Late Ming Dynasty: Conquering the world starting from riding and cutting

"Our army's positions are deployed like this. What do you think?"

The wind picked up in the woods, blowing the flags hanging high on the tents that stretched for a hundred meters in the forest. After setting up camp, they were hurriedly unloading all kinds of equipment, materials, supplies and ammunition carried on the baggage carriage.

The forest wind blew the flag, and also the cloaks of Zhao Dahai and others. Looking from a distance, a dozen people stood on a high platform built of wood, their scarlet cloaks were blown by the wind, looking majestic. stern.

This high platform is built on a small earth bag on the hills, making full use of the terrain. It is condescending and has an excellent view.

Looking around, due east, there is Fenggang City, which is also full of people, horses neighing and people shouting, a noisy scene.

"Take out a team from the camp, and two armored troops from the outpost, and deploy them right in front to monitor the enemy's movements, Carrot." Zhao Dahai affectionately called Luo Dayou, a team officer in the camp, by his nickname.

"Brothers in your team are setting up defenses on the left wing, and they are also deploying one of the troops in the front, and the rest of the troops are building camps on the second line. Qu Wan, you lead your team to be responsible for the security of the right wing, and our Chinese army will station the remaining two battalions."

Seven or eight people stared at the simple camp defense map on the table. This formation was actually the more common and common pinzi formation of the Ming army. They were the horns of each other and relied on each other.

If one party is in trouble, both parties can be saved.

"Have the artillery positions been chosen well?" Zhao Dahai couldn't help but ask when he saw that there was no artillery position on the topographic map.

"There are many hills and mountains here, and there is no flat ground in a suitable location. The elevation angle of the artillery muzzle is very large, making it difficult to send the shells into Fenggang City." Liang Zhan, the artillery captain, immediately replied.

"How long will it take until it's completely set up?"

Every time the Keelung Army goes into battle, artillery must go first to frighten the enemy. Under the baptism of artillery fire, the enemy's combat strength is reduced by at least half. Zhao Dahai does not want his soldiers to suffer casualties in vain, so he pays special attention to artillery.

"When will the artillery be delivered? This is the key!" Liang Zhan asked carelessly, if the logistics does not deliver the artillery, what is the point of digging up the artillery battalion.

"It's already on the way. It will arrive early tomorrow morning at the latest."

After the battle of Toyooka City, Zhao Dahai immediately informed Qin Hao. Qin Hao also paid special attention to this. The tradition of artillery firing first could not be discarded, so he ordered ten 8-pound guns to be dispatched to the front line.

This is also the greatest support I can give him at the moment.

"As long as you have cannons!" Liang Zhan laughed and said his promise, "I will set up the position tonight and discipline those Japanese pirates tomorrow to use grandpa's cannons."

"In that case, seize the city at noon tomorrow and annihilate Kumamoto-o in one fell swoop!"

As soon as the military order was issued, the soldiers in the camp began to prepare in full swing.

Among them, the artillery team has the largest number of people. Even Inada Dairo's Fuso Ashigaru was mobilized to excavate the ground. Using the artillery base as the firepower point, a 30X5 rectangular artillery array was dug around the perimeter, and there were deep trenches around it. .

The trench was three feet deep and five feet wide, which was exactly the size that a grown man could not cross in one step. Behind the trench, within five to eight steps, is the second line of defense, which is a guardrail made of bamboo and wood cut down from nearby, which can delay the enemy's attack on the artillery array.

In addition to the artillery array, the three walls installed are also extremely luxurious.

The wall was built according to the traditional Chinese Ming-style camping method. It was divided into two layers, the inner and outer layers. The outer side was slightly higher and the inner side was slightly lower. The earth was poured in the middle. The soldiers of the transport team even used wooden rams to tamp the earth. Tamp down.

In this way, even if the enemy uses artillery to attack the wall, the protective capability of the wall will be much higher.

Moreover, in order to resist the attack of arrows, the shooting positions were specially designed for the musketeers on the wall, and the shooting ports were dug. The eight-shaped shooting ports not only ensured the shooting angle of the muskets, but also protected the musketeers to the maximum extent. safety.

Even though Feng Gang Castle might be invaded tomorrow, the heavy troops of Shuntian Camp still followed the camp rules taught in the school in an orderly manner.

This is their job. If they were asked to go into battle, they would be eager to go to war. They would even rush to be the first. Who doesn't know that one head is worth five acres of land? If you kill 10 of them, you will have nothing to worry about for the rest of your life.

There is no cap on the land rewarded for killing enemies, which has led to a sharp increase in the number of people joining the army in Keelung.

In the evening, the camp and the defense line were basically formed. According to the division of defense areas, the soldiers of each battalion marked their respective camp areas according to the organizational levels of battalion, team and armor.

As before, we first built fortifications, trenches, and earthen walls, all of which were indispensable, and the barriers were tight.

Along the straight road from the Chinese army's Dazhai to Yuanmen, there are artillery emplacements and musket firing positions everywhere.

The soldiers unloaded the cotton tents of each armor from the baggage truck, skillfully connected the oak poles with metal joints at both ends, and built the skeleton of their own tents.

Then, shouting the slogan, he took out a light cotton cloth from his camping bag and put it on the frame. Since the weather was not cold, the lightest cotton cloth could withstand the cold night air.

Then use connecting rods to pass through the tent and connect to the original frame. Then, he used a sledgehammer to drive large nails made of wrought iron into the ground and fixed the tent with ropes.

After completing the construction of the tent, the soldiers quickly picked up shovels and dug a drainage ditch one foot deep and two feet wide around the tent. They used the dug soil to compact the lower edge of the tent.

Because it is located among hills, and spring and summer are mosquito-prone seasons, some soldiers used sulfur obtained from the quartermaster and sprinkled it evenly in the drainage ditch to prevent the invasion of snakes, insects, rats and ants.

The camps of each armor, each team, and each battalion are neatly arranged on the hills in front of Toyooka Castle like a chessboard.

Blown by the night wind, the sun gradually set, and its afterglow dyed the jungle in the distance as red as blood. As night fell, lights were turned on in the camp, and under the organization of the captains of each team, the cooks began to prepare dinner next to the cooking cart.

Coals were burning in the stove of the cooking class. Several cooks in white aprons were waving spatulas to prepare dinner for the brothers in the camp. Although they cannot go into battle to kill the enemy, it is their natural duty to feed their brothers.

The air was filled with a strong aroma, and the smell of fish, pork, eggs, rice, and various vegetables floated over the camp. The soldiers carried their own iron rice bowls and dinner plates, lined up, and prepared to eat.

Following the wind, the scent drifted westward. Kumamoto Ashigaru, who was lying on the city wall and keeping vigil, twitched his nose greedily, "Ichiku, the smell of fish stew!"

"The taste of meat!"

"It looks like stewed duck!"

"Eight Yalu, these guys eat really well!" Several dark and thin Kumamoto Ashigaru looked at the lights on the opposite side, which was nothing more than a town. They looked at the light with greedy, jealous, and resentful eyes, and took a hard bite of the cold rice balls in their hands.

Inside the camp, Zhao Dahai and several camp officers had finished their dinner and were discussing the next step of the war in Zhao Dahai's tent.

Now, the only thing blocking Zhao Dahai's progress is the sharp bamboo array that stretches across Fenggang City for several miles.

"This thing is really eye-catching! If we want to break through, our brothers will have to face the Kumamoto family's artillery with their flesh and blood when we get within the range of the Kumamoto family's artillery!" Luo Dayou knew that Toyooka City had artillery. , there was some worry in my heart.

Qu Wanting frowned and fiddled with the sharp bamboo pulled by the outpost soldiers in his hand. The five-foot-long sharp bamboo was about two and a half inches wide, with the upper end sharpened.

"Sir, I have an humble opinion. It is possible to break through the Kumamoto family's sharp bamboo formation. However, I'm afraid the cost will be very high." Wang An looked at Zhao Dahai, and Ai Ai had something to say.

Zhao Dahai frowned almost imperceptibly.

This Wang An was a good leader of troops, he was willing to use his brains when fighting, and he was able to lead by example. However, he was not good at all. He was a bit cowardly and hesitant in his actions and words. This is why he never became an official.

"Old Wang, if you have any ideas, just tell me. If it's free, put it aside and let's hear it." Luo Dayou sat carelessly on the horse, wiping the sweat on his forehead with the corner of his cloak.

"Everyone, there is a sharp bamboo on the opposite side. When the brothers of the artillery team were setting up their positions and testing the cannon, I happened to be there. Once the cannon passed, there was a passage within dozens of feet. Wherever the cannonball hit, these..." He pointed to the sharp bamboo in his hand.

"Either destroyed by artillery shells, burned, or pushed down, it will no longer be an obstacle to the advancement of our army. Therefore, I think..."

"You want to use artillery fire to clear the way?!" Wang An's words made Liang Zhan jump up in shock. "Do you know how much silver a solid cannonball costs? Gunpowder?! Also, our cannons can only fire as many shots as they want. If you use all the cannonballs to open the way, what will you use to attack the city later?"

Liang Zhanting also started to make promises, "We didn't bring much ammunition for the artillery this time. The number of cannons I tried was halved."

Liang Zhan's meaning was very simple. He did not agree with this plan of artillery washing the land. If the artillery shells were hit on the enemy's heads, there would be nothing to say, but hitting bamboo was absolutely not allowed to be such a waste.

"It's a waste. It's better to send troops to pull them out one by one. How many people will die?" Luo Da had a strong sense of friendship and immediately raised his hand in approval. "If the Lord were here, he wouldn't be reluctant to part with the cannonballs."

"How about trying those Fuso soldiers?"

I don't know who made a suggestion in a low voice, which made Zhao Dahai suddenly understand.

He has long been displeased with these Fusang Japanese pirates.

"Haidai, more than half of the Fuso soldiers have been killed or injured. If they are all gone, it will be difficult for the lord to explain." Qu Wan was a little worried. After all, the Saga family was an ally. Is this going too far?

"Okay, I have decided to use Fuso soldiers."

"Chinese Army! Pass the order! Rest for an hour after dinner, and let the Fuso Ashigaru group clear the obstacles at night."

When the military order was notified to Inada Da Lang, he who had become the captain did not know that they were about to go through a hellish journey.

Pull out the bamboo!

This morning he saw the dense bamboo array outside Fenggang City. For this task, he took on the task unsuspectingly, which made Qu Wan who announced the military order a little bit intolerable.

"Be careful and come back alive!"

Qu Wan still took great care of this Fusang young man. Before leaving, he handed him a set of steel armor.

That night, taking advantage of the darkness, Inada led an ashigaru team of 150 people and crawled toward Toyooka Castle in the dark. Touching the armor on his body gave him an inexplicable sense of peace of mind.

"Slow down and don't make any noise."

When setting off, Inada had already told the Ashigaru all the important points, but after all, it was their first time going into battle, so they were somewhat scared.

An hour later, only one third of the sharp bamboos arranged in front of the city wall had been pulled out. During this period, they were discovered many times on the city wall. Fortunately, soldiers in this era were not well nourished and most of them suffered from night blindness.

Ten meters away at night, there is no distinction between humans and animals.

But as the sharp bamboos in the distance were pulled out, the rice fields had to move closer to the city wall, and the possibility of being discovered in this way became more and more likely.

"Keep your voices down!" As he got closer and closer to Toyooka City, Inada's reminders became less and less frequent, and his voice became deeper and deeper.

He slowly pulled out a sharp bamboo, held it in his arms, and then walked to the next one, which took no more than five seconds.

Fortunately, the craftsmen who placed these sharp bamboos were not very considerate. The bamboos were inserted very casually and could be pulled out without any effort at all. Rice Field thanked these sneaky craftsmen from the bottom of his heart.

While he was in a trance with emotion, unknown bright spots shone on Toyooka Castle in the night.

"shoot!"

With a roar, hundreds of arrows shook their tails, cut through the wind resistance, and shot straight towards the Ashigaru who were pulling out bamboo.

Then dozens of torches were thrown under the city. Seeing the wailing enemy troops, Kumamoto immediately turned from anger to joy, took a sip of phlegm, and laughed and said: "Yo Xi, let you have a taste of shelling."

Kumamoto gave an order, and the Dutch bronze cannon, which had been ready to fire, "boomed". The people standing nearby couldn't help but cover their ears. The sound of the gunfire was too loud.

Driven by gunpowder, the dense lead bullets flew straight towards the Ashigaru troops below the city. Everywhere they passed was covered in flesh and blood. Those who were hit didn't even have time to cry out before they were broken into pieces.

Of course, the power of the artillery is more than that. After the solid shell hits the ground, the shell will have debris due to the impact effect, and these debris will cause huge damage to the people around it.

Unfortunately, Rice Field was in the area where the debris was flying, but luckily he was wearing Qu Wan's armor and only had a few cuts on his face, but others were not so lucky.

The pain caused by the debris hitting their thighs caused many ashigaru to wail. Such a sound made them even more eye-catching in the dark night.

In an instant, another round of arrows swept the ground, making the already small Ashigaru team even worse.

Taking advantage of the gap between shooting arrows, Inada rushed towards the camp as hard as he could. Looking at the dozen or so people following behind him, he felt a burst of secret pain in his heart.

After returning to the camp, he saw Master Qu Wan outside the village. Qu Wan was also shocked when he saw the rice fields coming back.

This Fuso young man is really lucky.

Patting Paddy's arm and asking him to put down the bamboo between his arms, Qu Wan said earnestly: "Don't blame Sir, there is nothing you can do about it. Sir Zhao will avenge you."

As soon as he finished speaking, a bombardment a hundred times more violent than Toyooka Castle flew past the eyes of the rice fields and hit the foot of the wall of Toyooka Castle.

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