Chapter 60: The Two Kings Practicing Medicine at the Training Ground

In the capital city, at the small training ground.

Ru Chang, the Minister of War, watched the soldiers of the imperial army as they trained. His usually gloomy face showed a slight improvement.

The soldiers were fierce and courageous, with a strong determination to expand the borders and defend the nation.

The cavalry was formidable, aspiring to achieve victories and be rewarded with noble titles.

The new military policies not only emphasized individual combat skills and improved daily training but also focused on improving the formation of the army, constantly researching how to use infantry to counter cavalry and even cavalry to counter cavalry.

Some previously inconspicuous veteran soldiers displayed exceptional abilities within these new strategies and were promoted through continuous assessments.

Ru Chang held two individuals in high regard: Li De and Liu Qixia, who had risen from ordinary soldiers to the rank of battalion commander.

Li De excelled in defensive warfare and, while studying military formations, created a method of coordinated combat using multiple weapons. His strategy involved a large formation consisting of musketeers, archers, spear-wielders, shield-bearers, and infantry.

When faced with enemy cavalry, the musketeers would take the forefront, unleashing a volley of shots. Then the archers would cover the area with arrows, while the spear-wielders would confront and repel the enemy’s horses. The shield-bearers would guard the formation, and the infantry would launch attacks.

The infantry formation, which has repeatedly proven effective against cavalry, has been practiced hundreds of times and is considered fundamentally mature. The plan has been submitted to the Ministry of War and the Five Army Commandery, awaiting full-scale implementation across the entire army.

On the other hand, Liu Qixia excelled in cavalry tactics and was known for his swift assaults and fierce battles.

Recognizing the strength of the Jurchen’s Jin Dynasty “Iron Pagoda Cavalry” and “Guaizi ma^[1]The Guaizi Ma (simplified Chinese: 拐子马; traditional Chinese: 拐子馬; pinyin: guǎizi mǎ) is a military formation that was allegedly used by … Continue reading,” he devoted his efforts to creating a hundred heavily armored cavalry units modeled after the “Iron Pagoda Cavalry.” Their helmets were incredibly sturdy, revealing only their eyes, and instead of connecting with leather thongs, the heavy armor was paired with longswords for steady advancement.

The remaining nine hundred cavalry units were light cavalry, mainly focused on rapid flanking attacks and rear assaults.

Whether it was Li De’s strategy or Liu Qixia’s cavalry formations, both had their merits. However, in Ru Chang’s view, heavy armored cavalry was not suitable for defending against the northern Mongol enemies.

The reason was simple: heavy armored cavalry had slow movement speed. While it could be effective in siege breaking, but the northern Mongol enemies didn’t have well-fortified camps. If they couldn’t keep up with the speed during battles or retreat, they would be at a disadvantage.

However, after discussing the matter with Xu Huizu, Ru Chang did not give up on Liu Qixia’s strategy.

Xu Huizu believed that having a heavy cavalry unit would be advantageous. They could serve as a personal guard and spearhead in charging formations. Most importantly, if the vassal kings ever posed a threat to the capital, this military force could also play a role.

The most significant change brought by the new military policies was revitalizing the capital garrison, allowing soldiers to voice their opinions and encouraging them to study and experiment with new tactics. With the incentive of assessments and rewards for excellence, the entire Capital garrison worked diligently day and night, constantly honing their skills. Their combat prowess had become quite formidable!

Ru Chang stood on the high platform, watching the training of the new army, his eyes filled with satisfaction.

Suddenly, several soldiers let out a cry of pain. Ru Chang quickly turned to look and saw five soldiers trapped under a fallen barbed wire fence, unable to move. He hurriedly walked over and discovered that the wooden stakes supporting the barbed wire had snapped, causing it to fall and injure the soldiers.

“Why aren’t you rescuing them?”

Ru Chang approached and saw the soldiers who had come over but were not lifting the barbed wire. He couldn’t help but become furious.

Before the soldiers could respond, voices could be heard from a distance.

“Don’t move, don’t move.”

The familiar voice caught Ru Chang’s attention, and when he turned his head, he saw King of Liao Zhu Zhi and King of Min Zhu Geng approaching. They were accompanied by twenty attendants carrying wooden boxes and sticks, hurrying over.

Ru Chang’s eyes widened, feeling somewhat dazed.

These two kings didn’t go to the Qinhuai River. Instead, they came to the small training ground?

Ru Chang looked up at the sun and muttered in frustration, “The sun is still up. What’s going on?”

“Haha, someone got hurt again!”

Zhu Geng shouted with a smug expression, filled with excitement.

Ru Chang’s beard seemed to bristle on its own as he glared at Zhu Geng. This guy had no conscience at all. He was actually so happy when soldiers got injured?

Zhu Zhi, being a bit more mature, greeted Ru Chang and said, “official Ru, please don’t blame the soldiers. It was my order. If a soldier gets injured, they must not act rashly and should inform us immediately so that we can quickly provide medical treatment.”

Ru Chang’s eyes were about to pop out of his head.

Provide medical treatment?

You, Zhu Zhi?

And your brother, Zhu Geng?

The only thing you two can treat is the emptiness of Ladies at Qinhuai River, um, their money pouch.

Do you think I don’t know what kind of people you are?

A person who can visit the Qingyan Tower three times in ten days claims to understand medical skills?

Is three times too little?

No, these are just the number of times of entering. Once inside, they do not leave but instead stay overnight at the Qingyan Tower.

The court has received numerous memorials impeaching the improper conduct of the two kings, with many ministers strongly urging Zhu Yunwen to send them away from the capital and assign them to their fiefdoms.

But those memorials have never had any effect.

It is said that the Emperor gave an order to the Grand Secretariat, stating that any memorials regarding the two kings should not be presented to him.

Many of those memorials probably ended up being thrown into the brazier by Xie Jin for warmth.

Ignorant and lacking in virtue, indulging in worldly pleasures, these have become the unanimous view of courtiers towards the two kings.

Ru Chang didn’t have much of an opinion about Zhu Zhi and Zhu Geng. Although it was a problem that they were staying in the capital instead of being assigned to fiefdoms, ultimately it was the Emperor’s private matter.

Besides, these two guys…

Apart from staying overnight in brothels and inviting art troupes to their homes for several days, they hadn’t done anything particularly outrageous. There were no rumors of them stealing someone’s wife, beating someone’s child, or owing money to any brothels.

Zhu Zhi, seeing Ru Chang’s silence, directed his attendants to check the soldiers’ injuries. Fortunately, it was still the first month of the year and the soldiers were wearing wooden armor, so their vital areas were not injured. Two soldiers had grazes on their heads, and three soldiers had cuts on their hands. The most severe case had a wire almost piercing through the palm of his hand.

“You lift this side, you go to that side, you stay here. Be gentle with your movements, apply pressure along the direction of the wound. In this soldier’s case, the wire is diagonally inserted into the wound, so you need to exert force in that direction. Understand?” Zhu Zhi instructed his attendants.

After the attendants understood, Zhu Zhi told the soldiers to lift the barbed wire and the soldiers gritted their teeth holding.

“Hurry, drag them out. Prepare clean water, alcohol, and gauze.”

Zhu Zhi quickly called out.

Other attendants stepped forward and pulled out five soldiers. The attendant on the side had already opened a wooden box, and two person formed a team, surrounding each soldier. They first cleaned the wounds with clean water and then brought out alcohol.

“Wait!”

Ru Chang couldn’t take it anymore and shouted loudly, looking at those glass bottles of alcohol. He exclaimed, “What is this? How can you use it on the soldiers’ bodies?”

Zhu Zhi took the alcohol bottle from the attendant’s hand, opened it, and shook it in front of Ru Chang, saying, “This is called alcohol. It has the effect of reducing swelling and preventing pus. Just pouring a little on the wound, even in the scorching summer, the wound is less likely to get infected.”

“How can we use an unknown substance? What if it harms the soldiers? What will we do then?” Ru Chang was unwilling to try it and looked at the two kings with a cold face. He said, “Your Highnesses, I think it would be better to send the soldiers to the medical officer.”

“Medical officer?”

Zhu Zhi chuckled and without backing down, he said, “Minister, there are 50,000 soldiers in this small training ground, but we only have five medical officers! Five! And just during the drill, over a dozen soldiers fell off their horses and were already sent there. There are also several with fractures who were also sent there. When do you think these few soldiers will have their wounds attended to after being sent there?”

Ru Chang’s face turned red.

The number of medical officers in the Ming Dynasty’s capital army was truly pitiful. One medical officer for every 10,000 soldiers.

Not only in the capital garrison, but also throughout the Ming Dynasty, there were not many excellent medical officers.

In some places, it might take several days and nights to walk in search of a doctor for one’s wife and children, and by the time they found one, the person might have already died.

Even if the wife and children were still alive and a doctor was successfully found, they might die by the doctor’s treatment.

There’s nothing that can be done. Although it’s difficult to produce talents in this profession, the entry barrier is very low. You have suffered…

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