The wind rises at the end of the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 301 Times
On the school grounds, there were forests of flags, and strong winds blew in, bringing with them countless hunting sounds, which converged into a strong sound like a sea wave.

Chen Wang sat on the high platform, looking towards the direction of the artillery team.

Twenty-two three-pound cannons, seven five-pound cannons, and two seven-pound cannons are lined up in a row, and they have all been set up.

The artillerymen next to the artillery were currently performing calibration work in an orderly manner.

Zhang Ling's seat was placed on the right side of Chen Wang.

Zhang Ling is no stranger to artillery. He has been fighting for a long time.

Zhang Ling couldn't say he knew all of the cannons, ranging from small squatting tiger cannons that could be moved by one person to giant red barbarian cannons that required more than a dozen war horses to drag them. There is absolutely no problem with the artillery.

But these artillery pieces placed on the school grounds now have a strange appearance, whether it is the tractor towing the artillery or the gun mount on which the artillery is mounted.

The shapes of the artillery placed on the strange-looking gun mounts can be vaguely discerned. They look very similar to the shape of the red barbarian artillery, but there are some changes.

Zhang Ling was confused and hesitated for a moment, but finally chose to ask his doubts.

"The artillery under Chen Shuai seems to be very different from the artillery used in other camps and towns. These artillery seem to be the same type of artillery. They look like red barbarian cannons, but they don't look like red barbarian cannons. I wonder if Chen Shuai can Can you tell me what kind of artillery this is?"

The Hongyi cannons currently equipped in the Ming army are imitations of European naval guns, which are front-loading cannons with long barrels and spindle-shaped structures.

In fact, the artillery made by Bo Jue is also a front-loading cannon, but on the original basis, Bo Jue changed the casting process to make it lighter and have a longer range.

At the same time, because of Chen Wang, the artillery in the army is now equipped with the same gun mounts and tractors used by the French artillery during the Napoleonic Wars in the [-]th century.

In order to adapt to the new gun mount and tractor, the appearance of the artillery has naturally changed.

"General Zhang has a keen eye. In fact, these artillery pieces still belong to the category of Hongyi artillery. They are just suitable for combat, so the appearance and shape have been changed."

Chen Wang smiled and explained for Zhang Ling.

"Whether you are facing rogue bandits or northern captives, artillery is crucial."

"Most of the Hongyi artillery used in Liaodong were city defense artillery, which were installed on city walls and towers. Although they were powerful and had an extremely long range, the cannons were heavy and difficult to maneuver, so they could only be used for city defense."

"Jiannu used the red cannon as a weapon to attack the city. After the siege, he pulled the large-caliber red cannon to the bottom of the city and urged the city to break through the wall."

"These are indeed two methods used by Hongyi Cannon."

Chen Wang raised his hand, pointed to the artillery position below, and said.

"But I think the red barbarian cannon can not only be used to defend and siege cities, but also can be used in field battles."

"Except for ambushes, the enemy in the field is mostly a head-on confrontation, with hundreds of people lining up to strangle each other."

"A husband fights, courage also."

"With one shot of the Hongyi Cannon, it can penetrate for a while, just like plowing the ground, making the enemy's heart tremble. You must have seen the battle at Baitu Pass, right?"

Zhang Ling's eyes narrowed slightly, and his mind was drawn into it by Chen Wang's words. He remembered the Battle of Baituguan not long ago.

Dozens of cannons on the wall opened fire in unison, and the shells smashed into the formation of the rogue bandits. The morale of the rogue bandits, who were once at the height of their power, almost fell to the bottom in an instant.

Ma Yuanshan and Ma Yuying, who were sitting on the left side of Chen Wang, also frowned and fell into deep thought.

In the battle of Baituguan, they naturally saw the scene of artillery achievements.

Putting yourself in their shoes, if their army was attacked by artillery, their troops would probably not perform much better than those rogue bandits.

"If the Red Yi Cannon can be used in field battles, it will indeed be of great use. However, the Red Yi Cannon is not easy to transport and deploy. Chen Shuai has not encountered this problem. Could it be that the gun mount and tractor are the solution that Chen Shuai said solve this problem?"

Zhang Ling shifted his gaze and looked towards the school grounds. He knew about the gun mount, but he had never heard of the "tractor" that Chen Wang mentioned.

"exactly."

Chen Wang didn't shy away and nodded straightforwardly.

"Commander Zhang and the two guerrillas should have seen that the war horses were pulling the wheels, and the tractor body was a set of large wheels, which were pulled directly by the war horses."

"The gun mount I designed only needs to lift the rear part that supports the ground, and then it can be mounted directly on the tractor, so that the artillery can be easily towed and transported by war horses."

Whether it is the design of the gun mount or the tractor, they are the configuration and design of the French army during the Napoleonic Wars.

These configurations and designs are the final product of countless skilled craftsmen, a lot of time, and actual combat testing.

The period of the Napoleonic Wars was already at the beginning of the nineteenth century.

It is still only the beginning of the middle of the seventeenth century, and there is nearly 200 years between the two, so they are naturally far ahead.

Zhang Ling just thought about it for a moment, and he already felt the exquisiteness of the design, and couldn't help but admire it.

"Chen Shuai has learned a lot, but he can come up with such an ingenious design. It's really admirable."

Chen Wang smiled indifferently and accepted Zhang Ling's compliment.

"Let's watch the martial arts show first."

Chen Wang raised his hand. Of course he didn't come to the school grounds today just to chat.

As Chen Wang's military order was issued, the flags on the high platform wavered in response, and then a low horn sounded on the school grounds.

The trumpet sound stopped, and the next moment the thunderous drum beat resounded on the school grounds.

More than [-] soldiers in three formations responded to the flags in unison, and countless flags were flying on the vast campus for a while, reflecting each other.

The first to go out was the Sichuan soldiers standing in the far north, the main camp under Zhang Ling.

The servant cavalry under Zhang Ling came out first and galloped back and forth, demonstrating their ability in mounted combat.

Even from Chen Wang's perspective, all the servants and cavalry under Zhang Ling can be called elites, which is no exaggeration compared to the elite servants of the generals in various towns in Liaodong.

Then the following infantry moved forward in formation. They practiced the most commonly used three-stage attack among the southern soldiers. Finally, they practiced the art of combining spears, swords and shields, alternating distance and distance, and using both bows and guns.

Just from the performance of martial arts, it is indeed elite.

Ma Yuanshan and Ma Yuying, who were sitting next to them, also agreed at this time that the Zhengbing camp under Zhang Ling was indeed an elite division.

The Sichuan soldiers finished their martial arts exercise and returned to their original standing positions. Then the soldiers in the second formation came out.

All the local soldiers on the school field were infantry, and what they were practicing was not a grand formation, but a small combined attack formation similar to the mandarin duck formation, and then formed a large formation from the small formations.

Chen Wang's eyes narrowed slightly, a layman watching the excitement, an expert watching the door.

The small combined attack formations practiced by these local soldiers are obviously tactics suitable for mountain warfare, and are used on sloping mountain roads.

The short bows they held had a short range, but their firing speed was extremely fast.

There is indeed a reason why the Tujia Bizka can occupy such a vast area and serve as the pillars of the southwest to stabilize the southwest in the middle and late Ming Dynasty.Chen Wang's eyes turned and passed by Ma Yuanshan and Ma Yuying silently.

When the imperial court recruits native soldiers to fight, it usually directly distributes the general's salary to the local chieftains in one lump sum, and then the chieftains recruit troops to fight on their own. The treatment of the native soldiers is similar to that of the ordinary Ming army.

However, in addition to the allocation of armaments, the imperial court imposed severe restrictions on the native soldiers.

Most officials of the Ming Dynasty despised the native soldiers and treated them as consumables. They also held a contemptuous attitude towards the generals of the native soldiers.

Of course, the local civil servants also held a contemptuous attitude towards ordinary generals, military attachés and soldiers, but this contempt was even greater for the local soldiers.

Chen Wang felt that maybe he could start from these two points.

With his thoughts turning, Chen Wang also made preliminary arrangements for the follow-up matters.

"Di--"

A sharp and harsh horn interrupted Chen Wang's thoughts.

Chen Wang lowered his head slightly and looked at the newly trained infantry headquarters under his command above the school field.

This newly formed infantry thousand headquarters is composed entirely of former veterans. It is also the only thousand headquarters among the five thousand headquarters in the main barracks under Chen Wang that is composed entirely of veterans.

They all wore pointed iron helmets, they all wore cloth-covered armor, they all wore ring-iron armguards, and they all wore sleeve-type spears.

With the beating of the drums, the gunmen of the Eighth Bureau of Hanzhong Army stepped forward in unison. The eight armies moved forward in formation, four formations in front and four formations behind.

There are about 120 soldiers in each formation, each formation has four rows, and each row has more than [-] soldiers.

Chen Wang's eyes were fixed on the troops marching slowly on the school field accompanied by the sound of walking drums.

The Thousand Headquarters under his command are uniformly equipped with Sea Oath muskets equipped with sleeve-type muskets, and adopt new training methods. They can be called line infantry.

Lines were arranged with the purpose of exerting the most intense firepower, and line infantry became the mainstream after the popularization of flintlocks.

The infantry, arranged in a loose formation, was able to find cover and was relatively flexible.

But infantry in loose formation was vulnerable to cavalry and could not hold its position.

Only by forming a group can the infantry be able to deal with the harassment and charge of local cavalry.

"Di--"

The sharp trumpet sound sounded again, and the step drum stopped in response.

On the school field, the artillerymen of the eight Hanzhong Army stopped in unison.

The moment the four Hanzhong Army musketry soldiers at the front stopped, all the musketeers in the first row knelt on the ground and raised the muskets in their hands forward.

Then the three rows of gun soldiers stood staggered, and the gun soldiers of the fourth round, with nearly five hundred sea-sworn guns, all pointed in front of them.

The cold light of a bayonet reflected in the military formation. On the high platform, all the observing generals subconsciously held their breath and concentrated, and were moved by it.

"He is truly a master of tigers and wolves!"

Zhang Ling was shocked. The soldiers under Chen Wang followed orders and prohibitions without hesitation, but their skills were already more elite than the regular soldiers under his command.

When everything was silent, a sharp swan sound was like a big stone smashing into a calm pool, stirring up countless waves.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!!"

The school grounds were filled with gunpowder smoke, and the deafening sound of gunfire was overwhelming in an instant.

The orange-red flames shot out by the cannon are dazzling and terrifying, just like the flames spit out by a fire dragon.

Thick white gunpowder smoke rose up, covering the entire front line in an instant.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!!"

"Bang! Bang! Bang!!"

The sound of the cannons was continuous, and the roar was like thunder, one after another.

The gunshots were fired one after another, and the fire in front of the formation was connected into one.

A group of Hanzhong army gun soldiers performing martial arts were holding the latest sea-sworn guns. These sea-sworn guns were all flintlock rifles that had been improved by Bo Jue.

The long-term training made them extremely familiar with everything about loading. They loaded the guns in their hands mechanically without any panic.

The fixed-loading paper cartridge ammunition used makes them load and fire much faster.

Four columns of gunmen fired at each other without any confusion.

The crackling sound of the muskets lasted twelve times before finally stopping.

On the high platform, Zhang Ling, Ma Yuanshan and Ma Yuying all looked solemnly, staring at the eight formations of Hanzhong Army gunners on the school field.

Twelve gunshots were fired, and the interval between each gunshot was only a few breaths. He knew exactly what this meant.

And the most important thing is that the gun soldiers are close to each other and arranged extremely closely.

You can imagine what kind of blow someone would suffer if they dared to face the assault gun array directly.

When the smoke cleared, more than a thousand soldiers of the Hanzhong Army had finished their martial arts performance.

These twelve bursts of gunshots were enough to declare force, and Chen Wang did not think of displaying the rest of the tactics in one go.

As the horn sounded, more than a thousand gunmen of the Hanzhong Army retreated into the formation.

Most people have not yet recovered from the shock, but the artillerymen of the Han Chinese Army on the school field are already busy.

More than 31 artillerymen stood beside the 160 artillery pieces.

They had already finished loading the artillery, and all the artillerymen were ready for the next step.

As the command flag was waved, 31 artillery pieces let out their roars one after another.

If the sound of the cannons fired before was like thunder, then the sound of more than 30 artillery pieces firing in unison can only be described as a landslide and earthquake.

Thirty-one shells flew hundreds of steps, smashing into pieces the temporary wooden target building that had been erected on the east side of the school ground not long ago.

The same three rounds of salvos were fired. When the smoke dissipated and the gunfire stopped, the ground to the east of the entire school grounds was already in a mess.

The originally solid loess soil had been plowed out with traces, and there were also many small holes made by the impact of the cannonballs.

Everything returned to calm again, and the school grounds were extremely silent, but everyone's moods could no longer be calm.

(End of this chapter)