The air was filled with a unique tea fragrance. After a pot of tea was brewed for the third time, Zhu Gaoxu asked in an inadvertent tone: "It is reported that before the government troops set out from Saigon Port, there was an envoy of Manta (the Sultan Kingdom of Malacca) coming. Didn't Liu Envoy know in advance?"

"When I heard about this, the envoy of the Mantaojia was expelled and was not in the army." Liu Ming's speech was slow. He seemed to realize immediately that the emperor's question was not as casual as his tone. Liu Ming answered, as if he was thinking.

Zhu Gaoxu nodded.

After a while, Liu Ming said again: "Before General Chen was on the seal, many court officials opposed it. General Chen surrendered twice in previous battles, failed many times, and had almost no decent victory. The dukes did not recognize his integrity and ability. When I saw General Chen during this southern battle, I felt that he was particularly humiliated by the past. When I defeated the Zhenla Army, General Chen was anxious about his greed for merit."

After hearing this, Zhu Gaoxu felt something was right. Because he remembered that before sending troops south, in order to motivate Chen Xuan, he told him to seize the opportunity to avenge his shame.

Chen Xuan launched an unnecessary battle this time, which was vaguely influenced by Zhu Gaoxu. So Zhu Gaoxu felt that Chen Xuan's actions seemed to be under his control.

Liu Ming's words appeared to demote Chen Xuan, but actually helped Chen Xuan. However, civil officials usually don't speak specifically for military generals, and it's better not to complain.

Zhu Gaoxu said: "So that's it."

The tea had almost been drunk, so Liu Ming then stood up and bowed, thanking him and leaving.

The situation in the south has eased for the time being. Mantaga, Java, and Zhenla have all been entrusted with peace. The Siamese finally followed the advice of the Ming officials and stopped putting injustice on the Zhenla Kingdom. The court successively established fortress strongholds such as Songtaiwei, Da Nang, Saigon, and Longyamen along the ocean coast, established envoy cities, and planned to build two major governor's offices.

The strategy of using troops in Liaodong in the north was determined, and the preparations for the army were already in full swing.

In May, after the first batch of Xingguang guns were equipped with the Beijing infantry, Zhu Gaoxu went to the large school ground outside Hongwu Gate to observe the soldiers and practice tactics.

In addition to the generals of the Jinyiwei, there were also civil officials such as Qi Tai, Xia Yuanji, Qian Xun, and other nobles such as Qu Neng and Liu Ying. There were two other special people, Mao Kaishan and Ma Xingguang. They looked a little eye-catching around the emperor surrounded by ministers and nobles.

The people responsible for the overall training on the school are Wang Bin, Wu Gao, and Chen Zhen. Zhu Gaoxu specially asked them to train their soldiers so that they could know from the very beginning how the soldiers fought in front of the formation.

The campus was very noisy. As soon as people left Hongwu Gate, the sound of gunfires there could be vaguely heard. When they arrived at the campus, they saw white smoke on the open ground, and countless people and vehicles were moving, trampling the land of the pen and dust. At first glance, Zhu Gaoxu seemed to be suddenly in the battle formation.

Zhu Gaoxu rode a horse to the next to a military formation and saw those soldiers skillfully loading muskets. The soldiers of the Beijing camp have been using firearms for a long time and are familiar with the comb-rope guns originally called "Chun Han Gun". It was not difficult to switch to flintlock guns at this time, because flintlock guns are simpler to use than comb-rope guns.

The soldiers in the army carried two kinds of tools related to firearms, not on the battle formation. One was to make the pliers themselves, and the other was a spoon that looked like a wine measuring device. The soldiers would use this measuring tool spoon in advance, and put the gunpowder in a small bamboo tube, and then seal it with oil paper and rope.

So each of the musketeers had a lot of things hanging on their bodies. They first took out a bamboo tube from their waist pocket, then bit the sealing paper with their teeth, poured the quantitative hair-firing medicine into the barrel. Then they took the lead balls in the silk pad and poked the lead balls in and compacted them. Finally, they opened the reed mechanism, picked up the gourd hanging around their waist, and poured the fire medicine into the pot cover at the tail. The filling was completed and they were just waiting to be fired. The whole process was much simpler than the coercion gun and the speed was much faster.

Although muskets are still troublesome than bow-cross operation, they have more benefits. Long-range soldiers do not require much technology and strength. Loading and firing are all hand-held work and do not require long-term training of archery skills. Firearms also do not require high requirements for the transportation logistics of the baggage battalion. An ammunition carried by a single soldier can fire dozens of times in a row, which can almost meet the consumption of the entire battle; if it were the supply of arrows, it would be unimaginable.

Li Ling, a famous Han Dynasty general, once fought against the Huns with a small number of enemies. However, it is said that Li Ling was originally a baggage soldier responsible for transportation. He accidentally encountered the Huns and carried a large number of arrows in the camp. Even so, Li Ling finally surrendered because the arrows were exhausted. If it were a musket camp, it would be difficult to exhaust ammunition in one battle.

At this time, Wang Bin, Wu Gao and others also rode horses to welcome them. They dismounted and clasped their fists and held their salutes. Zhu Gaoxu nodded, and his eyes were still watching the soldiers who were practicing there.

The loaded soldiers were entering the firing position one after another, located behind a row of Wuhan Iron and Steel Vehicles. There were huge shields in front of the Wuhan Iron and Steel Vehicles, and the soldiers stood behind the firing holes with muskets. There was a gap between the Wuhan Iron and Steel Vehicles, but at this time, the Refugee Guns had been moved down from the car to supplement the defense. The musket soldiers stood behind the Refugee Guns, and the gun shield soldiers who were responsible for covering them all retreated one after another.

With a shout, the soldiers fired one after another, and the guns in the chariot array gathered in a dense manner, and the fire and smoke flew together, and the formation was very terrifying.

Seeing this, everyone was amazed.

Zhu Gaoxu didn't say a word, sat on the horse's back and looked at the bulky Wuhan Iron and Steel Truck, and turned around and said, "Thinking about some things is really amazing. Wuhan Iron and Steel Truck has been used for thousands of years, and we are still using them now."

When Zhu Gaoxu of Wude Dynasty personally conquered the Tatars, the army carried a large number of Wuhan-steel vehicles. Later he learned that this thing had been available in the Central Plains dynasty at least since the Han Dynasty.

Wu Gao's voice said: "The emperor clearly understands that the nomadic cavalry in the north has more than a thousand years of threat to the Central Plains. This chariot has miraculous effects on cavalry shooting, and cavalry charges, so it has been used to this day."

Zhu Gaoxu said: "Everything has advantages and disadvantages. It is easy to defend against it, but how can you fight back? This chariot has difficulty moving, and if you make a slight counterattack, you can only rely on cavalry. As for the cavalry, our official army has no advantage over all Mongolian tribes. No wonder Zu Gongyan said that Taining and other guards joined forces with the Korchin tribe, and their combat power is still very strong."

Wu Gao had no choice but to admit, "The Holy Ones and the Holy Ones."

Zhu Gaoxu said again: "With such a heavy chariot running for a long distance, a large number of civilians need to be recruited. Moreover, the longer the world is, the more the cavalry in our dynasty has no advantage over the cavalry in the north. Perhaps how can we use infantry to fight cavalry to better ideas?"

At this time, Liu Ying's voice said: "When there is no Wuhan Iron and Steel chariot, the official army also has tactics. There are roughly two ways. One is the front row of guns and shields who protect the musket soldiers squat down and wait for the musket gun to fire. The second is the guns and gunsmen arranged at a distance, and the gunsmen are used to protect the musket soldiers, and the military formation can also maintain the shooting and attack."

Liu Ying was proficient in various infantry formation tactics, and what he said was the formations used by the Ming army before.

Zhu Gaoxu shook his head and said, "The flintlock rifle has a characteristic, because it does not use open fire, and can arrange more dense firepower. The use of the combs and fire door rifles is the same as that of the combs and fire door rifles, so it cannot exert the advantages of new firearms. My idea should maximize the protection of the firepower and damage, reduce the burden on infantry and increase mobility. In this way, of course, we have to give up some defensiveness, just how to choose the pros and cons."

Liu Ying said: "What the emperor said is that before the Song Dynasty, people and horses were equipped with heavy riders, and were eventually abandoned by the world. Our dynasty is vast, with a desert in the north of thousands of miles, and light riders are the right way."

Zhu Gaoxu nodded and said, "May use dense step formations, and the second to third rows are shot together, and one shot will hit the enemy severely. The vehicles should also be lighter, and the shields and iron spears on them are all burdens."

At this time, Maokaishan beside him said, "If the carriage is only used to transport food, fodder and heavy artillery, I think the wooden board can be changed into wooden strips and made into a rack cart, and then the top is stretched with lighter materials such as cowhide, which can greatly reduce the weight."

Zhu Gaoxu turned around and said, "Can you do it by re-made the vehicle?"

Ma Xingguang, who had been silent, spoke, "It's nothing more than riveting with wooden strips."

Wu Gao said in his voice: "If you set up camp in this way, you can only defend against horse-resisting rifles and trenches and traps." He thought for a while and said, "Above the battle formation, the front and rear military formations can only change weapons, not queues. After firing the muskets in the front row, the gun will be replaced with the back row and the gun will be rejected."

Wu Gao always thought about how to defend. But his statement was correct. Once the musket soldiers were rushed to the front of the cavalry, they had almost no resistance, and it was necessary to prepare how to defend.

"It makes sense." Zhu Gaoxu nodded and praised. He then turned to look at Ma Xingguang, "Is there any way to put the iron gun head at the front of the musket and make a bayonet?"

Ma Xingguang was stunned for a moment and pondered: "How about putting the sharp blade on the wooden handle, and then inserting the wooden handle to the muzzle?"

Ma Xingguang's idea angle is a bit strange, but he has never seen a bayonet, so it may be normal to think so. Zhu Gaoxu is different. His inherent impression is that the bayonet should be installed at the bottom of the gun-mouth.

Zhu Gaoxu asked: "Can a snap mechanism be used as a bottom of the muzzle? Can a sharp blade be installed?"

"The gun barrel is wrapped in cooked iron. It is probably not reliable to make a new iron hoop. I have to think about it for a while." Ma Xingguang bent down and said.

Zhu Gaoxu said: "Report it immediately after it is effective."

Ma Xingguang said: "I received the order."

The king and his ministers discussed for a while, then rode away from the place and continued to patrol along the school ground.
Chapter completed!