In ancient times, the Royal Forest Army was the core force defending the supreme ruler and the last barrier to ensure the personal safety of the emperors.
Therefore, since ancient times, both the Central Plains Dynasty and the steppe peoples have taken the construction of such a military force as the top priority in consolidating their own rule.
In the Central Plains, different dynasties called the Yulin army differently, such as "Janissary", "Forbidden Army", "Tiger Ben", "Shen Ce Jun", etc.; and in the nomadic regime, their names were also very different, such as the Liao Dynasty called "Pi Room Army", while the pro-army of Genghis Khan of the Yuan Taizu was called "Timid Xue Army".
The mighty Mongolian Iron Horse was once the most powerful army on earth in the 13th century, so what kind of existence was the elite "Cowardly Xue Army" as the elite of the Mongolian army?
I. How did the "cowardly Xue Jun" come about?
Many people have such a misunderstanding about the "cowardly Xue Jun": it was founded by Genghis Khan.
In fact, this is not the case, in the Mongol tribes, in fact, there is already a precursor to the "Cowardly Xue Army", they are the Great Khan guard soldiers composed of "Nake'er".
What is "Nakko"? In addition to being guards, they also mean "friend" and "partner" in Mongolian.
The "Nakol" had to follow the mongol tribal leaders in wartime, and in non-wartime, they had to follow the chiefs around and be responsible for their personal safety. As pro-soldiers, they must be ready to sacrifice themselves at any time and become a shield for the bosses.
In return, the tribal chiefs had to acknowledge that the "Nakals" owned private property, but also to give them generous economic treatment, high social status, and at the same time to protect them from other tribes.
On the surface, the relationship between "Nakol" and the chief is somewhat similar to the master-servant relationship between the lord and the knight in the Western Middle Ages. However, don't forget that "Nakor" also means "friend" and "companion".
Compared with ordinary tribal leaders, Genghis Khan, the "generation of heavenly pride", is better at winning people's hearts, good at using this "companion" relationship, he used his own knowledge of people, benevolence and righteousness, to create a team of pro-soldiers who are completely loyal to themselves. Genghis Khan's fierce generals who relied heavily on the Post-Eastern Expedition to the West were also mostly produced from these pro-soldiers, including Muhuali, Borshu, Borku, Chilaowen and other famous Mongol generals, and Genghis Khan also described the "Nakal" around him in this way:
"They are my capable and dedicated servants, my sharpshooters, my fast horses, my clever birds, my hounds tied to the saddle."
With such a pro-army, the formation of the "Cowardly Xue Army" will come naturally in the future.
In the war to unify the Mongol tribes, Genghis Khan was often able to take advantage of the rebellion of the enemy "Nakol" and eventually succeeded.
For example, zamuhe, one of Genghis Khan's strongest opponents, was captured by several of his own "Nakil" and given to Genghis Khan.
II. Forming the "Cowardly Xue Army"
In 1204 AD, when Genghis Khan attacked the Naimanbu, he began to reorganize his army, and selected elites from it to form the earliest "Timid Xue Army".
Initially, Genghis Khan set the following criteria for selection:
(1) Must be the sons of the chief of ten thousand households, the head of a thousand households, the head of a hundred households, the head of ten households, and the freedmen, that is to say, they cannot be slaves.
2, must be in good shape, bow horse skilled, can fight well.
In the end, Genghis Khan first selected 150 soldiers from the children of Mongolian nobles and commoners and divided them into two classes, 70 during the day and 80 at night, mainly responsible for the safety of the Han and the Ear of the Great Han (Genghis Khan's Khan's Khan's Court and Harem).
In addition, Genghis Khan selected a thousand guards, who served as the great khan's defense in peacetime and as the vanguard in wartime, as the death squad that charged the strongest side.
After completing the reorganization of the army, especially the formation of the elite elite "Cowardly Xue Army", Genghis Khan launched a decisive battle against the Naimanbu.
In the fierce battle, the "cowardly Xue Army" played a crucial role. Genghis Khan first let the soldiers each light up five fires, in order to bluff, and then let the "Cowardly Xue Army" as an arrow directly impact the enemy's Chinese army, after chiseling through the enemy formation, Genghis Khan took advantage of the chaos in the enemy's position, in one fell swoop to crush the numerically superior Nai manbu, and captured its leader Sun Han.
In 1206, Genghis Khan unified the Mongol ministries and formally established the Mongol Khanate. The previous conquest made him deeply aware of the importance of the "cowardly Xue Army". In the face of the next powerful enemy, that is, the golden state whose human, material, and financial resources are far superior to his own, Genghis Khan felt the need to expand and strengthen the "cowardly Xue Army".
As a result, at this time, the "Timid Xue Army" was expanded from the initial 150 personal soldiers and 1,000 guards to 10,000 people, forming the "Great Chinese Army" of the Mongolian Iron Horse in the future.
Third, the official configuration of the "Cowardly Xue Army"
Genghis Khan divided the 10,000 "Cowardly Xue Army" into Su Wei, Arrow Barrel Soldiers, And Scattered Classes, and so on, and Borku, MuhuaLi, Borshu, and Chi Laowen, known as the "Four Masters of Mongolia", served as the four chiefs of the "Timid Xue Army", while his other confidants, Na Ke'er, also served as the military commanders of the "Timid Xue Army" at all levels.
In non-wartime, the division of labor of the "Cowardly Xue Army" was as follows: the Su Wei was responsible for defending Genghis Khan's safety at night, and the Archers and Scattered Squads were the Great Khan Guards during the day.
For the selection requirements, in addition to the requirements of birth and martial arts, Genghis Khan also stipulated that the son of the head of a thousand households can bring 10 companions and 1 brother, the son of the head of a hundred households can bring 5 companions and 1 brother, and the son of the head of ten households can bring 3 companions and 1 brother. "Fight the tiger brothers, fight the father and son soldiers", so that the cohesion of the "cowardly Xue Army" will undoubtedly be further enhanced.
In addition, Genghis Khan also made specific provisions on the military rules and discipline of the "Cowardly Xue Army" and logistical support.
In this way, an elite division with strong combat effectiveness, cohesion and discipline was officially released.
With such 10,000 Mongol warriors, Genghis Khan was able to build his Mongolian iron horse into an indestructible and invincible division that "destroyed the country forty".