The Prosperous Era of Longwan

In March in Beijing, the weather gradually warmed up, flowers bloomed one after another, and the suburbs of Beijing became a sea of ​​flowers.

Today is the agreed day to go to Beijing Camp for school review. Wei Guangde and Tan Lun met outside Desheng Gate early in the morning and headed out of the city to Beijing Camp together.

Because he was going out of the city, Wei Guangde did not take a sedan chair today, nor did he take out the carriage that had been idle for a long time. Instead, he directly picked a big black horse and rode off.

The same goes for Tan Lun. After all, he has been in charge of military affairs in Jiangnan for many years and is familiar with horseback riding.

The two of them were riding in front, and the dozen or so followers behind them were doing the same. The cavalry headed straight for the capital camp in the northern suburbs in such a mighty manner.

Although horses are very expensive these days, especially horses that can be ridden, and one is a cabinet minister and the other is a minister of the Ministry of War, the horses prepared by himself or the government are all military horses, the kind that can charge into battle. The price would be higher.

Horses in ancient times were generally divided into two types: war horses and work horses.

War horses, of course, refer to those horses that are suitable for fighting. They usually choose those that are tall, powerful and fast, and can be suitable for running and fighting for a long time.

Workhorses, on the other hand, have poor qualifications and can only be used for farming, transportation and travel.

Almost all unified dynasties in the past were accomplished by northern regimes with cavalry.

Even Zhu Yuanzhang was unified from south to north because the rulers of the Yuan Dynasty returned farmland to grazing, and the main source of war horses was the horse breeding base in the south.

Therefore, on the battlefield in the cold weapon era, war horses played an important role. In the Three Kingdoms, Cao Wei relied on his own power to suppress the Shu and Wu families. This was precisely because he had the advantage of cavalry.

Wei Guangde and his group were equipped with expensive war horses, which naturally attracted the attention of many passers-by in and outside the city.

But this is the capital after all, and there are so many dignitaries at the feet of the emperor.

Moreover, the second generation of the capital city in this era had to show off like this when they had nothing to do, so the well-informed people in the capital city only took a few glances and realized why these horseback riding horses were so poorly dressed.

Compared with those second generations, Wei Guangde and Tan Lun are both relatively low-key, and of course they will not go out of their way to look glamorous.

Although they are all made of Songjiang long cotton cloth, unless you look closely and touch it with your hands, you really can't tell the difference from ordinary cotton.

The horse walked through the sea of ​​flowers and quickly approached the camp with a wooden fence in front of it.

When the cavalry approached the Beijing Camp, the gate was already open. The Admiral of the Beijing Camp, Cheng Guogong Zhu Xizhong, and the commanders of the Fifth Army Camp, Shenshu Camp, and Shenji Camp Lin Qi and Wang Huaxi were waiting at the door to greet them.

The officers and soldiers of the Beijing camp may not know who Wei Guangde is, but no one does not know Tan Lun, the military commander of the Beijing camp, so they were recognized and notified when they approached.

In fact, Zhu Xizhong usually served in the Governor's Mansion of the Fifth Army and rarely came to the Beijing camp at all.

It was because of the Grand Parade that he only came here once a month to see what the soldiers trained by Qi Jiguang looked like.

After all, Dayue performed well and his face was bright.

If something went wrong, although Emperor Longqing arranged for Wei Guangde to be in charge, he, as the admiral, would not look good.

Those men and horses are all his subordinates.

When the two sides met at the gate, Zhu Xizhong handed over to Wei Guangde, while the other generals gave a military salute.

After Zhu Xizhong introduced them, Wei Guangde revealed the purpose of his trip.

In fact, Wei Guangde and Tan Lun did not hide the news when they came to the Beijing camp today. They told the matter in front of officials from the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of War in the cabinet duty room that day.

It was for this reason that Zhu Xizhong arrived at the camp in advance today and made arrangements.

You know, now all the elites have been selected by Qi Jiguang for training, and the old, weak, sick and disabled are all left in the front camp. It is really ugly if they are not dealt with.

He had also seen the soldiers trained by Qi Jiguang, and they were much more powerful than before, so he was relatively reassured about Emperor Longqing's parade.

"Shandai, Qi Jiguang is really good at training troops. I have been thinking about the Grand Parade these days. If I have anything to do, I will come over and take a look. He is really good at training."

On the way to the school parade ground, Zhu Xizhong and Wei Guangde, the Duke of Chengguo, rode side by side and chatted casually.

"Are the three thousand Zhejiang soldiers organized into a separate camp or mixed with the Beijing camp?"

The main purpose of Wei Guangde's visit this time was to meet the Qi family's army so that he could report their military appearance to Emperor Longqing later. Therefore, what he was most worried about was that when he arrived at the Beijing camp, he would end up mixed with soldiers from other Beijing camps, so that he would not be able to see the original flavor. Qi Jiajun.

"I originally planned to join the Shenji Battalion. That team is familiar with firearms, and the Shenji Battalion is the best fit for them. Besides, Qi Jiguang is also the deputy general of the Shenji Battalion.

However, in the military formation drill envisioned by Qi Jiguang, in addition to the troops and horses in Jiubian Town and Liaodong Town, he also planned to use these three thousand troops to conduct drills as a single formation. "

Zhu Xizhong said what he knew about the situation, which was actually Qi Jiguang's idea of ​​the parade scene.

In military parades in later generations, the troops were formed into formations and passed by the reviewing stand one by one. The ancient parade was actually similar, except that the troops did not just goose-step past the reviewing stand, but displayed battle formations in front of the reviewing stand. .

This kind of review is, to be honest, much more beautiful than the military parades of later generations.

Of course, there is also more time.

For example, the cavalry troops in the Shenshu Camp and Jiubian will practice charging, riding and shooting and other tactical actions in front of the review stand, while the Fifth Army Camp and other infantry soldiers will practice fighting in formations, both defense and offense. Once shown.

Of course, the most lively part is the Shenji Camp, which is full of cannons and cannons, complete with photoelectric and sound effects, and is very beautiful.

These were all mentioned by Tan Lun and Wei Guangde, but they had never seen them with their own eyes, so Wei Guangde was also very interested.

Listening to Zhu Xizhong's words, Wei Guangde knew that Qi Jiguang planned to demonstrate the Qi Army's tactics in suppressing Japanese invaders in the south of the Yangtze River.

Using soldiers to form countless mandarin duck formations to hold down the position, and then using firearms to attack and kill, this is actually the mode of Qi Jiguang's army fighting.

Whether we are suppressing Japanese invaders in Zhejiang, Fujian or Guangdong, this strategy will always be successful.

As for the Yuanyang Formation, which has been passed down as miraculous by later generations, it can only be used in special terrains such as street fighting, where firepower cannot defeat the Japanese pirates and they get close to them.

This is not to say that the Yuanyang Formation is not powerful. After all, the Ming army always has a numerical advantage and forms large and small military formations to cooperate with each other. The killing effect must be very high.

However, casualties are inevitable in close combat, so using the Yuanyang Formation to fight the enemy is definitely not Qi Jiguang's first choice.

However, when I later arrived in the north, I discovered that facing groups of cavalry charging, the mandarin duck formation composed of infantry was ineffective at all and could not achieve the purpose of preventing the enemy troops from rushing into the formation. Therefore, I chose to take advantage of the situation and chose to form a formation of chariots for defense. , but mainly rely on firearms to kill the enemy.

The infantry in the contact parts of the complex battlefield are still trained according to the Yuanyang Formation model.

If the cavalry wants to pass through the gaps in the car formation, the speed of the horse will naturally slow down, and it will no longer be the opponent of the infantry.

Wei Guangde did not go to the capital camp to rest, but went directly to the school grounds. From a distance, he could hear loud shouts of killing.

With tens of thousands of people training together, such a battle is rare. Even Wei Guangde has only experienced it once, and that was the battle of Ping'an Prefecture.

Soon, they boarded the commander's platform. Under Wei Guangde's signal, they came here without any fanfare so as not to disturb the training of the soldiers.

Only by watching secretly can we know the true level of soldiers' training.

When they got to the general platform, Wei Guangde was a little surprised not to see Qi Jiguang here.

Logically speaking, he should be here to watch the training of the military formation below and correct any shortcomings immediately.

After asking some generals and soldiers standing guard on the platform, I found out that Qi Jiguang had stepped down and he didn't know which battle formation he was in now.

Wei Guangde, Tan Lun, and Zhu Xizhong directly stood on the general platform and looked down. Wei Guangde didn't ask which army the battle formations being practiced below belonged to.

This time, no matter how mixed the soldiers and horses of the Beijing camp were, they were composed of five military camps and five military formations, with five-pole flags in the front, back, left, right, and center.

The cavalry troops of Shenshu Camp were also divided into three thousand cavalry teams to practice charging and riding shooting skills.

The Shenji Battalion is divided into two teams, with the gunners demonstrating five-stage firing and the gunners demonstrating the release of general cannons and Fran cannons.

In addition, soldiers and horses from Changping, Baoding and Shandong will each have two military formations for drills, so that a total of 27 teams of troops will be displayed one by one.

That scene is spectacular when you think about it.

"The Shenji Battalion's drills are outside. There is no gunpowder being distributed right now, it's just movement drills, so there is no sound."

When Wei Guangde asked about the drills of the Shenji Camp, Lin Qi, the right general of the Shenji Camp, came out and introduced them.

Qi Jiguang was transferred from the Fujian General Military Officer to the deputy general of the Beijing Shenji Battalion. In fact, it was mainly for military training and the position was not high. This is why he has been seeking to be posted abroad.

In the Shenji Camp, he is not even the boss.

But because of Tan Lun's relationship, Lin Qi, the commander of the Shenji Battalion, didn't say much about his drastic transformation of the army.

Behind him is a certain prince's mansion in the capital, and behind the prince's mansion is a certain prince, but he is still unwilling to start a dispute with the officials of the Ministry of War, so he chooses to cooperate completely.

Fortunately, Qi Jiguang knew how to be a good person. Not only did he give him generous gifts, but he also revealed that he was seeking to go out and expressed that he had no intention of competing with him for power and gain.

For Qi Jiguang, the generals in the Beijing camp also liked him very much, not for other people, but for the money in his pocket.

When the Japanese were suppressed in Jiangnan, the imperial court and local officials not only offered high bounties, but the Japanese themselves were full of treasures.

The Japanese knives used by the Japanese were mostly carefully crafted and could be sold for a high price in the Ming Dynasty. Some Japanese items they brought with them could also be sold for money because they were rare in the Ming Dynasty and full of exotic customs.

Therefore, in the eyes of Qi Jiguang, Japanese pirates are like moving mountains of silver, while the generals in the Beijing camp regard Qi Jiguang as a mountain of silver. They like to come to him to drink and play when they have nothing to do. Qi Jiguang also welcomes all comers, so they have a good relationship with each other. .

In front of Wei Guangde, there are mainly five military formations in the fifth military camp, as well as one military formation in Changping and Baoding. These people were selected by Qi Jiguang before.

Wei Guangde watched it for a while and felt that it was not interesting. Although the military formation was very impressive, and don't forget that he was also from a military household. Even the Jiujiang Guards would practice these drills in the Beijing Camp several times a year. They were all commonplace things. .

It's just that the pay of the Beijing camp army may be higher and the soldiers' momentum may be stronger than that of the original Jiujiang guards.

"We'd better go down and watch the drills of Shenji Camp, Shenshu Camp and Zhejiang Army up close."

The good position must be occupied by the troops of the Fifth Army Camp, and the Fifth Army Camp, which is mainly infantry, is indeed a better place to choose a place for training.

"good."

Cheng Guogong Zhu Xizhong had nothing important to do today and wanted to see the current changes in the capital, so he simply agreed.

A group of people got off the general platform. Someone had already led the horses. Under the leadership of the general who was familiar with the environment, a group of people galloped towards the distance.

In fact, the Zhejiang soldiers were also nearby. After all, they were all infantry. The first thing that caught Wei Guangde's eyes was the Zhejiang soldiers. At first glance, they were in a league of their own with the previous five military camps and other military formations.

Watching the drills of the Fifth Army Camp from a high platform, the movements can only be said to be relatively neat, and can be regarded as orders and prohibitions. However, there is no harm without comparison. After watching the drills of the Zhejiang soldiers, even Zhu Xizhong, Wang Huaxi and others had to admire them in their hearts. .

At this time, the military formation of the Qi family was just as Tan Lun said. Behind the formation was a square formation composed of two thousand gunmen. There were more than a thousand bird cannons and dozens of small cannons pointing in one direction. Under the shouts of the team officers, A well-founded rotation position.

In front is a small formation composed of nearly a hundred or ten people. Under the leadership of the captain, they switch between offense and defense. The archers and gunmen in the small formation also raise their bows and guns in shooting postures from time to time.

The small formation's drills were done in their own way, and of course it was not neat, but the performance of the firearms hands behind them was what made their eyes shine.

"No wonder Zhejiang soldiers can win great victories every time they fight against Japanese pirates. The soldiers defend and the gunmen attack and kill. As long as they hold down the position, no matter how many Japanese pirates they come, they will all be killed."

Wei Guangde confirmed that the Qi Jiajun's tactics were indeed similar to what he thought. The Qi Jiajun ingeniously created a small military formation like the Yuanyang Formation instead of the usual large army formation for large armies. It was indeed more suitable for dealing with Japanese pirates who were like stragglers.

The Ming army's tactics at this time were still the same as when they fought in the Northern Yuan Dynasty. Swords, shields and spears formed the first line of defense to stabilize the position, and archers and firearmsmen in the rear killed the enemy from a distance.

Melee is not what the Ming army wants. It is a scene that will occur after the defense line is broken.

In later movies and TV dramas, the so-called war scenes in which thousands of people fight together are actually just tricks to fool people.

Once the formation is broken, the general army will be defeated if it cannot drive away the invading enemies in a short period of time and re-establish the defense line.

Because most of the people behind are archers who are not good at melee combat, they will often choose to run away when faced with the charging enemies.

This triggers a herd effect, and collapse is imminent.

The so-called strong army actually means how long it can withstand such an impact.

A strong army can quickly organize forces to seal the gap and quickly stabilize the front after the defense line is broken. This is also a sign of good training.

The military formation of the Qi Family Army was composed of countless small military formations, so if one was defeated, it would be easy to mobilize nearby military formations to fill the gap.

And because it is a combined attack technique, the remaining soldiers can quickly integrate into the temporary army formation.

The result is that even if the Qi family army is strongly dispersed by the enemy, the scattered soldiers will soon form a new formation under the leadership of the captain and deputy captain.

"The Qi Family Army is well-deserved, and this Yuanyang Formation is indeed exquisite."

This way of forming a new formation was not something Wei Guangde could see, but the military formations exchanged comrades with each other from time to time during the drills. Of course Wei Guangde could understand it after several times.