Cutting over the end of the Ming Dynasty: a dog-leg knife at the beginning

Chapter 227 The Genius Idea of ​​Expanding the Cavalry

The name of a strong crossbow that has never appeared since the fall of the Song Dynasty was decided in this way.The Breaking Crossbow, this masterpiece of war will shine with extraordinary light on the battlefield together with the Breaking Edge Knife.

In order to celebrate the successful development of the formation-breaking crossbow, Yang Menglong asked the cook to buy a lot of good wine and food out of his own pocket, invited the craftsmen to eat and drink, and distributed the promised craftsmen to the craftsmen in front of the whole army. bonus.This time, those skilled craftsmen who were in charge of developing the array-breaking crossbow were all in the limelight. Not only did they get a bonus that they could never spend in their lifetime, but they also got a mansion and a piece of land, which can be passed on from generation to generation. Yes, they also became rich in one fell swoop!Holding the silver bills, house deeds, and land deeds, these skilled craftsmen cried with excitement, and all the craftsmen looked at them with envy, secretly encouraging themselves in their hearts, and they must make something shocking to the world, so as to get a piece of it. Big reward!
After testing the crossbow, Yang Menglong tried the electric gun again. After firing dozens of bullets, he felt pretty good. After replacing the granulated gunpowder and the pointed and concave bottom bullet, the lethality of the electric gun was greatly improved. Thirty steps Several electric cannons inside fire at the same time, instantly weaving an airtight barrage and beating the enemy into a funnel.It's a pity that he still couldn't solve the rifling problem, otherwise the electric gun would have been able to hit farther and more accurately.He sighed. That's about it for a front-loaded musket. It's fine within 50 meters. After 50 meters, it all depends on luck. If you use it to hit a target 100 meters away... I guess the bullets can knock down birds in the sky. The people on the opposite side didn't have any trouble, otherwise there would be no need to line up and shoot them. Wouldn't it be better to lie down in the trenches or behind the mound and shoot the opponent in seconds?He wanted to get out a breech-loading rifle, but he had never been exposed to it, and it was too difficult to use current industrial technology to produce metal cartridge cases, primers, and firing pins. This was a huge project, and it was urgent. If he doesn't come, forget it. Let's use the crossbow first. When he has enough resources, he can then get a breech-loading rifle. Anyway, he has no interest in getting a front-loading rifle.

After testing so many weapons, it was almost dark, and the rice horn was sounded in the barracks.Yang Menglong simply dragged Xiao Yufang to the big dining hall to have a meal. Anyway, the food in the military big dining hall is not bad. You can eat two or three meals of meat a week. Even if there is no meat, there is enough oil and water. Wife's stomach.It's just that as soon as Xiao Yufang entered the dining hall, all eyes were directed at her, which made her feel uncomfortable, and almost turned around and ran away!

The speed at which the soldiers were eating also made her dumbfounded, such a big steamed bun would disappear after two mouthfuls, and a large bowl of sticky rice would be shoveled down her throat in one go, as if the whole thing went into her stomach without even chewing. , and then picked up the porcelain pot of soup and gurgled and poured it, full!Yang Menglong eats fast enough, these guys eat faster than Yang Menglong!

Yang Menglong also messed around, wiped out his share of food, and then put food into Xiao Yufang's bowl with a smile, and quickly piled it into a pyramid.The soldiers were very self-conscious, stuffed their stomachs indiscriminately, and then slipped away, not daring to stay here to watch the boss show affection... What a group of sensible soldiers.Yang Menglong said happily: "It seems that our barracks will be expanded again... From next year, I will build a brand new barracks, using red bricks, steel bars, and cement to build barracks and kitchens, and all roads in the barracks will be paved with cement! Now this barracks is too outrageous, the smoke and dust are billowing at every turn, and people are not allowed to live!"

Xiao Yufang raised her head from the pile of food and said softly, "But this way, it will cost a lot of money."

Yang Menglong said: "I can still afford the money!"

Han Peng's eyes lit up: "Is it a building like a school?"

Yang Menglong said, "Of course!"

The officers cheered.In their free time, they all went to the school to visit the somewhat nondescript building, and they were unanimously impressed by the firmness, spaciousness, and brightness of the teaching building. It would be great if the military barracks could be built like that!

Yang Menglong knocked on the table, coughed, and said: "Well... I haven't been to the barracks for a long time, and you have been helping me to watch the place during this time. Well, it's been such a long time, and nothing has happened. It also expanded our troops a lot, and I am very satisfied with your work!"

The officers enjoyed his praise calmly, as if all this was taken for granted.Nonsense, your old man comes here a few times a year, and we are all responsible for conscription, training, etc. We have done such a good job, and you should praise us, isn't that right?
Yang Menglong changed the subject: "Now our army has expanded to more than 700 people, and there are still about [-] people left to be full. I have inspected the army, and all of them are elite soldiers, which is rare. However, our Why are there so few cavalry? I remember I brought back a lot of war horses!"

Han Peng lamented: "Boss, do you think I don't want to train more cavalry? The problem is that cavalry is not so easy to train. Whether it is a man or a horse, it has to go through a long period of rigorous training! In our cavalry team, most people They used to be frontier cavalry, and even a quarter of them were Mongols, so they developed so fast. If you give me a group of recruits who have never ridden a horse, they don’t know that it will take years and months to train these four horses. Hundred cavalry come!"

Xu Gong said: "There are also those war horses, the number cannot keep up..."

Yang Menglong called out to Qu: "Can't keep up? How come! We made three deals with the Mongols and got back more than 1000 horses!"

Xu Gong said: "Yes, there are more than 1000 horses, but the problem is that each cavalry must be equipped with at least two horses. Our cavalry and scouts are nearly 600 people. One man and two horses are not enough! "

Wang Tiechui said: "That's right, we didn't even have to ride a horse!"

Yang Menglong said rudely: "You guys are riding a horse! You big guys weigh more than 160 catties, plus armor weighing more than [-] catties and weapons weighing more than [-] catties, they can crush horses. Crushed to death! If you have a camel, it’s not bad for you to ride!” He thumped the table vigorously, and asked: “There are only so many war horses for the time being, and I have no choice. Replaced! How many draft horses do we have?"

Han Peng said: "Draw horses? There are nearly a thousand." Seeing Yang Menglong's eyes turning rapidly, he was a little worried, "You don't want to bring these draft horses to use as war horses, right?"

Han Yangmenglong asked: "Isn't it possible?"

Xue Siming said: "I advise you to give up on this idea. The horse's endurance is long-lasting, but its explosive power is weak and it is also timid. Letting cavalry ride this kind of horse on the battlefield is no different from sending it to death!"

Yang Menglong dismounted his horse and said: "Actually, the horses can still be used. Ordinary infantry can also ride. They don't need to charge into the battle. The main thing is to save energy. After riding the horse to the battlefield, immediately dismount and fight. After defeating the enemy And then ride a horse to chase after him, and if you lose the fight, you can also run for your life on horseback... The horse is a bit slower to run, but no matter how slow it is, it is faster than people, right?"

All the officers looked at each other, completely speechless.What kind of bad idea is this?Thank you for thinking it out!
Yang Menglong looked at Han Peng: "If you have enough horses, can you still entertain enough cavalry?"

Han Peng said: "This is not a problem. Many people who are good at riding and fighting come to join the army every month, but there are not enough horses, so I dare not recruit them. If there are enough horses, it will not be a problem to recruit two or three hundred more. Why, my lord , You bought the war horse again this time?"

Yang Menglong said: "I got back about three hundred horses."

Han Peng was a little disappointed: "Then after we fill in the gaps in the cavalry brigade and the scout squadron, the remaining horses are only enough to recruit a hundred cavalry."

Yang Menglong said: "No way, another 200 people will be recruited!"

Han Peng was a little surprised: "Are you still recruiting? Can you get more horses?"

Yang Menglong shook his head: "There are only so many war horses, and it is difficult to find new sources of horses in a short time. However, I bought back more than 400 camels. We can use these camels to form a camel cavalry!"

Everyone's eyes widened, and their tongues stuck out: "Luo... camel cavalry!?"

Yang Menglong said proudly: "Yes, they are camel cavalry! Just think about it, this camel is much taller than a horse, it can run no slower than a horse, and it can endure hunger. Not a problem, it is much easier to serve than war horses, why can't we use it to form a cavalry unit? I think this is completely feasible, the camel is so tall, its strength and endurance far exceed that of war horses, the cavalry riding on camels is completely You can wear heavy armor, and you don’t have to worry about tiring the camel..." The horse is too delicate, and its load is limited. A soldier weighing 65 to [-] kilograms, plus armor weighing more than ten kilograms and All kinds of weapons are almost the limit of war horses. It is difficult to equip war horses and cavalry with the necessary armor to improve their protection capabilities.So he put his mind on those simple and honest camels, saying that the lean camels are bigger than the horses. With the size of these camels, it is not a problem to charge a cavalry in iron armor after putting on the armor, right?The most important thing is that camels are much easier to take care of than war horses. They can still work without eating or drinking for several days. Is it more suitable as a loaded heavy ride?What a genius idea!
Everyone was frightened by his genius idea, their eyes widened, their hands unconsciously gestured in the air, their lips moved, and they were speechless.This made Yang Menglong a little dissatisfied. Although my idea is very genius and exciting, you don't need to be so excited, right?
(End of this chapter)