I am Emperor Wanli

Chapter 516: Someone is arguing on the way west
Hu Zongmei climbed up quickly.

Fortunately, he studied in the Imperial College for a year.

In that year, because of the same teaching philosophy as Yinian Public School, "strong physique, firm will, and rich knowledge", the Imperial College also invited military academies to serve as instructors and trained the students of the Imperial College as non-commissioned officers.

When the bugle sounded, we had to get up and take ten minutes to get dressed and wash up.

You must gather at the playground in ten minutes.

Sometimes there were inhumane emergency assemblies at night, with everyone gathering in the playground within three minutes.

This is when new clothing shows its advantages.

Just put on your shirt, pull up your pants, step on your boots, put on your coat, fasten your belt and put on your hat. It's quick and neat.

If it's old-fashioned clothes, it would take longer than this.

Today is the day of departure. Hu Zongmei rolled up his bedding into a flower-like shape, tied it with two cloth straps, stuffed the odds and ends into a leather backpack, and then hung the flower-like bedding horizontally on the top of the backpack.

Wearing a gray military uniform of the first year of the Longqing reign, equipped with a Jiajing type 46 pistol and an ammunition box, a narrower version of the Xiuchun sword, and a backpack, Hu Zongmei rushed out of the room and dormitory door and stood on the playground with the crowd.

It was daybreak, the east was bright blue, the rest of the sky was dark blue. Human figures could already be seen, and when you got closer you could make out their faces clearly.

There was a sound of chaotic and hurried footsteps on the playground.

After a while, the assembly bugle sounded, and the sound of counting rose and fell from all over the playground.

"one two Three!"

Then there were the sounds of officers reporting to the officer on duty.

"There should be 167 people in the logistics department, and there are actually 167 people."

"There should be 172 people at the General Staff Office, and there are actually 172 people."

"There should be 131 people at the Military Court, and there are actually 131 people."

"There should have been 153 people present at the Xuanzang Office, and there were actually 153 people present."

After the number of people in each department of the Dusi Command is reported, the officer on duty reports to the Dusi Commander in charge.

After verifying the number of people in each department, the commander-in-chief issued the order.

"Everyone, join the team according to the regulations and set off immediately!"

The General Staff Office had already been informed yesterday about how to join the team. Hu Zongmei followed the staff officers and non-commissioned officers of the General Staff Office, carrying backpacks and luggage, and lined up to the assembly point.

It was very empty here, and under the blue dawn sky, it seemed endless.

There were horses and carriages everywhere, as well as people moving among them, and the human figures were like schools of small fish swimming among the coral reefs.

The non-commissioned officers worked together to move the documents and equipment of the General Staff Office to the numbered carriages. Maps, desks, pens, ink, paper, tents.
An expedition is like a great migration.

After the things were placed on the carriage, the chief staff officer of the General Staff Office, together with the sergeant major, walked around the carriage several times and checked carefully several times. Only after finding that everything was correct did they nod with satisfaction and leave.

Hu Zongmei and other staff officers received their own mounts. They hung their backpacks and luggage on both sides of the saddles, held the reins and bridles, and waited for the order to set off.

When the bugle sounded, most of the non-commissioned officers, carrying their muskets, got on the carriages. They were not only assistants and students of the staff officers, but also guards of the staff office.

There were also some non-commissioned officers, such as sergeants and major sergeants, who carried muskets on their backs and, like Hu Zongmei and other staff officers, they pulled the saddle bridge and climbed onto their mounts.

The crisp sound of whips rang out, the packhorses neighed, and the carriages started one after another. Amid the rumbling sound, they merged into a stream of cars. Hu Zongmei rode his horse beside the cars, and together they left the parade ground and went out of the west gate along the street.

The morning sun suddenly jumped out from the horizon, and its brilliant light spread all over the earth.

On the grassland outside Xinghua City, the mountains and plains were filled with people, horses and carts.

Half the regiment was in high-wheeled carriages, and the other half on horseback.

Four, six, and eight-horse carriages formed a stream of vehicles that snaked off into the distance, some of them towing field guns.

Tens of thousands of people rode on horses, accompanying the traffic on both sides, like a string of waves on a river, extending forward.
The morning sun shone on people's backs, military caps, flags, wheels, cannons, and horses' necks, reflecting spots of light like rippling waves on the surface of a rushing river.

The eight infantry regiments, some sitting in carriages and some riding on horses, formed four long dragons and headed westward.

When he arrived at the old city of Kaiping, Hu Zongmei saw an endless number of cavalry gathered on the grassland on the right.

Once there are more than ten thousand people, there is no limit.

Twenty-one thousand Mongolian Left Wing Guard cavalrymen were ordered to report here.

The army stayed here for a day. Qi Jiguang gathered the six wing commanders, including Dong Huli, Marquis of Doyan, Ge Zhiwen, Marquis of Taining, and others. He assigned them combat tasks, agreed on contact methods, and then dispatched a group of liaison staff officers as usual.

On the third day after leaving Xinghua City, the army set out again.

Hu Zongmei, who was in the infantry team, accidentally discovered that in the marching cavalry team on the right, he could see herds of cattle and sheep, as well as hundreds of high-wheeled covered carts, which were the food and supplies of the Wing Guard Army.

In the following days, we would get up upon hearing the military bugle call, assemble for roll call, eat breakfast, take a rest, and then mount our horses and march forward with the team.

They had one meal at noon and one meal at night, and then several people squeezed into a tent and went to sleep when they heard the call.

During the journey, Hu Zongmei loved to brag and chat with his comrades, talking about everything under the sun.

"Our infantry regiment, according to the Hongwu Military Academy, is called the Mobile Infantry Regiment. It's all about three things: observation, speed, and fierce attack!
Observation is the job of the reconnaissance team and the intelligence department, and speed is very important. We now have a large number of horses, and we have the two major industrial centers of Luanzhou and Taiyuan, which manufacture high-wheeled carriages, which are both good and numerous.

So our infantry are now sitting in carriages, riding war horses, and moving quickly."

Another staff officer couldn't help but say: "If our infantrymen ride on horses, wouldn't they become cavalry? Why are we still called infantrymen?"

Someone is arguing! Good arguing!
Once you finish lifting this pole, you can call it a day. Sometimes you can't finish lifting this pole in one day, you have to continue lifting, and there will be work to do tomorrow or the day after tomorrow.

"Of course they are called infantry! The fighting methods of cavalry and infantry are completely different. You can't say that anyone riding a horse is cavalry.

The real cavalry is like the Xiongnu, Xianbei, and Mongolians, who gather and disperse, are erratic, have strong mobility, and can drive their mounts to charge into the army formation. "

He immediately argued with the staff officer, "Aren't we all fighting on horseback? Why can't we call them cavalry?"

"Of course they can't be called cavalry. They can only be called infantry riding around on horses. The two have different ways of fighting!"

"What's the difference?"

Hu Zongmei immediately replied: "Historical records show that Emperor Wu of Han spent ten years accumulating war horses and finally gathered 100,000 war horses to form a 140,000-man cavalry. 140,000 people, 100,000 horses, each person can only get one horse, how can you dare to call it cavalry?

Besides, the infantry before had armor, swords, axes, spears, as well as food and supplies. A horse carried more than 100 kilograms of people, as well as 100 kilograms of armor and food. How many kilograms did the horse itself weigh?
"How can you travel 500 miles a day, turn as fast as the wind, and throw yourself into battle as soon as you get to the battlefield? Even a Ferghana horse can't do that!"

The staff officers around nodded one after another.

He continued to argue with the staff officer, "So what do you think a real cavalry should be like?"

Hu Zongmei said: "The Cavalry Department of Xishan Military Academy has done research and found that the payload of an ordinary warhorse cannot exceed one-fifth of its own weight."

"What do you mean?"

"An ordinary warhorse, such as a Mongolian horse weighing between 600 and 800 kilograms, can travel 120 miles a day. As long as it is fed normally every day, it will not lose weight for many consecutive days.

The Hequ horse weighs between 700 and 900 kilograms and can travel about 100 miles a day.

However, this standard is based on the fact that the load cannot exceed one-fifth of the warhorse's own weight. For example, a Mongolian horse weighing 800 kilograms can only carry one-fifth of the load, that is, 160 kilograms, and can barely maintain a daily range of 120 miles for many days.

Once the load exceeds 160 kilograms, the horse will become exhausted. It may travel 120 miles today, but only 100 miles tomorrow. If the load is seriously overloaded, the horse will start to lose weight within two days, and its hooves will be damaged. In five or six days, the horse may fall ill or die of exhaustion.

Staff Officer Xiang and other staff officers were very surprised, "Is it so serious?"

"War horses are very valuable, as anyone who has raised horses knows."

Many infantry officers who gathered around to listen to the fun nodded.

"Then what is considered real cavalry?" asked a staff officer.

"Real cavalry usually has three horses for one person. One horse carries the person, one horse carries soldiers, armor and food, and the third horse is a reserve. In fact, the essence is the same. The warhorse will not be overloaded. This will ensure that the cavalry can quickly bypass the destination and can immediately attack and maintain combat effectiveness.

In long-distance raids, such as the Mongols' westward expedition and southward attack on the Jin people, one person usually rode five horses to share the load, so that the war horses carried the lightest load and thus maintained their combat effectiveness. "

After hearing Hu Zongmei's words, the staff officer could not help but ask: "If you say so, then the Han and Tang Dynasty Central Plains cavalry are not cavalry?"

"Yes."

"what is that?"

"Mounted infantry. They ride on horses and move quickly. When they reach their destination, they attack in formation. They still use the same tactics as infantry, shooting from a distance, stabbing from close range, and engaging in direct hand-to-hand combat.

The Cavalry Department and the Infantry Department of Xishan Military Academy conducted an experiment in which one thousand infantrymen and one thousand cavalrymen were shooting at each other with infantry bows and cavalry bows. In the end, the infantrymen had the upper hand.

"why?"

"Because the infantry bows are strong and have a long range. They can shoot accurately while standing. Cavalry mostly use horn bows and soft bows, which have a much shorter range. They also shoot while running on horses, so their accuracy is extremely poor.

If the infantry were equipped with crossbows and crossbows, the Xiongnu cavalry would be beaten to tears. The biggest problem for infantry going deep into the grassland is that there is no food, fodder or weapons. They can only move in and out quickly. If they can find the Xiongnu king's tent, they will fight to the death. If they fail to find it, they will suffer heavy casualties. "

A staff officer echoed: "There are many examples in the Han and Tang dynasties where the royal army went deep into the grasslands, lost their way, and in the end few of them came back alive."

A staff officer said quietly: "No wonder Li Ling of the Former Han Dynasty led 5,000 infantrymen and 500,000 arrows deep into the desert south, but was besieged by 100,000 Xiongnu cavalry. In the end, he ran out of arrows and food, so he was defeated and surrendered."

He argued with the staff officer again: "The Xiongnu cavalry can't win, they can just run away. How can the Han army's mounted infantry catch up? But why did Wei Qing and Huo Qubing still capture so many lives?"

Hu Zongmei smiled and said, "It is clearly written in the history books, but you ignored it."

"Is it clearly written? Staff Officer Hu, you need to explain it clearly."

"In the spring of the fifth year of Yuanshuo (124 BC), Wei Qing captured more than ten Right Xian Bi Wangs, more than 121 men and women, and tens of millions of livestock; in the second year of Yuanshou ( BC), Huo Qubing fought for six days, crossed the Yanzhi Mountain for more than a thousand miles, fought hand-to-hand, killed the Zhelan King, beheaded the Luhu King, executed Quan Jia, captured the Prince of Hunxie, the Prime Minister, and the Duwei, and captured more than heads."

An officer who was watching the excitement shouted, "Short weapons!"

"Yes, close combat means rushing together and engaging in close combat!"

Hu Zongmei laughed proudly and continued, "And you have all seen the historical records that when Wei Qing and Huo Qubing went out of the border to attack the Xiongnu, they used the Xiongnu surrendered as guides and went straight to the king's tent.

We have fought against the Mongols and we know what it means to touch their king's tent. Your cavalry can run away, but your family, tribe, cattle, sheep and tents cannot run away.

Without your tribesmen and cattle and sheep, your cavalry will sooner or later be doomed on the vast grassland.

The Xiongnu could only fight the Han army head-on. Once the Xiongnu cavalry engaged the Han infantry in a head-on battle, they would most likely die miserably.

What are the examples of Han army's failures in the battles recorded in history books? For example, General Li Guang led thousands of cavalrymen to shoot and charge at the Xiongnu cavalrymen, and they certainly lost more than they won.

Everyone nodded, and the officer who spoke just now nodded and said: "Li Guang is hard to be promoted, Feng Tang is easy to grow old!
I didn't expect the root of this. Li Guang was good at riding and shooting, so he liked to lead his troops to use riding and shooting against the Xiongnu's riding and shooting. Unfortunately, no matter how brave and good at riding and shooting, there were only a few of them.

On a real battlefield, personal bravery can easily be drowned by the rolling torrent. His grandson Li Ling, with 5,000 infantry, achieved a completely different record.

No wonder Huo Qubing replied to Emperor Wu of Han, "It is better to look at the strategies rather than the ancient military tactics." Only by letting go of the heavy burden of the past and striving for innovation can we find the secret to victory.

Seeing that the officer was only in his early twenties but had an extraordinary bearing, Hu Zongmei could not help but bow and said, "I am Hu Zongmei Hu Ziqi from Jixi, Huizhou. May I ask what your name is, brother?"

"I am the Pharmacist Song from Wu County, Song Jie Di."

(End of this chapter)