Guide to traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty

Ju Ming’s twelfth day of military training.

A speedboat stopped by the river, and the officer rushed ashore and went straight into the city to go to the county government office.

"Yangzhou official documents!" The officer showed his badge.

The doorman quickly let him in. Bai Chongwu personally took charge of the reception, but the officer did not take out the official documents.

Not long after, Xiang Magistrate came to the county after hearing the news, opened the official document with his own hands, and after reading it, he was overjoyed: "Have the money and food been prepared? The troops can be sent out tomorrow."

The Song Dynasty had extremely strict military management. If it was a regular army, if more than ten troops were deployed, they must have military symbols, otherwise they would be jailed for at least one year. If there are no military symbols, and more than a thousand troops are mobilized without permission, he will be sentenced to death immediately.

Only when bandits attack the city or the army rebels can officials send troops urgently.

In other words, if Ju Ming rebels one day and goes to plunder the vicinity of Yangzhou City. As long as he did not attack the city directly, the magistrate was not allowed to mobilize the Xiang army and had to ask the imperial court for instructions... It would probably be less than half a year before the imperial court approved it.

Of course, rural soldiers and archers are not so particular, and local officials still have the initiative.

Regardless of being cowardly or cautious, he recruited archers from the magistrate, and even wrote a letter asking for instructions from the magistrate and the general magistrate, and also reported Zhu Zongdao's rebellion.

"Read it yourself." Xiang Zhixian handed the official document over.

Bai Chongwu took the official document with both hands. The content was very simple, asking Xixiang County to send troops immediately to wipe out the rebel nest as soon as possible without delaying the food collection.

As for the Zhu Zhuzhu, it was not even mentioned above.

It is normal for a chief registrant with a background as a rebel to surrender and rebel again. If he dies, he will die and his head and family members will be sent to Yangzhou.

Yangzhou didn't even bother to send people over to investigate.

Xiangzhi County is very happy these days, and he has a new concubine. He said proudly: "Bai A Si, summon the six case officials and follow me to inspect the archers."

"As you command!"

Bai Chongwu immediately went to make arrangements, inevitably having many thoughts in his mind.

The county magistrate suddenly went to inspect the army and brought the county officials with him. Is this a demonstration against the officials?

Before leaving the county government, he said to the magistrate: "Send someone to ask Fang Kongmu. He has done public service in the Yangzhou military case. He is proficient in the art of war and familiar with battle formations. Before sending troops, let him give you some advice."

Fang Kongmu has retired a long time ago and is entertaining his grandchildren at home.

After receiving the invitation from the county magistrate, he quickly set off on his bamboo carriage and ran to the county government office to join everyone.

Xiang Zhixian had already heard about Zhu Ming's riot in the county government. He was very pleased about this. The subordinate officials controlled the county government, and he couldn't control it at all. It would be best for Ju Ming to have a quarrel with those people.

As long as no big mess is caused, no matter which side suffers a loss, Xiang Zhixian can sit back and watch the fight between tigers and tigers.

He could even use Ju Ming's help to scare the government officials.

Bai Chongwu guessed correctly, Xiangzhi County is going to demonstrate today!

This gentleman is very mysterious, his courage is sometimes big and sometimes small, making him unpredictable.

Just like at Mrs. Bai's birthday banquet, she forced many squires to pay taxes. It was extremely bold at that time. The next performance was as cowardly as if he had rickets.

Now he has the courage to suppress the arrogance of his subordinates.

There will always be a moment when Xiang Zhixian feels that he can do it again. It was only when disaster struck that I realized that I really couldn't do it.

The government officials sounded the gong to clear the way, and a group of people lined up to set off, and the streets were full of chaos along the way.

"Stop!"

The archers guarding the school grounds actually stopped the magistrate and government officials.

Bai Chongwu scolded angrily: "How dare you, didn't you see the county magistrate coming?"

"Zhu Dutou has an order that no one is allowed to enter or exit the school at will." The archer was a villager after all, and he became guilty as he spoke, "I...I'm going to report it right now. Please wait for a few gentlemen."

Xiang Zhixian was stopped outside the school grounds for no reason. He suddenly felt that he was losing face. Then his mind was racing and he calmly smiled and said to him: "I asked Zhu Du to strictly enforce military discipline, but unexpectedly he has the qualifications of a famous general. You know the story of Zhou Yafu in the Han Dynasty ?”

"I have little talent and little knowledge. Please give me some advice from the county magistrate." Bai Chongwu was angry and believed that this was an arrangement with the county magistrate.

Xiang Zhixian asked Fang Kongmu again: "Does Mr. Fang know?"

Fang Kongmu cupped his hands and said, "In the past, Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty paid tribute to the Xiliu Army, but when the emperor arrived, he was not allowed to enter the camp. Emperor Wen reprimanded the envoys to hold the talisman and issued an edict to inform the generals of their intentions, and Zhou Yafu only let them go."

"You can tell the whole leopard once you see a spot," Xiang Zhixian stood with his hands behind his back and said with full pretentiousness, "I have already seen that although Zhu Chenggong is young, he has the talent to train soldiers, so I specially promoted him to the head of the capital."

Fang Kongmu quickly flattered him and said, "The county magistrate knows people well, and old age is not as good as what is expected."

Xiang Zhixian was happy to hear this and was no longer impatient. He stood there and waited with a smile.

After a while, Zhu Ming led people to greet him in person: "Siring officers, please come in quickly. The soldiers don't know the severity. They have been offended a lot just now."

Xiang Zhixian walked in with his head held high and his chest high: "It's not a problem. The army must be run strictly. Zhu Dutou did an excellent job."

Zhu Ming invited everyone to the high platform of the school ground, his expression became solemn, and he ordered: "Beat the drums and gather the troops!"

"Dong dong dong dong!"

The drum beat suddenly sounded, and the archers who were resting scattered around the school grounds picked up their weapons and quickly gathered under the stage.

The gathering speed is similar to that of college students’ military training.

As for the neatness of the queue, it is far inferior to that of military training college students.

But this is enough. Fang Kongmu has seen the Yangzhou Xiang army drill, and he has some perspective. He looked shocked at this moment and said in amazement: "In just over ten days, the archer can be completely transformed, and he has already surpassed the Yangzhou Xiang army."

In the three counties of Yangzhou, the Xiang army is already the strongest combat force, but it is actually not as good as the archers who have been trained for more than ten days...

Xiang Zhixian suddenly felt that he had gained face again, and said proudly: "I was indeed right. Zhu Dutou is indeed talented in training troops."

Bai Chongwu looked at the weapons of the archers and asked with a puzzled expression: "Is that a dung rake used by farmers?"

Ju Ming introduced: "It is indeed a dung rake. I ordered people to knock the rake hook straight and create a new weapon called boring palladium."

Use a manure rake as a weapon?

Several Tiesi lowered their heads to suppress their laughter, and even He Tiesi was laughing, temporarily forgetting that Ju Ming had beaten him violently.

Fang Kongmu couldn't help but ask: "With such a long bamboo, even the branches are not cut off. Isn't it inconvenient when fighting?"

Ju Ming said: "I asked the blacksmith to make some thinner spears and place them at the front end of the bamboo. Those branches are also useful. This kind of weapon is called a wolf mill."

"The pot lid must be a shield." Fang Kongmu was able to draw inferences.

Ju Ming said: "In this mandarin duck formation, the shield hand is divided into long shield and short shield. The long shield blocks arrows, and the short shield blocks swords and spears. The mountain road in Heifengzhai is narrow, and the long shield is inconvenient, so only the short shield is used. In this way, I’m really helpless, I can’t find any weapons that I can use.”

Regardless of whether there was any grudge or not, everyone present felt that Ju Ming was having a hard time.

If it were them, they would have been lying down long ago. You don’t even have any weapons, and you still want me to risk my life?

The archer moved a few chairs and sat down in the middle towards the magistrate: "Let's practice that... is it called the Yuanyang Formation?"

"It's called Yuanyang Formation."

Ju Ming asked some spearmen to form a traditional formation alone to attack the soldiers who formed the mandarin duck formation.

Accompanied by the sound of drums, three teams of Yuanyang Formation soldiers led by Zhang Guangdao met the fourth team of gunmen led by Chen Ziyi.

I saw wolves clearing the way, and the larger number of spearmen were so disturbed that they could only wave their guns randomly to resist.

Chen Ziyi began to divide his troops, selected some spearmen, and attacked from the side and rear.

The wolf's hands did not move, and continued to move forward.

Chen Ziyi's soldiers successfully bypassed the enemy, and the boring palladium modified from Dung Fork came into effect immediately. When they encounter an enemy, they poke outward, and when encountering a weapon, they push outward. The three prongs of the dung rake can occasionally even choke the opponent's weapon.

The spearmen of the Yuanyang Formation, under the cover of Boring Palladium, followed suit and thrust outward with all their strength.

"The third team, change into a three-talented formation!" Ju Ming suddenly ordered.

The flag representing the third team was waved violently back and forth three times, and then left and right.

The soldiers observing the flag order in front immediately shouted: "Third team, three talents in horizontal formation!"

The third team's Yuanyang Formation quickly changed their formation and moved forward. In fact, it's not complicated. It's just four spearmen. Each one chooses a teammate to cooperate. One team becomes three teams and they attack forward. They can even allocate manpower to protect the flanks.

After the formation change, the width of the battlefield increased dramatically.

The enemy, who could no longer hold on, instantly collapsed and fled.

Immediately afterwards, the third team, which had changed its formation, began to turn around and attack from the side, attacking the undefeated enemy from both sides with the second team.

The spearmen led by Chen Ziyi were completely defeated.

"Good formation!"

Xiang Zhixian clapped his hands and praised him. Although he didn't understand much, he also realized that the Yuanyang Formation was very powerful.

However, the faces of the six case officers changed dramatically. How could they dare to laugh at the archer's weapon?

Especially He Tiesi, who remembered the revenge of being beaten and thought about revenge after the archers were disbanded.

Now it seems that this man named Zhu is a hero and must not be provoked again.

However, Ju Ming's archers will eventually be disbanded and returned to their hometowns. After they return, they will follow the list one by one and use the excuse of missing the food truck to kill a few this summer!

I don’t dare to take revenge on someone named Zhu, but what can I do against you ordinary archers?

Fang Kongmu walked down the high platform on crutches, got closer to observe various weapons, and then came back to ask Ju Ming about the key to the formation.

Zhu Ming didn't hide his secrets either. No matter what Fang Kongmu asked, he would explain it in detail.

It doesn’t matter if you tell them, if you don’t provide enough food and salary, who can practice the Mandarin Duck Formation?

Finally, Ju Ming concluded: "This formation is suitable for fighting in mountains and valleys, and can also be used for street fighting in cities. But it is not suitable for the northern plains and cannot withstand the impact of large groups of cavalry."

"pity."

Fang Kongmu shook his head and sighed, the enemies of the Song Dynasty were all in the north, but the Yuanyang Formation was of no use.

Ju Ming also studied the white-pole soldier formation. It can be used on all terrains, but it is more difficult to practice than the mandarin duck formation.

The white-pole soldiers have a cone-shaped formation and a pyramid-like structure.

A strong man in front, three people in the second row, five people in the third row, and so on, forming a triangular team of 25 people.

In the same combination, 25 small teams form a triangular flag team, and 25 flag teams form a triangular formation.

If the front row dies, the back row will take over.

If the front team dies in battle, the rear team will take over.

Always the triangle, always on the offensive.

The teams were intertwined, and the enemies trapped in them were torn to pieces in minutes.

At the same time, not all white-armed soldiers use long guns, but also have long-range weapons in the back row, forming a mixed formation of multiple arms.

The core essence of this cone-shaped formation is charge, which is a sharp weapon to tear apart the enemy's formation. It can even compete with cavalry. However, the requirements for military discipline and morale have reached an absurdly high level.

Let the archer in front of you practice? It's better to go home and wash up and go to bed.

Xiang Zhixian was high-spirited, with his left hand behind his back and his right halberd pointed forward: "With such sharp soldiers, why worry about not being able to break through the bandit camp? Listen to my order, and the whole army will set off tomorrow. We will not return home until we break the bandits!"

Merit is beckoning to him. After defeating the thief, he can still buy time and not dismiss the archers for the time being.

The longer it is delayed, the more powerful the thieves will be and the easier it will be to apply for tax reduction or exemption.

The lower the tax rate, the more the magistrate will get!

Suddenly, Ju Ming floated over like a ghost and whispered: "Your Majesty, the reward for besieging and killing Zhu Zongdao has not been paid until now, and the soldiers are already complaining. There is not enough money to make spears, and I have always owed it to the blacksmith. The shop is not given."

It was true that there was no pot that could not be lifted. The high-spirited Xiang Zhixian was instantly irritated and reluctantly shouted: "Give me a reward!"

"Wan Sheng!"

"Wan Sheng!"

Once the reward is given, morale will be boosted.

Only Xiang Zhixian frowned and took out an extra penny, which felt like stabbing him in the chest.