Fighting corruption is a long-term task, and Zhu Youxiao had already made up his mind about it.
Being honest does not mean being too poor to eat meat or to support one’s family.
Salaries were increased, a retirement pension system was finalized, and the rigid requirement for officials to have servants and grooms was abolished. Zhu Youxiao was even considering giving officials some subsidies.
This is the most you can do, isn't it too harsh to not let you eat grass and ask you to run fast?
If you continue to commit corruption, don't blame me for being ruthless. Punishing you is justified and I feel at ease.
Zhu Youxiao sharpened his knife but remained calm. He intended to both clean up the Ministry of Rites and show the Korean envoys the emperor's toughness and dominance.
If the Ming Dynasty wanted to revive itself, it could no longer rely on corrupt and incompetent officials who relied on academic advancement to advance their careers. Zhu Youxiao had long seen this clearly.
When those corrupt officials shamelessly demanded bribes from Korean envoys, the Ming soldiers who were training hard in Beijing and the Ming officers and soldiers who were fighting bravely in Liaodong and Guizhou were the powerful forces that Zhu Youxiao relied on most.
The sound of horse hooves rumbled like thunder; the dust was like smoke, the old dust had not yet dissipated and the new dust was rising.
Rows of Ming cavalry galloped across the field in tightly packed columns. In the middle of the column was a spear flag pointing forward, and the knights holding the spear flag controlled the speed and orderliness of the column.
Sometimes fast, sometimes slow, under the guidance of guns and flags, the entire horizontal team tried to maintain a close distance and a relatively straight queue.
Huang Degong stood on the observation deck with his eyes wide open, his mouth full of dust, but he watched the training of his officers and soldiers without blinking.
He had not been transferred to the Beijing Camp for long, only about two months, and he had already understood the essence of cavalry wall tactics.
In fact, the principle is very simple. Charge towards the enemy in a tight and orderly formation, form a multi-player-on-one situation locally, and use organizational and collective strength to make up for the lack of riding skills.
Huang Degong's understanding is even easier: the enemy's horsemanship is superb, but he only has two hands. If he strikes once, we strike him three or four times, and see who can withstand it. Even if it's a one-on-one fight, the Ming army will still win big.
Huang Degong was proud of his riding skills and bravery, but he also knew that there were very few Ming cavalrymen who were as good as him.
Even so, he had imagined the scene of a wall of cavalry crushing him, and he would definitely not be able to resist it. At most, he could kill two with a blow to the left and a blow to the right, that's all.
Based on his martial arts skills and combat experience, he could still defeat three or five Jiannu. If calculated based on this ratio, a cavalry wall facing an equal number of Jiannu cavalry would be a sure win.
According to the number of troops in the Ming Dynasty, this is very scary. They can be trained in one year, or at most two years. Who can resist a million cavalrymen?
Huang Degong was overjoyed at the thought of himself leading such an invincible cavalry to charge and kill, sweeping away the enemy. This was his dream, and it was finally coming true!
The walls of cavalry moved faster and slower, and sometimes turned to charge. Their skill and orderliness had improved dramatically compared to last year.
"Kill, kill, kill!" Ma Wu raised his strange-shaped but already handy saber high, and he and his cavalrymen roared with wide eyes, and rushed towards the grass in front of them at an accelerated speed.
Sharp sabers drew arcs and flew through the air, chopping the grass into flying pieces, which were then trampled by the rumbling horses' hooves and made messy in the wind.
After charging on horseback, they were still galloping when they saw a high slope in front of them. Suddenly, there were explosions one after another.
The flames, smoke, and loud noises only caused the warhorses to pause for a moment, but under the control of their riders, they continued to gallop with their heads held high.
This simulated battlefield situation, with gunfire roaring and cannons blazing, the horses were considered qualified only if they remained calm and under control. This test had been going on for several months, and judging by their reactions, the horses had basically adapted.
The cavalry finally slowed down. Under the guidance of the flag officer, they gradually arranged themselves into a column, marched along a narrow path, and stopped beside a stream.
Ma Wu and the cavalrymen breathed a sigh of relief. They felt that this training went quite smoothly. Their tense expressions relaxed, and some even started laughing and chatting.
Only after stopping by the river and dismounting, Ma Wu and the other cavalrymen finally relaxed, leading their horses to water or tying them up to wash the dust off their faces.
Ma Wu stroked the horse's head and neck, smiled happily, and praised: "Chengfei, good job, I'll give you two more handfuls of beans tonight."
Ma Wu was always bullied by Ma Chengfei in Guangning, and he had no way to deal with it. After all, Ma Chengfei was a high-ranking official!
But Ma Chengfei was transferred after the Battle of Guangning, and Ma Wu was also transferred back to the capital after staying in Ningyuan for a while. I missed him a lot when I couldn't see him anymore, so I just happened to have a warhorse, so I simply named him Chengfei, as a small revenge, but also a hint of longing.
Cheng Fei snorted and ran to the river to drink water. Ma Wu didn't need to be led, as the man and horse were already familiar with each other and got along well.
Teams of cavalry arrived one after another, and after each round of training, they felt more proficient. However, there were also officers who were not satisfied and scolded soldiers who did not cooperate well or made mistakes.
But these little incidents soon passed, and after the horses had drunk water, the cavalrymen rode slowly towards the camp.
Huang Degong was full of dust, but he was not angry. Over the past few months, he had witnessed the progress of his officers and soldiers, and his heart was filled with joy.
"Actually, we can go out and fight the Jiannu now, even before autumn." Huang Degong said to the captain of the guards beside him as he rode towards the camp, "The Jiannu have never seen this kind of fighting style. They will definitely lose."
The captain of the personal guards chuckled twice and said, "My lord, you have fought face to face with the Jiannu before. If you say you can win, you will definitely win."
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