4. The system of controlling and leading officers.
After the Jingkang Incident, the national military system collapsed, and the upper military system was in disarray and ineffective. In order to resist the Jin army, various states randomly set up governors and generals. For the military leaders in the chaotic times, whether they were remnants of the regular army, local tyrants, or rebels, they were assigned commanders and leaders, similar to the current non-field army system of corps-detachments-battalions. The number of subordinates under the commander was uncertain, and the number of subordinates under the leader was uncertain. Generally, one commander was set up for each part. For example, Han Shizhong was a commander when he appeared, and the commander who led troops independently was named a commander. The commander-leader system officially appeared on the historical stage.
Later, when the Imperial Camp system was established, Zhao Jiu strengthened the class distinction between the Dutong and the Zhizhi officers in the high-level military system, and combined with the lower-level system, re-established the basic class. The number of Zhizhi officers was basically limited to 2,000-4,000 (with some exceptions). He also recognized the Zhizhi officers as the official class.
Commander class: After the establishment of the Imperial Camp Army system, except for posthumous recognition, most of the commanders were appointed as deputy commanders of the General Department or senior commanders of the battalion. In fact, they do not belong to any level of the military system, but because of the battlefield command, the personal guard system, and the existence of senior commanders of the battalion, they still exist widely and are quite dynamic, and serve as a reserve force for promotion to commander.
More personal guard leaders are transferred between the ranks of generals and commanders, who are a bit redundant in the traditional command system. This is another important reason why the commander class has strong vitality. If a personal guard leader wants to be promoted to commander, he needs to leave the personal guard system and serve as a commander leading a battalion (or a deputy commander), and after gaining military merit, he can be promoted to commander during the expansion (or replacement).
2. The Military System Implemented during the Shao Song Period
1. In the military system, reform and recognition of established facts coexist.
Generally speaking, through Zhao Jiu's ten years of authoritarian suppression and reform, the upper-level military system was basically unified. At present, the upper and middle levels of Shao Song are basically organized from top to bottom as the Xingjunsi (front, back, left, right, and center armies of the imperial camp, etc.) - the Tongzhibu.
The middle-level military system has two parallel systems: the command-capital system and the general-department system.
The grassroots military system is basically consistent with the historical organization because the grassroots military system reform is not difficult and the changes are minor. The structure is as follows: the infantry is composed of du-da-shi-shi-wu, with 105 people in one du; the cavalry is composed of du-du-shi-wu, with 65 people in one du.
In short, the Imperial Camp system was a complex military system that combined compromise and repression that Zhao Jiu created after the general collapse of the Jing Kang Incident in order to control the troops. He was forced to combine the historical development process (such as the proliferation of the personal guard system under the general system and the chaos in the high-level military system) to create it.
2. Basis of Infantry Organization and Tactical Objectives:
Since the generals' personal troops are often used as the deciding factor or main force in decisive battles or campaigns, they will not be analyzed or explained here.
(1) At the level of formation: Wu and Shi are the basic formation units, such as a marching unit is a team, a camping unit is a tent, etc.
(2) At the military level. The Da Shi is a basic military unit. For example, one Da Shi is composed of archers, another Da Shi is composed of spearmen, and another Da Shi is composed of sword and shield soldiers.
(3) Tactical level. The Du is a basic combat unit, which has at least two types of soldiers under it. Together, they have basic combat capabilities (a single type of soldier cannot fight independently, such as archers with insufficient melee capabilities, sword and shield soldiers who cannot defend against impacts, and spearmen who cannot independently face long-range attacks).
Battalion (command), (about 550 people) is the basic tactical unit, with all kinds of cavalry and infantry under it, which can cooperate in combat and independently complete tactical orders. One command has about 100 cavalry, 2 large teams of spearmen, 3 large teams of sword and shieldmen, and 3 large teams of archers under it, and can independently complete the formation.
(4) Marching (mobility) level. The detachment (command detachment) is the basic marching unit. It has independent baggage troops, can undertake strategic directional tasks during defense (not enough to undertake strategic tasks during offense), can partially repair war equipment, has independent sustainable combat capabilities, and independent strategic mobility capabilities (long-distance marches alone).
(5) Strategic level. The Marching Division is a basic strategic unit that can undertake offensive missions in one (or several when defending) strategic directions. It has the ability to replenish personnel, collect food and fodder, build and repair war equipment, and temporarily appoint local guards.
3. Cavalry organization basis and tactical objectives:
Because the armored cavalry in the imperial camp cavalry was newly formed, the light cavalry commander Li Shifu was loyal to the government and had outstanding military achievements, and most of the soldiers came from the Dangxiang people who were newly conquered or accustomed to the border areas, the overall reorganization from top to bottom was relatively smooth and basically regularized.
(1) The five and the ten are the basic organizational units and are the basic units during marching and camping.
(2) Team: a basic cruising unit (excluding scouts).
(3) Du: A basic combat unit that can deploy basic combat formations such as the arrow formation and the fish scale formation to give full play to the unique combat effectiveness of the cavalry.
(4) Command: As a basic tactical unit, the cavalry can be deployed as a unit, gather or disperse into formations, and execute more complex cavalry tactics such as frontal assault and flanking attack.
(5) The Control Department can now undertake strategically significant tasks such as serving as the vanguard of the army, harassing the food supply routes, and hunting down the defeated army, and has strategic capabilities.
(6) The Imperial Cavalry Marching Division is a fully strategically capable unit with multiple strategic significance and capabilities.
3. Composition of Arms in Shao Song
1. Composition of the traditional Song army
The Song army traditionally had two major types of troops, namely cavalry and infantry.
The cavalry is divided into two categories: spear cavalry (wearing iron armor, not heavy cavalry) and archer cavalry (wearing leather armor).
The infantry is divided into four categories: spearmen, sword and shield men, archers, and crossbowmen.
According to Volume 2 of the first collection of Wujing Zongyao, the military training formations in the Northern Song Dynasty generally had spears and swords in front and bows and crossbows in the back. This formation is close to the requirements of actual combat. There are similar records in the Southern Song Dynasty. The military order of the famous general Wu Lin stipulated: "When encountering an enemy and wanting to fight, you must form a formation, and the archers and crossbowmen of the first army sit side by side. When the enemy soldiers are about 150 steps away from the formation, order the Shenbi archers to stand up and shoot arrows at them first. If the arrows can penetrate the enemy formation, the whole army will fire. When the enemy soldiers are about 100 steps away from the formation, order the Pingshe archers to stand up and shoot arrows as before, and then the whole formation will fire. If the enemy soldiers directly attack the chevaux de frise, order the first army's spearmen to lean against the chevaux de frise and stab with their spears as their pillows." From this, we can see that the spearmen are closely behind the chevaux de frise set up in front of the formation, and are undoubtedly in front of the archers and crossbowmen, so that they can engage in hand-to-hand combat when the enemy cavalry rushes into the formation.
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