Chapter 1706 The Renzijuan war is about to begin
Following Zhang Dingyuan's suggestion, several other people also put forward their own opinions. For a time, the crowd was excited and morale was high.
He Huchen was also very proud. He was able to successfully mobilize everyone's passion and courage. It was not easy, and it was also a skill.
The group of soldiers under him also come from many sources, including Liaodong soldiers, Yongping people Zhuang, and Beijing camp veterans. It is not easy to put them together, especially when they have to abandon everything before and start from scratch to form a completely different army. It turns out that the new army in the old Beijing camp, which mainly uses firearms, is also a huge challenge for him.
It can be said that he was also trembling with fear from the beginning, fearing that he would fail Feng Ziying's high expectations for him.
Fortunately, Feng Ziying has maintained absolute support for him from beginning to end, and has given strong support from all aspects, especially giving all-round guidance to the construction of such an army that no one has had contact with before, which allowed him to stumble with this. An army was discovered.
Today's battle can be regarded as the first battle for He Huchen's department to get off to a good start, and it was also the first battle without his on-the-spot command. It was fought so beautifully, which greatly inspired the confidence of everyone, including him.
Although I was very optimistic about this kind of firearm, which is far more powerful than the previous three-eyed gun and target gun, but after all, I have never experienced a real war, and I still feel a little uneasy.
But after this battle, He Huchen can already firmly believe that in every battle in the future, the army in his hands will perform better and not lose to any army, even if they are the elite of the Nine Sides, and they are also It will get better and better and stronger.
After carefully listening to the suggestions of everyone under his command, He Huchen nodded slightly: "Very good, I understand everyone's opinions. We really need to make full use of the high ground to the south and west of the bridge. Ding Yuan's suggestion is very good. Tiger Crouching Cannon The power of it can just cover this area. If they want to gather and advance at the north end of the bridge, we can use this height to hit them head-on. As for crossing the bridge, Mingzhang's opinion is also very good. The bridge deck is only so wide. If the camp wagon is pushed across the bridge as a shield, the middle of it will be quite narrow, and there will be no way to hide many soldiers. A hundred or ten people can come over at one time, which is too much. Can we give up the bridge head and shoot them when they unfold? It’s a consideration. Also, if we build high platforms on both sides of the bridge and use firecrackers to shoot from above, can we cause damage to them?…”
Through collective efforts, once the suggestion is accepted and supported by the superior, the proposer will have a sense of honor and trust, and will be more willing to make suggestions.
He Huchen also wanted to cultivate this sense of participation among everyone, instead of relying solely on his own opinions, because to be honest, this was the only way an army that had always relied on firearms would fight. It was also the first time for him to figure out how to maximize the power of firearms. Taking it to the extreme, he is also a process of learning and practice.
“It’s time-consuming and laborious to build a high platform, and I’m afraid it may be too late, but a small amount may be enough. If the hawk-billed gunmen are condescending, they may be able to exert their powerful effect...”
"Also along the south bank of the river, we need to guard against sneak attacks by enemy boats. Once the Shiqiao attack is blocked, the Xuanfu Army will definitely increase the number of boat boats and use the cavalry's maneuverability to attack our rear. This requires our cavalry to expand the search range. , once the enemy is discovered crossing the river, they will be attacked in advance..."
With everyone's enthusiasm rising, each suggestion was recorded, and then discussed and studied to see if it was feasible, and He Huchen finally made the final decision.
Although it was not long, such a pre-war meeting was extremely necessary. Many deficiencies or unanticipated possibilities that had not been thought of before were made up for, and a more comprehensive and detailed combat plan was also put forward. He Huchen also breathed a sigh of relief.
Just as the troops and horses on the south bank of the river were gathering momentum, the north bank of the river was also filled with murderous intent, ready to strike with all their might.
Niu Jizong was not too surprised when he learned that the striker had suffered a setback.
Longhutai was taken down with one blow, and Changping Prefecture was easily captured. Baiyangkou was defeated without any blood, which meant that the border town took a little effort, but it was still easily captured. It can be said that the entire western pass of Ji Town was followed by a tailwind. It went down smoothly, so smoothly that even he felt a little uneasy.
Hunting all the way to Hongqiao, he encountered no decent resistance. It was not until Yuhe Stone Bridge that he encountered such a small setback. Niu Jizong felt much more at ease.
If it were all smooth sailing, the world would be too easy to live in, and it would be unbelievable.
There were only a few hundred casualties, which was insignificant for an army of 40,000. Niu Jizong didn't care. As long as he broke through the Yuhe Stone Bridge, Gonghua City was just a fortress. Niu Jizong was confident that he could win it in two hours, and it was all the way to the east. The journey is smooth.
Seeing that the commander was not too concerned, Li Daming was a little anxious.
The firecrackers shot with full coverage in all directions and no blind spots. The power of the firecrackers greatly exceeded expectations, making the shields held by his soldiers almost useless. .
Six hundred of his most elite soldiers actually became living targets for his opponents and were shot without even causing the opponent a single loss of soldiers. This contrast was simply unacceptable to him.
If the enemy forces on the other side of the river are all equipped with such powerful firearms, Li Daming feels that even if they use campers to set up sandbags to advance, it is inevitable that the opponent will have other means to deal with it.
That's why he needs to report the situation to the commander-in-chief.
"Da Ming, I understand, the firearms camp..." Niu Jizong nodded lightly: "I know that everyone is very interested in the firearms camp in the past two years. The scale of gunpowder manufacturing at the Wang Gong Factory of the Ministry of War is constantly expanding. It is said that it is also in Zunhua A gunpowder factory was expanded, and merchants from Shanxi and Shaanxi bought the Zunhua Iron Factory, which the Ministry of War could no longer operate. Then they saw an iron-making workshop and an ordnance factory next to the iron factory. It is said that the quality of the gunpowder produced was better than before. The three-eyed muskets produced by the Ministry of War are quite good and are used by Liaodong, Jizhen and Jingying. It is estimated that what you encounter is either one from Jizhen or one from Jingying."
"Commander, I feel that the firearms of this army are very powerful. The stone bridge is too narrow and the shield cannot withstand it..." Li Daming explained subconsciously.
"Da Ming, I don't mean to blame you. We did not expect to encounter the firearms camp before." Niu Jizong waved his hand, "You said that the shield soldiers were attacked by firearms in the middle of the stone bridge. The stone bridge plus the approach bridge The base is only forty paces. If they are attacked in the middle, it means that their fire cannon can penetrate the shield from twenty or even twenty-five paces away. Its power is indeed much stronger than the three-eyed cannon. …”
Niu Jizong was not a layman who did not understand military affairs. He also knew a lot about firearms. He was well aware of the power of Zhou's three-eyed blunderbuss, target gun, tiger squat cannon and Xiyi cannon. There were also seven or eight thousand people in the Xuanfu army's fire gun army. , but he didn't like it. After thirty steps, it was difficult to penetrate Zha armor and cotton armor wrapped with iron leaves to cause fatal damage. This was much worse than bows and arrows.
Moreover, fire blunderbuss are slow to load, have many steps, take a long time, are easy to explode, and are far less powerful than bows and arrows. Therefore, not only Xuanfu, but also the entire Jiubian community had a bad impression of this old-fashioned firearm until it began to appear two or three years ago. When the new fire gun came out, everyone started to pay a little attention to it, but they were still skeptical.
Niu Jizong also heard that Liaodong and Jizhen began to equip new fire guns. He also realized that the increasing maturity of firearms might lead to subversive changes in the combat methods of the entire army, but he did not think that this would be effective in a short time. .
Firearms have many shortcomings, such as poor quality, complicated shooting procedures, many steps, and long time consumption. They are shortcomings that cannot be solved.
The time it takes for a fire gunman to fire a shot, an archer can shoot three arrows, and an excellent person can even shoot four arrows, and he is not inferior to the fire gunman in terms of range. Of course, the advantage of the fire gunman is that a fire gunman only needs It takes three months to train to take shape, while an archer can only be said to be an entry-level after three years of training.
"But, Damien, do you think there will be anything wrong with our camp car attack? Or do you think the firecrackers can penetrate the camp car?"
Niu Jizong's question caused the surrounding generals to laugh. This was obviously a joke. The camper's frame was made of wood, so of course it couldn't withstand fire, but it also had to be filled with sandbags. Unless it was a Western cannon, nothing could penetrate it. .
Li Daming was also a little embarrassed. He shook his head: "Commander, I'm not saying that firecrackers can penetrate the camper, but that the opponent is equipped with all firecrackers and adopts a round-fire method. The number of firing rounds has been greatly increased. It has been It is no worse than archers, and its range is more powerful, so it needs attention..."
Niu Jizong did not hurt Li Daming's self-esteem and nodded: "I understand, but we will not give them another chance. We will complete all preparations tonight. I will cross the river tomorrow morning, and I will capture Gonghua City before noon tomorrow! "
All the generals around him stood at attention, waiting for orders to be issued.
“Zitong, lead your troops to complete the construction of the pontoon on the west side of the bridge before tomorrow morning, and start crossing the river at dawn tomorrow morning…”
“Continuation, you lead your troops to complete the construction of the pontoon on the east side of the bridge before tomorrow morning, and start crossing the river at dawn tomorrow morning,…”
“Kuching, you will use the boat to cross the river. You will complete part of the crossing and be responsible for the harassment...”
"Da Ming, I will give you sixty camp cars. You prepare them yourself. Starting from the beginning of the Chou period, you will launch continuous attacks to strive for a breakthrough. Yungui, your unit will serve as a reserve force..., Shaochun, your archers will be responsible for suppressing the bridge. Enemy gunners south of the bridge..."
As each general clasped his fists and listened to the order, the entire Xuanfu army suddenly became restless like a honeycomb that had been poked.
Niu Jizong never thought that a mere Yu River could stop the Xuanfu army's attack. No matter how powerful the enemy army in front of him was, it only had a few thousand people and it was a Beijing camp. He was confident that it could be defeated in one blow. The previous small setback It's just an underestimation of the enemy who doesn't understand the opponent.
(End of this chapter)