Chapter 151 Training and Advice

Time rushed forward, and two weeks passed in a blink of an eye. The training of the Pike Corps was intense and busy, as if it wanted to drain every ounce of strength from the militiamen. The militiamen had no choice, and no time to think about it. They could only devote themselves to the boring training, trying to turn tactical actions into habitual muscle reflexes.

Every day at dawn, Guzman was awakened by the first ray of dawn. When he woke up from the thatched floor, the first thing he did was to wake up the members of the team and urge them to put on their luggage quickly. After a simple breakfast, the militiamen left the simple camp and headed for the nightmarish school ground not far away.

Under the rising sun, first stand in silence for a quarter of an hour to cultivate some kind of spirit. This is the most relaxed time for Guzman, he can rest for a while leaning on the spear. Then came a long march and formation, accompanied by strict supervision and cruel punishment. Guzman can only gather all his thoughts and try to be meticulous in fear of cruel punishment. He was hoarse, shouting to lead his team, for fear of making a big mistake. As for small mistakes, there are countless.

Then came the team's cooperative practice. The five teams of each battalion lined up collectively, and then moved closer to each other to form a reliable front. The warrior battalion commander called them "slow as turkeys" at the beginning, and later called them "scattered like monkeys", and then he didn't say much, just said "If you are a warrior, you can do better! ". Guzman also held his breath, hoping to be respected like a samurai.

After team practice, there is an extra lunch. Under the slightly westward sun, Guzman and his teammates happily ate corn tortillas and black bean puree. Adding meals at noon is a treatment that I never had before when I was a miner, and many commoner warriors also have two meals a day.

After a short rest, there will be individual martial arts training. This is the samurai career that Guzman yearns for. He learned to block effectively with his shield, and to thrust repeatedly at limited angles with his spear. Although he would be defeated by the samurai who taught him every time, he could clearly feel his progress. And when several pikemen formed a team and gathered their pikes, the senior warriors could only retreat, which gave him a strong sense of self-confidence.

Finally, there is the confrontation competition between the teams. The two teams squeeze each other with their shields to see whose formation breaks up first. The militiamen supported each other back and forth, and cooperated with each other. Guzman had to keep shouting "Steady, go hard" to maintain the team's rhythm of exertion, and finally won the competition that lasted for several minutes.

There are also many kinds of confrontational competitions, such as group running, to see which team runs to the finish line first. This kind of game needs to pay attention to the weakest teammate and lead him forward together. Among the five teams, Salt Workers has the strongest sense of teamwork and can often have an advantage in games.

There is also a jab competition, where a wooden ball is poked on the head of a dummy target. This is a pure martial art, which must be practiced repeatedly, and there is no shortcut. Usually stone workers have better physical fitness, ingenuity, and martial arts are faster.

The most torturous thing is to endure the bow and arrow competition. Two teams stand in the field at the same time and accept the bow and arrow shooting of the two bow warriors. The arrows had been removed, and the wooden arrow shafts crackled and shot on the rattan and helmet, like the heavy rain in the heaviest rainy season.

From time to time, the shaft of the arrow would penetrate the gap in the shield and hit Guzman's body and neck. Even though the paper armor was blocking it, the person who hit him was still in pain. The pain is not a big problem, but the state of being attacked unilaterally makes people restless and tests the patience and discipline of the militiamen. Gold miners usually come out on top when it comes to this challenge of patience. Guzman's squad has often been victorious.

The hardest game is against the samurai squad. The spears on both sides were replaced with long sticks, the militiamen formed a dense spear formation, and the samurai used scattered formations. A pack of wolf-like warriors dispersed and surrounded the gun array, howling and intimidating, and repeatedly lured the militiamen on the edge.

Once the formation shows a flaw and the long sticks are no longer gathered, the warriors will make a quick charge, swinging the long sticks, and violently knock down the weak opponents. Afterwards, the hasty adjustment of the gun array often creates more breakthroughs, and the pack of wolves will keep biting the hedgehog until the breakthrough is large enough, and then they rush forward and completely smash the gun array.

The result of each confrontation with the samurai was that the militiamen were completely wiped out, but the gun array was able to last longer and longer, and the casualties judged by the samurai were gradually increasing.

In this confrontation, Guzman's understanding became clearer.

"If we fight alone with the samurai, we who have been trained for a few weeks will be powerless against the samurai who have been trained for several years. Only with the cooperation of our companions can the spears attack at the same time, threatening the samurai, and the shields can also interact with each other. Cover up, hold on longer."

These contests were all designed by His Majesty His Majesty, and they also carried the rewards and punishments of the messengers of the gods. The winning team gets another snack with dinner, usually a tortilla, avocado, and a cocoa nib or two. The failed team had to clean the school grounds and latrines, and, amidst the laughter and guidance of the crowd, transport the raw materials for "heaping nitrate" to the lake and hand them over to the carrying boats.

In order to get rewards, and in order not to let other teams laugh at himself, Guzman tried his best. According to the samurai's suggestion, he divided the two hundred miners into 20 miners, and arranged for an old brother to lead each miner. When I have time at night, I discuss it with the head of Ge Shi. Although everyone has little knowledge, after discussing together, they can always come up with some ideas, and the relationship between each other becomes closer.

And when it's time for a sumptuous dinner, the deacon in the team will play. He was originally a member of the miners, but was later elected as a "deacon". I train with everyone every day, and I don’t have time to study God’s revelation. Therefore, he opened his mouth with two newly learned prayers.

"The Lord God Vitzilopochtli is supreme and omnipotent! Believers in God will be saved and ascended to the Kingdom of God!"

"Praise be to the Lord God Vizilopochtli! He gives us food and we will fight for Him!"

Guzman scratched his head, and repeated with his companions as required. They have to read it three times in a row before they can officially start dinner. At this time, the camp is full of continuous prayers and praises, drifting to the distant kingdom of God.

For the Kingdom of God, Guzman believes in it. He has heard of the eternally peaceful and beautiful country since he was a child. But he was a little puzzled and confused about the main god who was promoted to the god of war. As a miner, he used to worship mainly the Mother Earth Goddess Telalt Kutli or the Goddess of Fire Quesartsin. But now, with daily prayers, new religious concepts were reshaped in his mind, slowly blending all the gods into one supreme figure, ascending to the highest sky.

After dinner, the militiamen were finally able to go back to rest. Guzman walked forward quickly, a little impatiently, his whole body was sore from exhaustion all day. Only when he was lying on the thatched floor would he feel that this body truly belonged to him.

The sun was gone and the sky was dark. Guzman walked through the wide camp and looked at the large tent in the center from a distance, but did not see His Highness revering. Then, he unexpectedly discovered that under the swaying bonfire, Lieutenant Tarasco, who was in charge of training, was lowering his head, talking to the guards outside the tent. Soon, the tent door opened, and the adjutant entered quietly.

Guzman froze for a moment, then moved on. The exhaustion from training flooded in like a tide, and his mind was already filled with the desire to sleep.

At this moment, Ezpan was not sleepy at all. With his head lowered, he carefully stepped into His Highness's large tent, peeping at the arrangement in the tent from the corner of his eye, hoping to discover some of His Highness' hobbies.

Unexpectedly, the big tent is extremely simple. There was nothing on the walls, no cotton blankets on the floor, and no gold or silver decorations at all. On the wooden stand are only a large bow, a set of batons and shields, a pair of leather armor, a wooden map, and a few new-style paper books. In the corner is a grass bed and two tubs. There was a brazier near the venthole, and a small bonfire was lit, no expensive candles. It was more unpretentious than any noble Tarasco's house.

In the middle of the big tent is a newly made wooden table. His Highness in priestly attire sat cross-legged behind the wooden table, holding a book in his hand, and looked at him indifferently. Behind His Highness is the warrior commander with a vicissitudes of life, his eyes are like tigers and leopards waiting to be hunted.

Ezpan's heart trembled, he didn't dare to peek around anymore, and he didn't dare to get too close. He knelt down on both knees at the tent door, prostrating and bowing to His Highness.

"Honorable Highness, Ezpan of the Mexica Alliance greets you, may you be reborn like the sun!"

Xiulot looked calm. He looked at the training adjutant who was saluting, and then smiled. The other party was wearing a Mexica warrior uniform, a fur cap with a hummingbird painted on it, and a string of the latest sun amulets around his neck, showing a meticulousness and care.

The majestic eyes stared at Ezpan for a long time, until he was sweating all over, Shulot asked calmly.

"Ezpan, you came to see me, what do you want to tell me?"

Ezpan gritted his teeth. He thought of the strength of the Mexica people, the prosperity of the capital in the lake, and the eclectic employment of His Highness, and finally spoke loudly.

"Your Highness, I have some new suggestions for the training of the Lancer Corps!"

Shulot stared. He looked at the weather-beaten face of the training adjutant and asked in a deep voice.

"Since there is a suggestion, why didn't you tell the chief officer of the training? Instead, come to me alone?"

Hearing His Highness's implied reprimand, Ezpan fell to the ground again with a plop. He wanted to open his mouth to defend, but felt it was inappropriate, so he kowtowed hard on the ground.

Shulot listened to the dull kowtow until he counted twenty. He just ordered again.

"Okay, Ezpan, go ahead."

Ezpan raised his head again, his forehead was already bruised. His Highness is about to leave the training camp, this will be his last chance. Thinking of this, he struggled to speak.

"Your Highness, General Barda is good at training warriors. However, the spear formation is different from the warrior formation. It does not focus on individual martial arts, but more on teamwork! All training should be centered around coordination!"

Xiulot remained expressionless and continued to wait. Under his suggestion, Barda has modified a lot of training plans, and the current training is centered around cooperation. There was nothing new in Ezpan's words.

Ezpan paused for a moment, not waiting for His Highness's reply. He gritted his teeth again and said loudly.

"Compared with the warrior phalanx, the spear phalanx is not that strong. Its advantage is that it can be trained into an army quickly and has a wide source of soldiers. As long as ordinary militiamen and miners are trained strictly for a few months, they can roughly resist the samurai's attack." Shock. For any qualified samurai, the training is based on five years."

Hearing this, Xiulot became a little interested. As a low-level military officer, Ezpan is obviously experienced and experienced. The boy beckoned.

"Ezpan, come closer and speak in detail."

Ezpan stood up, and the warrior commander had already rushed over to check him again. Then Ezpan approached cautiously and knelt down in front of His Highness's table.

"There are many points in training the pike phalanx, the most important thing is to focus on teamwork. Tarasco's pikemen are divided into different teams according to different mines and birthplaces. Each team of 200 people is probably acquainted relatives or companions. .In order to obey the leadership of the captain and build trust among each other, we will elect a leader. Then, under the witness of the gods, we will hold a blood-sucking ceremony, and make each other brothers!"

Xiulot's expression changed. He heard again the concept of blood rituals. This kind of ceremony witnessed by the gods is similar to Huaxia's blood-drinking alliance, and it is a bit like beheading a chicken head and drinking rice wine. Participants will even sacrifice part of their own flesh and blood. However, in the era of tribes who believed in gods, the influence of rituals in people's hearts far exceeded that of a commodity society with a developed economy. In addition, this ritual can also enhance the presence of the main god.

Thinking of this, Shulot nodded slightly, and looked at Ezpan again.

Ezpan peeked out of the corner of his eye, and seeing His Highness's approval, his spirit instantly lifted. There was more confidence in his voice.

"The cooperation of the team is reflected in everyone's actions. Every phalanx soldier needs to learn to protect his teammates with a shield, push forward, and work together. Then cooperate with the partners in front and behind, raise the spear high over the shield, Stab out from a fixed area. Several spears cooperate to make the rushing enemies unavoidable."

"The second key point is the coordination of the phalanx. The weak points of the phalanx are on the flanks and the rear. The phalanxes need to support each other to protect the weak points of other phalanxes. In my opinion, the best formation is the triangle Form three formations. When a certain phalanx is attacked, the remaining two formations can advance from the two wings, protect the weaker flanks, and use the strongest front to meet the enemy."

Shulot thought for a few seconds, then drew a character "pin" on the ground with his hand, and showed it to Ezpan. The training adjutant nodded repeatedly, praising His Highness for his wisdom.

"The third point is to change the formation. In addition to the formation, the phalanx must master the ability to change the direction of the battlefield, and always use the front to meet the enemy. If surrounded by superior enemies, it must become a defensive circle. In fact, the spear militia The equipment is not heavy, and the gun array can also be used for assaults. It’s just that during the assault, the square array must be transformed into a column, and it will be arranged in clusters for continuous assaults.”

Xiulot thought for a while, and the concept of column assault seemed familiar in his memory. He thought of the multi-column brigades of the ancient Roman legion, and Li Jing's military reforms in the early Tang Dynasty, and nodded slowly.

Ezpan became a little excited. He continued to speak, expressing all the thoughts that had been hidden in his heart for several years.

"The fourth key point is discipline. The power of the phalanx lies in the collective. Once it disintegrates and collapses, it will be slaughtered by the warriors. Therefore, without orders, the infantry of the phalanx is never allowed to participate in the pursuit. The deserters who are the first to break up in the war must be executed as a public display. Intimidate everyone. In order to form a formation quickly in the war, the team must always stay together, and they must camp in the open air collectively, and they cannot live scattered in the barracks.”

Shulot thought for a while, then smiled lightly. Collective living. During this period, the phalanx of the Swiss mountain people also had similar rules, which were used to establish closer ties and prevent enemy sneak attacks. He finally nodded approvingly.

"Very good! Ezpan, do you have any other ideas?"

Ezpan was a little hesitant. He thought about His Highness's past comments, and he still made a bold proposal.

"Your Highness, in fact, Tarasco's two-handed pistols will be more powerful. Although they were vulnerable to longbow shooting last time, it was unprepared. As long as we form an additional two pistols among the two-handed pistols Team shield hand, you can take advantage of the two-handed attack while defending against bows and arrows."

Shulot was taken aback. This is similar to the formation of the Song Dynasty army, with two-handed spears as the main force, equipped with shield hands for cover, and equipped with a large number of crossbowmen.

After thinking for a moment, he still shook his head. For the newly formed militia regiments, shields were even more important. This is not only a weapon of defense, a guarantee of survival, but also the reliance of recruits in their hearts. The sense of security brought by the shield can effectively maintain the morale of the militia. And a legion, only after going through battles and becoming a real strong soldier, can it exert the power of two-handed spears.

After a while, Shulot retracted his thoughts. His gaze was like a mountain, fixed on the training adjutant kneeling in front of him, staring at his uneasy expression.

"So, Ezpan, with so many practical suggestions, what do you want?"