Chapter 4343 The Sorrow of War
The biggest reason why firearms were first born on the land of China, but then developed slowly until the end of the Ming Dynasty or even stagnated, was that they could not adapt to rainy weather. Matchlock guns were completely useless in rainy days, and flintlock guns were better but rainy weather It's too big because the gun is unlocked The structure is simple and the flint is wetted. The hard-working and intelligent Chinese people retreated from this matter. Instead of thinking about how to improve it, they abandoned it after discovering its shortcomings and still worked hard on the traditional crossbow. , until it was completely surpassed by the West.
Every time future generations think about it, they all sigh with regret. As the country where gunpowder was born, it has suffered from the poison of firearms...
The flintlock musket produced by the Foundry Bureau is not completely waterproof, but it can still be used reluctantly in light rain. When the soldier is loading, he keeps the musket in his arms to block the rain, and then fires it quickly to shorten the time of being exposed to the rain and wet the flint. probability is reduced to the minimum.
Naturally, it is impossible for all the 20,000 Youtun guards to be equipped with muskets. Two thousand of them went to the camp to receive muskets and ammunition. The remaining soldiers lined up to wait, with sword and shield soldiers in front and spear soldiers in the back. This was to resist the opponent's cavalry. In the charging battle line, the crossbowmen are behind the spearmen, and they wait for the enemy to enter the shooting range and shoot them from a distance. This can effectively disrupt the enemy's cavalry charge array and reduce the damage to the sword and shield soldiers and spearmen.
At this time, in the Youtunwei camp, all types of soldiers were arrayed in order, with tight formations stacked on top of each other. They remained unmoved in the face of the tide of Zuotunwei soldiers.
The first was the three thousand cavalrymen of Zuotun Guard. Although the two military camps were close to each other and could not increase their horse speed to the limit, the roaring hoofs of the thousands of cavalrymen when they charged were like thunder rolling in the sky, beating in people's hearts. Waves of nausea.
The sword and shield soldiers of Youtun Guard even had to open their mouths slightly to ease the trembling that shook their organs. Under the clouds, even though there were only thousands of cavalry, they rushed over like a tidal wave, a kind of "King of Arms" unique Domineering energy filled the world.
collapse!
The crashing sounds of thousands of bowstrings converged into one, and countless arrows soared into the sky in an instant, like a dark cloud rising from the ground, passing over the heads of one's own defensive array. After reaching the highest point, they dived towards the charging enemy cavalry. And go.
collapse!
The first wave of arrows has not yet hit the ground, but the second wave has already taken off again.
collapse!
The third wave follows...
Puff puff puff! Falling from the air at an angle, the kinetic energy it carries can still reach 60% of the initial kinetic energy. The sharp triangular arrow clusters can easily break through the leather armor. Even the armor is very likely to get through the gaps in the armor pages. The charging left The garrison cavalrymen were constantly hit by arrows and fell to the ground, but the cavalry behind them did not slow down and continued to move forward, stepping on the fallen body of Paoze.
The range of the crossbow is limited. It can only fire three rounds of arrows between the maximum range and the cavalry charge. As long as it survives these three rounds and rushes closer, both the sword, shield and spear soldiers will be attacked by the cavalry. , and once this line of defense is broken through by the cavalry, the crossbowmen behind are simply lambs waiting to be slaughtered in front of the cavalry.
Three rounds of arrow rain poured down, leaving more than a thousand corpses of the Zuotun Guard cavalry, and finally arrived in front of the sword and shield soldiers. The cavalry on horseback gritted their teeth, pressed their bodies as close as possible to the body of the war horse, and controlled the war horse to continue charging.
Although the sword and shield soldiers can slow down the charging speed of the cavalry and offset the huge impact force, the sharp spears protruding from the gaps between the shields are the real damage. For the cavalry, the warrior at the front means death, not only To withstand more arrows, it is necessary to use the bodies of men and horses to break away shields and offset spears.
Puff puff puff! The huge kinetic energy of the war horse rushing forward caused the spear to instantly pierce the body, raising its head and letting out a shrill scream, and then slammed into the array of shields.
There is almost nothing fancy about fighting with cold weapons and fighting for supremacy on the battlefield. Victory can only be purchased with blood, life and strength.
The strict shield array was instantly twisted and shattered by the impact. The sword and shield soldiers in the front row were hit by the violent impact of the cavalry. Their internal organs were displaced, bones were broken, and tendons were broken. Blood spurted from the mouth and staggered around. Many of them were even directly hit. The fallen horses and enemies were lying beneath them. Some were moaning and wailing, and some were killed on the spot.
War has always been so cruel. He is usually the husband of his wife, the father of his children, and the child of his parents. But the moment he sets foot on the battlefield, he has become a cold killing machine. He kills or is killed. Even if he dies in battle, it is just a post-war battle. Emotionless numbers in statistics books.
However, it seems that the world is originally so cruel. Every living thing is marked by war at the beginning of its birth. Survival of the fittest and survival of the fittest. From birds in the sky to mayflies on the bottom of the sea, all creatures die in wars. Survive.
The first person to die on the battlefield will be sympathized with, and there will be sadness in his eyes, he will be afraid, flinch, and tremble, and even the enemy will be intolerant, but when the second person, the third person... Thousands of people are dying in front of you, your nerves will become numb, and all your emotions will converge into a firm belief: you die, I live.
Fang Jun looked at the bloody battlefield with cold eyes, his heart, which had been tempered as hard as stone in previous wars, never fluttered, and said in a deep voice: "Prepare firearms, but no shooting is allowed. Put all the enemies in and then give them a beating. ”
It is impossible for tens of thousands of Zuotun Guard soldiers to rush into the Right Tunwei camp at once. Three thousand cavalry are responsible for rushing into the formation, followed by troops with complete formations. If firearms are used to annihilate all the enemy cavalry at this moment, Because of Chai Zhewei's cowardice and incompetence, he was so frightened that he simply withdrew his troops and retreated.
If Zuo Tunwei cannot be completely defeated, the absolute safety of Xuanwu Gate cannot be guaranteed. There is not only one Yin Qinzhou in the distance who is tentatively approaching Xuanwu Gate. There are countless people in the whole pass who are watching with eager eyes. Once Xuanwu Gate is exposed, it will inevitably be like The wolves pounced on him and tore the Youtun Guards into pieces, and then sent troops into the palace to support the King of Jin and seize a share of the merit of following the dragon.
"Here!"
After receiving the order, Gao Kan personally turned around and went to the camp in the rear to supervise the distribution of firearms, and commanded 10,000 troops equipped with various firearms.
In front, the sword and shield soldiers and spear soldiers were fighting bloody battles with the enemy cavalry rushing into the array, using their own flesh and blood to block the enemy's charge in exchange for delaying the battle and luring the enemy deeper...
……
Chai Zhewei looked up and saw that the dark clouds in the sky were gradually dispersing. It was already bright and the rain had gradually stopped. He didn't know whether he would see the sun today.
In a night of chaos, Li Daozong rushed into the Tai Chi Palace and was blocked near the Ganlu Palace. Until now, there was no further news. It is inevitable that people feel heavy. After all, this battle can only be won, not defeated.
Fortunately, the scouts continued to send back news about the Youtunwei camp. It was unavoidable to make people feel happy when they heard about the cavalry and the sudden arrival of the main force.
The reason why they raised the army under the lobbying of Yu Wenshi and others was that they were sure that the King of Jin could achieve great things and that by relying on him, they could obtain meritorious service and gain a feudal status. Secondly, they also wanted to defeat the Youtun Guards and completely wash away the shame on their bodies.
When the cannibals invaded the Western Regions, Chai Zhe was afraid of the enemy and was too timid to fight. He thought that he would not be defeated in the expedition to the Western Regions without any chance of victory, so he openly defied the prince's edict and pretended to be ill. As a result, Fang Jun led half of the Youtun Guards After running a long distance, he defeated 200,000 Dashi troops and became a god.
As a result, Chai Zhewei's reputation was ruined and he suffered a lot of ridicule and ridicule, both overt and covert. As a result, the prestige and status of the Chai family plummeted...
This humiliation turned into Fang Jun's jealousy and hatred, which was irreconcilable.
It's a pity that I misjudged the situation at the beginning, thinking that the invasion of the cannibals with strong horses and horses must be unstoppable. This led to today's passivity. If I had known that the cannibals' 200,000 troops were strong on the outside and weak on the inside, Chai Zhewei went in on his own.
I can fuck me too!
"Go on, this battle is about the uprightness of the empire and the inheritance of the country. We must fight with all our strength and live to the death. We must charge at all times and fight bravely to be the first! Even if the traitor threatens my brother's life, you Don’t worry, I am a loyal member of the Chai family. How can I be threatened by thieves and ignore the kindness of the late emperor? It’s a good thing to die for the country!”
The Zuotunwei soldiers who were originally frightened heard this, and immediately felt relieved. Previously they were worried about what they would do if the opponent tied Chai Lingwu in front of the army and threatened to retreat. Now they no longer had any worries, so they rushed to the front.
"Commander, the cavalry has already charged into the formation and suffered heavy casualties, but it also destroyed the enemy's formation."
"Okay! There is no need to worry about casualties. Youtunwei is already in civil strife and his combat strength has been weakened. All we need to do is break through his first line of defense and smash the shell. He is a lamb to be slaughtered. Order, charge with all your strength!"
"Here!"
The rain had completely stopped and the autumn wind was picking up. Chai Zhewei raised his head and glanced at the flying flag, feeling that the victory was determined. However, it was a pity that the cavalry he had managed to form had suffered heavy losses in repeated defeats, because the war horses were tightly held by the emperor. Therefore, the control has not been replenished, otherwise the seven or eight thousand cavalry now would be enough to completely overwhelm the Youtun Guards.
But it has nothing to do with the overall situation. The current Youtunwei is like a snail. It seems hard and there is nowhere to start. As long as the outer shell is broken, the soft and tender meat will be exposed, and you can do whatever you want...
Bang bang bang!
A burst of musketry came from the wind, first sporadically, then in full blast.
Chai Zhewei's expression changed, and he quickly urged the soldiers on his left and right: "Quickly go forward and see how many muskets there are in the right camp guard!"
"Here!"
Several cavalrymen rode towards the Youtunwei camp.
Chai Zhewei stood under the banner and rode his horse. His hands holding the reins tightened slightly, and his heart was beating like a drum. The reason why he and Li Yuanjing's royal army suffered a disastrous defeat at the Xuanwu Sect was because of the indestructible firearms of Youtun Guards. To this day, when he occasionally wakes up in the middle of the night, the roar of the artillery that shatters the sky and the earth is still vaguely lingering in his ears.
Youtunwei's firearms have long become his nightmare.
But since the Guanlong mutiny burned down the foundry bureau, firearms production has almost ceased. Even if it was rebuilt later, it would still be difficult to restore the previous production in the short term. The number of various firearms produced was extremely limited. After seeing the power of firearms, various armies began to strive for equipment in the military, but they have been unable to do so.
Even Zhenguan ministers like Cheng Yaojin and Yuchi Gong went directly to the Yamen of the Ministry of War and the Foundry Bureau, and they could not get even one more musket or thunder, and the artillery was very few and almost non-existent.
It is precisely because of this that the King of Jin dared to raise an army to fight for the throne, and he dared to rely on the King of Jin to rebel against the court. Presumably, the reason why Li Daozong led his army into the Xuanwu Gate was because the troops loyal to the emperor such as the Sixth Leader of the East Palace lacked firearms and were seriously weakened. Because of combat effectiveness.
But if the Ministry of War and the Foundry Bureau have been secretly producing firearms to equip the troops loyal to the emperor, but have blocked the news from the outside world, and now are equipped with firearms at a critical moment... Chai Zhewei shuddered when he thought of this possibility.
Impossible? (End of chapter)