In the 50th year of Zhengde in the Ming Dynasty, September 30.

As soon as the day dawned, the camp of Hejian Mansion was already full of people.

With the sound of a terrible horn, the entire camp of Hejian Province came to life, and tens of thousands of soldiers came out of the countless tents. Pack up the tents, equipment, pots and pans and other baggage on the cart.

In the middle of the hour, the army marched out.

Tens of thousands of soldiers formed an endless iron stream on the earth, and at a glance, they saw swords and guns like a forest, and flags like rain.

At the front, there were more than 2,200 people in the vanguard of the two thousand households of the government army, which were all cavalry, followed by 5,600 people from Pingshanwei, and then there were 2,000 elite troops surrounded by the Marshal of Shouning. After the Chinese army, it was the right guard of Shenwu, and the guards on the flanks were Shenyang Zhongtun Wei and Datong Zhongtun Wei. As for the Wu Yi Army, because of the perseverance and courage unanimously recognized by the whole army, it was strictly and neatly organized, and was honorably entrusted with the task of the rear army.

The armies maintained a distance of about 200 paces, spread out on the vast North China Plain for more than ten miles, the big red Ming army fat jacket, the big red cotton armor, the big red cloak gathered into a scorching red, if you look at it from a high altitude, like a red flag flowing slowly on the ground.

Zhang Yanchang's military talent is vividly reflected in this array.

The whole army is cavalry, good at wearing strong and stubborn, and the two thousand iron horsemen of the avant-garde of the government army are strong and strong, and when they encounter the enemy's resistance, they can rush through the messy formation of the enemy, and they are fighting separately, and at this time, a large number of foot soldiers behind can rush up and kill wantonly! The Wuyi army is extremely neat and strict, and it has been called the 'Iron Army' by the whole army, and it is naturally suitable to sit on this defensive iron wall and ensure the safety of the whole army.

A simple 'make the best use of things, familiar with the characteristics of his subordinates, I don't know how many handsome people can't learn in a lifetime.

The scouts don't know how many they let out, and the farthest scouts are said to be hundreds of miles away, and the route of the march is also the terrain that can give full play to the numerical advantage of the endless plains. Its caution can be seen.

The entire advancing array is arranged in Zhongzheng and peaceful, and there is nothing wrong with it, and its terrible thing is also in the four words Zhongzheng and peaceful.

It has both thickness and keeps the queue smooth, so as not to cause cannibalism, advance and retreat, defend not afraid of surprise attacks, not afraid of hard resistance, such an arrangement, the whole is a large piece of hob meat. Zhang Yanchang's decades of veterans are undoubtedly reflected, anyway, Lian Zining thinks that he can't do this, and he can only admire two words in his heart.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Lian Zining was also studying hungrily and learning the skills of these generals. He is very self-aware, and his own ability is strong in advanced concepts, especially being able to give full play to the advantages of firearms units and small elite units. However, when it comes to commanding operations in this era, I am afraid that it is still far from it.

At this time, Lian Zining and Chen Dakang rode slowly on horseback, and dozens of dragoons were waiting next to them. Although the scouts have been scattered I don't know how much, but these dragoons still dare not slack off, scattered very openly, and looked around vigilantly.

Behind Lian Zining, there are Wu Yi officers who are as silent and tenacious as Tie Liu, and these dragoons who are silently moving forward are no longer the cotton armor they used to be, but everyone is wearing a rotten silver plate armor weighing dozens of catties, and they are wearing a bright red cloak outside, and they look more and more powerful!

The changes are not only superficial, if the previous dragoons were light cavalry, then they have now been upgraded to heavy cavalry! Rather, heavy cavalry with considerable long-range shooting capabilities!

Fifty sets of rotten silver plate armor, this is Zhang Yanchang's reward to Lian Zining.

And this gift really made Lian Zining very surprised and happy, he is not short of money now, and the rarest thing is these things that money can't get.

The Ming Dynasty approached thousands of guards and millions of troops, of which no more than thirty percent were equipped with cotton armor, and most of them were border troops and 26 guards in Beijing. In fact, this kind of heavy plate armor with complex workmanship and strong defensive ability usually appears as the armor of generals and their personal soldiers. The Ordnance Bureau of the Ministry of War will make some every year and put them in the warehouse, and if you want to get them, you have to depend on your own ability.

Anyway, now Lian Zining doesn't have the ability.

Zhang Ruochang has it.

Fifty sets of plate armor were given at one time, which was an out-and-out spending, Lian Zining knew that Zhang Yanchang was doing this, one was to reward himself for his support to him, and the other was to sell well.

An olive branch from Dashuai, of course Lian Zining will not let it slip.

Chen Dakang held a divine arm crossbow in his left hand, and gently stroked it with his right hand, as if turning the cold machine, hard crossbow body, and sharp arrow cluster into his first love, he couldn't bear to use too much force, and his old face was full of love.

Warrior Eros. Soldiers are a matter of course, especially for decades of veterans like him, but they are no exception. The cost of the Divine Arm Crossbow is extremely high and the power is too great, so it has never been equipped only by the elite of the border army, and there are not many camps in Beijing, let alone local guards. Chen Dakang has also been in the army for decades, but it is the first time he has seen this thing.

Lian Zining smiled beside him: "If Brother Chen likes it, I will give it to my brother." ”

Chen Dakang was also not polite, and said: "I have accepted the old brother!" ”

Fiddling with the divine arm crossbow in his hand, he got started in two clicks, making him proficient, Lian Zining said: "Brother do you want to give it a try?" ”

As soon as Chen Dakang asked him to say it, he was also itching, and then the two of them took the dragoons out of the queue and found an open place.

Chen Dakang aimed at a small tree about 100 paces away, his fingers released the bracket and only heard a terrible sound of breaking the air, and the two-foot-five-inch-long crossbow arrow hit the target fiercely. The crossbow arrow was so powerful that it pierced a small tree with the thickness of an arm, and the little tree could not withstand the tremendous force, so it shook twice and finally broke off from it.

Seeing the power of the Divine Arm Crossbow, Chen Dakang was stunned, and his mouth was almost to the root of his ears. It took a long time to come back to Shen'er and pat the big tuǐ: "Brother, you god arm crossbow, it's really amazing!" When Lao Tzu was young, he could shoot two stone bows, and one arrow shot through, a hundred steps away was just a nail into the target, why was it so powerful? ”

I was so excited that I even burst out of my foul language.

Lian Zining smiled and said, "When I said that before encountering most of the white-robed army, my scouts and the scouts of the white-robed army took a face-to-face photo, and with the strength of a small banner, I killed thirty-two opponents and captured one person, while one of myself was not damaged. If it weren't for the strong bow and strong armor, the sharp blade and spear would be able to do this? Brother Chen, these days, fighting is a piece of equipment, don't you say? ”

"Fighting is about equipment, my brother's words are incisive, and what he said is really not bad at all! Eleven against thirty-three, all of them were killed, and not one of them was damaged. Chen Dakang stared at Lian Zining like a monster, and sighed: "How much silver does the elder brother's court have allocated to you?" The money you have to arm one scout is enough for me to feed ten foot soldiers, brother! ”

"It's not bad to fight a war with equipment, you scout, but it's all piled up with white flowers! Brother, I also want to learn where did I get so much money? ”

Lian Zining heard him say this, and he didn't explain, these days, you said that you paid for your own soldiers to arm your soldiers, people's first reaction was not to believe it, and the second reaction was, do you want to rebel?

"Wu Yijun is indeed the elite, and you scouts are the best of the elite. If someone else said that you killed more than 30 enemies with a small banner, I would definitely dismiss it as nonsense, but after seeing your subordinates, and then looking at the five thunder god machines, and looking at this god arm crossbow, I am convinced. However," Chen Dakang changed his words and said: "I, the divine martial right guard, although I dare not say that I am comparable to Wu Yijun, but I also have a trump card that you don't have!" ”

"Oh?" Lian Zining saw that Chen Dakang's face was full of pride and pride, and couldn't help but be very interested, and said, "The elder brother may let the younger brother see it and open his eyes?" ”

"Absolutely! Come with me, brother. Chen Dakang laughed, hit the horse forward, and Lian Zining hurriedly followed.

Soon, Lian Zining saw the trump card that Chen Dakang said.

It was an extremely burly big man, the number of people was about three hundred, each of them was more than one meter eighty-five tall, in the Ming Dynasty, this height was already very expensive, hundreds of big men gathered together, very visual impact.

They walked at the forefront of the Shenwu Right Guard, with a resolute look and strides forward, highlighting a temperament that was very different from ordinary soldiers.

The strangest thing is that each of them also led a horse, and it was led, not sitting. Lian Zining could see at a glance that those horses were also small, their teeth were not good, and their raw tuǐ, hooves, and necks were not very good, they were just inferior horses used to pull carts and pack goods, and they were definitely not war horses. Not to mention anything else, the height alone is much shorter than the average war horse, this kind of horse is not valuable, in the horse market in the capital, you can buy one for five taels of silver. The pony seemed to be carrying something, but it couldn't really be seen.

Chen Dakang looked at Lian Zining with a smile, Lian Zining looked up and down, these hundreds of big men were taller, their expressions were more cold and tough, and they didn't feel anything special.

Lian Zining spread his hands to Chen Dakang and said, "Please also ask my brother for advice!" ”

"Haha!" Chen Dakang laughed, waved his hand and asked the soldiers to find five tall men to come out of the ranks.

The five men gave a military salute to Chen Dakang and Lian Zining, and then led their horses to stand aside, their expressions as cold and hard as rocks.

"Sons, give Master Lian a drill!"

"Yes, sir!"

Those tall men answered, and then took down the things from the horseback, and after Lian Zining saw it, he couldn't help but have his eyelids jumping wildly!

The big axe, a veritable big axe, the whole big axe is four feet long, the axe handle is about three feet long, the thickness of a small arm, the axe surface is the size of a grinding disc, and the back of the axe is extremely thick.

Giant Shield, a real Giant Shield! The shield is one meter eight high, more than three feet wide, where is this shield, it is clearly a door panel! The thickness of the giant shield is two palms, and it looks like it is made of iron! If it was made of iron, the weight of this large shield would be incalculable.

Three layers of foam nail cotton armor, but different from the general cotton armor, on the outside of the cotton armor, from top to bottom, there is also a full layer of iron leaves, it does not look like cotton armor but like the fish scale heavy armor of the Song Dynasty forbidden army. It is conceivable that the defensive power of this thickened cotton armor must be greatly mentioned, and these tall men put on cotton armor, put on a big helmet, put a big shield on the ground with their left hand, and lifted a big axe with their right hand.

"I'll go!" Lian Zining was full of excitement, isn't this the legendary giant shield axe soldier?

Lian Zining knew why each of them had a horse, these equipment could only be worn against the enemy in wartime, if they were worn on their bodies, they would be tired and lie down if they couldn't walk a mile!

Five men, five big shields together, immediately formed an iron wall, indestructible! Lian Zining believes that even if there are heavy cavalry who rise up to attack, I am afraid that they will not be able to break through this impregnable defense!

"How's that, brother, how is my trump card?" Chen Dakang's face was full of undisguised pride.

"Brother, you trump card, it's really this!" Lian Zining let out a breath of air, cocked his thumb, and praised sincerely: "When I read history in my early years, when I read the Southern Song Dynasty, it is said in the book, the Yuejia military department, there are foot soldiers, wearing sixty pounds of heavy step armor, carrying forty pounds of heavy axes, forming a large array, although the golden soldiers kidnap the horses, the iron floating slaughter cannot be broken!" From then on, there is a saying that it is easy to shake the mountain and shake the Yue family's army! I didn't do heavy armor in the Ming Dynasty, I thought that such a grand occasion would be rare again, but I didn't expect that these infantry under my brother were not inferior to the Yuejia army in the past! ”

Chen Dakang was very embarrassed by his praise, as a martial artist, he had great respect for Yue Wumu, the god of the ancient army, if he said that his subordinates could be compared with the Yue family's army, it would really flatter Chen Dakang.

Lian Zining pulled out his saber, knocked on the big shield, heard the sound of gold and iron colliding, and nodded: "Sure enough, it's iron, Brother Chen, you are still crying poor, these three hundred men, three hundred giant shields and axe soldiers, are also piled up with silver!" I'm afraid it's not much worse than my scout. ”

Chen Dakang smiled, his smile was full of helplessness: "Brother, you are wrong about this." In addition to military salaries, there is not much money allocated every year, who must not lose one layer after handing over? Under the layers of exploitation, there are not many, only enough to maintain knives and guns, and it is a dream to build equipment! ”

"The Zhending Mansion where the right guard of the partial Shenwu is stationed has always been a fierce people, and it is leaning on the Taihang Mountain, and there are not many heroes in the green forest on the mountain! Even brother, you must not know it, our Ming Dynasty is on Taihang Mountain! Hey, what are the gang of robbers doing! Relying on these evil neighbors, but I tossed my brother very badly, those bandits are all cavalry, how can we have cavalry? had to be guarded, if it was an ordinary soldier, he couldn't hold it at all, and he would be scattered when he was rushed by someone. I had to create this big axe, well, brother, you gave it a good name, giant shield axe, and it will be called this in the future. ”

"We have to think of a poor way for the poor, this big shield is all cast of pig iron, and it weighs eighty pounds! It's just five taels of silver, the material is cheap, and we can't afford the expensive one, anyway, it's strong and strong! This axe, forty pounds, can also be beaten in a country blacksmith shop! Fifteen taels! These cotton armors are distributed from above, and there are only these 300 sets after saving for many years! We asked someone to nail a thick layer of iron leaves from the outside, and it didn't cost a lot of money! ”

"A giant shield axeman, plus this horse, is only thirty taels of silver! Hehe, brother, you're afraid that a divine arm crossbow is several times that, right? ”

Lian Zining had no choice but to shake his head and sigh, this extremely heavy and extremely strong equipment, the money spent was really something he didn't expect, and it was indeed not worth mentioning.

He suddenly found that he seemed to have gone into a misunderstanding, always thinking that strong professional soldiers were built with a lot of valuable equipment, but ignoring the important role of some ordinary things.

Along the way, Lian Zining and Chen Dakang had a very happy conversation, Chen Dakang is a veteran who has been in the army for more than 40 years, which can be called a lifetime.

His understanding of the Ming army, the way to govern the army, the quality of combat, and even how to control his subordinates and how to regulate the emotions of his soldiers and officers are not comparable to Lian Zining While marching and talking, Lian Zining also learned a lot from this old-timer.

The speed of tens of thousands of troops is not fast, but it is like a mountain, pressing towards the white-robed army, slowly but firmly, making people feel irresistible in their hearts.

Not long after the opening, there were scouts who continued to report and found the spies of the white-robed army peeping from afar, but these white-robed soldiers did not dare to approach, but just watched from a distance, observing the movements of the army.

When the situation was reported, Zhang Yanchang didn't pay attention to it, just issued an order, leave him alone, and if he dared to get closer, he would hit him immediately!

It is conceivable that the information of the imperial army must be transmitted back by the scouts of the white-robed army layer by layer, as for how to deal with it, that is what the high-level of the white-robed army has to worry about.

Lian Zining had already guessed Zhang Yanchang's plan, and the tactics of this handsome man were very simple - to press over! Relying on the superiority of numbers, relying on the strength of the army and the strength of the armor, the army is pressed like a mountain, you will either fight a decisive battle with me, or you will obediently withdraw from the territory you occupy and be driven out by me!

This tactic is extremely simple and domineering, and because of its simplicity, it is also extremely effective, and the opponent has only two options, nothing else.

Lian Zining admired every time he thought about it.

On the way to the march, passing through many towns and counties, the army passed by, and the local officials or villages, towns and towns came to labor with a large number of food and drink.

(To be continued)