No matter how fierce the armed forces under Ma Wendong's command were, they could not compare to the elite troops that Xiao Ruxun had spent a large sum of money to train. No matter how powerful a private armed force was, it was impossible for them to deal a devastating blow to the army of a large country.
The army was trained with systematic training and enough blood, but these local private armed forces were trained with wine, meat, and corpses. The two had different philosophies, and there was a huge gap.
They didn't know what tactical movements were, what tactical coordination was, how to maximize the power of the weapons in their hands, how to kill the enemy more efficiently, when to retreat, and when to attack. These were things that couldn't be learned without systematic training and a lot of actual combat experience.
The fifty flintlock gunners were all old members of Xiao Ruxun's Ningxia Firearms Battalion. They followed him to fight against Bo Bai, Yukita Xiujia, and then crossed the sea to Japan to beat up Tokugawa Ieyasu and Toyotomi Hidetsugu. Then they went south to Myanmar to beat up Mang Yingli.
The more than four thousand Ningxia soldiers who survived the fire were the soul and the mainstay of Xiao Ruxun's army. Except for a few hundred sharpshooters who were selected to become Xiao Ruxun's personal guards, the rest were basically officers.
In the three years she was in Myanmar, Xiao Ruxun gave these loyal subordinates who only had eyes for her and not the imperial court a cultural lesson. She specifically asked those who could read to teach them how to read and write. She did not require them to have a high level of literacy, but at least they could read and write Chinese characters.
After three years of hard work, the worst among the more than four thousand people could read and write more than two hundred words. They could read and write, understand orders, and understand documents and notices. Only then did Xiao Ruxun feel reassured to enlist them as low-level and middle-level officers, holding the basic command power of the army.
To put it bluntly, these people were the most trusted by Xiao Ruxun. The old generals like Zhao Hu, Wang Hui, and Chen Xie, the Ningxia generals like Liu Yizhou, Ma Shizhong, and Han Ning, and the generals of the Ma family held the real power in the army.
After arriving in Myanmar, there were also quite a number of Southerners who were selected from the large number of soldiers they recruited. They also held middle and low ranking positions in the army because they had not experienced the flames of war and did not have any military achievements.
This basically formed a system in which the Ningxia Faction of the Burmese Zhennan Army held the main command, and the new officers assisted in the secondary command.
Naturally, one of the mandatory requirements to become an officer was to be able to read and write at least 200 Chinese characters. Xiao Ruxun did not want illiterate officers. This standard had caused a lot of complaints in the army three years ago. Many veteran generals who lived on the edge of a knife had no choice but to pick up books to cram after their protests were futile, such as the uncouth Zhao Hu.
Some of the soldiers who wanted to become officers and get a higher salary also trained hard in reading and writing in private. In this way, the literacy of the entire Zhennan Army was incomparable to that of the mainland Ming Army. When the time came, Xiao Ruxun just had to give the order, more than 4,000 literate officers would be able to lead more than 30,000 soldiers. They would be able to lead 100,000 soldiers.
Therefore, if you let a few hundred local armed forces with crooks and honest folk fight against 300 elite troops, it was purely taking their lives. Before they could even meet face to face, the Ming Army had already found their backs.
When the Ming Army got into formation, found cover and prepared to attack, Ma Wendong was still killing people. When Chen Longzheng's first bullet killed a thug, they were still dreaming.
It was not until the Ming Army's general attack began and hundreds of lead bullets enveloped them like a large net did these people wake up. They looked around to find the enemy who was shooting at them.
The few people who had guns picked up their guns and fired aimlessly. Then, they hurriedly reloaded the bullets. Those with crossbows fired in a panic. They didn't even notice that they had shot their own people to death. Those who didn't have long-range weapons were scared witless by the bullets. Once someone beside them was shot and fell to the ground, they immediately collapsed.
These people were the same as the soldiers in the Daming mainland. They could do odd jobs and bully the people. But you want them to fight with the fierce Japanese pirates? Are you kidding? How could the militia who had never been on the battlefield fight with the fierce bandits and the elite special forces?
That was why the situation in the southeast was rotten in the first year of Jiajing. Later, people like Qi Jiguang and Yu Dayou who knew how to train troops were replaced. They trained a few strong troops and wiped out the Japanese pirates who were still a large number of bandits and a small group of special forces.
Ma Wendong watched in a daze as his subordinates were killed one by one. Lead bullets flew everywhere and blood splattered everywhere. It looked like Shura hell and made his mind go blank.
Chen Longzheng saw that these thugs were also on the verge of collapse. He waved his hand and the soldiers of the Ming Army collectively shouted to kill. It was as if the mountains and plains were filled with the sound of gunshots and killing. This made these thugs have no idea how many people surrounded and attacked them. They were completely defeated.
Chen Longzheng also stopped shooting. The firing speed of the flintlock was too slow and the accuracy of the musket was too poor. Shooting a few shots might not necessarily hit one person. The efficiency was too low. Therefore, he waved his arm. The Ming Army dropped their guns and pulled out the big knives on their backs. They shouted and rushed towards the thugs who were in a mess.
The thugs were in a mess. Some wanted to escape and some wanted to resist. However, the chaotic scene made it impossible for them to gather together to resist. It was impossible for them to stop the Ming Army in this short distance of tens of meters. The Ming Army arrived in an instant. They waved their knives and slashed. One slash after another. They were clean and efficient and merciless.
Although the thugs had weapons, they could not compete with the Ming Army. Other than a few strong and strong men who could fight back, most of the people were one-sided by the Ming Army. They were like tigers slaughtering sheep.
Even those strong and strong men were shot one by one by Chen Longzheng and the fifty musketeers. When they saw a dangerous one, they would shoot his head. When they saw a Ming Soldier who was about to kick him, they would shoot him. The bullet pierced through his chest. The Ming Soldier who fell to the ground stood up in anger and slashed with his knife, cutting him into two. He turned back to look at Chen Longzheng and the others before continuing to kill the enemy.
Very quickly, the battle came to an end. Ma Wendong, who had come to his senses, was shocked. Under the protection of a few of his trusted aides, he fought and retreated. This guy's luck was not bad. With a hurried shot, he actually hit a Ming Soldier who was chasing them. With one shot, he instantly made Chen Longzheng furious and locked onto the target.
"That is Ma Wendong! Sir! That is Ma Wendong!! "
Liu Xiaoliu followed behind the Ming Army soldiers and was also fighting. However, he did not have much fighting power. He just followed behind the soldiers. When he saw the soldiers cutting down a thug, he would go up and use his rake to vent his anger.
Coincidentally, he raised his head and saw a Ming Soldier being shot down. When he took a closer look, he saw that it was Ma Wendong. Instantly, boundless anger surged in his heart. He shouted at the top of his lungs to let Chen Longzheng know what he should do.
"That is the leader of the thugs! Shoot! Don't let the leader escape! "
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