"Then let's talk about military affairs." Zhu Di motioned for everyone to stand up, and first said to Lan Qiao: "Huaiyuan has made great contributions to training our most difficult 'frequently defeated army' in Peiping into the backbone of the victory in this battle. At the same time, Huairou has

From then on, the battalion became famous in Peiping, and not only the thousand soldiers who were dismissed by you asked to return, but also more people from Peiping and nearby areas actively joined the army and wanted to join the establishment of Huairou Battalion."

"What does your Majesty mean?"

"The combat power of the Huairou Camp is obvious to all, but it only has 4,000 troops, which is a bit insufficient. I have discussed with Dao Yan and plan to expand the Huairou Camp to 10,000 troops. I wonder what Huairou's intentions are?"

Lan Qiao smiled bitterly and said: "It is said that when Han Xin leads troops, the more the better. The difficulties can only be understood by those who have actually trained and led troops. I am just a young man, so I dare not compare myself to Han Xin, but it seems a little inappropriate to expand to 10,000.

The establishment is only 4,000, and there are more recruits than veterans, which will inevitably lead to problems such as organizational confusion and reduced combat execution. It is better to expand to 8,000 first, with two thousand as one batch, and expand in two batches with one month interval, which is step by step and convenient.

The soldiers gradually integrated."

"Other generals always prefer too few to too many when expanding their armies, but you are the only one." Zhu Di laughed and said, "Okay, eight thousand is eight thousand, I will follow you."

Lan Qiao cupped his hands and said, "Thank you so much, Your Majesty, for being considerate of the general's difficulties."

Zhu Di nodded, turned to Feng Yeling and said: "Raising thousands of miles from Shandong to relieve the siege of Peiping, the Langya Cavalry is truly worthy of its reputation. It's just that you are alone outside, and it coincides with the festival of missing relatives. In order to prevent the soldiers from being homesick, I, the king, except

We sent people to bring wine, meat, pickles and other condolences, and we also found a new camp for them in Changping, so they no longer have to be crowded with the Huairou camp in Qiufeng Ridge."

Feng Yeling said with emotion: "Thank you so much, Your Majesty."

However, Lan Qiao felt secretly in his heart, knowing that there were at least three hidden meanings in Zhu Di's understatement. The first was naturally to praise the Langya Army for its contribution to the defense of Peking, so that these foreign warriors could bathe in the king's grace.

Be grateful to Zhu Di.

The second story coincides with the previous expansion of the Huairou Camp. Only by moving the Langya Army currently stationed in Qiufeng Ridge elsewhere can space be made available for the newly expanded Huairou Camp.

As for the third level of meaning, it seems that Zhu Di deliberately wanted to separate the Langya Army and the Huairou Battalion to prevent Lan Qiao and Feng Yeling from changing their positions one day and joining forces to oppose Peiping and pose a threat.

Nip in the bud? Eliminate all possible adverse risks in advance. As a monarch, Zhu Di is really unfathomable.

Seeing that Feng Yeling accepted the order happily, Zhu Di said no more and turned to Hua Yuxi with a smile: "I heard from the crown prince? It was the girls' camp proposed by everyone in Hua? This is a good idea. After this battle, the enthusiasm of the people in the city was high?

There are still many families who want to send their daughters or girls to serve in the girls’ camp. Since Huairou Camp has expanded its military force, can this girls’ camp also be expanded?”

Hua Yuxi said softly: "Where there are many women, there are also many disputes. May I ask, Your Majesty? How many people can we expand?"

"How about one thousand?" Zhu Di stared at Hua Yuxi and said, "I also thought of a resounding name for them, Red Sleeve Camp? It is no longer limited to unmarried girls. Widows of dead men can also join if they are young and strong.

When the time comes, they will be given formal military uniforms, with each wearing a red ribbon on their sleeves. Will their characteristics be obvious enough?"

"This..." Hua Yuxi said hesitantly? "If we just sew clothes, cook, and clean the camp for the soldiers, we wouldn't need so many people for some chores."

Lan Feng and Zhu Di have been getting along for a long time, and they know that the "number one vassal king in the world" is extremely proud. Lan Qiao just changed ten thousand to eight thousand? Maybe it has made him unhappy? Jian Hua Yuxi now wants to refuse, Zhu Di

His eyebrows furrowed, he coughed lightly, and said with a smile: "I have a suggestion."

Zhu Di and Hua Yuxi were both stunned. The former said, "Please speak."

"Actually, I started thinking about this matter in Shandong, but the military situation was urgent at that time and I could not report it yet." Lan Feng considered the words and said, "I think that since the king wants to expand the army, it is better to form a new army."

Zhu Di asked curiously: "What kind of new army?"

Lan Feng got straight to the point: "A cavalry unit with muskets and firearms as the core of its combat effectiveness."

Zhu Di said with great interest: "Go on."

"This idea actually comes from Xu Huizu's Yingtian New Army. He also has an infantry team mainly composed of firecrackers." Lan Feng explained, "But I want more, if I can combine firecrackers with cavalry

, perhaps creating the most powerful force of this era."

Zhu Di sighed: "It's not that I haven't thought about equipping the army with a large number of firecrackers. The range of firecrackers is about ten feet. They are more advantageous than swords and spears, but their shortcomings are also obvious. Every time a lead is fired,

It takes a long time to reload the bullets. By the time you load the next lead bullet, your head will have been chopped off by the enemy. Although Xu Huizu's fire gun team is covered by other infantry, archers and cavalry, in coordinated operations, it can

It is protected, but because the firing rate of the fire gun is too slow, the combat power it provides is also very limited."

Lan Feng added: "That's why I said it should be equipped on the cavalry. The cavalry has greater mobility and can easily cut in and out on the battlefield. Whether it is charging forward to shoot or retreating to reload, it is more efficient than the infantry."

flexible."

Zhu Di said: "Within the time you had to step back and reload, my cavalry would have killed three or five people. Even if you talk about the range, it is far inferior to that of bows and arrows."

"Of course I have thought about this. We can use a compromise strategy."

"how do I say this?"

"The Art of Machine Fire records a three-barrel firegun, which means three barrels are tied together and can be fired in turn. Three lead bullets can be fired continuously, wounding three enemies in the blink of an eye on the battlefield. Isn't that right?

Very powerful?"

"Then when you step back and reload, won't it take three times as long as a single-barreled firecracker?"

"Three lead bullets were fired. Instead of reloading, we added a spur in front of the blunderbuss tube, used the blunderbuss tube as the barrel, and continued the ordinary cavalry battle. We waited until the battle was over before reloading calmly." Lan Feng said eloquently.

, "As long as each soldier has fired three rounds of lead bullets, he can already cause huge damage to the enemy three times the size of our troops. We don't need to reload to continue fighting. Let them attack with spears, and we can immediately reap devastating results."

, and this is also the advantage of cavalry over infantry."

Zhu Di's eyes slowly lit up, and he said slowly: "Do you know how to make this three-barrel fire gun?"

Lan Feng said solemnly: "I have investigated several arsenals near Beiping in the past two days. As long as I personally guide the processing, there should be no problem."

Zhu Di asked again: "If I let you be the commander-in-chief of this new army, how many people will you need?"

Lan Feng was originally just offering advice, and never thought that Zhu Di would ask him to be the commander-in-chief of the new army. He couldn't help but be startled and said: "These... 2,500 people should be enough to form an effective combat force."

Zhu Di pondered: "Two thousand and five?"

"Two thousand and five thousand is enough, and there is no need for the king to recruit additional troops." Lan Feng intended to help Hua Yuxi, and said: "Brother's army was originally expanded to ten thousand, but later it was reduced to eight thousand. The extra two thousand might as well be

Incorporate into the New Army. There is also the Red Sleeve Battalion. It is true that they do not need a thousand people. In fact, they can choose 500 who are willing to fight and are strong and let them join the New Army. Anyway, they can defeat the enemy with firecrackers.

There is no need to fight against the enemy."

"Interesting." Zhu Di was very satisfied with Lan Feng's answer and said, tapping the desk with his hand, "Second Young Master Lan has a clever plan and is really a good help to me."

He spread out a piece of paper, used the pen and ink himself, and wrote three big characters with flying dragons and phoenixes.

Shenji camp.

(Author's note: According to the "History of the Ming Dynasty", Shenji Camp is one of the three battalions of the Imperial Guards in the capital. It is a special unit equipped with firearms. It was first established in the eighth year of Yongle, that is, after Zhu Di ascended the throne. Here are the words of the novelist,

Judges, please don’t take it seriously)

When everyone left Zhu Di's study, Zhu Gaoxu led Bai Xueyin and Zhao Xueying towards them. It was thought that Zhu Di was about to receive the two Tianlian envoys after seeing them off.

It was not convenient to talk in the palace, so Bai Xueyin smiled slightly and said hello to Lan Qiao and others. Zhao Xueying also glanced at Lan Feng with her beautiful eyes, and everyone passed by.

It wasn't until she left the palace that Hua Yuxi breathed out and said, "Just now, thank you Second Young Master for helping me out of the siege."

Lan Feng rolled his eyes at her and said angrily: "I'm not helping you, I have selfish motives."

"Oh?" Hua Yuxi understood immediately and said with a smile, "Everyone knows that the second young master is a romantic person, but now there are five hundred more female subordinates, so you should be more careful. You may still be snickering now, don't wait until then
Chapter completed!