Cutting over the end of the Ming Dynasty: a dog-leg knife at the beginning

Chapter 616 Huang Taiji’s Troubles 2
Bao Chengxian was originally the deputy general of the Liaodong frontier army during the Wanli period. He surrendered to Nurhachi in the Battle of Guangning, and gradually became a civil servant and adviser who was relied on by Houjin. Just last year, he was named the second-class captain of light vehicles by Huang Taiji , can be regarded as an important minister.This guy let him alone in charge of an army to destroy the city and pull out the stronghold. He is not capable of it. He can't do it if he is asked to govern the prefectures and counties, garrison fields and reclaim wasteland, but it is handy to make him a shady person. It is said that Yuan Chonghuan was killed, which affected the fate of the Ming Dynasty. There is his shadow in the big event.Yes, this is a villain who likes to hide in the dark. This kind of villain is hard to guard against.Huang Taiji's intention to send him to Datong is self-evident.Now that he is back, he may bring back some good news. Huang Taiji, who has had enough of the endless bad news, is naturally happy.

Bao Chengxian came in and bowed three times and kowtowed to Huang Taiji: "I see you, King Khan!"

Huang Taiji said: "Scholar Bao has worked hard all the way, there is no need to be too polite, get flat quickly!" He said to the eunuch beside him: "Give me a seat!"

The eunuch moved a chair for Bao Chengxian and asked him to sit among the Han civil officials Fan Wencheng, Ning Wanwo, Li Yongfang, and Tong Yangxing.As soon as he sat down, Huang Taiji couldn't wait to ask: "Bao Aiqing, is there any movement in Datong?"

Bao Chengxian bowed his hands solemnly, and said: "King Hui Khan, the situation in Datong is very serious!"

Huang Taiji was surprised: "How to say?"

Bao Chengxian said: "The King of Khan is Rongren!" After sorting out his thoughts, he shared what he had seen and heard in Datong: "The slaves disguised themselves as tea merchants and brought a few confidants into Datong in February. At that time, the Tianxiong Army had at least 2000 troops stationed in the Datong area. According to what I saw with my own eyes, the Tianxiong Army was indeed well-equipped and disciplined. Within a month, the people of Datong praised them highly, regarded them as their own children, and scrambled to send their children to the Tianxiong Army barracks to serve as soldiers, this is unique among the million-strong army of the Ming Dynasty!"

Everyone in the room looked solemn and pricked up their ears to listen.They have already experienced the power of the Tianxiong Army more than once. They have learned a lot about the combat effectiveness of the powerful army that is as difficult to deal with as cowhide grain. There is no room for them not to pay attention to the news.Abatai asked: "How many troops did the Tianxiong Army deploy in Datong? How is the equipment?"

Bao Chengxian said: "According to the news that the slaves bought it with a lot of money, the Tianxiong Army marched to Xuanda this time with more than 1 troops, lined up along the line from Datong to Yinchuan, and the most powerful [-] cavalry under its command. Yu County, protecting their horse farms, and deploying another thousand in Yinchuan, is committed to recruiting refugees to restore Yinchuan's fertile land. Great results have been achieved so far. Looking at the Tianxiong Army, its equipment is better than it was five years ago A big change, the infantry is no longer equipped with swords, shields and spears, but a firecracker in each hand, and no longer wears heavy armor, but only wears a breastplate lined with more than ten square pieces of armor, which is very light... "

Mang Gurtai cried out: "Everyone has a firecracker? Don't you want all the swords, shields, and spears?"

Bao Chengxian said: "Yes, they have canceled the swords and shields and pikemen, and only installed a three-edged thorn a foot and a half long on the firecrackers for melee combat."

Mang Gurtai murmured, "It's hard to deal with so many firecrackers!" The Tianxiong Army was beaten to death and wounded, and the muskets of the Tianxiong Army can be said to be terrified to the bone.

Bao Cheng first asked someone to bring in a shovel that was only three feet long, and presented it to Huang Taiji: "King Khan, this is the Tianxiong Army uniform that my servant has spent a lot of effort to get. Please have a look."

Huang Taiji took it and danced it twice. It felt heavier than ordinary swords, and the weight was already a bit close to the two-handed epee used by the Jinbaijia soldiers.This is a typical sharp-nosed shovel, painted with green paint, with a sharp edge on one side and serrated teeth on the other, with two small holes on each side, which looks a bit weird.Despite the fancy appearance, it is just a shovel, and there is no special purpose for it.He looked at it for a long time but couldn't figure it out, so he handed it to Mangurtai.

Mang Gurtai was also clueless, scratching his head and handing it to Abate.The shovel was turned around in everyone's hands, and no one could tell why.Duduo muttered: "Those Chinese dogs just like to help in the mystery! It's just a shovel, why make it so fancy?"

Bao Chengxian wryly smiled: "This is not an act of mystery! This shovel is made of high-quality steel. It is extremely sharp. It can cut a steel bar as thick as your little finger in one fell swoop. It would break in two with one swing!"

Huang Taiji was stunned: "There is such a thing?" Someone brought a thick iron chain, and he went into battle himself. With a wave of the shovel, there was a click, and the iron chain was cut into two pieces. The edge of the shovel has no burr!Everyone was astonished, and Dai Shan called out, "This shovel is so sharp!?"

Bao Chengxian said: "Almost every member of the Tianxiong army has this kind of shovel. It is said that it is used for hand-to-hand combat after running out of ammunition. This kind of shovel has many uses. It can dig pits, chop firewood, saw wood, chop vegetables, and even be used as a pot. It is a small dish that is fried and fried, and it is very popular among soldiers of the Ming army, and many Mongolian herdsmen also love it very much, so they don’t hesitate to buy it at a high price.”

Huang Taiji caressed the smooth blade of the shovel, his expression horrified: "Such a good steel is used to make a shovel, does the Tianxiong Army have so much steel!?"

Hearing what he said, the faces of the empress Jin Zhubeile and the Han civil officials all changed.From the Han Dynasty to the Ming Dynasty, iron and steel has been a strategic material for 2000 years, firmly controlled by the central government, and iron smuggling is a felony because the output of iron and steel is scarce and extremely expensive.If you don’t have an intuitive understanding of the preciousness of steel in ancient times, you can ask your ancestors. Many people of their generation are still using wooden plows until 30 or [-] years after the founding of New China.Steel is hard to find, and steel with superior performance is even more difficult to buy. The better ones are used to make weapons, and the lower ones are used to make agricultural tools, so nothing will be wasted.Now that the Tianxiong Army uses such good steel to make shovels, it still has one hand, which only shows that the Tianxiong Army has more steel resources than everyone imagined, and they don't regard steel as a rare commodity at all. !
Abatai blurted out and asked: "Brother, I heard that the Tianxiong Army has several giant blast furnaces that make steel day and night. I don't know how much steel they can produce in a year?"

Bao Chengxian said: "One million catties."

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. One million catties is not a small amount for a warlord, but it is still far from enough for an army of tens of thousands. However, considering the superior performance of those steel materials, people dare not underestimate it.

Bao Chengxian went on to say, "One furnace."

Everyone screamed in shock, even Dorgon, who was deep in the city, and Abatai, who was always known for his calmness, jumped up and shouted: "What? A furnace of 100 million catties!?"

Bao Chengxian nodded: "Yes! One million catties per furnace! The Daming Road controlled by the Tianxiong Army can produce twenty furnaces of high-quality molten steel in a month. Everyone can imagine how much steel they can produce in a year."

It seemed that a basin of ice water was pouring down on the head, and there was no other sound in the whole hall except gasping.This production capacity is unimaginable for Houjin. The Tianxiong Army has more molten steel in one batch than they produce in a year. How can this be done?
Bao Chengxian went on to say: "The steel output in the Heluo area controlled by the Heluo New Army is even more astonishing. The exact number of slaves it can produce has not yet been clarified, but one thing is certain, that is, the steel output of the Heluo New Army is higher than that of the Tianxiong Army. , just a little bit more!"

Now these Baylors don't even have the sound of breathing.This means that Heluo and Daming Road alone can produce more than 20 tons of steel every year, which is simply an astronomical figure!How much power can so much steel exert?It’s hard to say anything else. Anyway, the Han people in Jinzhou and Lushun have generally used steel farm tools. Even the beggars in the Dongjiang Army are all wearing iron armor and holding horizontal knives made of high-carbon steel. The patent of Guan Ningjun's servant!And as time goes by, there will only be more and more well-equipped Ming army troops, and that beggar-like Ming army will become history, as long as you are not an idiot, you will know what this means!
Huang Taiji smiled contemptuously, and casually threw aside the artillery shovel that Bao Chengxian had worked so hard to obtain, and said, "War depends on people, not on steel! How many girls use it when the father raises an army?" They were arrowheads made of animal bones or flint, and the Mongolian allies who came to help the battle didn’t even have a pair of leather armor, but we still killed the Ming army so frightened and defeated!”

Everyone looked proud when they thought of the achievements of the Eight Banners Army that could only be described as exaggerated.When the King Kong rebelled, the equipment was really poor. It was an exaggeration to use animal bones and flints as arrowheads, but it was really limited compared to the Ming army.Of course, the Ming army was even worse. During the Battle of Sarhu, Yang Gao killed the cow to sacrifice the flag. After changing three knives, he couldn’t pierce the cow’s hide. In the end, Yang Gao took out the Shangfang sword and stabbed the cow to death. .So what if the Ming army had more steel?So what if the equipment becomes better?Even with the magic weapon that cuts iron like mud, they are still a group of cowardly sheep, clumps of weeds for them to harvest!Mang Gurtai laughed loudly: "Old Ba's words are true! No matter how good a dog's equipment is, it's useless. After a battle, these will all become ours. I wish they could all wear armor and hold precious swords!"

Duoduo also laughed: "The hedgehog is full of thorns, and a light knife can kill it; the bull is so powerful that it can be knocked down with an arrow! No matter how well equipped the Ming army is, it is also an army made of sand. What a shame!"

Everyone laughed, with contempt written all over their faces.However, Tong Yangxing, Li Yongfang, Bao Chengxian and others who had already figured out the temper of these guys all vaguely felt that their wild laughter was a bit lacking in confidence.

The ordinary Ming army is also given the best equipment for free, but what about the Tianxiong army and the Heluo new army?What about the Sichuan Army, which is known for its tenacity and tenacity?so what?
(End of this chapter)