met free Page 2673
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The terms range from eight to fifteen years, and the recruitment of ethnic minorities is permitted.
In case of an emergency that results in a shortage of border troops, troops from the inner garrisons should be dispatched immediately to replenish them.
Moreover, all the people in the border areas must be organized into the Baojia system, and they must also undergo militia training in peacetime.
When there was no time to transfer troops from the inner towns, local militia members were directly recruited into the army.
As for the 100,000-strong Central Army in the two capitals, the soldiers were recruited from all provinces across the country, and the basic service period remained five years!
This was out of fear of repeating the mistakes of the Northern Song Dynasty; the Imperial Guards were all locals from the capital.
The result was rampant nepotism, with most officers being incompetent sons of noble families.
Soldiers drift along until they are fifty or sixty years old without retiring, and they cover for each other by embezzling military pay at every level.
In the Ming Dynasty's central army, officers who reached a certain rank would be transferred to local troops for training.
Mid-level officers in the border army who perform exceptionally well will be transferred to the central army, where they will serve for a few years to gain experience before being transferred back to their original units.
As I said before, military spending has increased dramatically as a result!
If the treasury is insufficient a hundred years from now, the future rulers and ministers will certainly abolish the existing system.
But as long as it is not abolished, the Ming army can remain vibrant.
Furthermore, retired veterans are all potential high-quality recruits.
With a single war mobilization order, as long as logistics can keep up, hundreds of thousands of troops can be mobilized in no time and sent directly to the battlefield without any training.
"Bang bang bang!"
Fifteen hundred Imperial Guardsmen marched in with synchronized steps.
Most of them were heavily armored infantry, and a small number were heavily armored cavalry.
Gu San stepped forward and bowed: "The Imperial Guards pay their respects and request Your Majesty's inspection."
Zhao Yuan pointed at the sword, and the Imperial Guards marched past in formation, standing neatly in a spot on the training ground.
Of course, it was impossible to bring all 100,000 Imperial Guards.
Today, only 30,000 people were mobilized.
The mere appearance of the Imperial Guards was enough to intimidate those smaller countries.
Especially in small countries in Southeast Asia, South Asia, and South America, many places have hot weather.
The armor was relatively simple; being completely covered in armor would be unbearably hot.
The armor of the Imperial Guards before them filled them with dread.
The infantrymen were completely covered in heavy armor, with only their eyes and mouths showing.
They also carried spears, maces, and bows and arrows, including both ranged and melee weapons, as well as armor-piercing blunt weapons.
The cavalry, both rider and horse, were heavily armored, and even just two hundred riders on display were incredibly intimidating.
This small force of heavy cavalry, along with some regular troops, was enough to wipe out the small state.
Seljuk Chancellor Mullek was able to remain calm at this moment.
Because the Seljuks also had heavy cavalry, which were the Sultan's personal guard, equipped with spears, swords, hammers and crossbows.
Soon, the firearms arrived!
The eight Imperial Guards—Shence, Shenwu, Shenxiao, Shenji, Longxiang, Huyi, Yingyang, and Baotao—are all composite military units.
Chapter 3674 Large-scale Military Exercise
It's not that the Shenji Army was entirely composed of firearms soldiers, nor that the Baotao Army was entirely composed of archers.
Charioteers, artillerymen, musketeers, spearmen, crossbowmen, grenadiers, elite cavalry, light cavalry... every unit is equipped with these types of soldiers.
They can operate independently or in coordination.
In special circumstances, troops can be combined and deployed together.
For example, if they went to the northern desert, the elite cavalry and light cavalry could be separated, and the cavalry of each army could form a pure cavalry force for a raid.
Compared to the decisive battle against the Jin Dynasty, the types of troops used have changed again.
Swordsmen and shieldmen were eliminated, while the number of muskets, cannons, and cavalry increased.
In other words, the defensive capabilities are slightly reduced, while the ranged firepower and highly mobile units are enhanced.
As prime minister, Mullek was knowledgeable in warfare and was a veteran Seljuk general.
In the historical battle against Yelü Dashi, he was appointed as the deputy commander-in-chief.
At first, Mullerk didn't quite understand it.
Until all military units begin their drills!
However, the various armies gradually withdrew, and the Shenwu and Shence armies began their march.
The cavalry of the other six armies were separately separated and launched a surprise attack, mimicking the tactics of steppe cavalry.
Bugles sounded one after another, and the Shenwu and Shence armies quickly formed a chariot formation.
Arrows without arrowheads were fired from a distance by the cavalry, who simply used spears to defend against them. Unable to penetrate the chariot formation, the cavalry retreated.
Mullerke was completely confused and didn't quite understand.
Only when the attacking cavalry had all moved far away did the defending side dare to show their true strength.
Logistics personnel erected a large number of straw men as targets, with the furthest straw man being two miles away.
"Boom boom boom!"
The large-caliber field guns fired first, followed by musket fire, then close-range cannon shot, and finally a volley of crossbow fire.
As the crossbow fired its third arrow, the muskets that had been fired earlier fired their second bullets, and then the grenadiers threw bombs that exploded continuously.
The straw figures standing in front either fell over or were riddled with bullet holes and arrows.
The envoys from various countries were met with utter silence.
The Ming officials cheered.
Mullek's mouth dropped open as he imagined himself as the commander of the attacking force, leading his cavalry to charge the wagon formation.
They've probably collapsed by now.
"kill!"
Suddenly, the elite cavalry and light cavalry in the chariot formation rushed out from various passages to pursue and kill the fleeing enemy.
Soon, all the straw figures that were still standing were cut down by the cavalry.
Mullerke began to question his existence: How could such a military formation be fought?
The overseas envoys, including Mullerke, were merely shocked by the fighting prowess displayed by the Ming army.
The envoys from Western Xia, Goryeo, Japan, Annam, and other countries collectively felt a sense of despair.
Taira no Kiyomori was carrying a Japanese sword and wearing a suit of armor in the style of the Ming Dynasty.
His height of 1.58 meters is considered tall and robust in Japan, but he appears short among the envoys from various countries.
Taira no Kiyomori was able to grow so tall thanks to coming to the Ming Dynasty at the age of 17, where his diet changed and he grew three centimeters.
Although Japanese people are short, they have not always been as short as they were during the Edo period.
Based on leg bones unearthed in archaeological excavations, it is speculated that the height difference between China and Japan during the same period (taking the average height of men as an example) was only a few centimeters.
The closest period was during the Wei, Jin and Northern and Southern Dynasties.
That was the peak of height in ancient Japan, while in China, due to long-term wars, the average height of Chinese men was only 3 centimeters taller than that of Japanese men.
The biggest difference occurred in the mid-to-late Ming Dynasty.
The average height of Japanese people has been declining, while that of Chinese people has returned to the level of the Sui and Tang dynasties. The average height of men in the two countries differs by 11 centimeters.
By the Qing Dynasty, Chinese people were getting shorter, and Japanese people were also continuing to get shorter...
According to archaeological data, the average height difference between men in the two countries at that time was only a little over 7 centimeters.
but!
Wealthy people in China are often taller than the national average, with many standing at 1.7 or 1.8 meters.
Japanese nobles, on the other hand, were often shorter than the national average because they were forbidden from eating meat (except for fish) and adhered to a vegetarian diet to signify their status.
The gap widened immediately, and encountering Japanese nobles was like looking at monkeys.
In front of Taira no Kiyomori is a Western Xia envoy, who is 175 centimeters tall.
Behind him is a Goryeo envoy, who is 166 centimeters tall.
This guy was already feeling inferior enough being caught in the middle, but now, intimidated by the might of the Ming army, he fell into serious self-doubt.
They even began to question the merits of the entire Yamato people.
Kim Yun-gyu exclaimed, "The Ming army is indeed invincible!"
He spoke in Goryeo language, which no one else could understand, except for the deputy envoy beside him who shook his head and sighed.
Kim Yun-gyu became even more convinced that only if Goryeo were incorporated into the Ming Dynasty would people from humble backgrounds like them have a way out.
Rather than be a dog for the powerful clans of Goryeo, I'd rather be a dog for the Ming emperor!
Hanoi Gyeong-guk asked, "Have you understood the Ming Dynasty's battle tactics?"
Taira no Kiyomori said, "I understand now. The Ming Dynasty's chariot formation is impenetrable. No matter how brave my Japanese samurai are, they cannot break through their chariot formation."
"They couldn't even get close; they collapsed from a great distance. Those firearms were terrifying."
Chapter 3675 The Survival Strategies of Small Countries
Especially the final, exploding sphere; if deployed into enemy lines, no army could maintain its formation.
Hanoi Gyeong Quoc said, "Mencius said, 'Only the wise can serve the great with the small.'"
"When the Ming Dynasty is strong and Japan is weak, we should understand that we should serve the greater good when the two countries are on friendly terms."
"We must have reverence for the Ming Dynasty and not provoke it lightly."
"First serve the great, then learn from the great, and you will eventually become great yourself."
Taira no Kiyomori smiled wryly: "Domestic nobles only know how to enjoy themselves."
"They may know it's a big deal, but they won't actually learn how to do it."
Several imperial guards gradually withdrew to the outer perimeter and began their regular competition.
First, the target is erected, and the musketeers line up to fire, the three-stage volley is equally powerful.
Then other types of soldiers abandoned their chariots, formed battle formations, and used the discarded sharp weapons dipped in lime to determine the victor.
These are simulations of heavy rain or muddy terrain after rain, where tanks or firearms cannot be used in combat.
"Military academy students and envoys from various countries may also step forward to demonstrate their martial arts skills," Zhao Yuan ordered.
Upon receiving the order, the military academy students were all eager to try.
Suddenly, a young man rode his horse to the open space, holding a long spear and shouting, "Who dares to fight me?"
Zhao Yuan couldn't help but laugh when he saw this.
That young man was none other than Zhao Kang, the seventeen-year-old Prince Yu.
Taira no Kiyomori did not recognize the Prince of Yu. He was currently in a state of self-doubt and desperately wanted to regain his confidence through battle.
"I'll fight you!" Taira no Kiyomori charged out.
Although Zhao Kang was tall and strong, he was, after all, just a military academy student.
Taira no Kiyomori, confident in his own bravery, dared not challenge Ming soldiers to a duel, yet he was not afraid of a mere student.
A clerk from the Ministry of War approached Taira no Kiyomori and said, "Please send your messenger to select warhorses and weapons."
There are excellent warhorses bred through crossbreeding, with a shoulder height generally exceeding 1.4 meters.
But Taira no Kiyomori tried it out and found it too tall for him to ride, so he eventually chose one that was 1.3 meters tall at the shoulders.