The biggest reason why firearms were first born on the land of China, but then developed slowly until the end of the Ming Dynasty or even stagnated, was that they could not adapt to rainy weather. Matchlocks were completely useless in rainy days, and flintlock guns were better but rainy
It is too big to wet the flint because of the simple deconstruction of the gun mechanism. The industrious and intelligent Chinese people only retreated from this matter. Instead of thinking about how to improve it, they abandoned it after discovering its shortcomings and still continued to use it.
Traditional crossbows were made with great effort and thought, until they were completely surpassed by the West.
Every time future generations think about this, they all sigh with regret. As the country where gunpowder was born, it has suffered from the poison of firearms...
The flintlock musket produced by the Foundry is not completely waterproof, but it can still be used reluctantly in light rain. When the soldier is loading, he keeps the musket in his arms to block the rain, and then fires it quickly to shorten the time of being exposed to the rain and wet the flint.
The probability is reduced to the minimum.
Naturally, it is impossible for all the 20,000 Youtun guards to be equipped with muskets. Two thousand of them went to the camp to receive muskets and ammunition. The remaining soldiers lined up to wait, with sword and shield soldiers in front and spear soldiers in the back. This was to resist the opponent's cavalry.
In the charging battle line, the crossbowmen are behind the spearmen. They wait for the enemy to enter the range and shoot them from a distance. This can effectively disrupt the enemy's cavalry charge array and reduce the damage to the sword, shield and spearmen.
At this time, in the Right Guard camp, all types of soldiers were arrayed in order, with strict formations stacked on top of each other. They stood still in the face of the tide of Zuo Guard soldiers.
The first was the three thousand cavalrymen of Zuotun Guard. Although the two military camps were close to each other and could not increase their horse speed to the limit, the roaring hoofs of the thousands of cavalrymen when they charged were like thunder rolling in the sky, beating in people's hearts.
Periods of nausea.
The sword and shield soldiers of Youtun Guard even had to open their mouths slightly to ease the trembling that shocked their organs. Under the clouds, even though there were only thousands of cavalry, they rushed over like a tidal wave, a kind of unique "king of arms"
The domineering spirit filled the world.
collapse!
The crashing sounds of thousands of bowstrings converged into one, and countless arrows flew into the air in an instant, like a dark cloud rising from the ground, over the heads of one's own defense array, and after reaching the highest point, dived towards the charging enemy cavalry.
And go.
collapse!
The first wave of arrows had not yet hit the ground, but the second wave had already taken off again.
collapse!
The third wave follows...
Puff! Puff! Falling from the air, the kinetic energy it carries can still reach 60% of the initial kinetic energy. The sharp triangular arrow clusters can easily break through the leather armor. Even the stomach of the armor is very likely to get through the gaps in the armor.
As they entered, the charging Zuotun Guard cavalry kept falling to the ground after being hit by arrows. However, the cavalry behind did not slow down and continued to move forward, stepping on the body of Pao Ze who had fallen to the ground.
The range of the crossbow is limited. It can only fire three rounds of arrows between the maximum range and the cavalry charge. As long as it survives these three rounds and rushes closer, both the sword, shield and spear soldiers will be attacked by the cavalry.
, and once this line of defense is broken through by the cavalry, the crossbowmen behind are simply lambs waiting to be slaughtered in front of the cavalry.
Three rounds of arrow rain poured down, leaving more than a thousand corpses of the Zuotun Guard cavalry, and finally arrived in front of the sword and shield soldiers. The cavalry on horseback gritted their teeth, pressed their bodies as close as possible to the body of the war horse, and controlled the war horse to continue charging.
Although the sword and shield soldiers can slow down the charging speed of the cavalry and offset the huge impact force, the sharp spears protruding from the gaps in the shields are the real damage. For the cavalry, the warrior who rushes at the front means death, not only
To withstand more missed arrows, it is even more necessary to use the bodies of men and horses to break away shields and offset spears.
Puff puff puff! The huge kinetic energy of the war horse rushing forward caused the spear to instantly pierce the body. He raised his head and let out a shrill scream, and then slammed into the array of shields.
There is almost nothing fancy about fighting with cold weapons and fighting for supremacy on the battlefield. Victory can only be purchased with blood, life and strength.
The strict shield array was instantly twisted and shattered by the impact. The sword and shield soldiers in the front row were hit by the cavalry's wild impact and their internal organs were displaced. Their bones were broken and their tendons were broken. They were staggering around with blood spurting from their mouths. Many of them were even directly hit.
The fallen horses had their enemies pressed beneath them. Some were moaning and wailing, and some were killed on the spot.
War has always been so cruel. Normally, he is the husband of his wife, the father of his children, and the child of his parents. But the moment he sets foot on the battlefield, he has become a cold killing machine. He kills or is killed. Even if he dies in battle, it is just a post-war battle.
The emotionless numbers in statistics books.
However, it seems that the world is originally so cruel. Every living thing is engraved with the mark of war at the beginning of its birth. Survival of the fittest and survival of the fittest. From birds in the sky to mayflies on the bottom of the sea, all creatures die in wars. In wars,
Survive.
The first person to die on the battlefield will be sympathized with, and his clothes will be filled with sadness, fear, shrinkage, trembling, and even the enemy will be intolerant, but when the second person, the third person...
Thousands of people are dying in front of you, your nerves will become numb, and all your emotions will converge into a firm belief: you die, I live.
Fang Jun looked coldly at the bloody battlefield. His heart, which had been tempered as hard as stone in previous wars, never moved. He said in a deep voice: "Prepare firearms, but no shooting is allowed. Put all the enemies in and then give them a beating."
"
It is impossible for the tens of thousands of Zuotun Guard soldiers to all rush into the Right Tunwei camp at once. Three thousand cavalry are responsible for rushing into the formation, followed by troops with complete formations. If firearms are used to annihilate all the enemy cavalry at this moment,
In view of Chai Zhewei's cowardice and incompetence, he was so frightened that he simply withdrew his troops and retreated.
If Zuotunwei cannot be completely defeated, the absolute safety of Xuanwu Gate cannot be guaranteed. There is not only one Yin Qinzhou in the distance who is tentatively approaching Xuanwu Gate. There are countless people in the whole pass who are watching with eager eyes. Once Xuanwu Gate is exposed, it will inevitably be like
The wolves usually pounced on you and tore the Youtun Guards into pieces, and then sent troops into the palace to support the King of Jin and seize a share of the merit of following the dragon.
"Here!"
After receiving the order, Gao Kan personally turned around and went to the camp in the rear to supervise the distribution of firearms, and took command of the 10,000 troops equipped with various firearms.
In front, the sword and shield soldiers and spear soldiers were fighting bloody battles with the enemy cavalry rushing into the array, using their own flesh and blood to block the enemy's charge in exchange for delaying the battle and luring the enemy deeper...
…
Chai Zhewei looked up and saw that the dark clouds in the sky were gradually dispersing. It was already bright and the rain had gradually stopped. He wondered if he would be able to see the sun today.
After a night of chaos, Li Daozong rushed into the Taiji Palace and was blocked near the Manlu Palace. Until now, there was no further news. It is inevitable that people feel heavy. After all, this battle can only be won, not defeated.
Fortunately, the scouts continued to send back news about the Youtunwei camp. It was unavoidable to make people feel happy when they heard about the cavalry breaking into the enemy formation and the main force arriving later.
The reason why they raised the army under Yu Wenshi and his lobbying was that, on the one hand, they were sure that the King of Jin could achieve great things, and by relying on him, they could gain meritorious service. On the feudal side, on the other hand, they also wanted to defeat the Youtun Guards and completely wash away the shame on them.
When the cannibals invaded the Western Regions, Chai Zhe feared the enemy and was too timid to fight. He thought that he would not be defeated in the expedition to the Western Regions without any chance of victory, so he openly defied the prince's edict and pretended to be ill. As a result, Fang Jun led half of the right garrison.
After running a long distance, he defeated 200,000 Dashi troops and became a god.
As a result, Chai Zhewei's reputation was ruined and he suffered a lot of ridicule and ridicule, both overt and covert. As a result, the Chai family's prestige and status plummeted...
This humiliation turned into Fang Jun's jealousy and hatred, which was irreconcilable.
It's a pity that I misjudged the situation at the beginning, thinking that the cannibals' strong and powerful invasion must be unstoppable. This led to today's passivity. If I had known that the cannibals' 200,000-strong army was strong on the outside, Chai Zhewei went in on his own.
I can fuck me too!
"Go on, this battle is about the uprightness of the empire and the inheritance of the country. We must fight with all our strength and live to the death. We must charge at all times and fight bravely to be the first! Even if the traitor threatens my brother's life, you
There is no need to worry. I am a loyal and loyal member of the Chai family. How can I be threatened by thieves and ignore the saintly grace of the late emperor? I will sacrifice my life for the country and get what I deserve!"
The Zuotun Guard soldiers who were originally frightened heard this, and immediately felt relieved. Previously they were worried about what they would do if the enemy tied Chai Lingwu in front of the army and threatened to retreat. Now they no longer had any worries, so they fought bravely to be the first.
"Commander, the cavalry has already charged into the formation and suffered heavy casualties, but it also destroyed the enemy's formation."
"Okay! You must worry about casualties. The right guard is already in civil strife and its combat strength has been weakened. All you need to do is break through his first line of defense and smash the shell, and you will be a lamb to be slaughtered. Order, charge with all your strength!"
"Here!"
The rain had completely stopped and the autumn wind was picking up. Chai Zhewei raised his head and glanced at the flying flag, feeling that the victory was determined. However, it was a pity that the cavalry he had managed to form before suffered heavy losses in repeated defeats, because the war horses were tightly held by the emperor's line.
Therefore, the control has never been replenished. Otherwise, the seven or eight thousand cavalry now would be enough to completely overwhelm the Youtun Guards.
But it has nothing to do with the overall situation. The current Youtunwei is like a snail. It seems hard and there is nowhere to start. As long as the outer shell is cracked, the soft and tender meat will be exposed, and you can do whatever you want...
Bang bang bang!
A burst of musketry came from the wind, first sporadic, and then in full blast.
Chai Zhewei's expression changed, and he quickly urged the soldiers on his left and right: "Quickly go forward and see how many muskets the right guard has!"
"Here!"
Several cavalrymen rode towards the Youtunwei camp.
Chai Zhewei stood up under the banner and rode his horse, his hands holding the reins tightened slightly, and his heart was beating like a drum. The reason why he and Li Yuanjing's royal army suffered a disastrous defeat at the Xuanwu Gate was because of the indestructible firearms of the Youtun Guards.
To this day, when he occasionally wakes up in the middle of the night, the roar of artillery that shatters the sky and the earth is still vaguely lingering in his ears.
Youtunwei's firearms have long become his nightmare.
However, since the Guanlong Mutiny burned down the Foundry Bureau, firearms production has almost been cut off. Even if it was rebuilt later, it would still be difficult to restore the previous output in the short term. The number of various firearms produced was extremely limited. After various armies saw the power of firearms,
He began to strive for equipment in the army, but was never able to do so.
Even Zhenguan ministers like Cheng Yaojin and Yuchi Gong went directly to the Yamen of the Ministry of War and the Foundry Bureau, and they couldn't get even one more musket or one more thunderbolt, and there were even fewer artillery pieces, almost none.
It is precisely because of this that the King of Jin dared to raise an army to fight for the throne, and he dared to rely on the King of Jin to rebel against the court. Presumably, the reason why Li Daozong led his army into Xuanwu Gate was because the troops loyal to the emperor such as the Sixth Leader of the East Palace lacked firearms and were seriously weakened.
Because of combat effectiveness.
But if the Ministry of War and the Foundry Bureau have been secretly producing firearms to equip the troops loyal to the emperor, but have blocked the news from the outside world, and now are equipped with firearms at a critical moment... Chai Zhewei shuddered when he thought of this possibility.