Ming Dynasty: I, Emperor Chongzhen, swear not to go to Meishan

Loyalty is honor.

Looking at the five so-so calligraphy in front of him, Zhu Youjian let out a heavy breath and handed the brush in his hand to Wang Chengen.

These five words are inscribed on the large stone at the main entrance of the Royal Military Academy, in order to cultivate and enhance the sense of honor and loyalty in the hearts of soldiers.

In order to practice these five calligraphy characters, he practiced for two full months under the supervision of Chen Yuanyuan and Li Xiangjun. There was no way, no one could replace these five characters, and he had to write them himself.

During Zhu Youjian's practice of writing and the supervision of his two beloved concubines, some indescribable stories inevitably happened. He said it was because he wanted to practice concentration. Only when concentration is practiced can he write well.

The two women were so ashamed that they couldn't disobey the divine order, so they could only accompany the emperor's absurdity.

The Royal Military Academy is still under intense construction. To be precise, most of it has been capped and built, and internal decoration is in progress.

According to custom, one has to wait until all renovations are completed before picking a good day to cut the ribbon and announce the completion of the Royal Military Academy. But Zhu Youjian didn't have the patience. He randomly picked an auspicious day, cut a red ribbon, and it was officially opened.

There are 217 students in the first batch of the Royal Military Academy. Except for a dozen children of noble families who want to work hard and resolutely join the army, the others are all children of farmers.

Based on the principle of voluntariness, Zhu Youjian selected such a few students from the recruits of the newly formed Royal Third Regiment and the newly recruited Royal Fourth and Fifth Divisions.

All students from farm families are illiterate and cannot even write their own names. They must first be taught to read and write, and at least they must reach the elementary school level before they can be officially admitted, otherwise they will be returned to the army.

Since they are student soldiers, basic military subjects such as physical training and formation training are indispensable, and they are no different from the training of new recruits.

If there is a difference, it is that the food treatment is much better than in the army. Every meal comes with sliced ​​meat, plenty of vegetables, oil and water, and enough white rice and steamed buns.

The most important thing is that they join the army to earn a living. The treatment as an officer is much better than that of a soldier. Who doesn't want to be an officer?

The emperor said that a soldier who does not want to be a marshal is not a good soldier.

Precisely because of such good treatment, all the students were reluctant to give up and were afraid of being laughed at by their peers. They worked hard to learn cultural knowledge and train hard. They all met the standards in the assessment, which was a good start and gave Zhu Youjian face.

There was not a single scholar who signed up for the military academy, which somewhat disappointed Zhu Youjian. The Ming Dynasty's culture of emphasizing literature over martial arts was still too deep-rooted. It seems that the status of soldiers in society and in the hearts of the people must be improved. However, everything has a process. , he is not in a hurry.

After two or three years, the soldiers became popular, and those who were not afraid of studying rushed to join the army.

After finishing his duties at the Officer Academy, Zhu Youjian went to the headquarters of the Fourth and Fifth Royal Divisions and watched all the recruits undergo various basic military training under the instructions of the instructors.

Zhu Youjian knew in his heart that these two newly formed divisions, including the newly formed Royal Third Regiment, would not be able to form combat effectiveness in the short term due to insufficient training time, and could only serve as reserve teams to supplement the combat capabilities of the front-line troops. damage.

However, more training in peacetime and less bloodshed in wartime is a wise saying. The instructors practiced to the point of death. Although all the recruits were tortured to the point of crying for their parents and suffering unspeakably, no one became a deserter.

The reason is very simple. Looking at the world, no army has such good treatment. Even if you are exhausted on the training ground, you will not give up, let alone be a coward deserter who makes people laugh and whose family can't hold your head up.

Besides, even if you really die, the emperor will give you a large pension. If you save money, it will be enough to support your family for a year and a half. What is there to worry about?

"Your Majesty, the secret of Xiangyang Jinyiwei."