A small soldier of the frontier army in the late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 423 The Secret to Winning
There are six floors in this Zuixian building, occupying a good location in the northern part of the city, and the dishes inside are quite excellent, and the daily business is booming. I heard that the owner of the restaurant has some relationship with Prince Xiang's mansion, so I wait for idlers and dare not make trouble here.
Although Huang Degong declared that he would take over the entire restaurant, he only booked the uppermost floor, a few chief soldiers, deputy chief soldiers, and a table for Wang Dou.Everyone guards, guards downstairs, and takes turns eating and drinking.
The interior of the building is grand and elegant, with red sandalwood floors, golden nanmu pillars, and dozens of lanterns hanging on the top, which can be described as brightly lit.
Wang Dou sat at the table with Sun Yingyuan, Huang Degong, Zhou Yuji, Meng Ruhu, Zhang Yingyuan and others.
Everyone has reached this position, why haven't you eaten big fish and meat?Therefore, only the local specialties of Xiangyang are picked up, such as stir-fried moldy dried vegetables with broad bean sausage, secret hand-cracked eggplant, roasted pork with bamboo shoots and dried vegetables, roasted beef brisket with tofu, etc., all of which are delicious in color and flavor.
Coupled with Huguang's famous "Shuangquanye" fine wine, everyone can enjoy it and shout happily.
Especially the secret hand-cracked eggplant, eggplant has always been only available in summer and autumn, and it can be eaten at this time, but it is the prevalent cultivation of greenhouse crops in the Ming Dynasty.Of course, these dishes are naturally very expensive, and ordinary people can't afford them.
Huang Degong is the best wine. When he was 12 years old, his mother brewed wine, and he ate and drank it all, which also led to an interesting allusion.
At this time he stood up, held a large wine jar in his hand, and said to Wang Dou: "General Wang, you and I hit it off right away. According to the rules of our capital, when friends meet, they have to drink three bowls in a row. I will do it first as a respect."
He took out a large bowl, poured it full, and poured it down in one gulp.
Immediately afterwards, he filled it up again, drank it with a gulp, filled another bowl, and drank three bowls in a row without changing his face.
Seeing him so heroic, the surrounding people applauded loudly.
Huang Degong looked at Wang Dou, gasped and said, "General Wang, it's your turn."
With a bang, a large bowl was placed in front of Wang Dou.
Wang Dou stood up and said, "Okay, I will risk my life to accompany the gentleman."
He poured a large bowl of wine and drank it in one gulp, the surroundings also applauded, everyone shouted: "General Wang is generous."
"General Wang is mighty."
Only Xie Yike at the next table was a little worried. He liked this kind of scene the most in the past. Not only did he get drunk, but he often went berserk.However, he has matured a lot in these years. Although he also drank, he seldom got drunk again. At this time, he had no intention of drinking, and his mind was only on Wang Dou's side, thinking whether to go up to block the drink.
However, Wang Dou quickly drank three bowls in a row without changing his expression. In later generations, he was also tested for "alcohol".
After Wang Dou drank so boldly, not only the surrounding people applauded loudly, Huang Degong's eyes lit up, and he gave a thumbs up: "Happy, General Wang, I, Huang Chuangzi, have made a decision."
He sat down and said in a deep voice: "I heard that General Wang killed some of Zuo Liangyu's subordinates?"
All the people present listened attentively to the fact that this incident was a huge commotion, not only was it widely spread across Huguang, but Huang Degong and others also learned about it in detail not long after they entered Xiangyang City.
Wang Dou said: "Indeed, on the day the bandits entered the city, these rebels looted the people, and I punished them."
Huang Degong shook his head again and again, sighing: "I know General Wang, you run the army rigorously, but you offended Liu Jianchen first, and now this happens again. Zuo Kunshan is not a person who is willing to let it go."
His chest slapped loudly: "If Brother Wang needs anything from me, Huang Chuangzi, just say it."
Sun Yingyuan, Zhou Yuji, Meng Ruhu and others also expressed their willingness to mediate and discuss one or two issues.Wang Dou knew that they also had good intentions, and smiled: "If there is something to trouble you brothers, Dou will not be polite."
……
In addition, everyone chatted about some gossip, especially about Wang Dou's victories in successive battles and the strength of his armor, they were all very interested.
Wang Dou was not surprised by this. From the 11th year of Chongzhen, he fought side by side with Xuanda and Guanning armies. Everyone was curious about his Shunxiang Army and wanted to know the secret of Wang Dou's victory over the enemy. .
When Huang Degong asked this question, Sun Yingyuan stopped him, saying: "This is the secret of General Wang's military training, how can it be easily spread to the outside world."
Wang Dou said with a smile: "It's okay, we are all brothers Paoze, so there is nothing we can't say."
He pondered for a long time, and under the expectant eyes of everyone, he said six words: "Son of a good family, divide the land."
Seeing everyone pondering, he explained: "Son of a good family, if Qi Shuai trained in the army back then, he used honest and kind people, so as not to spoil the morale of the army. For example, when the bandits attacked Xiangyang, only a few dozen bandits entered for the first time. , As a result, the army in the city will be completely defeated, what use are these people for?"
Wang Dou said again: "Dividing the fields can save the soldiers from hunger and cold, and the family has food and clothing, so they don't have to worry about the future. Naturally, everyone is willing to fight."
Everyone was pondering, and Sun Yingyuan stood up and paced, obviously thinking carefully about what Wang Dou said.
Zhou Yuji didn't talk much, at this moment he suddenly said: "I have heard for a long time that General Wang's guns are sharp, and all the slaves, thieves and bandits he encounters are all frightened. I wonder if you can let me see a little bit?"
All eyes were on Wang Dou, Wang Dou pondered for a while, then smiled and said, "Yes."
……
These generals were not the only ones who were interested in Wang Dou and the army. Huguang governor Song Yihe, military supervisor Wanji and others were also very curious. When they heard that Wang Dou was going to practice firearms for the generals in the martial arts field, they immediately joined.
On February 21st, officials from the teaching field in the eastern suburbs gathered, including Song Yihe, Wanji, Zhang Kejian, and many of their staff members, including Mengruhu, Zhang Yingyuan, Sun Yingyuan, Huang Degong, Zhou Yuji, and others, as well as their subordinates Ma Wenzhi, Ma Zhi, Lin Baoguo's generals and officials gathered a lot of people.
The eunuch Liu Yuanbin was swept away by Wang Dou, and neither Lu Jiude nor he arrived.Yang Sichang was seriously ill, and his son Yang Shansong also came.
The firearms drillers were Wu Zhengchun, Shen Shiqi, and Gao Xun's three second-class soldiers. They picked out all the firearms and divided them into four-layer shooting arrays.In the firearm drill in front of the friendly army, all the firecrackers cheered up, trying to show the most powerful side of the Shunxiang army.
In front of the array, from fifty steps to one hundred steps, there are a large number of human-shaped targets, all wearing various armors, holding various shields and so on.
After the shooting order was issued, the deafening salvo obviously surprised the onlookers. Looking at the field again, the human-shaped targets in the front had all been knocked down and rolled to the ground. The shields, armor and other objects on them , not showing big holes one by one, or shattered into pieces.
Many people turned pale. This firearm is too powerful. If you encounter such a firecracker bombardment on the battlefield, even wearing heavy armor will be useless.
Everyone's shock was obviously endless. After the firecrackers in the front row fired a volley, they retreated quickly, and the second floor continued to shoot.
Everyone noticed a detail, that is, the reloading speed of those Shunxiang army bird musketeers was very fast. Many people estimated that these sergeants could fire three muskets within [-] to [-] breaths, and they couldn't help but feel nervous.
What does this mean?It means that the firepower is endless. If the cavalry and infantry encounter such gunners on the battlefield, they will use their lives to fill them, and it will be difficult to rush in front of them, right?
After the four-story shooting, the field was full of gunpowder and smoke, and the front was a mess. All the human-shaped targets were lying on the ground in disorder, tattered, and densely covered with gunshots. complexion.
The ranking of these humanoid targets ranges from fifty paces to one hundred paces. They have cotton armor, iron armor, and ordinary mandarin duck battle jackets, but the endings are similar.In this way, within a hundred steps, no matter what kind of shield you hold and what kind of armor you wear, you will be dead in front of the blunderbuss soldiers of the Shunxiang Army?
The supervising officer Wanji's face twitched, and he asked to borrow a blunderbuss to watch. Governor of Huguang Song Yihe and others gathered around to discuss and watch.
Everyone noticed that there is no difference between the bird gun and the bird gun used by officers and soldiers. The slight difference is that this bird gun is more well-made, and it can be used with confidence at first sight.
Also, everyone has noticed that the tail of the gun is slightly different, which is quite similar to Hongyi's butt, which can be placed on the shoulder. However, there are many bird guns similar to Hongyi in the army, but there is no Wang Dou. Such power.
Wanji looked at it over and over for a long time, then looked at the fixed-pack ammunition in the paper tube, and thought deeply: "Is this the idea of ​​Qi Shuaizi's fixed-pack medicine?"
Wang Dou said: "Yes, when Qi Shuai used bamboo tubes to pack gunpowder and projectiles separately, and finally put them together, so that the battle on the battlefield will be faster."
He said: "The drill just now is for the second-class soldiers in our army. After using the fixed medicine, they can fire three bullets at [-] breaths. If they are first-class soldiers, most of them can fire four to five rounds. The battlefield In combat, the blunderbuss are arranged in four to five layers, with continuous firepower, it is difficult for the enemy to get close. Of course, this requires hard training on weekdays."
Everyone sighed in unison, such a good soldier is only a second-class soldier, how strong is the first-class soldier of the Shun Township Army?
Meng Ruhu, Sun Yingyuan, Huang Degong and other general soldiers also borrowed a blunderbuss to watch, and everyone's eyes showed greed and desire, what a guy.Fierce as a tiger caressed the black and thick gun body fondly, and sighed: "General Wang's bird gun is so powerful, is it because of Seiko?"
They also have bird guns in their army, but their power is incomparable, and they often explode, so that soldiers dare not use them. There is no such problem in the Shunxiang army, which is obviously the result of excellent construction.
Wang Dou said, "This is one of them."
In fact, the Ming Dynasty had always had very strict requirements on the manufacture of firearms. All the weapons manufactured had to be marked with the words "made by a certain department, a certain guard, a certain institute, a certain year, and a certain season" for supervision and accountability.However, there are always problems with firearms, and the problems in them are very deep, which cannot be explained clearly in a few words.
Sun Yingyuan pondered: "There are some differences in sub-medicines."
Wang Dou nodded with a smile. After Li Zhifen's gunpowder factory perfected the gunpowder formula, it can break through heavy armor in a hundred steps. The range and power of the firecrackers used by the Shunxiang Army ranks No. [-] at the moment.
However, for the general soldiers, if they can break armor with seventy or eighty steps, it will be enough.
Seeing that Wang Dou didn't talk about the difference between Ziyao, everyone also wisely didn't ask. Today, they have seen the power of Shunxiang's military weapons, and everyone is satisfied. If they ask the core question again, they don't know what to do.
Next, everyone went to the camp of General Qian of the Artillery Army of Shunxiang Army in Fancheng to watch the artillery firing commanded by Zhao Xuan.Among the officials and generals, there are many Hongyi cannons and Buddha wolf machine cannons, but they have never seen one that can fight the power of Wang Dou's army.
Everyone suddenly realized that with such a cannon and such a blunderbuss, it is no wonder that Wang Doujun is invincible in the world.
After watching the rehearsal, everyone was delighted, thinking that they got what they wanted. Afterwards, Meng Ruhu, Sun Yingyuan, Huang Degong, and Zhou Yuji gathered together. Made excellent bird guns.
Huang Degong had a different opinion. He said: "It is better to buy it than to make it. Their sub-medicine is obviously different. Even if they make excellent guns, they are obviously not as good as they are used in the army. Why don't you go to check the word and see if General Wang is willing to sell it?" Bullet shells... As for artillery, General Wang said that the gunners are all made of gunpowder, which is too expensive..."
Song Yihe, the governor of Huguang, summoned Zhang Yingyuan, deputy general of Huguang, and asked carefully what Wang Dou said when he was in Zuixianlou that day. "
……
Note: Regarding the quality of firearms in the Ming Dynasty, you can read this passage in "Sacred Artifacts" to understand everything.
Or ask: Recently, the large and small artifacts have been changed from copper to iron, and they are still unbearable because of casting and forging. Why?
Said: If you want to gain the reputation of shrewdness, you will lose its value and even your ears.I heard General Lu Ting said: "In the south, when the bird guns were first built, they were worth three gold, but now one gold is not given. One gold is not enough to pay for the iron and charcoal of a finely crafted bird gun. By analogy, how could Yan Gu be able to supervise it?" Blame the clever daughter-in-law for not having rice to cook?"
Said: From this point of view, after all, China can't do fine workmanship!
Said: Otherwise, I have heard of the trade between the East and the West. The barbarians only buy guns from Guangzhong, and the people who sell them to the barbarians are extremely skilled. Those who make them for the government are evil.From this point of view, China does not want Seiko ears, so it must be able to Seiko.

(End of this chapter)