Chapter Ten: Reviewing

  Chongzhen 16th year, September 21st.

  Wansui Mountain, Shouhuang Temple.

  The news that the Crown Prince had received a sacred order, selected martial arts instructors, and personally trained a team of inner guards spread quickly throughout the palace.

  The place for selecting and training soldiers is still under Mount Wansui.

  The Great Ming was far different from later generations, the imperial city system was extremely large, with the Western Park, Nan Gong, Nan Yuan, San Hai, Wan Shou Shan and the Forbidden City. Even if you walked for several days, or rode a horse, it would be absolutely impossible to walk through all of them in one day.

  Wansui Mountain is also known as Coal Mountain by the common people, and later became Jing Mountain.

  The terrain is high, with few palaces and temples, and the area is also empty. It's used as a place for military training, which is quite suitable.

  The emperor's own inner guard had five or six thousand people, but they didn't practice every day. Instead, strong and sturdy eunuchs were selected from various palaces to practice for a certain period of time. The emperor either attended in person or sent a senior eunuch to supervise and evaluate them. If they passed the evaluation, they would either remain in the inner guard on duty at a specific hour or return to their original palace.

  In Chongzhen's Qianqing Palace, there were two or three hundred palace maids and over a hundred eunuchs. Among them, dozens had received internal martial arts training!

  The ruler of a country no longer trusts ordinary generals and soldiers, nor even normal men. He can only rely on these eunuchs who have no children, no family, and no future prospects, who are attached to the imperial court, dependent on the emperor and the palace, to serve as soldiers and train in military exercises, so that yin-type people control yang-type affairs - what a ridiculous situation!

  After being castrated, the eunuch's body was already fortunate to be able to survive and do some rough chores, it was not easy. To actually train to the point of being able to take to the battlefield... what kind of heaven-defying feat would that be?

  Zhu Ciyan didn't even want a eunuch, let alone those who guarded the imperial city and held flags and banners. These people had been guarding the imperial city for generations, but apart from putting on a show, they were actually not as capable as even a eunuch.

  Relying on Chongzhen's permission, the left and right deputy generals of the Beijing camp did not dare to disturb him. However, the four front and rear assistant generals, plus the four touring generals, a total of eleven military officers, including the head officer, the reserve soldier officer, the gun monitoring officer, and the four touring battalion commanders, as well as twenty battalion commanders under the battalion commander, all took action together, bringing with them the soldiers from the four battle camps, the four chariot camps, and the two city defense camps. Anyone who could carry a rifle and move was taken to Zhu Cizhen's presence, just to have him take a look!

  After two days of effort, the Crown Prince moved a huamu chair and sat on the high steps of Shou Huang Hall, coldly watching one team after another of soldiers passing by under the leadership of military officers.

  These Beijing camp soldiers who can be pulled out have many flags and bright armor, the weapons in their hands are also dazzling, and when they strike the golden drums, they are majestic and stern, like a army that can go to war.

  But take a closer look, and it's all exposed, everything is turned upside down!

  Under the great banner, in the midst of armor and clothing, they all looked like despicable and debauched scoundrels. Either with wolf-like heads and mouse-like eyes, or else with yellow faces and emaciated flesh, as if they had been indulging in opium. This stuff is now available in the capital, and quite a few people are addicted to it; I wouldn't be surprised if there were many among the officers and soldiers of the Imperial Guard.

  These soldiers, with long spears on their shoulders, were sloppily arranged, and although their formation looked somewhat orderly from a distance, upon closer inspection, the iron tips of their spears were pointing every which way, the willow-leaf knives at their waists were tied on unevenly, and even their armor was fastened haphazardly, giving them a truly disheveled appearance.

  Such soldiers, how they were trained in peacetime, is self-evident.

  They look decent at first glance, wearing armor and helmets, but upon closer inspection, they are of poor quality. Their eyes dart back and forth, and they even dare to stare directly at the Crown Prince. They answer questions with ease and fluency, speaking in a smooth Beijing accent... Such soldiers, Zhu Ciyan naturally wouldn't dare to lead them into battle!

  These Beijing garrison troops, looking sturdy and robust, are also considered valiant. When it comes to fighting, they're likely to be the first to flee, the vanguard of retreat. It's more realistic to expect that each of these officials has a copy of "The Plum in the Golden Vase" than to hope for them to fight bravely to the death and charge forward fearlessly.

  Killing the good and usurping their merits, harming innocent civilians, plundering as if combing through, pillaging as if sifting through - this is precisely what these troops are like!

  This selection of troops made Zhu Ci Yun secretly shocked.

  The decline of the Great Ming Dynasty's capital garrison began during the Wanli Emperor's reign, from 500,000 to 200,000 people, then to over 100,000 people, and by the early years of the Chongzhen Emperor, it was down to 50,000-60,000 people. Now, there aren't even 10,000 people left!

  "In recent years, there have been plagues every year, and many soldiers and civilians have contracted the disease. Now that it's over, those who have recovered from the illness dare not bring them into the palace for the young master to select, so the number of people is much smaller."

  The reason for the small number of soldiers was that Li Jiye, the eunuch in charge of the Eastern Palace, knew the whole story and whispered an explanation into Zhu Ciyan's ear.

  Zhu Ciwen nodded slightly and said, "So that's how it is!"

  In the capital, this outbreak of plague Zhu Cixuan had also seen in books before, so he knew the root cause was due to the poor sanitary conditions in the capital at that time. He just didn't know that this plague would be so severe and the harm would be so great.

  Day after day, five or six thousand people passed by in front of him, including more than a dozen high-ranking officials, and a total of more than 350 soldiers were selected, not even four hundred people were gathered!

  Even so, it's still a big commotion, too much noise, and even if Chongzhen is tolerant, things can't go on like this. It's likely to provoke the officials to intervene, which would be even more disastrous than stirring up a hornet's nest.

  Right under the steps of Shou Huang Hall, in a vast courtyard, stood a small square formation of less than 400 people. They were all carefully selected warriors with spears, tall and short, fat and thin, but they shared one thing in common - they still had an air of vigor and a fierce energy in their eyes that ordinary soldiers did not possess.

  It's really heartbreaking to think about it. The 158,000-strong Jingying elite troops, who once chased and defeated the enemy, cleared the deserts, and made the Tartars flee in terror, and also marched south to Jiaozhi, expanding the territory of the Ming dynasty, have now been reduced to just a few hundred usable men, a pitiful state!

  Zhu Ciwen walked forward slowly and stood at the front edge of the stone steps. In front of him, half a head lower, were the selected generals.

  Li Gong, Wang Xiao, Wang Yuan, Ren Shang... Zhu Ciwen silently recited these names in his mind, one by one corresponding to their appearance and figure, but the most disappointing thing was that Wei Yue, the chief of the selected team, reported illness and did not take office. This is naturally a very regrettable matter.

  But now is not the time to show such emotions, these hundreds of people in front of me will be my future confidants and rely on them for survival, it's our first meeting, how can I treat them lightly.

  "We, your subjects, request an audience with Your Highness, the Crown Prince!"

  Zhu Ci stepped forward, staring at the crowd, but remained silent. Under his gaze, the military officers felt a great deal of pressure and had no choice but to kneel down first. Then, the sound of armor rustling was heard in the courtyard as over 300 soldiers also knelt down and kowtowed together.

  "Everyone look up!"

  Zhu Ciwen's plan was already set in motion, and he had already taken a big step down from his high platform.

  Li Jiye and other eunuchs hurried to follow, but Zhu Ciyan gave them a cold glance. Those eunuchs understood his intention and immediately stopped in their tracks, allowing him to descend the steps alone.

  "Is your name Li Gong?"

  "Are you Wang Yuan? What a robust fellow! This physique of yours, isn't it forged from iron?"

  "Are you Ren Shang? Looking at your appearance, you should change your name to Ren Hu."

  Just registered, there are nearly twenty generals with a total of over 100 households, and in this short moment, Zhu Ciwen has already remembered everyone's name clearly!

  One by one, they shook hands and asked how the other was doing, reciting each other's names, physical characteristics, and even their martial arts specialties, all of which came out effortlessly without a single mistake.

  The generals were delighted and also deeply shocked. In the brief moment of registration, this master actually remembered it so clearly!

  As the row of martial officials wearing scale armor and helmets passed by, Zhu Ciyan's eyes fell upon the more than 300 handpicked Imperial Guardsmen.

  He picked people, naturally looking at their physical appearance and stature. The three hundred or so people in front of him were enough in terms of height and physique. With over three hundred men standing together, the aura of robust masculinity was far beyond what hundreds of eunuchs could match.

  The body shape and appearance, followed by the five senses and facial color. The eyes should not be evasive or shifty, but rather straightforward and spirited. The facial complexion should also be ruddy and healthy.

  These soldiers were all wearing the standard Ming military armor, with some also wearing iron chain skirts and boots wrapped in iron. Their left hands were placed on their waists, while their right hands rested on the hilts of their waist knives.

  More often just cotton-padded jacket and cloth shoes, with a cowhide belt around the waist, an iron spear wrapped in hemp in hand, and a conical hat on top of the head, is considered to be a soldier's attire.

  At first glance, it seems a bit messy. These imperial guards also have various emotions mixed in, and at a glance, they are all different, rarely consistent.

  Some were able to receive their salary on time after being selected, supporting their wives and children. These people's eyes are the most straightforward, and you can tell at a glance what they're thinking. Others have an air of indifference, as if it doesn't matter where they go or what they do. Some look at you coldly, while others seem self-satisfied. Some are deep in thought, while others have an arrogant expression.

  The Beijing garrison system has been in disarray for a long time. Many officers and soldiers are on the roster, but they have other occupations. Those who stay in the camp mostly just go through the motions, so it's not easy to gather more than 300 people at this moment!