Chapter 766 The Horn of Counterattack
"Fire!"
Bang bang bang bang!
The battle line was filled with smoke.
A group of enemy troops took advantage of the rotation period to rush within fifty steps, and with a wave of arrows, they shot down dozens of Ming soldiers.
"Fire!"
With one volley of fire, all the enemy troops were killed.
But this is a warning sign!
"The musket is not invincible!" Yan Song said.
"There is no absolutely invincible weapon in the world." Jiang Qingzhi thought of future generations. Cavalry using cold weapons continued to exist until World War II.
But with the popularization of rapid-fire weapons, the increasingly powerful artillery, and the sudden emergence of airplanes... this ancient branch of the military quickly withdrew from the stage of history.
Then it became a symbolic existence.
But at this moment, there were still gaps in the firepower of the rifled flintlock, and Jiang Qingzhi was ready to fill this gap with artillery.
In the Mohist base outside the capital, craftsmen were studying artillery based on the drawings and ideas provided by Jiang Qingzhi.
In time, when artillery is equipped on a large scale in the Ming army, it will become a true god of war, whether it is attacking strongholds or field battles.
This is a dimensionality reduction attack... Jiang Qingzhi looked at those fearless enemy troops and shook his head slightly, but his mind was thinking of the West at this moment.
At this time, firearms had become the mainstream in Western armies, and matchlock guns were a magical weapon when facing indigenous peoples. For Western countries that needed a large number of colonies, there was no better weapon than firearms.
And the war between them is also giving rise to the iteration of firearms...
If nothing changes, in a few decades, firearms will become the real dominant force on the battlefield.
And all this will be realized earlier in the Ming Dynasty.
Jiang Qingzhi led his army to fight this time, firstly to defeat Altan Khan and create a safe environment for internal reforms in the Ming Dynasty. Secondly, he wanted to let the Ming emperor and his ministers see the sharpness of firearms and create public opinion support for the next step of developing firearms and replacing firearms.
So, Altan became the sacrifice of all this!
He squatted in Datong City and watched Altan jumping up and down, watched those so-called grassland cavalry show off their power, and watched Altan calmly send a small army southward...
He drew out all the elite officers and soldiers from Shanxi.
Prince Yu comes to Luanling Pass in person!
All of this is for this moment!
The guns are exploding!
The smoke is filling the air!
The enemy also knew that this battle had reached the most critical moment.
They launched a general attack fearlessly.
The Beijing guards on the left and right wings were facing tremendous pressure.
The enemy troops swarmed in, but the Ming troops on both sides only had cold weapons. They used spears, arrows, and all other means to desperately intercept the enemy.
"Uncle, Altan has placed his hopes on both sides." Du He whispered.
"Are you worried?" Jiang Qingzhi asked.
Yan Song coughed dryly.
The old assistant was a little worried and even suggested, "How about sending the middle to reinforce the left and right?"
This is the safest approach. With the addition of firearms, the pressure on both wings can be greatly reduced.
Altan was staring at the Ming army in the middle. "The Ming army's firearms are powerful, but there is a problem. Their firearms cannot be airtight. Attack the two wings of the Ming army fiercely, forcing Jiang Qingzhi to mobilize the central Beijing guards for reinforcement. So..."
Meng Xian's body shook violently, "Finally, attack the Ming army in the middle!"
Altan nodded, "The two thousand elite soldiers behind this Khan are not kept as guard dogs. They are kept at the last moment to give Jiang Qingzhi a fatal blow."
"This is a gamble!" said Zhao Quan.
Ma Tianlu was in much better spirits at the moment, and looked quite high-spirited. "The Khan is betting that Jiang Qingzhi dares not take risks. Otherwise, once the left and right wings are defeated, the Ming army in the middle will be swept away by the defeated army in an instant. That would be a defeat without defeat."
"In other words, it seems that there are opportunities for battle on the left and right sides, but in fact, it is just a feint!" Jineng said.
Ma Tianlu nodded, "If we want to achieve our goal in one battle, we must eventually defeat the Ming army's firearms army."
"How many people?" Jinen asked.
A general said: "At least seven or eight thousand!"
"Seven or eight thousand, this is probably all the Ming people have now." Jineng said: "If we can defeat this army of firearms, we can also copy it."
Zhao Quan shook his head. He had his own business, which was small but complete. He knew more about such constructive things than Ji. "It's difficult. The Ming people have many skilled craftsmen, but we have very few."
Ma Tianlu's mouth curled up slightly. "Even if we get the Ming people's firearms, who knows how to configure the gunpowder? And the iron used in those muskets... we don't have it!"
This is the sorrow of the foreign races on the grassland.
Most of the time they only know how to destroy, not build.
This is not because the grassland people are stupid, but it is determined by their attributes.
Zhao Quan and Ma Tianlu rode over, seemingly staring at the battle situation, but actually talking in low voices.
"Jineng looked a little depressed after what you said." Zhao Quan said, "Be careful not to offend him."
"I'm not worried about that." Ma Tianlu said, "I have always had a question for a long time, why can't there be a hero who can stand on the grassland? Why do we have to go south..."
Many people have this question, and Du Bao, the commander of the Ming army on the opposite side, asked it.
"Dad, why do the foreign tribes on the grassland have to go south?"
Du He scratched his head and said, "About this matter! Even I, the father, don't know. How about..." He glanced at Jiang Qingzhi.
At the moment, Jiang Qingzhi seemed to be smoking medicinal cigarettes leisurely. Since he was leisurely, his subordinates would naturally not be nervous. Hearing this, they smiled and said, "They are helpless!" "Please teach me, sir." Du Bao said respectfully.
Yan Song also said with great interest: "I would like to hear your opinion on this."
At this moment, everyone around him put aside the battle and looked at Jiang Qingzhi.
Jiang Qingzhi shook off the cigarette ash. "The grassland may seem vast, but there is a big problem. It cannot be cultivated like the Central Plains. A large grassland can only support a limited number of cattle and sheep, so they need to live wherever there is grass... In other words, the grassland may seem large, but it cannot support too many people.
Therefore, when the population continues to grow and the grasslands are overwhelmed, fighting will break out...
Moreover, this way of living wherever the grass grows makes it impossible for the grassland people to settle in one place. How can they be ruled? The above two points determine that the grassland tribes can only be dispersed in a loose manner. This is the basis for the inability to unify! "
Everyone nodded, and Du Bao praised: "So that's how it is."
"It's not just that." Old Yan Song looked at Jiang Qingzhi with admiration in his eyes. "Since the First Emperor, the Central Plains has always been a unified country, even if it has been divided and united. This is all due to farming!"
Old Yan was right. Jiang Qingzhi nodded. "It was not easy for our ancestors to get to where we are today. They occupied the best places. The foreigners can only survive in the surrounding grasslands that are almost wild or have little arable land. Whenever someone unifies the grasslands, he will face a dilemma: how to expand next."
"The scattered nature of the grassland tribes meant that their gathering would inevitably begin with expansion, and their cessation of expansion would be the beginning of their demise."
Jiang Qingzhi asked: "Do you understand?"
Du Bao shook his head, and Du He slapped him, "If we don't expand, those scattered tribes will become disloyal."
Xu Wei smiled and said, "Just like Altan at this moment, his expansion on the grassland has come to an end. If he stops conquering, the tribes under his command will become alienated. This Khan's good days will not last long."
Du Bao suddenly realized, "That is... we must continue to plunder, otherwise those tribes will be dissatisfied."
"The nobles relied on the spoils of plunder to gain the loyalty of the herdsmen, while the so-called Khan relied on plunder to win over the countless tribes below him."
Jiang Qingzhi concluded, "This is a gang of thieves. Sadly, the Central Plains Dynasty became their neighbor. Even sadder, the doctrine that dominated the Central Plains Dynasty was moderate and conservative."
"Cough, cough, cough!" Yan Song coughed dryly.
"The Prime Minister thinks what I said is wrong?" Jiang Qingzhi smiled. "The Han and Tang dynasties used Confucianism to defeat the foreign races. The former Song dynasty relied on scholars and officials, but was beaten to a pulp by the foreign races. Take the Ming dynasty for example. Emperor Taizu and Emperor Chengzu controlled the government, and the foreign races also had no chance to gain any advantage. Later on... that's all."
Jiang Qingzhi saw that most of the civil servants were glaring at him, so he smiled and said, "I'm just saying it. You can decide whether it's right or wrong. Let's wait and see!"
For such people, he prefers to slap them in the face with facts.
Du Bao muttered, "Master is right. After Emperor Chengzu, the world became ruled by scholars and officials. From then on, the Ming Dynasty became worse and worse."
"Shut up!" Du He stopped him from muttering and said with a dry cough, "Kid, you speak your mind!"
Huang Mao was almost so angry that he vomited blood... So you think your son is right?
But some people were also wondering, "It seems that what Long Wei Bo said is right! The foreigners in Han and Tang were beaten to a pulp by the Central Plains, but the former Song and us were beaten to a pulp by the foreigners. Why is that?"
Jiang Qingzhi felt like he was a seed drill, spreading the seeds of new ideas everywhere.
When these seeds sprout and grow up, what will the Ming Dynasty look like?
"Uncle, right wing!" You Qing shouted.
Jiang Qingzhi saw that the enemy on the right wing had opened a breakthrough. Those enemy soldiers looked different, their armor was much thicker, and their war horses were much more majestic.
"Those are the elite troops under Altan!"
Altan used his elite troops to open a gap for the army at the most critical moment.
"It's quiet there!"
An Jing roared and rushed forward with the reserve troops.
"Uncle, do you need reinforcements?" Du He asked.
After opening a gap, the enemy frantically expanded it.
The fearless and repeated charges shocked Yan Song.
"No!"
Jiang Qingzhi shook his head, while on the opposite side, Altan was overjoyed, "Go ahead, at all costs, and defeat the right wing of the Ming army!"
As long as the right wing of the Ming army is defeated, the initiative in this battle will change hands.
You, Jiang Qing, had firearms in your middle, but I gave you a heavy punch on your right ribs.
What will you do?
reinforce!
Then I will counterattack your center. After the troops in the center are weakened, as long as a gap is opened, the firearms in the hands of the Ming army will be worse than fire sticks, and they will have to be slaughtered by Altan's men.
"Good opportunity!" Zhao Quan shouted happily.
"it is good!"
"God bless you!"
"Gods above, we are finally going to turn things around!"
"It's time for Jiang Qingzhi to move." Meng Xian said coldly: "Great Khan, I request your order to lead the army to attack the center of the Ming army!"
This is a daunting task!
Altan nodded to his beloved general, "Go!"
Under the central flag of the Ming army, Jiang Qingzhi narrowed his eyes, "An Da is counting on me to withdraw firearms from the center to reinforce the right wing, but I've said, you fight yours and I fight mine. Order!"
"Tell An Jing to block the opening. Even if you die, you have to die at the opening. As for the middle road..." Jiang Qingzhi pointed at the middle road, "Tell Yan Xu and Qin Yuan to... fight back for me!"
(End of this chapter)
