prosperous age

Chapter 516

"How many cannons do you have here?"

Liu Xian asked while looking at the neatly arranged tiger squat cannons.

"120 doors."

Qi Jiguang said, "This cannon is easy to make, and even artisans in the guards can make it."

At this time, Yu Dayou had already reached out to touch the sound of the cannon, and suddenly asked, "Is this an iron cannon?"

"Hehe. Jiujiangwei is also talented. Use this kind of iron cannon to replace the bowl-mouth gun."

Qi Jiguang said with a smile.

"Ha ha."

At this time, Liu Xian understood the mystery, and couldn't stop laughing.

Yu Dayou just smiled and shook his head, not as wanton and arrogant as Liu Xian.

They are all sensible people. What Qi Jiguang said was actually telling them how to put together the 120 tiger squatting cannons.

Copper materials in the Ming Dynasty were extremely expensive. Relatively speaking, the imperial court did not distribute copper materials to the army, but it did supply iron materials.

They have already thought that the guy who developed this artillery did it not so much for the purpose of fighting Japanese pirates, but for greed for ink and copper materials.

"It seems that this thing can really be cast in large quantities."

Yu Dayou opened his mouth and said, then he seemed to think of something, and said to Liu Xian: "Liu Dudu, the iron materials in Guangdong, please say hello."

"Easy to say, easy to say."

Liu Xian said with a smile.

When it comes to money, the three of them are tacitly aware, but it is obvious that Qi Jiguang is superior. He is engaged in this thing in Zhejiang, and he is afraid that he has already made a lot of money.

But Yu Dayou and Liu Xian are naturally unwilling to be left behind, and they both plan to try this cannon when they go back.

Of course, the prerequisite for doing this is that the tiger crouching cannon that Qi Jiguang gave them is really so useful, otherwise if the cannon is not good, they are not willing to make this money.

In the past, Yu Dayou really didn't want to get involved in corruption of ink and embezzlement of military pay, but since he entered the imperial prison, his mentality has also changed a little.

Just that time, if he hadn't met some friends who helped him, especially Lu Bing, who paid a lot of money to clear the third department, his arraignment would not have been so easy.

Thinking about how I used to lead soldiers, I never drank the blood of soldiers, but the days of those big soldiers under him, in fact, would not improve because he didn't get involved, but his share was swallowed up by the soldiers below.

In the end, I have nothing, and I can't even get the money for dredging when something goes wrong.

Or Wei Guangde is right, within the rules, you still have to take what should be taken.

Three days later, the army of the Three Routes came out of the camp at the agreed time and began to attack Xu Cuo Wochao. As for the Japanese pirates on the Wudang Mountain in front of the Wochao, they were handed over to the Zhejiang soldiers led by Qi Jiguang to be responsible for exterminating them.

However, both Yu Dayou and Liu Xian tacitly slowed down the marching speed, and ruled out multiple scouts to investigate the movements of the central army.

The purpose, of course, is that once the attack of the Central Route Army fails, they can only form camp immediately to ensure the balance of the entire front.

If the middle road is blocked and they attack Xu Cuo's Japanese nest from the left and right, then the gap between the three armies may give the Japanese pirates a chance to break through the encirclement.

Regardless of the narrowness of the battlefield area, there may be gaps, and the Japanese pirates decide to run away, there will always be someone who can escape.

Regardless of whether it is the imperial court or the Fujian region, they all ordered that this group of Japanese pirates must be wiped out and killed to make an example.

The naval warships have also gathered in the waters outside Pinghaiwei City, and sent a large number of eagle ships to serve as sentry ships to monitor the movements of the Japanese ships.

At this time, the navy of the Ming army was equipped with warships, most of which were in the style of Fuchuan. The first and second ships were called Fuchuan, but the size was different, so they were also called Dafuchuan and Fuchuan.

No. [-] is called sentinel boat, also known as grass boat, No. [-] Haicang boat, also known as winter boat, and No. [-] bird boat, also known as Kailang boat.

Among them, the No. [-] ship has relatively small hull and is equipped with paddles. It sails when there is wind, and is driven by sculls when there is no wind. It has better maneuverability.

In addition, the navy of the Ming army was also equipped with Cangshan boats, eagle boats and black boats.

Because the hull and stern of the black boat are painted black, it was also called "black tail boat" or "black boat" in the Ming Dynasty. It was originally a unique boat in Dongguan, Guangdong, and it was made of iron pear wood.

Because iron pear wood is strong and durable, the service life of black boats is quite long, ranging from 50 years to 70 years at most. At that time, the longest service life of ships made of pine and fir was no more than 10 years, and some even only 5 years.

Therefore, during the whole life of the Ukrainian boat, its cost-effective ratio is quite good. An ordinary medium-sized Ukrainian boat has a plank thickness of 7 inches, a length of 10 feet, a width of more than 3 feet, and a hull as hard as iron. It is extremely strong, and can even withstand the shells fired by the Franc machine gun, which can be called a contemporary iron-clad ship.

It’s just that the cost of this kind of ship is also quite expensive. A ship needs 800 taels of silver, and 800 taels of silver can build 5 pine and fir wooden warships of similar tonnage in the Fujian and Zhejiang regions, so the Ming army navy has less equipment.

In wrestling in the sea, of course, the main force is the lucky boat, but when it comes to sentry and reconnaissance, it is best to use the sentry boat and the winning boat.

The two ships not only have a shallow draft, but also have good maneuverability.

In terms of speed alone, the bird ship is the fastest, and it is often used as a communication ship.

The left and right Ming troops tried to keep parallel with Qi Jiguang's troops in the middle, and moved forward slowly.

As a battle-hardened veteran, whether it is Yu Dayou or Liu Xian, of course they will not act impulsively on the battlefield, and they will not use loopholes secretly to sabotage the war against the Japanese just because Qi Jiguang robbed them of the main attacking position.

During the march, Yu Dayou soon received the news from Tanma that Qi Jiguang's department was attacked by Japanese pirates from Wudangshan.

At this time, on the battlefield in the middle road, Qi Jiguang's troops were slowly walking down the south side of Wudang Mountain in formation. As for the Japanese pirates stationed on the mountain, Qi Jiguang did not intend to attack the mountain, which would only increase casualties, but chose to bypass from one side , directly attacking Wochao.

If the Japanese pirates on the mountain are lured down to fight, they will be defeated at the foot of the mountain. If the Japanese pirates still hold on to the mountain, only 2000 troops will be sent to besiege them.

Wudang Mountain is not big, and after encircling the mountain, camping on all sides can trap these Japanese pirates to death on the mountain.

It's just that after the army entered the mountain, the Japanese pirates couldn't hold back and rushed down from the mountain first, hoping to overwhelm the Ming army's formation with a thunderous force.

In fact, such tricks were not uncommon in the battles between Japanese pirates and the Ming army, probably because the Ming army in this period had long lost the courage to fight bravely in close combat.

Relying on its strong national strength, a large number of firearms and bows and crossbows, the Ming army has gradually evolved into a force that relies mainly on long-range strikes. Once the enemy is close, there are few teams that can persist in battle.

Because of this, the Japanese pirates often directly broke the shape of the Ming army, and even created a record of killing the first-level military officer of the Ming army commander.

Japanese pirates, in the final analysis, are actually a bunch of desperadoes.

This kind of reckless style of play is precisely the Ming army's restraint.

Due to various reasons, the current Ming army still has a firm fighting spirit, and it often loses its position in the face of the surging Japanese pirates.

Even the bravery of the Japanese pirates surpassed that of the Mongolians in the north.

It's just that Qi Jiguang personally formulated the route of advancing troops, leaving an open area at the foot of the mountain just to prepare for the use of firepower strikes. Japanese pirates attack.

As the Japanese pirates rushed down from the mountain, the Fran machine guns of the Ming army fired first. After the Japanese pirates rushed close, the sound of continuous firing of the whole row of bird guns came. After the Japanese pirates rushed close to the Ming army formation, more than 100 people The Menhu squatting guns were fired in three batches, and the Japanese pirates who rushed to the front were swept to the ground again.

However, because of the long queue of the Ming army, so much firepower did not have the effect of concentrating on the battlefield, and the Japanese pirates in some areas were still not defeated by the Ming army.

However, after the battle between the brave Japanese pirates and the first-line defensive infantry of the Ming army, the formation of mandarin ducks they were familiar with appeared, which in turn prompted a large number of Japanese pirates to flee.

Yes, during this period, mandarin duck formations were used to fight against each other. Counting the Ming armies in various provinces, only Qi Jiguang's department would fight like this.

There is no doubt that after the melee broke out, the Japanese pirates knew that what they encountered was the Qi family army that made them terrified, and the morale of the Japanese pirates declined rapidly.

Even the pirates in Fujian are no strangers to Qi Jiguang and the Qi family army he led. Many pirates here have gone to Zhejiang to plunder before, not to mention that Qi Jiguang led his troops to go south to Fujian last year to assist the Fujian government in conquering the pirates. .

The Japanese pirates who did not collapse in the face of the powerful firepower of the Qi family army began to collapse after discovering that they were facing the Qi family army.

The contact between the two sides only lasted for a short time, and the Japanese pirates began to take the initiative to retreat and break away from contact with the Qi family army.

On the back of their escape, they were constantly hit by Ming army crossbows and bird guns.

Leaving corpses on the ground, the remaining Japanese pirates finally rushed out of the range of the Ming army's firepower.

By this time, the Japanese pirates also knew that fleeing back to Wudang Mountain would be a dead end, so they chose to retreat directly to Xu Cuo Wo's Nest, preparing to gather together and rely on the camp to resist the attack of Qi's army.

Of course, there is also a report to the leader of the Japanese pirates who is in charge of the lair, and discuss what to do next.

In the past two years, with the completion of Qi Jiguang's training of the new army, he continued to join the ranks of combating Japanese pirates, and the Japanese pirate gang had long been deeply afraid of Qi's army.

Not to mention those Japanese pirates from the Ming Dynasty, even the extremely brave real Japanese would either die or be injured in the face of the small formation formed by the Qi family army.

Also because he realized the power of the Ming army, Qi Jiguang got the nickname "Qi Tiger" among the Japanese pirates.

On the other hand, Liu Xian, Yu Dayou and other generals, because they were commanded by the common Ming army, even though they won battles one after another, the Japanese pirates had no impression of them.

The two Ming armies on the left and right naturally slowed down their marching speed after they found out that the Japanese pirates were engaged in battle with the central army. They did not resume their marching speed until the news came that the Japanese pirates were killed and wounded over a thousand, and the remnants of the Japanese had retreated back to Xucuo Wowo's Nest. Thinking about the Japanese nest.

By the afternoon of the same day, the three armies had gathered outside Xucuo's Wochao and set up camp. As it was getting late, Liu Xian, Yu Dayou and Qi Jiguang met to discuss and decided to launch an attack on Wochao at dawn the next day.

However, what they didn't know was that because of the arrival of Qi's army, the leader of the pirates in Xucuo Wochao had hurried back to Pinghaiwei City to discuss with several other pirate leaders. .

If at this time, the Ming army of the three routes attacked Xu Cuo Wochao in one go, there might be surprises.

After all, although there are more than [-] Japanese pirates gathered in the current Japanese nest, they are actually leaderless due to the departure of the leader.

As long as the three armies attack the Japanese pirates, as long as there is a breakthrough in one of them, the Japanese pirates will definitely flee in chaos.

When the Ming army camped, in Pinghaiwei City, several Japanese pirate leaders were discussing fiercely whether to stay or not.

Now that they are stuck here, the only way to escape by land is to break through the siege, but even if they succeed, most of the gains from the attack on Xinghua Fucheng will be lost.

What's more, they packed most of the looted property and put it on the Japanese boat outside the Acropolis. As soon as the wind changed, they immediately set sail and went to Dongfan Island for repairs.

Of course, the leader of the Japanese pirates at this time would not regret not rushing away after breaking through Xinghua City, and it was too late to regret, but he was still very afraid of the tens of thousands of troops transferred by the Ming army, especially the appearance of the Qi family army.

"At the beginning, I thought that the two camps of Wudangshan and Xucuo would have to resist the Ming army for a month. After a month, the weather will be almost the same."

"If it doesn't work, let's give up on Xu Cuo. We'll take the brothers here to board the boat overnight and run to Hui'an."

"Quanzhou is pretty good. Many people died of the plague last year. It's not easy for the court to find us in the past."

The pirate leaders are naturally very clear about the situation around them.

Wan'an is in the north, and Fuzhou is behind. As the capital of Fujian Province, the armed forces deployed by the Ming court are naturally sufficient.Moreover, Wan'an itself has a thousand households stationed there.

Fleeing to Wan'an is tantamount to throwing oneself into a trap, but the direction of Quanzhou after the plague is much better. It is a time when the land is sparsely populated, even if they land, they may not be discovered by Ming people.

The decision was made quickly, and it was natural to prepare to escape.

No Japanese pirates are willing to face the Qi family army directly. It is really the small formation formed by a few of their soldiers that is too powerful.

Unless there is an absolutely superior force that can surround such a small formation, it is possible to kill them by attacking from all sides.

Simply hitting on one side or both sides is not effective.

The change of the small formation is too complicated, at least no Japanese pirates have thought of a solution.

As for the Qi family army's formation, the battlefield is composed of countless such small formations, relying on each other and covering each other, it is really difficult to achieve the effect of encircling and killing from all sides.

And only in narrow areas, the Qi family army will appear alone from a small number of military formations.

However, limited by the terrain, the Japanese pirates could not achieve their goal of encircling and destroying them.

Just when the Japanese pirates were about to flee by boat, several Japanese boats that had been sent out to investigate the situation in the sea also came back, and the news that the Ming army navy appeared in the open sea also reached the ears of the pirate leaders.

This time, knowing that the situation was urgent, the leader of the Japanese pirates did not let others talk and discuss, but directly made a plan.

"Everyone summoned their brothers to board the boat and retreat according to the old rules."

"Boss, do you want the brothers in front to let them withdraw overnight?"

"There are too many people, it's too late, and too many people are called, and the boat can't move. Now is the time to compare the speed with those ships of the Ming army."

"Would you like to go to Penghu or Hong Kong?"

"Penghu, I've been watching the sky for the past few days. The wind has picked up, but it's a little bit weaker. It should be fine to go to Penghu."

After the Japanese pirate boss made a decision, he said fiercely to the others: "We will go to sea tonight, and before we break through the Ming army navy, our destination is not allowed to tell the subordinates, so keep your mouth tight."

(End of this chapter)