The Ming Dynasty began from Sarhu

Chapter 632: Qi Army Armament
On the night that the Hongmen Banquet ended, He Longzhou, the battalion commander of the Black Wolf Corps, led the first battalion to Taicang City.

The light cavalry was at the head and tail of the team, the artillery and musketeers were in the middle of the team, and the most elite grenadiers were at the front.

The first battalion of the Eighth Corps has a full complement of 1,500 people, including a battalion commander, a battalion-level training officer, four captains and an independent cavalry team, three deputy training officers, and each captain has four flag captains and twenty sergeants.

Artillery support can be deployed down to the flag-fleet level combat units.

In the third year of Taichu, the Eighth Corps was completed as the only one among all the corps to streamline the military and government. Some of the original duplicate structures were streamlined, such as the Tangma Flag Team and the Yebushou Flag Team, which were unified into the Independent Cavalry Team.

The Eighth Corps suffered heavy casualties in the battles during the Eastern Expedition to Japan, and its troops have not been effectively replenished in recent years.

Of the six battalions under Zhao Luejiao's command, only the first battalion was barely fully staffed.

However, although the number of troops was reduced, their combat effectiveness increased instead of decreased because they received priority supply of various weapons.

Thanks to Zhao Lujiao's efforts, the emperor ordered that the latest weapons developed by the workshop should be equipped to the Black Wolf Corps as soon as they are tested and found to be faulty.

Fast, good and economical.

This is Zhao Lujiao's motto and also the combat concept upheld by the Eighth Corps.

Compared with the 1st, 2nd and 3rd main corps, the 1,500-man main battalion of the Black Wolf Corps has only half the number of battalion-level personnel of its brother units.

It is a "pocket corps" among the twelve major corps.

However, although the sparrow is small, it has all the organs.

Taking the first battalion as an example, the 1,500 people include: 200 light cavalry, 100 grenadiers, 600 musketeers, 200 sword and shield soldiers, 300 spearmen, and 100 aerial scouts.

This is a comprehensive combat force covering multiple arms and spanning land and air. Its comprehensive combat capability should not be underestimated.

~~~~
"Dragon Head, should we send a horse into the city to investigate? Or, should we just release a ball and take a look?"

"Ball" is not a swear word, but the abbreviation of reconnaissance hot air balloon.

When hot air balloons were first tested, many people were afraid of this huge thing.

Now, hot air balloon reconnaissance has become the norm on various battlefields.

He Longzhou was called the leader in front of the instructor and the four captains.

Lin Zhenbei, the drill instructor of the First Battalion, was a student soldier in his twenties who had just graduated from the Imperial University of Peking last year. He first interned at the Nanjing Bingmasi for three months and then was airdropped to the Eighth Corps. This young man did not yet have a deep understanding of the Eighth Corps' impatience.

Seeing that Longtou underestimated the enemy and advanced rashly, he hurried out to persuade the chief officer.

Among the four captains, two suggested to wait a while before entering the city. After all, they had been on the road for five or six days, and the sentries in the city could not detect them clearly. If the army rushed in directly like this, it would be risky.

He Longzhou waved his hand and said, "No need for that. I heard from the Minoyi Guards that the only people guarding the city are the former Ming army preparing to attack Japan, more than a thousand people."

Lin Zhenbei added, "There are three to four thousand people fighting against the Xingzhi in Taicang Prefecture. Otherwise, Zhang Jinglue's soldiers would have attacked them long ago."

He Longzhou has followed Zhao Lujiao since the Tianqi period and participated in the Battle of Jiuzhou. Like other veterans of the Black Wolf Corps, his family was killed in Jiuzhou. He now has a new home and a wife and children again.

But every time I get drunk or have a nightmare, I always go back to the tragedy that happened fifteen years ago.

"What is a 蝲唬 (蝲呼)?" He Longzhou was a native of Xiangyang and knew nothing about the dialects of Suzhou and Hangzhou.

"They're just scoundrels. There are a lot of them in Suzhou and Taicang. During the Jiajing period, Japanese pirates were rampant in the southeast, and the imperial court organized a large number of troops to prepare for the Japanese invasion. There were always tens of thousands of people. After the pirates were driven away, these soldiers were no longer needed. Many of them gradually became thieves, relying on bullying and fighting to make a living..."

He Longzhou waved his hand and said disapprovingly:

"So they are just a bunch of hooligans. I thought they were the Arhats with three heads and six arms. If they dare to obstruct our army, just kill them. Why are you talking so much?"

Lin Zhenbei wanted to speak, but He Longzhou said impatiently:
"Brother Lin, I don't have time to waste on you. General Zhao has given me ten days to resolve the Taicang conflict. Today is the ninth day. Quick, easy, and economical! Before sunset, our army must enter Taicang, control the entire city, and exterminate the rebels."

Lin Zhenbei nodded silently.

He had some knowledge of the past of the Eighth Corps, but he could never understand why the entire army was so impatient.

From the Corps Commander Zhao Lushi to the six below... all the veterans who had participated in the Eastern Expedition to Japan were like they had been given a death warrant and were vying to be the first in everything.

For example, the Qi army's recently replaced Type 36 rifles, other corps have just begun to test them, but all the soldiers of the Black Wolf Corps already know how to disassemble, assemble and maintain them.

For example, in March of the first year of Guangde, the entire army began to train the skirmish line method of infantry coordination, and the Eighth Corps was the first to complete it.

Thanks to the widespread use of steam engines, the mathematics skills of craftsmen and students also began to improve.

In terms of tactics, more innovations also first appeared in Taicang Prefecture.

The original firing squad and square of hearts drills, which were modeled after drills used in the Napoleonic Wars of the 18th century, have been completely abolished.

Except for the spearmen, all other types of troops almost fight in scattered lines.

The Eighth Corps has always been at the forefront of the entire army, and every soldier seems to be pushed forward.

The harshness and intensity of the training for the Black Wolf Corps' new recruits are comparable to those of the retired emperor's imperial guards.

It is said that the Qi army has 300 new recruits who die suddenly every year, and the Black Wolf Corps, whose number of soldiers is less than one-tenth of the total strength of all corps, accounts for 80 of the total.

The use of skirmishers to replace hollow square formations and shooting was also first started by the Eighth Corps.

According to Zhao Lujiao's observation, in completely free shooting, infantry can rely on the advantage of firepower and continuous output to kill the enemy more efficiently.

According to Zhao Lujiao's own training diary:
"Bullets whizzed past the enemy's ears. Even if they didn't hit them, they would still land at their feet, making a little noise. Because now all shots are fired with aim. The Type 36 rifle can ensure that no one within steps ( meters) is spared. It's very different from the previous marching in a line. Their morale is difficult to maintain..."

In other words, if they continued to fight in formation, the lives of those short enemy musketeers would often be worth only a few copper coins and lead bullets when they encountered the Eighth Corps.

In any case, skirmishing instead of line shooting has become the daily combat routine of the Eighth Corps.

He Longzhou rejected all requests that might delay the progress of the war.

He only wanted a quick victory and to leave this place as soon as possible. After resolving the Taicang dispute, he would return to Shandong and continue to participate in the Eighth Corps' actual combat exercises in the eastern expedition to Japan.

"All troops, prepare to enter the city!

(End of this chapter)