Late Ming sea owl

Chapter 190 Landing on the Beach

On the Princess Jieyou, Lu Tiedan ducked his head, held up a shield in his right hand, and got out from behind the wet quilt first.

The shield in his hand is in the shape of a swallow's tail, five feet high and two feet wide, with Taoist charms painted on the front to confuse the enemy. At first glance, it looks similar to the long shield in the Yuanyang Formation. But in fact, this shield is not a long shield, but a rigid and soft shield that is much thicker and heavier.

The Gangrou brand weighed fifteen kilograms, which would be close to eighteen kilograms if converted to later generations' weight. It was about the same weight as the tower shield of ancient Rome. If you don't count the heavy matchlock guns in Western Europe that easily weighed twenty kilograms, it was almost a standard. It is the heaviest hand-held weapon among all individual soldiers.

After all, for ordinary soldiers, most suitable one-handed weapons weigh about one or two kilograms, and two-handed weapons rarely exceed five kilograms. For example, the wolf sword in the Yuanyang Formation weighs seven kilograms, and has been called an important extraneous item by Qi Jiguang. When conferring weapons on the soldiers, strong soldiers must be selected to act as wolf sword bearers.

The main reason why the rigid and soft cards are so heavy is to serve as a fire preventer. Even the Ming Dynasty three-coin bird gun, which was criticized by later generations for being too small in caliber, if the workmanship is up to standard, its armor-piercing performance is far from being comparable to that of cold weapons.

For example, the "New Book of Jixiao" clearly states that both long cards and shield cards can only be used to cover leather, arrows, stones, swords and guns, but not lead. In view of this, Qi Jiguang collected opinions from thousands of people and tried his best to create the rigid and soft brand for fire protectors.

This kind of shield is made of multi-layer composite materials such as balsa wood, silkworm cotton, cloth, rawhide, water-separating tissue paper, etc. More than half of the weight is made of good silkworm cotton, so the cost of one shield is as high as five taels, and two sides The cost of the Gangrou brand is equivalent to that of a powerful cannon.

Because of this, the Gangrou brand was not widely equipped in the Ming army, and the price/performance ratio was really not high. After all, when faced with precision muskets and high-quality gunpowder, this expensive composite shield can only cover the lead from forty or fifty steps away without fail. Once the shooting distance of the opponent is as close as thirty steps, Within that, there is still a high probability that it will be penetrated.

Although the three-cent lead bullet is light in weight, it has a high muzzle velocity and a small cross-sectional area, so its specific kinetic energy after exiting the barrel is not low. Its short-range armor-piercing performance within twenty or thirty steps is no better than that of Western European low-speed heavy bullets. The pattern of large-caliber muskets is too different. However, due to its high muzzle velocity and light weight, the projectile speed of the Sanqian Gungun decays very quickly, so the effective range and long-distance armor penetration are very rubbish.

This is the same as the Ming army's habit of using light cannons to fire shotguns, which pursued close-range killing. At the same time, Eastern military manuals also emphasized hand-to-hand combat more than Western ones. These may reflect the differences in the characteristics of Eastern and Western warfare in this era.

Lu Tiedan is now a long poker player and one of the two captains of the first team in the first post of the third game. When the third and fourth games were established, he proposed to Lin Hai that he would serve as an officer. Therefore, he was assigned to be the corps leader.

After all, Lun No. 1, Chen Yaozu, and Fang Xiu'e are all department directors now, and there is still a bureau level difference between the sentry level and the department level, which makes him somewhat unable to hold his head high among his early followers.

The armor on his body is a kind of composite armor similar to the Gongrou brand. It is up to an inch thick and made of silk cloth, cotton, silk paper, cowhide and other materials. In addition to the above materials, the helmet also includes fine vines. Although the defense is not as good as iron armor, it is lighter and does not rust, making it most suitable for use in the muddy south.

At this time, gunfire came from the woods opposite, but it was not as intensive as the previous salvo. Amidst the sparse gunfire, Lu Tiedan suddenly heard a muffled bang, and the shield in his hand seemed to be hit by a blast. An invisible big hand pushed hard.

The manufacturing method and pattern of this kind of shield are not detailed in Qi Jiguang's military books. The purpose is to keep it secret. Fortunately, there are many military books in the Ming Dynasty that have similar records of composite armor or composite shields, especially Zhao Shizhen's "Sacred Weapons". The compound armor recorded in the Spectrum is the most detailed.

Although the rigid and soft shield is expensive to make, it is after all the most powerful personal shield when facing firearms. Considering that there were basically no tanks in the southern Ming Dynasty and Southeast Asia, and whether it was Zheng Zhilong or the Western colonists in Asia, including the armies of Southeast Asian countries, the firearms equipment rate was much higher than that of the Japanese pirates during the Jiajing period. So Lin Hai still built a lot after the Battle of Xiamen.

He turned around and glanced at Ruan Jin, the third round general manager next to him, and saw that he was wearing more than 40 kilograms of iron armor, holding a hard and soft card in each hand, and his breathing was still very even, without any trace of irritation. Breathless.

Lu Tiedan held a strong and soft card in his hand and wore armor that weighed only more than ten kilograms. He walked off the springboard and landed on the shore of Dongshan Island.

The reason why Ruan Jin wanted to take the lead in the front line was mainly to stabilize the first batch of soldiers who came ashore with shields. These people were all strong men selected from the second and third games. Almost all of them Both the long card player and the wolf player were selected.

In addition to his shield and armor, there was a sword hanging from his waist, but nothing else. Despite this, after Lu Tiedan got off the boat, he felt his hands were terribly sore after walking a few steps, so he changed his hand to hold the Hard and Soft Card.

This position was still far from what Lu Tiedan expected. He originally thought that he could at least become a captain, but in the end he couldn't even become a captain.

Some later Mingchuan articles copied the equipment and tactics from the Thirty Years War in Western Europe. This would definitely be unsuitable for the northern plains of the late Ming Dynasty. It was almost certain that they would not be able to win the Hou Jin Dynasty, even against the declining Mongols. It may not work.

Lu Tiedan continued to move forward with the Hard and Soft Card in hand. Beside him and behind him, more than a dozen vanguards had already landed ashore, and a steady stream of soldiers holding shields came down from the springboard.

During the Jiajing period of the Ming Dynasty, there was a frontier soldier Wang Bangzhi who was born as a Linshan student. He was nicknamed Wang Qianjin in the army. The sword he used weighed thirty kilograms and his iron mace weighed fifteen kilograms. After he died in battle, the Mongols took his He picked up the sword and worshiped it as a sacred object.

Because of this, he held back his strength in his heart and wanted to achieve military exploits early so that he could be promoted.

Based on the records in these military books, Lin Hai re-developed the Rigid and Soft brand. The final test of the defensive lead bullet effect was similar to what Qi Jiguang said. Forty steps away, it could be guaranteed not to be hit by the three-money bird with a one-to-one ammunition ratio and a three-foot-long tube. If the gun shoots through, whether it will be penetrated thirty steps away depends on the angle at which the projectile enters.

Such powerful men are not uncommon in historical records, and they are a great boost to the morale of one's own army. For example, Wang Shunchen of the Northern Song Dynasty once shot thousands of arrows in two hours. He could still draw his bow until his arms were covered with blood. .

"What a natural supernatural power!" Lu Tiedan couldn't help but sigh. He was already considered to be very powerful among ordinary people, but there was still a big gap between him and the most powerful man in the Army Department.

He knew that the shield in his hand had been hit by a lead bullet. Fortunately, apart from the numbness in the arm holding the shield, there was no other pain throughout his body.

Lu Tiedan didn't bother to check whether the shield had been penetrated. He just lowered his head and walked forward. The wolf swordsman on his right was obviously panicked and his pace began to slow down. It seemed that the shield in his hand was also hit. .

"Hahahaha, these idiots know how to waste lead bullets." Ruan Jin's hearty laughter came from the left. Lu Tiedan turned around and saw that this guy was holding two shields and walking as fast as flying. He was walking faster than before. Faster. Not willing to lag behind, Lu Tiedan quickly chased after him, walking side by side with Ruan Jin, at the front. At this time, the wolf-snatcher saw that Chief Bai Ruan Jin was so calm, and calmed down and rushed over from the right. .

Gunshots were still ringing out, but none of the soldiers who landed with shields from Huiyou Company fell down. Everyone felt more at ease and their tension receded slightly.

"Stop shooting!" Zeng Wulao felt something was wrong, and loudly ordered to stop shooting. The trumpeter beside him quickly picked up the conch and started blowing. This time he played shorter, and his tone was different from when he started shooting. .

Zeng Wulao was entrusted by Zheng Zhilong to train the Marines a few months ago, but he could not remember the drumming orders from when he was a camp soldier, so he made up a set of only three instruments: gold, drum and conch.

Compared with the previous time when there was only conch, this is already an improvement. After all, Zeng Wulao also added gold and drums to direct the advance and retreat. In this way, the conch is used to direct shooting, which is an improvement over the previous pure gunman. Free play situation.

Conch is also one of the standard military music in the Ming army, called Polo, which is basically only used to make sitting soldiers stand up. During wartime, the gunners are mainly commanded by trumpets and bamboo tubes, and sometimes trumpets, so it can be released The commands are more complex.

Zheng Jun blew the conch several times, and the gunfire in the forest gradually stopped. Soldiers holding shields on the opposite side were still coming down from the bow of the Princess Jieyou in a steady stream.

"What the hell kind of shield is this? Lead can't even penetrate it." Zeng Wulao pulled out his sword, "beat the drum and hit the damn shield directly!"

Zeng Wulao planned to take advantage of the small number of enemy troops ashore and rush forward to engage in hand-to-hand combat. Unexpectedly, a leader's voice came from beside him: "You can't charge, Wulao, there is something weird about this group of officers and soldiers."

The drummer heard that the leaders had different opinions, so he stopped beating the drum. Zeng Wu Lao asked with a livid face: "What's weird?"

"Look at the thing they are holding in their hands. It's not a shield, it's a fucking magical weapon!" The leader who spoke earlier said with a look of horror, "Expert! There is an expert on the other side! What if we Rush up and you still don’t know how to die?”

"What the hell are you talking about?" Zeng Wulao also saw the ghostly symbols on those shields, and had not thought about the magic weapons before.

"How can a shield be able to protect against lead? Our blunderbuss are all made with exquisite craftsmanship. They only cost three taels of silver each, but the brand can be picked up by a single person. There is no reason why it cannot be shot..."

After hearing this, Zeng Wulao also hesitated a little. There is no one who is not superstitious in traveling these days. He not only worships Mazu, but also worships Xu Zhenjun and Laojun. He is quite in awe of these gods and ghosts. Many people have to pay homage before firing the cannon.

"Then let's not charge for now. Let the gunmen go out from the woods and shoot closer to see if they can penetrate the sign." Zeng Wulao hesitated for a while, and finally decided to give it a try and send someone to go. Try to see if the opposite side is a magic weapon.

If Lin Hai saw this scene, I'm afraid he would be very lucky that he was not smart enough not to draw those spells.

Qi Jiguang clearly stated in the "New Book of Ji Xiao" that this spell egg is useless and is used to confuse the opponent and at the same time increase his own confidence. He also specifically emphasized that generals should never think that this thing has actual effects. To put it bluntly, it is completely Bullying opponents and ordinary soldiers are uneducated.

Lin Hai felt that this little trick was too childish, but the middle and senior officers of the Army Department unanimously agreed that it was necessary to draw this thing. In the end, he stopped insisting, and unexpectedly it came in handy.

"My general orders me to give a reward of one hundred taels of silver to anyone who can break through a sign!" Zeng Wulao was afraid that his gunmen would not try their best, so he offered a high reward. This was also a way to boost morale during pirate battles. Commonly used means.

As the saying goes, there must be brave men under heavy rewards. Although pirates are not well organized, they have never lacked people like Liu Xiang who are not afraid of death. As long as the reward is high enough, this gang of people dare to do anything. After all, they are in this business. I have already pinned my head to my waistband.

There was no order in Zheng Jun's drumming system for gunmen to approach and shoot. In addition, there was a reward to be issued, so Zeng Wulao's cronies could only spread out to pass orders, and soon more than 200 soldiers were summoned. The warriors of Bird Gun rushed out of the woods with howls.

These pirates didn't have any formation to speak of. They just ran forward in a swarm, stopped at a distance they thought was suitable, and started lighting fire and firing guns.

Bang bang bang bang... intensive gunshots rang out again, and none of the shields on the opposite side still fell. The first round of shots from these pirates was still too far away, and they couldn't penetrate the hard and soft cards at all.

Some people fired a shot and found that it was useless, so they started running back. Some people continued to reload, preparing to get closer and shoot again. Some people who had just heard the reward order were heading out of the forest. The whole The scene was a mess.

The situation at Huiyou Company is also a bit chaotic, which is inevitable. The landing operation alone will make the army lose its organization, not to mention the landing in front of the enemy. This is why the art of war emphasizes attacking halfway across the border.

The one hundred and fifty warriors who had boarded first with shields had already landed on the shore at this time, and it took about half a cup of tea. After all, the width of the bow of the ship could only accommodate four springboards, and they had to maintain balance when walking on the springboards.

The shield-bearing soldiers who landed first are now distributed in dots, and some timid ones even hide behind others. The Ministry of War has not yet established a continuous line of defense, so subsequent troops cannot land. Who is responsible for commanding? Ying is waiting anxiously on the Madam Feng.

At this time, Jin Nao on the Bowang said to Lin Hai: "Commander, I request to launch a bombardment against the enemy's gunners!"

(End of this chapter)