After entering September, the Chuang army's offensive against Mian County gradually began to slow down.
Just like Gao Yingxiang, the purpose of Li Zicheng's continuous sending of troops to attack was to train troops. Naturally, Chen Wang also cooperated and filled a large number of new soldiers under his command into Mian County.
Relying on the simple bastion defense line and the artillery positions established on the terrain around Mian County, no invading army could cross the Lei Chi.
The two thousand-household cities were all completed in May, and the Ordnance Bureau was on track earlier than Chen Wang's original schedule.
Chen Wang gave Qi Zhengsong and Jiang Wanshan three months to reorganize the workshop. Facts have proved that money can indeed move people's hearts.
Only two months later, the armor shop and weapons shop were already in operation.
One hundred and twenty craftsmen in the weapons workshop have learned how to make firecrackers within two months.
They have been craftsmen for generations and have been working with furnace hammers all their lives. The method of making blunderbuss is not difficult, and they can learn it quickly if someone teaches them specifically.
What's more, if they don't know how to make muskets, they will be transferred to other workshops to make farm tools and kitchen knives...
If in the past, they had to fight everything, and it would be much easier to fight farm tools and kitchen knives than any kind of ordnance, and they would not want it.
But today's Ordnance Bureau is no different from the original Ordnance Bureau. It used to be the same whether it did more or less, but now it is more and more and more and less and less.
The salary of craftsmen in the weapons is also divided into three, six or nine grades. The craftsmen in the weapon shop and armor shop have the highest monthly salary. They can receive one or two half monthly salary, which is equal to the monthly salary of the soldiers in the camp.
The monthly salary of craftsmen in other workshops is relatively pitiful, and it is slightly better than when they were still in Hanzhong Acropolis.
Now the weapons shop can produce about a hundred blunderbuss every month.
So far, the weapons shop has produced more than 600 muskets.
These blunderbuss were equipped by Chen Wang to the soldiers who were following him. Hu Zhiyi, who led the troops stationed at Jitou Pass, still used the old-fashioned three-eyed blunderbuss and had not updated it with the new one.
The rule assigned by Chen Wang to the weapons workshop is that the power of the gun is first, followed by the range. It is required to be able to penetrate three layers of heavy armor within thirty steps.
The new blunderbuss produced by the Hanzhongwei Ordnance Bureau is built exactly according to the specifications, and is even higher.
It has great destructive power against unarmored enemies at a distance of eighty steps. It can defeat enemies wearing single-layer cloth armor within fifty steps, and it can kill double-layer and triple-layer heavy armor within thirty steps.
The first few batches of bird muskets produced could only barely meet the standards. The outer iron armor and chain armor were penetrated, but the final layer of thick cotton armor was extremely protective against the lead bullets of the bird muskets.
When the newly made bird guns were tested, some of the bird guns were not powerful enough and although they caused some damage, they were not able to completely penetrate the final cotton armor.
But in fact, the lethality is already very strong. Although there is no complete breakdown, if someone really charges forward wearing three layers of heavy armor, he will definitely not have much energy to continue charging forward after being shot in the front.
Moreover, Houjin soldiers wearing three layers of heavy armor are also the elite of each army. Ordinary armor soldiers generally wear one or two layers of armor.
The armor-wearing rate of rogue bandits is very low. The reason for this regulation is to prepare for a rainy day.
Chen Wang estimated that in the eleventh year of Chongzhen's reign, he would most likely follow Sun Chuanting to the north, and he would definitely have to fight the Qing soldiers by then.
The first battle with the Qing soldiers is crucial for subsequent development.
Jiannu won successive victories and entered the important areas of the capital many times, defeating various Ming armies in a row.
Some people even spread the rumor that "the Jurchens are invincible if they are less than ten thousand", so that the Ming army was often at a psychological disadvantage when fighting Qing soldiers in the field.
There are also rumors that the Jiannu soldiers are evil ghosts and demons and it is impossible to defeat them, which has caused huge panic in many places.
These rumors not only affect the soldiers on the nine sides, but also have an impact on the soldiers in the interior.
Jiannu entered the Gyeonggi area several times. After receiving the edict of King Qin from various places, the soldiers who were recruited were all frightened and fearful.
Husband fights with courage.
The level of morale has an extremely important impact on the field of this era.
Therefore, Chen Wang must win the first battle, and it must be a hearty victory.
Only in this way can the fear of the Qing army be eliminated, gain a psychological advantage, and ensure high morale.
However, if he wanted to win the first battle with the Qing army, Chen Wang knew very well that blunderbuss alone was not enough, he also needed cannons.
The Tiger Crouching Cannon and the Fran Machine Cannon are not good. Their caliber and power are too small to penetrate the Qing army's shield vehicles.
Once the Qing army's heavy armor and shield carts arrive close, there will be a rain of arrows pouring out like a gust of wind and rain.
The damage caused by the heavy arrow, which was like a small spear, was almost devastating to morale.
If possible, Chen Wang did not want to engage in close combat with the Qing army.
Although he also applied the tactics of the Qing army in the army, including heavy armor, heavy bows, shields, vehicles and artillery, Chen Wang knew very well the level of his generals.
None of the craftsmen in the Hanzhongwei Ordnance Bureau knew how to make cannons. To be precise, none of them knew how to make cannons.
Qi Zhengsong can make a squatting tiger cannon, but there is no need to make a squatting tiger cannon.
If you really want a tiger squatting cannon, write a note to Sun Chuanting and Hong Chengchou. There is no need to waste productivity.
Chen Wang is not a weapons enthusiast. He knows nothing about how to cast cannons.
But Chen Wang knows one thing very well - professional matters should be left to professionals.
Chen Wang planned to leave the task of casting new cannons to professionals like Bo Jue.
On Bo Jue's side, the people sent by Chen Wang were already on the line.
However, Bo Jue's situation was a bit bad. At this time, Bo Jue was already suffering from a disease, but seeking medical consultation had little effect. Moreover, because of the illness, a lot of the family's already small wealth was lost.
Bo Jue failed many attempts in his early years, so he turned to studying astronomy, mechanics and other skills, focusing on practice. He also set up his own laboratory to configure various tools and equipment, which also cost a lot of money.
He also spent a lot of money on his own when casting cannons for Zhang Guowei, but he did not receive much compensation in the future.
Zhang Guowei recommended him to be an official, but he was not allowed to do so. Then Zhang Guowei did not insist on it, and the matter was settled.
Bo Jue had no choice but to retreat to Wumen. Due to illness, the family was already facing increasing difficulties.
Chen Wang knew that Bo Jue died of poverty due to medical treatment, and Bo Jue's safety was crucial to his future plans.
So Chen Wang sent a total of more than ten people to Wumen to invite Bo Jue, bringing a total of more than a thousand taels of silver, and these people were all close associates of Chen Wang's subordinates.
Bo Jue must not miss this line.
The sound of cannons in the distance gradually faded away, and the rising white smoke was blown away by the east wind.
Chen Wang stood on the lookout, and the invading troops at the pass retreated again. They left a lot of corpses as usual, and still returned without success.
The Chuang army began its violent attack on Mian County in May, and it has been almost three months since then.
In more than three months, Chen Wang's soldiers suffered nearly a thousand casualties, and Zhou Yumao's soldiers also suffered hundreds of casualties.
The reason why there will be more casualties is mainly because the soldiers under Chen Wang are responsible for most of the defense.
The number of casualties among the rogue bandits was even greater, probably around 10,000.
But after several months of fighting, there were not only casualties but no gains.
Chen Wang could clearly detect the changes in the soldiers under his command.
It turned out that most of the new soldiers under his command were not strong in combat ability and their fighting will was not strong.
However, after experiencing the siege of Xing'an and the defensive battle of Mian County, the new recruits in the army had already become veterans.
They are used to the battlefield...
The same is true for the invading army. Those hungry soldiers and troops have begun to get used to all this.
During the past three months, the invading army launched a series of fierce attacks from the beginning, almost day and night.
Nowadays, they only launch a wave of attacks from time to time, facing each other across the mountain. All this proves that the main force of the intruder army has been transferred.
The battlefield is the best place to train the army. Li Zicheng sent troops out of the mountains to plunder many times. The hungry soldiers who were plundered were sent to the battlefield in Mian County.
After they had experienced the flames of war and tasted blood, these people were transferred out again and replaced with a new batch of hungry soldiers.
The battle had reached this level. To be honest, Chen Wang felt a little tired, but out of caution, Chen Wang still did not relax his vigilance.
Even a few days ago, he did not relax at all when he received the news that Ningqiang Prefecture had been breached.
After all, Cao Bianjiao and Hou Liangzhu are on standby at Qipanguan, waiting for Li Zicheng's arrival.
Li Zicheng has definitely discovered that Qipan Pass is heavily guarded and difficult to pass.
From now on, Li Zicheng is equivalent to being trapped in the deep mountains, just like the Carriage Gorge back then.
The only difference is that the Carriage Gorge is much smaller, while the steps and Chengliang Mountains are much wider, leaving much more room for Li Zicheng to operate.
Everything now has gone off the right track of history, and Chen Wang doesn't know what the future process will be. All he can do is to be as careful as possible to prevent accidents.
Learning from the lessons of the Hanzhong Battle at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Chen Wang moved the Chinese army's camp to Dingjun Mountain and set up a camp at the foot of the mountain. He also sent people to block the Mian River to prevent rogue bandits from sneaking over.
It is worth mentioning that Qian Gong Ji Zhang Er and Yi Dou Gu Huang Long were sent to Hanzhong Mansion by Sun Chuanting.
After several months, most of the bandits in Xi'an Mansion have been wiped out, leaving only two or three big cats and kittens in Shangluo Mountain.
The two led their troops and horses via Ziwu Road and passed through most of Hanzhong Prefecture to rush for reinforcements.
Sun Chuanting led the troops to occupy Feng County, and then headed south.
The fighting at Jitou Pass has temporarily stopped because Sun Chuanting led his troops south, so Hun Shiwan and Little Red Wolf had to lead their troops to withdraw from Jitou Pass to defend against the attack of Sun Chuanting's troops.
Hun Shiwan and Little Red Wolf set up fortified camps in Chaiguan and Liuba, and fought more than ten battles with Sun Chuanting.
They relied on the favorable terrain to set up defenses, and the situation fell into a stalemate for a while.
On Hong Chengchou's side, the situation was still the same as a few months ago, with rogue bandits stepping out of the mountains from time to time to plunder the surrounding areas and harass the officers and soldiers.
But that's all, most of the local people have moved away.
However, Hong Chengchou sent troops to block the passes in various places and set up mobile battalions to rush to support various places, which temporarily suppressed them.
Chen Wang did not keep observing the battle situation in Mian County. After September, he spent most of his time in the Chinese military tent dealing with matters in the guard station.
After staying for about half a quarter of an hour, Chen Wang returned to the Chinese army tent.
The two Thousand Household Offices on the right and the back of Hanzhongwei are now on the right track. Wang Yuankang is indeed a talent. He has taken care of the internal affairs of the two Thousand Household Offices with nearly 10,000 people in order, and there have been almost no major disturbances. .
In comparison, Tang Shiping's work is slightly inferior. The military affairs and the Ordnance Bureau are a bit messy.
Chen Wang walked to the Chinese army tent and sat down. In the past, there was no one else in the tent, but this time Wang Yuankang and Tang Shiping were standing in the tent.
Wang Yuankang and Tang Shiping came all the way to Shiquan with Chen Wang's military orders and asked him to wait in the military tent for his orders. Therefore, Chen Wang was not surprised at all.
"sit."
Chen Wang sat on the seat and motioned to Wang Yuankang to sit down as well.
Mian County is far away from Shiquan, about three to four hundred miles away. Previously, Chen Wang's orders were delivered to him through fast horse letters.
But this time Chen Wang sent a message asking him to come from Shiquan. Wang Yuankang and Tang Shiping looked at each other, and they were sure that it was not a trivial matter.
Seeing Chen Wang's signal, Wang Yuankang and Tang Shiping sat down carefully.
"This is a classic book bought from the southeast. It will be helpful for your future affairs. I want you to take it back and study it carefully."
Chen Wang knocked on the table, and two soldiers holding a pile of classics walked into the tent, and then placed the classics in the hands of Wang Yuankang and Tang Shiping respectively.
"This is……"
Tang Shiping picked up one of the books, and what came into view was "Pictures of Strange Weapons of the Far West", and the other one was "Pictures of Newly Made Various Weapons".
On Wang Yuankang's side, the first book he saw had four big characters written on it - "The Complete Book of Agricultural Affairs".
"These are the classics that I sent people to purchase. Many of the contents are very helpful for your current situation."
Chen Wang's eyes glanced past the two of them.
In June, the people Chen Wang sent to Macau to buy books and utensils had already returned to Hanzhong Mansion and brought back a large number of books.
Most of the books were purchased, but unfortunately "Tiangong Kaiwu" was not purchased.
When reporting back, Chen Wangcai remembered that the first edition of "Tiangong Kaiwu" was only published in May of the 10th year of Chongzhen, and the number of published copies was relatively small.
The people he sent out had already returned before May, so naturally they didn't buy it and had to buy it next time.
But this time the harvest was enough.
Chen Wang had already read "Pictures of Strange Weapons of the Far West" and "Illustrations of Newly Made Weapons". He had studied physics and had a solid foundation, and he quickly understood the mechanical principles involved.
This time, Tang Shiping and Wang Yuankang were called here to explain the details to them.
Times are progressing, and farming development naturally cannot rely on the same old methods.
(End of chapter)
