"It is just that among the one thousand two hundred muskets, many are shoddily made and cannot be used. When this subordinate inspected them before the battle, he found that there are no more than three to five hundred that can be used. If the rest are used, there is a risk of the barrel exploding and cannot be used."
Xiao Ruxun frowned and said: "Why did you not tell me before?"
Wang Hui was surprised at first and then respectfully said: "General has repeatedly warned me that although our dynasty has many firearms, most of them are flashy and impractical and cannot be used in great numbers. Our generation of soldiers have relied on swords, swords, bows and horses to expel the Tartars. Firearms are only supplementary. We must not rely on firearms to fight and forget our roots. Our army rarely relies on firearms in battle. General has never said that we will use muskets to fight. The situation is urgent and this subordinate did not speak out of turn. General, please forgive me!"
Hearing this, Xiao Ruxun was also surprised. Then, with a heavy expression, he slowly nodded his head.
"Indeed, although our dynasty has many firearms, they are not the way to win. If we really want to fight against the Tartars, we still need to rely on bows, horses, swords and sabers. However …" Xiao Ruxun turned to look at his three trusted generals: "What this general has said may not be very convincing now, but this general has always felt that in the future, on the battlefield, the only thing that can win and subdue the enemy will be firearms."
Hearing this, the three generals looked at each other with blank expressions. They seemed to be shocked that Xiao Ruxun, who was once an opponent of firearms, would make such a statement.
"This general has thought about it carefully. Our dynasty's soldiers grew up on the land, and our ancestors were farmers. They grew up farming, and only after joining the army did they learn the art of archery and horsemanship. Compared to the grasslands, where they grew up on horseback, the difference is too great. Even if they formed an army, with countless years of merit, they would still not be able to compete with them. As for the infantry and crossbows, perhaps with diligent training, they would not be able to form an army without a year of merit. However, firearms are different. A single musket, even if a farmer brought it, would be enough to train it in a month's worth of merit. The cost of one cavalry is enough to support five musketeers.
Xiao Ruxun unhurriedly said: "This general once heard that at the beginning of the dynasty, Mu Wangying used the three-stage firing method to fight against the elephant soldiers of the barbarians in Yunnan and defeated them. This general then thought, one musketeer is naturally nothing, but if we can have three thousand musketeers, arrange them into three, six or even nine rows, the former firing, the latter loading, taking turns to replace each other, perhaps we can form an uninterrupted firing of firearms."
Wang Hui seemed to have a better understanding of firearms; he opened his mouth and said: "But General, the range of a musket is not more than a hundred paces. Even so, beyond eighty paces, where the lead hits depends entirely on the will of the heavens. Beyond fifty paces, it is extremely difficult to break armor. On the battlefield, the enemy's horse army can arrive in a flash. If we are fighting on the plains, firearms are really useless."
Xiao Ruxun nodded: "You are right. What I am thinking is not to use firearms as the main weapon of war, but to defend the city from now on, can we use firearms to fight against the enemy. If the enemy comes, I am afraid there will be more than ten thousand people. The horse army should not be many, but our army is small and cannot go out to fight with them. It all depends on the fortification of the city. This is the time when firearms will be of great use. Ziheng, are our soldiers proficient in firearms?"
Wang Hui lowered his head and calculated for a while before opening his mouth: "Normally when training the soldiers, there are also instructors who use firearms. Most of them are proficient in iron cannons and Francs muskets. Less are proficient in muskets, only about three to five hundred."
Xiao Ruxun nodded his head and asked: "Are there many muzzles on the city walls?"
Wang Hui nodded his head: "There are many muzzles on the city walls."
Xiao Ruxun immediately ordered: "Select those who are proficient in firearms and transport all the cannons and Francs to the top of the city walls to prepare for battle. After that, select three hundred musketeers and give them muskets. I want to personally train them in the barracks."
Wang Hui was shocked: "General is proficient in firearms?"
Xiao Ruxun paused for a while and nodded his head: "I have some knowledge in my daily studies."
Hearing this, the three generals' doubts disappeared and they all nodded their heads in agreement.
Xiao Ruxun decided to patrol the city walls with Zhao Hu and Chen Xie, strengthen the defenses, transport more rolling logs, stones, and bows to the city walls, and then arrange for the Francs muskets to defend. He ordered Wang Hui to return to the barracks to make arrangements for the three hundred musketeers. After that, he would go to the barracks to train the musketeers. In Xiao Ruxun's vision, these three hundred musketeers would be of great use in the defense of the city.
Pinglu City is indeed a military city. It was built entirely for military affairs. The Ming court's administrative division did not include the nine borderlands. The nine borderlands were controlled by the military and there were no officials such as county magistrates or prefectures. The nine borderlands were supported by the military. The city was also built to serve the war. There were many defensive facilities and the city was quite sturdy. It is no wonder that it could last for several months without any help.
From the sixth year of Longqing to the third year of Wanli, General Yuan Shijie and Zhao Chongbi used stone to build the south and north city walls, built a parapet wall, and built the rear eaves on the northern city wall. After the repairs were completed, the city wall had a circumference of 3150 meters and a height of 12 meters. The east, west, and south gates were built. The east gate was called 'Dongzuo', and the south gate was called 'Nanfei'. Towers were built on each gate, and barbicans were built on the outside. In the fifteenth year of Wanli, General Jia Bangzhi and Guo Zenghui built the south pass earth wall and the dam gate. The earth wall had a circumference of 855 meters and a height of 8 meters. From the dam gate to the west wall, a trench was built with stones. The trench was 835 meters long, 7 meters wide, and 2 meters deep.
The main city wall had a height of 12 meters, which was about the height of a four-story building. It could not be considered too high. Compared to the famous historical city walls that were tens of meters high, it naturally could not be mentioned in the same breath. But in the northwest battlefield, as long as there were not too many bandits, ordinary horse caravans could not do anything to this city. Although the Ming court did not slack off and did not divide the three borderlands of Shaanxi into administrative districts, they used this method of building castles to exercise actual control over the northwest, and the effect was actually quite good.
It had been like this since ancient times. As long as there was a city, the Hans would be able to survive and control the place. If the foreign races wanted to completely expel the Hans, the only way was to burn down the city, just like Yongle City during the Northern Song Dynasty.
Xiao Ruxun was rather optimistic about the defensive capabilities of this city. With the help of the Franco machine gun, based on past experience, it would not be difficult to defend Pinglu City before reinforcements arrived. Xiao Ruxun could be considered a veteran with rich battle experience. He wielded the broadsword with great vigor and was rather valiant. Previously, he had picked up over a hundred horses from an abandoned equestrian club in Chongqing, so his riding skills were pretty good. Gasoline and the like were rare items after the apocalypse 5 years ago, and animals like horses and cows had once again become the main source of energy.
Although he could not lead the army to charge and break through enemy lines, using the abundant modern firearms and cold weapons to fight was actually Xiao Ruxun's strong suit. If he really wanted to engage in modern warfare, Xiao Ruxun would have to wipe his eyes blind.
After checking the formation of the soldiers and their weapons, he took a soldier's spear and weighed it in his hand. He took a bow and tested the bowstring, and found that it was of good quality. He then patted the soldier's shoulder and gave him a few words of encouragement. The soldier was so excited that he could not control himself. Following that, Xiao Ruxun announced that he would be preparing meat to reward everyone for their previous victories. Everyone's military merits would also be recorded and distributed after the chaos of the battle had died down. This made the soldiers in the city even happier.
Zhao Hu and Chen Xie watched from behind and exchanged glances. A general was indeed a general, an expert that could motivate people.
"Have you sent out scouts to search for the enemy?"
Seeing that there were no loopholes on the four sides of the city wall, Xiao Ruxun asked Zhao Hu. Zhao Hu nodded his head and said, "I have sent out three groups of scouts to search for the enemy from the north, west, and south. At present, no scouts have returned. I do not know if the enemy has sent a large army to attack again. However, if any scouts return, I will inform you immediately."
"Good." Xiao Ruxun nodded his head. Then, with a slightly worried expression, he instructed, "The art of war is crafty. The enemy is not a motley crew. Bo Bai and his son have been on the battlefield for many years and are exceptionally cunning. If the enemy does not attack with a large army and sends a small group of scouts to attack quickly, our army will have to be prepared. There are also times when the scouts make mistakes.
In short, from now on, the city gates are not to be opened for twenty-four hours a day. All four sides of the city gates are to be filled with boulders and logs. The security at the top of the city walls must not be lax. Bo Wei, I want you to personally guard this place. You are free to mobilize a thousand soldiers from the west and north walls. If there is an enemy that invades, you can immediately engage them in battle. Furthermore, no matter when, the number of soldiers guarding each wall during the day must not be less than two hundred, and at night must not be less than a hundred.
Zhao Hu cupped his fists and accepted the order, "I will obey!"
"Yuan De, I will leave the south and east walls to you. You are free to mobilize the eight hundred soldiers. If the west and north walls require support, you can mobilize the troops to assist. It is still the same. No matter what, the number of soldiers guarding each wall during the day must not be less than two hundred, and at night must not be less than a hundred. You must also have at least five Francon cannons. I believe that the enemy will still attack from the west. However, the enemy has the advantage in numbers. If they surround the city and attack from all four sides, our army will be in a very passive position."
Chen Xie immediately accepted the order, "Your subordinate obeys!"
"In addition, the two thousand soldiers are not familiar with battle formations. If they were to forcefully ascend the city walls to fight, I fear that it will cause a big problem. Therefore, unless it is absolutely necessary, the soldiers are not to be mobilized to ascend the city walls. They can only be used to transport supplies below the city walls. Many of the residents in the city are relatives of our soldiers. If there are any major casualties, it will be detrimental to the army's morale."
Zhao Hu and Chen Xie cupped their fists together and said, "General is very thoughtful. We are impressed! We will obey General's orders! "
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