Fu Shanhe

Chapter 124 Horseback Archery in the New Era
Jiangnan Naval Office.

Looking at the document in his hand, Duan Ganhong was so angry that he wanted to curse.

It seems like he is urging him to send troops, but in fact it is the most common way of shifting the blame in official circles.

Suppressing pirates has always been the navy's responsibility.

The pirates invaded Nantong Prefecture. In addition to the local officials and the Nanjing Ministry of War, the Jiangnan Navy is also to blame.

"Reply to Admiral Li and tell him that our ship is under maintenance and ask him to hold back the pirates!"

Duan Ganhong made the decision instantly. As they were all in the government, everyone knew how to pass the buck.

The Yangzhou camp was not sure that it could keep the pirates, so it pushed the task of cutting off the pirates' retreat route to the Jiangnan Navy.

As the commander-in-chief of the navy, he can also shift the blame to other government offices.

Like many armies of the Dayu Dynasty, the once powerful Jiangnan Navy is now in decline.

The Jiangnan Navy, which had 200 ships and over 30,000 soldiers at its peak, is now just an old man in his twilight years.

The number of warships was less than half of the stipulated number, and the number of personnel was less than one-third.

The success and failure are both due to the Wei-suo system.

Under the Weisuo system, naval forces usually conducted training, settled in the countryside and maintained public order in their respective Weisuo.

In wartime, they are drawn to form combat units and led by a general to participate in combat or carry out other operations.

As a technical branch of the military, the Jiangnan Navy's military pay comes mainly from farming.

The court's funding was limited to shipbuilding and maintenance.

With the decline of the Wei Suo system and the financial constraints of the imperial court, the navy, which had no wars, became a stepmother's slave.

Limited military funds were given priority to the army.

After all, the Dayu Dynasty was a typical land-based country that was constantly threatened by nomadic peoples.

There were almost no enemies at sea, and the few pirates who could only tickle the empire were no longer a fatal threat.

Theoretically, as long as the imperial court insisted on the maritime ban, there would be no major problems.

As vested interests, maritime merchant groups will spontaneously maintain stability along the coast.

It’s not that they have high moral integrity, it’s just that they don’t want to increase investment in the navy.

Otherwise, if the imperial court decides to lift the maritime ban one day, they will be powerless to stop it.

The Japanese rebellion and large-scale pirate invasions in history were all caused by maritime merchants.

The focus of the game between the two sides is the maritime ban.

As long as this topic is brought up for discussion in the court, it won’t be long before something unexpected happens in the coastal areas.

There are ways to deal with insufficient funds.

The military expenditure currently allocated by the imperial court is the minimum stability maintenance fund established after numerous tests.

Unfortunately, there is never a shortage of people in this world who do not believe in evil, and the funds that should have been used for warship maintenance were still misappropriated.

Duan Ganhong was not sure where the letter went exactly, but the Navy Office did not receive it.

Without money in pocket, we cannot carry out maintenance on some of the expired warships.

Even if some warships are missing, the Jiangnan Navy is still capable of preventing pirates from invading Nantong Prefecture.

However, as the head of the Navy Yamen, in addition to considering the overall situation, Duan Ganhong also has to consider the interests of the Yamen.

The initial military generals still took the overall situation into consideration and did not even consider the issue of travel expenses.

But as time goes by, everyone is surprised to find that every time they consider the overall situation, they become the victim.

Given the style of the masters in the court, if the Jiangnan Navy had sent troops in time to quell the rebellion, the subsequent expenses would have been lost.

The reason for not giving money is very simple. The imperial court is facing financial difficulties and needs everyone to overcome them together.

Anyway, in the eyes of the civilian officials, as long as the army can maintain its rule, they will not spend a penny more.

With the corruption of the bureaucracy, even if the higher-ups provide funding for long-term considerations, the people below will find ways to put the money into their own pockets.

Civil officials and military generals are the same in this regard. In order to make more money for themselves, everyone tries to make the army spend as little money as possible.

After generations of deductions, the Dayu military has taken saving money to the extreme.

For example, the soldiers of the Jiangnan Navy were originally farmers.

As land continues to be annexed, there is now no land left for farming.

In order to make a living, the main occupation of the soldiers has become fishing.

Not only did they not receive military pay, but they also had to pay extra money to their superiors as ship rental fees.

"Sir, I heard that Li Can will have a lot of trouble in the future. I'm afraid it's not good!"

The master beside him spoke up to remind him.

The status of Dayu’s military generals is low, and the status of Dayu’s naval generals is even lower.

Not only can they not afford to offend the civil servants who control the military pay, they also can't afford to offend the Grand Marshal's Office above them.

"Um!

This is indeed a problem.

Master Wang, please send someone to explain to Lieutenant General Li our difficulties.

We are all military generals, and I think he is aware of the difficulties we are facing.

If the pirates run away, everyone will blame them.

This is a rare opportunity to hold something against the Nanjing Military Department, so we must seize the opportunity to gain more benefits."

Duan Ganhong said after a moment of hesitation.

There is no way to avoid delay. If the civil servants are not made aware of the seriousness of withholding military funds, there will be more such incidents in the future.

Take advantage of the opportunity now and make the best use of it.

If the problem is resolved, it will be even more difficult to fight for military funds.

A pirate attack on a city is a low-probability event, and you may not encounter one even once in decades during normal times.

For civil servants, as long as there are no problems during their term of office, there are no problems.

As a temporary official, you just need to survive your term of office and there is no need to worry about so many things.

Relatively speaking, military generals are much more stable.

If you don't get promoted, you'll basically just stay where you are.

There are many positions that not only you can do for your whole life, but your grandchildren's grandchildren can also do them.

……

"Captain, something terrible has happened!"

"There are cavalry!"

"The government troops have cavalry!"

As the younger brother finished his words hesitantly, Yin Kainan could already vaguely feel the ground shaking.

Before he could react, a large group of cavalrymen appeared running on the horizon.

"Quickly form a defensive formation!"

After the order was issued, the pirates looked at each other, at a loss for a moment.

Yin Kainan was about to start cursing when he suddenly realized that the pirates under his command had never received any military training.

Even if we wanted to form a formation, we had only tested it at sea.

There were only a dozen ships in total, and there were not many formations that could be arranged, so most of the time they just rushed forward in a swarm.

The pirate battle that the outside world expected - artillery bombardment and sinking of enemy ships.

Real pirate combat - boarding, close combat. There are several cannons on the ship, but most of them are used for fighting between pirate groups.

During robbery, artillery is rarely used except in special circumstances.

The difficulty in getting ammunition is one thing, but the more important thing is that their main purpose of going out to rob is to rob money.

If a merchant ship is sunk, it will become deep-sea fishing.

With current fishing technology, there is no chance unless it is in shallow waters.

From the pirates' point of view, every time a merchant ship is sunk, it means all the money is lost.

"What are you standing there for? Hurry up and surround the convoy to intercept the cavalry charge!"

Yin Kainan reacted and gave orders hurriedly.

The military knowledge in his mind was limited, and this was all he could think of on how to deal with cavalry in field battles.

Unfortunately, it was too late. Including the prisoners, the team consisted of more than 3,000 people.

Including the hundreds of horse-drawn and donkey-drawn carts loaded with spoils, the entire team stretched for two miles.

Without prior training, it is impossible to form a car formation in a short time.

"Bang, bang, bang..."

The sound of the three-barreled gun rang out, announcing the approach of enemy cavalry soldiers.

To the chaotic team, such a blow was a complete massacre.

Hundreds of people fell down in the first encounter.

The massacre continued, with a new round of volleys following one after another.

"Archers, musketeers, quickly organize a counterattack!"

Yin Kainan ordered angrily.

Those who fell behind the team were the elite pirates guarding the prisoners of war.

As a result, they didn't even find the enemy and suffered heavy losses in a confused manner.

"Retreat a mile, reload your ammunition, and then play with them again!"

After three rounds of volleys, Shu Zhongyi decisively ordered his men to retreat.

He had no interest in bullying pirates who had no power to resist.

Theoretically, the rebels' morale had been lost at this point, and a single charge would be enough to defeat the enemy.

However, the commander's order was to follow and hunt him down, and Shu Zhongyi, who had suffered a lot from the society, did not have the courage to disobey.

If he really changes the order without authorization, the soldiers under him may not necessarily carry out the order, and they may even capture him first.

All the grassroots generals in the cavalry were Li Mu's servants.

He never compromises on carrying out his master's orders.

This cannot be blamed on Li Mu being conservative. When the enemy situation is unclear, the first thing to do is to ensure the safety of the troops.

After all, the cavalry in front of them is also a rookie unit.

The reason they were not equipped with bows and arrows was not because bows and arrows had no lethality, but simply because these cavalry soldiers were not yet able to use bows and arrows skillfully.

In order to save training time, Li Mu chose the more expensive three-barreled gun to serve as the cavalry's long-range attack weapon.

No one knew beforehand that the pirates were so useless and had absolutely no experience in dealing with cavalry.

They lack experience in even the most basic way of dodging, and are all sitting ducks.

"Captain, the government troops have retreated!"

After hearing what Liu Damazi said, Yin Kainan felt like crying but had no tears.

"I've seen it, so I don't need you to talk nonsense here.

What are you all standing there for? Hurry up and surround the vehicle, the enemy will be back soon.

Remember to cover the ears of the animals, and don't let the enemy disturb them."

Obviously, this order came too late.

In the previous battle, the team was in chaos.

The livestock, startled by the gunshots, were running around in panic, and many vehicles had overturned on the ground.

"Captain, this battle is impossible to fight. The enemy is simply slaughtering us.

Or why don't you abandon these spoils and prisoners and retreat with your brothers first?"

The smiling scholar suggested with a gloomy expression.

Treasure is valuable, but life is more valuable.

If you encounter an unequal enemy and stay to fight to the death, you would be irresponsible for your own life.

According to the fighting style just now, the team will fall apart in less than two rounds.

"It's useless, the ground here is flat and there's not even any shelter.

The enemy can see at a glance which direction we are running.

No matter how fast you run, two legs can never outrun four legs.

If you want to evacuate safely, you have to wait until after dark.

It’s getting late now, everyone, hold out for an hour, just one hour will be enough! "

Yin Kainan said through gritted teeth.

Deep down, he was about to collapse.

He put in a lot of effort to build this team.

I originally thought this was the beginning of his revenge, but I never expected that he would fail just after taking the first step.

It was beyond his expectation that there were cavalry in Yangzhou.

Although I have heard about the court's establishment of the Yangzhou Camp, it has only been about half a year since this unit was established.

Given the speed of the government, it would be a miracle if they were able to build a team in such a short time.

They actually trained a cavalry unit in such a short time. This was completely different from the Dayu he was familiar with.

I have so many grievances, but no one to confide in.

In front of all his younger brothers, no matter how painful his heart was, he had to remain calm.

People were already a little confused at the time, and if he, as the boss, became more confused, then he would be doomed.

"Bang, bang, bang..."

In less than a cup of tea, the familiar gunshots rang out again.

The half-finished chariot formation faced the cavalry's condescending shooting, and countless pirates paid the price in blood.

"Aim and shoot!"

Shu Zhongyi warned.

Looking at the pirates who were dodging in panic, a long-lost smile appeared on his face.

This battle is won!

Since he passed the military imperial examination, he has been through many battles.

But this is the first time in my life that I have had such an easy battle.

Although we were also using cavalry, it had never been so easy in Liaodong before.

On the one hand, the military equipment was not replenished in time, and only a small number of cavalry were equipped with three-barreled guns. On the other hand, the enemy was too strong.

The elite Northern Tartar cavalry were able to shoot at them with bows and arrows.

(End of this chapter)