The sneak attack of the official army was finally discovered by the thieves patrolling the outposts.

The officers and soldiers who rushed to Gao's house at dawn immediately gave up their plan to surrender. Switching to the second set of plans formulated by the previous trilateral governors, the officers and troops directly began their assault after some confrontation and temptation.

And the will of the thieves in Gaojiaban was also very firm, and they took advantage of the dangerous terrain in the middle of the battlefield to desperately block the strong attack of the official army.

At present, the battle situation in Gaojiaban is in a stalemate, and the two sides shoot each other with guns and arrows, and they refuse to back down a single step.

In the mutual firing between the warring parties, a group of officers and soldiers of Yansui Town armed with uniform-style bird guns were more eye-catching among the crowd.

……

"Smack, smack, smack."

After a burst of fried beans, a few unlucky thieves on the opposite hill were shot by the official army. However, compared with the previous shooting results, the results of the officers and troops this time have regressed.

"Damn, these thieves are getting more and more savvy, we should shorten the distance a little, it's too wasteful of gunpowder to continue fighting like this, and Xiu will have to nag again after he finds out."

"Smack."

"Still missed, Martha, you have to continue to work harder. No matter how bad your eyes are, at least it shouldn't be a problem to target the figure of the thief. ”

"Okay, don't be so long-winded, there's not enough gunpowder, you can quickly bring someone to the back and move over."

"Then I'll go, you continue to watch the field. Don't be alone in your thinking, it's not bad to ask Zong Wei how to shoot guns, he has been practicing well recently. ”

"I will, you hurry up."

Seeing that Li Yang finally left, Ma Xiangbo reloaded his bird gun. The shot he fired just now was still because of the distance, which caused the lead shot to deviate from the target.

He took out the dry and looked at the other Jinding Mountain bird hands around him. Except for those veterans under Zhao Wankui who have won many results, the performance of others is much worse in comparison.

Since Jindingshan began to produce bird guns, it has produced more than 200 bird guns intermittently. In addition, Zhang Mengjin's original and successively captured bird guns on the battlefield have been repaired and replaced, and after continuous repair and replacement, there are more than 300 arquebuses in total. This is a considerable number for Zhang Mengjin's troops, which only have more than 700 soldiers.

Although after the performance of previous battles, the bird gun has left a deep impression in the hearts of many leaders of Jinding Mountain. But when it came to the actual equipment, they still reluctantly chose to compromise with reality.

By mid-September, they were armed with only 136 birds. There are many reasons for this, but there are generally three reasons.

The first reason is the main one, that is, there is not enough gunpowder. For Jindingshan, which is basically mainly engaged in agriculture and animal husbandry, it is not a simple matter to collect enough materials to make a large amount of gunpowder.

If it is nitrated, Zhang Mengcheng can still barely cope by collecting residents' urine for processing. Sulfur is really difficult to collect, and there is no output near Jinding Mountain, so it can only be transported by merchants. Coupled with the limited budget invested in this area, the effect is even worse.

As for the second reason, it is the money factor. Zhang Mengcheng of Jinding Mountain sold the bird guns produced in their workshop to the outside world to earn silver money to balance the various expenses of the cottage. Due to Zhang Mengjin's active performance, the Ming army in other places also became interested in Zhang Mengjin's gang's birds.

Cai Xiaozi and his gang at the top of Artemisia alone purchased and exchanged thirty bird guns from Jinding Mountain to equip the troops. Other Ming army generals who were familiar with Zhang Mengjin, such as Cao Wenzhao and Yang Jiamo, purchased more than 50 brand-new bird guns from Zhang Mengjin for the sake of their families.

The third reason is the consideration of the establishment and arrangement of the Jindingshan troops. Now the Zhang clan is armed, except for the cavalry infantry led by Zhao Wankui and the cavalry garrisoned in Jinding Mountain. The number of real cavalry troops under Zhang Mengjin has always remained between three hundred and three hundred and fifty.

Under the consideration of several cavalry leaders, because the sentry cavalry leaders were more accustomed to using bows and arrows, there were not many bird guns. And Zhang Mengguang and Ma Xiangzhong's troops, because they were specialized in assault and melee, except for a few people, the other cavalry were not equipped with this thing.

Even Zhang Mengjin's personal guard cavalry team had a similar situation. The rest of the infantry is just a little better than the cavalry. That's the case, there are many bird guns and Zhang Mengjin and others who know enough at the same time, but they still choose the lower equipment of the bird guns.

Before entering Dongchuan to suppress thieves this time, because of the complex combat environment of Dongchuan. Therefore, Zhang Mengjin asked his third brother to move the remaining bird guns and gunpowder in the warehouse of Jindingshan. As a result, the number of bird guns and equipment of Zhang Mengjin's troops has risen to 223 strokes at once.

Although the bird guns and gunpowder produced in Jinding Mountain, the quality is quite guaranteed. However, without enough training, the hastily armed bird gunners can easily imagine their performance in battle. At present, ninety percent of the results of almost twenty people achieved by Zhang Mengjin's subordinates are the credit of Zhao Wankui's veterans.

"Damn, you didn't even open the fire door, how could it be ringing. And you, the gunpowder was loaded on time for Lao Tzu, and it was all spilled on the ground, you bastard, do you know how much thought it took to make these gunpowder in the stockade, and if you waste it like this, Lao Tzu will whip you to death. ”

Ma Xiangbo had just finished reloading his bird guns, and was about to shoot again, when he heard the angry scolding of another infantry leader, Ho Zongwei.

Ma Xiangbo stopped aiming and shouted at He Zongwei: "Zong Wei, come here, you try the bird gun in my hand, I haven't hit a thief yet." ”

When He Zongwei heard the call, he stopped reprimanding the rookie around him and ran directly to Ma Xiangbo's side.

He took the bird and looked at it briefly, but found nothing wrong. He was going to try it again, and said to Ma Xiangbo: "I saw it, your bird gun is fine, why don't you let me give it a try." ”

Ma Xiangbo naturally had no opinion, but pointed out to He Zongwei the target he wanted to kill. "Try it, No, it's the thief on the mountain. He kept firing arrows, killing and wounding several officers and soldiers in Chongshan, and I wanted to kill him for a long time. ”

He Zongwei looked in the direction pointed by Ma Xiangbo, and indeed saw that a hundred steps away, there was a thief who was quite active on the mountain. But the distance was too far, He Zongwei was not sure to hit the other party, so he said to Ma Xiangbo: "This is a hundred steps away, I am not sure to hit him, you let me take twenty or thirty steps forward and try." ”

After hearing this, Ma Xiangbo looked at the front where arrows and flying stones kept falling, and said with some worry: "Wouldn't this be too dangerous, or change the target." ”

He Zongwei was not afraid, he found a shield and said to Ma Xiangbo: "You can watch it." As soon as he finished speaking, He Zongwei held his shield and rushed forward with a bird's gun.

PS: Note 1: For detailed thieves, you can look at the "Historical Materials of the Peasant Uprising in the Late Ming Dynasty" in the "Military Department Entitled Gong Bao Punishment Qu Kui and Other Things". Among the heads captured by the officers and soldiers inside, there are quite a few thieves with nicknames.

And in front of this information, there is also a list of officers and soldiers from all walks of life who Hong Chengchou led to suppress the thieves this time. Originally, the author thought of typing out all the names, but the list of officers and soldiers who participated in the war alone added up to nearly 1,000 words, so the author gave up this idea.