Daming Yuanfu

Chapter 892 Talking about the phalanx

Han Naji was sincerely asking for advice, but unfortunately Zhang Bingzhong couldn't answer this question.

The hollow phalanx of the Ming Dynasty version is also a bit different from the hollow phalanx of Westerners in history, but this is not the most fundamental problem. The more fundamental problem is that the hollow phalanx that Zhang Bingzhong and his son put up yesterday is a castrated version.

Compared with the hollow phalanx that Gao Yushi first proposed to Qi Jiguang, yesterday's hollow phalanx lacked artillery support, which of course had an impact, otherwise the outcome of the Battle of Waterloo might have changed.

After Qi Jiguang's research, he had some doubts about whether the Ming army could achieve the discipline required by the hollow phalanx of high pragmatism, so he designed and improved the car battalion mechanism on this basis, according to the drills he sent (he was in charge of training) , now there are two versions of the uncastrated version of the hollow phalanx of the Ming army:
In the first version, the van forms a square on the periphery, and the artillery fire on the car is turned outward to launch the first wave of ultra-long-range strikes. At the same time, a spear or bamboo spear is inserted on the outside of the van to force the horses not to charge hard;

Behind the van, the musketeers attacked with round after round of continuous firepower with the help of the block and protection of the van;

Finally, a row of grenadiers were arranged in all four directions to throw grenades to clean up the dense enemy troops rushing to the car camp.

This version can also be called the hollow phalanx without the bayonet version of the car battalion. It is suitable for heavy troops carrying a large number of vehicles and supplies, especially those with a relatively ordinary fighting will.

In fact, Qi Jiguang used this version to defeat Chang Ang this time. After a wave of attacks, Chang Ang felt that he couldn't get any good, so he turned around and ran away.

The advantage of this version is that it downplays the importance of strict military discipline, so that soldiers will not face the cavalry charge directly. It can be regarded as a change made by Qi Jiguang considering the actual level of the current Ming army.As for the disadvantages, that is, with too much luggage, the marching speed must be slower.

The second version is the high-practice version. The artillery adopts a new type of gun carriage that can adjust the firing angle of the muzzle (in the first volume, Gao Yushi has proposed to Qi Jiguang the manufacturing method of the gun carriage. In fact, the elevation angle of the muzzle can be adjusted according to a fixed scale. ), the gun carriage is placed in the "hollow" of the hollow phalanx, and the direction of the opponent's attack is used to determine which side to support the artillery fire.

In addition to the artillery, the force of the defensive cavalry rushing into the formation is all pressed against the bayonet formation. As I have said before, this is the animal instinct that the horse will not choose to "suicide" stupidly.

The tasks of musketeers and grenadiers have not changed much. They are still as much as possible to increase the amount of bombs dropped by the unit, and force the enemy back with a large number of kills.

Generally speaking, this hollow phalanx is more similar to the hollow phalanx in the modern period of the West. Its purpose is very simple, which is to kill and injure a large number of enemy troops.And what it relies on, apart from the bayonet array, are mainly two points: sufficient firepower and strict military discipline.

Sufficient firepower is enough to hurt or even destroy the cavalry before they rush to the front of the formation and put the maximum pressure on the bayonet formation. Before the rise of nationalism and nationalism, everyone’s ability to withstand casualties was relatively poor during this period. After a wave of pain, the opponent will choose to retreat in all likelihood.

As for the strict military discipline, this is very obvious. If you take a bayonet and hit the ground with a stick, you have to resist the charge of the cavalry on the opposite side. How can you do this if you don't have the guts?But courage alone is not enough. This kind of thing must form a strict system, so that the bayonet formation will not waver and retreat when facing the formation - you must know that if they retreat, the musketeers in the rear are basically waiting to be slaughtered The lamb is gone.

As for Hannaji’s question of why there are only these rows, Gao Yushi really didn’t want to do arithmetic with him, and told him that this would ensure full use of firepower without wasting it, and at the same time create sufficient firepower on one side’s front to cause instant damage to the enemy. Mass casualties.

Some military history scholars in later generations said that combat is an arithmetic problem, and discipline and the amount of bombs dropped per unit time determine the outcome. In fact, they are speaking from this perspective.

Zhang Bingzhong's stunned look let Han Naji know that the other party didn't understand, and he was a little disappointed because he typically knew what he knew but didn't know why.

Gao Wushi took over the conversation with a smile, and said: "I specially designed this formation for cavalry with steps, and I will explain the reasoning to you in detail next time when I have time, but if it is just a simple explanation, then It is to rely on the power of my Ming's increasingly powerful firearms to deal a huge blow to the cavalry before they rush to the front of the formation. At this time, adding the bayonet array can hinder the momentum of the horses, and the broken cavalry is guaranteed."

He paused, and then added: "As for the cavalry, if they are willing to pay heavy casualties to break through the formation, that's okay. If one side is broken through, the other three sides can turn their guns around and rush into the central formation." It was an enveloping battle with the former enemy."

Well, this passage in a nutshell is: I exchange infantry for cavalry, and I earn blood!

What's more, even if you don't discuss the value of cavalry and infantry, the Mongols can't stand this kind of combat mode just like a child - how many people are there in Ming Dynasty, how many people are they?Duizi was as stupid as a pig.

After thinking about Han Naji in his mind for a while, he managed to understand what Gao Pragmatically said, but he was horrified in his heart—then in this way, the Mongols are really useless against Da Ming!

Although Han Naji knew it personally, when he thought that the cavalry that the Mongols used to rely on to rule the world could not even take care of the infantry phalanx, he felt very uncomfortable, and sighed: "It is you, Brother Gao, who can come up with such an innocent Come the innocent infantry phalanx."

"No flaws?" Gao Wushi shook his head and said, "There is no formation that is completely flawless. Similarly, there is no tactic that can always work and be invincible forever."

Han Naji didn't expect that Gao Yushi would take the initiative to say that the hollow phalanx also had flaws. At that time, he hesitated to speak. He wanted to ask, but he was afraid that Gao Yushi would misunderstand him, so he didn't ask.

Gao Wushi seemed to know what he was thinking, and said with a slight smile: "Brother Ji, do you not understand how to break this situation?"

Han Naji said: "I can't figure it out, but it doesn't matter, I won't go against Daming."

Gao Wushi laughed, he also knew that this sentence was just self-proving his innocence, ghosts know how reliable it is, so he took the initiative to "explain" Han Naji, and said: "Brother Ji, in fact, the cavalry may not be It really can't deal with the hollow phalanx, but that requires some conditions, such as... having a stronger artillery unit."

"Cannon?" Hanaji was stunned.

Gao Wushi nodded and said: "That's right, it's the artillery. As long as you can concentrate enough artillery to attack one front line, if the strength of this front line is too weak, it is very likely that you will not be able to attack."

Han Naji suddenly realized, but he thought to himself: If you want artillery, then this matter has nothing to do with me...

(End of this chapter)