First Town

  In the 33rd year of the Ming Yongli calendar, in February of the 18th year of the Qing Kangxi reign, after a winter of reorganization, Zhu Jin sent Chen Zhen and Lou Chuan to lead a fleet north to retake Dinghai. The Qing army discovered that Zheng's naval forces had returned and assembled over a hundred warships to engage them. However, Chen Zhen and Lou Chuan were seasoned naval commanders unlike the incompetent Xiao Chun, so despite their depleted forces, they still managed to defeat the Qing army, which fled in disarray. Fortunately for the Qing, a strong gust of wind allowed them to escape into Wuhumen. Seeing the Qing army retreat into the inner waters, Zhu TianGui and others did not dare to pursue lightly, and instead led their troops to Haitan to anchor.

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  Although the water master gained a precious victory, it did not mean that all problems had been solved for the Ming Zheng side. In early March, Liu Guoxuan asked Zhu Jin to suspend the monthly salary of civil and military officials for half a year, in order to heavily reward the troops, restore the combat effectiveness of the troops, and Zhu Jin agreed. As a result, the morale of the Zheng army on the Siming and Haicheng front was slightly restored.

  However, another blow came, and the right admiral Yang Xian finally died of old age and exhaustion in Qiongzhou. When the news arrived at Siming, Zhu Jinzhen personally mourned for a day, but before he could send out a minister to take over, Geng Jingzhong led his army on another western expedition, capturing Gaizhou, Dianbai and other cities, with only General Zu Zeqing escaping with his life. Geng Jingzhong pursued his victory, and Chen Qing, the commander of Yiwetown, had just arrived in Qiongzhou and was unable to organize a northern relief effort, so Leizhou also fell into Geng Jingzhong's hands.

  However, Geng Jingzhong was deterred by the powerful Zheng naval forces and did not dare to cross the sea easily, so Qiongzhou was fortunate enough to be unscathed. However, when news of the Qing army's great momentum reached Qiongzhou, people were in a state of panic, and some officials openly resisted the Zheng regime's grain and labor levies. Chen Qing and Zheng Shengying were at a loss as to what to do, and by then the situation in Qiongzhou had deteriorated, and they were no longer able to provide sufficient supplies for the Ming court.

  In this regard, Zhu Jin, who was already worried about the huge expenses of reorganizing the army, had no choice but to use his magic trick again and ordered the people of Siming, Haicheng, and Jinmen to supply two dou of military rations per month. As a result, the original enthusiasm for the Ming Zheng faction gradually turned into disgust and resentment towards the Zheng army among the people of the two places.

  The only good news for Zhu Jin was that Zheng Kezang formally married Chen Xianqiao in late March of this year under the arrangement of Dong Guotai, and what made him even happier was that Zheng Kezang's concubines Tong Chunniang and Fang Yuniang successively showed signs of pregnancy.

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  "The prince's store is down, considering the road conditions of the high-ranking officials, I think it's not suitable to use four-pound cannons." The artillery instructor, Frenchman E. Schlau, expressed his practical experience in a strange Minnan dialect to Zheng Kezang and the surrounding circle of military officers. "But the power of the four-pound cannon is too small, it can be matched with the first-level combat ticket, but if the battle expands to reality, it will need to set up a separate six-pound or twelve-pound cannon team."

  Zheng Kezang stroked his beard, which he had grown after getting married - although he was a bit unaccustomed to it, the beard still made him look more dignified. He then looked at He Qian, who nodded in agreement with Yi Shilao's opinion. Zheng Kezang made up his mind: "In that case, the organization of the First Scout Troop will be settled as follows."

  Zheng Kezang's words were decisive, and others naturally did not dare to raise more questions. Thus, the organization of the First Scout Group was formally established.

  According to this organization, the First Brigade of Boy Scouts will temporarily have two battalions and one company. Among them, Kunlun Battalion has three battalions and one company, which is a pure cold weapon unit composed of black slaves. The first battalion of Tongzi Camp consists of two long gun battalions, one knife shield battalion, one artillery company equipped with three 2-inch long cannons, and one logistics company. The remaining battalion is equipped with six 3-inch long cannons and three 3.5-inch heavy long cannons, while the other battalion is a logistics battalion. The remaining company is a light cavalry reconnaissance team.

  "The town's unified system is temporarily set as the third-grade commander-in-chief, the deputy commander-in-chief of the town is the third-grade commander-in-chief, and the supervisor is the fifth-grade Wei Zhenfu. The military governor is the sixth-grade Jingli officer. In addition, each town has re-established four military advisors, divided into grades from sixth-grade Zhongxian school lieutenant to fifth-grade Wuyi general. Each banner also has two military advisors, one of whom is granted the sixth-grade Zhongxian school lieutenant or Zhongwu school lieutenant, and the other is granted the sixth-grade Zhaoxin school lieutenant or Chengxin school lieutenant."

  Zheng Kezang said this while keeping an eye on the expressions of the people in front of him. "Sun Youlao was appointed as the first deputy commander-in-chief of the town, He Qian was transferred to be the commander of the Kunlun banner, and each was granted the title of light chariot general (a honorary official)."

  Sun Youlao was originally a third-rank official, and this promotion is indeed a match between name and reality. However, He Qian also doesn't seem to have lost out, although the rank of his position remains at fourth-rank, he received the honorary title of "Light Chariot General" from Zheng Kezang, which should mean that he will soon be promoted one rank. Although he lost control of the Tongzi Army's A-division, it can be said that he has crossed the gap between third and fourth ranks, and overall gained more than he lost.

  Yu Ping was appointed as the first battalion commander of the Tongziying, Chen Le Sheng as the supervisor of the first garrison, Gu Jin as the chief staff officer of the first garrison with the title of Wu Yi General, and Ying Tai Nong as the deputy commander of the Water Troops. The four men named also followed Sun Youlao and He Qian's example and knelt down on one knee in front of Zheng Kezang. Chen Tang was promoted to be the military affairs officer of the first garrison, and the two battalion supervisors were succeeded by Gu Kai and Zhao Huang. These three people were also instructors of the Tongziying, so they naturally knew the rules. He Fa, Gao Min, Gu Le, Chen Tong, Sun Yu, Huang Tao, and Xi Daping. Another seven instructors knelt down one after another behind the previous ones. "Each promoted to battalion commander." After these few battalion commanders retreated with their heads knocked, Zheng Kezang's gaze fell on the Frenchman's head. "Yi Shilao, are you willing to become a Ming army officer?"

  Yì Shī Láo was originally not even a lieutenant in France, but now he has the opportunity to become a battalion commander. He is naturally very willing, but he also has a small trick: "Of course I am willing, but this fifth-grade battalion commander, what rank is it equivalent to in the French Kingdom's army?"

  What's with the military pay? Zheng Kezang almost got amused by it, but Yi Shilao's question was raised, and he had to give an answer. So he thought for a moment. In his design, 1 Scout troop is about 700 people, 1 town should govern 3-4 troops and several directly affiliated battalions, with a total of around 3000 people, roughly equivalent to the scale of Napoleon's brigade, and the brigade commander in Napoleon's time was usually a major general. If calculated this way, the third rank is a major general, the second rank is a lieutenant general, the first rank is a general, and the first rank is a marshal, which is quite appropriate. However, if reversed, there would be problems. The third rank is a colonel, the fourth rank is a lieutenant colonel, the fifth rank is only a captain. Although from the number of troops, the Scout battalion is actually just a company later on, this way, the sixth rank can only be counted as a second lieutenant, and seventh and eighth ranks are not even soldiers, which is really too different from the actual situation in China today.

  "It should be equivalent to a lieutenant colonel." Zheng Kezang thought for a moment and finally decided to promote the corresponding military rank by one level, of course, this was not to deceive Meng Yisi but a kind of benevolent deception. "That's right, it's equivalent to a lieutenant colonel in the French army."

  "Oh!" Yi Shilao's eyes lit up. "I'm also a famous school official, a mid-level military officer, China's mid-level military officer, I must tell my children and grandchildren that their grandfather was once a lieutenant colonel in Eastern China!

  Zheng Kezang could no longer bear it, fortunately he still had self-control, so he hastily pinched his thigh hard with his hand, using the sudden pain to shift his attention, lest he continue listening and burst out laughing, sweeping away the original solemn atmosphere.

  "Step down," Zheng Kezang, holding back his laughter, scolded Yi Shilao and then announced eight names. "Qiu Tang, Feng Gao, Feng Hui, Ma Yiyuan, Tu Qing, Cao Yi, Yin Long, Bao Shifen." These people were not originally in the Tongziying camp, but were retained officials from various towns that had been disbanded. Zheng Kezang chose them to serve in the Tongzi Army also with the idea of expanding the base for future battles, and as a precaution against potential conflicts with Feng Xifan. "You have never served in the Tongziying camp before, this time you are appointed as deputy camp officers, you must learn from your colleagues and superiors how to command troops, and absolutely must not be arrogant just because you are old veterans."

  "Yes!" The eight men responded in unison, their voices loud enough to shake down a considerable amount of dust from the roof.

  "Alright, let's get going." Zheng Kezang waved them off and then called in the remaining young staff officers, team leaders, squad leaders, and even the charging officers one by one to assign tasks. By the time everything was settled, the sun was already setting.

  However, Zheng Kezang, who had just gotten married, did not return to Anping immediately. Instead, he called in Sun Youlao, He Qian and Yu Ping: "The first battalion has just been expanded and needs to be retrained, so the task of intimidating the northern bandits will be left to Commander He."

  "Please rest assured, the suppression of the towns in Zhuluo County will be handed over to my subordinates. He Gan naturally would not have any objections, on the contrary, he still needs to use the martial arts of Pingding Shefan to establish his position in Kunlun Banner. If these Shefan dare to make any moves, it's necessary to come again and burn down Longweishe."

  As for He Qian's murderous words, Zheng Kezang felt satisfied instead. This was an era of great national fusion that would later be depicted by shameless writers as a time of peace and prosperity, but if the Pingpu tribe could not be assimilated into Han culture, then Taiwan would only end up being enslaved by the Manchus: "Good, very good, if it can truly ensure peace in the north, I will definitely help He Bian petition the emperor for merit."

  "The first battalion must speed up its training and drills, and resume regular patrols by September." After instructing He Qian, Zheng Kezang gave orders to Yu Ping. "The situation in Siming and Haicheng is unclear, and it's possible that when the situation becomes urgent, even the children's camp will have to go into battle." Yu Ping, who had also come from the children's camp to the children's army, naturally understood Zheng Kezang's anxiety, so he made a guarantee. Then, Zheng Kezang fixed his gaze on Sun Youlao. "Sir Sun, you will work with the military advisors to come up with a general strategy. After the first battalion finishes its training in September, I want to have a competition between the Kunlun battalion and the first battalion to see which one is more capable of fighting!"

  Sun Youlao was somewhat dizzy, as the era of military flag deduction was still a blank in the world, so he didn't know what Zheng Kechang meant by "comparison", and of course, he wouldn't misunderstand it as a test of personal ability, so he asked uncertainly: "Shi Sun's meaning is to have a game between Kunlun Flag and First Flag?"

  "That's right, let's do one," Zheng Kezang pointed out. "All kinds of situations can be used, whether it's a marching encounter, or one side defending and the other attacking, or setting up defenses. As long as it's something that can happen on the battlefield, you and the staff officers can set it up and do one, just without using real knives and guns."

  "Understood, did you understand?"