Chapter 1073 1164 Can the rattan plate really protect against bird cannons
“Can the rattan plate used by the Burmese army protect against bird cannons?”
Li Chengliang asked coldly.
Tianpai, in this era of Ming Dynasty, is a relatively unpopular weapon. The main reason is that this thing is mostly used near the southern border and is almost never seen in the inland and northern armies.
Li Chengliang was able to call out the name of this thing mainly because of the spread of "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms".
In fact, in the historical materials, whether it is "Three Kingdoms" or "Book of the Later Han Dynasty", there is no record of Tengjia at all.
So just like weapons such as Guan Yu's Qinglong Yanyue Sword and Lu Bu's Fangtian Painted Halberd did not appear at all during the Three Kingdoms period, the Tengjia soldiers, a very famous unit in "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms", did not appear at all during the Three Kingdoms period. , naturally there are no vine armor soldiers.
The record of rattan armor actually appeared in the Ming Dynasty, and it is not a specialty of ethnic minorities. Mao Yuanyi’s "Military Bei Zhi·Weapons Four" records: "Red rattan armor is made of fifty kilograms of red rattan and placed in a stone trough. Soak it in water for half a month, take it out and dry it for three days, then put it back into the tank and add water, let it soak for one year, dry it in the sun, and braid it according to the pattern. , a total of twenty pairs. The outside is made of tung oil, and the armor is light and strong, which can be used as a shield against water and fire. "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms" was written in the Ming Dynasty. It is actually an artistic image of the Southern Barbarian rattan armor soldiers created by Luo Guanzhong based on the rattan armor equipped by the Ming army.
In this record of "Military Bei Zhi", not only does it not mention that the rattan armor is afraid of fire, but it specifically emphasizes that it is "good for water and fire", which means that the rattan armor is not actually afraid of fire.
In fact, when Qi Jiguang was fighting against the Japanese in Fujian, there was a military position of rattan player in the army. From this, we can actually have a rough judgment on the origin of rattan. It was first produced in Fujian in China.
It is unknown whether the Fujian people created it themselves or it was introduced from overseas.
But at that moment, Li Chengliang saw that the Burmese army was equipped with a large number of rattans, so he came up with a guess. The Fujian rattans might have been brought over from merchant ships from the West and made by domestic craftsmen.
Of course the Liaodong Army led by Li Chengliang did not have this thing, but after all, he and Qi Jiguang fought against Wang Gao, so it is not unusual to see rattan cards in Qi Jiguang's army.
Just because of the material used to make the shield, Li Chengliang actually despised this weapon.
The shields equipped by the Liaodong Army were wooden shields with a layer of iron on the front and back to improve their defensive properties. In Li Chengliang's eyes, they were better than such crudely made things.
Unfortunately, he became interested in this thing for the first time after seeing the Burmese army's Tengpai on the city wall today.
The rattan plaque is made from old and thick rattan from the mountains. It is usually woven into a disc shape with a protruding center and raised eaves. It has a circular diameter of about three feet and weighs no more than nine pounds. The rattan is woven into the top and bottom of the plaque. The two rings allow the arms to hold.
This kind of rattan is simple to make and easy to use. In addition, the rattan itself is strong and flexible, smooth and tough, and difficult to be penetrated by weapons.
Remembering that it was made of rattan, before Liang Dingnan could answer, Li Chengliang continued to ask: "Is this thing afraid of fire? Can it be set on fire by using rockets and ordered crossbowmen to accurately shoot the rattan plate?"
After discovering the terror of the weapons in the opponent's hands, Li Chengliang's first thought was naturally how to crack it, instead of blindly acting recklessly and treating the lives of his soldiers as a child's play.
"Commander, this rattan armor is different from what is said in the storybook. It is not so easy to ignite."
Liang Dingnan has been stationed in Yunnan all year round, so he naturally knows about rattan armor. In fact, his army There was also a small amount of rattan armor used, so he hurriedly explained to Li Chengliang.
"Oh, it doesn't mean that the collected rattan must be soaked in tung oil. It should be easier to ignite."
Li Chengliang said puzzled.
It can only be said that Mao Yuanyi, who compiled the "Military Bei Zhi", had not yet been born at this time, and no one systematically recorded the rattan cards. Therefore, Li Chengliang never thought that the rattan cards were not afraid of fire attacks because no one introduced them in detail.
Of course, this also shows that Luo Guanzhong's "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" is more of a weapon that people should have heard of rattan cards from the folk, so they came out of the novel.
However, Li Chengliang had watched "Three Kingdoms" and had a preliminary impression of the shields, thinking that he could use fire to fight the enemy.
"Commander, those shields are not easy to ignite.
To be honest, Commander, there are soldiers in our army who use shields. When I read "Three Kingdoms", I also found someone to use shields. Tried it on fire.”
Liang Dingnan said.
"What was the result?"
Li Chengliang became interested and asked immediately.
“The wood ignited, but the shield didn’t burn. It still burned for a while before it was ignited.
Of course, once the shield was ignited, the fire was really big. It’s not easy to extinguish.”
Liang Dingnan replied.
Li Rusong also read "Three Kingdoms". Even in this era, there is no one who can read without reading the script.
"Journey to the West", "Water Margin", and "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms" are all must-read books.
Of course, there is no "Dream of Red Mansions" which is called a strange book. As for another truly strange book, "Jin Ping Mei", it has not yet begun to circulate, or it has been circulated, but only on a small scale. The manuscript may not even have been written.
Li Rusong had watched "Three Kingdoms" and heard his father and Liang Dingnan talking about the shield. Naturally, he became interested and interjected: "You mean, this shield is not easy to ignite?"
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"It's not easy. I have tried it myself. If the commander-in-chief or the young general don't believe it, I can immediately find a shield to burn and give it to the adults to try."
In order to prove that his words are true, Liang Dingnan has already planned to find a shield. Burn it to these two big men from Liaodong.
Li Chengliang waved his hand at this time and said: "According to what you said, this thing is actually very good in actual combat, so why doesn't the Southern Army equip a large number of this thing?"
In Li Chengliang's eyes, things Well, it’s time to promote it. How can we keep it to ourselves?
Liang Dingnan’s face did not change at all when he heard Li Chengliang’s words. He knew that they were from the north and didn’t understand anything, so he explained: “Commander, do you think that the rattan cards are made of rattan, so it is easy? .”
"Isn't it?"
Li Chengliang said immediately.
Hearing what Li Chengliang said, Liang Dingnan hurriedly explained: "Commander, the first step in making this rattan brand is to select old vines from the mountains, soak them in tung oil and then expose them to the sun and rain for at least a year, during which time they have to be soaked in tung oil repeatedly. .
Weaving is done only when the rattan is done well. , this is a weaving technique that can only be mastered by experienced craftsmen. The weaving of the rattan is airtight, and it is not the way of weaving baskets in the countryside."
Well, the meaning is actually the same. When making this rattan. , the labor cost is only higher than the iron-clad shields currently used by the Ming army.
In the Ming army, ordinary guards really did not have the financial resources to produce large quantities of rattan equipment for soldiers. Only Qi Jiguang, who was not short of money, dared to do this. Moreover, there was only one rattan player in the team, and the entire army only had a few Hundreds of shields.
Looking outside the city, the Burmese army took away the corpses and wounded when they retreated, so naturally they would not leave any weapons behind.
Liang Dingnan immediately sent his own soldiers to look for rattan plates in the military camp under the city, "Look for rattan armor too. I remember that someone in the army wore that thing in the early years."
"Yes, General. "
The soldier agreed and quickly went down the city wall to look for something.
Li Chengliang and Li Rusong were waiting on the tower. They were both startled when they saw the rattan defense against bird cannons today.
If the Burmese army were to equip a large number of such armor, it would be difficult for the Ming army to fight this battle.
You know, because the Liaodong Army used a large number of firearms, Li Chengliang was very confident when he led the troops to fight. For this reason, he actually didn't worry too much about the use of troops in the southwest. He only thought about bombing the enemy if he couldn't defeat them. He didn't believe that the flesh and blood of the Burmese people could be stronger than iron cannons and stone bullets.
So, when he was training troops in Guizhou, he mainly trained his soldiers in the use of firearms. Half of the troops were equipped with blunderbuss and Franco cannons.
After all, Qi Jiguang's record is too tempting.
Not only defeating the opponent, but also suffering minimal casualties is the result that every general dreams of.
Training soldiers is not easy, so Li Chengliang is not a general who does not value the lives of his soldiers. He has a large number of veterans with rich battlefield experience, and the generals are more confident to fight.
It is just talk that one general can make a thousand bones dry. It is not the case at all. No one will take the lives of his men as a joke.
Not long after waiting on the tower, the soldier who went out to look for something came back, holding a rattan plaque and a pair of rattan armor in his hand, but the rattan armor looked very small, more like A vest.
Li Rusong, who was beside him, jumped out, snatched the rattan armor from the soldiers and observed it carefully.
"The weaving of this thing is quite surprising. What kind of leather is it made of?"
There is a layer of skin on the inside and outside of the rattan armor. I just don’t know what kind of animal skin it is, but I can feel it. It should be very comfortable to wear.
“You really don’t know about this.”
The soldier was stunned when Li Rusong asked. The thing was not his, but was taken from a soldier. , which is also something passed down from family to family.
Li Rusong weighed it and said: "It feels lighter than cotton armor, but not light either."
"Haha, Major General, there are no iron pieces in it, just dry rattan and leather. It is definitely better than cotton armor." Lighter armor. < br>
It’s just that it’s very tight inside, but it’s much heavier than folk rattan furniture.”
Liang Dingnan came over and said, taking the shield from the soldier and walking back. Arrive in front of Li Chengliang.
Li Chengliang took the rattan plaque from Liang Dingnan and looked at it carefully. It was indeed very tightly woven, and it was completely different from the farming tools in the rattan basket.
Feel the weight. Because it is soaked in tung oil, it is much heavier than those rattan furniture.
"This is what the general rattan brand is like. Some rattan brand owners will also put a layer of leather on the outside of the rattan brand, just like the rattan armor, which is more waterproof and fireproof."
Liang Dingnan continued to introduce Li Chengliang kept nodding after hearing the advantages of rattan cards.
"Is this thing difficult to make?"
Li Chengliang is still concerned about this. If the thing is good, he can equip the Ming army in large quantities.
"It's not difficult to make, but it does take a lot of time. It takes at least a year from collecting the rattan to making it into a rattan.
Moreover, even a skilled craftsman must be able to weave this rattan. It will take at least half a month to compile, so the army has not mass-produced it.”
Speaking of which, Liang Ding said. Nan pointed to the rattan plaque in Li Chengliang's hand and the rattan armor in Li Rusong's hand and said: "These things actually belong to the soldiers themselves."
The Ming Dynasty implemented the military household system, which meant that Soldiers are passed down from generation to generation, so the court only issues the initial weapons, and the rest of the weapons, armors, etc. need to be maintained by themselves.
Of course, this does not mean that the court will completely ignore it.
In fact, the imperial court would allocate military resources from time to time according to the system and distribute them to the soldiers. For example, during the Yingzong and Hongzhi periods, the equipment of the Ming army underwent relatively large changes, and the same was true during the Jiajing Dynasty.
It’s just that once the armor weapons are distributed, subsequent maintenance will be ignored. That is to say, guard craftsmen will be arranged for maintenance during wartime.
Therefore, soldiers usually have to maintain the distributed weapons themselves, and pass them down from generation to generation before new equipment is issued.
Such a system kept the equipment level of the Ming army at a low level, so there was also the matter of temporarily allocating equipment to replenish the guard stations during wartime.
The mandarin duck battle coat that Wei Guangde wore when he went into battle to kill the enemy was not replenished by Nanjing Hypode under this situation.
"Bring two blunderbuss and try the power of this thing."
Li Chengliang's previous view on the tower was not realistic enough. Now he has the real thing in his hand. Although it is somewhat different from the Burmese army's, I don't think it's too big.
Soon, several gunmen were transferred over to test the guns on the city wall.
The shields were placed dozens of steps away, approximately at the edge of the range of the Ming army's bird cannons. The shields were set up on wooden stands, and people were asked to shoot at the shields.
Li Rusong didn't have time to pay attention to the rattan armor at the moment. He ran to the side and asked the soldiers to help him take off the armor, and then put on the rattan armor himself.
Soldiers are naturally interested in this type of equipment, after all, this is the first time I see it.
The gun test started with "bang bang bang", lead bullets kept bombarding the shield, and Li Rusong had already put on the half vest.
"Is this the rattan armor? I saw some people in the Burmese army wearing it all over their bodies."
Li Rusong grabbed the soldier and asked.
“The generals in Burma and Siam could not afford iron armor, so they had no choice but to wear rattan armor.
Although it is lighter than iron armor, because rattan armor has no toughness and is not flexible after being worn, it is far less protective than the iron armor worn by generals. "
The soldier explained.
The soldiers around Li Rusong would definitely not be able to answer these questions. After all, they have never seen them.
The soldiers on the Yunnan side , especially border areas like Shidian, since However, I have seen chieftain soldiers wearing this kind of armor, and even Ming businessmen have rattan armor.
The Ming court prohibited private collection of armor, but rattan armor seems not to be an exception because the army does not equip it. .
If it is not used in the army, it naturally does not count as armor. The guards of the caravan merchants choose rattan armor for self-defense.
Of course, not being able to buy iron armor with money is also the main reason.
After several rounds of shooting, someone took the shield and looked at it. It was true that the shot had not penetrated. At this time, Li Chengliang's face turned ugly.
"Get closer, keep shooting, and see how far you can penetrate."
At this time, Li Chengliang was heartbroken and ordered loudly.
The soldiers here are testing their guns. Li Chengliang has already pulled Liang Dingnan and asked: "Is there a shield in Yunnan? The army needs a lot of equipment. I will also report this matter."
It is not simple to be able to prevent bird cannons. .
"Commander, you don't need to worry too much. There are not many rattans in the Burmese army. The ones under the city today are the elites of the Burmese army."
Liang Dingnan said at this time.