manchus haven't invaded yet! At this time, no one believed that the Manchus could conquer the world.

How to shape the faith of this army or how to seize this army is what Li Ping has been thinking about. But he still has no idea, and focusing on organization and discipline has become his most important thing at the moment.

The main means of controlling troops.

Ma Yong could not imagine Li Ping's troubles. Looking at Li Ping's frown from time to time, he only had unfathomable respect for Li Ping, and then stood behind Li Ping with even more awe.

Ma Yong felt a sense of pride about everything in front of him.

This is the most orderly army he has seen in the past few years, and it is also the most disciplined army. It is also a rare army that does not act recklessly.

Although they have very little training in combat skills, Ma Yong still believes that such uniformity and strict discipline alone are enough to frighten many enemies.

People who have been on the battlefield understand the importance of discipline better.

But the scene in front of him still didn't seem to meet the young man's expectations. Ma Yong was a little puzzled.

Finally, he couldn't help but ask: "Sir, from above, our formation is extraordinary! I'm afraid the soldiers that Grandpa Qi trained before were nothing more than this. How long do we need to train this formation? Is it almost done?

A lot of boys are holding it back."

Li Ping came out of his thoughts and turned his head slightly to look at Ma Yong.

This is the commander he admires most at the moment. He listens to orders, is eager to learn, is steady and has upright conduct.

"They are not good enough yet. They have to train for another ten days. After ten days, the formation training and spear, bow and arrow training will wait for half. The expansion training ground yesterday, Song Yingguan said that it has been completed. Starting tomorrow, each sentry can take turns to go there.

Let's train. First, arrange the time for each sentry day, then relax, and leave the other things unchanged for the time being." Li Ping thought for a while and said.

"Yes, sir." Ma Yong's answer was very straightforward.

After a while, he remembered something again and asked hurriedly: "Sir, do I need to arrange for the officers to gather together so that you can explain to everyone in advance the training methods and precautions you mentioned called expansion training?"

Li Ping nodded and said: "Yes, it is indeed necessary. After dinner today, you gather the officers above the senior level. I will give you a brief explanation first, and I will explain it in detail tomorrow based on the scene."

"Yes, sir," Ma Yong replied, straightening his chest again.

After days of training, Ma Yong not only developed a conditioned reflex to answer questions, but also paid special attention to setting an example.

Li Ping didn't say anything for a long time. Ma Yong hesitated for a long time and didn't ask any more questions. He had already discovered that Li Ping was different from the usual ones today.

This is the first time that Li Ping has not gone down early to supervise training.

"You go down and organize the training first! I'll be alone for a while." Li Ping suddenly said.

Ma Yong was stunned for a moment, but after shouting the order, he left decisively.

Don't ask questions that shouldn't be asked, this is Ma Yong's consistent style.

After watching the horse leave forever and disappear among the trees, Li Ping, who was standing, suddenly knelt on the ground and let out bursts of retching.

nausea!

Severe nausea accompanied by bursts of cold sweat!
To be continued...