Chapter 153 The Art of the Gun

"Stop advancing!" the officers blew their brass whistles and issued the order. Google search reading

About a hundred steps away from Kumamoto Ashigaru, the front battalion troops led by Qu Wan stopped.

"Check the musket! Prepare to shoot!"

All the musketeers took off their muskets from their shoulders, took off their gun head caps, tore open the gunpowder package wrapped in brown paper with their teeth, poured it into the three-foot-long barrel, put in the lead bullets, and then checked their guns again. Ammunition loading status.

"Ready to shoot!"

After a sound of metal colliding, the soldiers raised their muskets and aimed forward. Rows of black muzzles were aimed at the panicked Kumamoto Ashigaru.

As the officer who took over the command of Zhao Dahai, Qu Wan blew the copper whistle in his mouth hard, and a sharp and piercing whistle conveyed the order of massacre to the eardrums of every soldier.

Violent shooting sounded immediately, and streams of white smoke rose over the queue, becoming dense and then forming a maze of gray-white gunpowder smoke.

Since Keelung's gunpowder was maroon explosive, and he had the pinnacle of pyrotechnics, in just a moment, all the white confusion dispersed with a gust of breeze.

After the smoke dissipated, one could clearly see that a hundred steps away, there were mostly fallen soldiers and their corpses.

Those children who were hit and died on the spot were children favored by the God of Death and Luck. They did not have to endure suffering and pain;

Those Kumamoto Ashigaru whose bodies were penetrated by bullets were the abandoned children cursed by them. They lay on the ground wailing, twitching and struggling painfully, trying to escape from this painful state.

The hail of bullets and bullets from the Keelung Army were like rods used to drive away chickens, ducks, cattle and sheep, making the Kumamoto Ashgaru army's defeat even worse. The somewhat decent formation was disrupted again, and it was even more chaotic than the last time.

Countless soldiers were screaming, shouting, rushing, and running away. Perhaps, they didn't know where to escape at this moment, but they just felt that their location at this moment was the most dangerous.

Maybe the next moment, the person hit by the bullet will be me.

Throughout the ages, how many people have been able to face the threat of death. A month ago, they were farmers in the fields. They only trained with bamboo guns for three to five days before being forcibly dragged to the battlefield. Such soldiers are destined to be unable to complete Kumamoto's mission. desire.

At this moment, no matter how Yamaguchi screamed, how he risked the lives of his family members to dissuade him, how he killed people in public, he could not suppress the fear and retreat in Ashigaru's heart.

On the other hand, Qu Wan's front camp troops were calm and did not take advantage of the enemy's chaos to swarm forward.

This is a characteristic of the Fire Army, but it seems to be slightly different from other phalanxes. The Keelung Army's phalanx is not like the one in the same era, that is, in movies and TV dramas. After the first row completes shooting, it retreats to let the second row of musketeers. Go into battle and then retreat slowly.

Instead, after the first column shoots, they stand still and start loading gunpowder. Then the second column steps forward five steps and stands at the front to shoot, and so on, over and over again.

This is called Xu Jin shooting!

Moreover, the Keelung Army uses the Prussian five-stage shooting method. Compared with the common three-stage shooting, the five stages can make the lead bullets denser and form a terrifying fire grid. At the same time, the soldiers can have more time to reload, so as not to In a hurry, an explosion occurred.

However, there are restrictions on implementing the five-stage shooting method.

Muskets, gunpowder, both require large-scale equipment.

But this is exactly where Keelung is not lacking.

Similarly, a good weapon must have a worthy user. Qin Hao paid close attention to the musket shooting training. In his opinion, this was the foundation for him to compete with several powerful armies on the battlefield in the future.

The number of soldiers in Keelung is definitely not as large as that of Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong's peasant army. Their characteristic of foraging for food anywhere is something Qin Hao will never be able to learn in his lifetime;

In terms of eliteness and strength, they will definitely not be better than the Eight Banners of Manchuria. They are located in high latitudes where the weather is freezing all year round, and the cold ice and snow have tempered their will.

A leisurely demographer has done an experiment. When it comes to completing more difficult tasks, people at high latitudes tend to have more advantages and perseverance than people at mid-latitudes and low latitudes.

This is part of the reason why the north has always been able to unify the country and why steppe groups have invaded the Central Plains many times.

Of course, when it comes to war, with the advancement of firearms, grassland peoples have also become good at singing and dancing.

Two shots per minute, this is Qin Hao's requirement for all musketeers. This minute can offset the many innate advantages of most tribes!

As long as there is a musket, even a woman or a child can be killed instantly with just a slight pull of the trigger. The grassland has spent twenty years cultivating elite warriors.

This is the art of musketry!

"If you don't want the enemy to kill you and make your mother lose her son, your wife not to lose her husband, and your children not to lose their father, then you can achieve this kind of shooting performance for me!"

Two rounds per minute is still a passing result!

In Qin Hao's impression, the Prussian army, equipped with flintlock muskets that fired kraft paper shell cartridges, could shoot four times per minute without making mistakes.

If there are soldiers under his command who can reach this level, then he can enjoy the salary of a commander.

Talented people receive preferential treatment no matter where they are.

The rate of fire of two bullets per minute and the slowly advancing formation were like the claws of a ferocious beast, constantly tearing apart Kumamoto Ashigaru's flesh and blood.

When the fifth column came forward to fire, the troops had already advanced more than ten steps.

In just a few minutes, hundreds of people fell to the dense rain of bullets.

"Failed! Run away!"

Kumamoto Ashigaru's formation has completely collapsed.

Countless people were crying and howling like headless flies, running around here and there. Some were holding knives, some were dragging spears backwards, some were holding shields, and some had no idea what they were holding.

From time to time, there would be screams of pain from people being hit by bullets, or cries of death as they were trampled underfoot by their own people.

"That's it?"

Kumamoto, who was watching the battle on the rear wall, stared blankly at the soldiers in front who were swarming like bees on fire in a hive. These were his "elite" ashigaru.

The Ashigaru troops, which had suppressed countless uprisings in the territory and annexed countless real estates from outside, were as weak as babies in front of the Keelung Army. They were defeated without even finishing a round.

An hour ago, he was still full of confidence and ambition. He even thought about whether to send troops to Saga immediately after the war and annex the huge territory, or to continue to garrison and wait for the Tokugawa family's orders and rewards.

But, this time, it's all over!

His hand couldn't help but touch the sharp sword at his waist. He didn't know what to do now.

Escape or commit suicide, both are difficult choices for him.

Just when he was confused, a familiar voice came.

"Kumamoto-sama, you must not commit suicide to apologize!"

Watching Matsudaira Nobutsuna being persuaded, Kumamoto's face turned red. He had no intention of committing seppuku.

"Matsudaira, I am ashamed of the Tokugawa Grand Palace, and I cannot forgive your advice yesterday." As he said this, he fanned his mouth wildly, "I regret it, I regret it!"

Seeing Kumamotoo like this, Matsudaira Nobutsuna also secretly laughed in his heart.

If you win today, I'm afraid I won't be able to see you even if I come here. We are all in the officialdom, so why should we act for the occasion?

"I wonder what will happen next, Kumamoto-sama?"

"I hope you can save me! I'll listen to what the plan says, and don't dare to make your own decisions again!" After the tragic defeat, Kumamoto no longer had the arrogance he had before, and he spoke in a low voice.

"It's not difficult to keep the Kumamoto family's flag."

"Please give me some advice!" Kumamoto kept his posture very low.

"Right now, the outside of the city is no longer able to resist, but it's just a defeat. There's still a lot to be done!"

Slowly retreat, return to Tokugawa, and find another way out!

"Retreat?" Kumamoto couldn't believe his ears. The garrison at Toyooka Castle was an order issued by Tokugawa Daiden. If he retreated now, wouldn't he be disobeying the military order?

Taking advantage of the current defeat, Kumamoto was really worried that he might be killed by Tokugawa Iemitsu after returning. After all, although the two were nominal monarchs, their relationship was not as close as this.

Seemingly sensing Kumamoto's concerns, Matsudaira Nobutsuna smiled and said, "Don't worry, Your Excellency. The Tokugawa Main Hall has already prepared a backup plan. This time, the Keelung Army will never come back. Your Excellency will lose the city and the ground. The main palace will not pursue it, and the Saga Order will be completely handed over to the Kumamoto family after the war."

"So good!"

After receiving Matsudaira Nobutsuna's promise, Kumamoto was no longer confused and quickly asked his men to pack up their weapons and prepare to retreat.

Different from Xiong Ben's army, under Zhao Dahai's flag formation, several battalion officers were eager to fight.

"Zhao Ying, let me lead the troops to pursue you!"

"That's right, we can't let this military hero go!"

The Keelung Army's system, in which economic and social status is determined by military merit, makes soldiers feel happy after hearing the battle.

What's more, this is Zhao Dahai's first battle since he took office as the Pioneer Commander, so it naturally attracts much attention.

"Since all the brothers want to go to war, I don't want to offend everyone. The left and right battalions will attack in batches, with a limit of 100 people at a time, to prevent the enemy's backlash."

Just as Zhao Dahai was giving the order to attack with Wang An, Liang Zhan and other battalion officers, unexpectedly, thunderous shouts of killing suddenly erupted from behind the right wing.

Immediately afterwards, a wave of people rushed straight into Toyooka Castle like a surging flood.

"Who! Who asked them to come out?!" Zhao Dahai and others saw the flags of the team clearly and couldn't help but feel angry.

"What is this Luo Dayou doing? Who gave him the order to go to war? He is ignoring military orders!" Zhao Dahai was furious.

"Sir! This! This is disrespecting military orders!" Wang An was a little dumbfounded. Since Qin Hao founded the army, there has never been a case of disobeying military orders and acting without authorization. If this is pursued, I don't know how many stars will be involved. Heads fell to the ground.

Disobeying military orders has been a major crime since ancient times!

His crime deserves to be punished!

They had vivid memories of the people who had disobeyed military orders and beheaded them in public, and there were quite a few of them at the same time.

"How about sending someone to chase Luo Dayou back?!" Liang Zhan asked tentatively.

"No! If this happens, it will inevitably collide with Qu Wan's team and cause chaos. If the enemy takes advantage of the situation to counterattack, it will be bad." Although he intuitively felt that the enemy army was no longer able to do anything, as a commander, he We still have to take the overall situation into consideration.

Zhao Dahai pondered for a moment and ordered: "Wang An, Liang Zhan, each of you will select a team of musketeers from your camp to go to the two wings to hold the line for them. Even if we have to enforce military discipline, we have to finish the battle first. We can't watch our brothers suffer! Order them to slowly press down on Kumamoto and let the defeated troops of Kumamoto gather in the center."

After speaking, Zhao Dahai turned over and rode on the tall warhorse, shouting a slogan that later became a symbol.

"All troops! Charge!"

With the encouragement of hundreds of musketeers, all the soldiers of Shuntian Camp quickly arranged their formations, forming a human wall that stretched for several miles and was four layers deep.

The outer layer, the vanguard holding spears and shields, was full of fighting spirit at the moment.

The inner layer was the musketeers who had been replaced. After several rounds of shooting, their wrist muscles were also exhausted.

"Use the volley of muskets as a signal, the vanguard battalion will attack!" Every vanguard soldier repeated the orders of the officers at all levels in his heart. Some quietly rubbed the red tassels on the gun barrels with their hands, letting the red tassels absorb the sweat in their palms and keeping their hands dry.

"Bang! Bang!"

After a row of musket volleys, the long spearmen leaped forward, shouting like thunder, "Kill!"

The spears stabbed.

The mountain of knives struck fiercely.

The brave and fearless vanguard soldiers, like a gate, blocked the way for the retreat of the Kumamoto foot soldiers. Layers of swords and guns attacked, slowly but effectively harvesting the lives of the Kumamoto foot soldiers, compressing the space of the Kumamoto foot soldiers, and forcing the Kumamoto foot soldiers to gather in the central army.

A massacre without suspense.

If a god or God passed by at this moment and pressed the clouds in the air, they would find that the front of Toyooka Castle was bloody and corpses were everywhere.

"Qu Wan! Qu Wan!"

While slowly directing the troops to fire in turns and advance, Zhao Dahai shouted loudly to the vanguard Qu Wan.

"Spread the order everywhere! Anyone who drops his weapon and kneels on the ground will be spared!"

Qu Wan answered loudly, "I get it!"

"Wait a minute, the vanguard team in front, you go there in person, I'm afraid these guys will be blinded by revenge, and kill too many people, ruining the master's plan!"

"Yes!" Qu Wan immediately went down to pass the order.

This battle was won easily and beautifully.

But it was time to get the result. Facing the unarmed and unmotivated Kumamoto foot soldiers, it would be against the harmony of heaven to kill them wantonly.

After the war, Shuntian Camp successfully took over Toyooka Castle, and the battle report of this battle was also sent to Kitakyushu Castle by Kyushu Post Office.

In this battle, Shuntian Camp dispatched a total of 1,300 people, including 800 musketeers, 300 vanguard swordsmen, and 100 artillerymen. 100 baggage soldiers, and 500 Saga foot soldiers.

Our army suffered 523 casualties, including 485 Saga foot soldiers. A total of 3642 Kumamoto soldiers were wiped out and 1523 enemy soldiers were captured alive.

"Great! Zhao Dahai won a great victory this time. I will definitely reward him well when he comes back." Qin Hao was overjoyed when he saw the victory report.

After calming down for a while, the Keelung garrison outside Kitakyushu City also began to move out slowly.