The Prosperous Era of Longwan

"One chariot and forty soldiers form a team; thirteen teams combined form a small battalion; ten small battalions combined form a large battalion."

After seeing Yu Dayou's idea for the military vehicle camp, Wei Guangde murmured.

Continuing to look down, I understand what a combination of forty people in a chariot is all about.

The forty men Yu Dayou assigned to each vehicle were not pure infantry, but a mixed-arms team. He now advocated a low-cost strategy of winning with infantry surprise troops, which was similar to the strategy Wei Guangde saw in Zhejiang when Qi Jiguang trained new soldiers.

Wei Guangde was also famous for Qi Jiguang's tactics in later generations, which was the Yuanyang Formation. A small group of soldiers used a variety of weapons to cooperate with each other to kill Japanese pirates.

The battle formations are versatile and can be used to encircle and suppress individual Japanese pirates, or to confront or even attack and kill large groups of Japanese pirates. This also allowed Wei Guangde to understand why later generations praised the Mandarin Duck Formation to such a high level.

Needless to say, the battle formation designed by Qi Jiguang must have been extremely effective, otherwise it would not have been passed down to future generations and become a myth.

However, when Wei Guangde went to Hangzhou to oversee the execution of Wang Zhi, the recruits had not yet engaged in large-scale actual combat, so Wei Guangde was not in a position to brag to Qi Jiguang in front of Emperor Jiajing.

Moreover, when he came into contact with Qi Jiguang, Wei Guangde keenly discovered that there was a deep relationship between Qi Jiguang and Hu Zongxian.

Although Wei Guangde and Hu Zongxian met several times and everyone was very polite, Wei Guangde stood on the side of King Yu and was naturally hostile to officials from Yan Song's line or King Jing's line.

Qi Jiguang seemed to have boarded Hu Zongxian's ship, so there was no need for him to make wedding clothes for his enemy and praise him in front of the emperor.

Yu Dayou's chariot formation consisted of ten infantrymen on horseback, twenty cavalrymen, one chariot, and ten infantrymen, a total of forty people per team.

When encountering the enemy, use chariots to line up in front. The sergeants on the vehicles fire bows and mortars. The infantry on horseback ride out into the formation. When the distance is close enough to intersect with the enemy's horses, they will fire muskets and bows. After that, they will return to their own formation. If there is an opportunity, they will The cavalry took the opportunity to rush into the enemy formation and kill them, while ten infantrymen were responsible for beheading them.

The chariot is a one-wheeled vehicle with a spear mounted on the front. It is light and easy to carry and can be lifted by a few people if it encounters a pit.

"A wheelbarrow?"

Wei Guangde touched his head and then turned out the last page of the letter. On it was a wheelbarrow pattern drawn with a brush.

However, the unicycle designed by Yu Dayou is still very different from the unicycles Wei Guangde has seen.

The wheelbarrow used by Yu Dayou has a wheel diameter of four feet and six inches. Two large logs are laid vertically, each one foot and two feet long. There are three small logs across the two large logs for transportation, and there are three ropes for hanging on the shoulders.

A six-foot-long piece of wood was placed across the front of the car and two small straight logs were installed vertically as a barrier.

The car is equipped with four large spear heads, one large Buddha machine, two shields, two small moon flags, and one cloth curtain.

There is a vertical log in the middle of the rear of the car, which is equivalent to the steering wheel of the car, and is held by one team officer. There are two brackets in front of the car, which are lowered to serve as the frame when parking. There are two iron cones behind the car, which are inserted into the ground when parking. Equivalent to a ship anchor.

The total weight of the vehicle itself, plus the muskets, license plates, guns, etc. on the vehicle, does not exceed 300 kilograms. Sixteen people are required to carry it out in teams, so even rough and dangerous roads can be passed smoothly. Each vehicle cooperates with each other, forming a formation when moving, and forming a camp when stopping.

However, there is a shortage of horses in the border town. Yu Dayou's idea of ​​thirty horses per carriage is only an ideal situation. In actual operation, it will definitely be greatly reduced.

For example, horse-mounted infantry can almost only stay in the imaginary stage. The court does not have enough supply of military horses, and they will only be infantry in the end.

Of course, Wei Guangde also understood the reason why Yu Dayou had as many as 30 cavalry, "asking for high prices and paying back the money on the ground."

No matter how simple he designs the military formation, if the court approves it, a large part will be cut off, and strategic resources like horses will definitely bear the brunt.

When Wei Guangde thought of this, he couldn't help but smile. General Yu also learned bad things.

At first Wei Guangde thought it was strange when he saw Yu Dayou asking for ten mounted infantrymen. Can a unicycle outrun war horses?

What do you need so many cavalry for?

Those mounted infantry might as well just arrange for the infantry to go up directly. What means of transportation are needed? Not all chariot soldiers walk on two legs.

Wei Guangde still didn't know what Yu Dayou's letter said about the achievements of his chariot warfare method in the border towns. He didn't remember that he had heard of any news of success from Datong recently being sent to the capital.

"Has the messenger been accommodated?"

Wei Guangde asked Zhang Ji next to him.

"It has been arranged to live in the front yard. He claims to be Lord Yu's servant."

Zhang Ji replied hurriedly.

"Go and have a look. If he doesn't sleep, ask him to come. If he does, we'll talk about it tomorrow."

Wei Guangde knew that these messengers often traveled day and night to carry out errands. Now there were bandits of all sizes in various parts of the Ming Dynasty. They were also very dangerous when traveling in such a way, which could be said to be a great physical and psychological test.

Not long after, Zhang Ji came back to report: "Sir, the lights are out in the house, you should go to bed."

"Then remind me tomorrow. I will go back to the house for dinner at noon."

The Hanlin Academy was not far from my home, so I stopped eating with my colleagues at noon. I went home to eat, met the messenger and asked about the situation in Datong.

Yu Dayou is smart.

Wei Guangde looked at the letter on the desk and felt happy.

Of course the imperial court wanted to find a way to defeat the Mongolian Tatars, and would definitely welcome the development of this new tactic to attack the enemy.

But Wei Guangde also knew that the court actually had another dilemma, that is, it didn't have much money on hand.

The financial difficulties of the Ming Dynasty were almost unsolvable, at least in Wei Guangde's view.

It is possible to solve it, but that would be an enemy to almost all the gentry and scholars in the world.

The Ming court now receives around 3 million taels of silver every year, of which nearly 2 million taels are military expenditures, all of which supply the military pay of the Nine Borders. This is still slightly insufficient, and this does not include the grain transferred from the south. supplies.

Even if the physical objects are stored, according to the official price, it will be more than 20 million taels of silver. These physical objects include grain, cloth, tea, etc.

It can be said that the extremely high military expenditures on the nine sides have always been a major problem that the Ming court was eager to solve.

When Zeng Xian wanted to regain the Hetao as a barrier, why his plan to obtain the source of horses was not passed and he still died. In fact, the most important reason was that he wanted to gather a large army to fight and complete the victory in one battle, which exceeded the Ming Dynasty. The court’s ability to withstand.

The Ming court could not pay for his military operations. It might be okay to win, but if it failed, Emperor Jiajing could not bear the responsibility.

The formation of military vehicle battalions will also significantly increase military expenditures in border towns. Although it is a sharp increase in the short term and will fall back later, it is inevitable that expenditures will increase.

According to Li Wenjin's idea, it would definitely be risky to directly submit a memorial to the court for a decision.

The most important thing is that, based on what Yu Dayou meant in his letter, Li Wenjin set up a military vehicle camp for him. He seemed to have fought with the Tatars in the border area, but he did not see the results.

What impact would it have if something with no practical effect was sent to the court?

Yu Dayou thought about it, and Wei Guangde naturally knew that in order to repay his merits, he had to achieve results first. There must be a justifiable victory to make the court feel that the money was well spent.

Wei Guangde's purpose in wanting to see the messenger was naturally to ask about the situation in Datong and the detailed process of Yu Dayou's military chariot camp fighting the Tatars in the border town, and use this as a basis to consider how to handle the matter.

Now Wei Guangde feels more and more that he can serve as the Grand Sima. It seems that many of the things he is involved in are related to the Ministry of War.

Forget it, don’t think about it that much.

Even if I get the position of Minister of the Ministry of War, my family's military status will not be cancelled. If I can upgrade the hereditary hundred households to the hereditary thousand households and command, that is the goal.

At that time, even if the position is with the eldest brother, the boy can sneak into the guardhouse if he doesn't live up to expectations, and he will still have food to eat no matter how bad he is.

Military status does not affect one's family becoming landowners and gentry.

At this time, the maid next to Xu Jianglan came over to remind him that it was getting late and asked the master to go back to the house to rest early.

Wei Guangde put away Yu Dayou's letter, stood up and walked out of the study and went straight to the bedroom.

The next day, Wei Guangde went home from the Hanlin Academy at noon, which he had already decided.

In the flower hall of the outer courtyard, Wei Guangde met the messenger from Datong, Yu Dayou's servant.

After taking a quick look at the person coming, I saw that this person had dark skin, not much like a military household from Datong, but more like a person from the coastal areas of Jiangsu and Zhejiang, so he asked out of curiosity.

"Chen You holds a humble position. He has been following the general as a personal soldier since he was in Fujian. He is now the general banner of the Datong Military Vehicle Battalion."

The man replied after saluting Wei Guangde.

"Oh, you have always been General Yu's personal soldier?"

Wei Guangde nodded when he heard this and motioned for him to sit on the stool next to him and talk.

"General Yu, how are you when you arrive in Datong?"

Wei Guangde didn't bother to ask them how these soldiers got to Datong. After thinking about it, it was probably Lu Bing's arrangement at that time.

Later, Chen You briefly told Wei Guangde about Yu Dayou's experience after arriving in Datong.

It has to be said that capable people will not worry about food wherever they go.

After the official document dispatching Yu Dayou arrived in Datong, Li Wenjin saw that the person the court was dealing with this time was actually Yu Dayou, the commander-in-chief of Zhejiang Province. Although he didn't know how Yu Dayou got into such trouble, he knew Yu Dayou's ability to lead troops in war.

So when Yu Dayou and his party arrived in Datong, they were received by Li Wenjin. As for the distribution, it was considered distribution when they arrived here. Is it really necessary to make the general soldier of a town become a soldier?

Yu Dayou was also a restless person. After resting in the Yamen for a few days, he asked Governor Li Wenjin that he wanted to go out and take a look around Datong.

Yu Dayou's request naturally got Li Wenjin's permission, and he began to carefully inspect the various guard posts and border forts in Datong, and inquired about the Tatar fighting methods from the lower-level soldiers.

With the introduction of the soldiers at the bottom, although it was Yu Dayou's first time to the north, he probably understood the main reason for the poor performance of the Tatar cavalry in the border town in recent years.

Already accustomed to leading soldiers, he naturally didn't want to be idle at home, so he thought about how to narrow the gap in combat power between the Ming army and the Tatars. This is how the wheelbarrow chariot appeared.

"I saw in General Yu's letter that the unicycle chariot was used in the border fortress and the effect was very good. What's going on?"

Knowing the ins and outs, Wei Guangde asked curiously.

If there is really a convincing record, the unicycle chariot can still be manufactured in batches and equipped with troops, but Wei Guangde didn't think about how this thing would fight.

How much combat power can a unicycle improve?

Wei Guangde expressed doubts.

"Sir Wei, when Governor Li transferred a group of troops from his Biao Camp to be commanded by my lord, they set up camp outside the city for training. At the same time, they were also exploring the use of unicycle chariots.

At that time, more than a thousand Tatars wanted to attack Niuxin Fort on the East Road of Youwei in Datong. News came that our troops were not far from Niuxin Fort and there were nearly a thousand people on our side. In addition, Youwei was stationed in Niuxin Fort. There are three hundred-household offices under its jurisdiction, so while my master sent someone to report the news to Datong City, he took us up to meet the enemy. "

Chen You introduced the encounter with the Tatars. In fact, rather than saying that there was a battle, it was better to say that the Tatars were a little hesitant when they saw the strange attack sequence of the Ming army and chose to run away.

At that time, the Tatars were besieging Niuxin Fort. A large number of Tatar cavalry circled around Niuxin Fort looking for loopholes in the defense. At the same time, they fired dense rain of arrows into the fort from time to time to cause damage.

After Yu Dayou's chariot battalion arrived, they directly used unicycles to attack the Tatar cavalry in a fan-shaped formation. When the Tatars entered the firearms strike range, they parked their vehicles and struck with the Franco machine guns and blunderbuss on the unicycles. A team of 200 cavalrymen moved left and right to protect them.

The chariots were closely connected and the Tatar cavalry could not break in alone.

The one-wheeled chariot is light, and no matter how the Tatars move left and right, or attack head-on, they always defend the enemy from the front. When the Tatars rain arrows, the soldiers hide behind the baffles to reload ammunition, and use the Fran cannon to quickly reload to attack. .

If the Tatars divide their forces to attack, the weaker ones will be attacked and restrained by the Ming army's cavalry.

At this time, the Ming troops in Niuxin Fort also began to gather under the city to prepare to leave the fort to help in the battle. Seeing that they could not find a way to defeat the enemy in a short time, the Tatars chose to retreat.

After listening to Chen You's words, Wei Guangde closed his eyes and thought for a long time, and roughly figured out the scene of that battle.

The strength of the two sides is actually relatively close. Yu Dayou may have a thousand men and horses, and an army of 200 horses. This group of men and horses can be considered a strong army even if it is placed in a border town.

This style of fighting reminded Wei Guangde of the chariots he saw in Xuan Mansion.

The only difference is that the equipment manufactured by Zeng Xian is a bit troublesome to attack and retreat. It needs to be pulled by pack horses. Although it can also be pushed by manpower, it can only be used for short-distance maneuvers.

If a small Ming army is fighting the Tatars, it seems that this wheelbarrow has some miraculous effects.

If there is a war, this unicycle can only play a role in local battlefields. After all, the shielding of a unicycle is always not as good as that of a four-wheeled chariot. Wei Guangde has carefully studied the use of that kind of chariot, and he feels that it is similar to the combat of the Western Army before World War II. The method is similar.

The tanks at that time not only accompanied the infantry, but also served as firepower points and shields.

At this time, the frontier troops also viewed those large tanks in the same way. They accompanied the infantry operations and formed a camp during the war to prevent the Tatar cavalry from raiding.

However, the difference from a tank is that it can be used as a defensive tool but not an offensive weapon. Unless the commander has a superior strategy, surrounds the Tatars and blocks them with a vehicle formation, then he has a chance to completely annihilate the enemy.

Yu Dayou's invention can be regarded as a light tank with a little defensive power. The key point is that this thing is light and can be used in offense.