Chapter 280 Gunpowder-boosted bow and arrow

Before going to war, I knew that Zhang Shicheng's troops were equipped with advanced muskets. There was no idea how to advance them at that time. But now, I have been attacked several times and finally found that the opponent's firearm can shoot from three hundred steps away, and within one hundred and fifty steps, the accuracy is amazing, which is something that our own firearm dare not even imagine.

At that time, in order to restrain the opponent's long-range weapons, he carried the Huihua cannon and the bed crossbow. However, these two things were very heavy and were not suitable for use during the marching process.

Although the forward was equipped with the latest firearms from the court, it was also a weapon that was no match for the opponent. The front thousand-man team was completely wiped out, which is an example.

Now, when you are harassed at all times and ignore them, there will be sporadic losses. Although it is irrelevant, it will seriously affect morale. If you pursue, there will be fewer people and no return. If there are too many people, it will seriously affect the marching.

Gong Boqi's proposal reminded Tutuo that his army was also equipped with a weapon: rocket.

Rockets are also an arrow that needs to be launched by a bow. It is difficult for ordinary bows to reach a range of 100 steps. This kind of arrow has added a booster device to ordinary arrows: a gunpowder launcher is tied to the arrow.

When firing a bow and arrow, first ignite the twister, then aim and fire. After the arrow is shot out, the gunpowder begins to light up, generating thrust, allowing the arrow to accelerate, thereby greatly increasing the range.

This kind of thing is very light and can be used by cavalry. Scouts are sent to the scouts on both wings. If they use this kind of bow and arrow, they can prevent the opponent's small-scale harassment from hindering their own marching.

"Okay, that's it. Senator Gong is responsible for picking out some elite troops from each army to be responsible for the defense of the large army's marching!" Tuotuo said.

"Sir, Xie." Gong Boqian replied.

Gong Boqin was very happy to be appreciated by Tai Shi Tuotuo. This time he followed the army and would definitely be promoted after the triumphant victory.

He immediately organized manpower overnight to prepare for tomorrow's action.

The quiet night sky, with stars, the entire camp fell into a deep sleep.

Zhao Zixiong and Pan Yuanshao join forces to discuss strategies.

Both of them gained a lot in today's action, especially Zhao Zixiong. In the first battle, he killed a thousand-man cavalry team and seized the opponent's three-eyed musket.

"Sir, the Tartars will be able to arrive at Gaoyou Mansion in a few days. We have to hurry up. Why don't we go to attack the camp tonight!" said a thousand households.

"No, we can only raid the Tartars during the day, not at night." Zhao Zixiong said.

You cannot be blinded by victory. During the day, the range of the Tianque gun can be fully utilized. At night, you can't see clearly within a few dozen steps and you can't take advantage of the Tianque gun at all. On the contrary, the Tartar camp will definitely place things like trips and horses. If your cavalry goes to the night, you can only commit suicide. This kind of transaction is not worth it and cannot be done.

"We should do it according to the method assigned by our elder brother. Hackering the Tartars, eating a little bit is the main thing, and preserving ourselves is the main thing." Pan Yuanshao said.

"Yes, our cavalry has very little power. We must not fight head-on with the Tartars. If we have advantages, we will take advantage. If we don't have advantages, we will not do it." Zhao Zixiong said.

"Tomorrow, we will divide into small teams and set up an ambush circle to annihilate the cavalry sent by the Tatars. Moreover, I think the middle army has the weakest combat power, so we will use them to attack!"

When you pick up the persimmons, you have to pick up the persimmons, and when you fight Tartars, you have to pick up the ones with weak combat power, you only take advantage of them and don’t suffer any losses!

The next day, Zhao Zixiong led a team of dozens of people to lure the enemy, and several teams of hundreds set up an ambush at the agreed place.

As he slowly approached the pipeline, Zhao Zixiong's face changed slightly: The Tartars changed their tactics!

I saw the Tartars in the middle still advancing on the pipeline, and on both sides of the pipeline, many scattered cavalry appeared. They walked and patrolled both sides vigilantly.

In this way, it is difficult to start. As soon as I approached, my small team of dozens of people would be discovered by the scattered cavalrymen. In the distance, my Tianque gun would not have too high accuracy to shoot these cavalrymen. It would be better to be suitable for the marching team with dense shooting. When I get close, I will inevitably contact the opponent with close forces. Moreover, the opponent is carrying bows and arrows, and he must be the elite of the Tartars.

"Get closer to a distance of 150 steps, observe the situation first." Zhao Zixiong said. At a distance of 150 steps, his hit rate of Tianque gun has been greatly improved, but the opponent's bow and arrow cannot shoot from him. At that time, he will be at ease whether to fight or escape.

Seeing the dust from horse hooves in the distance, the Tartar scouts immediately blew the warning whistle vigilantly. The nearby scouts gathered here one after another. They lined up and took out their bows and arrows calmly.

"Sir, the Tartars are prepared, will we withdraw?" asked a cavalryman.

"No, let's get closer, let's observe first." Zhao Zixiong said.

About 150 steps, Zhao Zixiong stopped the horse and looked at the formation that he had already set. As long as he moved forward, the other party would shoot arrows without hesitation. However, at this distance, he was the only way to shoot the other party himself. Why were they still lined up and didn't know how to avoid it?

"Prepare to shoot." Zhao Zixiong said. Since there are those who are not afraid of death, then I will give the other party a chance.

Clinker, the moment the soldiers were digging the Tianque gun, the other party had already shot arrows. Dozens of arrows flew into the sky and shot towards them.

The soldiers were not afraid. At this distance, the opponent's arrow could not be shot unless a miracle happened.

Zhao Zixiong didn't care, but in the sun, he suddenly discovered that the bow and arrow shot by the other party were unusual: smoke was coming from it!

In a blink of an eye, the arrow drew a beautiful arc in the sky and flew towards it, which had long exceeded the normal distance!

There is a problem! Zhao Zixiong shouted: "Retreat!"

After rigorous training, the soldiers had already achieved absolute obedience to the orders. They turned their horses and ran backwards.

As soon as he ran two steps, he saw the arrow landing on the open space where he was staying just now. The soldiers all looked pale. When did the Tartars have such things?

"Shot the volley, kill the Tartars!" Zhao Zixiong said.

As soon as I turned my head, I found that the Tartars were following me and ran towards me. It seemed that they had just approached the range of the Tartars' bows and arrows, so the Tartars would continue to pursue themselves, otherwise, they would just shoot arrows.

The soldiers turned their heads, and the Tianque gun in their hands roared, eliminating some of the fast-moving Tartars, and then retreated again.

After a day of battle, Zhao Zixiong and Pan Yuanshao were both disappointed: there was no gain. On the contrary, there were two teams who lost several brothers because they did not retreat in time.

"His grandma, I can't do this job anymore. When did the Tartars come up with such a thing?" said a hundred households carelessly.

"I have already studied that the reason why the Tartars' bows and arrows can be so far away is that they are boosted by gunpowder," said another hundred-hu.

Zhao Zixiong took the arrow handed over by Baihu, which was pulled out from the injured brother. The bow and arrow were like other Tartar bows and arrows. The only thing was tied to the middle of the arrow. The bamboo tubes were already blackened. Combined with the thick smoke he saw, it can be imagined that the gunpowder was placed inside.

After the gunpowder burned, it did not explode, but instead converted into power, increasing the speed of the arrow, thus allowing the arrow to fly further and reaching 150 steps.

Although his Tianque gun can shoot the opponent at 300 steps, the hit rate is not high. Only when it gets closer to 200 steps can you be more confident. In the past, these 200 steps were very safe. Now, the Tartars' bows and arrows can shoot 150 steps. If the Tartars attack faster, it would be a bit dangerous. Besides, he could not reach the large troops in the Tartars' marching at all, but instead confronted the outside provocations, and the opponent's defense circle expanded, making him covered in dirt.

This is the case, it can only be seen how to deal with it.

"If this happens, we have to cancel the harassment operation." Zhao Zixiong said.

"This is not possible. Then when we go back, where will we put our faces?" Pan Yuanshao opposed.

"Before I came, my elder brother said that protecting myself is the most important thing. We cannot waste this cavalry in this kind of battle. The cavalry is our strongest soldier, and good steel must be used on the blade." Zhao Zixiong said. "Send two brothers to send this arrow back to Gaoyou Mansion to let the elder brother know that the Tartars have this weapon."

"Then let the Tartars go?" Pan Yuanshao asked depressedly.

"Of course not, we still have a chance." Zhao Zixiong said.

“What opportunity?”

"According to the speed of the Tartars' march, in another five days, the Tartars will march to Qingjiang." Zhao Zixiong said.

Qingjiang? Everyone's eyes lit up. If you want to go to Gaoyou Mansion, you must cross the Yellow River. The current marching route of the Tatars should cross the Yellow River from Qingjiang.

No matter how many large troops the Tatars are, they are the most dangerous when crossing the river. When attacked, there may be big trouble and it will turn into a defeat.

However, these troops of his own are too weak, with a total of thousands of people attacking each other hundreds of thousands of people. Even if they pick up a big advantage over crossing the river, they dare not say how much chance of winning.

Moreover, the task given by the elder brother is to take advantage of it, not to confront the Tartars head-on, it should be done under Gaoyou Mansion.

"I'm afraid it's not appropriate to block the Tartars in Qingjiang?" Pan Yuanshao said.

"Of course it's not appropriate to only us, but if there are more people, it would be easier." Zhao Zixiong said.

How is that possible? Even if the eldest brother is willing to send, there will be no cavalry? In such a place, without ready-made trenches, the infantry will not be able to resist the Tartar cavalry.

"As long as we contact General Bian and let him unite with us, aren't we afraid that the Tartars will not be beaten?" Zhao Zixiong said sinisterly.

Everyone suddenly realized that they all had the same expression on their faces.

In the entire province, no one can compete with the navy of the rebel army. Those steam engine ships equipped with cannons are simply invincible existences.

"We first rushed to Qingjiang to find a suitable attack location, and then sent a few teams to find General Bian and contact him as soon as possible." Zhao Zixiong said.

However, what Zhao Zixiong did not expect was that a few days later, he watched the Tartars cross the Yellow River safely, but still did not contact Bian Yuanheng.

Although there are teleport communications, they are all based on fixed locations, such as Gaoyou Mansion to Xinghua, or even to most.

However, it would be impossible to let the carrier pigeons pass information between two sports teams. The carrier pigeons deliver messages based on the carrier pigeon's ability to recognize their families. However, after all, the carrier pigeons are not humans. How could they know where to find the floating large ships?

And Bian Yuanheng is busy transporting coal.

Tuotuo felt that the marching team was finally clear again. Gong Boqi's strategy really worked. The group of ghostly cavalry finally left in a hurry under the attack of the rockets and scouts.

However, Tuotuo was always a little restless, and his eyes sprinkled on the map on the table.

After a long march, we got closer and closer to Gaoyou Mansion.

However, before entering Gaoyou Prefecture, you must cross the Yellow River flowing through Huaian Road.

If you want to cross the Yellow River, you must have a navy army.

When a large army crosses the river, it is not necessary to find some ferries and carry them over. Huai'an Road is very close to Gaoyou Mansion. Will Zhang Shicheng sit and watch his army cross the Yellow River? With his toes, he can imagine that the other party may have various actions. Those cavalrymen are sent to the edge of the Secretariat, so how can they not set up ambush on the Yellow River?

If you look for a ferry to cross the river and the other party is ambushing the other bank, because the ferry is limited, you can only bring thousands of soldiers across the river at a time, so you will not be eaten by the other party?

Only when the navy arrives is safe. Let the navy guard both sides of the banks beside the Yellow River, soldiers will not encounter too much risk during the process of crossing the river.

What puzzled Tutuo was that the navy and he set out together. Logically speaking, the navy should be faster than him, but since he left the Secretariat, he has never seen the shadow of the navy.

What is this Dong Tuanxiao doing?

Tuotuo sent several teams, but no sign of the navy was found, which gave him an unknown premonition.

"Report." A soldier shouted outside.

"What's going on?" Tuotuo asked.

"Sir, the young man finally found the navy." The soldier replied. Due to long journeys, the original color of his uniform could no longer be seen.

"Finished? Where are they? When will they arrive?" asked Tuotuo.

The soldier did not answer.
To be continued...