After leaving Qian'an, Houying embarked on the road back to his hometown.
When they come, they set off with a full load; when they go back, they return with a high reputation.
The situation of the Battle of Qingshui Pass has been spread around Qian'an.
Wherever the flag of the rear camp passed, they were greeted with admiring eyes.
The other armies couldn't even raise their heads in front of the rear camp.
Zuo Mengeng felt that this march should not be wasted.
While resting in Kaiping that night, Zuo Mengeng gathered the entire army in one place.
"This time we went north to fight, we fought three battles in total. The first battle was to conquer Zunhua; the second battle was to ambush the Han tribe; the third battle was the bloody battle at Qingshui Pass."
Zuo Hua reminded from the side: "Qianzuo, there is still a battle. Zhang Batai was attacked by the Tatars, we can safely withdraw."
Zuo Mengeng waved his hand.
"Does that count? With the quality of my rear camp, can the Tatars steal it?"
The whole camp laughed and said yes.
The whole camp was calm that night and no difficulties were encountered at all. Later, he led Hou Jin's army in circles in the ravines, which was easier than daily training.
After the entire army had laughed, Zuo Mengeng's expression turned serious.
"This campaign is the first time our army has been on the battlefield. Everyone has seen the result. There were nearly 3,000 people when we set off. Now more than 900 comrades have died, and one-third of the entire army has suffered casualties."
Hearing what he said, everyone's expressions became sad, and many people shed tears silently.
No matter who you are, almost all your comrades around you have died.
The people who used to eat, sleep, and share joys and sorrows together are now gone, which inevitably makes it difficult for the living to adapt. Not to mention, many sacrifices were made right in front of their eyes, making them unforgettable for the rest of their lives.
In the depressing atmosphere, Zuo Mengeng also expressed his thoughts.
"The dead are gone, we can remember them, we can pay homage. What are we most afraid of? What we are most afraid of is not learning from the sacrifice and making the same mistake again in the future."
The whole army listened to him attentively. Even the most stupid people now knew that they could learn a lot from Zuo Mengeng.
Except for Zuo Mengeng, no one else has experience in how to make a post-war summary. So this head can only be opened by him.
"Let's talk about the first battle first, the battle against Zunhua."
"Originally, according to the plan of the battalion, this battle was a siege. Although the city defense of Zunhua is strong and there are many Tatar soldiers. But we have artillery. Our muskets have a longer and more accurate range, and we also have explosives. .With so many methods, it shouldn’t be difficult to break the city, right?”
Zuo Mengeng's voice suddenly rose three times.
"I thought of everything, but I didn't expect the Tatars to leave the city!"
This time the big guy burst into laughter immediately.
Although Kezunhua is the first battle in the rear camp, it is really not that difficult. Except for the Fourth Battalion and the Artillery Battalion, almost no one else fired.
It was not that no one discussed it afterwards, and their views were similar to Zuo Mengeng’s.
"Why do they dare to come out and fight with us?"
If Zuo Mengeng had said this in the past, the soldiers would have thought he was bragging.
Those are Tatars!
The Tatars who beat the Ming Dynasty were unable to fight back!
But now, having personally fought against the Tatars and won a victory, in the minds of the soldiers, the Tatars are just like that.
The reason why Zuo Menggeng mentioned the Battle of Zunhua was not only that it was the first battle of the rear camp, but also because this battle was relatively easy and there was not much to say.
This is relatively easy for the rear camp who is conducting a post-war summary for the first time.
"The Fourth Brigade and the Cavalry Brigade participated in the siege. Can you tell me, what are our shortcomings?"
Zuo Yong stood up.
"Let me talk about the problems discovered during the siege."
The soldiers immediately became serious and listened very carefully.
Having seen the sacrifices of their comrades, they know very well that this experience can often save lives.
"Our weapons are mainly muskets. Compared with bows and arrows, their range is much longer and more accurate. However, when attacking a city, the enemy is on the city, so the range of bows and arrows is longer. Don't take the usual approach. If you compare it with other bows and arrows, you will suffer a big loss."
Houying has popularized the most basic knowledge of physics. The same force at a higher place can make objects fall further. Everyone understands the principle.
"Also, there are turrets at regular intervals on the city wall. Be sure not to get close to the recessed place between the two turrets. That kind of place will be attacked by the turrets on both sides, so it is difficult to defend against."
The city wall was not built in a straight line.
Such a wall would have blind spots for defense.
Therefore, at every certain distance on the city wall, there is a protruding place where towers can be built and used to store supplies. It also gave the defenders an angle to attack the enemy from the flank.
Whether it is ancient Chinese city walls or Western bastions, they all have similar designs.
Once the attacker enters such a place, it will be attacked from the front and both sides by the defenders at the same time, resulting in a sharp increase in casualties.
"Also, when we attack the city, the defenders on the city will definitely lean out if they want to shoot arrows. I suggest that when we attack the city again in the future, we must keep enough manpower on guard to aim at the city wall at all times. As long as the defenders dare to raise their heads and shoot arrows, the people who give early warning can shoot first."
What he said was the experience gained by the Fourth Brigade with blood.
After that, Zuo Yong talked a lot about his understanding of siege, which really opened everyone's eyes and learned a lot.
Not only Zuo Yong, the commander of the brigade, but also the squadron commanders, squad commanders and ordinary soldiers below were all called out to speak, and a siege battle was analyzed from various angles.
When the same thing is analyzed from different angles, Zuo Menggeng is deeply inspired by the conclusions drawn.
In the military knowledge he received, siege warfare was also blank.
After all, cities hundreds of years from now seem to have no walls.
At first, the soldiers were very nervous when they spoke. Many of them were introverted and shy people. Coupled with their low self-esteem, they were confused by being stared at by so many pairs of eyes.
However, with Zuo Mengeng's encouragement and the heated atmosphere of the discussion, even the shyest people let go.
This is how the next marching days were spent.
During the day, during the rest period, the results of discussions within the team were recorded by the team leader based on each team.
When the whole army held a discussion in the evening, the speech changed from an individual speech to a team speech, which became more targeted and made the content of the discussion more professional.
The battle where everyone has gained the most experience and lessons is undoubtedly the Battle of Qingshui Pass.
As the leader of the General Logistics Brigade, Zhang Yan deeply reflected on the shortcomings of the General Logistics Brigade.
"No matter how powerful our muskets are, we cannot avoid being approached by the enemy. Once the enemy enters the shooting range, our shortcomings of not wearing armor will be exposed. I think we can still improve on the vehicles. During combat, we can Use vehicles as cover."
His idea was recognized by everyone.
In the Battle of Qingshui Pass, in addition to the Houjin artillery, most of the casualties in the Houjun camp were caused by firecrackers and bows and arrows when the Houjin soldiers attacked within thirty meters.
"Our artillery brigade also has big problems."
Jia Yunzhi stood up and spoke on behalf of the artillery brigade.
In this battle, the actual commander of the artillery brigade, Li Xiangzhu, was killed, which had a great impact on the artillery brigade.
If there is anyone who has the strongest reflection after the war, it must be the artillery brigade.
"When the Tatars used smoke to cover the artillery, we only saw the threat posed by the Tatar artillery. We all became red-eyed and ignored the anti-Tatar artillery, without providing good fire support. Otherwise, It is not easy for the Tatars to rush in front of the infantry. We must keep this lesson in mind in the future and maximize the lethality of artillery."
Li Xiangzhu's sacrifice was certainly due to his bravery. However, his early command errors caused Hou Jin's soldiers to rush forward, which also made him blame himself extremely.
After the war, the soldiers of the artillery brigade had countless discussions and finally began to correctly understand the role of artillery.
In addition, the third team member Zheng Shao Xinzhang raised a more serious problem.
"Qianzao, our cannon needs to be modified. When firing, the cartridges shook out of the barrel several times. Several of our people were injured by the cartridges."
In this battle of Qingshui Pass, there was a big problem with artillery.
That was because the cartridge was underweight, so when the gunpowder exploded, the cartridge actually flew out of the barrel.
"We think it's possible to change the barrel to a closed one, so that the shells can be inserted through the breech block at the back?"
Good guy, they actually came up with a breech-loading cannon.
However, this problem of Zuoying Cannon does need to be corrected.
But Zuo Mengeng didn't know if it was possible. He had to go back and leave it to the people at the gun factory.
"Your opinions are valuable and I will forward them to the gun manufacturer."
