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

Chapter 739
Wang Dou looked at the map, where Shaanxi, Ningxia, and Shanxi were vividly visible. Indeed, what Wen Fangliang said was very reasonable. There must be enough buffer space for all sides of the Anbei Protectorate, especially the west and southwest.

After all, Li Zicheng once captured Shaanxi in history, and then soon captured Yansui Town (Yulin Town), Ningxia Town and other places. This is enough to pose a great threat to all parts of Monan.

In particular, the Battle of Yulin was extremely tragic. At that time, Wang Ding, the commander-in-chief of Yansui, left Sun Chuanting and returned in a big defeat. When he saw Li Zicheng leading the army, he led his troops away.All the people recommended You Shiwei, the original general soldier, as the commander, and fought hard with the bandits for seven days and nights.

The city was destroyed, no one surrendered, all the women in the city committed suicide, all the gentry in the city died in the city, and the officials and generals did not submit to death.

After the fall of Yulin, the Ningxia town soldiers fought first and then surrendered. Li Zicheng swept the rear and had no worries, so the troops were divided into two groups, one to attack Shanxi, and he led it personally.One, led by Liu Fangliang, crossed the Yellow River and went north from Henan to attack Shandong, Zhending Mansion and Baoding Mansion.

Because the generals of the three towns of Xuanda, except Zhou Yuji, surrendered to the city, Li Zicheng reached Gyeonggi in just a dozen days, and the army led by him took the lead in attacking the capital. At that time, Liu Fangliang was still besieging Baoding Fucheng.

Now that the situation has changed, Wang Dou doesn't know whether Li Zicheng will continue to attack Shaanxi, but he must take precautions. It is best to use the entire province of Shaanxi as a buffer in the southwest of the Protectorate.

There is also Pingyang Mansion in Shanxi Province, which cannot be ignored.

The west and south of here are just separated from Shaanxi and Henan by a river. Especially in the south, on the other side of the Yellow River is the Henan Mansion, where thieves and thieves are preparing new troops and are eyeing them.

There is also the Shaanxi side in the west, which is also not simple.

Here is the same as Shaanxi, only separated by the Yellow River. There are no major bandits in Shaanxi, but there are countless small bandits.

Especially in recent years, Yulin Town, Yan'an, and Xi'an have experienced severe droughts. Tens of thousands of hungry people often besiege the city. Every year, a large number of bandits cross the Yellow River and enter Pingyang Mansion. The pressure of guarding against bandits is very heavy.

Wang Dou calculated that it was time to strengthen support for Shanxi Governor Cai Maode and Shanxi General Soldier Zhou Yuji.

"It's good, it's good, I'm afraid we can't reach it, our hands can't stretch that long."

Wen Fangliang's words aroused heated discussions, and Zhong Xiancai proposed to go a step further and use the whole of Shanxi and Shaanxi as a buffer to the south of the Protectorate, but after Han Chao pondered, he shook his head and said.

Gao Shiyin said: "There is news from the middle of Beijing that Sun Chuanting has recovered? With him serving as the governor of the three sides of Shaanxi, it should be no problem to guard Shaanxi, right?"

"it should be no problem!"

The generals were not sure, and the final result of their discussion was also decided by Wang Dou, who decided to prepare a few more plans depending on the situation.

The currently selected support objects are Zhou Yuji, the chief soldier of Shanxi Town, the loyal officers and generals of Yansui Town, officers and soldiers of Ningxia Town, and Sun Chuanting.

Shanxi Town is at the forefront, Jingbian Army must ensure the safety of the entire Shanxi, Yansui Town and other places will be behind, and then we will see the situation of Sun Chuanting's arrival.

After all, good steel must be used on the blade, and money and food must be used in key places. Just like the defeat of Zhuxian Town, the officers and soldiers failed everywhere in suppressing thieves, which frustrated many generals. The others also supported a lot, but the result was this result.

The money of the Jingbian army was not brought by strong winds. Under the command of the shogunate, even Wang Dou now has to pay taxes, and the precious food is accumulated by the people with hard work. If one is wrong, how much taxpayers' money and food will be wasted , the hard work of the people?

……

Han and North Korea took over the Ministry of Military and Political Affairs. At present, his focus is on the research and use of weapons in the military. After he took office, he submitted the first plan, which was to ask for the full implementation of flintlocks in the Jingbian Army Jia and other battalions.

It was also the focus of discussion in the hall before.

"...Right now, the thunderbolt is no worse than the matchlock. It's time to promote it in the whole army. The next goal of the Ministry of Military Affairs is to let the military science department develop more sophisticated steel leaf springs, so that the force of the clasp is stronger, reducing The misfire rate is finally on par with matchlock guns.”

The flintlock guns in the Jingbian army have developed to this point, and they have become more and more mature. Even Gao Shiyin, who was the most resolute opponent in the past, stopped talking. He even said: "You have a military science department in your ministry. Fan, reduce this misfire rate further, so that my soldiers will be even more powerful in combat?"

What Gao Shiyin said is unreasonable. After all, it is not a simple matter to increase the firing rate of a flintlock. The contact shape of the fire door, the burning speed of the gunpowder, the friction between the flint flake and the scythe, etc., all need repeated research, especially for the anvil. The requirements for the steel linked with the trigger are very high.

Because flintlock guns are not like arquebus guns, they use flints to spark sparks to ignite gunpowder, and sparks need to be very strong. This requires the linkage of spring steel sheets to be very sophisticated, otherwise the misfiring rate is enough to drive people crazy, it is not as good as Use an arquebus.

In European countries, as early as the early seventeenth century, the French had already designed flintlock guns. However, due to various problems such as cost and misfire rate, it was not until the middle and late seventeenth century that there was a navy equipped with flintlock guns. The Marine Corps underwent a large-scale refitting, even in the early eighteenth century.

The same is true for the British. Until 1645, when Cromwell trained the new British army, only two companies were equipped with flintlocks. Sweden was equipped with flintlocks for a period of time, and then replaced them with arquebuses. The problem.

To Gao Shiyin's unreasonable demands, Han Chao just smiled and said: "Han will do his best."

During this expedition beyond the Great Wall, he also discovered a problem with the soldiers' firearms, which was the blunderbuss sword.

The blunderbuss sword and the flint blunderbuss are indeed sharper, more melee, and can be used for long-distance combat. However, because of the casing method, after the blunderbuss sword is put on, it is located above the blunderbuss tube, blocking the stars, making the soldiers' aiming slightly difficult. Inconvenient, it is best to improve it.

Wang Dou snorted. He didn't expect this question. He didn't notice this detail in later generations. He only saw that many fusiliers' bayonets were located above the gun barrel after putting them on, so he mentioned it casually. The craftsmen also built it according to his intentions.

The current way of using the Jingbian army bayonet is that there is a groove on the sleeve, and then the front sight is used as a tenon. After the bayonet is put on and twisted, the groove will block the front sight, so that it will not fall and loosen, which can be very good. for use with firearms.

It's just that after thinking about it now, the front sight is indeed blocked, and there is only one rear sight. Without the aiming function of the front sight, it is indeed a little inconvenient.

……

All the generals in the hall were also interested, and they all followed Wang Dou into a nearby shooting range, and each of them brought flint guns and gun swords to watch, as expected.

Han Chao pointed to the gun sword and introduced: "The meaning of the last general is to put the gun sword on the left side of the gun barrel, and also use the front sight as a tenon, but also restore the aiming ability of the front sight... The batch of gun swords currently in use are considered Now, when it is manufactured later, the position of the groove on the sleeve can be slightly modified, for the craftsman, it is just a trivial matter."

Wang Dou pondered, and he thought about it carefully. The flintlock guns of the later generations of Westerners, the bayonets they used, and the casing methods seemed to be various in the later period. Tube on the right side.

Generally speaking, they don't pay much attention to this issue, which is also related to the way of thinking about the use of firearms in the East and the West.

Western firearms pay more attention to power, but do not pursue precision, and the gun-making process is quite rough. Especially in the early days of their muskets, not only did they not have a rear sight, but they did not even have a front sight, so when firing a gun, they had to get very close.

They generally aim, just relying on the ridgeline of the gun, just aim roughly, just like the air guns and shotguns of later generations, it is still a continuation of this kind of thinking.

Of course, Western flintlock guns have also noticed this problem in the later stage of development. Generally, the front sights are available, and many have rear sights, just like the British.Also many countries flintlocks still do not have a rear sight, just like the Americans.

They also like to install the bayonet on the top of the barrel, blocking the front sight, so when Americans line up to shoot, they especially like to get closer, also because of the aiming reason.

In the East, once the firecrackers were introduced, sights and sights were readily available. The firecrackers were called bird blunderbusses. Qi Jiguang even said that flying birds could be shot. In terms of accuracy assurance, the East was higher.

I was unknowingly influenced by the Americans. After all, their film and television industry is the most developed in later generations, which also proves the importance of soft power.

Gao Shiyin didn't take it seriously. Does it matter if the gun sword is on the top or on the left?

He said: "When the firecrackers are fired, the smoke is lingering. What are you aiming at? If you don't line up and force them up, you can even go within fifty or thirty steps! Another round of volleys will kill all the Tartars and rogues." Ben Huo Tu! Is it necessary to be so detailed?"

He waved his arms: "With a neat and dense arrangement and fierce gunfire, defeat all the enemies in front of you and show the bravery of our Jingbian army!"

Han Chao smiled and said: "Old Gao, bravery doesn't mean unnecessary casualties, isn't it better if you can hit more accurately?
Wang Dou nodded slightly, although with the processing accuracy of the firearms at this time, it was really difficult to guarantee the three-point line of the firearms, especially after the gunmen fired the guns, there was a white smoke in front of them, which was not good for aiming, but even if the first round of shooting Wouldn't it be nice to be more accurate?

Looking at the firecracker and sword in his hand, he finally said: "As requested by Brother Han, the sword will be placed on the left side of the barrel from now on."

……

The generals returned to the lobby. At present, the firearms of the Jingbian Army are satisfactory to them. Some small problems can be improved. Wang Dou is also filled with pride. The current firearms under his command can be said to be at the forefront of the world. Needless to say, the same goes for bayonets.

Wang Dou clearly remembered that there were no plug-in bayonets in Europe at this time, and it would be a few years before the earliest bayonets appeared in the small French city of Baronne in 1647 in the Western calendar. The word bayonet in English also comes from this city. name.

This kind of bayonet is inserted on the muzzle of the gun so that the muskets cannot be fired at the same time. It was not until 1687 that France had a bayonet similar to that of the Jingbian Army. Two years later, the French Army adopted it entirely, and a few years later, the British It was also adopted by Germany and became popular in Europe.

There are also silk medicine bags, quill leads, etc., which are also at the forefront of the world, especially the quill leads, which were only used in Europe in 1697, replacing the bulk gunpowder in the ignition hole, and simplifying the process of aiming and loading.

However, Wen Daxing's report later aroused Wang Dou's vigilance, that is, the missionaries from the capital and Ming Dynasty had already paid attention to the advanced weapons of the Jingbian Army and the Special Army, which aroused their strong interest. Inquire about everything about the Jingbian Army.

Han Chao's expression was solemn, and he immediately said: "If you are not of our race, their hearts must be different! Hongyi is cunning, we must prevent them from discovering our army's secrets and leaking them to foreign countries!"

Wang Dou also said indifferently: "The missionaries in Beijing, although they behaved decently, you must bear in mind, don't be fooled by their appearance, they are more vicious enemies than thieves and slaves. Have a heart of defense!"

The Jesuits entered China in the middle of the Ming Dynasty. Because of the difficulty of preaching, they changed their appearances one after another, learned Chinese, wore Chinese clothes, and took Chinese names. It is still possible to worship ancestors after joining the religion, which once confused many people.

Of course, when China was in decline in the Qing Dynasty, without anyone noticing, these missionaries had changed the name of God from the Chinese Haotian God to the Western Jesus, which has been affecting future generations. Naturally, they cannot worship at this time. Ancestors, in a euphemistic name, forbid idolatry.

For the missionaries, the Ming court gradually changed from welcome to prevention at first, and finally formed the concept that these people were invaders.

During the ceremony, Lu Zhaolong once made a statement: "I grew up in Xiangshan, and I know that the Australians are the worst. They are fierce and unpredictable. When they first came to trade, they just moored their boats in Langbai. Later, they gradually entered Australia. At the beginning, it was like setting up tents and factories to live in. Gradually, houses were built, Qingzhou Mountain was gradually built, and gun towers were gradually built to build a strong city. . Falsifying the people. Today in Chang'an, they are giving lectures, and nine out of ten people in the capital believe in cults. If they are soaked in obscenity and grow, the chaos of Bailian can be a lesson..."

Su Jiyu even put it bluntly, attacking the Jesuit missionary Julian, he said: "This barbarian lies ninety thousand miles away. If the husband lies far away, one can believe that he has no different ambitions, and don't worry that the other will swallow my ears. I don’t know that this opportunity is so clever and ingenious. When one country comes, it will destroy the other country. All of them attack their own country for more than [-] years. Those who are far away are difficult to track. The nearest ones are Luzon, Misogo, and so on. Zamboanga, as well as chicken coops and fresh water, all kill their masters and seize their people. Just a few people can overwhelm a country. This is true for those who can prove it.”

In the year of Wanli, Emperor Wanli ordered the expulsion of missionaries. Pang Diwo and Xiong Sanba in Beijing, Wang Fengsu and Xie Wulu in Nanjing were all expelled to Macau. Hidden all over China.

During the reign of Chongzhen, the missionaries revived again, but there were military advisers in the Ming army as the post-resistance Jin Dynasty.At first, the missionaries strongly objected to this, because they tried their best to cover up their relationship with Macau before, and now they are involved in the military. Doesn’t it imply that the missionaries are Francois who are invading everywhere?

It was Li Zhizao who tried his best to persuade: "Fathers, don't worry, don't use weapons as an excuse. For tailors, needles are necessary, but tailors wear needles and threads, and pull out the needles after the clothes are made. Therefore, once priests serve the emperor If you are ordered to go to war, your weapon becomes a pen."

Because of this, the missionaries returned to Beijing and started preaching again, and the missionaries who had been hiding in various places also resumed their missionary activities. Wang Dou's strong rise in Ming Dynasty, it is impossible not to attract the attention of these people. They used various channels to report to Wang Dou Dou expressed his desire to go to Xuanfu Town to preach.

In this regard, Wang Dou expressed his attitude: "For the time being, I will not contact these Hongyi."

Wang Dou is always wary of them, and does not change because of the face they show.

But thinking about running Mobei in the future, you may come into contact with the Russians. Thinking of the Battle of Liaodong, the Jingbian Army captured a guy named Raul, a Spaniard, and he is still locked up in the mine for hard labor. You can send some people to learn from him Latin.

After all, the Spanish and Portuguese are strong now, and Latin is the most popular language in the world.

In the [-]th century, French was popular, and English was popular, and it will be the [-]th century. I hope that with my own arrival, Chinese will become a world language in the future.

After the military and political meeting was over, Wang Dou went to the Civil Affairs Hall to reclaim Monan, which required various plans, a large number of farm tools and equipment, and preparations to prevent the plague. Wang Dou was very busy now.

(End of this chapter)