The Battle of Wuchang was imminent, and the Ming troops transferred from Guangdong, Guangxi, Fujian, and Hunan rushed to Yuezhou one after another. Pen "Fun" Pavilion www.biquge.info

In 1666 AD, the twentieth year of Yongli, the fifth year of Kangxi, and the twentieth day of the eighth month of the lunar calendar, the Ming army of Yuezhou, which was about to go out, held a grand military parade.

At that time, there were more Dongting Lake than now, and Yueyang Tower was on the verge of the lake. The Ming army set up a review stand at the foot of Baqiu Mountain below Yueyang Tower. On the shore of Dongting Lake, an empty square was opened, and the three armies of the Ming Army, the Navy, Land and Cavalry, passed under the review stand, and stood on the review stand, which could be seen at a glance.

In Yuezhou City, more than 100,000 people gathered in the square outside Yuezhou City, including Yuezhou citizens, temporary arrivals from the countryside, and special trips from other places.

As early as more than a month ago, the notice of the military parade had been issued, and the news of the military parade in Yuezhou was sent to every town under the control of the Ming Dynasty through newspapers.

On the territory recovered by the Qiongzhou army, the system of road guidance is still maintained, not only when entering the city gate, but also when soldiers or government officials sometimes meet people in the countryside who feel that they can, they will also check road guides. In addition, the agents of the Heaven and Earth Society may also check the guidance of pedestrians at any time.

The road guide system is to prevent spies from the Qing court, in fact, the road guide at this time is equivalent to an identity certificate, and there is no strict requirement that the road guide should be written on it, as long as there is a road guide issued by the government of the place where the household registration is located. Scholars who have a meritorious reputation or above need to carry a certificate of meritorious service; The soldier must have a waist card on his body. Doing so would prevent the Qing court's spies from infiltrating the Ming army's sphere of control.

The plainclothes agents of the Heaven and Earth Society also have waist badges on their bodies, and they can show their waist badges when they are inspected by officials or soldiers; They check pedestrian guidance and certificates, and they also show their waist badges to confirm their identity before they can check others.

In fact, in the area controlled by the Qiongzhou army, the people come and go relatively freely, and the people who go to the government to apply for road guides, as long as they do not have a history of committing adultery or are suspected of being spies of the Qing army, can apply for road guides, and after getting road guides, they can go to any place.

For those who came from the Qing court, the Ming army did not require them to twist their braids, and they could break up the pigtails and put them on the back of their heads. However, when it comes to the officials, officers and soldiers, or agents who are inspected, they are especially strict with those who have a bald head and a small handful of hair on the back of their head.

On the twentieth day of the eighth month of the lunar calendar, the Mid-Autumn Festival has just passed, and more than ten people gathered on the square by the Dongting Lake.

In the whole square, a large number of people were pressed by the black, the crowded crowd rubbed shoulders, and some people who were a little shorter and could not squeeze into the front row couldn't wait to stand on tiptoe, stretch their necks, and look at the square that was blocked in front.

Between the square and the passage, a wooden railing was erected, and outside the railing, heavily armed officers and servants stood guard to prevent anyone from crossing the line. The queue that was ready to participate in the review had already lined up in a neat formation in the standby area. The standby area of the parade is also off-limits and is not allowed to be entered.

On the lake, a phalanx of warships about to pass through the review stand lined up, waiting for the order to set sail.

The drum music was noisy, the soldiers of the military band under the stage beat gongs and drums, blew trumpets, and some people used various musical instruments, and all kinds of silk and bamboo sounds converged into majestic music, echoing in the sky above the square.

"Boom" several mortars pointed into the air, spewing out orange firelight, billowing white smoke rose, and the shells rose into the air and exploded in the air, turning into brilliant fireworks.

"It's coming! Here it comes! Someone shouted excitedly.

The salute roared, the gongs and drums were noisy, the bright military flag was hunting in the wind, in the majestic trombone sound, Wang Xinyu, Zheng Cong and Bai Wenxuan walked side by side in the front, Wang Xinyu was in the middle, Bai Wenxuan on the left, Zheng Cong on the right, all three of them were wearing red python robes, wearing black winged crowns, and swords hanging from their waists.

More than 100,000 people looked at each other, the eyes of those in front widened, and those in the back stood on tiptoe, and almost at the same time there was a burst of cheers, which converged into a roar like a sea tide.

"Wan Sheng!" The guards around the review stand cheered in unison, suppressing the cheers of the people.

The Three Kings walked up to the reviewing stand, and the people in the square fell silent.

The military parade is also a way to show strength. Later, in World War II, there was a lot of artillery fire outside Moscow, and Stalin paraded troops on Red Square, and after the parade ceremony, the army went directly to the battlefield outside the city. As soon as the parade was over, the troops under review drove directly to the Wuchang battlefield.

At that time, there was no amplification equipment, and it was impossible to speak loudly in such a large square, and after the three kings boarded the review stand, the drums changed, the flags were unfurled, and the soldiers issued an order for the parade to pass.

As for the education of national consciousness, the work has already begun, and in the area controlled by the Qiongzhou Army in the Ming Dynasty, every village has a rule that every child must go through a year of literacy education. There are not so many Xiucai and Tongsheng, it doesn't matter, some disabled veterans can serve as teachers in the literacy class when they return to the village.

Because the power of the gentry was weakened, the power of the military generals was strengthened, and the martial artists taught people to read, and no one dared to jump out against it. On the contrary, for the enlightenment of the people, everyone is encouraged to be literate, which is still supported by the gentry who remained on the territory of the Ming army.

"It's coming! Here it comes! The crowd, which had quieted down, became agitated again.

At the forefront was a neat musket infantry formation, a phalanx of 1,000 men, a row of 20 men wide, 50 rows in depth, and a thousand general officers walked at the forefront of the ranks, shouting slogans loudly.

The soldiers of the square team, dressed in bright red uniforms, armor, six-petal helmets on their heads, and carrying muskets on their shoulders, shouted the slogan of "Wan Sheng" in unison, and marched through the review stand in unison according to the rhythm of the drum. The musketeers walked at the same pace, which was trained with whips and corporal punishment on the training ground, and the team was very neat, and it took more than a thousand steps to walk all the way from the starting point, and there was no confusion in the formation, which shows what a strong army this is!

"It's tough!" A gray-haired old man in the square said.

A citizen standing on the side said: "The team is so neat, it is indeed the strongest army in the world!" ”

The old man who was the first to speak said: "The Qi family army, which was known as invincible in the world back then, is said to stop and rearrange the formation after walking thirty steps. They had to do it every three days to maintain that formation. Today, the Qiongzhou army can walk more than a thousand steps, and there is no need to stop and regroup! This is a strong army that drills every day! ”