Chapter 129: Starting from scratch, everyone learns to be a Military Officer!
Yuan Ye had determined his objective but didn’t rush into action. He only had so much capital, and if he lost it all, he’d probably have to cosplay Xiang Yu and commit suicide by Wanjin. He hadn’t experienced it before, so he didn’t feel it deeply, but now, just imagining losing his meticulously trained army in one battle made him understand why Xiang Yu didn’t want to live – it would truly break his heart to the point of wanting to die.
This was the first battle for the New Army, and even if the opponent was a pushover, they had to be fully prepared before engaging.
He first asked A Man to continue sending people to gather more intelligence and draw maps. Then, he sent an urgent letter to Nagoya Castle, claiming that the local lords of Chita District were lawless and inhumane, attacking his passing ship, and asking Nagoya Castle what should be done.
Several days later, Oda Nobunaga personally replied, scolding him and telling him to handle such trivial matters himself and not to bother him.
This was exactly what Yuan Ye wanted. Since he had already informed them, he had a legitimate reason to act. He then gathered all his officers for a war council, preparing to launch a punitive action to teach the audacious local lords of the Chita Peninsula a profound lesson.
These guys, who had only become officers due to their excellent performance in training, never expected there to be such a thing as a “war council.” Looking at the various materials and decision maps distributed to them, listening to Yuan Ye’s serious explanation of the operational intent, preparations, and plan, their eyes were filled with confusion. When Yuan Ye asked for supplementary opinions and for everyone to speak, they exchanged glances, unable to utter a single word.
The situation was somewhat awkward, but Yuan Ye wasn’t disappointed. Everything was difficult at the beginning; gradually, some would gain understanding and transition into mid-to-senior level officers.
After the meeting, he ordered these forty-odd small flag leaders, deputy small flag leaders, and non-commissioned officers to return and convey the operational intent to the soldiers, prepare mission briefings, and ensure all soldiers understood their tasks. He then organized several specialized training sessions, simulating forced landings and emergency evacuations, and went through the operational plan with everyone. He even forced the junior officers to start drawing decision maps for their own missions.
It didn’t matter if the drawings were good or bad; even if they looked like children’s doodles, it was fine. They just had to draw them. This caused quite a stir among these novice officers, who could barely read a hundred characters and needed Yuan Ye to help them understand maps. They felt like life was worse than death, but even so, Yuan Ye still demanded they try their best and learn.
He came from an engineering background and greatly valued map exercises. Now that he was forced to switch to a military role, he felt that map exercises were still indispensable. All officers had to clearly understand key elements such as operational intent, troop deployment, direction of operations, and main combat actions, and be able to express them through decision maps, written charts, or doodles.
If they couldn’t express it, it meant they didn’t understand it clearly in their minds. If they were unclear about the key elements of their mission during combat, it was a crime against their soldiers. Such officers were useless and should be sent back to be common soldiers!
As for those who couldn’t do it…
Many generals in modern history couldn’t even write a few characters at the beginning, yet they learned as they fought and eventually became excellent generals, didn’t they?
People are pushed to their limits; how can you know their potential if you don’t push them?
In any case, they must learn, starting from scratch, and all learn to be officers!
Yuan Ye was also a novice commander, and he took the New Army’s first battle very seriously. It was quite a hassle. After he had worn everyone out, he picked a good day, loaded the over 180 New Army soldiers and over ten internal guards who also served as military police onto the ships, and began sailing along the west coast of the Chita Peninsula towards the central part of the peninsula to train with Uncle Lin through combat.
…
As the ship sailed, the four brothers of the Ninth Small Flag, Guo Tailang, Wan Cilang, Piao Sanlang, and Pen Silang, were still together. Only Tong Wulang was transferred to the matchlock gun squad due to his quick thinking and agility during training. He was replaced by a short, clumsy, and foolish boy named Shi Pusa. His name was a bit strange; it was said that when he was a child, he was burning with fever and on the verge of death. His mother placed him to sleep by a stone statue of Guanyin, and he miraculously recovered. That’s how he got his name.
This fellow was forced into Wanjin. He used to be a beggar and thief in Atsuta Port. He was caught red-handed trying to steal grain from Maeshima Shichiro’s caravan. Since Wanjin was short of people, they tied him up and brought him back. To their surprise, after coming to Wanjin and being able to eat normally, he became honest and never stole again. He even performed excellently in the workshop and worked diligently. After half a year, he was enlisted as a new recruit in the barracks and assigned to the Ninth Small Flag.
After he joined the military service, he wasn’t beaten by the military police much. Or rather, the military police rarely found opportunities to beat him. The main reason was that the veteran soldiers took over the military police’s job – being in the barracks two or three months earlier made you a veteran, even just one day earlier counted.
The military discipline within the Wanjin Army had already begun to take shape. Strict enforcement of military discipline had become a psychological inertia. Furthermore, the hardships endured by the veteran soldiers couldn’t be in vain. So, when new recruits joined, they also had to experience the hardships that the veterans had endured… in the first few months. They had to be beaten like dogs, howling and rolling on the ground, and every word and action had to be proper. Only then could they be considered officially part of the group and become Wanjin soldiers.
Therefore, Shi Pusa was constantly being beaten by Guo, Wan, Piao, and Pen. The military police couldn’t get to him for a while.
Now, the four brothers of Guo, Wan, Piao, and Pen, plus Shi Pusa, formed a combat team, led by Guo Tailang, the deputy small flag leader. This wasn’t Guo Tailang’s first combat experience; he was captured as a rookie ashigaru and sold to Wanjin. He had participated in several chaotic battles, but this was his first time commanding others. Now, he was so nervous that his old habit returned, and he was sweating profusely, as if he had just washed his hair. He kept muttering to his companions, “Stay close to me later, and hurry to pave the road. Don’t fall into the mud pit like last time and delay everyone! Remember this, remember this!”
Piao Sanlang lowered his head in shame. He was the one who fell into the mud pit during the last exercise and couldn’t get out, causing the whole team to be punished. He had been too embarrassed to show his face for the past two days. The other three didn’t respond either. Wan Cilang was sitting on a straw bundle, meticulously cleaning his katana. Pen Silang’s eyes were vacant, lost in thought, and he was muttering to himself, probably saying discouraging things like “I’m finally going to die.” However, due to being beaten so often, he had developed the ability to complain silently, making it difficult for others to find fault with him.
As for the new recruit Shi Pusa, he kept rubbing the “rations bag” tied around his waist. Inside was dried seaweed and fried rice, which looked very appetizing. He really wanted to open it and take a bite. He had lived for fifteen years and only ate his first full meal in Wanjin. He would never forget the feeling of his stomach being completely filled, and he had loved that feeling ever since, always wanting his stomach to be full.
In other words, he seemed to have a psychological disorder, constantly wanting to eat. However, he was just a bit slow, not stupid. After being beaten so much, he had learned his lesson and knew that if he dared to open the “rations bag” and eat the fried rice now, Guo, Wan, Piao, and Pen would immediately jump up and kick him down to beat him. So, he could only keep stroking the bag, waiting for lunchtime to arrive quickly. He felt that Wanjin was paradise. In the workshop, they ate three meals a day, and the portions were generous. In the barracks, they were fed heartily every meal, as much as they wanted, and there were often dishes like fish, beans, seaweed, and miso. It was truly a paradise within paradise. He wouldn’t leave even if they killed him now. He didn’t want to starve to death slowly like his mother, leaving behind only a small bundle of skin and bones.
Each member of their small combat group had their own thoughts, and no one was in the mood to talk to others. As the Kan-sen ship swayed for four hours, a short bamboo whistle finally sounded on deck.
This was the preparatory whistle. They had been beaten enough for mistaking different commands, so muscle memory took over, and they began to prepare for combat automatically. Guo Tailang even checked everyone, for fear that someone’s leg bindings weren’t tied securely and they would trip themselves while running, causing him, the deputy small flag leader, to be beaten upon their return.
Shortly after, the hull of the ship shook violently. Then, the cargo door of the “main turret” was opened, and sharp bamboo whistles sounded continuously, accompanied by loud commands from the flag officers on deck. Guo Tailang roared and led the charge onto the deck. A quick glance revealed that their small Kan-sen ship had forcibly landed. However, this area was not suitable for ships to dock, nor were there any piers or jetties, making it difficult for people and goods to disembark. It was even a large expanse of tidal flats after the tide had receded, making it difficult to pass even on foot.
At this moment, the bamboo whistles became even sharper, and all sorts of chaotic commands were being issued on deck. Guo Tailang’s mind went blank, but in that blankness, he clearly knew what he needed to do. After a quick glance, he didn’t hesitate and was the first to slide down the rope from the ship. He was followed closely by Wan, Piao, Pen, Shi, and the large bundles of straw and bamboo mats thrown from the ship.
They were not wearing armor, only a jingasa hat with iron shards for protection against arrows and a katana for self-defense. Their sole mission was to clear a path for those behind them to cross the muddy tidal flats. As soon as they landed in the mud, without a word, they began to spread the straw bundles and bamboo mats on the tidal flats, then jumped onto them and continued to spread them forward. Their movements were so fast, as if someone was about to whip them, focused and continuously moving forward.
Several small teams were doing the same task as the five of them, and behind them, a group was following to widen the road. However, they didn’t even have time to look. As per the requirements of previous exercises, they mechanically spread the straw bundles and bamboo mats brought from behind, slipping and rolling into mud monkeys themselves multiple times.
Soon, a loud shout came from behind. Instinctively, they cleared the path and jumped back into the mud. A spear squad in full armor passed them, stepping on the straw and bamboo mat path and landing ashore directly. Then, a matchlock squad in leather armor rushed past them and also landed ashore cleanly. They joined the spear squad ahead and formed ranks on the spot, setting up their matchlock guns and beginning to establish a perimeter.
Only then did Guo Tailang notice that he had finished paving the section of the path through the muddy tidal flats where one’s foot would sink and get stuck. He looked back at the sides and behind him, discovering that there were several similar straw paths. Two medium-sized Kan-sen ships and another small Kan-sen ship were also docking behind them. The “landing points” paved with more straw bundles and bamboo mats had been greatly expanded. Large numbers of armored spearmen and leather-armored matchlock soldiers were disembarking in organized units.
Seeing this orderly and disciplined scene, and then looking down at himself covered in mud, Guo Tailang suddenly felt that fighting wasn’t that difficult; it was much easier than the exercises. The tidal flats weren’t long or wide enough, and hundreds of people didn’t suddenly rush out to shoot them in the mud. They had landed so confusedly.
