In the palace conference room, Lieutenant General Xu Zhixian, Chief of Staff, Wang Xiazi, Cavalry Director and Commander of the 1st Cavalry Brigade, and Zhu Xingfa, Deputy Cavalry Director, stood in front of Luo Zhixue.
At this time Xu Zhixian said: "As we all know, we lack war horses, let alone well-trained elite cavalry!"
"From the time we raised troops at Funiu Mountain to now, we have accumulated less than two thousand elite cavalry in total. We have lost some in the early battles, and some of them have been assigned to each division to serve as the backbone of reconnaissance cavalry. The remaining Most of them were concentrated in the 1st Cavalry Brigade, with a total of three regiments and nine sentries, with a total strength of only 1,100 cavalry."
"Only relying on these 1,100 cavalry cannot compete with the large number of frontier cavalry of the Ming army. According to the intelligence we collected, there are frontier cavalry led by Wu Sangui in Runing Mansion. They have at least 3,000 cavalry; Zuo Liangyu on the prefecture front line also has a cavalry force of about a thousand cavalry under his command. In addition, there is a cavalry force of about 500 on the Jiangbei front line. There is also an 800 cavalry force reportedly transferred from Beizhili, Shandong and other places and deployed in Jiujiang. First line!"
"Once we launch an eastward campaign, the Ming army will most likely mobilize Wu Sangui's troops in Runing Prefecture to go south. The total strength of this frontier army is about 10,000 people, of which 3,000 are elite cavalry."
"That is to say, after we develop the eastward campaign, we will most likely face at least 4,000 to 5,000 elite cavalry."
"We have all dealt with these cavalry before. They are all elite cavalry capable of mounted shooting and charging into battle. They are not weak in strength."
"We only have one First Cavalry Brigade, and I'm afraid we won't be able to compete with them."
"As for our cavalry divisions, it's hard to tell the truth that they have big responsibilities!"
When Xu Zhixian said this, Blind Wang also interjected: "I, Old Wang, are not exaggerating. If we really pull them out to fight, a cavalry post randomly pulled out by the 1st Cavalry Brigade can defeat any of our divisional cavalry regiments." , if you fight smoothly, you can even annihilate them all..."
"The First Cavalry Brigade all rides on two horses alone. They can mount a horse and shoot, and they can also charge in formation. However, the cavalry regiments of each division lack the ability to mount and shoot, and they can hardly charge in formation!"
Zhu Xingfa, deputy director of the cavalry, also said: "In the event of a fight, the cavalry of the 1st Cavalry Brigade can completely take advantage of the advantages of war horses and mounted shooting to repeatedly engage in mounted shooting operations, gradually encroaching on hunting and killing. When the formation of the division's cavalry regiment collapses, launch rush ahead!"
"Cavalry like the Divisional Cavalry Regiment have no chance of winning against elite cavalry!"
Luo Zhixue listened to their words without interrupting, but continued to wait.
Sure enough, after Xu Zhixian glanced at Wang Xiazi and Zhu Xingfa, he immediately said: "However, the lack of war horses and professional cavalry is an objective fact of our existence. This cannot be solved in a short time, even if we have used secret channels to obtain troops from Shaanxi and other places. Even if we purchase some war horses and recruit cavalrymen with excellent riding and archery skills from the people, it is unlikely that this disadvantage will be reversed in a short time!"
"After discussions with the ministers and others, we have found a way that is not a solution."
"Equip muskets to the existing division cavalry!"
At this time, Xu Zhixian glanced at Zhu Xingfa and said: "Your Majesty, the proposal of the Musketeers was made by Deputy Director Zhu. Let him tell you about the ideas of the Musketeers."
Luo Zhixue nodded slightly, then turned his attention to Zhu Xingfa.
Zhu Xingfa took a step forward at this time, opened a large book in his hand, and said at the same time: "Our divisions belong to cavalry regiments, whether they are the cavalry regiments of the main division or the cavalry regiments of the garrison division, most of the cavalry have not experienced long-term Due to the long time cavalry training, their riding and archery skills are limited, and it is difficult for them to accurately shoot arrows on the bumpy and high-speed horses."
"If our divisional cavalry uses mounted bows, they will not be accurate, and they have to stop to shoot. Well, the same goes for using foot bows."
"And once the cavalry stops, it will be dangerous!"
"At the same time, the enemy's fine cavalry are generally armored. If the division cavalry uses bows and arrows, they need to be at a relatively close distance to break the armor. And if they stop shooting, it will be difficult to compete with the enemy's large-scale cavalry shooting or even impact."
"Since mounted shooting is not possible, then we simply give up on the dead end of volley shooting and let them use muskets instead!"
"We previously asked the arsenal to try to produce a batch of muskets with shorter barrels. Although the power and accuracy were slightly reduced, they were still at a usable level."
"With the use of matchlocks, our cavalry can become musketeers. When necessary, they can dismount and line up and fight directly with matchlocks. With the bayonets on the matchlocks, they can also effectively resist the impact of enemy cavalry formations!"
"In my imagination, this kind of musketry cavalry can cooperate with the 1st Cavalry Brigade in combat and provide fire support to the 1st Cavalry Brigade."
"At the same time, you can also perform combat missions alone, perform high-speed maneuvers on the battlefield, force the enemy to change formations, conduct short-distance pursuit and interception operations, etc.!"
"In addition, although it is equipped with a musket, it is still equipped with a saber. Although the ability to rush into battle is not good, it can still maintain the ability to rush into battle to a certain extent!"
"However, the main purpose of the musket cavalry proposed by me is not to cooperate with infantry, nor to cooperate with elite cavalry such as the 1st Cavalry Brigade, but to cooperate with another type of musket cavalry!"
Having said this, Zhu Xingfa paused for a moment, then opened the report in his hand and said to a cavalry figure on it: "Pistol Cavalry!"
"This kind of pistol cavalry is the perfect match for musketeers!"
Pistol cavalry? Hearing this word, Luo Zhixue immediately became interested. Luo Zhixue had thought about forming a pistol cavalry before, but it never took shape.
The main reason is that when Luo Zhixue wanted to build pistol cavalry at first, the spring wheel pistol used by the cavalry was not available for a while. Later, the cavalry and archer cavalry led by Wang Xiazi were extremely powerful and effective, which made Luo Zhixue for a while. It is inclined to develop cavalry and cavalry first, and then wait until the flintlock musket is available, and then directly develop the pistol cavalry.
So Luo Zhixue said: "Has a practical spring wheel pistol been made?"
At this time, Zhu Xingfa immediately said: "Hantian Arsenal has produced the first batch of pistols. We have tested them. Although there are still some problems with relatively high cost and high failure rate, they are already suitable for use!"
"I have brought a sample gun here. It is kept by the guards outside the palace. Your Majesty, please take a look!"
Although Zhu Xingfa is the deputy director of the cavalry, it is naturally impossible for him to bring a pistol directly in when he comes to meet the saint, even without bullets.
Before coming here, I gave it to the guard outside the door for safekeeping.
Luo Zhixue immediately nodded slightly and ordered the guards to bring in the muskets and take a look.
The musket was packed in a small wooden box. Looking at the wooden box, Luo Zhixue thought it was an expensive handicraft specially made by his subordinates, just like the previous spring wheel pistol...
The spring wheel pistol seems to be very powerful, but the process is too complicated and the cost is huge. If it is exhausted, it can only be equipped with a few elite cavalry, or simply used by senior generals for self-defense or simply for collection.
Because the cost is very high and the significance of collection is greater than the significance of actual combat, spring wheel pistols these days are also gold-plated and beautifully engraved.
Luo Zhixue himself owns two of these spring-wheel pistols. Not only are they gold-plated, they are also inlaid with gems... This thing is a handicraft!
It is naturally unrealistic to equip such a spring wheel pistol on a large scale.
The high cost is secondary. The most important thing is that the processing precision of this thing is too high. It relies heavily on the hand production of senior craftsmen, and it is difficult to mass-produce it with machines.
If Zhu Xingfa just took out this pistol to fool people, then Luo Zhixue would go crazy on the spot.
But when I opened the wooden box, I saw that the pistol inside did not have exquisite patterns or gold plating, and it looked a bit rough at first glance.
And it is this roughness that represents its identity as a mass-produced firearm.
As far as the machining accuracy of the mechanical equipment of the Hantian Arsenal under the Dachu Empire is concerned, it cannot produce too precisely. Mass-produced muskets often sell far less well than those hand-made muskets.
When he picked it up and took a look, Luo Zhixue discovered that this pistol was different from the two spring wheel pistols in his collection.
This gun, it doesn't have steel wheels...
The spring wheel pistol is the spring wheel pistol that appeared in Europe in the last century. Its biggest feature is that it has a steel wheel. The entire firing mechanism is very similar to the flint lighters of later generations.
But the pistol in my hand has no steel wheels.
Look closely, this gun uses a hammer to strike the bolt.
At this time, Zhu Xingfa also introduced: "Your Majesty, this pistol is an improvement based on the previous spring wheel pistol, and also refers to the flintlock pistol that your Majesty once mentioned."
"The designers of Hantian Arsenal abandoned the previous steel wheel structure and replaced it with a hammer. In this way, the design of the entire gun machine can be greatly simplified. Although the cost is still relatively high, compared with the high cost of the cavalry , a slightly more expensive pistol is completely acceptable!”
Luo Zhixue looked at this pistol and didn't know what to say. In his opinion, this thing was exactly what he knew as a flintlock gun!
He asked his subordinates to work on flintlock rifles all day long. However, the person who researched and designed the rifle did not come up with it. The cavalry made a pistol, but they actually did it?
Luo Zhixue said: "Is this the firing mechanism of the Suifa gun? Can it also be used on infantry muskets?"
But Zhu Xingfa looked embarrassed and said: "This..."
"Although the cost of our musket is lower than that of previous pistols, it is still much more expensive than infantry muskets. Each one costs about twenty taels. This is mainly to ensure the firing rate. Many parts are very fine and need to be used. High-precision machinery and experienced craftsmen carry out production.”
Twenty-two pieces...
This price seemed too expensive to Zhu Xingfa and even Xu Zhixian. When Xu Zhixian heard this price, he just shook his head: "Twenty taels is too expensive. Ten thousand taels is two hundred thousand taels, and one hundred thousand taels is two million." …”
But Luo Zhixue on the side shook his head: "Twenty taels, not expensive!"
