The spearmen were the most effective type of warfare in ancient times, and the spears of several meters long marched forward to form an impenetrable sharp Great Wall, crushing an enemy in front of them with overwhelming momentum, and were also very effective against cavalry that won with speed and charge.

And historically, when the bayonet became widespread in the army, the brilliance of the spearmen dimmed a lot. However, did the pikemen really retire from the stage of history? In fact, it was only at the beginning of the XVIII century that the spearmen withdrew from the arena of war.

Although the spear of less than two meters also has the ability to withstand the impact of the enemy cavalry, it does not give the soldiers enough confidence in terms of length and enough deterrence to the enemy. On the other hand, the spearmen in the first two rows who fended off the cavalry had to wear heavy armor if they wanted to defend themselves against enemy bow and arrow fire, and the "overburdened" musketeers became less mobile in battle, and their shooting movements were greatly affected.

The iron cavalry full of Mongolian and eight banners was perhaps the most effective army in that era, with heavy cavalry and light cavalry, and a variety of fighting styles; He is a good horseman, good at bows and arrows, and in the case that the range of the musket is not as good as the bow and arrow, it is indeed an extremely difficult one to deal with.

The flintlock pistol has greatly improved in terms of rate of fire and power, but the most critical feature that makes it replace the bow and arrow is not these, but the cost. Guns and bullets could be manufactured in large quantities, soldiers were easy to train, and the heavy cavalry was eventually replaced by cuirassiers.

Of course, the musket phalanx, coupled with the help of artillery, was also able to cope with the onslaught of cavalry. More importantly, the requirements for soldiers, heroic spirit and high discipline, high morale and collectivism, such an army is invincible even if it lacks weapons.

But such troops are elite, how many of them are in the Ming army? Wei Junzhong thought about how to be more sure of victory and how to reduce casualties when facing cavalry in the future. And as a higher level of leadership. Ma Bao and others are considering deeper issues.

"Spearmen should be equipped, at least two platoons, not only to withstand the onslaught of enemy cavalry, but also to effectively protect the musketeers, or more powerful in the case of white-knuckle charges." Ma Bao looked at the Qing army camp in the distance, and was not too worried about conquering. On the contrary, he is concerned about the current configuration of the army, and he has already set his eyes on the future war.

"You also need to wear heavy armor, and you can also have some shields appropriately." Chief of Staff Wu Sanxing added: "We cannot expect every unit to be as tenacious and tenacious as the First Division when the arrows are fired but not retreated, and when the battle is charged without being routed. ”

Ma Bao nodded in agreement, although this configuration reduces the intensity of the musket's fire, but it is more secure and gives the soldier a greater sense of security. What about the spearmen, if not against the cavalry. It is also more deterrent in hand-to-hand combat and charging.

In war, there is nothing without shortcomings that can guarantee victory in a hundred battles. You can't have both fish and bear's paws, so you need to make up for it as much as possible. The power of the musket phalanx is self-evident, but it is not flawless. Sacrifice some firepower to ensure a smooth victory in the battle, and ensure that every unit can be used with confidence. This is the consideration of Ma Bao and others in a higher position.

"The task of killing the enemy's deviant division should be handed over to the first division!" Ma Bao pondered for a moment, and said a little helplessly: "Make up for the soldiers." Equipped with more artillery, let them set off after conquering the enemy's camp, so that they have time to set up positions on the right terrain and wait for their work, and there should be no problem in victory. ”

Wu Sansheng agreed, for now. Only by using the first division to meet the partial division of the Qing army did they feel more certain. After a moment's hesitation, he spoke again: "Is it also to equip the first division with spearmen, or to transfer a heavy armor?" ”

Wei Junzhong is young and has a proud heart. To himself, to his subordinate army, the order of the first division to allocate spearmen somewhat contemptible.

"Let's discuss!" Ma Bao was also quite cautious, after all, the first division followed Wei Junzhong to block the east and kill the west, how to configure, how to arrange the formation, Wei Junzhong knew his generals better than them.

It turned out that Ma Bao and Wu Sanxing's worries were a bit unnecessary, and before they could discuss them after the war, Wei Junzhong and Xu Mingchen had already taken the initiative to find them and put forward the idea of deploying spearmen and asking for heavy armor.

Although they won the field battle, Wei Junzhong and Xu Mingchen also saw the problem. The head-to-head confrontation, coupled with the small number of Manchurian and Mongolian Eight Banners, is also an important factor in being able to win. In other words, there is moisture in such a victory. And the accurate cavalry shooting of the Eight Banners of Manmeng, as well as the super mobility and impact power, also made Wei Junzhong and Xu Mingchen feel frightened.

Stopping the charge of the enemy cavalry with spearmen, and then shooting the lost cavalry in front of the line with musketeers, is probably the safest way to win. After all, the Ming army had an advantage in strength, and in terms of firepower, it also surpassed the Manchurian and Mongolian Eight Banners, which were dominated by cold weapons.

"Please give the last general a chance to fight the Eight Banners Iron Cavalry again." Wei Junzhong paused for a moment and continued: "If we can transfer another artillery to help in the battle, we will be sure to defeat the enemy in the end. ”

"When the enemy camp is captured, all the artillery can be transferred to your department." Ma Bao was in a good mood and generously agreed.

"The last general only needs artillery that is easy to carry, heavy artillery—" Wei Jun refused politely.

"The heavy artillery is about to be powerful, but you don't want it?" Wu Sanxing teased, stretched out his hand and pointed, and the people on the artillery position not far away shouted that the horse was neighing, and the attack was about to begin.

………………

Min Province became the main area of war between the Ming and Qing dynasties, not only on land, but also on the sea.

Zhangzhou was in a precarious situation, and Ma Degong, the governor of Fujian, was ordered by the governor Li Shutai to lead the Fu and Quanzhou sailors, and transferred more than 400 large and small warships to Zhangzhou to relieve the siege.

On the Jinxia Sea, Ma Degong's troops and the Ming and Zheng joint sailors launched a decisive naval battle. The naval division of the Ming army was personally commanded by Deng Yao, Marquis of Jinghai, and Yang Yandi, Zhenhai Bo, Ling Haibo, and Chen Shangchuan personally supervised the battle. Zhou Quanbin, the fierce general of Zheng Jun, commanded the post department, gave full play to the characteristics of the flexible and mobile speedboats, used the tactics of wolf packs, concentrated the superior forces of several warships, and destroyed the Qing warships in the chaos.

The naval battle was fierce but not tragic, and the Ming and Zheng joint naval divisions surpassed the naval divisions of the Qing army in terms of the number and quality of warships and the combat capabilities of officers and men.

In the end, the Qing army's naval division was defeated, and Ma Degong, the governor of Fujian, was besieged and died in the sea, becoming the highest-ranking general of the Qing army to die in the naval battle.

At this point, the Qing court no longer had any sailors to compete with the Ming army or the Zheng family, and the vast coastal area was exposed, and everywhere could become the point of choice for the landing attack of the Ming and Zheng armies. (To be continued......)