The Ming Dynasty: Starting with bandits, it swept across the land.

Chapter 32 Discussion on Military Strategy Before Battle

To Liu Ye's surprise, Li Chengye did not become angry after hearing his words; instead, his expression remained unchanged.

This made him think more highly of this newly rising leader in Wang Erjun's army.

"Brother Liu, could you explain to me and the rest of us why this formation is ineffective against the border troops?"

Liu Ye immediately nodded to indicate that there was no problem.

Yang Chongwang saw Li Chengye and a strange man appear next to the open space.

But he didn't react much and continued to lead everyone in training meticulously.

Today is the first day of armor training for everyone.

In the team, only he and Han Sanhu had worn armor before; the others had only recently put down their hoes and had only been holding knives for a few days.

Therefore, most people were not used to it, and not only did they make a lot of mistakes during the training, but they also caused some amusement.

There was a short, stocky man named Wang Shuan who was putting on the cloth armor for the first time. He took a big step, and the armor skirt suddenly lifted up, getting stuck right at the top of his thigh. He looked like a turtle being held in its shell, struggling with his legs for a long time but unable to break free. In the end, two people next to him laughed and helped him pry it open.

Such incidents were not uncommon, and Yang Chongwang would strike the person with a small stick every time he saw it, causing the person to grimace in pain.

But everyone was still very excited, after all, it was their first time wearing armor.

When Yang Chongwang saw Li Chengye gesturing to him to take a break, he shouted, "Everyone—end the stance!"

The entire group stopped immediately.

Although the finishing movements varied in speed, they were still fairly neat.

"Dismissed! Everyone take a break."

The crowd scattered with a whoosh, each finding a shady spot to remove their armor and have a drink of water.

Yang Chongwang wiped the sweat from his forehead and strode towards Li Chengye.

He looked at the unfamiliar man beside him and asked:

"Chengye, what's this?"

"This is Liu, the deputy captain under Chief Luo. He comes from a hereditary centurion family and is skilled in training troops and deploying formations."

Yang Chongwang understood; this was the teacher he had been seeking.

Then Li Chengye stepped aside to introduce Liu Ye, saying, "This is Brother Yang Chongwang, who also came from the Yansui Border Army. He is now in charge of the training of the troops."

Liu Ye clasped his hands in greeting: "Greetings, Instructor Yang."

Yang Chongwang returned the greeting with a fist and palm salute.

At this moment, the group, having just dispersed, saw Li Chengye and came over to greet him.

"Brother Chengye!"

"Team leader!"

"Boss!"

Shi Tou ran over carrying a water ladle: "Brother Chengye, how's my training going?" Cheng En, who was next to him, also came over, his face still covered in sweat.

Li Chengye patted Shi Tou on the shoulder, his gaze sweeping over the crowd: "Don't rush to disperse, brothers, come here!"

Soon everyone gathered around and sat in a circle. Li Chengye pointed to Liu Ye and introduced him to everyone: "This Brother Liu is an expert in military affairs. Let's hear his opinion on this drill."

All eyes were on Liu Ye.

Looking at the faces of everyone, covered in sweat but extremely serious, Liu Ye was somewhat moved.

He had been in the border army for many years and had never seen a superior officer allow his soldiers to sit around and discuss military strategy like this.

He cleared his throat, clasped his hands in return, and said, "Brothers, you have trained very hard and your formations are very neat. I admire you."

Upon hearing this, a burst of snickers erupted from the group of people sitting around.

Everyone knows how they performed on their first day wearing armor: they were diligent, but certainly not well-behaved.

Yang Chongwang coughed once, and then quieted down.

Liu Ye then got to the point: "However, if we use the Mandarin Duck Formation we are currently practicing to fight against the border troops of Yulin and Yansui who have been fighting against the Mongol Tartars for many years, especially in the open area of ​​northern Shaanxi, I'm afraid we will suffer losses."

These words sparked another round of whispers in the crowd. Some people frowned, some looked at each other, but most looked at Yang Chongwang.

After all, he was the one who personally trained and mastered this formation.

Yang Chongwang felt a surge of emotion, but he remained calm on the surface: "Brother Liu, what do you mean by that? Back when I was in Jian'an Fort, I used this Mandarin Duck Formation to defend the city, and the Mongol Tartars never came out on top."

"The tactics for defending a city and fighting in the field are worlds apart."

Liu Yexian drew a conclusion, then picked up a few clods of dirt from the ground and started fiddling with them in the open space in the center of the circle.

He used large pieces to represent sidecars, small pieces to represent foot soldiers, and broke off a few grass stalks to represent cavalry.

He then fiddled with the clods of earth and explained, "When defending a city, there are city walls to rely on and natural defenses to depend on. Enemy cavalry cannot charge, and infantry can form ranks and hold their ground."

"But fighting in northern Shaanxi is different from defending a city," he said, pointing to the vast loess plateau in the distance. "The terrain in northern Shaanxi is undulating and continuous, but there are no natural obstacles, so cavalry can roam freely."

Each squad in the Mandarin Duck Formation consists of only 12 men, with a front-to-back depth of only a few steps. A single charge by cavalry can easily break through it. Even if dozens of small squads are linked together to form a large formation, they move slowly and are vulnerable on both sides, making them extremely easy targets for cavalry flanking attacks.

The Mandarin Duck Formation was, after all, a military strategy created by Qi Jiguang in the mountainous and rugged terrain of the south, and cannot be completely applied to our current environment.

"In Brother Liu's opinion, how should we train?"

After listening to the analysis, Li Chengye asked the key question.

Liu Ye's gaze swept over the soldiers on the field, who were wearing brand-new indigo cloth armor but still looked thin, and then he looked at the simple environment around him.

"The most urgent task is not to pursue complex formations, but to establish a solid foundation." He threw away the branch and patted the dirt off his hands.

"First, we need to practice obeying commands and standing still. I just saw Coach Yang give the order to dismiss everyone, and everyone already has the awareness to obey commands, but we still need to practice."

They trained until they could maintain their formation no matter how the enemy cavalry roared or how dense the arrows were, as long as they were not ordered to break formation.

This requires repeated practice of simple commands to assemble, deploy, and adhere to, so that obedience becomes instinctive for everyone.

Secondly, firearms are needed.

I see that most of the men in our team are thin and weak. It's not something that can be made strong overnight. But operating firearms like muskets doesn't require the same height and strength as combat soldiers. As long as you practice a lot, you'll be fine.

It would be best to have a few cannons; once they're deployed, no enemy will be able to ignore them.

"good!"

Upon hearing this, Li Chengye couldn't help but exclaim in approval, recognizing Liu Ye's exceptional observational skills.

This is exactly what he's been thinking about these past two days. He's been searching for arquebuses and firearms for the past two days and has made some progress.

"Finally, we must establish an elite cavalry unit as soon as possible, even if it is small. They do not need to charge into battle head-on, but they can at least scout, relay orders, and harass. In critical moments, they can also cover the flanks of the infantry or pursue the fleeing enemy."

Li Chengye suddenly understood, and then looked at Yang Chongwang.

"Brother Yang, what do you think?"

After listening to Liu Ye's analysis and suggestions, Yang Chongwang felt that what the other party said was perfectly correct and all of his words were practical and pertinent.

The turmoil in my heart subsided.

He then said, "Deputy Captain Liu is truly an outstanding individual; I cannot compare to him."

"Not at all, I've just seen a lot more," Liu Ye quickly waved his hand to show his humility.

"Alright then, starting tomorrow, Brother Liu Ye will be in charge of the overall training, and Brother Yang, you can assist him. Just tell me what you need and I'll take care of it."

Liu Ye clasped his hands in a fist and said, "How dare I disobey! I will do my utmost."

Just then, Wang Laoqi came running up, panting: "Chengye, the chief has sent someone, saying he has important matters to discuss and wants all the team leaders to go to the county government office immediately!"

Li Chengye exchanged a glance with Yang Chongwang and Liu Ye.

What happened?