Go back to the yard and sit down. Wang Xiaolie said: "After seeing the power of artillery, you should understand why I want the army to conduct special drills. If our army is universally equipped with artillery, the war will change drastically. Facing an army with artillery, ordinary armies There is no way to form an array. We must find a way to distance ourselves in order to avoid artillery strikes."
Li Yanxian lowered his head and thought for a while and said, "How can we attack if we form an array hundreds of steps away?"
Wang Xiaolie said: "Don't worry, the enemy will always find a way. In the future when the two armies fight, the dense formations will become less and the formations will become thinner. For example, there will only be one row and two rows, and they will be reorganized in front of our square formation." Formation. They will not line up in a dense cone formation and be shot through by one shot."
Li Yanxian nodded: "This is also a way. But it is difficult for ordinary armies to do it."
This is an inevitable trend. In his previous life, what impressed Wang Xiaolie deeply was the linear formation after muskets became the main weapon. The musketeers came forward in rows and rows, with a large gap between each two rows. Now that I think about it, the reason for doing this should be anti-fire cannons. This formation can only knock down one or two soldiers with one shot. By the time you get to the back row, the shells should have hit the ground.
So what was the war like when muskets were not popular but artillery was mature? Unfortunately, historically this has not happened. In Western Europe, where firearms developed rapidly, for a long time cannons were only used to attack and defend cities, and small cannons were used in field battles. When field artillery was developed, flintlock muskets had become popular and the conditions were ripe for the use of linear arrays.
When artillery is used on the battlefield, dense formations must soon disappear. Otherwise, the attacker will lose his life.
How will the enemy attack in the face of cannon? After much deliberation, Wang Xiaolie could only form a formation farther away, and use a shallow and deep formation of one or two rows when attacking. After passing the area where artillery can threaten, regroup.
After your own army is generally equipped with cannons, what will it look like facing the Jin army? Wang Xiaolie was also curious about how the Jin army would respond. This is something that has never happened in history and should be very interesting.
It is wrong to think that wars after firearms matured should be what they were in European history. Compared with China, most European countries are small, their national power is not strong, and the scale of their wars is relatively small. Only after occupying a large number of colonies did Western European countries look like great powers. By the time European countries were able to engage in large-scale wars, industry had developed.
After talking about the equipment and artillery and some changes in the organization and logistics of the army, everyone had a meal and rest.
The next day, Wang Xiaolie and others were still familiar with the artillery here. In the next few months, the artillery will be equipped with the Chinese army and conducted drills.
Two hundred thousand guan for one hundred cannons, plus other miscellaneous expenses, should be less than 500,000 guan. Wang Xiaolie could still afford it with half a million dollars. In the past few years, Xiangyang has been able to print 10 million Guanhuizi a year. It is expected that the largest number of copies will be printed this year and next, reaching 15 million. It will decrease rapidly after that, relying on current investment and increased industrial and commercial taxes.
In the afternoon, Zhang Jun rushed to the artillery field and asked to see Wang Xiaolie.
Not only did they kill Ding Jin this time, but they also accidentally discovered that someone in Zhai Xing's army wanted to surrender to the enemy, so Wang Xiaolie paid special attention to this. As soon as Zhang Jun arrived, Wang Xiaolie asked him to meet him in the living room.
Entering the living room, he saw Wang Xiaolie already sitting there. Zhang Jun stepped forward to sing the promise.
Wang Xiaolie asked: "How was the trip to Yingyang this time?"
Valley drill
Zhang Jun said: "Everything is going smoothly. The governor has already deployed people under Ding Jin, and we know everything about his movements. In addition, Luan Qingshan, who he recently promoted, is really a man of action. A little trouble will be quickly solved. It’s settled.”
Wang Xiaolie said: "Ding Jin has a long mouth. Many people will be confused by what he says. It's really not possible to do things. The people I arranged for Ding Jin are just to collect intelligence, and there is no I wanted to do something to him. But I didn't expect this result in the end, which makes people a little regretful. A Ding Jin is really nothing. But his death like this reminds others that they will take strict precautions against us."
Zhang Jundao: "That's what the governor said. When Yu Tongzhi first arrived in Yingyang, Ding Jin asked what position he would be in if he voted for us. If a person like this comes to us, he will be laughed at if he is in a high position!"
"Okay, that's it for Ding Jin. Let Yu Huan stay in Yique for a few days to discuss it with Shi Jian. What other things are there besides going to Yingyang this time? From what you reported a few days ago, Just discovered the traitors in Zhai Xing’s army?”
Zhang Jun said: "That's right. That day in the inn, I happened to see Jiang Yi, Liu Yu's envoy, sending Captain Yang back to the inn. After asking about it, I found out that it was a general under Zhai Zhenfu. Unfortunately, the thief was very well-behaved. We all I killed Ding Jin and searched everywhere, but I couldn't find his shadow anymore."
Wang Xiaolie said: "Except for him, no one else knows this person's identity? Jiang Yi personally greeted him, so his identity must not be simple."
Zhang Jun said: "When we left Yingyang, we took Jiang Yi with us. This person was Liu Yu's envoy and knew a lot of things. But there was an accident on the way and he accidentally killed Jiang Yi. All our work was in vain."
Wang Xiaolie asked about the circumstances of killing Jiang Yi and was speechless for a moment. Such an important person died in such a trivial manner.
After thinking for a while, Wang Xiaolie said: "After Liu Yu usurped the throne, he wanted to move the capital to Kaifeng Mansion. But Zhai Zhenfu was in Yiyang and I was in Ruzhou. Many surrounding forces did not listen to Liu Yu's orders and hesitated for a while. Recently, Liu Yu Yu Zhao surrendered Ding Jin, and contacted Zhai Zhenfu's generals, intending to pacify this area."
Zhang Jun said: "Zhenfu, since Liu Yu has surrendered Zhai Zhenfu's generals, then here we are——"
Wang Xiaolie said with a smile: "Liu Yu naturally won't let me go, and of course he will try his best to get around me. But I'm very guarded, so Liu Yu's people can't come. Zhai Zhenfu's territory is small, and his life is hard. It’s hard to say.”
Zhang Jun nodded: "That's what Zhai Zhenfu said. Last winter, I heard that Zhai Zhenfu's men were short of food, so he dispersed the armies to get food everywhere."
Wang Xiaolie sighed and said nothing. Zhai Xing was originally from a wealthy family and had risen to prominence early. He relied on his status and did not want to ask Wang Xiaolie for help. There was a bad harvest last autumn and the army was short of food, so Zhai Xing dispersed the army. In fact, Zhai Xing had less than 10,000 men and horses, so Wang Xiaolie could just move some grain and it would be enough to feed them.
Among the several governors in this area, Wang Xiaolie is the youngest. His rise to power seems strange, and his relationship is not particularly close. Only Li Yanxian got help from Wang Xiaolie many times due to special circumstances, and finally got together.
After thinking for a while, Wang Xiaolie said: "There are several generals named Yang under Zhai Xing. The one with the highest status among them happened to be Yang Wei who went to Luhun Ancient City for food last year. Mrs. Yang you met Lieutenant, the most likely person is him. But this is Zhai Xingjun’s matter, so we shouldn’t speculate too much. In a few days, you go to Fenniu Village and report this matter to Zhai Xing face to face. "
Zhang Jun crossed his hands and promised. Now that I got this news, of course I had to remind Zhai Xing. Believe it or not and what measures to take are Zhai Xing's business. As an ally, Wang Xiaolie should not interfere too much in this matter.
(Sorry, my brain was caught in the door while writing Chapter 386. Henan County was set up before the pre-Qin Dynasty. For most of ancient times, the river was the Yellow River, and Henan should of course be south of the Yellow River. The name of Henan province, It should come from Henan Prefecture in the Luoyang area, but the river should refer to the Yellow River, not the Luo River. In fact, for about two thousand years, Luoyang was Henan Prefecture until the Qing Dynasty, but it was later changed. Now in front The content cannot be modified, please add a note in this chapter. Forgive me.) For mobile phone users, please browse the Kingdom of Tianhan for a better user experience.
