The sleigh is simple to build, much simpler than a horse-drawn carriage, does not need wheels and axles, and the running gear is two wooden planks, in order to reduce the pressure, Zheng Xi adopted a wide-board sled walking device, and the walking board is one foot wide. Pen, fun, pavilion www. biquge。 infoBut in order to reduce friction, the bottom of the one-foot-wide plank is curved, and an iron plate is attached to the bottom to reduce friction, and the iron plate rubs against the snow, causing the snow on the ground to melt and become slippery, and the horse-drawn sleigh can walk in the snow like flying.

For the sake of safety, the sled is also equipped with a braking device, in the event of an emergency, the soldier in charge of driving the horse only needs to press the lever, two iron bars wrapped with thick cotton cloth will be inserted into the snow, increasing resistance, and at the same time, the sled can stop for a short time.

In addition to the two layers of one-inch-thick planks that can reach the bow and fire guns, there is also a shield that can be erected at any time, the shield is an inch and a half thick plank, covered with cowhide, with shooting holes on it, which can be erected when necessary, standing behind the sled, to block the shooting of feathered arrows and firearms, and the shooting holes allow the sled soldiers to shoot the enemy.

Combat sleigh, the musketeer's sleigh plus armor, weapons, ammunition, dry rations and three soldiers, the total weight is 800 pounds; Although there is a ninety-pound cannon on it, the gunner's armor is thinner, and the sled guard is also a little thinner, so the weight is lighter than the musketeer's sled, and the total weight is only six hundred pounds.

All combat sleds are towed by two Don hippos, which have good endurance and high speed.

However, considering the food of the war horses, the total weight of the musketeer's battle sleigh was more than 1,000 catties when it set off from the area of the Outer Khing'an Mountains, and the sled carried more than 200 catties of hay, black beans and other horse feed for the war horses to eat. In addition, along with the battle sleigh, there were also 300 spare Don hippos, which were also dressed in thick cotton armor to protect themselves from the cold, and carried dozens of catties of forage on their backs. The artillery sled weighed more than 1,000 catties when it set off, carrying more than 400 catties of hay, black beans and other fodder for our mother.

In addition, there are supply sleds, the sled weighs 200 catties, can carry 1,000 catties of supplies, and is pulled by two better Mongolian horses, which can be suitable for the needs of long-distance running, and provide food, horse feed, ammunition and other supplies for the soldiers.

Originally, the sleigh was invented in the late 18th century, but now it has appeared in advance and has become a weapon in the snowfields.

In addition to the weapons they carry, the compass and the sextant are also used by the sledders. With these two things, the sled soldiers will not get lost on the thousands of miles of ice fields.

Zheng Xi also did a very good job of keeping out the cold.

Originally, the wool grown by the sheep on the grassland did not have much effect, but now there are wool textile factories in the south, and the wool sheared from the sheep is processed and made into a sweater with special warmth.

The cotton armor is also covered with a leather armor, which can not only enhance the protection, but also enhance the ability to withstand the cold. Each soldier wore an iron-studded helmet on his head, and a dogskin hat with hood ears that could be lowered to cover his head. Each person also wore a thick skin on the inside and an iron mask on the outside, revealing only two eyes, which could not only prevent being shot by the archers, but also protect them from the cold.

There is also a woolen scarf around his neck and leather gloves on his hands, all of which are tools to protect against the cold.

When the sleigh is on the march, a canvas canopy can be pulled up on the sleigh to shield the sled from the cold wind and keep the interior of the car warm. If the weather is colder, a small charcoal stove can be lit inside the sleigh to provide temperature to the inside of the carriage and ensure that the musket does not freeze and cannot be fired.

With a well-equipped warm facility, the sled riders can move freely in winter.

Why take the winter sled attack instead of the chariot attack in other seasons? Because the weight of the sled is much greater than that of the chariot, the protection is much stronger than that of the chariot, and the speed is fast, and the adaptation to the terrain makes the sled much stronger than the chariot.

As soon as the vehicle hits a potholed road, the speed is seriously affected, and the chariot is very bumpy, which also affects the accuracy of the musketeer.

But the sled's ability to adapt to the terrain is much better, no matter how potholed the ground is, after the snow is accumulated, it is a flat piece; The sled's plate-like walking gear is somewhat similar to the tracked vehicles of later generations, basically the trench that the war horse can jump over, and the sled can also cross.

If it is a chariot, it touches a ditch, it touches a pit, and it sinks into it.

The temple street at the entrance of Heilongjiang has snowed heavily, and the surrounding area is covered with snow and frozen for thousands of miles, but although it is already very cold in Horqin Mongolia at this time, the first snow has not yet arrived.

To the east of the Horqin Department is the Zarat Division, which is the Xuer River Basin, a tributary of the Nenjiang River, which is later known as the Hulunbeier Grassland. Later, the famous Hailar and Manchuria were all here.

Originally, in the Hulunbeier steppe, there lived Balhu, Buryat Mongol, Daur, Evenki and other tribes, after the rise of the Later Jin, these tribes were driven to the Heilongjiang area, and established the Eight Banners of Sauron to supervise these tribes. And the Zarat Department was surrendered after the Horqin Department, so it got the rich Hulunbeier grassland.

But in the past few years, it seems that it has not been very peaceful, and the Rakshasas from the north have risen and repeatedly harassed the grassland.

Originally, the Rakshasas traveled down the Heilongjiang River to the area around Temple Street, found an outlet to the sea, and continued to expand to the Far East until their horses' hooves came to the edge of the Bering Strait. But now, because history has changed, the eastward expansion of the Rakshasa seems to have been blocked somewhere.

It was Zheng Raid who blocked the eastward expansion of the Rakshasa people, and the Rakshasa Far East Expedition that blocked the way forward, on the one hand, began to trade with Zheng Raid, on the other hand, it changed the target of plunder, and began to break into the Heilongjiang River valley from time to time, harassing and plundering the Mongol tribes here.

In addition, there is also a rumor circulating among the Horqin and other tribes: Mobei Mongolia has colluded with the Rakshasas! They got muskets and cannons from the Rakshasas, and they had a rebellion attempt!

The warriors of the Zarat tribe, Barth scoffed at these rumors: "Mobei Mongolia still dares to rebel?" What if the Rakshasa people come? Can they still beat our Daqing Iron Cavalry? ”

It is said that the Rakshasa people have red hair and green eyes, feed on people's hearts and livers, and especially like to eat the hearts and livers of children, as long as they meet Rakshasas, no one can go back alive.

If the Rakshasas dare to enter the Korqin Department, I believe that the Empress Dowager will definitely send troops to dispatch the Eight Banners elite soldiers to exterminate the hateful Rakshasas. As for Mobei Mongolia? They have always refused to obey the king, and they have repeatedly caused trouble for the Qing Dynasty, so by the way, they will be destroyed together.

At this time, Barth, with five warriors of his tribe, was herding horses on the steppe. The weather had turned cold, the grasslands had turned yellow, and the grass had dried up, but it was still available for the horses. Before the snow fell, the Mongols harvested a batch of forage to feed their horses, cattle and sheep for the winter.

"It's been so cold this winter! It seems that another batch of cattle and sheep will have to be killed. Barthes said.

If a terrible snowstorm comes, there is a white plague on the grassland, and cattle and sheep will freeze to death in large numbers. In order to be able to breed in the coming year, it is necessary to keep a batch of breeds, and the cattle and sheep that are specially protected will be driven into the tent to prevent them from freezing to death in the ice and snow, while the rest of the cattle and sheep will have to be killed.

It's just that in the ninth month of the lunar calendar, it was already cold and windy, and it seems that this year's winter is not good.

Just as Barth and his five warriors were herding their horses on the prairie, suddenly one of the warriors shouted: "Look over there, someone is coming!" ”

Looking in the direction of the warrior's finger, he saw twelve cavalrymen on the steppe in the distance, coming towards him. When he got closer, Barth noticed that the man was riding a horse that was noticeably taller than his own, and that the knight on horseback was dressed in a dark green vertical collar, a black flat fur hat, and a colorful ornament, and a musket on his back! Obviously, the dress of these people, as well as the horses they ride, you can tell at a glance that they are not Mongols!

"Rakshasa people!" Barthes understood and shouted.

Barth and his five warriors are all warriors who can fight well in the Zarat Division, how can they be afraid of the Rakshasas! The six men took out their bows and arrows at the same time, but they did not rush towards the enemy on the opposite side, after all, the enemy was outnumbered, and the opponent was tall and the horse he rode was tall, so he could not get a little advantage if he got close.

"Slowly retreat, use Mangu tactics to kill the Rakshasas!" Barth shouted.

At this time, the distance between the two sides was still more than a hundred steps, but they saw the Rakshasa on the opposite side dismount, took off the musket on their backs, and aimed and prepared.

Seeing the Rakshasa man raising his gun and aiming, Barth wondered in his heart: "It's so far away, can the firebolt hit us?" At that time, the range of the Ming Dynasty's bird gun was less than fifty steps, how could the fire gun be our opponent for riding and shooting? If the fire gun can beat the cavalry shooting, the Ming Dynasty will not lose to the Qing Dynasty. ”

Before Bart could figure it out, he heard a crisp gunfire on the grassland, and the musket in the hands of the Rakshasa man half-squatting on the ground on the opposite side spewed out white smoke, and several gunshots rang out, and the three warriors beside Barth were shot several times, and blood mist erupted from their bodies, screaming, turning over and falling off their horses.

Barthes reacted quickly, and sensing something was wrong, he performed his stunt of hiding in the stirrups, and bullets whizzed past him. The other two warriors also dodged the Rakshasa muskets.

"What a firecracker! Hit that far! Bart was taken aback.

Over there, eight Rakshasas who had just fired were hurriedly reloading their bullets, and Barth knew that the musket was very slow to load, and if he didn't rush up at this time, he would be difficult to escape when the opponent finished loading! Moreover, the opponent is riding a high-headed horse, which is very fast, and if you simply escape, you can't outrun the Rakshasa people at all.

"Rush forward! Shoot at close quarters and cut off their heads with a scimitar! Barth shouted.

The other two warriors also switched into riding bows, and together they whipped their horses, and the horses began to speed up and charge towards these hateful Rakshasas. Barth and the two warriors had already mounted their bows with arrows, and when they were within twenty paces, they would be able to shoot vengeful arrows at their opponents.

The range of the riding bow is short, if it is a foot bow, Bart is sure to shoot an arrow from seventy paces away, but the range of the opponent's fire gun is too perverted, if he does not charge, even a sharpshooter who wears through the Yang in a hundred steps is not the opponent of the Rakshasa musket!

It's just that Barth didn't know that it was not a Rakshasa musket, but a Daming rifled gun!

Before Barth could rush into the range of the riding bow, he saw the six "Rakshasa cavalrymen" behind the Rakshasa musketeers take out their bows and arrows, and they rode on horseback with bows and arrows, and one after another wolf's teeth and sharp arrows roared.

"It's the Mongols! Traitor! Traitors to Mongolia! Seeing the archery skills of the six "Rakshasas" soldiers, Barth understood that the six musketeers in front were Rakshasas, but the six "Rakshasas" cavalry behind were actually Mongols!

Barth used the skill of hiding in the stirrup, dodged the indiscriminate arrows, and galloped his horse, as long as he advanced more than ten steps, he could shoot revenge arrows with his riding bow! Within twenty paces, his mounted arrows can be said to be invincible in the world, and he can shoot three arrows in a short period of time, killing at least three enemies.

The distance was getting closer and closer, and just as Barth was about to enter the range and was about to jump up from under the horse's belly to shoot arrows, he heard the continuous sound of firecrackers, and the six Rakshasa soldiers and six Mongol soldiers all drew their short guns and shot at the rushing horses, and the bullets hit the horses, spewing dazzling blood.

At last the horse fell, and Balt was thrown to the grass, and the bow and scimitar rolled to the side.

A Rakshasa soldier trotted up, the short gun in his hand aimed at Barth's head, and a "bang" shot rang out, and the extremely unwilling Bart stared at the sky with his tarnished eyes. Before he lost consciousness, he was unwilling to be the bravest warrior of the Zarat tribe, but he died like this.

Halbara walked up to Barth's corpse and kicked: "Phew! Traitors to Mongolia! Take refuge in the Jurchen slaves! ”

The Russian Valentin walked up: "Sir, how far is it from the Horqin tribe here?" ”

"It's not far away, as soon as we cross the river, there will be the Korqin Department. But this Zarai special department is not a good thing! It was they who followed the Horqin tribe to join the Jurchens that made our Mongolia what it is today! Halbara said, pointing to a silver-glowing river in the distance.

Six Mongols and six Russians, on horseback, crossed the Khor River and entered the territory of the Korqin tribe.

"This is the territory of the Horqin people, we are here to reconnoitre, if you encounter a large number of enemies, you must not fall in love!" Halbara confessed.

Twelve cavalrymen galloped across the steppes of eastern Korqin, followed by a spare fifteen Don hippos. This time, they attacked and reconnoitred, and they were all one-man, two-horse to three-horse, carrying enough dry food to run long distances.

Before the snow falls, they will complete their reconnaissance of the Korqin tribe and return to Temple Street. (To be continued.) )