Chapter 476: The Most Primitive Bayonet

There is a way not to reach the Great Wall is not a hero, but for today's Ming Dynasty, ordinary people may not be able to set foot on the Great Wall in their lifetime, after all, every Great Wall is a frontier defense area, by no means a famous spot for people to visit. In order to curb the Mongol cavalry coming and going, Zhu Yuanzhang, Emperor Hongwu, began to build the Great Wall, with a total of two sides, the outer Great Wall and the inner Great Wall. The outer Great Wall is all brick and stone buildings, neat and consistent, and meets the inner Great Wall in the east of the Bohai Sea. On the second side of the road is an earthen wall made of rammed earth at two ends, shaped like a water tank, with two ends raised and a moat in the middle. Although the three Great Walls still have breakpoints, they are still of great significance.

Kaiping and Xinghe are located outside the two sides and are horns of each other. Kaiping City is the capital of the Yuan Dynasty in the past, Li Wenzhong often meets Kaiping in the spring in the second year of Hongwu, Emperor Yuan Shun rushed north, after which the Ming Dynasty set up Kaiping Wei here, it is the largest bridgehead to enter Mongolia. In contrast, Xinghe Fort does not have the advantage of a strong city, plus it is only a thousand households, and the troops are insufficient, and when it encounters a large army, all that can be done is to hold on and wait for help, so it is okay to prepare for Xinghe on weekdays, and it is the most dangerous place when there is a war.

The end of October is not yet freezing for the south, but for the north, it is very likely that there will be two or three heavy snowfalls. This year, the weather was very strange, the sky was only blindly gloomy, and the chill pierced the bones, but it was not like in previous years, when it was already snowing heavily. At the gate of Xinghe Fort, two sergeants wrapped in thick cotton jackets and leggings and linoleum boots were jumping vigorously, shivering from the cold, even though they still wore half-worn fur gloves on their hands.

"Damn, what I hate the most is this kind of cold weather, but this is the scene for most of the year in this hellish place!"

"Don't mention it, don't talk about us, it's Zheng Qianhu, isn't it because he can't stand in Xuanfu that he was driven here? To put it nicely, let's call it Duoduo Meritorious Service here, and if it doesn't sound good, it will be sent to death! On the previous trip, we closed our doors and only took care of defense, and the brothers were still more dead and wounded, but this time there were only more than 600 people left, how to take precautions? ”

"It's too cold, and if you don't tie a thick strip of cloth to your hands, I'm afraid you won't even be able to hold a weapon...... But those Tartars are used to being haunted by snowstorms, and if they really come, our weapons and supplies will not be enough, so will we really have to wait for death behind closed doors at that time? I only hope that Wanquan will not break his promise, and the food will be delivered in the next two days. ”

"At least you have to fight your mother's gamble, what's the point of waiting for death, I haven't married a daughter-in-law yet! Even those who have become home, and their families have been sent to Zhangjiakou Fort, although it is a safe place, but if we lose here, who knows if it will be affected there? If you can last for a few days, and if you think about dying, this way of life is really gone! ”

The two of them are only twenty years old, both of them are military families who just inherited their father's position a year ago, and their ancestors and fathers died in the hands of Tartars, so they are not much afraid of a dead word, but they can't help but feel a little regretful when they think of never marrying a daughter-in-law, and they have never seen the colorful world in other people's mouths. After a conversation, they simply drew their weapons and moved their bodies, and then they actually tried their hand at the gate, and the people in the fort were accustomed to this situation, and no one looked at it more.

The little sergeant slashed his companion a few feet away with a single sword, and was about to take advantage of the victory to pursue, when suddenly there was a shouting sound overhead, he quickly put away his knife, looked up, and sure enough, he caught a glimpse of a black dot flying in the distance and galloping over. Horses are one of the most scarce commodities in Hindhe, and only scouts can have mounts. At this moment, the patrol sergeant on the lookout reminded him that it was his own man, and he, the new man, was already envious of the scouts who were agile. At this time, he even imagined his heroic posture on horseback.

"Hurry, hurry up and get ready, someone is coming over there, it's Qincha!"

The scout didn't have time to dismount and shouted, and when the little sergeant was taken aback, there was a sound of laughter from the patrol soldiers on the high wall, and some of them laughed loudly: "Wei Laoer, don't talk nonsense and bluff people, it's true that the top often sends those nobles to prepare for the border, but since the last northern expedition, except for the general soldier of Xuanfu a few years ago, who has come to us Xinghe all these years?" The one who came to report the news before clearly said that he was here to deliver food supplies, and as for the Qin Mission, ......"

"Damn, if I joke with you, I'll be the king, if I don't remember the password, I almost can't get it back! The only ones who can make the phalanx go so smoothly are the soldiers in the Beijing camp, there are thirty or forty donkey carts, about food supplies, and there are also the banners of the left guard of Xuanfu, which are full of thousands of people in one piece. Hurry up and get ready, none of us can afford to make a mistake! ”

As soon as these words came out, a large group of military households were stunned. When they saw that the scout ignored them any longer, they galloped into the gate with a heavy whip, and saw that the direction was straight to the Thousand Households, and the people were half convinced, and each of them prepared himself. After about a quarter of an hour, the sentry on the lookout finally saw the mighty group of people in the distance, and hurriedly rang the bell to warn him.

Lu Feng stayed in Xuanfu, Yu Qian was rushing to Kaiping with the team, Zhang Yue set off from Xuanfu, arrived in Xinghe through Zhangjiakou Fort and Wanquan Right Guard, and then passed through the Outer Great Wall and the two Great Walls of Erdaobian again after Juyongguan Great Wall. Although the thick cotton robe was covered with sable fur, and the feet were cotton socks and thick felt socks, and even the shoes were specially made, but they could not stop the overwhelming cold wind at all, and the warm hat even had to be tightly tied around the neck to prevent it from being blown off by the wind. And because I brought a lot of baggage, I still couldn't walk fast on this road.

Because he passed by Zhangjiakou Fort on the way, he couldn't help but be surprised when Wang Zhao told him that it was Xinghe Fort. Because from a distance, it really looks like a small mound of earth. It wasn't until he got closer and saw a lot of sergeants standing at the gate with swords hanging from their waists that he believed that this was really one of the important towns outside the Daming Sai, Xinghe.

Zhang Yue looked at others, and Zheng Pingyuan, a thousand households who hurriedly came out, was also looking at this unexpected group of people. When he first heard that someone from Jingying was coming this time, he didn't believe it, but now he has to believe it when he sees it with his own eyes. He followed the emperor on two northern expeditions, the first time he was promoted from a small soldier to a hundred households, and the second time he was from a hundred households to a thousand households, so he naturally knew the difference between his border soldiers and the Beijing camp. He didn't dare to expect that these guards who were guarding the emperor would come here to reinforce at this time, but thinking of the urgent report from Kaiping's side before, he still breathed a long sigh of relief. At least, his more than 600 people can finally catch their breath.

However, even though Zheng Pingyuan was mentally prepared, he was still surprised when he recognized Wang Zhao. The rank of the commander of the Shanxi Xingdu Division could not control the general soldiers of Datong and Xuanfu Second Town, but Wang Zhao had seen him twice after all, and he knew that this old commander was also a fierce general of the three armies at the beginning. However, he has only returned to Xuanfu at the farthest in these years, and the news is very closed, Zhang Yue reported that he was in the arsenal of the Ministry of War, and he really didn't know who this one was.

Compared with the rich and prosperous Xuanfu City, in addition to military households or military households, the houses in Xinghe Fort are all low earthen houses, and only the official office of Zheng Pingyuan is built with stones mixed with mud, which is inconspicuous. In spite of this, the huge Xinghe Fort poured into a thousand soldiers at once, and more than 100 people were not crowded, so some soldiers stayed in this bitter cold place for more than ten years, and never left an inch.

"Of the fifteen grain wagons, there are 3,000 stone of grain, and the rest are weapons. Xinghe is an important place, so this time the original handcuffs were replaced with the latest Yongle long-handled firearms, a total of 200, in addition to 300 catties of gunpowder, 600 newly produced swords, 5,000 bows and arrows, and 200 strong bows. This firearm is a little different from the original, Lao Peng, you take it out and show it to Zheng Qianhu. ”

Because most of the cars did not go to the grain depot, but stopped in front of his official office, Zheng Ping was still a little strange, but when he heard this, his doubts suddenly turned into ecstasy. The firecrackers used in Xinghe Qianhu are all old goods in the Hongwu period, that is, those produced in the early years of Yongle, after experiencing two Northern Expeditions, I don't know how many times they have been repaired, and those firecrackers have even become sword and brand bearers and archers. Now there are not only new firearms, but also sufficient gunpowder, and even swords, bows, arrows, and strong bows are all complete, which is undoubtedly a long drought.

Since the imperial court moved to Daningwei, and then there were two northern expeditions, Xinghe's position has become not embarrassing or embarrassing, and Zheng Pingyuan has not been able to remember how long there has been no military supplies other than food. Even he himself once thought about how good it would be if Xinghe moved to the Great Wall. At this time, he couldn't help but stand up and paced back and forth for two steps, until a handcuff was handed to him, and he realized that there was still someone else at the moment, and quickly settled down.

"Zheng Qianhu, you see, each handcuff is equipped with a medicine spoon, and the medicine room uses a medicine spoon to hold gunpowder, so there will not be many points. If the Tartar rushes up after a reload and there is no time to reload, then use this tip. ”

Peng 13 quickly inserted an iron spear head into a special notch in the upper part of the handcuff, and then waved the handcuff twice before turning around and explaining: "Although the original handcuff is also very strong, and it can be used to repel the enemy after fighting, but after all, it is too short and not suitable for cavalry use. After all, this range is only one or two hundred paces at most, and the gunners can generally only shoot one round under the charge of those Tartar cavalry, and even three shots can't last long, and this spearhead is very useful. ”

Speaking of this, he glanced at Zhang Yue meaningfully, and said with a smile: "This batch is a trial product, and it is a suggestion made by Lord Zhang to those craftsmen of the Ordnance Bureau of the Ministry of Industry when he changed the clothes of Jingying Jingwei one by one last year. ”

Zhang Yue didn't expect Peng Shisan to suddenly add a sentence, and seeing that Wang Zhao and Zheng Pingyuan were stunned, he had no choice but to smile and say: "Actually, this is the last time I went to Jiangnan and encountered the invasion of the Japanese invaders, I saw a few guards using two handguns. After all, it is impossible to have so many spare ones in the army, and if there is no place for the guns after one round, it will inevitably be troublesome in case of emergency. Now that the blow is over, you can use this gun tip to stab...... White blade, you don't have to prepare a second weapon when you really fight. ”

At this moment, he couldn't help but deeply admire the level of those craftsmen. He just said casually, not only did someone draw the drawings on the spot, but the craftsman laughed and said that he had this idea in the first place. Although the firecracker has never been used to fight hand-to-hand with people, if it weren't for the precaution, why could the Ming firecracker be carried by people as hammers?