Autumn of the 17th year of Chongzhen

Chapter 1086 Cuirassiers and Dragoons
The rehearsal didn't take long, and after the rehearsal was over, the cavalry was still in formation in the distance, but the thousands of households of the horse army rode over one by one.

Wang Yan nodded to them, and said a few words of encouragement one by one. On behalf of the imperial court, he went to Wuchang to purchase some meat for the army, and rewarded the soldiers with a little silver.

After rewarding the Qian Zong and the cavalry, Wang Yan entered the camp surrounded by everyone, and then got off his horse.

He handed over Wang Wendao to the care of a confidant guard, and then entered the big tent with many generals.

In the tent, Wang Yan glanced at the many generals in front of him, especially Tan Tai, Zhang Cunren, Tong Tulai and other surrendered generals, and then said loudly: "The imperial court failed to enter Xuzhou this time. You should have read the military newspaper." Yes. The cavalry army of the Qing army is superior to our dynasty. We must admit this. In the northern plains, when we attacked Xuzhou, he cut off our food roads, and we divided our troops to guard the food roads. The wind, maneuvering freely, is difficult to deal with!"

Speaking of this, Wang Yan paused for a moment, and the faces of the people in the tent became serious.

If it was a head-on confrontation, the Ming army's infantry would form a formation, with artillery pressing the formation, spears like a forest, and self-generating firecrackers bombarding in rows, and they would not be afraid of cavalry.

The reason why the cavalry is terrifying is mainly because of its maneuverability, which is better than a frontal attack, and they may not be as good as the infantry.

The Ming army's northern expedition had to go deep into the northern plains, how to maintain the hundreds of miles of food roads, and the main infantry could not keep in formation all the time.As long as the infantry moves and relaxes, the cavalry will come to charge. The disadvantage of the infantry is too obvious.

"The Qing army marched westward to Zhungeer, and the Manchu cavalry has been further strengthened!" Wang Yan looked at the crowd and said solemnly: "The enemy is still very strong, and our court's horse army still needs to be improved. The training is a matter for the imperial court and the isolated army. Just please everyone!"

"We will definitely live up to His Highness's trust!" Everyone clasped their fists in awe.

"Okay! As long as everyone works hard, the imperial court will not hesitate to reward you!" Wang Yan nodded, "I will make a promise here, if you help the imperial court train [-] elite cavalry, those below the Marquis will be promoted to a higher rank, Marquis Those who are above will be bestowed on the descendants of the Grand Duke according to their merits."

After finishing speaking, Wang Yan glanced at everyone, especially the generals. Half of what he said was for Tan Tai and the others, which meant that he promised them to do a good job. They will be treated badly, and they can still have glory and wealth.

At the same time, this is also for Zhao Shenkuan, Qin Shangxing and other generals. There is indeed a gap between the cavalry of the Ming army and the cavalry of the Manchu and Qing. Only with the guidance of the general can the cavalry be trained better and the tactics more perfect.

The chain of contempt will exist wherever there are people. Although Wang Yan has just arrived at the barracks, he can see the contempt and exclusion of the generals of the Ming army for the surrendered generals outside the camp.

The exclusion of surrendered generals is not conducive to the training of cavalry, so Wang Yan drew a cake for everyone in the tent. If they want to get this cake, they must work together to train the cavalry together to get the reward.

What Wang Yan wanted was [-] fine cavalry, not one or two thousand particularly powerful cavalry. This required a lot of exchange of experience between the famous generals and the surrendered generals.

After listening to Wang Yan's words, Qin Shangxing, Zhao Shenkuan and the others couldn't help but look at each other, then turned to look at Tan Tai and the others, and finally clasped their fists together.

Seeing this, Wang Yan smiled slightly, "Gu, that's all I have to say! If you have any ideas and requirements for training cavalry, you can tell them quickly while you are alone. As long as you can do it, you will think about it after you return to Nanjing." Help you do it!"

As he spoke, Wang Yan stretched out his hand, motioning for them to sit down on both sides.

"Your Highness, I have something to say!" Everyone sat down on both sides, Zhang Cunren stayed in the middle and saluted.

Wang Yan smiled slightly, and said in a calm tone: "General Zhang is well aware of the characteristics of the Ming and Qing armies, so you can speak up directly if you have any opinions!"

Zhang Cunren was originally a lieutenant general of the Ming Dynasty, and later he surrendered to the Qing Dynasty with Zu Dashou. Wang Yan said that he was familiar with the characteristics of the Ming and Qing armies, and he was not wrong at all.He knew Guanning Iron Cavalry and the Eight Banners of the Qing Army, and he could indeed provide a lot for the Ming Army to train cavalry.

"Your Highness, I believe that the Ming army has the characteristics of the Ming army, and it is not necessary to learn something from the Eight Banners!" Zhang Cunren said, cupping his hands.

As soon as he opened his mouth, he attracted Wang Yan's attention, and even the generals of the Ming army below looked at him.

Intellectually speaking, the cavalry of the Ming army is indeed inferior to the Eight Banners of Manchuria, so the generals of the Ming army, even if they do not admit it verbally, intend to move closer to the Eight Banners in training.

After all, the Eight Banners cavalry were elite, and they naturally wanted to learn from the strong. Even Wang Yan thought so, so Zhang Cunren's words broke his inherent concepts, let his mind jump out, and immediately attracted him.

People are most afraid of thinking being imprisoned. Wang Yan became interested and immediately asked: "What do you think, General Zhang, please tell me and listen!"

In fact, Zhang Cunren already had an idea to say, but because he had been excluded before, he brought it up to Qin Shangxing and others, and they were unwilling to listen to it. Now that Wang Yan was interested, he immediately lifted his spirits, "Your Highness, I think that the Eight Banners of Manchuria and the Eight Banners of Mongolia Being good at riding and shooting has something to do with their living environment. Manchus and Mongols have been good at shooting and hunting since they were young. We Central Plains people can’t compare with this. Even if we train again, it is impossible to surpass them in riding and shooting skills.”

What Zhang Cunren said is the truth, people have played bow and horse riding for more than ten years, how can the Ming army catch up with them after several years of training?What he said was the truth, but it was harsh to the ears of many generals, and some even glared at him, clearly asking him, "What do you mean? Are you saying that we will never be able to compare with the Eight Banners?"

Wang Yan's face was also slightly dark, but he urged: "Go on!"

Zhang Cunren was encouraged, so he went on to say: "My humble opinion is that I don't necessarily have to practice riding and archery in training cavalry. Archery is not easy, but riding and archery is even more difficult, and it takes time. It is not as good as the Eight Banners... "

"Why don't the cavalry practice riding and archery?" Zhang Cunren was talking, when the following general, Guo, directly interrupted his words.

The arrogant soldiers and warriors below don't listen to opinions.

Seeing this, Wang Yan frowned, and said sullenly, "Listen to General Zhang!"

Zhang Cunren gave Wang Yan his hands gratefully, and then continued: "The humble position doesn't mean that I don't practice at all, but I don't think it is necessary to spend too much effort. Your Highness's Five Loyalty Army has a characteristic, that is, the military law is strict. The humble position feels that I am a cavalry soldier. Don't put too much emphasis on individual riding and archery skills, but should emphasize the ability of collective combat, improve the organization and military discipline, so that the horse army can charge repeatedly, and can quickly gather after being broken. As for personal combat power, I think it can be carried out through equipment To make up for it, the breastplate made by the Ministry of Industry for the cavalry is basically immune to the killing of the Qing army's bows and arrows."

Speaking of this, Zhang Cunren handed over his hand again, "The humble official thought that the imperial court could research more new equipment for the Ma Jun, such as the three-eyed blunderbuss. If the performance could be improved, then the humble official believed that it would be much more convenient for the Ma Jun to use firearms than to learn how to use bows from the Eight Banners. Therefore, I think that when I train the horse army, I should highlight my own characteristics, and there is no need to follow the tactics of the Eight Banners!"

Wang Yan is the best at accepting words. He thought for a while after hearing this, and then he couldn't help nodding frequently. He couldn't surpass others if he only learned from others. Not very realistic.

"General Zhang's suggestion, I think it should be taken seriously." Wang Yan pondered for a while, then nodded and said: "Well, let's call out five thousand cavalry and hand them over to General Zhang for training. Next year, we will compete with other cavalry in the autumn exercise. High or low, if you win the first place, the imperial court will reward you heavily, and the cavalry will practice like this from now on."

Wang Yan said that, even if the other generals have opinions, they can't express them. They can only train hard and compete against each other next year.

Speaking from the facts, this has almost become the tradition of the Ming army. It is better to fight than to quarrel. This trend has also continued in government affairs. Many innovations in the Ming Dynasty were basically tried out in one place first. Promotion is also a characteristic of Wang Yan's administration.

As he spoke, Wang Yan smiled, "As for cavalry equipment, I will entrust the Academy of the Ministry of Industry to carry out research and development. Not only will I equip the cavalry with good armor and guns, but I will also equip you with horses that can be pulled quickly." Last year in Nanjing Review, the [-] samurai team used their horses to speed up their cannons, and easily defeated the [-] infantry formed in a tight formation!"

"Thank you, Your Highness! I must train five thousand cavalry well, waiting for Your Highness to review!" Zhang Cunren immediately bowed with joy after hearing Wang Yan's promise.

Wang Yan waved his hand, and then said, "Which one of you has anything to say?"

Encouraged by Zhang Cunren, Tan Tai stood up suddenly, saluted and said: "Your Highness, the imperial court wants the Northern Expedition. The humble official thought that in addition to training the cavalry, it could also equip the infantry with inferior horses. They don't need them to fight, as long as they can ride horses It is enough to speed up the march. In this way, on the flat ground in the north, the imperial army can move quickly and offset the mobility of the Qing army."

Wang Yan really gained a lot today. The Ming army's firearms were sharp and their range far exceeded that of bows and arrows. If the Qing army's cavalry faced the Ming army's dense infantry phalanx again, they would be helpless.

If the self-generated gunners can be equipped with horses, it can indeed make up for the lack of cavalry.

Thinking of this, Wang Yan couldn't help but take a look at Tan Tai and Zhang Cunren. It seems that it is worthwhile to keep these people who understand the Manchu Qing.

Just as the traitors were a huge threat to the Ming Dynasty, these flag traitors were also a huge threat to the Manchus. They knew the Manchus too well and knew their weaknesses.

This suggestion can also be implemented. Just imagine that a team of elite gunmen can attack more than 200 miles a day, and then the war will be interesting.But to achieve this, you still need a horse. Wang Yan felt that it was necessary to write a letter to He Tengjiao.

(End of this chapter)