Returning from lunch, a carefully selected and simply trained phalanx had been completed.

"Let's get started, Marshal"

Empress Elizabeth glanced at Peter next to her.

"All soldiers, start moving!"

Knock knock! Knock knock! Knock knock!

The 36x36 phalanx soldiers marched in rows and rows.

"Stop!"

"Turn right!"

"Keep going!"

"Stop!"

"Turn back!"

"Turn left!"

Under the orders of the officers, the movements of the soldiers of the phalanx were very coordinated and the pace was completely in unison.

"This queue looks pretty neat."

Empress Elizabeth said with a smile.

"It's pretty good, it's very comfortable to look at"

Razumovsky smiled and handed the empress a grape.

"Twelfth Company, stop advancing!"

The soldiers in the last three rows had largely stopped, but a few seemed to have forgotten their new company numbers and were still walking.

"I didn't eat at noon for training, and the result is already good"

The Empress spat out the grape pits with some force.

"Eleventh Company, stop advancing!"

"Tenth Company, stop advancing!"

... Soon, the phalanx was divided into 12 companies.

"Fourth, fifth, and sixth companies turn left! Keep moving! ”

"The seventh, eighth, and ninth companies turn to the right! Keep moving! ”

The formation changed again, and the original 36x36 square formation became 4 36x9 rectangular formations.

"All soldiers, start moving!"

Each platoon of 144 soldiers marched as a whole, walking fairly neatly.

"Stop!"

"First row soldiers, squat!"

"First Platoon Soldiers, Guns Up!"

"Second Platoon Soldiers, Raise Your Gun!"

"First Platoon Soldiers, Shoot!"

"Second platoon soldiers, shoot!"

"Hey, that's not right, right?"

Peter suddenly exclaimed.

"It's all changed to three rows, what are you doing squatting in the first row? Wouldn't it be nice to shoot directly? ”

"But Your Highness, if the first row doesn't squat, how should the second and third rows shoot?"

Field Marshal Apleksin Jr. made a strange expression and asked very loudly.

"You're too rigid, aren't you? After the first row fires, the second and third rows directly become the first and second rows, and the original first row becomes the third row. If you still shoot in a four-line formation, it won't waste time! ”

"But if you do this, the formation is easy to get out of shape, especially if you are attacked head-on, and the morale of the soldiers will drop quickly as soon as the rhythm of the battle is disrupted."

"What's the mess with this? When the line stops moving, the first row raises its guns and shoots, then the second row becomes the first row, and the second row raises its guns to shoot, during which the first row begins to reload; After the second row is fired, the third row becomes the first row, and so on, how can it be messed up? ”

"But in actual combat, if they are attacked when the front and rear rows are moving, the soldiers are likely to rub against each other, these guns are equipped with bayonets, and they are easy to be injured when people are crowded, and they are often in a mess, and the rhythm of the whole line is completely disrupted, which is the main reason for the collapse of morale in battle!"

"No, no, Marshal, you didn't understand"

Peter shook his head and said aloud.

"The way I'm talking about it, it's possible to shoot while walking, albeit slowly. But the good thing is that when the first row has fired, the second and third rows continue to move forward in front of the first row, and the first row is still reloading. This style of shooting while walking is sure to frighten the enemy, as the enemy will feel the pressure of the closer and closer fire. As for the small things you mentioned about such as collisions in the front and back rows, I think that the damage can be minimized through rigorous training. Of course, before the second and third rows go to the first row at the same time, you can learn through actual training, but it's not a big problem."

"Your Highness, I think this is still too risky, changing the long-standing common and feasible platoon firing method is likely to cause a sudden decline in the combat effectiveness of the army, which must be trained for a long time to recover, which may not be applicable to our army facing a border crisis"

"Well, I also think that if you change it so rashly, the action will be too big, so let's do it as before."

Empress Elizabeth decided to put an end to this discussion.

"Yes, Your Majesty"

Marshal Apleksin Jr. immediately bowed and nodded.

"Wait a minute, do you mean to go with the usual four-line formation, or change to a three-lined formation with the same way of shooting?"

Peter asked.

"It's back..."

Empress Elizabeth hesitated suddenly, and turned her head to glance at the field marshal, who was secretly happy.

"Your Majesty, I think..."

"I think if we can change it to a three-line formation as soon as possible, we should change it quickly, otherwise if other countries change it first, our country will be very passive, especially the Prussian army, which is known for its queue formation!"

Peter scrambled to speak.

"Your Highness..."

"Also, our regular army is already smaller than the Prussian army, and if the other side adopts a three-row wide formation first, won't our army be completely at a disadvantage on the battlefield?"

"This..."

The Empress was a little unable to judge.

"Your Majesty, I think..."

"Otherwise, Marshal, you can arrange a combat test for both formations, and the test should be as comprehensive as possible, including the march of the formation, the deployment of the formation, the effect of shooting, whether the soldiers are injured, etc., select the best officers and soldiers, and see how the results are after a month"

The empress suddenly had an idea, and said with a smile.

"Yes, Your Majesty"

Marshal Apleksin Jr. was somewhat depressed, but nevertheless accepted the empress's proposal.

After the cavalry parade performed Peter was not interested at all.

As an acquaintance with the form of warfare in later generations, cavalry was a branch of the military that would be eliminated sooner or later, and even in Napoleon's time, cavalry could still play a role that had the potential to change the battlefield.

At this time, Peter was already thinking about when he would be able to come up with multiple barrels and barbed wire, which were several weapons of mass destruction against cavalry.

However, when a group of fierce Cossack cavalry marched past the field, he still paid special attention to it, after all, it was the famous Cossack.