Eagle-eyed and wolf-watching

Chapter 1599 Inspecting the military camp!

June 1, Yijingliang Town Camp
Greeted by more than ten generals headed by Zhang Gongyi, the general of Yijing, Ye Mingsheng, dressed in military uniform, accompanied by Chief of Staff Zhao Han, Deputy Chief Ma Zhongjun and hundreds of others, arrived at the most important military base around Yijing.
As an emperor who relied on military force to ascend to the throne, Ye Mingsheng also knew the importance of the army. So every few months, Ye Mingsheng would come to Liangzhen Camp to take a look and inspect, communicate with the soldiers in the camp, listen to everyone's ideas, any difficulties at home, etc.!
Because Ye Mingsheng was not arrogant during the inspection and his attitude was relatively friendly, coupled with some deliberate publicity, Ye Mingsheng's image in the army was still very good. Many soldiers were looking forward to seeing the emperor and talking to him.
On the surface, Ye Mingsheng's inspection of the Liangzhen Camp today was no different from the previous inspections, but soon someone with sharp eyes discovered that behind Ye Mingsheng, in addition to important figures such as Chief of Staff Zhao Han, Deputy Minister Ma Zhongjun, and Imperial Guard Commander Ye Kui, there was also a small figure in the same military uniform!
This small figure is a little boy who looks about eight or nine years old. Although his face is very childish, he is nearly five feet tall. Sitting on a tall horse, wearing cotton armor, he is looking around with curious eyes. His chubby appearance is out of tune with the solemn atmosphere in the military camp...

While some middle and low-level soldiers in the military camp were still curious about who this child was, the generals in the Liangzhen camp were immediately surprised to see the child. However, because Ye Mingsheng did not say anything, everyone pretended not to know.

As in his usual inspections, Ye Mingsheng first gave a brief speech to the tens of thousands of officers and soldiers who had assembled, and then began the review. After the review began, Zhang Gongyi, the general of Yijing, also glanced at his good friend Zheng Jinshan, the general of the Fourth Division.

Although Zhang Gongyi didn't say anything, as a friend of many years, Zheng Jinshan immediately understood his friend's eyes. He took advantage of the gap when Ye Mingsheng was inspecting in front and found the Deputy Chief of Staff Ma Zhongjun behind him.

"Sir, does His Majesty have any plans for bringing His Royal Highness the Crown Prince here today?" Zheng Jinshan asked in a low voice:

Ma Zhongjun glanced at this former subordinate, and then looked again at the little figure who was looking around behind Ye Mingsheng. He wanted to say something, but in the end he could only swallow it, and finally he could only say to Zheng Jinshan:
'Do your own thing!'

After that, Ma Zhongjun no longer paid attention to Zheng Jinshan, and followed Ye Mingsheng forward, looking at Ma Zhongjun's back. Zheng Jinshan was a little confused for a while, not knowing what was going on.

While these Daqian generals were speculating on why Ye Mingsheng brought Crown Prince Ye Jingren to Liangzhen to win the battle, Ye Mingsheng and his son Ye Jingren, who were the instigators, were carefully observing the training of the soldiers...

"Dad, why are these soldiers running around here? Just like you are in the Imperial Garden?"

Facing his son's question, Ye Mingsheng patiently explained:

"Running helps to exercise your body, improve your endurance, speed, and explosive power. Keep running is very beneficial to your body!"

"The army often needs to be mobilized according to changes in the battlefield situation. It is common to march dozens of miles a day. In a war, if a unit arrives one day or even one hour earlier, it may determine the outcome of a battle, or even the survival of a country!"

"So running training is very important. It is also one of the core training subjects of our Daqian Army. In addition to festivals, extreme weather, and combat situations, these soldiers must do running training every day. They must run at least six miles a day!"

Hearing Ye Mingsheng say this, Jingren said with some surprise:

“Is running training so important?”

"Of course!"

Ye Mingsheng took a look at Jingren's belly, patted Jingren's abdomen and said:
"When you have time, Jingren, you should also go for a run! Exercise your body!"

Hearing his father say this, Jingren looked a little embarrassed, and subconsciously touched his belly. Perhaps because he inherited Ye Mingsheng's foodie genes, Jingren is also a foodie. He loves meat and eats at least two bowls of meat for one meal!
Fortunately, Ye Mingsheng is the emperor and his family has no worries about food. Otherwise, if he were an ordinary person, his family would probably be destitute because of Jingren, Jingcheng and other children...

Jingren's attention was quickly attracted by the crowd in another area of ​​the parade ground, and he immediately spoke with some curiosity:

"Dad, what are they doing climbing up and down the ladder?"

Ye Mingsheng also looked over when he heard this, and then he began to speak:
"They are conducting assault training!"

"Attack training? Are you training to siege a city?"

Ye Mingsheng nodded slightly and said:

"Siege is only one type of siege training. In addition to siege warfare, these soldiers also have to train in siege warfare and mountain siege warfare. During the war, when both sides are resting, they will form camps to serve as fortifications!"

"In the plains, we mainly dig trenches and set up chevaux de frise to prevent the enemy from rushing into the camp. But now, in order to prevent artillery fire, the camp will dig a lot of fortifications and hide in them when it is bombarded!"

"In hilly areas, setting up camp requires more knowledge. You have to rely on the terrain to defend yourself!"

"There are many cities and camps in the Central Plains, so siege training is essential. Practice more now so that less blood will be shed in future battles!"

Hearing Ye Mingsheng mention the artillery, Jingren asked curiously:

"Dad! Is the cannon very powerful?"

"Very big! Artillery is called the king of war in the West, especially the heavy artillery, which is an important force influencing the war situation. A heavy artillery can really make a crater, and if it hits a person, it will really smash him to pieces. We in Daqian have also vigorously developed artillery and invested a lot of manpower and material resources for this!"

Seeing Ye Mingsheng describe the artillery so powerfully, Jingren's eyes became brighter and brighter. He raised his head and looked at Ye Mingsheng seriously and said:
"Father, I want to see the power of artillery!"

Hearing Jingren's question, Ye Mingsheng also joked:
"Jingren, if you want to see the power of artillery, you have to ask General Zhang if he is willing to arrange it for you..."

Zhang Gongyi, who was standing by, heard what Ye Mingsheng said and immediately spoke up:
"It is an honor for the officers and soldiers of Liang Town that His Royal Highness is willing to observe the artillery drill. I will arrange it right away."

Ye Mingsheng nodded slightly upon hearing this, and Zhang Gongyi had no concerns at all, so he immediately went down to make arrangements. A moment later, Zhang Gongyi organized an artillery drill, and Ye Mingsheng brought Jingren to an artillery position. Zhang Gongyi personally explained to Jingren what type of artillery there was, what caliber it was, and how far it could fire.

Jingren listened to Zhang Gongyi's introduction with great interest. Ye Mingsheng was a little surprised to see this. Jingren has been playful since he was a child and has a lazy and Buddhist mentality. He has no interest in fighting and killing. Ye Mingsheng never thought that he would be interested in artillery.

Because the role of the Liangzhen camp is to defend the capital, there are enough artillery in the camp with a relatively complete range of models. It took Zhang Gongyi nearly an incense stick of time to finish the brief introduction.

After listening to the introduction, Jingren asked Zhang Gongyi expectantly:
"General Zhang, can you fire a cannon for me to see?"

"Your Highness, it's all right! Your Majesty, please move with me!"

"Move? Can't I watch from here?"

Ye Mingsheng interrupted with a smile:
"There are heavy artillery here. A shot would make a loud noise and could easily shock you!"

Hearing Ye Mingsheng say this, Jingren looked at Zhang Gongyi with some doubt, and Zhang Gongyi nodded and said:

"Your Majesty is right. These are heavy artillery. If you are not trained, it is easy to get a headache if you are hit by one shot..."

Seeing Zhang Gongyi say this, Jingren followed closely and walked to a high platform behind Ye Mingsheng. Standing on the platform, Ye Mingsheng picked up a pair of binoculars and looked at the target position several miles away. There were many red flags and some defensive fortifications.

The reason why Ye Mingsheng allowed Zhang Gongyi to arrange an artillery drill for Jingren was, on the one hand, to fulfill Jingren's wish, and on the other hand, Ye Mingsheng also wanted to see how the Daqian army was currently using artillery. After all, in the current war mode, artillery is the biggest killing weapon!
One of the important reasons why Ye Mingsheng was able to lead the Fengwu Army to conquer the world was that the Fengwu Army had more firearms, especially artillery, than the enemy, and a more sufficient supply of artillery shells than the enemy. The Fengwu Army could use massive artillery shells to smash the enemy to death!
Precisely because he had tasted the sweetness of cannons, Ye Mingsheng also tried his best to develop artillery, so Ye Mingsheng also wanted to see how much results he had achieved with his huge investment.

Under the expectant gazes of Ye Mingsheng and Jingren, father and son, Zhang Gongyi personally ordered to open fire. Although Ye Mingsheng and Jingren, father and son, had already moved away from the artillery position, as the order to open fire was given, the cannons began to roar, and a rumbling sound could still be heard in the ears of the two men.

A moment later, dust flew up at the target position. When the dust settled, Ye Mingsheng observed through a telescope that most of the red flags at the target position had been destroyed, and one-third of the fortifications had been affected...

Seeing such results, Ye Mingsheng nodded with satisfaction, and then brought Jingren and others to the target position that was bombarded. Looking at the devastation on the ground, Jingren was so shocked that he couldn't close his mouth!

After observing the extent of the destruction of the fortifications, Ye Mingsheng also gave Jingren a scientific explanation:

"Jingren, let me tell you that no matter how many types of artillery there are, there are actually some particular types of artillery shells!"

"There are mainly three types of shells equipped in our Daqian artillery!"

"The first type is the iron shell. This type of shell does not contain gunpowder and is mainly made of iron. This type of shell is mainly used to penetrate fortifications, such as city walls. It has limited lethality to ordinary soldiers!"

"The second type is shotgun shells. These are large cannonballs filled with several kilograms of lead and iron pellets. This type of shell will basically do no harm to city walls or camps, but it will leave a bloody hole when it hits a person. So this type of shell is mainly used to kill soldiers!"

"If this kind of shotgun shells are fired at a densely populated enemy, dozens of them could fall in a pool of blood! Back in Yongliang, I saw with my own eyes that a single shotgun shell turned seven or eight Cuman cavalrymen, along with their horses, into a pool of blood!"

"The third type of shell is the shrapnel shell. This type of ammunition contains gunpowder. When it explodes, shrapnel scatters like flowers blooming, hence the name shrapnel shell. This type of shrapnel shell has the advantages of both iron shells and shotgun shells. It can be used to destroy fortifications and also to kill enemies..."

"But this type of shrapnel shell is not without disadvantages. Because there is gunpowder in the projectile, the burst rate is relatively high when firing this type of shrapnel shell. Our Daqian craftsmen kept debugging and improving it, and finally lost two lives. After improving the shells, the burst rate was reduced!"

Speaking of this, Ye Mingsheng couldn't help but recall the past years, his expression became a little emotional, and finally asked Jingren:

"Jingren, guess what kind of shell was used just now?"

Hearing Ye Mingsheng ask this, Jingren, who had just been listening to Ye Mingsheng's story with great interest, immediately looked a little confused. Under the gaze of Ye Mingsheng and the people around him, Jingren also became nervous. After hesitating, he said carefully:

"Blooming bomb?"

Although Jingren gave the correct answer, seeing how unconfident he was, Ye Mingsheng felt a little helpless but still encouraged him:

"Jingren, you're right! Look at those black marks under your feet. They were caused by the explosion. So the shells fired just now were shrapnel shells. Only shrapnel shells can leave such marks!"

After saying this, Ye Mingsheng looked at Zhang Gongyi and praised him:

"Your artillery is very accurate! Well done! I was not wrong about you!"

Hearing Ye Mingsheng's praise, Zhang Gongyi smiled but still said modestly:
"It's all thanks to your Majesty's divine protection! Today's artillery fire was so accurate..."

At this moment, Jingren pointed to the undestroyed red flags and fortifications nearby and said somewhat inappropriately:
"Dad! Aren't there still targets there that haven't been destroyed? Does this count as a good shot?"

(End of this chapter)