The Struggle of the Reborn Prince

The Jin Kingdom had already experienced the power of artillery when they competed with Zhao Tao for Liaoxi Capital, and naturally wanted to possess this kind of powerful weapon. However, it was limited by the technology at the time, and they were in their heyday, and they were invincible against Xixia and Khitan.

Therefore, the manufacturing and research and development of artillery was not a top priority. After that, the Jin State went south twice to the Song Dynasty and robbed a large number of craftsmen. They obtained the methods of making gunpowder and the production methods of many firearms. They thought that with these, they could compete with Zhao Dynasty.

Tamarind's new army contends.

As Zhao Tao came to the throne, he completely reorganized the Forbidden Army and then fought two large-scale wars with the Jin Kingdom to compete for Yanyun and to assist Goryeo. The Jin Army was completely defeated. The captured firearms could not compete with the Song Army's artillery. Only then did they realize that

Without the help of firearms, they would have to pay a heavy price to defeat the new Song Army. This also began to make them try their best to obtain the firearms equipped by the Song Army.

However, the Jin Kingdom's road to developing firearms was bumpy and difficult. They initially stole and collected weapons lost on the battlefield and captured as prototypes to imitate continuous guns and artillery, and obtained a batch of products that only had the same appearance.

, unable to be used at all. So they used bribery and other means to recruit several craftsmen from the Song Dynasty weapons workshop. Under their guidance, they trial-produced firearms, and they actually created continuous guns and artillery similar to the standard weapons equipped by the Song army.

.

However, since Zhao Tong had always regarded the manufacture of firearms as the top secret of the Song Dynasty, especially the formula of gunpowder, he was in his own hands. Therefore, the Jin army faced the embarrassment of having guns but no ammunition, and the trial production of the continuous gun completely failed.

They could only focus on the imitation of artillery, and finally created the simplest muzzle-loading artillery. However, they lacked professional talents and could not understand its secrets. They did not know the details, especially the propellant powder with more professional technology.

The ratio and dosage, the use of gun gauges, the use of different lengths of fuses, etc. were all completely confused, resulting in constant accidents during use. The range and accuracy were very different from the Song Army artillery.

Faced with the Song Dynasty's increasing pressure and the imminent war, the kings and ministers of the Jin Dynasty couldn't wait to organize this new weapon and equipment into an army. Wanyan Dan personally gave it to the "Thunderbolt Army" and hid it as a secret weapon.

, the manufacture of artillery and the training of troops were kept strictly confidential, so that the Song Dynasty’s intelligence network only captured some clues. Therefore, this unit of the Jin Army only exists in the files of the Song Dynasty Intelligence Agency, and it has never been known about this unit.

details, let alone their equipment and combat effectiveness.

After the Northern Expedition of the Song Army, they attacked the city and destroyed the government all the way. However, they were reluctant to take out this treasure. It was not until the Song Army approached the capital that it was handed over to Wanyan Yuying for dispatch. Originally, Wanyan Yuying deployed the "Perak Army" at the ferry along the Huntong River.

Prevent the Song Army from crossing the river. But Wu Shu insisted on fighting a battle in Zhaozhou, and because Wanyan Yuying used a surprise attack tactic to eliminate the Song Army's forward, the artillery could not float across the river together and missed the first battle. After the pontoon bridge was erected,

, Wanyan Yingcai transported the artillery to the north bank, intending to use it to raid the Song army's camp, so as to achieve miraculous results. However, due to the changes in the battle situation, it was not able to be put into the battlefield, but by some strange combination of circumstances, it came in handy during the withdrawal...

The Song army rolled forward in formation, defeating several groups of Jin generals who tried to intercept them on the way. They crossed Zhaozhou City, which had been burned into a sea of ​​​​fire, and headed towards the river, stopping five hundred steps in front of Qingshan to form an array. Zheng Ping urged

When the horses arrived in front of the formation, although there was no moon at night, the small sun in Zhaozhou City illuminated the battlefield, and the battlefield situation could be seen at a glance. The front of Shaliang was full of horses, and the foothills and the slope leading to Shaliang were covered with bows.

On top of the crossbowmen are the cavalry who are about to charge. Although they cannot be seen behind them, they know that there must be reinforcements behind them.

The Jin army was in a strict formation, obviously well prepared, and Zheng Ping also understood that the purpose of forming such a formation was to defend rather than attack. The obstacles in front of the formation were to prevent the cavalry from charging or slow down the impact. The crossbowmen on the slope could take the opportunity to shoot

The dense rain of arrows killed and wounded the Song Army's cavalry. If the attack was still unable to be stopped, the cavalry on the top of the beam would condescendingly launch a counterattack. This would thwart the enemy's charge and ensure that the army behind could cross the river smoothly.

"Hmph. Change the soup without changing the medicine!" Zheng Ping snorted after seeing the Jin army's formation clearly. Their formation seemed to be strict and had no flaws, but it basically followed the tactics used to defend the city. In fact, it was not easy to draw the ground into a prison. On the contrary,

This will prevent you from taking advantage of your own strength. If you are fighting against the odds, you will not use this method of fighting. Instead, you will rely on your superior strength to engage in a melee with the enemy. Even if you cannot win, you will make the enemy lose the ability to attack again and then cross the river safely.

"The artillery troops move forward, destroy the obstacles in front of Shaliang, kill the crossbowmen on the beam, and disrupt the enemy's ambush formation behind Shaliang!" Zheng Ping ordered, and he even passed through their more tightly fortified boundary trenches.

, why be afraid of this sand hill, but this also messed up his plan to take advantage of the chaos to attack across the entire line to drive the Jin army down the river, "Li Gong, after the artillery opens the passage, you will quickly break through the enemy's defense line with one force and defeat the Sha Liang."

The defenders, taking advantage of the enemy's confusion, broke into the river beach, divided the enemy into two, and drove them to the east and west. Zhang Shengkui, Jiang Wei, each of you led your troops to deploy at both ends of the Shaliang to defeat the fleeing troops.

The enemy troops were encircled and annihilated; the Krupp infantry quickly followed up after the dragon cavalry opened the breakthrough, consolidated the breakthrough and then developed to both sides to seize Shaliang."

Concentrating artillery for a firepower assault before attacking has now become a standard tactic of the Song Army, and commanders at all levels can use it skillfully. The artillery battalions of the three armies immediately deployed a hundred steps forward. Following the order, rapid-fire artillery fired solid shells and mortars.

The first round of shooting with explosive shells was used to break the obstacles. Under their combined attack, these seemingly solid obstacles were instantly annihilated and turned into piles of broken wood.

'Boom...' When the Song Army's artillery fire broke through the barrier and adjusted the shooting angle to prepare for extended shooting, the fire suddenly flashed on the sand beam and made a thunderous explosion, which even overshadowed the Song Army's artillery fire just now.

With the volley, a dozen iron balls as big as cup mouths fell in front of the Song Army's artillery position. Fortunately, this was sandy land, and the shells did not bounce, otherwise they would have hit the Song Army soldiers' feet.

"The Jin Army also has artillery?!" Although the enemy's artillery fire did not hit, it shocked the Song Army. They always thought that only their own army had such a powerful weapon, and they were proud of it. Unexpectedly,

Today the enemy is here too, so our firepower advantage will be gone.

"Quickly identify the location of the enemy's artillery, suppress and destroy it!" Zheng Ping was a veteran on the battlefield after all. After being surprised, he quickly calmed down and issued the order.

‘Bang, bang…’ Several mortars fired several illumination bombs into the air one after another, and the situation on the sand beam was clearly visible under the strong light.

"Heavy artillery?!" Deng Fei, a soldier in the Fusi Department of Dading Town who was in charge of commanding the artillery of the three armies, saw clearly the enemy's artillery on Shaliang through the light of the flares. He was startled. Compared with the Song Army's heavy artillery, that leader

It's not much smaller. If they fight against each other, they really won't be able to take advantage.

"Reporting to join the army, there are forty-five enemy artillery pieces, arranged twenty steps apart, with charges in the front chambers, and the caliber is unknown!" The artillery observer quickly reported the observed situation to Deng Fei.

"Join the army..."

"What's wrong? Tell me, I'm mute!" After the enemy's second round of artillery fire, Deng Fei asked anxiously after the observer had finished speaking.

"Joining the army, listening to the sound and external characteristics of the artillery, I judged that it was a heavy artillery, but the range of the enemy artillery seemed to be only about 200 steps, so it was impossible to determine the type of artillery." The observer was also confused by the situation in front of him and did not know how to respond.

"The rapid-fire cannon fires continuously to suppress the enemy artillery, and the mortar fires explosive shells to cover the fire, and closely monitors the enemy's position." Deng Fei did not care to think about it in detail. He knew that the biggest weakness of the front-loading artillery was the cumbersome loading procedure and slow firing speed.

Knowing the specific power of enemy artillery, he can only attack them as heavy artillery, so he must suppress them before the enemy's second round of artillery fire falls.

"Target enemy artillery group, distance is 200 steps, firing angle is 40, each battalion's rapid-fire artillery, in units of teams, uses solid ammunition, five rounds of rapid fire to suppress fire; mortar artillery, exploding ammunition, implement covering fire, kill and injure enemy gunners!

"After receiving the order, each artillery battalion quickly adjusted the firing elements according to the divided range and prepared to fire.

"The artillery battalion directly under the Krug Army has completed firing preparations and requested a test fire!" the Guantong post reported to the commander Deng Fei through the flag signal from the other party.

"Permission to shoot." Deng Fei ordered, and then the other two battalions also reported that the shooting preparations were completed. Soon the rumbling sound of artillery once again became the main theme of the battlefield. The artillery of the Song Dynasty carried out the world's most unprepared and unprepared battle experience.

The first hot weapons competition...

"Jiang Wei, the enemy's situation is unclear now, but enemy artillery poses a great threat to our army. You have the infantry to attack and seize the enemy's artillery position and open the way." Zheng Ping said while looking at the battlefield filled with artillery fire and smoke. He knew about artillery.

It is very destructive to the charging cavalry, and even if the assault is successful, it will cost a lot of casualties. Therefore, without knowing the enemy's artillery, he decided to attack first with the infantry.

"Yes, I will personally lead the team to seize the enemy's artillery position." Jiang Wei said with renewed energy. He also wanted to see what the Jin army's artillery looked like.

"Commander, our hussars can also seize the enemy's artillery positions, so why let the infantry attack?" Li Gong said unconvinced when the first attack mission was snatched away helplessly.

"When the enemy changes, we change. Now the artillery is suppressing the enemy's artillery, and there is no time to take care of the crossbowmen. You can just rush forward without turning into a hedgehog." Zheng Ping said with a straight face.

"Little brother, listen to the commander, wait until we clear the road for you, then you can come up again!" Zheng Ping smiled and patted Li Gong on the shoulder. He then mobilized the fifth brigade and quickly assigned tasks.

It can be deployed, and under the cover of machine guns, line up a skirmisher line to attack Shaliang... (To be continued)