Chapter 20 Section Thirteen He Liangchen Spontaneously Joined the Army and "Zhi Ji"

He Liangchen is a general with rich experience in actual combat. His "Zhiji" is a famous military book featuring training and combat. He Liangchen, courtesy name Jiming, nicknamed Weisheng, was born in Yuyao (now part of Zhejiang Province). The date of birth and death is unknown.According to the "Preface", "Postscript" and the main content of "Zhen Ji", He Liangchen was active in Zhengde to Wanli (1506-1620 A.D.).When he was young, he loved military affairs and read books on military affairs. He "spontaneously joined the sea" ("Zhi Ji·Following Preface"), and accumulated rich practical experience in war and knowledge of military theory.Due to the corruption of the military and government in the Ming court, He Liangchen had long been underappreciated for his talents and used his sword to express his lament of "knowing the battle and doing nothing".His aria poems have a strong military momentum, so Zhang Yingdeng said: "Reciting his poems, the discipline is strict, there is an upright spirit, and there are not many people who stand on the altar and face each other evenly" ("Zhen Ji Postscript").After he was fortunate enough to be a staff member and participated in military training, his military talent became known.Later, because of his military exploits in Chang'an, he was promoted to be a partial general, and finally promoted to a guerrilla general in Jizhen.He is the author of military books such as "Array", "Military Power", "A Study of Sharp Weapons", and "Winning Cheap".Among them, "Array" is the most valued by the world.

It is not possible to confirm the date of the completion of "Zhengji". From the references in the book to Qi Jiguang's mandarin duck formation and the strategy of fighting against the Japanese in Fujian and Zhejiang, it can be seen that it was completed in the thirty-ninth year of Jiajing (AD 1560) when "Ji Xiao Xin Shu" came out. After Zhang Yingdeng's "postscript" written in May of the seventeenth year of Wanli (AD 1589), we can know that it was completed before this "postscript".The book consists of four volumes, 66 chapters, and about 48,000 words.Existing editions are published in the 19th year of Wanli (AD 1591), "Mohai Jinhu Series" in the 22nd year of Jiaqing (AD 1817), "Zhuchen Bielu Series" in the Daoguang period, and in the 26th year of Daoguang (AD 1817). 1846) "Xiyinxuan Series", "Pinghua Shuwu Series" in the 28th year of Daoguang (AD 1848), "Series Integration First Edition" during the Republic of China and other editions.

"Zhiji" advocates the strategic thinking of subduing the enemy without fighting.He advocates "conquering people with mighty virtue and subduing the enemy with wisdom" and believes that "those who can subdue the enemy with mighty virtue, subdue the enemy with wisdom, do not pretend to kill, surrender widely, and win the enemy's good generals are invincible. , The army does not pay any attention to labor, but conquers the enemy's land for thousands of miles, with hundreds of thousands of people, it is a meritorious service" ("Reward and Punishment").He advocated that the use of troops should be strange and changeable, and that the strange and the right should change each other. He believed that regular soldiers, strange soldiers, and ambush soldiers are like the head, hands and feet of a person. For deification" ("Qi Zheng").The use of soldiers depends on the number of people, and those who know how to use them win.

The military thinking in "Zhi Ji" focuses on selection and training.It is advocated that when building an army, "recruitment is more expensive, and selection is less expensive". Slick people are not available, and honest people in the countryside must be selected.The selected soldiers should be used as long as possible.He also emphasized the method of teaching warfare, encouraging soldiers to be proud of dying in battle and ashamed of retreating to survive.Rewards and punishments for officers and men should be fair, so that even though they are powerful, they must be punished for their mistakes;

The uniqueness of "Zhi Ji" lies in its understanding of different types of combat and tactics such as chariot combat, cavalry combat, foot combat, water warfare, fire warfare, night warfare, battle in mountains, forests, swamps and valleys, and battle in wind, rain, snow and fog. Specialized.There are specific descriptions of the shapes, structures, manufacturing and use of various weapons, attack and defense equipment, and naval warships used in the Ming Dynasty and its various dynasties. It is a description of the use of military technology in addition to "Wu Bei Zhi". There are the most military books, some of which are not even recorded in "Wu Bei Zhi", which has important reference value.