Chapter 655: Form a Field Corps

"Sir, I understand!"

"I must arrest the discipline first!"

Yang Zixuan understood and said hurriedly.

To be honest, he was also a little worried about whether these little guys could adapt to the life of the Hu Ben Army. For outsiders, the life of the Hu Ben Army was as boring, nervous and hard-working as an ascetic monk. The one who reacted the most strongly to this point was the people who had been in the Ming Army before. According to them, the discipline of the Ming Army has never been so strict. As for the intensity of training, it is unprecedented.

Generally, if you practice every three days, you can be considered elite. In the past, the Qi family army was also a small training session for three days and a big training session for five days. The Hu Ben Army trained every day, except for eating and sleeping, and most people couldn't stand it. Therefore, there were not many people from the original Ming army in the Hu Ben Army because they could not accept the strict requirements of the Hu Ben Army. It seemed that Li Zhaohui, Xie Zhiyou and others could become outstanding members of the Hu Ben Army, and they were all in the original army, just disciplined people.

The Dong brothers were from wealthy families, had a high level of education, and had practiced martial arts, which was indeed different from ordinary soldiers. Yang Zixuan was worried that they would not be able to withstand the strict constraints of the Hu Ben Army. Now, with Zhang Zhun's clear instructions, he naturally knew it. If they could not withstand the discipline of the Hu Ben Army, they had to leave with their bags. The Hu Ben Army would never give up the strict requirements for discipline for some people.

"If you have any difficulties, you can come to me. If you train these people with some thoughts, you will have a model soldier, and it will be much easier to train others in the future. Remember, no matter who he is, even if he is the prince or the emperor, as long as he joins the Hu Ben Army, he must strictly abide by the discipline!"

Zhang Zhun said with anticipation and encouragement.

"Sir, don't worry! After half a month, you will come to check it out yourself! I can guarantee that they will change their appearance by then! In three months, they will become real soldiers of the Tiger Ben Army!"

Yang Zixuan said confidently.

Zhang Zhun was a non-commissioned officer, and his words and practices were obviously of non-commissioned officer nature. This led to his backbone officials being excellent non-commissioned officers. When it comes to training soldiers, they also have a set of things. As long as Zhang Zhun arranges them, they sometimes even do better than Zhang Zhun. On the contrary, the weak link is still in strategy and tactics. Zhang Zhun himself is thinking about "The Art of War", but he has never been a serious officer.

After leaving Dingzi Camp, Zhang Zhun came to the artillery battalion. Because the Tartars' offense had stopped, the artillery battalion could temporarily rest, and the entire camp felt quiet and silent. When the sentry on duty saw Zhang Zhu coming, he hurriedly notified the officer on duty Mo Ru.

"Sir, please!"

Mo Ru walked out excitedly, stood attentively and shouted loudly.

"Don't yell! Let them sleep!"

Zhang Zhun frowned and said.

Mo Ru grinned and stopped talking.

Artillery is different from infantry. After the battle is over, there are still a lot of things to do. Among them, cleaning the barrel, maintaining the fire door, dismantling the gun stand, etc. are very important. These are technical tasks and time-consuming. Whether it is the Red Barracks or the Dragon Cannon, they all need careful maintenance to maintain a good condition at all times. Therefore, although the battle is over, the soldiers of the Artillery Battalion were busy for a night last night before completing these tasks. They were all just lying down in the morning. Zhang Zhun knew this and told Mo Ru not to yell.

"How is the situation?"

Zhang Zhun asked straight to the point.

"It's not bad! It's just that three red cannons were damaged and they need to be dragged to the rear before repairing. Others, as long as the Tartars dare to come, they can be used to beat them!"

Mo Ru reported with a little excitement.

He explained in detail that when they were firing solid bullets with the Tatars' red cannons, three red cannons were hit by solid bullets, and the barrel was sunken. With their current tools, they could not be repaired, and they had to be sent back for Sun Qinkai and the others to deal with.

While talking, Xu Ziwen and Liu Chenzi both came. They made great contributions in yesterday's battle. They worked hard for another night last night, and their eyes were red. However, when Zhang Zhun came, they no longer felt sleepy.

"Governor, that conscience-free cannon is useless, sorry!"

Xu Ziwen said with a smile.

"That...it's gonna be used later."

Zhang Zhun said casually.

The Hu Ben Army was originally prepared to use the conscience-free cannon when the Tartars attacked the most fiercely, to be precise, when the city was broken. As a result, Huang Taiji found that the situation was wrong and immediately withdrew his troops. If he had no conscience-free cannons, he would not use it. It would be better if he had no conscience-free cannons, but this thing would have a chance to get angry in the future. The Tartars who knew that the existence of the conscience-free cannons had all been beaten to death. I believe Huang Taiji would definitely not know the existence of the conscience-free cannons.

Some secret weapons on hand are still good. It's like an explosive pack. In the first attack of Haoge, he didn't know the existence of the explosive pack, but he was blown away so hard that his body was gone and he suffered heavy losses. When the Tatars attacked for the second attack, he became much more afraid. The Tatars' second attack obviously did not have such a dense team, and the average lethality of the explosive pack was actually reduced.

"When will the field guns sent from the rear arrive?"

Zhang Zhun said staggering the topic.

Although Huang Taiji temporarily withdrew his army and no longer attacked Dongjiabao, his other troops continued to loot in Northern Zhili. The Tartars were different from ordinary troops. The desire for looting was too strong. Although their morale was hit, they might be restored under the slaughter of large-scale burning, killing and looting. Without Dongjiabao as a turtle shell, it would be hard to say who would win and lose if the Tiger Ben Army met the Tartar cavalry in the wild.

Based on this situation, Zhang Zhun was determined to form a field army and tried to compete with the Tartars on the plains and fields. This field army will follow Napoleon's army, with artillery as the core, infantry as the main body, and cavalry as the support of left and right, and mix multiple arms to strive to knock down the Tatar cavalry before they come to kill them. To achieve this, it is inseparable from a large number of artillery and a flexible and maneuverable Napoleon cannon.

“You will arrive the day after tomorrow.”

Liu Chenzi's short answer.

"We must hurry up and let the rear send the field artillery as soon as possible. I guess the Tartars will not let go easily. We are in Northern Zhili and we will continue to fight with the Tartars. We will fight with the Tartars in field, and we will not be able to do without your artillery."

Zhang Zhun nodded and said cautiously.

"Don't worry, sir, we will seize the time to receive the field cannon!"

All three officers from the artillery battalion agreed.

"Sir, you said the Tartars suffered such heavy losses, why didn't they quickly retreat to Liaodong? They are still rushing here. Do you want to compete with us again? You really want to die if you don't want to the Yellow River!"

Liu Chenzi asked in confusion.

"Retract to Liaodong? If the Tatars retreat to it now, they will be dead."

Zhang Zhun said lightly.

"not understand."

Liu Chenzi said honestly.

Xu Ziwen didn't understand very well, and looked at Zhang Zhun expectantly, waiting for explanation.

Although they were the commanders of the artillery battalion, they were actually very poor in their cultural level and knew less about strategy and tactics. As for military households, low cultural level is inevitable. In their opinion, the Tartars suffered a great loss, of course they had to retreat quickly. Otherwise, if more enemies were surrounded, they would be doomed. In the current Northern Zhili, in addition to the Hu Ben Army, there are also a large number of Ming troops.

Zhang Zhun said slowly: "The Tartars want to retreat, but they cannot. Everyone knows that there is no material in Liaodong at all. The Tartars themselves do not know how to produce, and no matter what they need, they can only rob them from the Ming Dynasty. The greater the loss, the more they have to rob them. Otherwise, they will die. The Tartars suffered a lot this time, and it is estimated that their looting operations will be very crazy. If they cannot loot enough materials, the Tartars will not retreat easily."

Liu Chenzi said in confusion: "Then... aren't the Tartars worried that the official army will attack them?"

Xu Ziwen also said suspiciously: "Yes! Didn't there be a lot of government troops gather in Beizhili? If they suddenly attacked..."

Zhang Zhun shook his head and said, "First, it's hard to say whether the government army will attack them. Second, even if the government army takes action, it may not be the opponent of the Tartars. Third, the government army is more willing to attack us."

Liu Chenzi and Xu Ziwen looked at each other and felt even more confused. They didn't understand Zhang Zhun's explanation very well, so they had to slowly think about it. But Mo Ru seemed to have appreciated something, and kept thinking, and her eyes kept flashing.

"In short, the artillery battalion should replenish losses, replenish ammunition as soon as possible, and prepare for battle at all times."

Zhang Zhun didn't want to explain too much about strategy and tactics, because once it was explained, they might not understand it within half an hour. In fact, for these classes, they just need to firmly execute orders and do things with their heart. In fact, it is not a good thing for the army to have too many ideas.

After coming out of the artillery battalion, Zhang Zhun suddenly found that someone was waiting for him. When he calmed down, he saw that there were local snakes from Sanbao, Cao Siming, Dong Sanhuai, Liu Zongshao, Liu Zongli and others. Needless to ask, you know that they came for their sons' affairs.

"Governor."

Everyone greeted Zhang Zhun together.

"Hello everyone."

Zhang Zhun jumped off the horse's back and said intimately.

The people in front of them may be somewhat different from the class they are in. However, they are still sincerely supportive of the Hu Ben Army, so Zhang Zhun is also very enthusiastic about them. Zhang Zhun is naturally familiar with the establishment of the broadest united front.

"Sir, do we not know whether we should say something?"

Among the four, Liu Zongli, who had the most flexible mind and the quickest speaking, said hesitantly.

"Is it for the man's business?"

Zhang Zhun asked knowingly.

"Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes,"

Liu Zongli breathed a sigh of relief and said hurriedly.

"Sir, our children... look, is that... that..."

Cao Siming stammered.

"Don't let them join the army?"

Zhang Zhun said with a smile.

“It’s right, it’s right.”

Cao Siming said hurriedly.

"no!"

Zhang Zhun said firmly.

The four of them were stunned.

I heard Zhang Zhun's tone just now, and it was quite loose, as if I could understand them. They thought Zhang Zhun would refuse their children to join the army. Unexpectedly, Zhang Zhun refused. At this moment, the disappointed expression was obviously on their faces, without any concealment.

Zhang Zhun ignored their reaction and said calmly: "This is their voluntary and no one should stop him, including me!"

Liu Zongli hurriedly said, "That... is not... sir, our Liu family's incense... There are two more old Dong, I'm the only one... sir, look..."

Zhang Zhun stared at him with a bright look and said meaningfully: "What Master Liubao means is that he is saying that he will go and never return if he joins our Hu Ben Army?"

Liu Zongli's face suddenly turned red and he hurriedly said, "Of course it's not the meaning... Sir, don't misunderstand, don't misunderstand..."

Zhang Zhun smiled slightly and said slowly: "I think you understand the thoughts of your sons. Do you think they don't know the danger of joining the army? War is not a fun thing. Look, who is the most popular in Dongjia Village now? Of course, it is the soldiers of the Tiger Ben Army who defeated the Tartars! This is the glory that others don't have! If they want to pursue glory, they can only join the Tiger Ben Army!"

Liu Zongli said with some concern: "But... that joining the army is risky..."

Zhang Zhun said disapprovingly: "What is there no risk? Is there no risk in practicing martial arts? I heard that your Mr. Liu's child fell off a wooden stake when he was seven years old, but he was unconscious for three days and three nights. Another time, he fought with someone else, but was beaten to death by others, and almost lost his life."

Liu Zongli and others were speechless.

Zhang Zhun patted Liu Zongli intimately on the shoulder and said deeply: "Lord Liu Castle, this is a new era, a brand new era, and every young man has the right to pursue their dreams. Perhaps, I say this, a bit profound. But, do you want to see others gain glory in glory, but your son can only stay at home, envy, jealous and hate?"

"Don't think it's great to inherit your family business. To be honest, it's conservative, it's self-satisfaction, it's your hope that your sons will not be better than you. However, your sons are unwilling to accept your arrangements. They want to take a path full of hope and glory!"
To be continued...