Foreword: By the time of the Northern Expedition in the 10th year of Jianyan, the front army had 45,000 Yue Fei's troops, the middle army Li Yanxian's 40,000 troops, Li Qiong's 25,000 troops, Wang De's 25,000 troops, the rear army Wu Jie's troops 50,000, the left army Han Shizhong's 40,000 troops, and the right army Zhang Jun's 25,000 troops.

10,000, Zhang Rong's Navy 15,000, Cavalry Qu Duan's 30,000, and Navy Li Bao's 5,000.

The detailed verification of military strength is as follows:

Volume 5, Chapter 12, "Response", the total establishment is as follows: Han Shizhong's troops were increased from 30,000 to 37,000; Wu Jie was increased from 30,000 to 38,000; the Royal Camp Army was increased from 50,000 to 65,000, which clearly stated

If Wang De's department has been increased from 15,000 to 17,000, and Li Qiong's department has been increased from 15,000 to 18,000, then Li Yanxian's staff should have been increased from 20,000 to 30,000. The specific number of people is unknown; Yue Fei's department has been increased from 35,000 to 40,000.

, Zhang Jun's 25,000 remained unchanged, Zhang Rong's 15,000 remained unchanged, and Li Bao's five or six thousand troops remained unchanged; "The imperial camp cavalry led by Qu Duan was increased from 15,000 to 20,000"; the reserve army was 10,000.

Jiangnan West Road.

This was the end of the sixth year of Jianyan, which meant that after the army expansion was completed and the beginning of the seventh year of Jianyan, the number of imperial camp personnel totaled 3.7+3.8+6.5+4+2.5+1.5+2=24, totaling 240,000.

Volume 5, Chapter 37 "Xia Yu", the intention to expand the army is clear. By the end of the autumn, the imperial camp will have a fleet of 300,000 soldiers, not including the navy.

The army expansion plan did not reveal the number of personnel, but logistics and the scale of recruitment in various places show that most of the new positions are still allocated to Han Shizhong, Wu Jie, Li Yanxian and Quduan's imperial cavalry.

Volume 5, Chapter 42, decree, there is an edict, the imperial army camp, the right army, the navy, the navy, the four armies will be sent to Hebei with 90,000 troops. It should be 45,000 from the front army, 25,000 from the right army, and 15,000 from the navy.

0,000, Navy 0.5 million.

He also ordered that the left deputy commander of the imperial camp's central army be commanded Wang De, the right deputy commander be command Li Qiong, and the imperial camp cavalry commander be commanded Qu Duan. The entire army of 80,000 in the imperial camp was immediately sent to the west in order. The book describes the imperial camp cavalry many times.

The total army is 30,000. To use this term, it is calculated that the cavalry is 30,000, and Wang De and Li Qiong are 25,000 each.

The imperial edict again ordered that the left army of the imperial camp be under the command of Han Shizhong, the middle army of the imperial camp be under the command of Li Yanxian, and the rear army of the imperial camp be under the command of Wu Jie. The three route armies of 130,000 were combined into the Hedong front army, with Han Shizhong as the marshal, and marched to Hedong in a unified way. Among them, alone

The edict was given to Han Shizhong, requiring him to immediately send 40,000 troops to cross the river. So here Han Shizhong’s Ministry confirmed that it was 40,000, and the other two allocations were probably 50,000 for Wu Jie’s Ministry and 40,000 for Li Yanxian’s Ministry (each increased by about 10,000 compared to Chapter 12)

).

Part One: Preliminary Study on the Compilation System

1. The development context of the traditional four-tier command system, the general method, and the bodyguard system.

1. Traditional four-tier command system:

The traditional four-level command system passed down from the Five Dynasties in the Northern Song Dynasty is capital-battalion-jun-xiang. According to the records in the first volume of "Wu Jing Zong Yao" Volume 1 "Military System" and Volume 2 "Ri Yue Fa", "Generally, hundreds of people are the capital.

, the five capitals are battalions (commands), the five battalions are the army, and the ten armies are the compartments, either under the front of the palace, or under the two guards." But in fact they are not uniform. During the reign of Zhenzong, there were already one army under the jurisdiction of ten commanders

, some armies only have 1-2 commands below (such as the Yunqi Army, etc.). Therefore, it is certain that the army is the superior level of the battalion (command), but there is no need to delve into the specific positions. The National Museum has a collection of "Gods"

Bronze seals such as "Second Command of the Fourth Army of the Left Guard and the Fifth Capital Record" indicate the number from the capital to Xiang.

According to the above, a capital has a hundred people (approximate numbers, the same below), a battalion has 400 people (cavalry) or 500 people (infantry), and an army has 2,000-2,500 people. A camp should have a strength of 20,000 to 2,000 people.

Twenty-five thousand people is actually very difficult to reach.

In fact, in the middle and late Northern Song Dynasty, the significance of Xiang as an organization had ceased to exist in name only. It was mostly used as a number mark or to temporarily organize large armies, such as the four-chamber commander of Tong Eunuch's Dragon Guard.

In addition, the army as an organization and the army as the name of the unit have different meanings. The army as the name roughly indicates the source of the unit (the place of recruitment) and the characteristics of the organization (such as Daixiao, Jie, etc.).

for the cavalry) etc.

2. Set up general laws and new organization of teams, departments, generals and armies.

After Wang Anshi established the General Law, the Forbidden Army formed a new organization of team-department-general-army. The "army" in the new organization is an army divided into "armies" of front, rear, left, middle and right. It is a non-fixed organization, that is, the new organization.

In reality, there are still only three levels: team, department, and general. During combat, several generals are organized into groups and divided into front, rear, left, and right armies, as well as forward armies, etc. Each army appoints a general to serve as the commander during war (as can be seen here)

Because the Shaanxi Road is located on the Loess Plateau, it is difficult to carry out large-scale military battles. In the later period, the Song Dynasty pursued a shallow attack and excavation style of forming a stronghold and fighting in vain. As a result, the actual battles in Song and Xia were in the range of 1,000 to 10,000 people.

Mainly, there is no need to set up a large establishment for a long time.

However, the following generals are all the preparations for actual commanding of troops and fixed subordinate relationships. It is described in the book that Wu Jie served as the first general of Jingyuan Road. However, the area where the general method was applied was not all. Before Jingkang, he was still with the capital -

The battalion, army and carriage (existing in name only at this time) run in parallel.

Under the new organization, the first group is basically the same as the previous one, with about fifty people, the first group is about 250 people, and one general controls a thousand people.

However, according to the idea of ​​the Shenzong Dynasty, one general would be appointed for each place, and the number of personnel was not fixed, nor was it a quota of one thousand people. Of course, it was not actually implemented later, and the details need to be tested.

3. The bodyguard system and classes under the general system:

Beiwei army system (Team-Department-General-Army).

Because of the collapse of General Jingkang, the army lost central control and naturally evolved into a military system with the general as the core. In order to ensure control of the army, the general expanded the general's bodyguard system until the general's bodyguard system was as high as one army (traditional organization)

So many. The Beiwei Army, as the personal guard of Han, Zhang, Yue and other generals, after being recognized by the imperial court, finally obtained the establishment of the Control Department under the background of the extra strengthening of the Control Department by Zhao Jiu's commander, which was consistent with the traditional command.

System reintegration.

4. Commander, commander system.

After Jingkang, the national military system collapsed, and the upper-level military system was chaotic and ineffective. In order to resist the Jin army, various states set up envoys everywhere and set up strategic envoys. For the military leaders in troubled times, whether they were the remnants of the regular army, local tyrants, rebels, etc., they were everywhere

Distribution commanders and commanders are similar to the current non-field army system of corps-detachments-brigades. The number of posts under the commander's jurisdiction is variable, and the number of posts under the commander's jurisdiction is variable. Generally, one department is under unified control. For example, when Han Shizhong appears, he is the commander, and the commander is the commander.

The commander-in-chief and commander-in-chief system officially entered the stage of history.

Later, when the imperial camp system was established, Zhao Jiu strengthened the class distinction between commanders and commanders in the high-level military system, and then combined it with the lower-level system to re-establish the basic classes. Basically, the number of posts in the Control Department was limited to 2,000-4,000 (with some exceptions)

). And ratified the commander as a formal class.

Commander class: After the establishment of the imperial battalion military system, in addition to ratification, commanders are mostly appointed as deputy or senior battalion commanders of the Ministry of Unification. In fact, they do not belong to any level of the military establishment system, but because of the battlefield command authority, they are directly appointed as commanders.

The guard system, as well as the existence of senior battalion command, are still widespread and quite dynamic, and serve as a reserve force for promotion to control.

And more guards leaders are preparing to transform the general class into the slightly redundant commanders under the traditional command system. This is another important reason why the commander class has strong vitality. The guards leaders want to

To be promoted to a commander, one needs to be appointed as a commander in the personal guard system to lead a battalion (or as a deputy in the command and control department). After gaining military merit, he or she can be promoted to commander during the expansion (or as a supplementary appointment).

2. The military system implemented in the Shao and Song Dynasties

1. In the military system, reform and recognition of established facts coexist.

Roughly speaking, through ten years of authoritative suppression and reform by Zhao Jiu, the upper-level military system has been basically unified. Currently, what is implemented by the middle and upper levels of the Shao Song Dynasty is basically the Marching Division from top to bottom (the front, rear, left, and right middle armies of the imperial camp, etc.) -

Establishment of the Ministry of Control.

The middle-level military system has two systems: command-capital and general-department.

The grass-roots military system, because the reform of the grass-roots military system is not difficult and the changes are minor, is basically consistent with the historical establishment, the outline is as follows: the infantry is all Du-Dashi-Shi-Wu, with 105 people in Yidu; the cavalry is

There are 65 people in each team.

All in all, the imperial camp system is a kind of compromise that Zhao Jiu tried to create in order to control the troops after the collapse of the Jingkang General Assembly and the historical development process (such as the proliferation of the personal guard system under the general system and the chaos of the high-level military system).

and a complex military system of suppression.

2. Basis for infantry organization and tactical purpose:

Since generals and their own troops are often used as the winner or the main force in decisive battles or battles, no analysis and explanation will be given here.

(1), the formation level. Wu, even, is the basic formation unit, such as marching as a team, camping as a tent, etc.

(2), at the level of arms. Dash is the basic unit of arms. For example, one major is an archer, another is a spearman, and another is a sword and shield bearer.

(3), at the tactical level. Both are basic combat units, with at least two arms under them, which together have basic combat capabilities (a single arm cannot fight independently, for example, archers have insufficient melee combat capabilities, sword and shield wielders cannot prevent impact, and long-range soldiers cannot fight independently.

Gunners cannot face long-range strikes independently).

The battalion (command) is a basic tactical unit (about 550 people), with a complete range of cavalry and infantry units below, which can cooperate in combat and complete tactical orders independently. A command has about 100 cavalry, 2 spearmen, and sword and shield bearers.

3 dashes, 3 dashes for archers, can complete the formation independently.

(4) At the marching (mobility) level, the department (control department) is the basic marching unit. It has an independent baggage unit and can undertake strategic direction tasks during defense (not sufficient for strategic tasks during offense). It can partially repair combat equipment and has

Independent sustainable combat capabilities and independent strategic mobility capabilities (marching long distances alone).

(5) Strategic level. The Marching Department is a basic strategic unit that can undertake offensive tasks in one (or several when defending) strategic directions. It has the ability to replenish its own posts, collect grain and grass, build and repair combat equipment, temporarily appoint local guards, etc.

3. Basis for cavalry formation and tactical purpose:

Because among the imperial cavalry, the armored cavalry was newly formed, and the commander of the light cavalry, Li Shifu, was loyal to the officials and had outstanding military exploits. Most of the soldiers came from Dangxiang who were newly conquered or familiar with Tibet in Yanbian. Therefore, the overall reorganization from top to bottom was relatively smooth and basically organized.

change.

(1) Wu and Shi are the basic formation units, and they are the basic units during marching and camping.

(2) Team, which is the basic cruising unit (except scouts).

(3) Du, as a basic combat unit, can set up 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 is a basic tactical unit, which can be organized into units, dispersed into formations, and perform more complex cavalry tactics such as frontal impact and side attack.

(5) The Control Department can already undertake strategic tasks such as serving as the vanguard of the army, harassing grain roads, hunting down defeated armies, etc., and has strategic capabilities.

(6) Imperial Cavalry Marching Division, a fully strategically capable force with multiple strategic significance and capabilities.

3. The composition of military units in Shao and Song dynasties

1. The composition of the traditional Song army

The Song army traditionally had two categories of arms, namely cavalry and infantry.

The cavalry is divided into two categories: lance cavalry (wearing iron armor, not heavy cavalry) and bow cavalry (wearing leather armor).

The infantry is divided into four categories: gunners, sword and shield bearers, archers, and crossbowmen.

Judging from Volume 2 of the first volume of "Wu Jing Zong Yao", military training formations in the Northern Song Dynasty generally had spears and knives at the front, and bows and crossbows at the back. This formation is close to actual combat requirements. There are similar records in the Southern Song Dynasty. The famous general Wu Lin
To be continued...