Outside Nanjing, Jingying.

Except for the camps of the Emperor's Twelve Guards surrounding the Ming Imperial Palace, in the inner and outer cities of Nanjing, except for the Five City Bingmasi, the rest of the Beijing Camp Guards were stationed on the outskirts of the outer city.

The Beijing Camp Guards were stationed near the Nanjing city gates, where there were water sources and close to the outer moat, so that they could quickly enter the city to garrison when Nanjing was threatened.

The garrisons of most of the Beijing Garrison were also important transportation routes and must-pass places.

Zhu Ying took Ye Yueqing and more than 20 Jinyiwei, accompanied by Lan Yu and others to a certain Beijing camp.

The soldiers in the Beijing camp were the 5,000 soldiers selected by Lan Yu for Zhu Ying.

The construction of the Jingying Camp was similar to that of a stockade, surrounded by huge wooden pillars, with watchtowers and soldiers on duty.

"Who are you? This is a military camp and you are not allowed to enter without permission." The soldiers at the door saw dozens of riders rushing in and immediately took a defensive posture. At the same time, they held the rattle in their hands and were ready to blow it if there was anything wrong.

The so-called rope is similar to an alarm device. Once it is pulled, it tells the camp that an enemy has broken in.

Zhu Ying sat on his horse and looked at the two soldiers with sturdy build and sharp eyes, and he was very satisfied. They would be his soldiers in the future. As expected, at first glance, they were brave soldiers who had fought in many battles.

Lan Yu's expression did not change. He just took out the token from his bosom and threw it to the soldier on duty. After checking it, the soldier clasped his fists and bowed, saying, "Greetings, Duke Liang."

Of course they knew Lan Yu, but as soldiers, no matter who he was, whether they knew him or not, they just had to follow orders.

"This is His Royal Highness Chang Sun. You must open the gate immediately, beat the drums in the parade ground, and summon all the soldiers."

Lan Yu said in a deep voice.

Upon hearing this, the two soldiers on duty bowed their heads, knelt on one knee facing Zhu Ying on his horse and said, "Greetings, Your Highness."

"Get up."

"Thank you, Your Highness."

After the two soldiers stood up, they quickly pushed open the gate of the camp to welcome Zhu Ying and others in.

Zhu Ying took the lead and headed straight towards the parade ground.

The layout of the camp was very simple. Directly in front of the gate, there was a large building, which was obviously the place for military meetings and the generals' residence.

On the left and right sides are barracks, warehouses, reserves and other buildings.

In the middle is a huge open space with a general's platform on top, which allows for a panoramic view.

Where the military camp is located, there naturally won't be too many twists and turns, so the soldiers can see the situation around them at any time.

Like in some later film and television dramas, military camps can be hidden anywhere just like in the city, so they do not exist at all.

Zhu Ying rode his horse straight to the generals' platform, and then everyone dismounted. At this moment, one of the two soldiers on duty had already walked to the war drum.

"Drum."

Zhu Ying stood in the middle, put his hands behind his back and spoke in a deep voice.

Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom…

The drums started beating. The war drums in the army were several times louder than ordinary drums. Once struck, the sound echoed throughout the entire camp.

As the drums sounded, many soldiers appeared and quickly headed towards the training ground.

When the drum beats in the military camp, no matter what you are doing, you must immediately get dressed and assemble at the parade ground with your weapons in hand.

The drum beats were frequent, and after one beat, thousands of soldiers had already lined up on the parade ground.

Zhu Ying did not say anything like "After three drum beats, fight those who have not arrived yet". The people in front of him were the strongest elite of the Ming Dynasty, and these were just the most basic requirements.

Before the second drum beat, standing in front of Zhu Ying were already five thousand sturdy soldiers lined up in formation.

One drum session is struck 333 times, which takes about five minutes, and three drum sessions is about a quarter of an hour.

Zhu Ying's 5,000 soldiers had lined up in less than ten minutes. They were neat and tidy without any restlessness or panic, which showed their high quality.

Looking at the five thousand burly men in armor in front of him, Zhu Ying suddenly felt a sense of heroism in his heart.

There was no words for a while. After the three drum beats were over, Zhu Ying nodded slightly to Lan Yu.

Lan Yu took a step forward and looked at the soldiers.

"Meet the General!!!"

The next moment, a deafening sound spread, and five thousand soldiers clasped their fists and bowed.

There was no soldier who could stay in the Beijing camp who didn't know Lan Yu. In the military camp, he was not called the Duke of Liang, but was given the title of the Great General.

"Listen, fellow soldiers. Each of you who can stand here is a brave soldier. I have summoned you here today to become the new personal guards."

"The one standing before you is His Royal Highness, the eldest grandson of the Ming Emperor. From now on, you will be His Royal Highness's personal guards and obey all His Royal Highness' orders."

When Lan Yu finished speaking, the five thousand soldiers below him were not surprised at all. They just paused for a moment, then all knelt on one knee and roared like thunder:

"Long live your Highness, long ...

"Long live your Highness, long ...

"Long live your Highness, long ...

All the soldiers roared with all their might, veins popped out on their necks, and their voices resounded through the sky, and there seemed to be smoke and dust stirring on the ground.

The selection of blue jade is not random and simple.

Those who can stand here are the best in their respective armies and have obtained this qualification through competition.

Before they competed, they didn't know who they would follow. They only knew that the Five Military Commandery had issued an order to build a new Beijing camp and that the military pay of those selected would be increased by half.

The treatment of the Beijing Camp was higher than that of the border soldiers. The monthly salary of an ordinary soldier was one stone of rice, while that of the Beijing Camp was close to two stones.

There will naturally be more elite troops in the army, with two stones facing upwards.

As long as one could join the newly built Beijing Camp Guard Station, the two-stone military salary would directly increase to three-stone, which was equivalent to a 50% salary increase.

When this news came, the various garrisons under the Five Military Governor's Office were almost fighting for these vacancies.

You should know that this only includes the generals and soldiers, among whom there are also thousand households, hundred households, general flags, and small flags.

A small flag is in charge of ten people, a general flag is in charge of five small flags, a hundred households is in charge of two general flags, and a thousand households is in charge of ten hundred households.

The salaries of these officers are higher than those of ordinary soldiers, and are also increased by half.

Why join the army? As far as the Ming Dynasty was concerned, it was nothing more than to be able to make a living, except for a few top soldiers who, after their material needs were met, had the idea of ​​defending their country.

Most military households just want to make a living.

Looking at the five thousand elite soldiers kneeling on one knee in front of him, Zhu Ying slowly took two steps forward.

"Stand up."

"Yes, sir!!!"

Boom! Even though it was just two words, the unanimous response of five thousand soldiers had a thunderous force.

This was the first time for Zhu Ying to have experienced this. In the past, the troops under his command were not so large in size, and their equipment were not so sophisticated.

"Listen carefully, everyone. From now on, you and I will share weal and woe. As long as I have a bite to eat, I will not let you suffer any injustice."

"Today is our first meeting. I did not bring any gifts, but today, everyone will receive a gift. I will give you one month's salary. I hope you will obey military discipline in the future and not disobey."

Zhu Ying's voice was not loud, but all the soldiers pricked up their ears and listened.

When they heard that they would be rewarded with one month's military salary, the whole parade ground was in an uproar.

"Your Highness is mighty! Your Highness is mighty! Your Highness is mighty!"

All the soldiers shouted loudly. The real military pay was more exciting than any nice words.

"Those with more than a hundred households shall enter the big tent for the meeting, and the rest shall disperse." Zhu Ying ordered.

Zhu Ying knew very well that middle-level officers were the core of an army, and what he had to do first was to get familiar with these officers.

Only then can you better command this guard.

The identity of the eldest grandson of the emperor is one aspect, but Zhu Ying has no other choice now. For the time being, he can only use his money ability to win the favor of the soldiers.

As royal guards, all soldiers' salaries will be paid directly from the national treasury, including the rewards just now.

Zhu Ying had already been told all this by Lan Yu on the way here.

Although it was said that there were 5,000 people, there were actually a total of 6,200 people in the military camp, including cooks, craftsmen, military doctors, etc.

Five thousand households and fifty hundred households then followed into the meeting hall in the center of the camp.

The first thing to do is to call the roll.

Zhang Bo took the roster in his hand and began to call out the names one by one for Zhu Ying to recognize.

"Pan Rong, Wu Hai, Dong Quan, Zhang Zuo, Cao Bing."

"I will be here!!!"

After being called, the five captains stepped out one by one and stood in front of Zhu Ying with their fists clasped.

If Zhu Ying had studied the history of the early Ming Dynasty carefully, he would know that these five people were all executed in the Lan Yu case.

For example, Cao Bing was the second-in-command of the Lan Yu Group and the eldest son of Jingchuan Marquis Cao Zhen.

Pan Rong was the commander of the flag bearer guard. Following Lan Yu's suggestion, he was directly demoted to work as a captain under Zhu Ying.

This means that the same thing happened to the other three people, who basically asked to be demoted at Lan Yu's suggestion.

Not to mention Cao Bing, as Cao Zhen's eldest son, he would naturally obey Song Lanyu's orders.

The other centurions, instead of being commanders, were appointed as centurions. From another perspective, almost all of them were Lan Yu's trusted confidants.

The situation of the other fifty centurions was roughly the same.

After everyone's name was called, Zhu Ying gave a few words of encouragement and asked the centurions to leave, while the thousand-man army stayed for further discussion.

"Today's dinner, I will have dinner with all the soldiers. First, we will get to know each other, and second, we will discuss some future training situations."

"Yes, sir."

This was the first time Zhu Ying used the title "Ben Gong". Although she was a little uncomfortable with it, it became no longer a big problem after saying it a few times.

Zhu Ying understood very well that in the army, gaining the loyalty of the soldiers was something he had to do personally.

He knew clearly that the people transferred by Lan Yu, these thousand households, hundred households, and even the general flags and small flags, could be said to be Lan Yu's men.

In other words, he was a member of the Huaixi military generals group.

But Zhu Ying didn't care about these. Having soldiers under his command was like meat in his mouth.

He had enough confidence that he could make all these soldiers submit to him and obey only his orders.

Under Zhu Ying's instructions, large quantities of fine wine, pigs and sheep were continuously transported from the capital.

Although Zhu Ying's Chamber of Commerce used up most of its savings for disaster relief in Henan, these meals were just a drop in the bucket for Zhu Ying.

As the pigs and sheep were slaughtered, the atmosphere in the entire camp began to become lively.

When Zhu Ying's order was spread, almost all the soldiers were very excited.

Even the soldiers in the Beijing camp did not have meat to eat every day. They had to undergo training every three days before they could have a meal of meat.

At other times, soldiers in the Beijing camp also had the responsibility to cultivate land.

Now, as Zhu Ying's personal guards, they are no different from professional soldiers in later generations. The training has been changed from once every three days to daily training.

Among them, Zhu Ying even paid for the meals out of his own pocket.

The reason why Zhang Bo was brought here this time was to carry out truly militarized management of the entire 5,000 soldiers.

Zhu Ying had even sent a message to Ye Yueqing to summon teachers, requiring all soldiers to learn to read after daily training.

From the very beginning, Zhu Ying planned to transform the current camp into a militarized academy structure, and this group of 5,000 people will be the focus of training for officers.

Zhu Ying will personally formulate the daily curriculum, class content, and training methods.

When night fell and bonfires were lit, many soldiers were celebrating with wine, and many thousand households and hundred households were toasting Zhu Ying.

They don't know that tonight will be the last day of their happy days.

From the second day on, the hellish training began.

Zhu Ying was very satisfied with these strong and powerful soldiers. This meant that he could directly start high-intensity training without worrying about the soldiers' physical fitness.

During dinner, Zhu Ying did not demonstrate his personal strength. With the blessing of royal majesty, this was necessary.

"I'll leave the Gunpowder Department's affairs to you. For the next few days, let Uncle Zhang stay here with me."

Zhu Ying instructed Ye Yueqing.

Now that he's here, he certainly won't just take a look and leave. In the next period of time, he will personally build this military camp.