After a short time of sitting, several lords came in and saluted them.

Yao Shouxin said: "Lift, the artillery has already set up a position, when will it start, wait for the military order!" ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "In this exercise, the battle formation is under the jurisdiction of Yang Chan, and the opposite is under the jurisdiction of Liu Chan, and the two of them are arranging their own troops, and I will sit here to see how you are." Now that all parties have been lined up, let's take a look, and the next thing is the matter of the two rulers. ”

Zhao Yuqi said: "What, is there still an offensive and defensive side in this drill?" I thought it was just to draw up positions and drill the armies to be in place on time. After the formation is formed, the formation changes, and the various departments advance and retreat to observe the appearance of the army. What if it is divided into two sides, there is an attack and a defense, and there is live ammunition, what if it hurts people? ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "The live ammunition is all planned, there will be no accidents, and there will be no injuries." The offensive and defensive plans of the two sides are drawn up by the two sides on paper, and the commander's own staff officers decide whether to win or lose. The place where I saw people coming in and out just now was the military tent where the commanders and counselors were working. ”

Zhao Yu nodded, just now I thought it was Du Zhongxiao's handsome account, but I didn't expect that the busiest place was to do things.

While speaking, everyone got out of the military tent, got on their horses, and followed Yao Shouxin to the artillery position.

In this exercise, Yao Shouxin was on the side of Yang Wenguang, and naturally came from the artillery position of the Yang army. In the exercise, the artillery and cavalry belonged to one side, and the commander led the rest of the troops to the other side, and each of them belonged to two commanders together with the infantry. Unless there are special circumstances, the coach does not go to the battlefield and strategizes in the rear. On the one hand, Du Zhongxiao is the chief director of the drill and the referee of both sides.

The position of the drill was a flat area of mountains with several mounds in between. The infantry armies on both sides were well arranged, and both used several small heights on their side as artillery positions, accompanied by small groups of cavalry, and at the same time used them for lookout. There were two or three small mounds between the positions, which were being targeted by both sides, and no one occupied them at this time, but both were not far away with troops ready to attack. Stretching to the hills around the flatland, cavalry was arranged on each flank, ready to make a detour.

For the first time, Zhao Yu saw the tactics of the two sides using firearms, which was very novel, and he kept what he saw in his heart and asked from time to time. It was a slight departure from the tactics of the forbidden army, in which both sides placed artillery on the high ground, and the main general was located near the hill behind, on the back. In the battle of the forbidden army, the main general will inevitably climb high and look far, observe the situation on the battlefield, and set up the commander's flag. When necessary, the Lord will lead his own soldiers and elite troops straight into enemy lines, and sometimes this move can make the difference between the battle and the battle. And the arrangement here, both sides are the main generals hiding far behind, as if they are afraid.

After listening to Zhao Yu's question, Zhao Zi said: "Governor, this is not because we are afraid of death, but because we have fought too much, we have to do this." If the main general is gone as soon as he comes up, how can this battle be fought? Both sides have their own cannons, and the firing range is different, if the position of the main general is placed under artillery fire, then the first thing the other side will do is to concentrate the artillery and blow up the main general. It is the location of the main generals of all parties, which must be backward and located on the back side of the mountain. Even if the other party finds out where the main general is, there is no way. Immediately approaching the high ground, it is necessary to set up generals on the high ground to observe the battlefield situation at any time and facilitate command. If necessary, the chief general can also go up and observe in person. In every position in front, there are generals at all levels leading the side, and there is no need for a handsome flag if it is not urgent. ”

Zhao Yu smiled when he heard this: "I have said it, I have been in the army for many years, and every time I come to battle, I am the main general. Even if the opponent has more crossbowmen, he has never heard of being able to kill the main general. There is really a crisis, there are pro-soldiers on the left and right, and they can still hide. ”

Zhao Zi shook his head: "If you don't believe it, let the artillerymen here fire a few cannons." ”

Zhao Yu said to Yang Wenguang on the side: "Metropolitan Supervisor, since you have arrived here, why don't you let the artillery put a few cannons?" I was new to Jingxi Road, and I was about to see how powerful the artillery was. To tell you the truth, when I was in the capital, I saw a lot of cannons cast by the iron supervisor, but they were not so powerful. ”

Yang Wenguang said: "In the past, flowering bullets were rarely used in the army, and they were not powerful. Recently, the iron supervisor has made a new flowering pop-up, and a cannon hit, eroding dozens of steps, I can't look down on it. There are more artillery in our army than in the forbidden army, and they are more accurate than those of the forbidden army, which cannot be compared. If the opponent sees the location of the main general during the exercise, and it is within the range of their artillery, there is no reason to survive, and it has already lost. ”

Although the artillery Zhao Yu saw was hugely powerful, the forbidden army could not hit it accurately, and he had never seen firepower cover. Yang Wenguang and Zhao Zi didn't believe what they said, so they had to let them fire a few shots to see.

The battalion Tianxiang army is different from the general forbidden army, which is mainly managed vertically in peacetime, and only in wartime does it set up a unified commander, and implements a recusal system, and Yang Jin and Yang Wenguang are divided into two armies. This is Liu Ji's position, listening to a few people talking endlessly, Liu Ji said to Yang Ji: "Governor, let's find an open space in front of us, put a few cannons and let Zhao Chuan see how it goes?" Zhao Zhanzhi is from the capital, and if he doesn't see it with his own eyes, he always doesn't believe it. ”

Yang Ji thought for a while, pointed to a high ground in the middle and said, "That's it." The order is to go down, and our personnel on the other side are not to get within a hundred paces of that high ground! When will it be restored, wait for the military order! ”

The herald crossed the promise, took the herald's seal, and rode away as fast as he could. Liu Ji also ordered his army to stay away from the high ground for the time being, which was used as a test site. How long did it take, and the two sides rearranged it separately and sent someone back to report it.

After receiving the order, Yao Shouxin commanded the sergeant to recalibrate the parameters of the cannon and adjust the direction and angle of fire. Now all the artillery in the army has a gun carriage with a ruler on it, which is much easier to adjust than before. Several observer gunners measured the direction, set the angle of the shot, and reported back to Yao Shouxin.

Yao Shouxin took a small red flag from the commander of this position, held it in his hand, and said to Liu Ji, who was standing in the middle: "Commander, the artillery is ready, please order!" ”

Liu Ji picked up the binoculars, looked at the situation on the small hill, and said: "The second high ground in the middle, aim at the mountain, take the tallest tree above as the center, cover and shoot!" Solid shell correction, blossom shell shelling, firing at one moment, ten rounds per cannon! ”

The map that has been drawn in the army for a few days is now used. Within the confines of the battlefield, every landmark is located, clearly marked, and has a clear name. For convenience, they are numbered separately, and each numbered terrain has clear markers. On Liu Ji's side, the selected high landmark number is two, and the marker is the big tree above. If a large tree is knocked down, the alternate marker is a large rock next to it.

There are so many professional personnel in the army, there are many staff officers in the drill and command, and the artillery is so well trained, all of them are useful. After several years of running-in, the army has slowly begun to form the rudiments of military language. Non-professionals, who don't even understand orders.

Yao Shouxin got Liu Ji's order, repeated it to the gunner, waved the small flag in his hand sharply, and said loudly: "Solid bullet calibration!" ”

With the order, more than a dozen guns fired one cannon after another at the small high ground, and each gunner corrected it by observation. The second gun was replaced with flowering shells of the same specification, and in the form of free fire, covered fire at small heights.

Zhao Yu was dumbfounded. He had never seen such a way of using artillery, let alone such power. The first two solid shells were not enough, and dozens of flowering shells fell to the ground, and the small high ground was beaten into a mess. That is, there is no one, only trees, weeds, and dead branches flying all over the sky, and rubble and soil flying. If there happens to be a force there, there is basically no chance of survival.

Until the smoke gradually dissipated, Liu Ji said to Zhao Yu: "Jurisdiction, what is the power of the artillery in the army?" ”

Zhao Yu stammered a few times before saying: "I have seen artillery in the northwest, and after arriving in the capital, I went to the forbidden army and participated in many test firings, and I have never seen this kind of fighting." Don't say it's a flowering bullet, it's all solid bullets, and it's hard for anyone to survive where it's hit. No wonder the two main generals set the command position in the rear, as it was just now, once they were targeted, they were knocked out in the first round! ”

Yang Wenguang said: "We have all fought in battle, if it weren't for the countless losses we suffered in the exercise, how could we arrange the position so carefully?" ”

Zhao Yu nodded again and again: "It should be, it should be, if it is not arranged like this, the battle will not be able to be fought at all." However, with such a use of artillery, the gunner who operates the cannon must not be an ordinary person. It's not practiced all year round, where is there such an accurate head and such a speed? I heard that the artillery and cavalry in the battalion field army are different from the infantry, and most of them are section level and utility. It's a pity that the cannon is used like this, and they are ordinary soldiers. ”

Du Zhongxiao did not speak on the side. In fact, the current artillery is still rudimentary in principle, and there is no technical progress, but more in concept and use, as well as the popularization of professional knowledge in artillery operation. Without this expertise, the cannon can be used, but the power is not the same. It can only be used to siege and defend the city like the current forbidden army.

The more field battles, the higher the requirements for expertise. Musketeers can go to the battlefield after simple training, and there are reliable officers and backbones, and the combat effectiveness is not too far apart. But artillery and cavalry must be specialized and have professional knowledge in order to play the greatest role. Cavalry, relatively speaking, tactics and expertise have been developed for a thousand or two years, and they have not changed much, so they are relatively not particularly shocking. Artillery is different, there is a difference between those that are used well and those that are used poorly, and the combat effectiveness is cloudy and muddy. Artillery is sufficient, properly used, and skillfully operated, and can become a decisive force on the battlefield.

With firearms, not everyone knows how to use them. I don't know how to use it, and promotion will become a source of water and a tree without roots. The artillery passed through the city of Beizhou for a while, and it was recognized by the imperial court, and the top and bottom attached great importance to it. In recent years, the imperial court has promoted firearms in the army, mainly all kinds of artillery. Several strategic points in the Central Plains, along the border walls, are equipped with a variety of artillery. However, Du Zhongxiao is committed to unifying specifications and reducing artillery models, so that production, maintenance, and operation are simple, and the use of front-line soldiers is also simple. However, the imperial court devoted itself to producing countless models and placing them in various places by using all kinds of ingenuity. As for the musket, everyone thinks it is easy to use, but how to arrange it has always been controversial in the army, and it has not been promoted until now.

There are several ways to use muskets, one is to replace the bow and crossbow, as part of the artillery, for long-range attacks. Combined with knives and guns, as in the past to protect crossbowmen, a variety of hollow phalanxes were formed. The other is to directly replace knives and guns, muskets and knives and guns as one. The firing is equivalent to a spear, and the bayonet is equivalent to a short spear, so as much as possible to reduce it, and finally even the defense is reduced. This is the usage of Du Zhongxiao in the Yingtianxiang Army.