At the end of Qin, I became a son of the plane

Chapter 577: The Huns were completely suppressed and their tactics were eliminated

Apatius looked a little unhappy and said, "The artillery that the Han gave us is not the best. At least its range is not as long as these artillery, and its firing rate is not as fast as these artillery."

The artillery they purchased were all the same iron cannons as those of the Huns. Now with such a strong contrast on the battlefield, they naturally knew that the artillery in their hands were far inferior to those of the Han Dynasty.

The newly acquired equipment was outdated equipment. After realizing this, they felt a little uncomfortable and complicated.

Especially for envoys from a great power like Prince Antiochus, the weapons equipped at such a huge cost did not seem to give them any advantage except for exacerbating the arms race among Mediterranean countries. Everyone changed from fighting with knives to bombarding with artillery and muskets, but still maintained the same balance of weapons and equipment as before. They could still beat those who could beat them, and they could still beat those who could not beat them. What a big deal.

But they also understood that the Han would not give them the best weapons. As long as their enemies were not the Han, these weapons would be enough for them.

Especially the envoys from the small countries of the Greek city-states, their hearts changed very quickly. They did not have the strength to dominate the world. Not to mention dominating the world, even protecting themselves on the Mediterranean line was a problem for them. The more advanced the Han army's weapons, the more beneficial it was for them.

On the battlefield, two cavalry groups of the Huns crossed the front battlefield and directly attacked the Han army's rear formation.

Yu Long shouted, "The rear camp should attach bayonets."

The 5000 soldiers in the rear camp picked up their Type 5000 rifles, pulled out their bayonets and inserted them into the bayonets. The 5000 rifles instantly became cold spears. Then the three rows of soldiers in the front formed a huge diamond, and the mortars were ready to attack the enemy!

Dozens of mortars appeared at the position where the army came out. He had already adjusted the muzzle of the gun, holding the shells at the muzzle with both hands, and calculating the distance between the enemy cavalry and himself with a solemn expression.

At this time, the cavalry battalion captain Xia Jie had completed the cavalry's detour and was heading straight for the rear of the Western Expedition Army.

"Form a team!" Xia Jie roared, and the cavalrymen around him quickly gathered behind him. When the cavalrymen were assembled,

Xia Jie pointed his sword at the Han army camp and shouted, "Hun warriors, kill!"

Then he rushed forward first.

"Kill!" The 5000 cuirassiers behind him also rushed towards the Han army's rear camp like a torrent.

"300 steps away, 200 steps away. Release!"

The Han army mortarmen put down their mortars one by one.

"Puff puff!"

50 mortar shells drew a huge arc and slammed heavily into the Hun cavalry.

"Boom, boom, boom!" The shells exploded, and the Hun cavalry camp was immediately covered in blood and flesh. The frightened war horses neighed everywhere, and countless Hun cavalry fell on the battlefield.

At the same time, Yu Long shouted, "All troops, fire!"

"Puff, puff, puff!" 5000 muskets fired at the galloping cavalry.

The Xiongnu cavalry, which had already rushed out of the range of the mortar, were surprised to see the Han army opening fire at 200 steps, because the trajectory of the flintlock rifle was unstable, and the lack of hit rate could only be compensated by quantity. Even so, the phalanx had to be forced to 30 steps to ensure the lethality of the flintlock rifle. But at 200 steps, the hit rate of the musket was less than half. The Han army was simply messing around, and their military strength was indeed corrupted by the comfortable life.

"Bang bang bang!"

But soon the Xiongnu cavalry could no longer laugh. First, they discovered that every time the Han army opened fire, the probability of their compatriots being shot was too high, and almost every time they would be shot with hundreds of soldiers.

The second reason was that the Han army fired too frequently, almost twice as frequently as the Huns' flintlock rifles. They felt that the bullets in front of them were coming at them like a rainstorm. Countless Hun soldiers were hit and fell off their horses, and countless horses were hit and fell directly. Moreover, the closer the Huns attacked, the higher the hit rate of the Hun soldiers, and the faster they died. This short distance of 200 steps became a passage to death.

At the same time, the Han army's mortars continued to fire. Although these mortars had a short range, they fired quickly and accurately. They fired wherever the Xiongnu cavalry were concentrated. Wherever the Han army's mortars went, only bloody corpses and rivers of blood were left behind.

When Xia Jie led his men to attack the Han army, he found that more than half of his men had fallen along the way. The cavalry in the rear could not bear such heavy casualties and had begun to flee the battlefield.

But Xia Jie was so angry that he didn't run away. Instead, he raised his sword and shouted with his few guards: "Kill!"

"Puff puff!"

But this made them more vulnerable to concentrated fire from the Han army. Hundreds of rifles fired at the same time, and the few Xiongnu cavalry were hit by more than a dozen bullets, and fell down with their horses. Even Xia Jie fell down after being hit by three bullets.

They watched as the Hun cavalry was defeated by the Han army's muskets.

Jing Tao raised the rifle in his hand and said, "Chase the enemy and kill!"

"Kill!" 5000 Han cavalrymen rushed towards the remnants of the Huns. Compared to the Huns' cavalry who were still in the era of cold weapons, the Han cavalry were equipped with three-barreled guns in addition to sabers. As the name suggests, this gun can fire three shots. After firing the gun, Jing Tao and his men drew their swords and killed the remnants of the Huns.

These Xiongnu cavalrymen had already suffered heavy losses, and when they were attacked by the three-barreled spears of the Han cavalry battalion and the cavalry assault, they were immediately routed and completely defeated.

Outside the battlefield, Apatius was very solemn. They had seen the fighting power of the Huns in the Parthian War, and they also knew that it was the Han Empire that drove the Huns to the Mesopotamian region decades ago. From this, it can be seen that the fighting power of the Han people is even stronger than that of the Huns. But when they really saw the Han army easily defeating the Huns, they realized that no matter how much they overestimated the fighting power of the Han army, they still underestimated it.

Greek scholars lamented: "For such a mythical empire, their military combat effectiveness should also be as mythical."

Apatius said, "We are too naive to worry about the fighting power of the Han army. You should know that the territory occupied by the Han army is dozens of times larger than our country. Did other countries give us all this land? Of course, it was conquered by the strong fighting power of the Han army."

During this period, Apatius felt that the Han soldiers were too disciplined, and even the Huns would bully them. He also thought that the Han people's fighting power was not as strong as they said, and they even looked easy to bully, which made him suspicious. But the current situation told him that these Han soldiers were not as honest as they seemed, but they were so strong on the battlefield. His Roman Empire was no match for the Han Empire.

At this time, messengers from the two cavalry battalions of the Xiongnu army reported that they had been defeated by the Han army. They also said that the Han army's new muskets had a fast firing rate and high accuracy, which were completely incomparable to the Xiongnu's flintlock muskets.

Laoshang Chanyu frowned after hearing this information. He had expected that his army could not defeat the Han army, but he was still very disappointed to be defeated by the Han army with such an overwhelming advantage. He did not expect that after so many years, the Huns were still no match for the Han army and did not even have the strength to fight.

Yuan Wen, a military officer, advised: "Shan Yu, the Han army's artillery is flexible and accurate, and their muskets are fast. Our army is no match for them in terms of firearms. If we continue to fight, our army will surely be defeated. It is time to retreat."

A Han Chinese like Yuan Wen was born in the Han Dynasty, received a complete education in the Han Dynasty, and clearly understood the industrial strength of the Han Dynasty, which was simply incomparable to that of the Huns. This war was originally meant to let the emperor vent his anger. Now they have suffered thousands of casualties, and the purpose of getting the emperor out has been achieved. Now they have to find ways to reduce the losses.

Yuan Wen was a scholar who was able to be loyal to the emperor while receiving a salary from him. Of course, there is no need to call him a traitor. The Huns were originally part of the Han Dynasty's feudal system, and the Han court also encouraged locally trained talents to flow into the major vassal states.

Moreover, the Han Dynasty's system of feudal lords was actually a copy of the feudal system from the Western Zhou Dynasty. Therefore, the scholars of the Han Dynasty still retained the traditions of scholars since the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. The moral system of later nation-states was not suitable for the Han Dynasty today.

Laoshang Chanyu said: "It's not enough. If we retreat like this, who knows whether the emperor will be satisfied. Listen to my order and attack with all your force!" The messenger immediately issued Laoshang Chanyu's order.

The military officer Yuan Wen smiled bitterly and said, "Chan Yu, why do you bother to fight a battle that is bound to be lost?"

In Yuan Wen's opinion, attacking now would only increase the losses of the Xiongnu Kingdom in vain. They had already lost two cavalry units and an artillery battalion. Now as long as they surrender, according to the will of the Han Emperor, the matter would be over.

The old Chanyu said calmly: "I am already old. I can feel my body's strength draining away. I can survive this year, but I'm afraid it will be difficult to survive next year. In this case, I will use this broken body to calm the Han emperor's anger."

Compared with Yuan Wen, Laoshang Chanyu could more clearly feel the change in the attitude of the Han high-level officials towards the Huns. More than a decade ago, the Han Dynasty welcomed them to go to the desert to recruit troops. However, starting this year, the Han court banned the Huns from going to the desert to recruit troops. The high-level officials also changed from supporting their westward advance to restricting their expansion, and even issued a clear ban on their annexation of the Parthian Empire last year.

So he knew that the emperor's anger would not be so easy to pass. The Han Dynasty wanted to suppress the development of the Xiongnu Kingdom and even wanted to break the backbone of the Xiongnu people again.

The old Chanyu decided to lead the troops into battle himself in order to use his own life to appease the anger of the Han emperor, or it could be an excuse for the Han high-level officials to suppress the Huns.

In the original history, Laoshang Chanyu still had five years to live, but in this history, he took over the position of Xiongnu Chanyu fifteen years earlier, but he was a Xiongnu who was on the verge of extinction. Decades of war made his body age faster than in history. Laoshang Chanyu felt that his body could not bear it anymore, so he planned to use his life to calm the anger of the Han emperor.

After making up his mind, Laoshang Chanyu rode to the front of the army to boost morale and said, "Warriors of the Xiongnu, follow me and kill!"

"Kill, kill, kill!" Encouraged by Laoshang Chanyu, the remaining 40,000 Xiongnu soldiers marched in neat steps, attacking the Han army step by step.

The Han army formation, on a hot air balloon a hundred meters high.

"The Xiongnu cavalry are simply fools, and they think our rifles are flintlock rifles that look good but are useless. This time they were directly defeated by our rifles." Scout Wang Guanjie looked at the situation on the battlefield in the rear with a 32x telescope and laughed. Then he recorded the intelligence, stuffed it into a bamboo tube, and then slid the bamboo tube down with a rope hanging on them.

"Something's happening. The main force of the Huns has been dispatched. There's a general in front to boost morale. Judging from his age, he should be the old Chanyu of the Huns. Does anyone of you have a portrait of the old Chanyu?" A scout, Wang Lei, suddenly shouted.

There are four scouts on a hot air balloon, each of them monitoring intelligence in one direction. At the same time, there is a portrait of a Huns general on the hot air balloon. It is not the kind of portrait in TV dramas that no one can tell. Instead, it is the sketching method of later generations that Xu Fan taught this world. What is highlighted is the reality, and the best is like a photo.

In order to let these scouts know the movements of enemy commanders, the Huns had portraits of officers above the rank of lieutenant so that they could identify them.

"Found it!" Wang Guanjie said, picking up a sketch.

Then he compared the portrait with the general who was encouraging his morale and said in surprise: "He really is the Khan of the Xiongnu. He is so old, but he is still at the forefront. He is worthy of being a prince who can build a huge empire in Mesopotamia."

Wang Lei did not sigh like Wang Guanjie. He immediately wrote the information into a bamboo tube, and then quickly handed it to the central army and handed it over to the garrison.

Under the hot air balloon, there were already more than a dozen messengers waiting here. They would quickly send every message back to the Han army headquarters.

By monitoring the battlefield with a hot air balloon, Han Xin's control of the battlefield was dozens of times faster than that of the old Chanyu.

From the beginning of the battle, the Han army's three hot air balloons rose high into the sky. The battlefield involved 8 people, including tens of thousands of cavalry. The entire battlefield was more than ten miles long and wide. In the past, intelligence in front of the battlefield could only be delivered to the army commander through messengers on various fronts.

But now it was not necessary. Any movement of the Huns would be discovered by the scouts on the hot air balloon and then reported to Han Xin immediately. So when the Hun cavalry was just defeated and Laoshang Chanyu didn't know about it, Han Xin had already begun to order the Han cavalry to chase the Hun fleeing soldiers.

As soon as Laoshang Chanyu led his troops to attack, Han Xin immediately learned the information, and he even knew the main attack directions of the Huns clearly.

Han Xin saw the intelligence in his hand and ordered: "The whole army should prepare for battle and defeat the Xiongnu head-on."

The messengers rode their horses to each camp to convey Han Xin's orders.

Compared with the firing rate of the Type 31 rifle, the accuracy of the Type rifle is its greatest killer. The flintlock rifles of this era were all smoothbore flintlock rifles. There was no standard ratio of gunpowder, and the bullets were relatively soft lead bullets. The bullet heads were also round, and there were not even rifling inside. Only God knew where this kind of bullet would go after it was fired.

Therefore, if you want to unleash the power of the flintlock rifle, you must first get close to it so that you can shoot more accurately, and secondly, you must concentrate the muskets more so that the lack of accuracy can be compensated by quantity.

But the Type 100 rifle does not use this method. First of all, the bullet has been completely updated and the ammunition is combined together, which saves soldiers time in refilling gunpowder and can be more standardized. Secondly, the shape of the bullet is more stable than that of later generations. Thirdly, there are rifling inside, and the design accuracy has been comprehensively improved. Within 10m, as long as there is strict training, not every shot can hit rings, but most soldiers can do it without missing the target. This result may seem poor, but it is more than ten times better than the flintlock rifle.

So when the Huns lined up in neat array and slowly moved towards the Han army, the Han soldiers raised their Type 31 rifles one by one, loaded ammunition, and waited for the order to fire.

300 steps, 200 steps.

When the Huns walked into the rifle's killing range of 200 steps.

"Fire!"

"Boom boom boom!" The Han army's mortars began firing. The bombs exploded around the Hun army's formation, and countless Hun soldiers were taken away.

"Bang bang bang!" At the same time, the Han army's musketeers also began firing. Amidst a burst of fireworks, hundreds of Hun soldiers fell.

But they were trained to be numb to death. In this case, the Hun soldiers in the rear took over the dead Hun soldiers' positions and continued to move forward. They only had one thing in mind, which was to get to the enemy's position 30 steps away, then raise their muskets, hit the enemy hard, and then teach their enemies a lesson with bayonets to win the battle. This was the magic weapon tactic that the Huns had used to win in the past decade.

"Bang bang bang!" Gunshots rang out again, and hundreds of Hun soldiers fell down again. At this time, the Hun soldiers already felt something was wrong. How could the enemy's muskets shoot so far and so accurately?

Han Xin saw this scene and said calmly: "Your Majesty's words are always so accurate. The Xiongnu's fighting method is indeed to line up and shoot. In the future, the combat effectiveness, combat experience and weapons and equipment of an army are indispensable."

Were the Huns weak in combat effectiveness?
In Han Xin's opinion, it was absolutely true. Even in the Han army, only a few elite soldiers could ignore death and line up to approach the enemy.

But the Huns’ artillery and weapons were inferior to theirs, so they could only take the beatings and had no power to fight back.

After more than a dozen rounds of musket fire, more than 30% of the enemies had fallen. Only then did the Hun soldiers realize that the Han army's muskets were so fast and so accurate. If they wanted to get within another steps of the enemy, they would all be killed by the Han army.

These panicked Hun soldiers also began to raise their guns and fight back.

"Bang, bang, bang!" But they fired from more than 100 steps away, and with the accuracy of the flintlock rifles, they only took away a few unlucky Han soldiers, and most of the bullets missed the target.

However, when Han Xin saw this scene, he knew that with the accuracy of the Type 31 rifle, the Han army's soldiers did not need to be arranged so densely to increase the accuracy of their shooting. Instead, separating the formations would be more conducive to protecting their own soldiers.

"It seems that we need to change the new rifle tactics. Since the Type 31 rifle appeared, using the tactics of line shooting is a dead end."

(End of this chapter)