The prince is more stable

Chapter 78 New Tactics
Zhao Xiaoqian's original intention of making flintlock rifles and gunpowder was to protect himself. After experiencing an assassination attempt, his life was more important than anything else.

He never thought that he would be requisitioned by the imperial court. He thought that the Song Dynasty's firearms had developed to a certain level and they would not be interested in these little gadgets he made.

Unexpectedly, he finally created something that was ahead of its time. The firearms of the Song Dynasty were only in a relatively primitive stage. The emergence of the flintlock rifle had a far-reaching impact on today's wars.

Especially the gunpowder. The gunpowder made by Zhao Xiaoqian was the one with the best ratio and the strongest power. It was a world of difference from the so-called gunpowder of the Song Dynasty.

It is no exaggeration to say that as long as it is properly matched with the military formation, it can determine the outcome of a war.

But unfortunately, Zhao Xu actually asked, "Can we protect the territory of the Song Dynasty from being invaded by the Liao cavalry?"

Zhao Xiaoqian felt like laughing.

It is an indisputable fact that the officials and ministers of the Song Dynasty had long lost the ambition to advance and unify the country.

When did it start?
It probably started during the time of Emperor Taizong.

The defeat at Gaoliang River, the defeat at Yongxi's Northern Expedition, and the defeat at Junziguan.

Taizong personally participated in commanding three major battles that defeated the Song Dynasty. The famous general of the Yang family also died in the Yongxi Northern Expedition.

Later, the Treaty of Chanyuan during the reign of Emperor Zhenzong completely broke the backbone of the Song Dynasty. From then on, the Song Dynasty no longer dared to talk about war, and it always compromised and tolerated the Liao Kingdom, giving it whatever it wanted.

Gradually, the rulers and ministers of the Song Dynasty formed an inherent concept about the Liao Kingdom, that is, "the Liao people are invincible."

Progress? Unification?

No, the Song Dynasty just wants to live in peace.

The idea of ​​seeking peace and stability was not something that only emerged in the Southern Song Dynasty. It existed after the Treaty of Chanyuan. The ruler and his subjects had all lost their enterprising spirit, and even a separatist regime could not be maintained for long. It was a historical inevitability that the Northern Song Dynasty would become the Southern Song Dynasty.

So now that Zhao Xiaoqian had invented flintlock rifles and gunpowder, Zhao Xu's question was "Can we protect ourselves from the Liao cavalry?"

Listen to this...

Although he was holding a deadly weapon, he habitually squatted with his hands on his head.

His spine is broken and his courage is gone, even a nuclear bomb won't help him.

Zhao Xiaoqian couldn't answer Zhao Xu's question directly. He was afraid that he would not be able to help but say something unpleasant, which would anger the emperor and bring him into trouble.

After a moment's silence, Zhao Xiaoqian asked, "Have you noticed, Your Majesty, that while this musket is powerful, it also has serious shortcomings, such as the long time it takes to reload and the less-than-ideal range?"

Zhao Xu thought for a moment and nodded, "That's right, I wanted to say that too, but I was afraid of dampening Zi'an's spirit..."

Zhao Xiaoqian curled the corner of his mouth and said, "You are still afraid of dampening other people's spirit. Why don't you show some spirit?"

"As for the range issue, it's the same old story. We can rifle the barrel, but it's a bit difficult and should be solved in about a year or two. As for the long loading time..."

Zhao Xiaoqian hesitated for a moment and said, "I request that the emperor grant me temporary command authority. I will have these five hundred soldiers rehearse how to respond when encountering an enemy cavalry charge."

Zhao Xu raised his eyebrows. "Zi'an, you're capable of this? Very well, I grant you the authority to command these five hundred musketeers."

After Zhao Xiaoqian thanked them, he turned to face the five hundred musketeers and said in a deep voice, "Commendations, all soldiers, listen up! The five hundred men will be divided into three groups of equal size."

The five hundred men followed the order and, under the command of the battalion officer, were quickly divided into three groups, with each group consisting of about one hundred and sixty people.

Zhao Xiaoqian divided the three parts into three teams, and then ordered the first team to line up facing the straw target, kneel on one knee and aim with their guns.

At the same time, the second and third squads stood in the rear and quickly reloaded their ammunition. The first squad retreated immediately after firing and continued to reload their ammunition, while the second squad filled in their position, knelt on one knee and killed, then retreated immediately, and the third squad continued to fill in... The squad that retreated to the end of the team after firing was not idle either, and continued to reload while assembling the team.

In the empty training ground, the sound of gunfire could be heard continuously, with almost no pause. After three teams fired five or six rounds in a row, Zhao Xiaoqian finally ordered to stop.

Then Zhao Xiaoqian turned around, bowed to Zhao Xu, and walked silently to his side.

Zhao Xu and other generals in the army opened their eyes wide, looking in disbelief at the smoke that had not yet dissipated on the training ground, and then looked at the straw targets in the distance that had been shot to pieces, and they could not help but be stunned.

"This... what kind of fighting method is this?" Zhao Xu said with a chuckle.

"Your Majesty, this is the 'three-stage shooting' tactic. Hmm... yes, another little gadget I came up with," Zhao Xiaoqian said calmly.

The three-stage shooting method originated in Europe in the 16th century and also had its prototype in the Ming Dynasty. Its function is to make up for the disadvantage that the musket cannot fire continuously. Since it cannot be continuous, let's take turns.

My comrades were firing in the front, and I was loading the ammunition in the back. When you finished firing, I had just finished loading the ammunition, and it was my turn to fire.

Now it is the Song Dynasty, and no one knows that war can be fought like this. Zhao Xiaoqian accidentally set a precedent.

Zhao Xu was excited again. Young people's emotions are always filled with tears and they are always passionate and immature.

"Is it really possible? Is it really possible?!" Zhao Xu was shaking with excitement, with the expression of a country bumpkin seeing the world.

Zhao Xiaoqian said calmly, "Yes, that's fine. If three stages of filling aren't enough, you can change to four or five stages, depending on your preference."

"Sir, let's say we're facing a cavalry force of ten thousand men. When they charge, we usually have to spur our horses to speed up within two miles. A warhorse's speed is already at its fastest within five hundred paces."

"And we only need three or four thousand musketeers, waiting in formation as we did just now, firing continuously from three hundred paces. By the time the cavalry is within thirty paces of our line, they will have suffered heavy casualties, and the enemy's charge will have been disrupted."

"When cavalrymen are shot and fall, they don't just disappear where they were. The bodies of their horses and corpses fall in the path ahead of the charge, forming an obstacle that is trampled by the cavalry behind them. If too many bodies accumulate, the cavalry won't be able to maintain a high-speed charge. Their speed slows, and they are doomed to defeat."

For some reason, a scene from his previous life appeared in Zhao Xiaoqian's mind.

Countless Han people and Eight Banners Qing soldiers charged continuously, but were easily defeated by thousands of British troops with muskets, and countless people fell hundreds of steps away.

The crushing of backward civilization by advanced civilization is so cruel and ruthless.

China’s century-long history of humiliation began from then on.

In this life, he, a person who shouldn't appear, appeared anyway.

Will the world be different?
Zhao Xiaoqian wanted to use practical actions to tell the present and future generations of Chinese people that gunpowder is not used to set off fireworks!

We clearly once mastered advanced things, so why do we still have to suffer humiliation?
In fact, Zhao Xiaoqian didn't want to do these things. Wouldn't it be nice to be a prince who just eats and waits for death and happily relies on his parents?
It takes so much effort to make guns and gunpowder, and then become so prominent and watched by countless people. Is it fun to be the first to stand out?
It's not fun, but you have to play it.

Zhao Xiaoqian did not forget that if he did nothing, a drastic change would occur in the Song Dynasty in thirty years.

During the Jingkang Incident, two emperors and thousands of their relatives were captured and taken to the north. The women were raped and killed, and the men were stripped naked and forced to perform the sheep-leading ceremony in front of the barbarians.

He was among those relatives who were captured.

Perhaps, it also includes his wives, concubines and descendants.

Thinking of that unbearable scene, Zhao Xiaoqian had to take the spotlight.

(End of this chapter)