Nanming Engineer

Chapter 193 Crescent Ax and Bird Commander

The Niaotong stored in the warehouse in Fucheng, Chongqing was taken out and distributed to the soldiers who were selected as the Niaotongs, along with two medicine canisters, a bullet bag, a cleaning rod and a crescent axe.

The crescent ax is Wang Huan's new equipment. The original Ming army Bird Commander did not have this kind of weapon. It penetrates deep into the ground, and when shooting, it can just put the bird body in the concave hole formed by the raised axe blade. The bird body can aim and fire comfortably and stably by bending down slightly with the hand, compared with the original one hand holding the gun and the other hand pulling the trigger. The posture is more conducive to improving the accuracy of shooting.

When it is necessary for the birds to command soldiers to fight in close quarters, you only need to throw the birds together, and the crescent ax can change from a fork of a gun to a melee weapon. The wide ax body and sharp blade are a huge weapon for both cavalry and infantry. The deterrence of cutting people up and down horses makes the infantry who have lost the bird's command turn into an ax gang.

In order to let the Niaotong soldiers form combat effectiveness in a relatively short period of time, Wang Huan selected a group of Niaotong veterans from the surrendered soldiers of the Zeng Ying army. One of the selection criteria was pock marks on the face. Gao Gao, a soldier named Yan Mingde, was even directly appointed as a centurion. Of course, in addition to many pockmarks, this man's marksmanship is also excellent, which is comparable to that of his ancestors from the Guanning Army.

As for the gunpowder used by Niao Tongshou, he still used captured black powder. There is still a large amount of black powder sealed in wooden barrels in the Chongqing Fucheng gunpowder depot, which is enough to last for a period of time.As for the newly produced potent yellow gunpowder, firstly, the output is not high, and the production of anti-Japanese bombs is a bit tight, and it is unable to supply large quantities of bird weapons for use; secondly, Wang Huan does not have the courage to let the captured bird weapons be used regardless of their power or The effect of yellow gunpowder is several times greater than that of black gunpowder. He has witnessed the consequences of the explosion with his own eyes.

Maybe when Li Huaien develops a new bird system that can withstand yellow gunpowder, and experiments with the stable charge required for each shot, it will be the time for large-scale application of barrel firearms.

"This ax is not like a Xuanhua axe, nor is it a mountain axe. It is a bit like a crescent axe, but it's not. The end of the axe blade is bent too deeply." On the school field, Zu Bian held the crescent axe and commented, and the rest The onlookers also watched with great interest: "My lord, where did you find it?"

Wang Huan grinned and said casually: "Back then, my master traveled overseas and went to the Far North. There is a country called Russia, and its sergeants used this kind of crescent axe. Come and try it. How do you think it works?"

Zu Bian promised, stood a few steps away, threw his arms and swung a few times. The crescent ax was very heavy, and it made a whirring sound when it was played. It was like a heavy hammer when it pierced through the air. enough to cause fatal injury.

"The weight is good, and the power is okay." Zu Bian stopped and weighed the big ax in his hand: "However, the handle is a bit short, so it's not very comfortable to use."

Wang Huan said with a smile: "It can't grow any longer. If it grows longer, it will be able to shoot upwards when the bird is placed on it. Moreover, the axes used by the infantry are no different from those used by the cavalry. It will be inconvenient if they grow longer."

As he spoke, Wang Huan turned to Yan Mingde, who was standing by the crowd, and waved: "Yan Baihu, come and try."

Yan Mingde originally shy away from his status as a subordinate, so he stood at the end a little timidly, looking at the star general Wang Huan in the circle with a look of envy and a little inferiority, with a trace of curiosity in his heart, at this age How did the gentle young man defeat the fierce Zeng Ying in that night attack?At that time, Yan Mingde was also in the army, and he felt chaos in all directions suddenly in the middle of the night. He just opened his sleepy eyes, and was taken prisoner by the white-robed soldiers who rushed into the camp before he recovered from his sleepy eyes. When you wake up, it's like a dream in Nankeyi.

Seeing Yan Mingde standing there in a daze, Wang Huan yelled again, Yan Mingde came back to his senses, and hurried forward to get the axe.

But Wang Huan stopped him, handed him a bird's guide and a lead bag for medicine cans, smiled at him and said, "Try it, using the bird's guide with an axe, the shooting effect is better."

Yan Mingde respectfully agreed to take over the Niaotong, but Wang Huan said again: "Yan Mingde, use your fastest speed to reload and shoot, and shoot a few times in a row, let everyone see how powerful the Niaotong soldiers are."

Yan Mingde nodded hastily as if he was flattered, but there was a warm feeling in his heart. He secretly thought that he had been in Zeng Ying's army for four or five years, and Zeng Ying never remembered his name. It was only half a month since he joined the Kuizhou army. , less than five days after arriving in Hezhou, the chief general Wang Huan was able to call out his full name. Compared with the two, he was amazed.

Now I have the idea of ​​showing off my skills in front of the new master. Now that I have joined the Kuizhou army, I feel that this army is not like the usual Ming army who only kills and robs, but a real regular strong army. As a military household who can only serve as a soldier, it is natural to work hard.

So Yan Mingde picked up the bird handle, erected the crescent axe again, and thrust the spike at the end deep into the soil on the ground, stood upright, and then reloaded the ammunition methodically and quickly, with his hands like piercing flowers. Butterfly, kept busy, completed a series of complicated actions such as loading propellant, reloading, tamping with cleaning rod, and reloading gunpowder in the blink of an eye, which dazzled the surrounding generals.

When Yan Mingde finished placing the bird on the curved surface of the crescent ax, he held the long handle of the ax with one hand and the tail end of the bird with the other. He closed one eye and put his face close to the rear sight in front of the fire door, aiming at fifty paces. When he hit a wooden stake outside, in just a few breaths, such a deft movement made Zu Bian, who was known as a master of firearms, nod his head.

In fact, it was the first time Yan Mingde used the shooting position with an ax in one hand and a gun in the other. It felt a bit weird, but when he lowered his head to aim, he felt very comfortable. Yan Mingde, whose face was pockmarked like a crater, immediately realized the beauty of aiming without having to use his hands to force it.

After aiming for a while, Yan Mingde moved his finger, and the bird gun slammed, and a puff of black smoke rose from the muzzle of the gun. Accompanied by the gunshot, a bullet hole suddenly appeared on a wooden stake as thick as an ordinary person's thigh fifty steps away, and sawdust flew. A shot hit the stake.

There was applause from all around, and Wang Huan nodded with a smile.

Yan Mingde was unmoved, he didn't even glance at the cheering crowd, he put all his body and mind on the gun in his hand, pulled the trigger, and without looking at the target, he immediately put the gun back, and blew a mouthful of smoke casually, The cleaning rod wrapped in a damp cloth was quickly pounded in the tube a few times, the ammunition was reloaded, and after a few more breaths, the bird tube was placed on the crescent ax again.

"What a quick move!" Zu Bian exclaimed in a low voice, with an expression of surprise on his red face.Not only him, Wang Huan was also surprised. He didn't expect that there would be such a good player in the army. He counted secretly just now. From Yan Mingde's gun reloading to reloading after shooting, and then finishing the gun, there were only more than 20 people. Seconds later, with the sound of the second gunshot, Yan Mingde's second shot was also fired. At this time, Wang Huan could only count to No. 30.

Two shots were fired in 30 seconds, very fast.

A burst of sawdust sprang up from the wooden pile in the distance again, and just below the first bullet hole, another bullet hole appeared on the wooden pile, causing another exclamation from the surroundings.

Two wins in a row, this result is enough to be rated as excellent.

Before Yan Mingde finished, he retracted his gun and reloaded, and started the third reload leisurely.

Everyone didn't dare to make any more noises, and watched Yan Mingde's performance quietly. Even a guy as arrogant as Zu Bian kept his mouth shut and stared nervously at his movements, for fear that a little noise would affect his performance. he.

Wrap a cleaning rod with a wet cloth to clean the pipe, load the ammunition, tamp it with a cleaning rod, load the gunpowder, light the matchlock, aim, and fire the gun, just like the rigorous process on the assembly line, Yan Mingde did it without any mistakes, and the third shot It was released steadily, with a sound of "bang!", the wooden stake fifty steps away trembled again, this shot happened to hit the middle of the first two holes, and the thick wooden stake seemed to be bitten several times by lead. Usually, a large piece of wood is missing in the flying sawdust, and after a few swings, it breaks into two pieces.

Yan Mingde sighed, and shook his head in pity, as if he was dissatisfied that the wooden stake used as a target was too thin, and the three systems would be interrupted, otherwise he could still perform for a while.

"45 seconds!" Wang Huan was already shocked. It was too fast. Judging from Yan Mingde's movements, he could release the four elements within one minute. This speed was extremely fast in the era of matchlock guns. What's more valuable is that every time he The guns all hit the target, and the three commanders smashed the wooden pile fifty paces away. This is an excellent shooter, and it will definitely be a good material for snipers in future generations.

The normal shooting speed of the matchlock gun is about three shots per minute. If it is someone who has not undergone strict training, this speed will have to be slowed down. The bird commanding soldiers in the towns of the Ming Dynasty have long since lost their heyday in the Qi Jiguang era. The soldiers are not good and the generals are not fierce. Because of greed and exploitation, the army is short of ammunition and ammunition. Not to mention training, even the clothes are not well matched. How can we talk about training?And it's a joke to pull out a bird commander without strict training to fight.

Yan Mingde is simply an outlier among the officers and soldiers. Such a talented person is just a small soldier in Zeng Ying's team, not even counted as a general. This makes Wang Huan's influence on Daming Army Town even worse.

"Okay, okay, okay!" Wang Huan led a group of generals and rushed to Yan Mingde's side, shouted three "good" words, patted him on the shoulder and laughed, as happy as if he had found a treasure. Everyone was amazed and applauded, making Yan Mingde shine like a star.

"Good fight, Yan Baihu, from now on you will be the instructor of my Kuizhou soldiers and birds. In addition to managing your centurions, you have to spare time every day to teach shooting methods and train a team for my Kuizhou army. You are as good as the Bird Commander, come!" Wang Huan laughed until his mouth reached his ears, and shouted with a loud laugh.

"Congratulations Yan Baihu!"

"Congratulations, please drink later."

Hearing that Wang Huan was appointed as an official on the spot, all the generals were overjoyed and booed one after another, congratulating Yan Mingde while making a fuss.

Yan Mingde was a bit overwhelmed. He had a simple personality and was not good at communicating, so he was an unknown soldier in the army despite his outstanding skills. At this time, he was sweating profusely, and he was even more nervous than when he fired three shots in a row. He clumsily pointed at Wang Huan. He replied: "Don't dare, the adults praised it. In fact, the younger ones can hit accurately, it all depends on the adults' methods."

Only then did Wang Huan wake up from the joy, remembered the business, and quickly asked: "By the way, this kind of shooting with a gun, how does it feel when you shoot with a gun in the past?"

Yan Mingde thought for a while before he said: "I added an ax and an extra weapon. It will be a little tiring when marching, but it will be much better when shooting. The crescent ax is upright and stable. It is much more stable than holding it by hand. And it won't shake, and the shooting is more accurate, to tell you the truth, the little ones are not so accurate in normal shooting."

Zu Bian interjected: "An ax is not heavy, but it has an extra means of life-saving. In the past, the bird commander was equipped with a waist knife, and the knife was as short as a pig butcher. It is useless. Only an ax is like a soldier. Look at the weight of this axe, it can cut a bloody hole in the head of a horse, let alone a human head. With it, the bird commander can be counted as a soldier without the bird commander."

A bunch of people around were nodding, thinking it made sense. Indeed, after the bird commanders in the former army fired a row of guns in front of the formation, they basically became tasteless. The waist knives they were equipped with in hand-to-hand combat In a battle where spears and halberds are rampant, there is no scene at all. With this long-handled crescent axe, you can have fighting ability, and hundreds of crescent axes are lined up in a row, just like the Modao team in Tang Dynasty. , Combat power should not be underestimated.

Wang Huan nodded, and asked Yan Mingde: "Your bird shooting is very accurate, where did you practice it?"

The onlookers were also curious, it was rare to see such a good commander in the Ming army, it couldn't have been trained by Zeng Ying.

Yan Mingde's face turned red and he replied: "To tell you the truth, I am from Hebei Province and have been a military family for generations. My father once served in Lord Lu Xiangsheng's army. Later, he was injured and could no longer serve in the army, so he returned to his hometown to retire. He was taught by his father's words and deeds since he was a child, and he was familiar with the bird system. When he was a child, he used a slingshot to shoot birds. When he was older, his father forced him to practice his eyesight with a wooden gun every day. Later, he joined the army on his father's behalf and joined the Beijing camp, specializing in Si Niao Tong, so his shooting is more accurate than others."

"So that's how it is." Wang Huan understood, and said decisively: "Your appointment as an instructor will be fulfilled today, and starting tomorrow, the entire army will be trained by you, and you will use all the methods your father used to train you. Practice hard, and strive to make our Bird Commander proficient as soon as possible."

He solemnly said to Yan Mingde: "You have to be careful, the future victory or defeat of the Kuizhou soldiers will all depend on you!"

Yan Mingde only felt his blood rushing up, a kind of emotion of dying for his confidant went straight to his brain, he was dizzy for a while, and he almost couldn't stand still. He didn't expect that the commander-in-chief would trust him so much that he would not only make him a centurion He was the leader, and promoted him to be the instructor of the whole army. How can he not be moved by this kind of heart and courage.

After finally compose himself, Yan Ming Decai clasped his fists excitedly and shouted loudly: "Your kindness, even the little ones can't repay you. Please don't worry, the little ones will do their best and do everything they can to practice for the grown-ups." The bird commander is here."

From this day on, Yan Mingde devoted himself wholeheartedly to the training of bird control hands. His method is unique. Instead of letting people touch bird control, he arranged more than 2000 people in two rows on the school field, separated by They stood facing each other ten paces away, each with a wooden stick in his hand, with a stone weighing eight jin tied to the stick, pointing it up flat and aiming at the eyebrows of the person facing him, one end is for an hour, the middle is not allowed to be put down, and even a little slack is not allowed. Otherwise, the military law team will serve with military sticks.

Wang Huan also found it novel and asked why. Yan Mingde replied that soldiers who are new to the Bird System have no foundation at all. They must first practice their eyesight and arm strength before they can fight accurately and steadily. This is how to fight the Bird System well. Basically, as for the speed of loading ammunition and ammunition, practice makes perfect, there is no shortcut,
Wang Huan nodded and said yes. A few days later, he saw Yan Mingde let the bird commanders stand upright in a row, and let the pikemen charge forward from a distance with wooden spears, making a charge and assassination. Passing through the gap between the people of the bird commander, and the bird commander was not allowed to move and dodge, the gap was only a foot wide, watching the long wooden gun rubbing the bird commander's clothes and slipping through, Wang Huan was sweating. If the spearman made a slight mistake, he would stab the bird's hand directly. Once stabbed, it would hurt even thinking about it.

But no need to ask, Wang Huan also understands Yan Mingde's painstaking efforts. This must be to practice the courage of the bird commander. On the battlefield, if he doesn't have some concentration, he will get confused when he sees the enemy charging, fire his guns randomly and then Run away, or in the rush, forget whether the gun is loaded or not, put double the gunpowder in it, and the chamber will explode as soon as you hit it, or even leave the purge in the gun and shoot it out together. Such a bird commander will follow There is no difference between the officers and soldiers, and it is not what Wang Huan needs. Yan Mingde knows this well. He had suffered enough losses from his colleagues in the Ming army and hated this situation the most. At this time, courage training is of course an important part of military training. to catch.

This kind of training is risky. If something goes wrong, someone will be injured, and it is not uncommon for bones to be broken and muscles to be separated. However, Wang Huan thinks it is worth it. This method not only trains bird commanders, but also trains spearmen, and usually it is more popular. Sweat and blood can save a life in wartime, which is worthwhile.

So some people questioned, some people couldn't bear to make troubles, Wang Huan ignored the doubts at all, and dealt with the troubles more easily.

"Soldiers don't come to enjoy blessings, they come to suffer. To endure hardships is to survive, to be able to kill the enemy on the battlefield and survive. Kuizhou soldiers don't raise bastards. For those who died in battle, Kuizhou soldiers support their families. Those who can't bear the training in the army are not worthy of being Kuizhou soldiers." This sentence became Wang Huan's mantra, and he brainwashed the people in the army if he had nothing to do. It didn't take long for this sentence to become a famous saying of the Kuizhou army. It can be said that this is the first sentence of the generals and generals when they lecture. Over time, even the common people know it, and it is cited as a well-known military epigram in Kuizhou. Of course, this is a later story.

(End of this chapter)