My life skills in Daming Liver

In the north of Hanyang City, Liu Shiyan could be said to have made a decisive decision.

He led his 20,000 musketeers out of the city quickly and formed an array in front of the Liu Family Temple.

In the historical timeline that Su Ze did not change, the earliest firearm formation used was the Spanish Grand Square.

The formation of the Spanish phalanx is a square hollow phalanx, with the musketeers behind and the spearmen in front.

But unlike the intuition of later generations, the Spanish phalanx is also constantly evolving.

The original Spanish phalanx, which is the Spanish phalanx now used in Europe, had spearmen as its main combat force.

In today's Spain, a phalanx consists of twelve companies, 10 companies of pikemen and 2 companies of musketeers.

The salary and treatment of spearmen are also far higher than that of musketeers.

The reason is also very simple. In this era, the accuracy and lethality of firearms were not high enough, and the spearmen in formation were very lethal to cavalry and infantry.

In the historical timeline that Suze did not change, it was not until the seventeenth century that with the development of firearms, the ratio of the Spanish square changed again, and it became a ratio of 10 musketeers and 2 spearmen. .

During the Thirty Years' War in Europe, as the intensity of the war increased, military strategists from various European countries also discovered that spearmen played an increasingly smaller role in the war.

So the line infantry phalanx used by Su Ze emerged, which is the so-called "queue to shoot" phalanx.

During the Thirty Years' War in Europe, the phalanx gradually tended to be flattened. Originally, there were often seven or eight rows of lines.

The front line is compressed to three to four rows to improve combat accuracy by taking turns to fire, while the elongated line allows more soldiers to shoot and form a larger firepower network.

After the sleeve bayonet appeared, soldiers could also put bayonets on their muskets, and when progress was made, they could use bayonets to attack the enemy. At this time, spearmen would completely withdraw from the stage of history.

Suze used a linear phalanx from the beginning, directly skipping the Spanish phalanx era where spearmen and musketeers cooperated.

The Ming Dynasty also followed suit, and the line phalanx, which was supposed to shine during the Thirty Years' War in Europe, appeared in the world ahead of schedule.

But the linear square array also caused a problem.

That is to increase the shooting surface, that is, to increase the number of musketeers who can fire together, the thickness of the line array is constantly being compressed.

The phalanx gradually became a flat rectangle, and the phalanx changed from multiple rows to the current three or four rows.

For example, the Southeastern New Army formed a three-row formation and took turns firing due to better training and more advanced muskets.

On the Ming court side, due to insufficient training of the soldiers, the muskets often had problems, so they lined up in five rows and fired in turns.

But both the Southeast New Army and the Ming Dynasty have this kind of rectangular flat square array.

This formation naturally has a fatal problem, that is, the wings of the entire phalanx, that is, the two wings of the rectangle, are the weakest points.

This time we have to talk about cavalry.

When the Spanish phalanx occupies an absolutely dominant position, the cavalry can be said to have no way to deal with this phalanx, which is full of thorns.

The spearmen were like the thorns of a hedgehog, and the cavalry could not charge at all.

Musketeers can shoot cavalry with muskets. Facing the Spanish phalanx, cavalry charges and surprise attacks are fatal. If muskets are used on horses, why not just use infantry?

The development of musket technology has made it uneconomical for cavalry to penetrate armor.

Just like Su Ze defeated Li Chengliang's tribe in the Battle of Dagu, the thick armor could not protect against bullets, but would slow down the cavalry's mobility.

Therefore, in the era of the Spanish phalanx, the cavalry was almost forced to withdraw from the stage of history.

But in the era of line infantry, the spearmen who restrained the cavalry retired first, and the formation of the musketeers changed again.

At this time the cavalry was ready again.

Because the flanks of the line formation are weak, the cavalry can use its super mobility to attack the line infantry square from behind the flanks!

At the same time, due to the power of muskets, armor of various thicknesses became a decoration. Even the musketeers themselves no longer wore armor, and mobility became the most important thing on the battlefield.

At this time, some military strategists discovered that the cavalry seemed to be able to do it again.

This is the trend of the times that Xiong Kuang has observed based on today's battlefield.

Xiong Kuang believes that the advantage of cavalry lies in its mobility.

In this case, Xiong Kuang simply gave up cavalry protection, that is, he didn't even wear light armor!

The cavalry under Xiong Kuang's command all wore ordinary cotton uniforms, and the weapons they used were also changed.

Xiong Kuang changed the definition of cavalry. Since the role of cavalry is to rush to the flanks of the line formation and kill the enemy, the cavalry at this time is not the light cavalry of the northern nomads who shoot bows and harass at the same time.

It's not the kind of heavy cavalry with armor that Li Chengliang used to charge.

Xiong Kuang also did not equip the cavalry with muskets, because in this era without continuous fire, the cavalry could only shoot once with muskets.

Xiong Kuang repeatedly instilled in his cavalry commanders that they were actually close combat infantry on horseback!

Each of Xiong Kuang's cavalry is equipped with a melee weapon.

In addition, each cavalryman is also equipped with five rounds of grenades.

The combat method formulated by Xiong Kuang is to rush in from the flanks after the opponent's line of infantry sets up their formation, and then directly abandon their horses to fight on foot, completely disrupting the enemy's formation!

But this is only theoretical.

Because in a real war, neither the enemy nor we can form a completely rectangular formation.

The enemy will also strengthen the protection of its flanks, or rely on terrain to protect its flanks.

Therefore, Xiong Kuang's cavalry combat method is only theoretically feasible, and this battle of Hanyang is the first battle used to practice his military theory.

Sure enough, as expected before the battle, the Huguang Ming Army and the Southeast New Army rushed to the Liu Family Temple.

Liujiamiao was closer to Hanyang. Although the first regiment set off earlier and marched faster, it was unable to build fortifications and it was detected that Liu Shiyan was leading all the troops out of the city.

Lin Changjing, the leader of the first regiment, had a serious look on his face. Although the Ming court's response was expected by the combat staff, Liu Shiyan's combat deployment was the worst case scenario predicted by the staff office.

The Ming army in Huguang consisted of 20,000 people. They lined up in five rows to shoot, so they could form a long formation of 4,000 columns.

On the Southeast New Army side, there are six thousand people, arranged in three rows, which is a long formation of two thousand columns.

Even if the Southeast New Army has sufficient training and advantages in accuracy and rate of fire, it can be said that it still faces twice the firepower.

This is the war of the current era. Commanders have become accountants, firepower is accurately calculated, and fighting is like doing math problems.

Of course, there are many factors that affect the battle. These are just simple calculations. Lin Changjing is still confident that he can defeat the Huguang Ming Army head-on!

Just this casualty.

Lin Changjing sighed, this is the cruelty of war. No matter how good the training is, no matter how strict the pre-war plan is, the final execution will be carried out by living people.

A single bullet on the battlefield may take away a living life.

But Lin Changjing had no choice. As the saying goes, one general can achieve great success, but during the war, including Lin Changjing, the regiment leader, they were only part of the bargaining chip for the war between the two sides.

At ten o'clock in the morning, scouts from both sides detected the other side's frontline troops.

Both sides began to form formations. Lin Changjing looked at the young soldiers who were performing the prescribed actions, showing an unbearable expression.

Having experienced many wars, he knew the cruelty of the battlefield, but he quickly calmed down and prepared to fight the opponent.

On the other side, Liu Shiyan was also unsure.

After receiving the information that the entire Southeast New Army in Wuchang was dispatched, Liu Shiyan immediately assembled his troops and left the city.

After analyzing the fighting style of the Southeast New Army, I realized that I have no advantage in artillery range and artillery power, and the Southeast New Army also possesses the kind of powerful gunpowder that can blow up the city. At this time, if you stick to the city, you will be It is self-destruction.

The only advantage of the Ming court army was its numerical advantage.

Liu Shiyan is also a person who can study the art of war. His ancestor is Liu Bowen, the sincere uncle who assisted Zhu Yuanzhang in founding the country. Through summarizing several wars, he also realized the relationship between firepower and the length of the front.

Liu Shiyan trained the Huguang New Army hard, and then ordered the soldiers to line up in a square formation of five people in front of the Liujia Temple, and opened up the formation to prepare for a duel with the Southeast New Army.

"go ahead!"

Liu Shiyan gave an order, and the Mingting Huguang New Army and the Southeast New Army began to move forward in accordance with the order.

Just as the commanders of both sides were preparing for this showdown of flesh and steel.

Suddenly, there was a noise from the flank.

Everyone on the battlefield turned their heads. Liu Shiyan looked at the flanks of his long battle line, and a group of cavalry rushed out in the flying dust!

cavalry?

Liu Shiyan immediately realized something was wrong.

I saw this group of cavalry approaching the flanking line of infantry. They immediately drew their weapons and began to charge towards the soldiers.

The panicked flank soldiers could only fire sporadically, but these firepower could not stop the cavalry rushing out at all.

Xiong Kuang did not wear any armor, only a blue cavalry cotton uniform, and holding a long knife, he led the team into the Huguang Ming Army's musket phalanx.

The two wings were the weakest part of the entire Huguang Ming Army formation. Liu Shiyan felt a chill in his heart. He had never expected such a situation.

However, he was a little quick-witted. Liu Shiyan immediately sent out his messengers and ordered the troops to adjust their positions immediately and turn the musketeers on both sides.

But Lin Changjing of the first regiment did not give him this chance, and the musketeer phalanx of the Southeast New Army immediately began to advance at a faster pace!

This is where the importance of practice comes into play.

The Southeast New Army has a complete drill code and is fully trained on troop coordination and steering when training musket formations.

In terms of marching in formation, the Southeast New Army marches faster and has better coordination.

Today, in the entire world, only Southeast can maintain a linear square formation while maintaining the troops' rapid advance.

Lin Changjing discovered the fighter plane and immediately ordered the troops to attack across the board. This became the last straw that defeated the Huguang New Army.

The war only lasted until the afternoon, and the 20,000 Huguang New Army of the Ming Dynasty collapsed across the board.

General Liu Shiyan was about to commit suicide and die for his country, but was rescued by his bodyguards and surrendered to the Southeast New Army.

Of the 20,000 Huguang New Army troops, 3,000 were killed on the spot, the remaining 10,000 collapsed and surrendered, and 7,000 fled the battlefield.

Lin Changjing immediately commanded the first regiment to enter Hanyang and capture Hanyang City.

Almost at the same time, Yu Zigao's Fourth Brigade of the Southeast New Army moved north from Gaozhou, Guangdong and attacked Shaoguan.

The Ming army in Shaoguan was unprepared. They originally relied on the dangerous mountains and rivers of Shaoguan and wanted to hold on through the walled city.

However, they were defeated one by one by the field artillery equipped by Yu Zigao. Shaoguan, known as the gateway to the south of Huguang, was captured by the Fourth Brigade in only two days.

The Fourth Brigade crossed the Nanling Mountains and entered southern Huguang.

On the other side, after occupying Hanyang, the Third Brigade immediately began to clear the Yangtze River waterway, then built gunboats and began to move west along the Yangtze River and Hanjiang River to attack Xiangyang and Jingzhou.

The former Ming Dynasty Governor of Huguang, You Jujing, had a very good reputation in Huguang, and now he became the Huguang propaganda envoy personally appointed by Su Ze.

You Jujing went all the way west, relying on his reputation to persuade the counties along the way to surrender. The third brigade pushed to the gate of Jingzhou City without firing a shot.

At this time, the internal conflicts within the Ming court could no longer be taken into consideration. Emergency battle reports from Huguang were sent to the capital one by one. Xu Xuemo, the prefect of Jingzhou, asked the court for help.

Zhang Xiangguo, if you don’t come out to preside over the government, your hometown will be lost!