The air is filled with the unique aroma of tea. After brewing a pot of tea for the third time, Zhu Gaoxu asked in a casual tone: "It is reported that before the official army set off from Saigon Port, an envoy from the Sultanate of Malacca came, did Liu Envoy not know in advance?" ”

"When the ministers heard of this, the envoy had been expelled and was not in the army." Liu Ming's speech was slow. He seemed to realize at once that the Emperor's question was not as casual as his tone suggested. Liu Ming replied as if he was thinking.

Zhu Gaoxu nodded.

After a while, Liu Ming said again: "Before General Chen hung the seal for the Southern Expedition, the courtiers had many objections. General Chen has surrendered twice and lost many times in all major battles, and has almost no decent victories. The princes did not recognize his integrity and ability. On this southern expedition, when the minister saw General Chen, he only felt that he was particularly humiliated by the past. As for the great victory over the Zhenla army, General Chen was very eager to be greedy for merit. ”

Zhu Gaoxu felt that there was some truth after hearing it. Because he remembered that before sending troops south, in order to motivate Chen Xuan, he told him to seize the opportunity of shame.

Chen Xuan launched an unnecessary campaign this time, vaguely under the influence of Zhu Gaoxu. So Zhu Gaoxu had a feeling that Chen Xuan's actions seemed to be still under his control.

And Liu Ming's words, on the surface, were belittling Chen Xuan, but they actually helped Chen Xuan. However, civil officials usually do not speak specifically for military generals, and it is good if they do not sue.

Zhu Gaoxu said: "I see. ”

The tea was almost drunk, and Liu Ming then got up to bow and thanked him for his retirement.

The situation in the south has tended to ease for the time being, Manchuka, Java, and Chenla have all called for peace, and the Siamese people have finally heeded the warnings of the Ming officials to stop falling into the trap of Chenla. The imperial court successively established fortresses such as Songtaiwei, Da Nang, Saigon, and Longya Mun along the coast of the ocean, set up envoys, and prepared for the construction of two governors' palaces.

The strategy for the use of troops in Liaodong in the north was decided, and the war of rearmament was already in full swing.

In May, after the first batch of Xingguang guns were equipped with the infantry of the Beijing battalion, Zhu Gaoxu personally went to the Daxiao Field outside the Hongwu Gate to observe the soldiers practicing tactics.

In addition to the general of Jinyi Wei Dahan, there were also civil officials such as Qi Tai, Xia Yuanji, and Qian Xun, as well as Qu Neng, Liu Ying and other nobles. There are two other special people, namely Mao Kaishan and Ma Xingguang, who are a little dazzling when they are surrounded by ministers and nobles.

The people responsible for coordinating the practice on the school field are Wang Bin, Wu Gao, and Chen Zhen. Zhu Gaoxu deliberately asked them to train their soldiers, so that they would know from the beginning how the soldiers fought in front of the battle.

The school field was very noisy, and as soon as people came out of Hongwumen, the sound of guns was faintly audible. When I arrived at the school ground, I saw bursts of white smoke on the open ground, and countless people and vehicles were moving, trampling the solid land into dust.

Zhu Gaoxu rode to the side of a military formation and saw that the soldiers were skillfully loading their firearms. The soldiers of the Beijing camp had been using firearms for a long time and were familiar with the arquebus, which was originally called "Chunhan Gun", and it was not difficult to switch to a flintlock pistol at this time, because the flintlock pistol was simpler to use than the arquebus.

The officers and men carried two kinds of firearms-related tools, which were not used in battle formations, one was to make their own lead pellet clamps, and the other was a spoon shaped like a wine measure. The soldiers will use this beforehand

Measure the spoon, put the gunpowder in a small bamboo tube, and seal it with oiled paper and rope.

Therefore, each of the musketeers had a lot of things hanging on their bodies, and they first took out a bamboo tube from their waist pockets, and then bit the sealing paper with their teeth, and poured the amount of shots into the barrel of the gun. Then take the silk pad lead pellet, and use the whole strip to poke the lead pellet into it and compact. Finally, unplug the reed mechanism, pick up the gourd hanging from your waist, and pour the firing medicine into the medicine pot at the tail and cover it. The reload is complete, just ready to fire. The whole process is much simpler and much faster than the arquebus.

Although the firebolt is still more troublesome than the bow and crossbow exercise, it has more benefits. Ranged soldiers don't need much skill and strength, and reloading and shooting are hands-on work, and there is no need to train archery skills for a long time. Firearms also do not have high requirements for the transportation and logistics of the baggage battalion, and the ammunition carried by a single soldier can be fired dozens of times in a row, which can almost meet the consumption of the entire battle; It would be unimaginable to switch to the supply of arrows.

Li Ling, a famous general of the Han Dynasty, once fought the Xiongnu army with a large number of outnumbered enemies, but it is said that Li Ling was originally a baggage soldier in charge of transportation, and accidentally encountered the Xiongnu, and the battalion carried a large number of arrows. Rao was like this, and in the end, Li Ling still surrendered because he ran out of arrows. If it is a fire battalion, it is difficult to run out of ammunition in a battle.

At this time, Wang Bin and Wu Gao also rode horses to greet them, and they dismounted and hugged their fists. Zhu Gaoxu nodded, his eyes still watching the soldiers who were practicing over there.

Those loaded soldiers were entering the firing position one after another, behind a row of Wuhan Iron and Steel vehicles. There was a huge shield in front of the Wuhan Iron and Steel Carriage with a perforation, and the soldiers stood behind the perforation with a fire hammer to prepare. There was a gap between the Wuhan Iron and Steel vehicles, but at this time, the repulsion rifles had been removed from the cars to supplement the defense of the intervals, and the musketeers stood behind the repulsion rifles, and the spear and shield soldiers who were responsible for covering retreated.

With the sound of a shout, the soldiers fired one after another, and the sound of guns on the car formation was dense, and the fire and smoke flew together, and the battle was very terrifying.

When everyone saw this, they all admired.

Zhu Gaoxu didn't say a word, sat on horseback and looked at the bulky Wuhan Iron and Steel car, turned his head and said: "It's really amazing to think about something, the Wuhan Iron and Steel car has been used for thousands of years, and we are still using it." ”

When Zhu Gaoxu personally conquered Tatar in the Wude Dynasty, the army carried a large number of Wuhan Iron and Steel vehicles. Later, he learned that this thing had existed since at least the Han Dynasty and the Central Plains Dynasty.

Wu Gao's voice said: "Shengshang Mingjian, the threat of the nomadic cavalry in the north to the Central Plains is more than a thousand years, and this car has a miraculous effect on cavalry shooting and cavalry charging, so it is still used today." ”

Zhu Gaoxu said: "Everything has advantages and disadvantages, and it is easy to prevent it, but how to fight back?" It was difficult for the car to move, and a slight counterattack could only rely on cavalry. And the cavalry is around, our officers and troops have no advantage over all the Mongolian tribes, no wonder the public said, Taining and other guards are united with the Horqin department, and the combat power is still very strong. ”

Wu Gao had no choice but to admit: "Holy and sage." ”

Zhu Gaoxu said again: "Such a heavy car is running for a long time, and a large number of people need to be recruited. And the longer the world is peaceful, the more the cavalry of our dynasty has no advantage over the cavalry of the northern tribes. Maybe how to use infantry to fight cavalry is a better idea? ”

At this time, Liu Ying's voice said: "When there is no Wuhan Iron and Steel car, the cavalry is encountered, and the officers and soldiers also have tactics, and there are roughly two ways. One of the spearmen and shieldmen in the front row who sheltered the musketeers crouched down and waited for the muskets to fire. The second is the gunner and the gun

The soldiers are arranged at intervals, and the spearmen are used to protect the firecrackers, and at the same time, the military formation can also maintain the shooting. ”

Liu Ying is proficient in all kinds of infantry formation tactics, and what he said is the formation used by the Ming army before.

Zhu Gaoxu shook his head and said: "The flintlock gun has a feature, because it does not use open flames, and can arrange more dense firepower. Zheng Guogong said that the use of arquebuses and muskets is no different, and the advantages of new firearms cannot be brought into play. My idea is to maximize the density and lethality of firepower, and to reduce the burden on infantry and increase mobility. In such a way, of course, you have to give up some defensiveness, but how to choose the pros and cons. ”

Liu Ying said: "What the saint said is extremely true, before the Song Dynasty, people and horses were equipped with heavy horses, and they were finally abandoned by the world, which is also the reason. I have a vast territory, a desert to the north, and a light rider is the one who is on the right path. ”

Zhu Gaoxu nodded and said: "Or you can use a dense infantry formation, two to three rows of volleys, and defeat the enemy with one shot." The vehicle should also be lightweight, and the shield and iron spear on it are burdens. ”

At this time, Mao Kaishan beside him said: "If the carriage is only used to transport grain and heavy artillery, the minister thinks that the wooden planks can be changed into wooden strips, made into a frame cart, and then used lighter materials such as cowhide to stretch the roof, and the weight can be greatly reduced." ”

Zhu Gaoxu turned around and said, "Can you remake the vehicle?" ”

Ma Xingguang, who had been silent, said: "It's nothing more than riveting with wooden strips." ”

Wu Gao's voice said: "If you camp like this, you can only rely on rejecting horse guns and trench traps to defend yourself. He thought for a moment and said, "On top of the battle formation, the front and rear military formations can only change weapons, not queues." After the front row fires the gun, the rear row will exchange long guns to resist the enemy. ”

Wu Gao's mind was always thinking about how to defend. However, he was right, once the firecrackers were rushed in front of the cavalry, they had almost no power to resist, and it was necessary to prepare how to defend.

"Makes sense." Zhu Gaoxu nodded approvingly, and then turned his head to look at Ma Xingguang, "Is there a way to put the iron spear head on the front end of the fire gun and make it into a bayonet?" ”

Ma Xingguang was stunned for a moment, and muttered: "How about attaching the sharp blade to the wooden handle, and then inserting the wooden handle into the mouth of the fire gun?" ”

Ma Xingguang's thinking angle was a little strange, but he had never seen a bayonet, so it might be normal to think so. Zhu Gaoxu was different, he had the inherent impression that the bayonet should be mounted at the lower end of the muzzle.

Zhu Gaoxu asked: "At the lower end of the gun, can you install a sharp blade if you make a snap mechanism?" ”

"The pipe is forged and wrapped in wrought iron, and I am afraid that it is not very reliable to make an iron hoop again, so I have to think about it for a while." Ma Xingguang bent down and said.

Zhu Gaoxu said: "Report it immediately after it is effective." ”

Ma Xingguang said: "The minister's decree." ”

After a while, the monarch rode away from the place and continued to patrol the school grounds.

Qi Tai, Pei Youzhen and others from the military department looked at the military formation of the new weapons very carefully, and seemed to be pondering while looking at them. Officials are generally very pragmatic, and make a clear distinction between "technology" and the cultivation of sages. For example, after the advent of techniques such as using willow kun to rush repairs and harnessing water and attacking sand, officials in charge of rivers regarded these skills as their ability to be officials; According to the inspectors, most of them are able to do the knowledge of corpses. In practice, everyone will not abide by the previous rules, after all, the later things are more useful.