Chapter 3533
Perhaps due to the influence of Haihan, the two warring parties have very similar ideas for building armies. They unanimously focus their resources on weapons, while armor lacks steel. Even officers can only wear bamboo and wood armor, let alone ordinary armor. Soldier.
Last year, when Shi Diwen visited the Kyushu vassals, he sent several sets of well-made steel armors, which were regarded as treasures by the various lords. However, Shi Diwen's plan to take this opportunity to sell a wave of armor did not achieve very good results.
It's not that the big names don't look down on Shanghai Han armor. It's just that the budget is limited. To buy a good set of armor, you have to buy a few less muskets. In comparison, the daimyo are still more willing to spend money on purchasing weapons to increase the lethality of their troops as much as possible.
Although the shogunate has stronger financial resources, it is also unwilling to invest too much in individual protective equipment. The values of the big shots in the shogunate are very clear, that is, the lives of these soldiers are far from worth a good set of steel armor, and there is absolutely no need to spend this "unjust money".
Buy as much as you can and use them as rewards for meritorious generals in the future.
The shogunate troops currently landing in Kyushu are considered to be relatively well-equipped troops, but the bamboo and wooden armors on the soldiers obviously cannot provide much protection when being shot by rifle projectiles. When the two armies met in the first round of shooting, the shogunate army was like Like rice harvested by a sickle, they fell in a row.
The Kyushu Allied Forces, who huddled behind the parapet and opened fire, suffered almost no casualties. After all, they only had a scalp exposed outside the bunker, and if the musket wanted to hit such a small target at a distance of fifty feet, it basically had to rely on luck.
In addition to volleys of muskets, the shogunate's troops were killed by grapeshot fired from artillery.
Grape bullets fired at close range may seem to be only a few times larger than musket projectiles, but they are much more lethal and can easily penetrate the human body. Just a few small-caliber artillery pieces firing grapeshot were enough to block the advance route of the shogunate army.
Along with the rumble of artillery, the guests watching the battle also received an introduction to this small-caliber field gun. Lightweight, durable, easy to operate, and cheaper than large-caliber artillery, these are the main features of this gun.
This kind of artillery is actually not unfamiliar to many countries. Haihan has been exported in large quantities before this, and at least thousands of them have been sold so far. It can be regarded as one of the necessary weapons for various countries to train new firearms armies.
Even countries such as the Ming Dynasty and the Manchu Qing Dynasty, which were hostile to Haihan, had obtained some through some special channels, and they are still in use in the military.
Shi Diwen claimed that the latest model of this artillery is now on sale and has been improved in terms of range, accuracy and barrel life. If you place an order for a cannon recently, each cannon will come with five pieces of grape bullets of the same type as those of the Kyushu Allied Forces. hair.
Yes, that's right, the small-caliber cannon currently used on the defense line of the Kyushu Allied Forces is the latest model promoted by Shi Diwen.
For potential customers of this kind of artillery, there is no need for Haihan to brag about any test firings at the shooting range, live pig and cattle targets, or combat effectiveness. Obviously, they are not as real and reliable as the actual combat in front of them.
King Zheng Zha of Annan immediately expressed his intention to purchase this new model of small-caliber cannon.
Although what he likes more is the breech-loading cannon used by the Haihan Army, when someone needs to stand up and support him, he will naturally do his part.
Annan has been dealing with Haihan for so many years and has done countless arms transactions. Zheng Zha has long understood Haihan's style of doing things. Only after a certain amount of money is spent on each military purchase, can he be eligible to apply for the purchase of weapons with more advanced performance. equipment. After this battle, it will take time to estimate how much these relatively cheap guns and artillery can be sold. However, judging from the enthusiasm of the guests on the inspection team, the sales volume brought about by this should not be low.
After the shogunate army withstood the firepower, they also knew that pushing forward would be in vain. They quickly adjusted their formation and asked the musketeers to withdraw one after another and push out the several artillery pieces that had been sent ashore last night.
Not surprisingly, the field artillery used by the shogunate army was almost identical to the weapons on the Kyushu Allied Forces' positions.
After all, this kind of light artillery, with a total weight of only a few hundred kilograms including wheels, has very few competitors on the market, and similar products from Western countries cannot even achieve the same caliber accuracy, let alone be as accurate as Haihan also provides it in batches.
The shogunate army inspected a circle and finally had no choice but to purchase from Haihan.
After the two sides of the conflict entered the artillery battle stage, the only difference was that the Kyushu Allied Forces had deployed defensive fortifications in advance. Although they were only earth and stone breast wall bunkers, they could effectively prevent most of the artillery fire from the shogunate army.
The shogunate army, eager to break through, had no time to build a bunker in front of the formation, and the artillery positions were directly exposed. The consequences can be imagined.
After several cannons were destroyed by the coalition forces, the shogunate army once again fell into the dilemma they faced yesterday - although they had the advantage, they were blocked in a narrow area by the enemy's long-range firepower and could not rush out.
After only about an hour of fighting, the shogunate army along the east side of the hill had stopped making unnecessary attempts.
News from another battlefield to the west of the hills revealed that the shogunate army was also frustrated and failed to successfully break through the defense line of the Kyushu Allied Forces.
A temporary schematic map of the battlefield has been hung next to the spectator seats, drawing the general terrain of the fighting area, and marking the current fighting location and the defense line deployed by the Kyushu Allied Forces.
Judging from the map, the front of the landing point controlled by the shogunate army is the hill fort, and the coast on the left and right sides of the hill is the current fighting location. No matter which direction they choose to break through, it will be difficult for the shogunate army to deploy their formation, and they will be completely unable to take advantage of their strength.
Perhaps the shogunate had realized that it was unwise to choose this main attack direction, but at this point, it was not easy to withdraw the thousands of people who had crossed the sea.
It is not impossible to leave them here as a diversion and find another landing site. After all, there are tens of thousands of shogunate troops on the other side of the strait. As long as there are enough ships, it is not difficult to launch another round of offensive, but the diversion it can cause The effect is definitely limited.
After the Kyushu Allied Forces took control of the situation, they no longer needed to deploy a large number of troops here. They only used a small number of troops to block the traffic passes around the hills.
After the shogunate army initiated a ceasefire, the two armies entered into a stalemate with great tacit understanding, and neither took the initiative to launch an offensive again.
But this kind of calmness was boring to the inspection team watching the battle. Shi Diwen had to send his second son Shi Chengxin to the coalition headquarters to inquire about the next combat arrangements.