readx;?? Strictly speaking, although the musket has a certain combat efficiency, the effective range of the musket has always been difficult for Zhang Jiashi to accept in terms of its actual combat distance. Pen, fun, pavilion www. biquge。 info

There is a saying that the assault rifle itself also has an effective range of 50 meters, but Zhang Jiashi can really only do this, because even if it is a weapon that has a lot of ink in the history books, it is such an effective range data.

This weapon is the Tiger Squat Cannon, known as the "Big Shotgun".

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In order to facilitate shooting, the tiger squat cannon is placed in a fixed posture, much like the appearance of a tiger squatting, hence the name. The Tiger Squat Cannon is not very powerful, similar to today's mortars, and it is mainly a curved artillery. The most commonly used firearm in Qi Jiguang's army, this kind of lightweight artillery has a thin barrel and a short range (50 meters), suitable for mountain warfare, mobile and flexible, due to the front loading, it can be fired at a large elevation angle and a large number of equipment for grassroots troops and has the same use as today's mortars.

However, this view itself is wrong, because the charge and firing method of the Tiger Squat Cannon are different from mortars.

The Tiger Squat Cannon is suitable for combat areas that hinder the mobility of the cannon, such as mountains, forests, and paddy fields. This is based on the premise that the weight of the Tiger Squat Cannon itself is relatively light, and in some special combat environments, the Tiger Squat Cannon can even be carried out by several officers and men. (Movement speed or something, that's not the point.) ）

The tiger squat cannon was created in the Jiajing period of the Ming Dynasty, in the middle of the Ming Dynasty, the Japanese plague was rampant in the mountainous areas of southeast China, in the struggle against the Japanese invaders, due to the vertical and horizontal ditches in the paddy fields, the terrain is complex, and the armorists created the tiger squat cannon according to the actual needs.

The head and tail of this cannon are 2 feet long, 7 iron hoops are added around the body, the gun head is erected by two iron claws, and there are iron stumbling, the total weight is 36 catties, equipped with 3 Tiger Squat Cannons for every 500 people.

From the above description, it can be seen that the firing method of the Tiger Squat Cannon itself is more inclined to scatter shots than mortar warp strikes.

Of course, it is not that the Tiger Squat Cannon cannot use the method of warp fire to fight, but in many ways, the combat effect of this kind is worse than that of the Tiger Squat Cannon for direct fire.

The Tiger Squat Cannon of Qi Jiguang's period may only be regarded as light artillery. But the people of the Ming Dynasty did not think so. At that time, many people thought that the Tiger Squat Cannon was a cannon. When talking about firearms, Qi Jiguang said: "Quick guns and cannons seem to be used as prisoners. But the cannon must be prevented from jumping back, and must go to the battalion twenty or thirty paces. ”

The "cannon" here actually refers to the "three generals," "tassel cannon," "poisonous tiger cannon," and other cannons, and the "Actual Record of Military Training" also says: "At the beginning of the country, there were the so-called 'three generals' and 'tassel cannons'; and in recent times, there are so-called 'poisonous tiger cannons', which are solid and sharp, but their bodies can easily jump, and they are placed twenty or thirty steps away." "The cannon is rare, the number of cannons cannot be retreated, and the group of cannons is behind, and they cannot be fired together, which is suitable for defeat." ”

It is worth noting that Qi Jiguang called the "Three Generals", "Tassel Cannon", "Poisonous Tiger Cannon" and other cannons "cannons" and "cannons are rare" on different occasions.

At the end of the Ming Dynasty, Jiao Miao, a famous firearms theorist, compiled the advanced European firearms technology dictated by the German missionary John Tang into a book called "The Essentials of Fire Attack". [19] The tiger squat is compared to Shenwei and Faxi, and is praised as a "great weapon".

In the battle of Pyongyang, the people of Korea, a neighbor of the Ming Dynasty, saw that the Ming army was aiding Korea to resist the Japanese, equipped with all kinds of firearms with amazing power, and soon vigorously promoted firearms in their own army. According to the official Korean historical book "Seonjong Shilu", "In order to be a gunner, you must also learn all kinds of artillery." He also made a special mention of Qi Jiguang's "New Book of Ji Xiao", saying: "In this effect, it also seems to be tested with Franco, Tiger Squat, Shenfei and other cannons, in order to imitate its superiority. It can be seen that the North Koreans also listed the Tiger Squat Cannon as a "cannon" along with the Franco, Shenfei and other cannons.

In the final analysis, the ancients did not have an authoritative standard for what kind of firearm was considered a cannon. When the "History of the Ming Dynasty" talks about firearms, it only vaguely says: "The big ones use cars, and the second and small ones use frames, piles, and supports." The big is good for defense, and the small is good for war. Use it as appropriate, as a marching weapon. ”

There are a lot of combat records of the Tiger Squat Artillery, but there are not too many of them that have been sorted out and planned separately:

In the southern Pingwa war, the Ming army "carried" three tiger squat cannons for every 500 officers and soldiers. "When the Japanese came, every two, three, five hundred formed a cluster, and then regardless of the four sides, they only rushed all the way. If there are a number of soldiers and a number of longs, they will not be able to resist, but the rush can break the siege, and this cannon can be temporarily obtained, which is wonderful!"

In the north against the Mongol aristocracy, the tiger squat cannon should not be ignored. Qi Jiguang relied on the tiger squat cannon very much, and when he went north, he formed a new cavalry battalion, each cavalry battalion had 2,700 officers and soldiers, and was generally equipped with 60 tiger squat cannons, and each tiger squat cannon needed three gunners. Experts believe that "the cavalry battalion carrying tigers and cannons on mules and horses is the earliest cavalry artillery in the history of Chinese cavalry, which is 50-70 years earlier than the cavalry artillery organized by King Adolf Gustaf of Sweden in 1630."

Qi Jiguang's tactics were as follows: When the Mongol cavalry approached, the Ming army would first dismount and fire firearms such as bird guns, fast guns, and rockets, and then release tiger squatting artillery; when the two sides were in close combat, the Ming army would hold palladium, knives, sticks, and other weapons to set up a "mandarin duck array" to meet the enemy. When the Mongolian cavalry retreated, the Ming cavalry mounted their horses in pursuit, and after catching up, the gunners quickly "dismounted and raised their cannons" to bombard, while the other cavalry "shot arrows on their horses, slashed and poked spears, and won a complete victory." "Cavalry equipped with Tiger Squat Cannon can also fight with infantry and chariot battalions.

The Ming army has a long history of attacking fortified positions with firearms, as early as when Zhu Yuanzhang, the Taizu of the Ming Dynasty, was not proclaimed emperor, he sent troops to surround Pingjiang (now Suzhou), the old nest of the warlord Zhang Shicheng, and "the city was besieged on all sides." Erect wooden tower again, pair with the floating slaughter in the city, build three layers of platform, look down at the city, the famous Japanese enemy building. Each layer is topped with a bow and a crossbow. Xiangyang cannons were also set up to attack it, and the city was terrified. ”

The firearms besieging the city include "large and small generals' barrels", etc., and "the sound of guns on all sides is endless day and night" Zhu Yuanzhang's army used all kinds of powerful firearms to suppress Zhang Shicheng, which should include bowl mouth cannons. Until the end of the Ming Dynasty, the Ming army still used the bowl cannon as an old-fashioned firearm to attack the fortifications, such as when the Ming army resisted the Japanese and aided the Korea, it used the "big bowl mouth" to attack the fortifications.

The tiger squat cannon transformed from the bowl mouth cannon and other guns has better performance and is used to attack fortifications, which is logical. Korean ministers Yi Yuanyi and Yi Dexin, who witnessed the Ming army's capture of Pyongyang, talked about the tiger squat artillery that participated in the siege of the city when talking with the Korean king Yi Hao. "The Record of Xuanzu" records:

"Shang (referring to the Korean king Yi Hao) said: 'What is the tiger squat cannon like? Dexin said: 'Like a tiger squatting, and putting iron pills. ’

He said, 'Guns are fired in the city, and clouds of fire are everywhere, but yes?' Yuan Yi said: 'Take stone pills for it, or iron for it, on top of gunpowder, fill it with clay, and insert it into the fire, and the stone will fly out, and the fire will be blazing. ’”

From Li Yuanyi's answer, it can be seen that the tiger squat cannon can fire "stone pills" or "iron", and before firing, it is "on top of gunpowder and filled with earth", which is consistent with the firing method of the tiger squat cannon recorded by Qi Jiguang in the "Actual Record of Military Training".

When Li Yuanyi mentioned the Ming army's various artillery sieges, he said: "Although the sound of the Japanese guns is heard from all sides, the cannons of the heavenly soldiers are like a mountain collapse and the earth cracks, and the mountains are shaking, which is indescribable. "Shangri:" The city stone can also be touched?" Li Yuanyiri: "Touching everything is cracked, and all the crimes are scorched."

Then, why couldn't the Ming army reproduce the glory of the Battle of Pyongyang in the subsequent offensive operations? It was because the Japanese army learned a lesson, and in many cases deliberately built its strongholds on favorable rocks, thus restricting the use of the Ming army's firearms. For example, in the Battle of Ulsan in the 25th year of Wanli, the Ming army fired artillery when attacking, "the sound of artillery shook the sky, hundreds of rockets were fired at once, the wind was swift and fierce, the thief curtain was burned indiscriminately, and three holes were pulled out in a day", and the Japanese naval army that came to aid was repelled with artillery.

Unfortunately, he suffered a setback when attacking Shimayama and was finally forced to retreat. Li Yuanyi, who witnessed the Ming army's siege of Daoshan, reported to the king of Joseon: "The thieves held on to the inner city, although they wanted to use weapons, but they had nothing to do. "On the day:" The inner city can't be broken through the clouds by cannons?" Yuan Yiri: "The city is on the mountain, the terrain is high, and the cannon is higher than the city, which is more than 20 zhang high, although it has been repeatedly released, there is no reason to get it." Thunderbolt cannons and tiger squat cannons were also put into countless places, but they were all missed. ”

This example once again strongly proves that the Ming army often used tiger squat artillery to attack fortified positions.

And these examples also show that in many ways, the Tiger Squat Cannon can only rely on direct fire to improve its efficiency.

When the Japanese feudal lord Toyotomi Hideyoshi launched a war of aggression against Korea, Song Yingchang, who was appointed by the Ming Dynasty as an envoy to aid the DPRK, clearly pointed out in a sparse article about coastal defense: "The generals, the magic cannon, the tiger squat cannon, the exterminating cannon, the hundred sons and other weapons are also used in emergencies." He also said: "If the tiger squats, destroys the captives, and the generals and other cannons, they dare not use them lightly unless they are in an emergency, so why not? ”

Before that, Song Yingchang had served as the governor of Shandong, and he had quite a lot of experience in strengthening coastal defense.

Coincidentally, Yang Hao, who was ordered to manage the military affairs of aiding Korea in the 25th year of Wanli, also attached great importance to the tiger squat artillery, and when he discussed the river defense in the Gyeonggi region with the Korean king Li Hao, he ordered the Ming soldiers to test the tiger squat cannon, and then the two sides had a conversation:

“...... The heavenly soldiers (specified soldiers) tried to release the tiger to squat by the river, blew the horn, and each fired a cannon, which shook the heavens and the earth. Manager (referring to Yang Ho) day: 'What is this?' on (referring to the Korean king Yi Hao) day: "As for today, I can see the majesty of Tianwei, and the thief is not peaceful, and I am very lucky." 'Manager's day: 'How dare this thief cross this way if there are more cannons like this?'

It can be seen from this that the tiger squat cannon can also be used for river defense.

The Ming army won the victory in resisting the Japanese and aiding Korea, and the tiger squat artillery continued to play a role in defending national defense. In the forty-sixth year of Wanli, the initial unification of the Jurchen Nurhachi (that is, the Qing Taizu Nurhachi) led his army to conquer the Ming Dynasty, attacked the city and plundered the land. Mao Wenlong, the general of Liaodong in the Ming Dynasty, used Phi Dao and other places as a stronghold to contain Houjin south, and Emperor Tianqi, who ascended the throne after Emperor Wanli, personally ordered a large number of military supplies to be reinforced, including 60 tiger squat cannons.

The most famous firearms of the Ming Dynasty are bird guns, Hongyi cannons, etc., but in the final analysis, they are all imported and foreign goods that were only introduced in the middle and late Ming Dynasty. What can truly witness the decline of the Ming Dynasty from prosperity to decline can only be the long-established domestic firearms, and the leader of the domestic firearms is the tiger squat cannon, its status is formed by history, and it is also the epitome of domestic firearms.

The tiger squat cannon and the three generals, the cherry blossom cannon, the bowl mouth and other cannons are in the same line, it can be said that they were remade on the basis of these old cannons, and these old cannons were active on the battlefield as early as the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, accompanied by Zhu Yuanzhang to build the country, and made outstanding achievements. After the establishment of the Ming Dynasty, these old cannons escorted the consolidation and development of the empire in successive wars outside and at home. In the middle of the Ming Dynasty, during the Jiajing period, the plague became more and more intense, in order to adapt to the new situation, a generation of famous generals Qi Jiguang "transformed" some "unusable" old cannons, and built a tiger squat cannon.

However, the Japanese who harassed the coast were stragglers after all, and could not be regarded as a regular army, and the Tiger Squat Artillery really withstood the test of large-scale war in the Wanli War to aid Korea, when the Ming army faced the opponent was the main force of the Japanese army that had experienced a hundred battles.

The most outstanding performance of the tiger squat artillery in the war was the battle of Pyongyang in the 22nd year of Wanli, when the Ming troops who launched the attack bombarded Pyongyang with the help of rockets and other artillery. "The fire spread through the city with the west wind, and many Japanese soldiers were reduced to ashes under the artillery fire, and had to flee in confusion.

When Qi Jiguang was in Jizhen, he actively trained the cavalry battalion, built the border wall and the enemy platform, and was equipped with a large number of firearms, including the tiger squat cannon, to suppress the enemy's courage, so that the Mongolian nobles did not dare to act rashly.

At the end of the Ming Dynasty, the battle situation in Liaodong, you can also see the figure of the tiger squat cannon, as early as when Nuer Hachi was still in the east and west for the unification of the Jurchen department, it caused the concerns of the Ming Dynasty, and some Ming ministers proposed to take the initiative to attack, with "tiger squat, general" and other cannons to deal with Nuer Hachi, in case of trouble.

Nurhachi later attacked the Ming Dynasty first, leaving Liaodong corpses all over the field. In the nearly 30 years of war, the Ming army inevitably used tiger squat artillery, according to statistics, from the 46th year of Wanli to the first year of the Apocalypse in the three years, only sent to Guangning firearms, there were 600 tiger squat cannons.

The Ming army suffered repeated defeats in Liaodong, and finally adopted a defensive strategy to build the Ningjin defensive line, relying mainly on the heavy and sharp firearms imported from the West, the Hongyi cannon, to defend the city, while the agile and mobile tiger squat cannon was dwarfed. With the demise of the Ming Dynasty, which was in internal and external difficulties, it was difficult for the tiger squat cannon to regain its former glory and gradually withdrew from the historical stage.

In fact, this is also because in terms of defending the city, it is actually difficult for the Tiger Squat Cannon to rely on its curved strike method to bring efficient damage to the enemy at a distance. After the flowering shells began to prevail, the shells of the Tiger Squat Cannon or the way it was fired did not improve, which eventually led to the Tiger Squat Cannon becoming a historical term. [To be continued.] ]