Lieutenant General Zhu Xingfa, as one of the top senior cavalry generals in the army, is naturally very concerned about the development of the cavalry.
Not only are we paying attention to the development of the army's own cavalry, but we are also paying attention to the cavalry of the Guards.
To a certain extent, the development of cavalry in the Guards is more worthy of attention.
Because of the special nature of the Guards, the Guards will be equipped with some new weapons earlier than the Army.
From artillery to rifles and even armor, this is also true for the current Central Asian war horses.
Several improved models of the 2-year-old flintlock were all first equipped by the Guards. On the one hand, the Guards always had part of its troops deployed in Yingtian Mansion, and being closer to the center of the empire could obtain new models faster. Equipment news and supplies.
Secondly, there is also the preferential treatment of the Guards.
Finally, it is also to allow the Guards to conduct various tests on new equipment.
The same is true for cavalry. The first heavy cavalry of the Great Chu Empire was developed by the Guards. Similarly, the first hussars of the Great Chu Empire were also started by the Guards.
The two hussars regiments in the army were only started after the hussars regiment in the Guards had some success, and so far only one hussars regiment has been formed.
Under such circumstances, it is normal for Zhu Xingfa to be interested in the two hussars regiments of the Guards.
However, after a brief inspection of the two hussars regiments of the Guards under the guidance of Guards Major General Sheng Yushu, nothing could be discerned for a while.
Because in terms of equipment, the equipment of the Hussars is not much different from that of the Dragoons. They all wear light half-body armor. Although it is made of plate armor, in order to ensure that the weight is light enough, the protective capabilities are actually not very good.
As for the weapons, they are equipped with cavalry flintlocks and saber pistols.
In terms of armor and weapon rations, there is almost no difference between the dragoons and hussars in the Chu army.
The only difference is the war horse!
At present, the horses used by several hussar regiments in the Chu army are all Central Asian horses imported from the Western Regions, which are much stronger than the Mongolian horses attached to the dragoons.
The difference between the war horses is not enough to reflect the big difference between hussars and dragoons.
The main difference between the two sides is the difference in training and combat methods.
The main method of combat of the dragoon is to fight on horseback and follow the line tactics of the infantry. As for the attached saber, it is just a showpiece. There are not many cavalry in the dragoon who can ride a horse and wield a saber in charge combat. .
As for the hussars, their main method of combat is to fight on horseback, charging directly at the enemy with their sabers. The cavalry flintlocks issued are only auxiliary weapons, used when dismounting and fighting on foot under certain circumstances. .
However, if necessary, they can also dismount and fight on foot, because many of them were originally selected from dragoons and are also good at dismounting and foot fighting.
Even letting them wear heavy armor and directly turn into heavy infantry is very reliable.
At present, most of the cuirassiers and hussars in the Chu army are selected from the dragoons, except for a small number of outstanding horsemen who are directly selected from the recruits.
To a certain extent, the Chu army's hussars are an upgraded version of the dragoons.
Therefore, if the dragoons can do it, the hussars can do it, and if the hussars can do it, the dragoons may not do it.
And these are difficult to see through superficial observation, and can only be seen during drills and training.
Now that they are already on the battlefield, with a large number of Eastern cavalry watching eagerly, it is naturally impossible for them to conduct any large-scale actual combat exercises.
In order to ensure the physical fitness of the cavalry and war horses at all times, they have even stopped their daily training.
But it doesn't matter. If you want to observe the real combat effectiveness of the hussars, the effect will be better through actual combat, and now, they are not lacking in actual combat.
——
With the arrival of the three cavalry regiments from the Guards Cavalry Detachment, Zhu Xingfa's cavalry directly received thousands more cavalry, and these thousands of cavalry were all elite.
This gave Lieutenant General Zhu Xingfa a lot more confidence.
On April 26, the sixth year of Chengshun, outside the city of Zhongqiansuo in Guangning, the Ninth Army under the Chu Army's Third Group Army and a heavy artillery brigade directly under the group army had arrived at the front line, and had set out to attack the city at any time. Posture.
With the main force of the Third Army in place, the Tobaku people in Nakazensuo City were extremely panicked!
The tens of thousands of Chu troops outside the city are nothing. The key is that the artillery brought by the Chu army is too many, especially the dozens of artillery pieces that are clearly big at a glance, which makes them climb the top of the city. , the senior Dongli general who observed the situation of the Chu army outside the city through the battlements frowned the whole time.
"Chu Manzi's guns are indeed sharp. I have seen their artillery in several previous battles. At the most, I have seen them pull out at least fifty artillery pieces."
"But there are probably two to three hundred Chu Manzi artillery pieces outside right now!"
"And the heavy artillery is huge. Those big guys may be able to get dozens of kilograms of shells!"
One of the Donglu generals with an ugly rat tail frowned and said this with a panic tone in his words.
Another Dongli general said: "Those heavy cannons are a bit strange. They look bigger than a 48-pound mortar. Although the barrel is also short, it should be heavier than some of our previous red-coated heavy cannons. When they moved these artillery pieces, they used a lot of draft horses."
"Maybe it's their new explosive ammunition. Didn't the Liaodong Peninsula say that Chu Manzi used a new artillery? The barrel is longer than the mortar, but shorter than the field cannon. It uses a new type of explosive ammunition, which is extremely powerful! "
"It's hard to fight!" Another person spoke.
"There are hundreds of artillery pieces on the opposite side. It will be difficult to resist head-on. To win this battle, it depends on the cavalry!"
"The cavalry reinforcements from behind should be arriving soon. By then we will be able to gather at least 20,000 cavalry, which is enough for these Chu barbarians to drink a pot, not to mention that there are more cavalry coming from behind us!"
"As long as the cavalry can win, what's the point of having more artillery? Well, when the time comes when our cavalry is harassing them, it will be difficult for them to defend themselves, let alone attack the city!"
"When they flee in confusion, the artillery outside the city will become ours."
"There are hundreds of artillery pieces. We, the Qing Dynasty, could not accumulate so many artillery pieces in several years. If we can get this batch of artillery pieces, it is not impossible to enter the customs in the future!"
Another person said: "Even if we capture so many artillery pieces, it won't be easy. These artillery pieces are too expensive to use, and raising them will be a big trouble later!"
"What are you afraid of? When the time comes, go directly to the pass. You won't be able to get any money, food or livestock. Raising hundreds of cannons is nothing!"
——
When several senior generals of the Dongjiu people were chatting with each other on the top of the city, discussing how to maintain these hundreds of artillery pieces in the future, the Dongjiu cavalry outside the city also started to fight as the defenders in the city had expected. Take action.
It is impossible to defend Zhongqian Station with more than 20,000 infantry and artillery troops in Zhongqian Station alone. The Dongji people themselves have a clear sense of responsibility on this point, and the Chu army has absolute confidence.
In the face of absolute firepower superiority, and also in the face of a large number of explosive bombs, without corresponding firepower counterattack, no matter how many lives are added, it will be in vain.
Therefore, if the Dongji people want to keep Zhongqian, or even defeat the Chu army, they can only rely on the advantage of cavalry.
The Dongjiu people had a clear understanding of this a long time ago, so they did not defend Balipu, but withdrew the three thousand elite cavalry at the first opportunity.
As for the thousands of defenders at Tieyang Fort, they were originally cannon fodder to contain the enemy... They were just a group of Han Eighth Banners troops from the former Liaoxi Army. They could contain the Chu army's attack of tens of thousands of people and put the Chu army at risk. The troops dispersed in the early stage of the march and delayed for a day or two. This was considered to have completed their mission.
Now, it’s up to the cavalry!
——
As the Ninth Army of the Chu Army and the artillery directly under the Third Group Army gradually deployed outside the city of Zhongqiansuo, and after assuming an siege posture, the Dongjiu cavalry three or four kilometers away due north of Zhongqiansuo finally couldn't bear it. Start taking action.
If we don't take action...the shells from the Chu army's hundreds of artillery pieces will fall on the defenders of Zhongqiansuo.
Who knows how long the 20,000 defenders in the city can hold out against the indiscriminate bombardment of hundreds of artillery pieces? It may be ten days and a half, or it may be two or three days.
Maybe a few hours!
It's hard to say about the war, but the Dongji people must prepare for the worst.
No matter how long the defenders in the city can persist under the bombardment, the best solution is to prevent the Chu army from smoothly bombarding the city.
As a result, about 20,000 Dongbu cavalry began to prepare for battle one after another, and then led the horses and followed the Shangguan in formation according to their respective formations.
The Chu army on the opposite side was naturally paying close attention to every move of the Eastern Cavalry!
The Dongji cavalry on the opposite side had just begun to prepare for war. Zhu Xingfa of the First Cavalry Army had already ordered the entire army to prepare for war, and at the same time notified the Guards Cavalry Detachment to prepare for war!
The three cavalry divisions plus the Guards cavalry detachment amounted to about 14,000 combat cavalry. However, in addition to combat cavalry, the Chu army's cavalry troops also had many auxiliary units, namely cavalry artillery and heavy cavalry troops.
These add up to several thousand people, so the total size of the entire First Army and the Guards Cavalry Detachment is slightly larger than the Dongfeng Cavalry opposite, with more than 20,000 people.
At around 11 o'clock in the morning, the 14-pound cannon and the 9-pound cannon of the heavy artillery brigade directly under the Third Army took the lead in firing solid artillery shells with powerful kinetic energy towards Zhongqian Post.
Immediately afterwards, the nine-pound field artillery in the artillery regiments of each division of the Ninth Army also opened fire!
When they first opened fire, in order to ensure safety and avoid getting too close to be counterattacked by the enemy's firepower, they were farther away. Because of the longer distance, they could only fire solid shells.
As for grenades, because the body of the grenade is relatively fragile and cannot withstand too strong a chamber pressure, even if the artillery itself is a cannon, it cannot use too much propellant. Furthermore, the muzzle velocity of the grenade is also low, and the final range is not very good.
Therefore, in the first round of shelling, mainly solid shells were fired.
But not long after, some of the Chu army's artillery began to move forward, and a large number of eighteen-pound howitzers and twenty-four-pound howitzers, and under the cover of a large number of solid shells from cannons and field artillery, began to move forward slowly, and came to Fire at the predetermined artillery position!
As a result, in addition to the loud rumblings of artillery fire from both sides, Nakazensho Castle also began to hear rumbling explosions. Nakazensho Castle suddenly burst into flames and explosion smoke!
The crazy bombing mode of the Chu Empire Army has officially started!
