Two hundred steps!
The first salvo fired with a bang.
This is the maximum effective killing distance of the Wanli Type 1 musket according to the instructions given by Qi Jiguang.
Qi Jiguang himself believed that one should not shoot from such a distance. He believed that one should at least get closer to 150 steps, and even better to get closer to about 100 steps before shooting. However, this theory mainly applies to normal situations, like today Faced with this abnormal situation, the frontline generals can of course make temporary adjustments to try to fire one more volley before the opponent reaches them.
The effect of this round of salvo is indeed not very good, but the main problem may not be with the musket itself, but with the mental state of the soldiers of the Ming Dynasty - the power of nearly ten thousand cavalry charging straight at them is too amazing, even The ground was shaking, and the hands of many Ming soldiers were shaking as if they were shaking, and the bullets they shot flew to who knows where.
Zhang Wanbang can actually fully understand that this may not be true timidity, but it is probably just a normal reaction. After all, everyone is human. Although many people have combat experience against the Mongolian Tatars, they were all defending themselves. The experience gained in a fortified city and a powerful pass, like today in the wild with such a thin defense line, to withstand the Mongolian charge, it was really the first time for a big girl to get into a sedan chair.
Not to mention the ordinary soldiers below, even the servants around him all looked nervous, and many of them had trembling hands holding weapons.
Even he himself, a young general known for his boldness, was beating faster than the drums at this moment. The blood in his body was almost solidified. His eyes were so bloodshot that they were as red as red. Except for the Mongolian cavalry approaching quickly, there was nothing in his eyes. A different scene.
It is easy to say "ignoring life and death", but how many people can really do it casually?
Ants are still greedy for life, how much worse is it for humans!
Many times, being brave is just something you have to do, but if you are not brave, you will die even more miserably!
The first round of bad volleys and hundreds of gunshots only resulted in the loss of about fifty Mongolian cavalry, which was nothing compared to the tens of thousands of people rushing into the battle.
Fortunately, Zhang Wanbang memorized Qi Jiguang's drills by heart, and subconsciously shouted: "The second column retreats to recharge, and the third column steps forward, prepare to shoot!"
The soldiers who were so nervous that they couldn't help themselves carried out his orders mechanically. It may even be because they were too nervous. The soldiers had no room to think and simply obeyed. The result was better than the previous training in Datong. Switched the firing queue as quickly as possible.
When the Mongolian cavalry came within 150 steps, Zhang Wanbang had no room to think and subconsciously shouted: "Fire!"
There was another "bang bang bang", this time the effect was much better, the Mongols lost at least one hundred and fifty cavalry.
However, the large group of cavalry continued to charge forward without stopping, and many of the cavalry were still shouting "Genghis Khan".
Zhang Wanbang was sweating on his forehead. Two volleys of fire only knocked down two hundred of the opponent's cavalry, but the opponent had already entered a hundred and fifty steps - no, now there was only a hundred steps away.
"The third column retreats, the fourth column steps forward, prepare to throw grenades!"
"Prepare...long throw!"
There are several ways to throw a grenade or a grenade. The farthest way is to run up first and then drop the bomb. But now Zhang Wanbang has no time to do this, so he can only let them decide where to drop the bomb.
Fixed-point bombing is divided into standing and crawling types. Now, of course, it is the standing fixed-point bombing.
"Drop the bomb!" Zhang Wanbang shouted: "Get the bomb and prepare! - Drop the bomb!"
The pitcher mine is obviously faster than the musketeers of this era. Even if the Wanli Type 1 has evolved into the flintlock era, it cannot compare to the pitcher mine.
After all, the flintlock gun mainly eliminates the process of ignition and firing, but the non-integrated bullets in the era of muzzleloaders have to be loaded first and then loaded. There are also things like cleaning the barrel and using a purge to poke the gunpowder. The procedure is even more time-consuming.
As for the grenade, you only need to take it into your hand, pull it open to ignite it, and then throw it, which is natural and quick.
Although the power of gunpowder at this time was far less than that of later generations, hundreds of grenades were thrown at it at once, and the explosion still knocked the Mongolian cavalry off their backs, and even knocked them unconscious.
The results of this wave of grenades could not be counted for the time being. Zhang Wanbang estimated that the Mongols had lost at least three to four hundred men. Normally, this would have been a great victory that would have been enough to sacrifice the Imperial Ancestral Temple.
But the Mongols were only slightly delayed, and immediately rushed over more crazily. Zhang Wanbang only shouted the second "drop bomb". The Mongols rushed to the front of the formation after being bombarded by another wave of grenades.
At this time, Xin Ai's command had suffered over a thousand casualties. Normally, he would have ordered Ming Jin to withdraw his troops, but today, Xin Ai's eyes were red, staring at the battlefield without saying a word, and he had no intention of withdrawing his troops.
He wanted to see the scene where his cavalry destroyed the Ming army's formation and massacred them in one fell swoop!
However, something unexpected happened.
After two rounds of musket fire and two rounds of grenade bombardment, the horses of the Mongolian cavalry became obviously restless. Many horses were frightened and began to run around randomly.
The knight on the horse tried his best to keep himself from being knocked off the horse, but he could not quickly calm the horses and let them fight honestly.
In fact, because mare's milk is a military supply for the Mongols, the war horses in the Mongolian army are indeed mainly female horses. Obviously, although female horses are usually more docile, they are also more easily frightened.
The charge seemed chaotic and delayed a lot, but due to the numerical advantage, in anyone's opinion, this wave of charge was still enough to penetrate the Ming army's defense line.
But the reality was that it went in the opposite direction - when the remaining Mongolian cavalry rushed less than 20 meters away from the bayonet array, their horses suddenly slowed down significantly and refused to follow the instructions of the knights. Some war horses even leaned forward with all four hooves and turned backward, making a forced deceleration like "braking"!
Especially the war horses on the edge of the charge began to turn towards the open spaces on the left and right without heeding the call.
Some of the horses were either more courageous or the riders on the horses had better riding skills. They wanted to continue rushing forward, but were blocked by the slowing horses and had to slow down.
"Damn it, I should have known this. If there are hundreds of Qinglong Yanyue knives in the front line, I won't even need horses and deer wood!" Zhang Wanbang couldn't help but saw the chaos after the Mongolian cavalry rushed to the front of the line. I was overjoyed and laughed.
However, he was not completely carried away. He immediately remembered Gao Pingshi's instructions and shouted: "Continue to shoot in turn! The second column comes forward again and gives me a shot!"
Now that the two sides are close to the distance of hand-to-hand combat, grenades cannot be thrown, and guns can only be fired after the bayonet formation.
And just as he shouted this, Xin Ai's hands and feet across from him were cold, and his back suddenly became weak, and he almost fell down from his horse. Fortunately, Hamu Du'er saw the opportunity and quickly held him up.
"Abu, something is wrong! The Ming army's palm thunder has also become more powerful. It's better to withdraw the troops quickly!"
Xin Ai's eyes gradually lost focus, and she said blankly: "Failed again, I failed again...why?"
He really couldn't understand why his cavalry suffered consecutive defeats even though their combat effectiveness had not declined much during the "Ten Years of Peace". why? Do you really have no destiny?
Seeing that Xin Ai was just in a daze but didn't give a single order, Hamubadu'er was so anxious that he was sweating profusely.
He urged him a few more times, but Xin Ai remained dazed and despair gradually appeared in his eyes.
Hamu gritted his teeth and stopped asking for orders. Instead, he turned around and shouted: "Huang Taiji has orders, withdraw his troops and reorganize!"
Just as the order was about to be sent down, the rumble of horse hooves suddenly came from the rear where they had just come. It sounded like there were at least ten or twenty thousand cavalry.
Hamu was stunned for a moment and looked back in surprise. He was greatly surprised and thought to himself: Could it be that Tumen Khan's conscience found out or got some news and sent us a large group of reinforcements?
Unexpectedly, when I looked back and took a closer look, I saw a clear line of Chinese characters on the opponent's flag: "Guard the Dushi Maying on Xuanfu North Road to participate in Mahjong!"
Hamu was shocked to the point of death - the cavalry in the Xuanfu were direct cavalry brought out by Ma Fang and Malan Xi. When Ma Fang was in office, he even dared to chase the Tumote cavalry with the same force!
What a mess...
Hamu shocked Du'er and shouted: "Retract the troops! Reorganize the troops! Quick! Quick! Quick!"
However, it was too late. Zhang Wanbang and the others also discovered the arrival of the cavalry and the unusual panic of the Mongols.
Although Zhang Bingzhong and Zhang Wanbang and his son are not standing together at the moment, they obviously know what to do.
Zhang Wanbang ordered to hold back the Mongolians in front of the formation to prevent them from evacuating easily, but Zhang Bingzhong was more direct and ordered a change of formation - changing the hollow square formation to a wild goose formation, with the intention of encircling the Mongolian army.
The wild goose formation is a forward "V" formation, a bit like a crocodile's mouth opening to swallow. In fact, Zhang Bingzhong's troops suffered heavy losses just now. It is estimated that the current strength is only more than 5,000. It is theoretically impossible to counter-encircle nearly 10,000 Mongolian cavalry.
But at this time, the Mongols themselves also knew that they were attacked from both sides. The Ming infantry in front was unable to penetrate at all, as if they had cast a magic spell. There were actually more Ming cavalry behind them. How could they fight?
Suddenly, the Mongolian army's lineup was in chaos, and various units began to flee.
Hamu saw that the situation was not good, and took Xin Ai's horse rein with one hand to lead him away, but Xin Ai slapped his hand away and said: "Hamu, you go, Abu doesn't want to leave." ”
Hamu was stunned: "Abu, what are you doing?"
"Tumen can't defeat the Ming army. If I go to them, I will only be captured later. Why do I need to do such useless work?"
Xin Ai straightened his clothes, glanced in the direction of Zhang Wanbang's bayonet array, and said calmly: "I am Huang Taiji after all, so the Gaoqin envoy should meet me before killing him, right? I want to take a look at him and see what he is like. What a hero he is.”
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