I want to be emperor

Chapter 631

The first half of the 16th year of Chengshun was a relatively rare and peaceful year for the Great Chu Empire.

The interior is also relatively calm. There is not much political turmoil at the top of the Great Chu Empire, and there are no relatively influential policies issued. The interior as a whole continues the strategy of focusing on the development of industry, agriculture and commerce in the past few years.

Even the chieftains in the Southwest and Qingkang areas who used to make troubles in the past failed to continue to make troubles because they were almost killed.

The external environment is relatively calm.

In the Nanyang region, with the end of the Malay Peninsula War and the signing of armistice agreements with the Portuguese East India Company and the Kingdom of Aceh, the large-scale war of the Great Chu Empire in the Nanyang region was completely over. Although there are still some follow-up There are small-scale armed conflicts against the indigenous people, but there is basically no military participation, and many of the armed trading companies themselves are involved.

Just like the Nanyang Trading Company, which is engaged in troubles in the Indian Peninsula every three days, Shibazhi Trading Company has recently tried to open up markets on the Nanyang Islands, such as the Luzon region, the Borneo region, and the East Indies. Naturally, some conflicts with the local aborigines, the Dutch, were inevitable in the process, and various local 'pirate activities' have been extremely rampant recently.

But this kind of thing is normal for the South Seas. Pirates, this is the norm in the South Seas. It would be abnormal if there were no pirates.

The south is fine as a whole, but in the Western Regions, since Zhungeer lost Hami, he is now honestly hiding in the Turpan area. Before, he tried to send troops to attack the Hami area and destroy the Chu army's reclamation, but since he was beaten by the Chu army cavalry several times. After the first ambush and the loss of thousands of troops, the Zhungeer people were completely honest...

As for the Chu army, they are also busy with reclamation and development in Hami and Guazhou in the rear. Before the large-scale military reclamation in Hami and other areas is completed, the Chu army will not easily continue to launch large-scale westward operations. , or the logistics cannot support it.

Zhungeer and the Great Chu Empire have stopped large-scale military operations one after another, which means that the fighting in the Western Regions has subsided, and the rest are at most small-scale battles caused by patrols and spying on intelligence, etc. That's all, but it doesn't affect the overall situation.

Therefore, in the Western Regions, although Zhungeer is still at war with the Great Chu Empire, there is actually no war in the Western Regions at present!
In the north, Mobei Mongolia has already been conquered by the Great Chu Empire, and under the continuous influence of the Great Chu Empire, it is constantly naturalizing and merging.

According to the optimistic estimate of the high-level empire, under the continuous pressure from Russia, and the empire has shown goodwill to the three major tribes in Mobei many times, it has repeatedly expressed its willingness to accept them to recognize their ancestors and return to their ancestors, and promised to treat the three tribes. Certain preferential treatment for those in power of the tribe.

The three major tribes of Mobei Mongolia are now more and more inclined to fully integrate into the Great Chu Empire, not just exist as a vassal.

Therefore, in the future, the three major tribes of Mobei Mongolia are very likely to completely join the Great Chu Empire in a peaceful manner and become part of the empire itself.

As for Russia in the north, although it continues to try to expand eastward, it is currently blocked by Mobei Mongolia, and the strength of the Russians in the Far East is actually the same. The troops that can prevent mobilization are small-scale troops.

Those nomadic tribes struggled to deal with it by themselves, but it was not worth mentioning to the Great Chu Empire.

The situation in the south, west, and north is relatively stable, which ushered in a relatively rare period of peace for the Great Chu Empire.

And taking advantage of this time, the Great Chu Empire Army also launched a new round of military reforms!

This round of military reform does not involve such things as basic tactics, but more about the adjustment of command structure and troop composition.

For example, there are currently too many division-level establishments, resulting in a large number of senior generals. At the same time, many troops have the name of divisions, but their actual strength is only a few thousand people, and some of the second-class divisions stationed in the interior are very poor in combat effectiveness. .

In addition, there are first-class divisions and second-class divisions in the army, but there are also combat readiness troops, standing troops, and garrison troops. They are also first-class divisions. Inconsistent.

In response to many problems, the Great Chu Empire Army is preparing to reorganize the first-class divisions and second-class divisions, and plans to reduce the number of first-class infantry divisions from thirty to fifteen, and the number of first-class cavalry divisions from twenty. Reduced to ten, plus a number of field artillery brigades and regiments that maintain combat readiness; independent cavalry regiments; independent mixed regiments and other troops, the total strength is expected to be 35.

The above-mentioned 35 troops will be listed as a first-class army, and it is required to maintain a state of full combat readiness all year round.

At the same time, some downgraded first-class divisions and some excellent second-class divisions were listed as new second-class troops.

These second-class troops, taking the infantry division as an example, retain all officers, non-commissioned officers and 70.00% of the actual soldiers, 30.00% of the necessary mules and horses, but reserve all the weapons and equipment of the full-scale division, and ensure that there are enough emergency mobilization in the nearby areas The folk mules and horses used.

Unlike the old second-class divisions that only focused on local repression and defensive operations, a large number of soldiers were missing, and there were almost no logistical support troops, and the same was true for mules and horses. The new second-class divisions retained all the key forces such as officers and non-commissioned officers. , and stockpile weapons and ammunition.

After emergency mobilization and supplementation, it can become fully loaded in the shortest time, and has the ability to maneuver, and then go to other areas to fight.

This new type of second-class division is actually the standing division that the Army has often referred to in recent years.

These standing second-class divisions are planned to have 28 infantry divisions, 40 cavalry divisions, and [-] independent artillery brigades.The total force is expected to be around [-].

In the end, a large number of the remaining second-class divisions were listed as third-class troops. These third-class troops will cancel the division-level organization, and the provincial garrison headquarters will directly serve as the command organization of the third-class divisions in each province, with the regiment as the backbone Organization, with battalions and outposts as the specific organization, respectively stationed in various places.

In fact, many second-class divisions did this before. At the same time, the commanders of the provincial garrison headquarters were often directly served by the commanders of the local second-class divisions. Otherwise, everyone would have the same rank, and conflicts would easily arise.

At the same time, the personnel ratio of artillery, logistics, cavalry and other expensive technical arms is greatly reduced.

These C-class divisions will become a complete local garrison to garrison the local area, suppress civil strife, and occasionally suppress bandits to hunt down Jiangyang bandits and the like. If it is a border area, then they can also appropriately strengthen their firepower configuration to cooperate with the regular army in defensive operations.

However, unless a large-scale war is encountered and a large-scale mobilization is required, these third-class divisions will have no chance to fight across regions or even abroad.

This kind of division is actually a direct finalization of the names of combat readiness, standing and garrison forces that have been implemented in the Army in the past few years, not just verbal names.

After reorganization, the Great Chu Empire Army has a combat-ready first-class division of 35 people, a standing second-class division of 40 people, and a C-class division of more than 40 people, with a total force of about 1105 million.

However, those who can really be pulled out to fight are actually only the first-class divisions and the second-class divisions, which add up to about 75 people.

Theoretically, it is a little less than the previous combat strength of one million, but in fact this is only theoretical. In the past, many second-class divisions seemed to be able to mobilize, but in fact they could not be mobilized... Many second-class divisions It has long been reduced to a local garrison, and the subordinate troops are scattered with one post here and one post there...

A second-class division is stationed scattered in dozens of counties or in the main roads. It is troublesome to gather together, and after the troops of the second-class divisions are transferred from these garrison places, there are only a few patrols left in the area. If you are exhausted, there will be a small number of armed patrols, so if something goes wrong, you can't deal with it.

In fact, after the reform, the army can use more field forces than before, and at the same time, the combat road is also stronger. The army can also concentrate manpower and material resources to build these field forces more powerful.

This can be seen from the changes in the new establishment of the divisional artillery regiment of the first-class combat readiness division!

The new first-class division in combat readiness, the divisional artillery regiment of the infantry division, is directly equipped with artillery according to the standard of the first-class division, and governs three artillery battalions with 54 standard artillery battalions, with a total of [-] divisional artillery.

Each artillery battalion has three artillery posts.

Each artillery post has six artillery pieces, four field guns and two howitzers.

Among them, the field artillery and howitzers are not uniformly equipped by different troops!

It is distinguished according to the climate and geographical environment of the deployment area. For example, the infantry artillery units deployed in the plains, the field guns are all Chengshun 13-year-style 115mm standard field guns, and the howitzers are Chengshun 14-year-style 150mm howitzer.

而在山地丛林等交通不便的地区所部署的部队，标准野战炮将会被替换为承顺15年式115毫米山地野战炮，也称之为115毫米山炮；榴弹炮则是被替换为承顺14年式150毫米轻型榴弹炮。

The above-mentioned four kinds of artillery are the main artillery of the new division of the Great Chu Empire, equipped with different artillery for different terrains.

In addition, the artillery regiment of the cavalry division is different. The artillery of the cavalry unit is a very special cavalry artillery, which pays great attention to maneuverability. Therefore, the artillery posts under the artillery regiment of the cavalry unit all use special cavalry artillery. .

Basically, the cavalry artillery post is equipped with four 90mm cavalry guns and two 150mm light howitzers.

The changes in the divisional artillery are mainly reflected in the abandonment of the [-]mm field artillery by the infantry unit, and the further distinction between foot artillery and mounted artillery.

The firepower of the regiment has not changed. The standard infantry regiment has four 65mm field guns and two 115mm howitzers. These two guns are infantry support rifles that have been in service for many years and have performed well.

The above six types of artillery together constitute the support firepower of all divisions in this military reform.

And the performance of these artillery has been greatly improved compared with the old artillery in the past.

The development of the artillery of the Great Chu Empire in the past few years has also made great progress after the continuous improvement of the materials and processing technology of the Great Chu Empire for more than ten years.

Although the guns equipped today seem to have the same caliber and are still called 115mm field guns, compared with the earlier products of the same level, their performance has been greatly improved.

For example, the Chengshun 13-year 115mm field gun, under the premise of ensuring the effective range and shooting accuracy of the old artillery, this artillery has greatly reduced its weight. Compared with the old 115mm field gun, At least 200 kg lighter.

The weight reduction of more than 200 kilograms can greatly enhance the maneuverability of this artillery, and because of the weight reduction, it can allow today's 115mm field artillery to bear some of the previous 90mm field artillery. Quickly maneuver to support combat missions.

There is also Chengshun's 14th-year 150mm light howitzer. Regardless of the large caliber of this thing, in fact, this artillery has only seven times the barrel.

Therefore, the weight is very light, the barrel weighs only more than 200 kilograms, and the weight of the ranks is only more than 800 kilograms, which is not half the weight of a standard 115mm field gun.

This series of 150mm light howitzers has long occupied the position of division-level light howitzers by virtue of their mobility and combat power, and has become the first choice for division-level howitzers in cavalry units and mountain jungle units.

Even if the Chu army has produced several different 115mm howitzers, 130mm howitzers, etc., they cannot shake the important tactical position of this kind of artillery in complex terrain and fast maneuvering tasks.

It is worth noting that due to the poor performance of the 90mm field gun in many actual battles, the Great Chu Empire Army has taken the lead in dismantling the 90mm field gun in the first-class division, and used the 115mm light field gun, that is, 115 mm mountain guns were used instead.

Although the weight of the previous 90mm field gun is lighter than that of the 115mm field gun, the power is still too small. When firing solid shells, the killing kinetic energy is more than one level worse than that of the 115mm field gun. But after the shelling distance reaches 500 meters, the lethality of the solid shells of this artillery will drop sharply.

At the same time, because the caliber is too small, when the grenade is launched, the charge of the 90mm grenade is also small, and the explosive power is really unsatisfactory.

How should I put it, this kind of artillery is unsatisfactory in the power of long-range solid shells, and it is not good at firing grenades. As for the close-range firepower of 400 meters, although it is okay, but... the 90mm field gun is the weight of the whole gun The big guy with a thousand kilograms is reduced to compete with the 65mm regiment field gun that weighs only a few hundred kilograms, so what is the use of it?
How should I put it, the tactical positioning of this kind of artillery in the Great Chu Empire Army is very embarrassing... I am completely sorry for its weight of thousands of kilograms.

Due to the embarrassing tactical positioning, the performance of several different series of 90mm field guns was not satisfactory in the recent operations in the Western Regions and Southeast Asia.

So this time the Army directly made up its mind to throw this thing into the historical garbage dump, and then replaced it with a 115mm light field gun, that is, a 115mm mountain gun.

This is Chengshun's 15-year-style 115mm light field gun, and the Army simply calls it '115 Mountain Cannon'.

This 115mm light field gun is the work of Dangtu Artillery Factory. Although its caliber is the standard 115mm, its double diameter is very interesting. It is fourteen times the caliber used by few artillery in this era.

This multiple diameter is just stuck between the local field gun and the howitzer. In theory, the barrel is too short for the field gun, and the barrel is too long for the howitzer.

When firing solid shells, the power and accuracy of long-distance shelling over a kilometer are not very good. Although the weight is lighter than the 115mm standard field gun, it is not lighter than the 90mm field gun...

At first glance, it seems that they are all shortcomings!

However, whether the performance of any weapon is good or not depends on its tactical positioning.

The artillery of the Great Chu Empire Army is used by mountain jungle troops deployed in mountainous jungles and other areas with complex terrain and poor traffic.

In terms of power, thanks to the improvement of the new copper alloy barrel technology, when this light field gun fires solid shells, its lethality within a kilometer is still relatively objective, at least much stronger than the 90mm field gun... After all, the caliber It's bigger.

As for the distance of more than a kilometer... Since they are all light field artillery, what are the bombardment powers of more than a kilometer?

But when firing grenades, this thing is much more powerful than a 90mm field gun. This is a direct comparison between a 115mm grenade and a 90mm grenade. You can tell which one is more powerful by looking at the caliber.

In terms of weight, this thing is not too heavy. Although it is not easy to maneuver in the mountains, it is easier than the 115mm field gun, basically the same as the original 90mm field gun.

Based on the above, the Great Chu Empire Army used this artillery to replace the tactical positioning of the 90mm field artillery in mountain troops.

The 115mm light field gun is called a field gun, but in fact it is not as good as a howitzer that can shoot solid shells straight. This is also the reason why the Army internally chose the abbreviation "Mountain Cannon" for this type of artillery.

In the troops in the plain area, because there is no problem with transportation, the army directly solved the problem by increasing the number of 115mm standard field guns. Anyway, the weight of the new 115mm field guns has been reduced, making it easier to maneuver. To a certain extent, it can replace the tactical positioning of the previous 90mm artillery.

The final result is that the Chengshun 15-year-style 115mm light field gun developed and produced by the Dangtu Artillery Factory directly replaced the 90mm field guns of various models by the Great Chu Empire Army. The Chu army discovered the old twelve-fold barrel 115mm howitzer that was not very easy to use.

The changes in the firepower of divisional artillery are generally speaking towards a larger caliber, which is also to adapt to the tactical and technical needs of the new era.

After all, grenades have become an indispensable and important ammunition weight in the army of the Great Chu Empire. How well a artillery fires grenades has become an important performance standard for the army to measure a field artillery.

The only thing that hasn't changed is the 65mm field gun!

This thing is a serious and evergreen tree in the Chu army. From the Funiu Mountain period to the current 16th year of Chengshun, its styles range from iron cast artillery, to early low-level bronze artillery, and then to more advanced technology. Produced copper alloy artillery.

The 65mm field gun has been continuously improved, but its tactical status has not been affected in the slightest. It has always been the artillery of choice for regiment-level troops in the Great Chu Empire Army. Even the lighter 115mm light howitzer can't shake it. The tactical position of this artillery.

Even this kind of small-caliber field artillery is not very good when using grenades. After all, the caliber is too small, the grenade charge is insufficient, and the power is not great, but when fighting at medium and short distances, the power is useless. Chu Jun I like to use this kind of artillery to shoot at the enemy hundreds of meters away, and can fire several shells in one minute.

When the enemy is approaching, switch directly to shotguns, and directly transform into a large-caliber sprayer... which can sweep the living force within a range of 200 meters in front of you.

In addition, the rate of fire of this thing is extremely fast... It can basically achieve the same rate of fire as a smoothbore gun.

In addition to the poor attacking ability and poor long-range bombardment ability, the 65mm field gun series in the Chu army has no obvious shortcomings. It needs maneuverability, firepower, firepower, fast rate of fire, and easy deployment.

However, it is a nonsense requirement to require a regiment artillery to have the ability to attack fortified and long-range artillery.

Therefore, you can see this series of 65mm artillery in all the places where the Chu army is stationed, and the reason why this artillery is used so much is that the maneuverability is really good!
On the battlefield, this type of artillery in the combat state can be directly pushed by two artillerymen to perform emergency maneuvers, and can easily advance with the infantry, or escape...

If it is an ambush or defensive operation, even if there is no road, the soldiers can directly carry it up the mountain for deployment.

When marching, if there are not enough mules and horses, you can use a single horse to pull them directly, or you can let a few soldiers act as mules and horses to pull the cannon directly.

If you are marching in an area with complex terrain and you really can't pull it away, you can also directly dismantle the artillery ... and then use the Thomas to carry the various parts.

If you don't even have Thomas...you can have several soldiers marching with these disassembled parts on their shoulders!
This shit is really cheap...you can buy one for hundreds of dollars...When the battle started, the regimental artillerymen of the Chu Army didn't feel bad at all, and often used all kinds of rapid fire violently...When the battle is over , The artillery is scrapped and just get a new one.

Anyway, it is a copper cannon, and it can be remade.

And this kind of excellent artillery can also be seen by others. Before that, both the Ming army and the Eastern captivity had prevented this kind of artillery on a large scale.

Now the Zhungeer people are no exception, and even some overseas indigenous countries or the Dutch who have the ability to make their own guns, they have more or less imitated this artillery.

However, they did not have the systematic material research and development and production technology of the Great Chu Empire, nor did they have the processing capabilities of exquisite large-scale hydraulic machinery, so the performance of the 65mm field guns they imitated was far inferior to that produced by Chu State itself.

(End of this chapter)