Chapter 374 373 Fire

Chapter 374 373 Fire

On the vast prairie, two distinct groups of men and horses formed formations against each other. Although the formations were still being adjusted, the true military appearance of our army had been completely exposed to the eyes of the Ming army.

"It's a little troublesome. There are at least 3,000 people in this Tatar team who are the bodyguards of Anda Khan. The remaining few thousand people should be elites from some ten thousand households. Our intelligence is wrong."

Liu Han said to Yu Dayou with a tense face at this time. In fact, he also wanted to say that it was best not to fight this battle. He took advantage of the fact that the opponent was not ready and ran back immediately. For four miles, most of the Ming army should be able to Running back to the military fort.

According to previous information obtained by the Ming army, it was speculated that they were temporarily recruited from ten thousand households. Such a team was slightly insufficient compared to the ordinary Ming army. That is to say, the numerical advantage made Liu Han slightly worried.

But now, what appeared in front of him were temporarily recruited herdsmen. The stern expressions of the Tatar soldiers across the way showed that they were professional soldiers on the grassland, and they had to gain the upper hand against his most elite soldiers. This battle How else to fight?

"Elite? Haha. You will only know who is the elite after beating them."

Yu Dayou is still confident in the soldiers he has trained. There are more than a hundred French cannons and a thousand blunderbuss. Such firepower was unimaginable in Zhejiang before.

Although the Jiangnan soldiers used Western firearms early, they did not have the opportunity to carry out such large-scale centralized use of firearms.

There is nothing that can be done about it. When Japanese pirates attack, they often use several boats with more than a hundred people to go together. It seems that the Japanese pirates are used to not concentrating their troops to plunder. They only assemble their troops when they attack county towns and other fortresses. The reason for this Often there is no main force of the Ming army around.

In Yu Dayou's opinion, the soldiers he accepted were really not afraid of fighting the Japanese pirates, but they never had such an opportunity.

The only time, that is, in the battle of Cengang, the Japanese pirates unexpectedly gathered a large group to fight to the death with them. Of course, the final result was to be wiped out.

As for the Japanese pirates who broke out, Yu Dayou used to be surprised at first, but after so many things happened, he understood. It is no wonder that Hu Zongxian wanted to step in and take command.

Thinking about it, Yu Dayou didn't feel worried at all at this time, but became more and more excited.

When he was in the capital, Lu Bing was the most determined person to be skeptical of firearms. Although Jin Yiwei was also equipped with a large number of firearms, he didn't think much of them.

Yu Dayou was very interested in firearms and supported large-scale deployment, but he was not as courageous as Wei Guangde, who actually wanted to form an independent army with a large number of Fran cannons and blunderbuss.

Well, Yu Dayou didn't dare to think of such courage. He still needed weapons such as swords, shields and spears to guard against enemies getting close.

Today, we can try what the boy said that intensive firepower delivery is the only way to destroy the enemy on the opposite side. As long as there is enough firepower to strike, no matter whether the opponent is made of copper, iron or anything, there is only one way to collapse.

Although Wei Guangde also said that the current gunshots are still a bit inferior, but quantity makes up for quality.

Thousands of cannons were fired, and Yu Dayou felt afraid that no matter where the Ming army was in this era, they would not be able to find more powerful firepower than this unit.

After the Ming army's formation was completed, Yu Dayou waved his hand and began to press forward slowly, regardless of the fact that the other side seemed to be adjusting its formation.

The soldiers in the front row started to push the wheelbarrow forward, and four rows of gunmen followed in formation, followed by hundreds of cavalry behind them.

This is the entire central column of the Ming army. The cavalry on both wings are slightly separated from each other and are not closely aligned with the central column.

They needed to leave some distance to facilitate acceleration during the cavalry charge.

Although the Tatars were a little surprised to see that the Ming army did not follow the normal routine and waited for their side to complete their arrangements before attacking, they were quickly relieved.

The rest was just some fine-tuning. He didn't think that the remaining little adjustment would affect the combat effectiveness at all. He just leaned forward and used the things passed down by the Mongols to defeat the Ming army first with long-distance projectiles.

What the Ming army laid out in front of them was a long military formation. If it weren't for the cavalry on both sides, two thousand people could just go up and surround the Ming army and shoot arrows and kill them all.

Don't look at those chariots in front of the Ming army, they are only one side after all.

At this time, in the eyes of thousands of households in Anda tribe, the three thousand Ming army led by Yu Dayou was not as powerful as the cavalry on his two wings.

Indeed, the Mongols once fought from east to west and have already summed up many fighting skills. This is also the main reason why their ancestors were able to advance all the way to the Danube River Basin.

"Lord Wanhu, charge directly at the center of the Ming Army."

At this time, a short general with a face that clearly did not look like a Mongolian rode up to the Mongolian households and whispered.

"Chief Qiu, I have this intention as well. I wonder if your subordinates can take on this responsibility?"

Mongolian Wanhu said to the guy who should be Han.

"I think so too."

The person who spoke was Qiu Fu. He, Zhao Quan, and Li Zixin were all named chiefs by Anda Khan, which recognized the Han people they led as a tribe on the grassland.

Their contribution was naturally behind this attack on the Ming Dynasty, so this time he took the three thousand cavalry that Bansheng City could piece together and followed Anda Khan to attack the Ming Dynasty.

After receiving the news of the attack from Bansheng City, Qiu Fu immediately asked to see Ada Khan and obtained a troop of troops from the Great Khan to come to Datong. He vowed to completely eliminate the Ming army who dared to leave the border. .

Qiu Fu knew very well that if the idea of ​​going out of the Ming army could not be completely wiped out from the minds of the Ming army generals, the consequences would be serious if the generals on the nine sides ran to the prairie in the future.

At the same time, knowing that his lair had been wiped out, Qiu Fu naturally wanted to take revenge.

"As long as your troops break into the center of the Ming army, I will lead the two wings to attack the flanks of the Ming army. Don't let them disturb you and eliminate those Ming people."

Mongolian Wanhu said to Qiu Fu with a smile.

To be honest, Wanhu actually looked down on this Han man, and his subordinates as well.

He is obviously a Han, but he thinks about going south to attack the Ming Dynasty all day long.

In fact, as far as Wanhu knew, although Anda Khan seemed to reuse the Banshengcheng group, he was actually always wary of them.

These people are all careerists. They are probably not really attracted by the light of Anda Khan, but come because of their own ambitions.

What they want is nothing more than to use the powerful military power of their Mongols to consume the power of the Ming Dynasty, so that they have a chance to rebel.

If they really follow their wishes and the Great Khan sends all his troops south to attack the Ming Dynasty, when he finally wins, I'm afraid these people will revolt, and in turn they will fight to the death with the Mongols, and finally fight for the so-called Central Plains.

The Central Plains, in the words left by the Mongolian ancestors, was a prosperous land, with milk flowing in the rivers, gold and silver and iron pots everywhere, and tea leaves growing on the trees.

All the Mongols hope that the Great Khan can lead them south and return to that land, but

While Wanhu in Mongolia was still thinking, the distance between the two armies continued to shrink as the Ming army in front continued to advance.

"Is this an attempt to limit our cavalry charge?"

Mongolian households couldn't help but think, "It seems that the camp is too close to the military fortress in front."

For the Mongols, when fighting, they must leave enough distance between themselves and their opponents to ensure that their horses have room to accelerate.

Akito's current approach is obviously to shorten this distance so that their horses cannot run.

If you cannot lift the speed, the natural impact force will be reduced exponentially.

Cunning Akito.

At this time, a cavalry unit in the middle of the army formation began to move. As the battle flag was waving forward, the cavalry began to slowly step out of the formation. As they continued to move forward, their speed also began to slow down. accelerate.

"Let Akito fight for a while first."

Ten thousand households in Mongolia can't help but think in their hearts, if you want to take advantage of us Mongolians, why don't we want to take advantage of you.

The Han people who took the initiative to gather in Bansheng City were farming there. The Mongols were not happy at first, but who told the Mongols not to be good at work?

Anda Khan stopped the tribe's unfavorable actions against the Han people, and instead exchanged cattle and sheep for food with them.

Well, at first, everyone didn’t understand why we wasted cattle and sheep when things could be solved with a knife.

But as time went by, everyone came to know that, especially after the arrival of these special Han people, Bansheng City now sends a lot of food to the Great Khan every year, and also builds a palace for the Great Khan in the city. These tribes Big shots also have their own houses.

As the cavalry continued to accelerate, the thunderous sound of horse hoofs sounded, interrupting the thoughts of thousands of Mongolian households. They should wait until they win this battle before talking about anything else.

He no longer thought wildly, but carefully observed the battle ahead. He also wanted to command his men to destroy the Ming army in front of him.

"aim."

At this time, seeing thousands of cavalry coming out of the Tatar formation, the one-wheeled chariots lined up came to a standstill.

Following the team officer's order, the soldiers who had been pushing the carts ran to their respective fighting positions, and braziers appeared behind the wheelbarrow.

The gunner took out the Franco machine cannon cartridge from the carriage and put it into the barrel, inserted the insert plate to fix the cartridge. In the brazier behind them, one end of the tongs had been burned red, and there was a pungent smell of coal in the air. .

On both sides of the back of the chariot, a thousand gunners lined up in four neat rows. The barrels of their guns had already been loaded with ammunition. At this moment, they were all holding their barrels diagonally upward, waiting for the order to fire.

Because the gunners need to fire from the front, the Ming army's gunners are arranged to move away from the chariots. Each tank is the boundary of a formation, so that the gunners can fire according to the command without worrying about accidentally injuring the front. gunner.

The gunner can also fire with peace of mind without worrying about being hacked by his own people.

The Fran cannon can fire solid shells and shot shells. Because it is entering the grassland, most of the shells brought out by the Ming army this time are shot shells.

Of course, the result of this is that the already short range of the Fran cannon will be greatly reduced.

Judging from Yu Dayou's testing in Datong, the effective range of the Fran cannon using shotguns is about the same as that of a cannon.

Therefore, before this battle, Yu Dayou made careful preparations, that is, the first three cannons used solid bullets, the next three sub-cartridges all used shotgun shells, and the newly loaded sub-cartridges also used shotgun shells.

Seeing the cavalry on the opposite side rushing towards them and about to enter the effective firing range of the Fran machine gun, Yu Dayou gave the order to fire without hesitation.

A red flag began to wave continuously, and the gunner who saw the military order immediately gave the order to fire.

"Boom boom boom"

Intensive cannon fire exploded in front of the Ming army's column, and more than a hundred drums of smoke and dust rose into the sky. Almost instantly, the dense cavalry formation on the opposite side reacted, and dozens of cavalry rushing in front dropped their horses.

The solid bullets flew into the Tatar army. It was unclear how much damage the first round of artillery fire caused, but the fallen horse in front could still be seen.

No one cheered, and the plug plate was pulled out. The gunner reached out to take out the cartridge and quickly replaced it with a new one. The companion on the side immediately inserted the plug plate again.

"Boom boom boom"

There was another series of gunfire, and hundreds of stone bullets were fired at the charging enemy. The gunners still did not see the effect of this shooting. They still mechanically replaced the empty cartridges and replaced them with new cartridges as before. Canister, and then launch, just like a machine.

In order for these gunners to develop such abilities, Yu Dayou broke countless wooden sticks.

In the Ming army, corporal punishment was commonplace. If you didn't practice well, you would be beaten. Starvation, although it seemed cruel, was the most effective method. Just like now, after these soldiers touched the artillery, they only knew how to fire it mechanically.

As for the replaced gunpowder barrel, the companions behind him cleaned it and reloaded the ammunition.

After three rounds of solid bullets, the rest is shot.

Because they are all small Franco cannons, the caliber is not very large. Each sub-cartridge contains only a dozen small iron bullets wrapped in rough paper, and the same goes for gunpowder.

These were all proposed by Wei Guangde.

In fact, such custom-made equipment was common in later generations, and all the artillery of that era were like this. This was a necessary skill for time travellers, and Wei Guangde naturally knew it.

However, this idea was actually proposed for the first time in the imperial edict of the capital of the Ming Dynasty. If it were recorded in the annals of history, I don’t know how future generations would evaluate it.

And Yu Dayou forced the Tatars back in the Battle of Niuxinbao, gained the trust of Datong Governor Li Wenjin, and received more support. When he was training in the Biao Camp, he would naturally use the method proposed by Wei Guangde.

Yu Dayou is considered a man of action, or the firearms of this era are really not complicated.

Perhaps few people can explain the theory clearly, but everyone knows how to use it.

Yu Dayou only needed to think about Wei Guangde's suggestion in his mind to realize that it was practical, and the effect was surprisingly good during training in Datong.

Customized equipment can partially offset the time it takes for the gunner to accumulate experience. The rest is just practice and perfecting the cannon to react to it.

The three rounds of fierce artillery fire by the Ming army were very short, almost completed in a few breaths, and the Tatar army formation rushing from the opposite side had been riddled with holes by hundreds of stone bullets.

Hundreds of people fell off their horses, making the remaining cavalry fearful.

"Boom boom boom"

With the start of the fourth round of shotgun fire, the lethality of the Ming army's artillery was fully revealed at this time.

"ah"

Continuous screams came from the cavalry queue, and cavalry and horses were constantly lying on the ground, wailing and wailing.