Chapter 188 Lingnan Rattan Armor Soldiers
The words are rough but the truth is true!
Now the five clans have to shoot the arrows on the string.
Seeing the morale of more than a thousand militiamen around him soar, Deng Wulang happily showed his big front teeth, and he wanted to make achievements right now.
The militiamen of the five major families are not like the Keelung Army, where the recruits first receive queue training from the beginning of entering the camp. They first train the art of fighting and fighting, and then the mutual cooperation between the teams.
Even the team that attacked the Keelung Army just now took advantage of the refugees. It happened to choose a time when the number of Keelung Army was the least and the refugees were the most to attack the marching team, and then succeeded. After that, it took a long time to re-arrange the formation, giving the Keelung Army a little breath, rest, and time to reorganize.
With the sound of a horn, 500 musketeers led the way, and 300 spearmen guarded the two sides. After that, there were more than 100 carts wrapped by refugees like a silent tide. At the side and rear of the team, Weizhou personally led a team of 300 sword and shield soldiers to hold the line.
The team of nearly 10,000 people, although 80% of them were refugee organizations, they were still full of anger and hatred, and rushed towards the militia of the five major families!
In the moments before the battle between the two sides, the musketeers got a gap to cool down their musket barrels. They poured water from the kettle on their waists and wiped the barrels in an orderly manner.
The damp cotton cloth made a slight "hissing" sound due to the heat on the barrel.
It takes about three to five years to train a qualified archer, but three months is the longest training period for a musketeer.
This is why firearms were used on a large scale in the late Ming Dynasty. Although the firearms of the Ming Dynasty were not bad, they were nothing compared to Keelung.
The firearmsmen were confident in front of the battle!
There were no archers or artillery in the formation of the five major families on the opposite side. They probably thought that the artillery was too heavy and could not be used in the field, so they left a large number of copper cannons in the village. With the militias coming out to rob, there were only dozens of firearms, which were used by the personal soldiers of several leaders.
Seeing that the team on the opposite side was like a mountain and a sea, although it was not so roaring and violent, the silence and quietness still gave people a huge pressure. Several leaders led their horses to the formation at the same time, fearing that they would be in danger.
Walking into the formation, he kept ordering: "Musketeers, come forward and teach them a lesson!"
In the eyes of the children of the five major families, their own muskets are invincible. They were bought at a high price from the Franks overseas, and one musket costs 30 taels of silver.
If the opposite Weizhou knew this price, he would definitely curse. These landlords are really rich. The cost price of their Keelung 1627 flintlock rifles is only 7 taels and 3 cents. The most important thing is that they are flintlock rifles.
Flintlock rifles are more than one era higher than matchlock rifles. No wonder Li Zicheng liked to confiscate houses when he rebelled. These dog rich families have a lot of money!
In a hurry, dozens of musketeers rushed to the front of the formation and fired muskets at the Keelung army dozens of steps away. As the trigger fell, their matchlock rifles also fired bullets at the opposite side very conscientiously.
To be frank, the firearms in the hands of these militias are much better than those in the hands of the Ming army. At least, every firearm can be fired. Unlike the bird guns in the hands of the Ming army, most of them can't be heard.
Moreover, the Ming army's firearms made many mistakes and accidents during combat. Many firearms were prone to bursting due to quality problems before the battle. In addition, because gunpowder was expensive, many Ming army troops were reluctant to use it for training on weekdays.
As a result, the soldiers' psychological quality was not up to standard during the actual combat, and they couldn't hold their breath and couldn't help but open fire before the enemy entered the effective range. Before the enemy entered the best range, the ammunition loaded in the firearms had been used up, and it didn't play a role in stopping the enemy at all.
It's just a pity that the militia of the five major families made the same mistake as the Ming army, and they couldn't wait to open fire before the Keelung army entered the effective range.
I don't know if it was because of their arrogance, but before the smoke cleared, there were bursts of laughter on the battlefield, as if they only needed to fire to declare victory.
The result was also clear. The flying bullets passed through the Keelung Army's ranks powerlessly, only occasionally hitting a few bodies and making a few muffled groans.
Looking at the smoke and fire coming out of the five militia teams, accompanied by a burst of scattered fire gun sounds, Weizhou couldn't help but laugh up to the sky. It seems that these guys don't know how to use the firearms in their hands correctly!
The Keelung Army is not those small bandits in the countryside who have never seen the world and ran away after hearing a few thunders.
Since you don't know how, let me teach you how to use firearms to defeat the enemy!
However, the tuition fee is a little more expensive, and it costs lives!
"Give the signal! Tell the musketeers in the front team to press forward and teach them how to use muskets!"
Hearing the attack horn blown by the bugler, the musketeers lined up in five neat rows and began to slowly march southward. They did not worry about their own lives at all. The previous round of musket shooting from the opposite side had already shown them the enemy's trump card.
The competition between masters only took a moment. The enemy's trump card was so weak, so there was nothing to fear!
As the musketeers slowly advanced, the entire team also began to slowly move forward. The spearmen on both wings who were guarding the musketeers at the front opened a slope diagonally, waiting for the musketeers to use gunpowder and projectiles to open a gap in the group of dog thieves on the opposite side, and then quickly rushed forward and harvested with their spears. Human life!
Seeing the enemy's large group of troops moving forward slowly, but moving towards him with great determination, Deng Wulang began to feel a little uneasy.
On the horse, he looked at the fire gun troops in front of the formation and yelled loudly: "Fire the gun! Why not fire the gun!"
^.^，
"Fifth brother! After firing the firegun, you have to recharge the gunpowder and matchlock. It's very slow!" The leader of his personal soldiers explained to him the difficulty of the musketeers.
"But these pirate musketeers are coming up!"
The eldest son of the Bai family is also the person who leads his own team training. Seeing the uniform and neat team heading towards him like a moving mountain, he couldn't help but feel a little frightened and trembled.
"Goro, it's too late, it's too late!"
"Tianpai players! Rattan players come forward!" Deng Wulang suddenly shouted loudly.
"Let the Tengpai players step forward to form an array. When they have fired the first round of fire cannons and loaded the gunpowder lead bullets, the Tengpai players will step forward and chop them to death with a machete!"
Speaking of the armies in Lingnan and Lingxi areas, we have to mention a kind of weapon and equipment, rattan armor.
Marquis Wu suffered a big loss from this piece of equipment during his southern expedition. This piece of equipment was also a weapon used in both places since ancient times.
Nearly one-third of the people in the five group training companies use such shields. They are all made from old vines in the mountains, which are processed into rattan plates and given to sword and shield soldiers for use. Compared with the rattan plates of the officers and soldiers in the Lingnan area, the rattan plates of the five major families are more sophisticated. It needs to be soaked in oil many times and then dried for a year before it can take shape, not to mention its toughness.
Deng Wulang once personally tested that such a shield can effectively resist arrow projectiles at a distance of fifty steps.
As for within fifty steps, that is not the advantage of the musketeers!
I have my shield at hand so I can come forward and mingle with you. After I hold you back, people from various villages and towns behind me will rush out to cheer me on. Why worry that your belongings are not mine? !