The Ming Dynasty: Starting with the border troops, it was overthrown and the Qing Dynasty was destro

Chapter 138 Troop Training
Due to the large number of people, Shao Yong sent out all of his squad leaders, assigning each of them to teach two hundred young men.

"Look closely, you bastards!"

Shao Yong's voice was loud and powerful, echoing throughout the entire training ground.

"Today, I will teach you how to break through long spears on the battlefield."

He glanced at the crowd and continued:

"On the battlefield, the most commonly used weapon by the government troops is the long spear."

"The long spears are formidable when arranged in formation, but even a single spearman is a formidable opponent. When they stab someone, they leave a hole in their body."

"Today I will teach you what to do if you encounter soldiers wielding long spears on the battlefield."

"If you are facing the government troops' long spear formation, row upon row like hedgehogs, then the best way is to use cannons."

"Once their formation is broken, the spear formation will naturally fall apart."

"Remember! There are usually swordsmen and shieldmen protecting the front of the spear formation, so ordinary three-barreled guns are not very effective."

Shao Yong changed the subject,
"But! If you had this thing in your hands, that would be a different story!"

As he spoke, Shao Yong pulled out several dark, fist-sized iron lumps with a fuse attached from a cloth bag at his waist.

"Look closely! This is called the Thunderclap Bomb, a firearm personally improved by our commander-in-chief. It's lighter and more powerful!"

A smug look appeared on Shao Yong's face. He then lit the fuse, swung his arm, and threw it at the straw man not far away.

The metal lump traced an arc in the air and landed precisely near the target.

boom!
With a loud bang, the straw man target was blown to pieces, and a small crater was blasted into the ground.

"Wow, this thing is really powerful!"

"If this were to blow up on someone, half of their body would probably be blown off."

The group of new recruits watching the battle immediately gasped in surprise, staring in astonishment at the straw man that had been blown away.

If I could have a few of these treasures, wouldn't it be amazing in future wars?
A group of people stared intently at the thunderbolt in Shao Yong's hand, hoping that Shao Yong could explain it in more detail, or even let them try it out themselves.

But Shao Yong chuckled, abruptly changing the subject, and became an arms dealer:
"Ahem, now you see its power, right?"

"This was personally improved by our commander-in-chief; it's easy to carry and incredibly powerful."

"One piece costs five qian of silver, and three pieces cost one tael of silver."

"The prices are fair, and we treat everyone fairly, young and old. If you need anything, you can come back and register with me later."

He weighed the thunderbolt in his hand and winked at the crowd:

"I know that everyone has been looting around lately and must have stolen a lot of silver."

"But even though silver is good, you have to be alive to spend it. Everyone might as well buy three or four to take home for protection. Who knows, they might save your life someday."

After a vigorous pitch, Shao Yong stopped wasting time. He knew that just talking wasn't enough; he had to teach people real skills.

He put away the thunderbolt and waved to summon his troops who were watching the battle:
"Liu Ning! Step forward!"

A similarly capable man stepped forward; he was the third squad leader under Shao Yong.

"Next, we will demonstrate how to deal with an enemy wielding a spear in a one-on-one situation!"

"Of course, for safety reasons, the weapons are not sharpened, and the gun tips have been removed."

After saying that, Shao Yong picked up a rattan shield and a waist knife from the weapon rack next to him, and held a wooden javelin without a spearhead in his right hand.

On the other side, squad leader Liu Ning held a long spear and got into a fighting stance.

"Come on! Attack me!"

At Shao Yong's command, Liu Ning launched the first attack.

Taking advantage of his distance with his spear, he moved nimbly, his spear flashing like a dragon, relentlessly attacking Shao Yong.

Shao Yong parried with a rattan shield and a waist knife in his left hand, while holding a javelin in his right hand, keeping it drawn but not firing. He took small steps and kept retreating.

Faced with Liu Ning's rapid and relentless thrusts, he appeared somewhat disheveled, only able to continuously use his rattan shield to block the incoming spears while observing his opponent and looking for an opportunity.

Seeing this, Liu Ning intensified his attack, pressing forward relentlessly.

Shao Yong kept retreating until he was about fifteen steps away from Liu Ning before he launched a counterattack.

Shao Yong raised his shield to block Liu Ning's thrusting spear. Almost simultaneously, he flicked his right wrist, and the wooden javelin in his hand shot out like a venomous snake, whistling through the air, straight toward Liu Ning's face!

Seeing this, Liu Ning had no choice but to put away his gun and take cover.

Taking advantage of this opening, Shao Yong suddenly rushed forward, and at the same time, his right hand took the waist knife from his left hand and moved close to Liu Ning.

The advantage of a spear lies in its range; once it gets close, it becomes incredibly clumsy.

Shao Yong gave Liu Ning no chance to resist. He slammed his shield forward to disrupt Liu Ning's balance, and thrust his right hand forward with his waist knife, placing it against Liu Ning's neck.

The outcome has been decided.

The whole process was swift and swift, leaving the new recruits watching below completely unaware.

In fact, this was not a cutting-edge tactic, but just a basic spear technique from a military manual. Unfortunately, these new recruits were all farmers who had never been exposed to it before.

This move is called "standard advance," a common tactic used in battle.

First, throw a javelin to disrupt the opponent's rhythm, forcing them to dodge or block.

Then, taking advantage of his dodge, quickly charge forward with your shield, close in, and finish the fight with your waist knife.

(Each soldier carries a shield, a waist knife, and holds a dart in one hand. They are shorter than him, so they hold their weapons firmly without any gaps. They throw the darts, and regardless of whether they hit or not, they will surely respond. I quickly draw my knife and charge in with the shield. — Explanation of Rattan Shield from "New Book of Military Tactics")
On the battlefield, the principle of "an inch longer, an inch stronger" applies. This tactic is essentially about using length to overcome shortness, and the throwing distance is definitely farther than that of a spear.

"Did you understand everything?"

Looking at the group of bewildered new recruits in front of him, Shao Yong asked.

As expected, there were only a few scattered responses from the crowd.

At this moment, someone in the crowd asked in a low voice:
"Commander Shao, what if we don't have a shield?"

Upon hearing this, Shao Yong rolled his eyes at the recruit who had asked the question and said irritably:

"What else can we do? Run!"

"Without a shield, you dare to confront soldiers wielding spears? Isn't that courting death?"

"Once he's far away, shoot him with arrows or firearms. Don't you understand such a simple principle?"

The new recruit shrank back after being scolded and dared not ask any more questions. Next, Shao Yong and Liu Ning demonstrated the key points of the "standard marching" movement several times, and then had the new recruits start practicing in groups.

This method sounds simple.

But when it came to these new recruits actually getting their hands dirty in real combat, they made a complete fool of themselves.

Some javelins were thrown crookedly, and they didn't even hit the target, let alone pierce anyone;

Some did throw accurately, but after throwing, they stood there in a daze, unable to remember to rush forward;

Others did rush forward, but in their haste, they threw javelins with their right hands and didn't have time to grab their knives.

By the time he rushed forward, the man wielding a spear had already reacted and stabbed him to the ground with a single thrust.

(After throwing the dart, there is often no time to grab a knife in the rush, which is a serious ailment.)

This is precisely the difficulty of advancing in unison, requiring coordination of both hands and a series of actions such as throwing, charging, and drawing the knife to be completed within a dozen or so steps.

This can only be achieved through repeated practice to develop muscle memory.

If you don't practice in peacetime, you'll only be throwing your life away when you get nervous on the battlefield.

Watching the recruits' numerous mistakes on the training field, Shao Yong felt like his head was about to explode.

These basic infantry tactics are something almost everyone knows; they're ingrained in their very bones.

Unfortunately, most of the people in front of him were farmers. They didn't even understand basic formations or commands, let alone tactics.

Shao Yong had trained them for a whole month before he taught them the formation and commands.

Now, the professor's tactics are even more difficult, so he can only send some veterans to teach them the most basic skills: shield handling, throwing, charging, and drawing a knife.
We started by teaching one movement at a time.

To be honest, when Shao Yong first received the task of being a "coach," he was extremely unwilling.

Teaching these greenhorns is simply a thankless and exhausting task.

He even began to envy Li Laowai, who was still recovering from his illness, and Hei Zi, who followed Deng Yang.

But later, Jiang Han found Shao Yong and had a deep talk with him.

After hearing those words, Shao Yong immediately became very attentive and willingly accepted the task.

"Think about it, if you can train two hundred qualified soldiers, you will have fifty warhorses."

"These seven or eight hundred men are accompanied by two hundred warhorses."

"Besides, if you can teach them effectively, even more rebel kings might send people to learn from you."

"At that time, your cavalry will need to be reorganized!"

Jiang Han's combination of coaxing, deception, and dangling promises completely convinced Shao Yong.

The thought of having thousands of iron cavalry galloping freely under his command in the future is intriguing.

Shao Yong suddenly felt that these clumsy new recruits in front of him were not so annoying after all, but rather turned into a bunch of lively warhorses.

Meanwhile, on the training ground at the other end of the camp, a completely different scene unfolded.

This was a more open and flat grassland, which was also the training ground for cavalry. The instructor was Hong Ming, the captain of Shao Yong's cavalry team.

Compared to the infantry training ground, the atmosphere here is much more dazzling.

Hong Ming was a pure soldier; he didn't know any theoretical knowledge, all he knew was how to ride a horse.

Hong Ming led two Mongolian horses and walked slowly into the training ground.

On the sidelines stood two hundred new recruits with basic horsemanship skills, suitable for training as cavalry. They all held their breath, their eyes fixed on Hong Ming's figure.

"It's all taken care of!"

Hong Ming's voice wasn't as loud as Shao Yong's, but it had its own calm and composed air about it.

As soon as he finished speaking, he nimbly flipped over and leaped onto the back of one horse. At the same time, he flicked the reins, pulling the other horse along, and the two horses began to trot.

The horses' hooves clattered rhythmically on the grass.

Hong Ming lay on the horse's back, his body steady, as if he had become one with the horse.

He gradually accelerated, and the two horses shot off like arrows, kicking up two plumes of dust on the grass.

Just when everyone thought Hong Ming was only showing off his speed, he suddenly moved and began to dodge left and right on his warhorse.

As he galloped at high speed, he suddenly shrank back, instantly hiding himself on the left side of his warhorse, leaving only one foot hooked on the stirrup, almost parallel to the horse's belly.

Immediately afterwards, he nimbly flipped over, switched to the right side, and performed the same hiding right kick.

Immediately afterwards, as the two warhorses rode side by side, Hong Ming suddenly pushed off with his toes, leaped into the air, and landed steadily on the warhorse that was riding alongside him.

The entire process of changing horses in the Mercedes was incredibly smooth, leaving the spectators on the sidelines dazzled.

Such superb horsemanship was something they wouldn't even dare to dream of, let alone do!
After demonstrating horsemanship skills, the next step is mounted archery.

Hong Ming turned his horse around, took up his bow and arrow, and charged toward a row of targets not far away.

When the warhorse charged into a distance of about sixty paces from the target, Hong Ming stopped looking at the target and, almost by instinct, instantly drew his bow, nocked the arrow, and shot it.

Before the arrow could hit the target, Hong Ming spurred his horse forward again, drew his bow to the left, and fired another arrow at the target thirty paces away.

Two arrows, one in front of the other, hit the bullseye!

Two arrows in quick succession, both hitting the bullseye, drew another round of cheers from the sidelines.

However, Hong Ming's performance continued.

After shooting the second arrow, he flipped his wrist, switching to holding the bow in his right hand and nocking the arrow in his left, and fired another arrow at another target twenty paces to his right.

With a whoosh, the third arrow also landed firmly on the bullseye.

With both hands, the arrows never miss!

Following that, Hong Ming demonstrated a series of combat techniques, including charging with a lance, throwing lances, and slashing with a saber.

This series of tactical maneuvers dazzled the new recruits behind him, who felt that Hong Ming on horseback was like a god.

"These are real cavalry! All we can do on horseback is run, and we can't even shoot arrows accurately. Look at them!"

　I'll update 6K words first, and after I finish eating, I'll see if I can write another chapter.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)