1635 Han style rises again

Chapter 741 Chrysanthemum and Sword ([-])

On April 4, at 14:[-] in the morning, southwest of Aira Town, there was a light breeze.

The head coach of the Satsuma army, the elder Shimadzu Hisaichi stared at the blood-red eyes, and carefully observed the Qi army with a tight formation on the opposite side.The opponent didn't seem to be equipped with cold weapons such as knives or guns. They were all iron guns, with the muzzle facing up, placed on the ground, standing quietly in the rice field.The entire military formation was silent, row by row, row by row, orderly.Although there are only more than [-] people, it gives people a sense of coercion with thousands of troops.

"The formations of the Qi army are all made of iron guns, and there are also iron cannons arranged on the high ground in front of us. It is beneficial to attack from a distance when we engage in battle. In this way, our army must approach the enemy as quickly as possible, disrupt the opponent's formation, and then the whole army Assault, be surrounded and killed." Hideyuki Shimadzu suggested: "Although there is a wooden repelling horse in front, as long as we advance resolutely and pay certain casualties, these obstacles will not stop us from attacking."

"My lord, I would like to lead the vanguard, launch an attack first, and open up a path for the army to charge." Kensuke Ikemoto, who was the vanguard, also called for the battle loudly.Just now when he was fighting with the hunters of the Qi army, he was shot by the opponent with a musket and killed more than forty loyal warriors from a distance, but his own side failed to kill one of the opponent, which made him extremely angry.

"If we have a cavalry used here, it will be enough to break through the opponent's formation, and then the main force will surely defeat the Qi army by rushing forward." Shimadzu Jiutong secretly thought.

"Chiben, have you checked the surrounding mountains carefully?"

"The humble job has sent people to conduct a careful search within a few miles of the surrounding mountains, and there is no ambush army hidden in it." Ikemoto Kensuke said: "As for the enemy's rear, due to the opponent's tight military strength, it was not possible to break in and investigate one or two. But As far as the field of vision is concerned, it doesn't look like there are back-up ambushes."

"The army rests temporarily, replenishes water, and waits for orders." Shimadzu Hisaichi nodded, and then ordered.

Seeing this, Shimadzu Hideyuki wanted to say something, but was stopped by a trusted samurai next to him, and then gestured to the queue.

When Hisazu Shimadzu gave the order to take a temporary rest, except for the forward troops who were on alert, the rest of the soldiers sat down on the ground somewhat limply, and then took out cold rice balls from their arms, and swallowed hard. swallowing.The one-night march made all the soldiers feel exhausted. If it weren't for the suppression of warriors at all levels, those farmers and untouchables who had only undergone military training for a month or two would have just lay down and fell asleep on the road.

However, the soldiers of the Satsuma army had just sat down, and before the rice ball took a bite, they suddenly heard the sound of drums and horns from the opposite side, and saw the officers and soldiers of the Qi army standing solemnly, carrying muskets on their shoulders, singing to the accompaniment of the sound of drums and horns. Stepping down, walking towards the Satsuma army position with neat steps.On both sides of the queue, several 3-pound cannons were also dragged and pushed forward by the gunners.

Well, Qi Jun actually wants to take the initiative to attack!
Shimadzu Hisaichi and several Satsuma generals couldn't help but look at each other. The opponent's strength was less than half of theirs, but they brazenly launched an attack on them.

Is it arrogance?
Or do you have something else?
"The whole army stops resting and is on alert for battle!" Hisazu Shimadzu ordered loudly: "Ishiwa, lead the archers out of the two towns (an ancient Japanese length unit, 1 town is 60 rooms, about 109.09 meters), Hisada, The shield leaders cover in front of the formation, Yancheng, and the spearmen of the left army guard the two wings."

"My lord, I heard that in the Battle of Sekigahara decades ago, the large shield could not stop the shooting of the iron gun at all." A banner samurai whispered beside Shimadzu Hisatsutsu: "So, send out the shield hand and fight with the formation. It's useless to fight ahead."

"As long as the archers feel safe and can stably output feather arrows to disrupt the enemy's attack formation, that's enough." Shimadzu Hisaichi said coldly: "Order the right army and the former army's ashigaru generals , ready to launch an assault at any time."

The speed of the Qi army was not fast. Accompanied by the sound of drums and horns, the officers and soldiers stepped on the drums and advanced slowly.The entire queue is in a standard company-level horizontal formation, consisting of about 100 soldiers. The No.1 soldier in the first row is a sergeant, responsible for maintaining the discipline of the first row and serving as the coordinates of the first row. The rest of the soldiers in the row are ordinary Soldiers; the No.1 soldier in the second row is a junior officer, that is, behind the sergeant in the previous row, and the rest of the soldiers in the row are also ordinary soldiers; the same is true for the third row.Officers at the battalion and company level are located in the middle of the formation, and most of the other officers and sergeants in the company are located directly behind the formation. They are responsible for reorganizing the formation, gathering the formation, and maintaining discipline. They are called "cohort gatherers".

A tall sergeant held a red and yellow dragon flag in both hands, and walked in the forefront of the team, responsible for guiding the formation forward. Behind him were two substitute flag bearers, with short knives under their waists, marching in a high-spirited manner.

When the entire army marched for a distance of more than [-] meters, it stopped for a while, and under the order of the officer, it sorted out its formation, and then continued to advance.

When approaching the Satsuma Army more than 250 meters away, the team stopped again, and then bayonets were placed on the gun heads. Under the sun, the whole team shone with dazzling light.

"The iron blunderbusses of the Qi army can actually be equipped with blunderbuss swords!" Satsuma Army commander Shimazu Hisutsu suddenly felt a little uneasy in his heart. ability, which made the Satsuma army's attempt to quickly break into the Qi army's formation and defeat the opponent with the advantage of hand-to-hand combat completely bankrupt.

"However, we still have a numerical advantage." Shimadzu Hisaichi looked at the open field, and the enemy's ambush army should not be hidden within a few miles.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!..." After several 3-pound cannons in the Qi army's array were hastily put in place, they couldn't wait to start bombarding the Satsuma army.

The fast-attacking projectiles whizzed into the Satsuma army formation. However, because both sides were in the soft soil field, the shelling effect was not good. After hitting several people, the shells only bounced slightly twice before sinking into the soil Among them, the kinetic energy is lost.

The young drummer Tian Jiaqi was beating the drum with both hands, his eyes were on the Satsuma army array that was close at hand, and his heart was beating wildly.Through the gaps in the opponent's large shields, he could already clearly see several rows of archers standing there, all of them staring like wolves on the vital points of his body. The feather arrow will shoot itself into a hedgehog.

He was a recruit who only joined the army last year. He was designated as a drummer because he was relatively thin and young.He felt that at this moment, his legs were getting heavier and heavier, his hands were a little out of control, and the drumbeat seemed to be beating a little messily.An old soldier next to him turned his head and gave him a hard look, warning him to pay attention to the rhythm of the drum.

As the drum and trumpeter of the army, the casualty rate is relatively low. When the two armies meet, the enemy generally only focuses on attacking the soldiers in the front row and the flag bearers.When the whole army assaulted, the combat mission of the drummer and the trumpeter would naturally stop, and the many staff officers with the army were reduced to a reserve force.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!..." More than 100 hunters crossed the queue holding sniper rifles (Mini guns), and began to kill the Satsuma soldiers in the front line in skirmish mode.Those thick large shields were not enough to block the flying projectiles. Instead, when the projectiles penetrated the wooden shields one after another, the sawdust brought up left bloody mouths on the faces of the Samo soldiers behind them.

"Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!..." Some Satsuma army archers ignored the shouts of the warriors who supervised the formation, and let go of the bowstrings in their hands. Dozens of feathered arrows fell softly before flying to the front of the Qi army formation. on the ground.This made the drummer Tian Jiaqi heave a sigh of relief, dragged his heavy steps, beat the drums, and continued to move forward slowly.

It has to be said that the fighting will of the Satsuma army on the opposite side is still relatively tenacious. Several 3-pound artillery in the formation have already bombarded for two rounds. Apart from being a little chaotic at the beginning, the opponent's formation has maintained a relatively strict formation for the next time .Of course, it is also related to the terrain here. In the soft rice fields, there are very few chances of ricochets, so that the damage to the Satsuma soldiers is really limited.

"Standing!"

When they were only 80 meters away from the Satsuma Army, the queue shouted loudly at the officer's ground and stopped.

"First row, kneeling! Raise your gun!"

"Second row, half squat! Raise your gun!"

"Third column, raise your gun!"

"preparation!"

"put!……"

"Bang! Bang! Bang!..." The officers and soldiers of the three platoons fired their muskets for the first time, and then they lowered their bodies and ran towards the rear from both sides.

More than 300 guns formed a dense barrage and swept across the Satsuma army array violently. A row of soldiers with large shields in front grunted and fell to the ground. The archers behind suddenly lost the cover of their shields and became somewhat at a loss.

"Column four, get ready!"

"Let it go!" The officer on the right swung down the command saber in his hand.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!..."

"Let the arrows! Let the arrows!..." Gentaro Ishiwata, the general of the Satsuma army, roared loudly.

The Qi army's first round of shooting with iron guns wiped out the front row of shields and cut off a thin layer of archers, causing a burst of confusion in the team.

When the second round of iron guns was fired, dozens of people fell down in the formation, which made Ishiwa Gentaro terrified, and hurriedly ordered the archers to release feather arrows.I still remember those senior samurai who participated in the Battle of Sekigahara said that the shooting distance of the iron gun was only about 20 (an ancient Japanese length unit, 1 room is about 1.8 meters).However, the shooting range of the Qi army's iron guns is far more than 40, and its power is much greater than that of bows and arrows.

"I bet that the Satsuma army will collapse after six to eight rounds of shooting." Cao Guangsheng, the commander of the second battalion and Lieutenant Xuanjie (Major), turned his head and said loudly to his deputy.

"That's not necessarily the case." Deputy Battalion Commander and Yuwu Xiaowei (captain) Shi Wanbao stared at the smoky position ahead, "During the attack on Ryukyu, those Satsuma troops all resisted to the end, and almost none surrendered."

"How many troops does Satsuma have in total? I don't believe that all his troops will stick to the last moment like those Satsuma soldiers guarding the Ryukyu." Cao Guangsheng's eyes were a little stern, "Look, the other party only needs casualties If it reaches [-]%, it will definitely collapse. Especially, the opponent has no artillery or muskets. If even the archers are killed, they can only be beaten passively!"

"Boom! Boom! Boom!..." More land artillery was pushed to the front, and many gunners even shot out the more precious explosive shells directly in order to pursue the effect of killing the enemy, trying to rely on the power of artillery, Break up the Satsuma army array.

The Satsuma army began to waver. Some farmers and untouchables who had been forcibly recruited saw the fierce firepower ahead and the soldiers who kept falling down. They uttered a cry, dropped the bamboo spears and wooden spears in their hands, and turned their heads and fled backwards. .

"Bastard!... Don't retreat!" The samurai in charge of the formation swung a long knife and slashed at the fleeing soldiers, trying to prevent the team from collapsing.

"The whole army charges!" Satsuma army commander Shimadzu Hisamitsu saw that the Satsuma soldiers in the front line were constantly falling to the ground under the continuous shooting of the iron guns from the opponent. Order.If they can fight together with the Qi army, the opponent's iron guns will definitely be useless, and the Satsuma army can defeat the opponent through the advantage of numbers.

However, the entire Satsuma army formation was already in chaos. The former soldiers began to collapse under the fire of muskets. Pushing forward with all their strength, the whole team suddenly became a mess.

"Attack forward!" He Yunfeng, the commander-in-chief of the coalition forces, put down his binoculars and ordered to the combat staff next to him.

After several trumpeters received the order, they immediately blew the trumpets with a more lively rhythm.

Hearing the sound of the horn, the officers and soldiers of the Marine Corps who had finished shooting in the front row no longer turned around and ran back, but loaded ammunition on the spot. Commanded, the trigger was pulled one by one.The whole team began to roll forward slowly, making the array closer to the Samo army.

Hideyuki Shimadzu swung his knife and knocked down several fleeing Satsuma soldiers. Then, against the flow of people, he walked quickly and rushed to the front of the formation. He suddenly found that the Qi army had approached to a distance of less than 40 meters from the Satsuma army. He clearly saw the cold eyes of the soldiers in black military uniforms, then mechanically raised their muskets, a burst of gunpowder smoke rose, and then they heard the sound of gunfire like fried beans.

"what!"

"what!"

"..."

Shimadzu Hideyuki took a step back subconsciously, and was shocked to see the Satsuma soldiers who kept falling to the ground beside him, shuddered all over, and were about to turn their heads and flee backwards.

"Onboard!..." Suddenly, several brave warriors rushed out of the formation, brandishing long knives, and charged the Qi army.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!..." There was a burst of gunfire, and the passionate shouting stopped abruptly. Dozens of Satsuma soldiers fell to the ground beside them, and everyone started to run backwards.

Shimadzu Hideyuki felt a piercing pain in his lower buttocks (buttocks), and immediately realized that he had been hit by a musket, but he endured the pain, pushed away several soldiers who were blocking the way, and ran back with all his strength.

At this time, the dedication of the samurai, the honor of the Shimadzu clan, and the prosperity of the martial arts of the Satsuma domain were all abandoned.

In the face of the long-range intensive firepower output of the Qi army, it is impossible to defeat them only with the samurai sword in hand.In this era, perhaps personal bravery will no longer be the decisive force to dominate the battlefield. In front of the opponent's firearms, all warriors seem so vulnerable.

"Beep beep... beep beep..." There was a loud, melodious and urgent charge horn behind him. Although Hideyuki Shimadzu didn't understand why, when he heard the sound of the horn, his heart suddenly tightened, and the sound under his feet The pace couldn't help but speed up a little bit.

He must flee back to Kagoshima and tell his elder brother everything here. Facing the sharp firearms of the Qi army, the Satsuma clan is invincible. Only by sticking to the city, may there be a chance of victory.

In a vast wilderness, countless Satsuma soldiers dropped their weapons one after another, ran wildly, and fled in all directions.

(End of this chapter)