"Why do you see it?" Zheng Zhilong asked.
"Isn't this obvious?" Chen Ding pointed at a map of the Ming Dynasty spread out with his finger, "The situation in the North now is not that of the Northern Dynasties, let alone Jin Meng, but that of the Five Dynasties and the Sixteenth Kingdom.
General Rong, you see, now the vassal vassal has occupied the strong city of Datong and the mountains of Luliang, and it has become an unshakable force. However, the main force of the bandits rushed into Guanlong and occupied the Xiangyang and Nanyang areas. They still had an overwhelming victory and were eyeing the Central Plains. Wu Sangui then stationed troops in Henan Prefecture, occupying the hinterland of Kyushu and the capitals of Baguan, which was difficult to shake. The imperial court still firmly occupies the entire province of Shandong, as well as Guide and Runing Prefectures in Henan, and also has some territory in Kaifeng Prefecture.
In other words, there are currently five families in the North, including the Tatars, bandits, Dai Fan, Wu Sangui and the imperial court. It’s not that easy for the Tatars to be completely pacified! If the land in the north is uneven, how can the Tatars free their men in the south of the Yangtze River? As long as we wait a few years, with Chitose's ability and the help of the general, how can the southern half of the Yangtze River be unstable? From the south of the Yangtze River, Zheng and Zhu share it! "
"Zheng Yu Zhu?" Zheng Zhilong grinned, "Isn't it Wu Yu Zhu?"
Chen Ding said with a smile: "If Wu Sangui can lead tens of thousands of Liao troops south, the Wu family may be stronger than the Zheng family. But now...the total army has 30,000 elite soldiers on land and water, and hundreds of large and small warships, controlling In the trade between Southeast Asia and the East, there is wealth in the enemy countries. How can the Wu family compare? Without the help of the general army, the southeastern half of Qiansui Master will not be stable. "
"Hahaha..." Zheng Zhilong laughed, "Having said that, Wu Xiang, Wu Sanfu, and Wu Xuanshi came all the way from Beijing as escorts. The clothes are not as good as new, and the people are not as good as old! I also heard that the prince only favored Wu Xuanshi, and even though Wu Xuanshi was pregnant with Liujia, the prince still only let her sleep with him."
These are what Zheng Sen wrote to Zheng Zhilong. Zheng Sen is the richest man that everyone loves, and he has good relations with those around Zhu Cixi...
"But Wu Xuanshi is still not the princess!" Chen Ding said with a smile.
Zheng Zhilong said: "Isn't that to discuss marriage with the Tatars?"
"But if the fate is not determined for a day, the daughter of the general will have a chance," Chen Ding said. "As long as Wu Xuanshi cannot give birth to a grandson... even if he does give birth to a grandson, there is no guarantee that he will not die in infancy."
Zheng Zhilong glanced at Chen Ding, who was born in Juren, and just smiled faintly.
While the two were talking, there was a rush of footsteps outside the cabin, and then the voice of Zheng Zhilong's fourth brother Zheng Zhifeng (Zheng Hongkui) was heard: "Brother, Damu has brought people to greet us...Wu Sanfu is also here. We came together and brought more than a thousand fire rifle soldiers."
"Wu Sanfu? He also brought more than a thousand firecrackers?" Zheng Zhilong was stunned and turned his attention to Chen Ding.
Chen Ding said: "Perhaps the Wu family members want to give the commander-in-chief a show of strength? I heard that the fire rifle soldiers of the new army are very powerful!"
"Hmph! It's just the fire gun soldiers! The fire gun was given to me by the baby!" Zheng Zhilong sneered, "Let Zahepu lead the Japanese soldiers and the officer to greet them! Then go and invite Mr. Tang and General Shi, also asked them to give them a look, which one is more powerful is the Wu family's fire gun soldiers or the Zheng family's Japanese soldiers!"
Zheng Zhifeng responded: "Okay, baby (I) will go and gather people right now!"
...
Zheng Zhilong actually misunderstood Wu Sanfu. Wu Sanfu did not want "Wu and Zhu to share the south of the Yangtze River"... After the Battle of Dagukou, he and Wu Xiang no longer had this idea. No matter how good their servants are, they have never killed nearly a thousand real Tatars at one time, but Prince Zhu did it!
Moreover, what followed Wu Sanfu now were not the Wu family's firecrackers, but an infantry association led by Lieutenant General Hao Yaoqi, all equipped with firecrackers.
The foundation of this Infantry Association is rogue bandits, and the backbone of them all participated in the Battle of Dagukou and defeated the Tatars!
After the Battle of Dagukou, the top brass of the New Army reached a consensus on how to use firecrackers - they should be used intensively, and they should be used at a combination of distance and distance, that is, skirmishers and private soldiers should be used together. In a firegun association of more than 1,500 people, there should be one battalion equipped with turtle-dove-footed fireguns, which are responsible for long-range shooting in battles, and the remaining three battalions should be equipped with birdguns that can be equipped with sleeves and spears, used for shooting at 30 paces. Internal volleys and hand-to-hand combat.
In other words, a blunderbuss with a bayonet was used instead of a spear and a sword.
This method of using firecrackers was definitely the mainstream in the 18th century. But at the end of 1644, it was probably quite radical and alternative.
However, with the results of the Battle of Dagukou out there, the officers in the upper echelons of the new army who didn't know how to use fire guns didn't think there was anything wrong.
And in the subsequent Battle of Zhenjiang and the Battle of Nanjing to Counter the Rebellion, the four allies of Quanhuo Gun were as devastating as anything!
In the battle against the rebellion in Nanjing, the Four Fire Gun Associations not only defeated the tens of thousands of rebels but also suffered no casualties themselves!
In several battles, the musket soldiers of the New Army did not use the "30-meter salvo" at all. They simply charged with the musket loaded with bullets and spikes.
The infantrymen in the Nanjing camp did not dare to fight in formation with the gun soldiers - but no one guaranteed that these fire gun soldiers would not fire at a distance of three to five steps!
At this time, in the view of the generals of the new army, the all-fire infantry alliance may not be able to withstand the impact of the Tatar cavalry - unless there are preset positions and fortifications, but against the same number of infantry, even if they are wearing a few The thickly armored Tatar dismounted infantry were absolutely certain to win!
The Turtle-footed Fire Gun of the All-Fire Gun Infantry Association is much stronger than the Tatar's Bali Bow, because in the battle between the two armies, the distance between the Tatar bow and arrow volley is only about thirty steps.
The kind of masters who can use bows and arrows to deal with soldiers at a distance of fifty steps must at least be red-armored soldiers or white-armored soldiers, and there are not many in the entire Eight Banners. It is simply impossible to trade red-armored soldiers, white-armored soldiers, and fire-gun soldiers for lives.
And the armor-piercing range of Ikaruga's foot fire gun is at least a hundred steps or more! Within fifty steps, no matter how many layers of armor you wear, even a shield chariot can't resist it!
As for bird cannons, as long as they pass the quality standard and are loaded as required (if fixed ammunition is used, this is not a big problem) and fired in volley, they are enough to cause damage to armored enemies at a distance of thirty steps.
In addition, the configuration of all fire guns can also greatly increase the firepower density of the infantry - because all members are fire gun soldiers and have the ability to project firepower. If you switch to a configuration of archers plus spearmen and sword soldiers, the density of firepower will be reduced by at least two-thirds!
All the true prisoners among the Eight Banners soldiers can use and be equipped with bows and arrows. Therefore, when the numbers are equal and they all use bows and arrows as long-range firepower, the firepower density of the Eight Banners soldiers is at least three times that of the Ming army. If the gap in technology and physical strength is taken into account, with the same number, the Eight Banners soldiers have ten times more firepower than the Ming army.
So as long as you do a simple math problem, you will know why the Ming army lost more than it won. Because they rarely have the opportunity to form a tenfold advantage on a local battlefield, it would be great to have a double numerical advantage. In other words, in terms of firepower output, the Ming army always suffers greatly.
At the same time, most of the Ming army was a little afraid of hand-to-hand combat and liked to use firepower, especially firearms that were extremely ineffective in actual combat, to attack their opponents...
Compared with this kind of Ming army that likes long-range shooting and does not have enough firepower. The "All Fire Gun Association" that overcomes the difficulties of the new army is simply invincible.
However, Zhu Cixiang, who "invented" this tactic, still knew the "Spanish Phalanx", "Morris Phalanx" and "Gustavus Phalanx".
These three combined tactics of firecrackers and long guns, which have been tested in actual combat on the European battlefield, are the mainstream of this era, and should also be the most suitable tactics for matchlock guns.
But Zhu Cixiang only knew the name and didn't know how to use it, so he chose the simplest method of using a fire gun and a bayonet for emergency purposes.
Now that he has arrived in Jiangnan, the situation has begun to stabilize, so it is natural to introduce mature Western tactics that have been tested in actual combat for many years.
So as early as a few months ago, Tang Ruowang and Li Zubai were sent to Haao to hire foreign generals, and they also hired a veteran mercenary captain named Ruinstein who was said to have been on the European battlefield for more than 20 years. Germans.
Wu Sanfu brought Hao Yaoqi's Yixie Fire Gun Soldiers to Zhenjiang, not only to show Zheng Zhilong, but also to show the German mercenary and the Portuguese envoy Alfonso Lopez who came with him.
Because they two are the experts!
