The officials above were discussing, and Wang Kai below was anxious. When these cannons were built, they were built to defend the city, and they were also to be easily transported from the Volcano Army to Tanglong Town, and the cannons were small and not very powerful. It was originally to suppress the siege equipment, how big can it be?

Zhang Weiji, who had been silent, saw that everyone was talking, and said in a deep voice: "It's not early, let's let the soldiers show the martial arts first." ”

Today, Zhang Weiji is coming on behalf of the emperor, which is more than usual. Xia Zhu said yes, and ordered Wang Kai to command the soldiers and finish the performance in one go.

Wang Kai let out a sigh, pulled out his waist knife, glanced at the muskets and artillery men not far away, and said in a loud voice: "All the soldiers obey the order, according to the order of the appropriate order, the cannon fires, the guns are fired." Ten shots for one shot, five shots for stopping! ”

After finishing speaking, the soldiers around him beat the drums violently, and the drums shook the sky for a while.

With the sound of drums, the musketeers in the front row, loaded with gunpowder, raised their guns together and fired at the wooden men fifty paces in front. These wooden figures were borrowed by the warrior Ning from a nearby military camp, and the humanoid targets used for archery practice were densely lined up in three rows in front of the musketeers.

After the front row finished firing the guns, they retreated and switched places with the second row, filled the barrel with gunpowder, and fired from the second row. This is Du Zhongxiao's three-stage shot from memory, he doesn't know if the real three-stage shot is like this, the truth is always the truth. This method of warfare is not new, and the same is true of the crossbowmen in the army at this time, although most of them do not exchange positions, but the difference between kneeling and standing.

After only two rounds of fire, the musketeers were filled with smoke, and they could not see clearly from the stage. I just saw a fire in the black smoke and a sound, and the people on the stage knew that there was another round of shooting.

After five rounds of muskets, the artillery on that side is filled, and another round of artillery is fired.

This scene is very weird, looking at it on the stage, I only saw a large cloud of black smoke, and the fire lit up from time to time, and there was a rumbling sound inside. The earthen walls used to test the cannon were quickly broken down, and even the wooden figures lined up were beaten to shreds.

The civil officials were dumbfounded, and some of them had bad thoughts in their hearts, and they thought about the past in the direction of witchcraft. Fortunately, gunpowder is not uncommon in this day and age, and reason tells them that it is all real.

The generals who have been in battle are calm. The main force of the Song army's battle was the crossbowmen, and the scene was even more spectacular, but the special effects of fireworks were missing. The stage was far away, the effect of the muskets was not visible, and most of their attention was on the artillery.

Zhang Weiji is an internal servant, he has led troops outside many times, he has been a marshal, he has passed through more battle formations than most generals, and he is the calmest person on the stage, quietly watching the audience. The officials led by Xia Zhu and Chen Zhizhong were shocked by the scene below.

The five-gun salvo ended, and the drumming stopped abruptly. Just as the officials were breathing, they suddenly rang out unhurriedly.

To the beat of the drums, the three rows of musketeers slowly advanced. When the drums stop, a salvo is fired, and after reloading, the drum continues to move forward. It wasn't until he was about ten steps away from the wooden man, after a volley, that he shouted, held the bayonet together, rushed to the wooden man, and stuck the bayonet in the wooden man.

At this time, the drumming stopped completely, and there was silence between heaven and earth.

Xia Zhu let out a sigh: "Is it like this when guns and cannons are fired in unison?" If a musket can be compared to a crossbow, it is really terrifying! ”

The generals on the stage did not speak for a long time, reminiscing about the scene just now. The power of the bow and crossbow when the Song army formed the formation was very amazing, and the main force was generally mostly seven-point crossbowmen, and when fighting, it was difficult for the party and the Khitan to successfully charge head-on. If it were just the previous scene, the musket would just be a much simpler crossbowman, and these people would not take it too seriously. In the end, while shooting and advancing, the bayonet can directly fight hand-to-hand, and the difference from the crossbowman is obvious. From long-range shooting to melee combat, musketeers can switch seamlessly, which is something that crossbowmen can't match by any means. A few years ago, when he was fighting against the party, because many archers did not carry knives and had no hand-to-hand combat ability, it caused a controversy in the DPRK and China.

Zhang Weiji said in a deep voice: "How is the musket, let's go down and take a look." ”

After speaking, he walked to the stage first. A group of officials woke up like a dream, followed Zhang Weiji, and walked to the stage.

Wang Kai commanded the musketeers to line up on the side, ran over quickly, and chanted a promise to Zhang Weiji, Xia Zhu, Chen Zhizhong, and others.

Following Wang Kai, a group of officials walked towards the wooden man. At this time, the smoke in the field was not clearing, the smell was choking, and many people coughed.

When they got closer to the wooden figures, everyone saw clearly that these wooden figures were not the same. In the first row there were five wooden figures, dressed in iron armor, apparently imitating enemy officers. The other wooden people are what they look like when they practice archery in the usual school field.

Zhang Weiji led people forward, took a closer look at the wooden man wearing iron armor, and said to Li Yonghe beside him: "Tai Lieutenant, these musket projectiles are almost all through the armor, deep into the wood, and they are better than hard crossbows." ”

Li Yonghe nodded: "Yes, it can penetrate the iron armor, it's really a bit terrifying." ”

A group of officials parted and discussed around the wooden man. In this burst of shooting, many wooden figures were hit by countless lead bullets, and there were sawdust on the ground. This is obvious at a glance, and there is no doubt that the musket is more powerful than a bow and a crossbow.

If it weren't for the soldier Ning reminding him that this time he would have let the soldiers fire the wheel cannon, and it would have been over with a few shots. In that case, it is estimated that these officials are just watching the fun, and do not pay special attention to the power of muskets and artillery. After being reminded, Du Zhongxiao temporarily changed his strategy and let the musketeers practice a battlefield attack, and the effect was completely different.

In fact, the musketeers had never fought at all, and they were not skilled in these tactics. However, when the gun was released just now, the smoke was filled, and the people on the stage could not see it really, only seeing the firelight flashing indiscriminately, and the ping-pong game was lively. If the team had dispersed a little and the smoke was not so thick, it would have been found that these musketeers had clumsy movements and many mistakes, far from what they would have seen on stage.

A group of officials looked around the wooden figure for a while, and finally completely put away their contempt and really attached importance to firearms. Today they have only seen the power, and the other aspects have not had a chance to think deeply, and only after in-depth discussion can they realize what this really means.

Xia Zhu looked at a few wooden figures and said to Du Zhongxiao: "Since the musket is so sharp, isn't it not afraid of the enemy cavalry coming to charge?" ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "That still depends on the cannon." The artillery is far away, the musket is close combat, and the battle is infinitely powerful. ”

Xia Zhu nodded. In fact, the most elite army of the Song army is not afraid of cavalry rushing hard, but it is a minority after all. Now a big problem faced by the Song Dynasty is that the forbidden army is too expensive, and it is not easy to use in battle. Especially for the party, due to terrain restrictions, it is difficult for the forbidden army to seize the opportunity of large-scale head-to-head confrontation. In the northwest in recent years, the border marshal has been calling for the reduction of the forbidden army and the use of more archers. It is because the forbidden army there is expensive and inapplicable, and it is not as good as the local soldiers. However, Hebei Road, there is very little such demand.

The power of the musket is not to be exceeded, as long as it is close to the bow and crossbow, it is already very impressive. The requirements of the crossbowman are very high, and they must have enough strength to open the bow, and the first requirement for the soldier is that he has great strength and can open a hard bow, and there are not many such people. Xia Zhu has been a border marshal for many years, and he knows this, and his first impression of the musket is that the source of soldiers has suddenly widened.