Introduction In battle, every role in the Mandarin Duck Formation must fully utilize their trained strengths, and different roles are both complementary and collaborative. Seemingly ordinary moves, when combined with other roles, become powerful weapons. Once an individual leaves the team without support, they are doomed.

I. The Miraculous Qi Family Army Before the Qi Family Army, the Ming army had almost no victories against the Japanese pirates— In 1555, the southeastern coast was frequently invaded by Japanese pirates. A group of about 70 pirates even advanced to Nanjing, the auxiliary capital of the Ming Dynasty, killing or wounding four to five thousand Ming soldiers. Although this group of pirates was eventually eliminated, the Ming army suffered heavy losses. In response, the Fujian governor before Qi Jiguang tried various methods, including recruiting various "masters" to form an army. These included boxers, thugs, salt smugglers, and even monks and Miao people. Their individual abilities were definitely first-rate; it was said that some could wield weapons like a spinning wheel. However, when these masters from different regions fought together, they each fought on their own, believing they were excellent and not cooperating with others. As a result, they were utterly defeated by the pirates.

After the Qi Family Army, the Ming army had almost no defeats against the pirates— In 1559, Qi Jiguang recruited farmers and miners from Yiwu to form the Qi Family Army. By 1563, Qi Jiguang was appointed Fujian governor, and he led the Qi Family Army to completely annihilate the pirates invading Taizhou within a month. The year after the Taizhou victory, the pirates invaded Wenzhou again but were quickly eliminated by the Qi Family Army. From then on, the pirates dared not invade Taizhou again, and the pirate problem in Zhejiang was completely pacified.

Since its formation, the Qi Family Army fought 11 major battles and over 80 minor skirmishes along the southeastern coast. Although the army often attacked, relieved sieges, met the enemy, and pursued, it was never routed in battle. In almost every battle, they annihilated the enemy with very few casualties; the most they ever lost was 69 soldiers. In the battles of Niutian and Wangcangping, the Qi Family Army eliminated over a thousand pirates without losing a single soldier. By the time Qi Jiguang left his post in 1583, the Qi Family Army had defeated over 150,000 enemies in total.

II. Why Was the Qi Family Army Miraculous? Why Were the Pirates Formidable?— In fact, the pirates were not a ragtag group but an organized team. Their strength lay in division of labor and cooperation. This was mainly reflected in the following characteristics: First, high martial arts skills, they could skillfully use double swords; Second, team attacks, the pirates always attacked in groups of squads or platoons; Third, mutual cooperation, the pirates maintained close contact with nearby partners, responding and coordinating in battle; Fourth, unified command and action, their command signal was the folding fan in the hands of the squad or platoon leader. When the two sides engaged, the leader would raise the fan, and their subordinates would point their blades upward. When the enemy's attention was attracted by this action, they would suddenly reverse the blades and strike down. Therefore, the Ming army, which had strong individual abilities but poor teamwork, faced pirates who were not only individually capable but also highly organized. Their advantages were no longer advantages, and their disadvantages became fatal.

Why Was the Qi Family Army Miraculous?— When forming the Qi Family Army, Qi Jiguang not only absorbed the strengths of the pirates but also innovated based on actual conditions. The characteristics of the Qi Family Army: First, strict recruitment of team members. Qi Jiguang set clear requirements for recruiting soldiers: "Only farmers, not city dwellers," and "all those with fair skin, agile eyes, and quick movements" were excluded, because such people were "black sheep." Second, clear division of labor and cooperation. Qi Jiguang invented the "Mandarin Duck Formation" based on the soldiers' characteristics. This formation used 12 people as a basic combat unit, combining long and short weapons in battle, and could change according to terrain and combat needs. Soldiers were trained according to the positioning requirements of the basic combat team, and each soldier only needed to master one move. For example, in the Mandarin Duck Formation, two soldiers holding wolf brush (also known as long spear, with a 5-meter pole, weighing about 8 jin, heavy and cumbersome, with a sharp tip like a spearhead and several layers of multi-bladed branches at the end, dense and sturdy) did not need special skills, only strength. This weapon was also very effective, not only sweeping down enemies but also hiding soldiers. Third, integrated rewards and punishments. Qi Jiguang organized all soldiers into independent combat units of 12, emphasizing unified action of the smallest combat unit. If one person made a mistake, the other team members were also punished; if the battle was successful, all members were rewarded. Fourth, efficient use of resources. At that time, Qi Jiguang had only a few advanced weapons, such as the crouching tiger cannon, which was specifically designed for the pirates. In battle, these effective weapons were assigned to the vanguard troops to ensure an advantage from the start.

III. The Value of Teamwork: Clear Division of Labor, Cooperation for Victory From the Ming army's inability to resist the pirates to the Qi Family Army making the pirates tremble with fear, this fundamental reversal of the situation between enemy and ourselves ultimately came down to different concepts of forming an army—the former relied on capable individuals, the latter on building an efficient team. This is similar to how companies build teams.

Many companies are always thinking about how to "poach" experts and capable people, changing one sales director after another without improving performance. Many bosses complain that employees are incompetent, but when asked what exactly is wrong, they cannot say. From the case of the Qi Family Army, when forming the army, Qi Jiguang recruited farmers and miners, and the reason they were invincible was that Qi Jiguang designed and built a very effective organizational system—the Mandarin Duck Formation—based on the characteristics of the pirates. The greatest advantage of the Mandarin Duck Formation is that there are no "all-rounders" or "masters" in the organization; everyone only needs to learn one move to go to battle, and anyone with a single skill can fight. In battle, every role in the Mandarin Duck Formation must fully utilize their trained strengths, and different roles are both complementary and collaborative. Seemingly ordinary moves, when combined with other roles, become powerful weapons. Once an individual leaves the team without support, they are doomed.

When building a team, companies should design their organizational system and build their team based on the characteristics of their opponents, just like the Qi Family Army. Positions in the team should have clear division of labor and close cooperation. The coordination between different roles is an important guarantee for performance. Especially in today's situation, so-called "all-rounders" are rare and hard to find; companies cannot recruit a group of "martial arts masters." Moreover, the ultimate fate of all-rounders and masters is either to switch jobs or start their own business. Instead of pinning the company's development on one person, it is better to spend time researching how to build a team with collaborative capabilities and win against opponents through teamwork.

Ge Junzhen, MBA from Guanghua School of Management, Peking University, founder of the technical marketing model in the animal protection industry, expert in marketing management practice in agriculture and animal husbandry, chief consultant of Zhenmou Junlue Consulting, vice president of Hebei Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Society, chief consultant of China Poultry Health Network, editorial board member of Today's Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Medicine, and chief trainer of the Egg Chicken Bridge Club.

Source: Zhenmou Junlue (ID: gejunzhenygzt)

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