The Song Dynasty on the Sand Table

Chapter 417 Cuirassier
Interestingly, although Yi Zhangqing's subordinates did not retaliate, the spectators in the cavalry were not happy.

Niu Gao had originally come to watch the show, but seeing the enemy firing at him without the men of Yizhangqing retaliating, he was furious: "If you won't fight back, I will!"

He was a "swordsman" by training, so of course he was skilled in archery. He reached down and took his special large bow from his back.

He had been able to lift heavy objects since childhood, and the strength in his arms was terrifying. The bow he used was, of course, the hardest of hard bows. Ordinary people couldn't even draw it with all their might, but he could draw it fully in one go with ease.

A quick glance, a casual shot.

The bow emitted a resounding "hum," and just by listening to the sound, you could tell that this arrow was extraordinary.

Sure enough, the arrow flew like a meteor, its speed so fast that it was invisible to the naked eye.

Not only fast, but also accurate! It struck a Jin cavalryman squarely in the chest.

The Jin soldier screamed and fell backward from his horse.

Niu Gao roared, "Charge! Kill them all!"

Yue Wenxuan, watching from the side, chuckled: "General Niu, you came here to learn the tactics of cuirassiers, so why are you shooting with such gusto?"

Niu Gao: "Ah! Sorry, I got a little excited."

In the time it took for the two to exchange a few words, they closed the distance considerably and finally entered the range of the cuirassiers.

The muskets used on horseback had shorter barrels than those used by infantry, making it easier to load them while on horseback. The downside was that the shorter barrel meant a shorter range, lower accuracy, and the bullets were more likely to fly off course after leaving the barrel.

But none of these are problems, as long as you get close enough!
The cuirassiers simultaneously lit their fuses...

It wasn't until sparks flew that the Jin cavalrymen suddenly realized: "Huh? The enemy is... firearms cavalry?"

By then it was too late. Even with only a 0.32-second reaction time, the warhorse could still carry them forward several more meters.

"Fire!"

"Bang bang bang bang!"

A plume of blue smoke rose from the horse's back...

The charging horses fell instantly.

If you hit a person, the person falls; if you hit a horse, the horse falls; if the horse falls, the person will also fall; in any case, falling is the only outcome.

The Jin cavalrymen were instantly thrown into a panic!

Meng An, the leader of the team, couldn't help but exclaim in surprise: "They actually equipped their cavalry with firearms!"

"Damn it, how are we supposed to fight this?"

"We used to be able to bully their musketeers because they were slow, but how are we supposed to fight them now?"

The Jin cavalrymen were thrown into a brief state of panic, their minds went blank, and they felt like they didn't know how to fight anymore.

After firing their weapons, the front-ranked cuirassiers split up to the sides, while the middle-ranked cuirassiers continued to charge forward, firing their weapons repeatedly, knocking down several more gold cavalrymen. Then, the middle-ranked cuirassiers also scattered to the sides of the battlefield.

The cuirassiers in the back charged forward again, and another round of chaotic fighting ensued.

After three rounds of fighting, the cuirassiers all spread out to the sides.

Interestingly, the Jin cavalry, who had been soundly defeated by them, were also pulling away.

They used the same tactics: shoot, shoot, shoot, then pull back.

The difference is that they shoot arrows, while the cuirassiers shoot muskets.

The outcome of this close-quarters firefight was predictable. The Jin cavalry suffered heavy losses, yet they were still pulling back to the sides, preparing to regroup and launch another volley of mounted archery. Only after they had created some distance and saw that the cuirassiers weren't chasing after them but were also retreating and trying to reload their ammunition did the Jin cavalry realize what was happening.

"Damn, we shouldn't have spread out! We should have taken advantage of the opportunity to charge head-on and engage in close combat."

"What an idiot!"

"I'm used to shooting one arrow and then pulling back."

In fact, not only were the Golden Cavalry in disarray, but the Cuirassiers were also in chaos.

This was the first time these cuirassiers had actually fought a battle. Although they had been training for a long time, those who were not well trained were not sent to the battlefield and were left in the barracks. Only those who were well trained were allowed to go to war.

However, training is one thing, and actual combat is another.

Seeing the Jin cavalry charging towards them, the pressure was immense. Those who had been hit by arrows, or whose horses had been struck, were even more panicked. Almost all the cavalrymen's movements became distorted, unlike the smooth movements they made during training.

However, the generational gap in military technology compensated for their panic.

Even if they couldn't fight faithfully according to the movements they practiced, and only exerted less than half of their strength, it would still be enough to easily defeat the hunchbacked horse.

After the two armies separated...

Many of the cuirassiers' hands were still trembling. Some were trembling from fear, some from excitement, and others from numbness caused by incorrect musket-holding posture.

In short, it was embarrassing in all sorts of ways!

Several seconds later, they managed to calm themselves down and began trying to load the ammunition.

Loading ammunition on horseback is extremely difficult. It is usually impossible to load while engaged in continuous combat with the enemy. Instead, it must be done in a safe area after the enemy has been pulled away.

The enemy, consisting of lightly armed cavalry that would disengage from the battlefield after firing a single shot, would then retreat to a distance and stand there in a daze, giving the cuirassiers a chance to reload.

The two cavalrymen stood far apart, staring at each other.

The Jin cavalry were terrified and dared not charge again for a moment.

The cuirassiers seized the opportunity and frantically loaded their ammunition.

Niu Gao was laughing wildly at this moment!
He is laughing!

"Hahaha, that's impressive, you can even fight like that."

"Hahaha, our Han cavalry are not good at archery and are always beaten by the northern barbarians, but with this fighting style, our Han cavalry are no longer afraid of the northern barbarians, hahahaha. No more fear, hahahaha."

Niu Gao laughed heartily, waved his hand and roared, "Charge! Kill them all!"

Yue Wenxuan rolled his eyes: "General Niu, don't get excited. The reloading is very slow. The cavalry will need to rest for a while after each charge."

Niu Gao: "Huh?"

Yue Wenxuan: "This kind of cavalry was not originally intended for fighting like this. It was usually used when the battle was at a stalemate. The cuirassiers would charge into the enemy's strong formation, fire a volley, and break through the enemy's lines. After that, the cuirassiers would withdraw from the battlefield to rest and reload, and other units would take over the fight."

Niu Gao thought about it carefully and then he understood!
Although infantry musketeers are formidable, they are slow-moving and find it difficult to seize fleeting opportunities in the heat of battle. Therefore, it is crucial to deploy mounted musketeers at critical moments to launch a charge, break through the enemy at close range with their muskets, and then immediately retreat using their mobility.

This is the normal usage.

He was a renowned general, and upon hearing Yue Wenxuan's explanation, he was immediately able to integrate it with his existing knowledge of military formations. The more he thought about it, the clearer it became, and he couldn't contain his elation.

"Isn't this just like the Jin army's Iron Pagoda?"

“That’s right!” Yue Wenxuan said, “The cuirassiers were originally a type of heavy cavalry, but we’re using them as light cavalry for the time being. On large-scale battlefields, they can also don armor as heavy as the Ironclad Cavalry, charge forward, fire a shot, and then, instead of retreating, draw their swords and continue charging…”

(End of this chapter)