Outside the side wall of Yansui West Road, hundreds of cavalrymen wearing the armor of the Daming border army were maneuvering at high speed.

The horses under them were fed quite well, coupled with the excellent armor and skillful riding skills of these border troops. As long as there is a little understanding of the Ming armed forces, they must applaud this elite force.

These hundreds of cavalry formed a three-fold formation customary for the border army, and there were a total of nine cavalry phalanxes on the three fronts. In addition to this, there are also a number of rangers who are responsible for guarding the perimeter of this team.

The whole fast-moving force behaved in a very orderly manner, as if it were a huge war machine. A strange suona sound suddenly sounded in the middle of the Chinese army, and the cavalry units that got the signal quickly stopped their pace under the leadership of their respective commanders.

Then in the ranks of the Chinese army, there was another burst of suona with different melodies. The nine cavalry phalanxes in the original three-fold formation, except for the Chinese cavalry, all dismounted and stood still, the cavalry of the eight phalanxes on the periphery, under the leadership of their respective officers, turned their backs to the Chinese army and lined up outward.

It didn't take long for the entire team to quickly transform from a three-fold formation into a large phalanx of hundreds of people. Although this is the combat method that the Ming army is accustomed to, it is rare to see such a formation change in such a short period of time, even in the elite of the Ming army in Liaodong. (Note 1)

"Shorty, you seem to be very diligent there, and now you can even distinguish the sound of the military horn immediately."

For the friendly forces responsible for the defense on one side, Zhang Mengjin was very satisfied. Although there are considerable differences in the execution of some tactical details, everyone can still be consistent in what is used in the regular army of the Ming army.

"Thanks to Xiucai, if he hadn't sent those things called military horns and taught the people on our side how to use them, there would have been some trouble in this joint attack."

Cai Xiaozi was also very satisfied with the quality of his subordinates, and the cavalry team he brought out this time was also carefully trained by him.

"It's okay this time, no matter how much Dazi people and horses we can get this time. In front of Lord Dai, we are not allowed to fight for anything, just divide the account according to six or four. Zhang Mengjin saw that the other party's performance was good, and he was a little worried that Cai Xiaozi would have other ideas, so he once again emphasized the previous agreement between the two companies.

"Alright, don't worry about it anymore, when I don't talk anymore. That is, your sentry in Jinding Mountain is stronger, otherwise the six points should belong to our mugwort peak this time. ”

This expedition to the top of the mugwort harvest distribution share is smaller, mainly made under the comparison of the strength of the two sentinels. Although the whirlwind team at the top of Artemisia can also perform well as a sentinel horse. However, compared to the two experienced sentry leaders of Zhou Shaoteng and Fan Shunjiang, the whirlwind team's sentry ability is very ordinary, and it is not even as good as Xiucai.

"Just remember it, in the future, I may have to follow Cao Wenzhao to Shanxi to suppress thieves. The hostility on the West Road naturally depends mainly on your brothers at the top of Artemisia to block it, and some of them have the opportunity to make merit. "Zhang Mengjin is cheap and obedient, everyone knows that the meritorious opportunity of Xilu in the future will definitely not be as good as Shanxi, where the thieves are serious.

Cai Xiaozi couldn't get used to Zhang Mengjin's face, so he started arguing with him again because of the recurrence of the old problem. This time, Jin Dingshan and his gang walked in front of him, which made Cai Xiaozi a little jealous in his heart. But the other party has a way, and Cai Xiaozi is helpless.

While the two big bosses were still arguing, the other leaders in the team rushed to the position of the Chinese army.

The leaders of Jindingshan include Zhang Mengguang, Zhang Zhaoen, Ma Xiangzhong, Zhao Wankui, and He Zongwei, who has only recently become a dragoon. And Li Dan continued to lead the patrol outside the army and did not return to the Chinese army.

The peak of Artemisia is still the world of the Cai family, although some of the cavalry classified into the cottage have people with outstanding abilities. But in higher-level decision-making, it is still the person surnamed Cai who has the final say. Therefore, only the second Cai Zhongde, the third Cai Zhongxiang, and the fourth Cai Zhongguang appeared as several cavalry leaders.

In addition, Cai Zhongquan, the fifth child, worked hard to entangle, and finally temporarily joined the team after persuading his eldest brother. It's just that at this time, he was in charge of the formation, and he didn't come to discuss it in the Chinese army.

Seeing that everyone was almost here, Zhang Mengjin and Cai Xiaozi finally stopped bickering in order to maintain the dignity of the two.

After all, Zhang Mengjin's position is higher than Cai Xiaozi, so he first cleared his throat and said: "Everyone is here, let's not talk about other things, let's report the situation in their respective teams first." ”

"All members of the team are in the line, and the people are fine." Zhang Mengguang came out to report, and Zhang Zhaoen, who was responsible for leading the pro-guard team, did not need to report, because Zhang Mengguang had already known that the pro-guard team was not short of personnel.

"The team is full of members, and there is no shortage of personnel." Ma Xiangzhong's report is the same.

"One of the soldiers of this team fell from his horse and was injured, and the other two horses were exhausted and have withdrawn from the team." Zhao Wankui was a little helpless, the soldiers under his command were mainly mounted infantry, and the quality of the horses was indeed not as good as others.

However, the soldier who accidentally broke his arm while riding a horse somewhat embarrassed Zhao Wankui. However, this person was a former foot soldier who was temporarily promoted to dragoon with He Zongwei, and it is reasonable that his riding skills failed to keep up.

He Zongwei was a little embarrassed when he saw the three masters, and he was also a little depressed. I thought that the soldiers I trained would not have any major problems at least marching on horseback, but the first time I went into battle, I made such a situation. For him, as a member of the leader of the cottage, this is indeed a very shameful thing.

Zhang Mengjin heard that he already had three soldiers shortage, which was better than he expected, so he didn't pay too much attention to it. As for those soldiers who have fallen behind, most of them will run into Guan Er, who is following behind to collect the soldiers, and they don't need to spend too much thought on their own.

After the leaders of Jinding Mountain finished reporting, Zhang Mengjin nodded to Cai Xiaozi, and then it was the turn of the leaders of Artemisia Peak to start reporting information.

At the signal of Cai Xiaozi, the second Cai Zhongde took the lead to speak: "This team is full of people and horses, and there is no shortage of members. ”

Cai Zhongxiang followed his second brother and said: "There is no shortage of members in this team. ”

When it was the turn of the fourth Cai Zhongguang, he said a little depressedly: "There is a war horse in this team that is lame, and there is currently a shortage of one. ”

I thought that my side did not have the kind of setting of the cavalry infantry of Jinding Mountain, so the average level of Artemisia Peak above the friendly army would be fully loaded, and I could suppress Jinding Mountain here. But he didn't expect that something was wrong with the fourth child who was most at ease, and Cai Xiaozi suddenly felt a little tired in his heart.

Cai Zhongguang could see that his eldest brother was abnormal, but he also felt a little wronged. For some unknown reason, one of his cavalrymen suddenly lame, riding his horse in the snowy desert. This soldier is usually very good, so this situation is also a surprise to the Whirlwind team.

Zhang Mengjin could see that Cai Shorty next to him was a little aggrieved, although Zhang Mengjin was a little sad in his heart, but he still couldn't help but show it. So he took the matter and said to the leaders: "On this expedition, some accidents are inevitable. However, everyone is doing well, so let's go back to each other now, so that the soldiers in the team can start eating as soon as possible. ”

"My lord, the sentry ahead is urgent."

Before the leaders of the Chinese army had dispersed, a herald suddenly arrived in the ranks of the Chinese army. The person who came was not called a cottage veteran, so it can be known that this person is a new border soldier.

"Say it."

Zhang Mengjin was very curious, and he wondered if the sentry in front had already found Dazi's grazing place. Zhou Shaoteng and Fan Shunjiang's ability to spy is very strong, and there should be great hope for finding Dazi's traces.

"Dazi was found to be stationed in the area of the intersection of Xindu Dachuan and Qingshan Lake, and last night the three sentinels launched a surprise attack on Dazi, including Da Chief, and all the thieves in the place have been wiped out."

"What!"

"The battle is over!"

"Then how should this military merit be divided, are a large number of our people busy in vain?"

The other leaders of the Chinese army were so surprised when they heard the news that they did not continue to maintain the discipline they deserved.

As the supreme commander, Zhang Mengjin didn't care about the rudeness of his subordinates, because he was also very surprised at this time. Although he was confident enough in the abilities of the sentinels, he didn't expect them to clean up Tatsuko in one go.

Now Zhang Mengjin is a little stunned, should he still insist on the previous statement of six or four points with Artemisia Peak?

PS: The real war in the middle and late Ming Dynasty was not so complicated, and the three-fold array and the four-gate square camp were the two most used things. Don't think that this simple method of warfare is a manifestation of the incompetence of the Ming army, as recorded in Zheng Chenggong's battle with the Qing army, as well as some other documents. The Qing army, which had a green battalion at the head, a full army at the second, and the most elite soldiers at the top, had many similarities with the Ming army.

In fact, strange formations like those invented by the literati in the book of war are really things that have no practical effect. Even Zeng Guofan, the leader of the Hunan army in the Qing Dynasty, a civilian official with actual combat experience, thought that it was better to fight a simple and practical war. He believed that it was best to use a two-word formation for war, and that the addition of a one-word array and a square city formation would be enough to deal with the famous cavalry twisting army.

As mentioned before, Volume 68 of the History of the Ming Dynasty records, "In the sixth year of Jiajing, the camp was set up, and the three-fold array and the four-gate square camp were stopped." A similar record may come from volume 134 of the "Daming Huidian". In the two local materials of "Liaodong Chronicles" and "Cangwu Governor's Military Gate Chronicles", the army's drills are indeed this method.

It should be noted that the "Liaodong Chronicles" was first printed in the eighth year of orthodoxy. Although it was renewed during the Jiajing period, it generally did not change much. Therefore, the Ming army's use of the three-fold array and the four-gate square camp should have been more common before the Jiajing period. The Jiajing period was after consideration, leaving the most effective practical method. And the "Cangwu Governor's Military Gate Chronicle" is a record of the southern region, and you can still see the description of the three-fold array and the four-gate square camp.

Therefore, this set of tactics is a common method for the regular armies of the Ming Dynasty regardless of the north and south for a long time, and it is also a set of tactics that have been tested in various environments.