I am the prince of the Ming Dynasty, I don't give up

Chapter 325 Preparation
It was precisely because of this reality in the Ming army that the first suggestion the General Staff made to Zhu Houzhao was to concentrate the cavalry for use.

The new army had already been trained to use both bird guns and artillery together.

So even though there are only five or six thousand cavalrymen, it is a rare scene in this era when the Ming Dynasty has always been on the passive defensive.

Just these five or six thousand cavalrymen had already plundered all the garrisons near Xuanfu, and more than a thousand of them were looted from the garrison in Jizhou Town.

There was no way around it because the energy consumption of war horses was too high. They needed to eat more than 5 kilograms of hay and kilograms of concentrated feed, usually soybeans and oats, every day. The most important thing was that more than half of these feeds had to be transported from the inland to the border towns. Under the ancient transportation conditions, the transportation consumption increased the cost of raising horses.

Moreover, horses are relatively delicate animals. If they are not adequately fed or overworked on the battlefield, they will immediately become sick in large numbers, or even die in front of everyone.

"Bang!" A flintlock pistol made a loud noise and emitted a puff of white smoke.

Ten steps away was a dummy wearing cloth armor. Several soldiers walked up to the dummy and carried it in front of Zhu Houzhao.

Zhu Houzhao shook his right hand which was numbed by the shock and lowered his head to check the damage. There was a small hole the size of a thumb on the chest of the cloth armor. The lead bullet broke through the defense of the cloth armor and left shocking scars on the dummy.

"Good stuff! Really good stuff! This is really powerful!" Zhu Houzhao held a beautifully decorated flintlock pistol in his hand and couldn't let it go. Men are born to like all kinds of weapons. "It looks inconspicuous, but it has such great power."

"Why does your Highness always hide things? Why do you only take out such a good thing now?" Zhu Houzhao said as he picked up the flintlock pistol and took a look.

"Your Highness, how dare you keep it to yourself? The two flintlock pistols in His Majesty's hand were specially made for His Majesty. The firing rate can reach over 80%. However, the firing rate of mass-produced flintlock pistols is only about 60%. That's why Your Highness has never taken them out." Wu Liangshan said carefully.

"Okay, I get it. Just tell me how much you can produce before October." Zhu Houzhao pulled the trigger. There was no ammunition loaded in the gun. The flint clamped in the gun quickly hit the firing port, producing a streak of sparks.

"More than a thousand swords have been delivered in this batch, and it is estimated that another five to six thousand swords will be delivered by October," Wu Liangshan replied.

"It's barely enough," Zhu Houzhao said with a curled lip, "We have to hurry up, the Mongolian prince is coming soon, don't delay the important matter of this great general."

"promise!"

"Prince Jing has some vision in military affairs. This thing is indeed suitable for cavalry. If you fire it at the enemy cavalry from a distance of ten steps, whether it hits a person or a horse, it will instantly make them lose their combat effectiveness. This is much more powerful than chopping them with a knife," Zhu Houzhao had a keen understanding of this new type of weapon.

Wu Liangshan just smiled and said nothing.

"We still need to study the tactics and strategies, and we also need to let the cavalrymen start practicing," Zhu Houzhao said to Jiang Bin who was accompanying him.

"Yes!" Jiang Bin said.

"Tell your Highness that my brother likes his gift very much." Zhu Houzhao carefully put the flintlock pistol into his holster.

"Yes!" Wang Dayong quickly adapted to life in the new military camp. During this period, he received new armor and arrow-proof silk clothes. This was the first time he wore clothes made of silk.

His warhorse was well taken care of in the barracks, with plenty of grass and fine feed, as well as a daily quota of one or two ounces of refined salt. His warhorse looked a little thin because he often deducted its rations, and the grooms in the barracks even added eggs to its feed, which really shocked him.

Compared to the war horse, he himself was also well taken care of. The food was greatly improved and he had fish for every meal. His daily chores were also handled well, allowing him to better carry out his daily training.

After all, they usually fight in small groups, and have never practiced concentrated combat formations or tactics.

They were all light cavalry, because heavy cavalry found it difficult to deal with the Mongolian light cavalry and could not catch up with them.

They were asked to train in a new type of warfare using a new type of weapon.

Wang Dayong cherishes his present life very much, so he trains very seriously and quickly masters the skills of using a flintlock pistol, troubleshooting, maintenance, flint replacement, etc.

In fact, these are not difficult to master. This is also the direction of the gradual evolution of the musket, gradually reducing the cost of use and training.

Wang Dayong likes his current life very much. In addition to the boring training, there are people who come to perform dramas for them.

The drama is very touching. It tells a story that takes place in a border town. The program denounces the crimes committed by the Mongols, making the soldiers and civilians present feel united in their hatred of the enemy and having a strong sense of immersion.

The actors who played the Mongolians in the drama suffered a lot. The barracks were full of hot-blooded soldiers, and the entry point and the protagonist of the drama made it easy for them to empathize with the characters. Therefore, the actors who played the Mongolians were often chased and blocked by angry soldiers, although the officers repeatedly emphasized that they should not beat the actors.
There are more than a dozen performance groups touring the military camp, and Wang Dayong has watched more than a dozen different plays, which is more than the number of plays he had watched in the first thirty years of his life combined.

He also heard that these performance teams would tour the garrisons in various places, and he really hoped that his relatives and friends in Huaian Garrison could see their performances.

For the next month, the General Staff organized training for the troops, mainly training the coordination between the various arms.

Zhu Houzhao became more and more anxious because it was already September and there was no sign of the Mongols. Although the news brought back by Ye Bushou was that the Mongols were constantly gathering, he could not provide more accurate intelligence.

While organizing training, the General Staff also made various simulations based on the current battlefield situation.

According to the results of the deduction, the main attack direction of the Mongols was likely to be Datong, Yansui and Xuanfu.

So Zhu Houzhao could not wait to make adjustments. He led 5000 new troops and cavalry to the junction of Xuanfu and Datong - Zhenluwei, and ordered Jiang Bin to lead new troops to Yanghewei, and new troops and Xuanfu border troops to be deployed in Wanquan Zuowei.

Simply deploy the main force along the border. This arrangement is not a problem. It can easily support various places.
However, Zhu Houzhao's move still frightened the accompanying generals. They wanted the emperor to stay in Xuanfu, but the emperor ran to the front line.
I worked all day, but I was always busy and didn't have a chance to slack off. I didn't start writing until 8pm. I'm not in a good state, but I will make up for the two chapters I owe. I have to take a rest today, my brain is about to explode. I only slept for three or four hours at the company today.

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(End of this chapter)