Chapter 979 Jizijuan New Army

 “Bang!” The pungent smell of gunpowder filled the entire queue.

The slightly stiff queue was slightly panicked. The soldiers hurriedly took back their guns and began to clean the barrels of their guns. Another row of soldiers stepped forward and began to hold the guns, place them, and aim. Behind them, there was another team of soldiers. Complete the final process of reloading.

The sweeping cavalry also had a commotion after the fierce gunfire, but the cavalry leader quickly controlled the situation and continued to charge forward.

After three consecutive rounds of bombardment, the cavalry had approached less than a hundred steps away, and it seemed that they could even feel the breath of the war horses.

A sharp and short whistle sounded, and the soldiers began to use some stiff movements to pull out the three-sided spikes from their waists and then put them on the front ends of the barrels, completing the process of installing bayonets. Those who were so clumsy that they didn't have time to install them for a long time. The sharp-tongued soldiers were met with whips and curses from their officers.

When the cavalry charged with only fifty steps left, all the soldiers who had finished loading fired their last round of shots. Then the soldiers in the first and second rows made forward thrusting movements with their rifles, preparing to meet the collision of the cavalry. The third row of soldiers still maintained the reloading action and pulled back a certain distance so that they could continue to shoot at the high cavalry.

The cavalry finally stopped at the last ten steps. Some of the cavalry had even rushed in front of the infantry line, and their faces could be seen with complicated expressions.

This kind of actual combat drill is also the first time for them, especially the constant roar of firecrackers. It is hundreds of firecrackers bombarding at the same time. The violent explosion is quite frightening to the war horses, although it is only without ammunition. Shooting, but this kind of drill is extremely exciting.

Feng Ziying, who was standing on the high platform, rubbed her chin and was silent, while Huang Degong and Zuo Liangyu on both sides of him were full of excitement.

Although Feng Ziying still had some regrets in her heart, the time was still too tight. These soldiers could tell at a glance that they were novices and their movements were stiff. Even though each of them had practiced it thousands of times in daily training, but when they became such Facing the actual battlefield with the roaring cavalry, they were still in a hurry and made all kinds of ugly appearances.

The Swedish Gustavus infantry line tactic provided by Feng Ziying to Huang Degong and Zuo Liangyu is an improvement on the Morris line. Six rows stand in line, which can maintain a more stable pace during the march, but once the enemy is engaged, two or four The six even-numbered squares take a step forward and form a third team with the one, three and five odd-numbered squares.

This makes the formation closer and the design surface more spacious and dense, similar to the three-stage attack pattern. Of course, everyone completes the reloading and shooting instead of leaving it to others to shoot.

At the same time, a metal ring is installed in front of the barrel, so that the specially made triangular spike with a socket can be placed on the metal ring. The metal ring is smaller at the front and larger at the back, so that it will not fall off easily after being put on. .

Feng Ziying does not yet have this kind of screw interface technology, so she can only use this crude method to make up for it. As for how to solve it after the war, that is another matter. It is nothing more than a little more trouble with manual work.

An officer who came up from the high platform said to Feng Ziying with some displeasure: "Sir, this is so unfair to us. You treat us like monkeys, charging forward over and over like this, and then choking us." Ma, this feeling is not pleasant..."

"Brother Guan Guan, there is nothing we can do about it. You also know that this group of people has never been on the battlefield, and it has only been a few months since they picked up the blunderbuss. It all depends on Hushan and Kunshan. Night's hard training has led to today's situation. They have never been to the battlefield and seen blood. Once they encounter the Mongolian cavalry, I am afraid that the two groups will be ready to leave first. If you are not allowed to practice it over and over again, how can we wait for it? Do they just go to the battlefield and die?"

Feng Ziying quickly moved the dark and stocky general to her side, and Huang Degong and Zuo Liangyu also clasped their fists and bowed respectfully.

This person is the leader of the cavalry battalion that You Shilu obtained from You Shigong for Feng Ziying, Dusi Luo Guanyi.

It was said that it was a battalion, but in the end, You Shigong detained two of them, leaving only three troops with two thousand riders, but Feng Ziying was still very grateful.

 At this time, even if I can give you a thousand riders, it would be considered a great kindness.

Luo Guanyi was a military commander Feng Tang brought from Ganzhou.

Feng Tang was promoted from Yulin Commander-in-Chief to Governor-General of Jiliao. In view of the sluggishness of Jiliao soldiers and the constraints of Li Chengliang and Magui tribes, he also proposed to the Ministry of War and the Cabinet to transfer some of the old troops from Yulin and Datong to Jiliao. , this was also the condition that Feng Tang had negotiated with the Ministry of War. If there was no group of soldiers who could order and forbid them, how could they fight against the Jianzhou Jurchens?

The Ministry of War also agreed to Feng Tang's conditions, so the three You brothers, Cao Wenzhao, He Renlong and other troops followed. With the support of these old troops, Feng Tang was able to successfully recruit Zhao Lejiao, The Juniper tribes successfully built Li Chengliang's base camp into the foundation of the Feng family.

The generals Feng Tang mainly called were concentrated in Yulin and Datong. However, in the battle of Ganning, he also favored a group of outstanding generals from Ganzhou and Ning. For example, Luo Yiguan was originally a garrison in Ganzhou and was summoned to Liaodong by Feng Tang. Let him follow You Shigong out of Ji Town and become the commander of the cavalry battalion.

"Sir, you have been very kind to these people." Luo Yiyi watched the second round of drills begin again and couldn't help but shake his head: "All brand-new firecrackers and equipment, with iron leaf cotton armor, this is what we Ji The infantry in the town are not treated so well. If you do this, people will hate you. If you don’t believe it, ask Hushan and Kunshan, how can you let them lead the troops if this news comes back?"

"Haha, brother Yi Guan, don't tempt Hushan and Kunshan here. We, the civilian Zhuang, were selected from the military households and the civilian Zhuang of various states and counties. They are fighting to protect their own homes. You The Jizhen Army must abide by the military orders of the Ministry of War. If we are told to give up, we will give up in Yongping. But what about us local officials? I am the same magistrate of Yongping Prefecture. If the states and counties are lost, the prefect and I will bear the brunt of the responsibility. Maybe we will be If you lose your head and run away without a fight, how can the Metropolitan Procuratorate let us go?"

Feng Ziying didn't care, "Since there is no way out, we can only fight to the death. If our lives are gone, why do we care about other things outside of us? So I told the Lord Fu that taxes on all kinds of materials that should be shipped this year are suspended. , when we finish this battle, if we still have lives, then we will have to sell iron to them to help them. If all lives are gone, or they are deprived and dismissed by the imperial court, then we will not be able to control it. …”

Feng Ziying's words also made a few people change their colors slightly, which meant that Feng Ziying was going to fight this battle at all costs.

But even with the five thousand civilians, two fire gun troops, and the three cavalry, the number of soldiers who can go to the battlefield is only more than 8,000. Once the Mongolian army goes south, there will be tens of thousands. Moreover, Feng Ziying's intention was not to defend only the cities of Qian'an or Lulong, but to defend these two cities. Once the troops were dispersed, this battle would be more difficult to fight.

"Sir, are you really..." Luo Yiguan muttered: "If something goes wrong, we can save you and evacuate first..."

 This is also the thinking of Luo Yiguan, Huang Degong and Zuo Liangyu.

It doesn't matter if they lose this battle. They can leave green mountains without worrying about firewood. It's not like they have never lost a battle. Luo Guanyi had many battles with the Mongols over there in Ganzhou. Although it was just a small group of fights, there was victory or defeat for each other. , Huang Degong and Zuo Liangyu also fought against small groups of Mongolian and Jurchen reconnaissance cavalry in Liaodong. They also won and lost. If they couldn't win, they would run away. Come back next time. It was as simple as that.

They also hope that Feng Ziying will do this. As long as the situation is not right, they can save Feng Ziying and escape. As for being dismissed from office and then resurrecting, that will be fine. But if Feng Ziying is good or bad, how will the three of them explain to the Governor?

　　It is not said that the person will fall to the ground, but it is certain that he will never be able to turn over in his lifetime.

Of course, Feng Ziying knew what they were thinking, but he had to dispel the other party's thoughts. Once they thought about escaping, the decisive battle would be delayed at a critical moment, which was very dangerous.

Five Thousand Minzhuang was painstakingly dug out by Feng Ziying. The purpose was also very simple, which was to create a new army with sufficient influence of his own, and could not just rely on his father's position as governor of Jiliao.

He had to inspect the training of these five thousand new troops almost every two days. Feng An in the early period, Huang Degong and Zuo Liangyu in the later period were actually training them on his behalf.

This force will slowly grow and become a cornerstone of the army.

  Divided civil and military rule, and used civil to control military. This was a regulation set by the Zhou Dynasty. Civil commanders were in charge, and military commanders were in charge. Civil officials were responsible for strategic decision-making and command, while military generals were responsible for specific implementation.

 But a civilian official who cannot control the generals will be greatly constrained in strategic decision-making and command, which will lead to failure.

This situation is not uncommon, but many times it cannot be solved.

How often can civil servants have real contact with the soldiers below? Most of the time, soldiers from all directions are hurriedly brought together before a battle. They can only rely on their own understanding and judgment to make arrangements. The victory or defeat depends to a greater extent on the accuracy of strategic command and the personal quality of the generals. Reliable ability.

The Yongping New Army is actually more like an experiment. This new army, which is completely relying on firecrackers, is relatively easy to train in all aspects, and the use and promotion of officers at all levels are mostly based on training. Performance, of course, will also depend on the performance in the real war in the later stage. There are not many other factors involved, it is all about surviving and entering the stack, which is relatively fair.

As for where Huang Degong and Zuo Liangyu will go in the future, it depends on the outcome of this battle, so Feng Ziying must dispel their chances.

 (End of this chapter)