The reinforcements from Anxi and Beiting set off immediately after receiving the emperor's imperial edict, traveling day and night. It took only twenty-two days to reach Liangzhou from Ganzhou.
The general who led the 30,000-strong coalition in Anbeiting was Guo Xin, the military envoy of the Han Navy.
Guo Xin was a native of Zheng County, Huazhou (now Huazhou, Shaanxi Province). He was the grandson of Guo Jingzhi, the governor of Shouzhou, and the nephew of Guo Ziyi.
In the history books, in the first year of the Yuan Dynasty (760) by Emperor Suzong of the Tang Dynasty, most of the Hexi military towns were captured by the Tibetans.
In the second year of Yongtai (766), when he was the ambassador of Shuofang Jiedu, Zhongshu ordered Guo Ziyi to report to the imperial court to send envoys to patrol Hexi, Anxi and other places, and also requested the governors of Gua, Sha, Gan, Liang and other places to visit.
General Yunhui and General Zuowuwei Guo Xin were ordered to patrol Hexi, Anxi and other places, and later served as the post-resident of the four towns in Anxi.
After that, Tubo rushed to attack Shatuo and the Uighur tribe. In addition, the Tang Dynasty had actually given up control of the Western Regions. Beiting and Anxi became isolated and helpless.
Guo Xin became the last military envoy of the Anxi Protectorate. Without any external aid, he defended Anxi for forty years, fighting alone until the end of the Tang Dynasty, and died heroically.
In this world, since the Tubo invasion of Dunhuang was ineffective, famous generals like Liu Zai and Feng Changqing were stationed in the Western Regions, and there was almost no war in Anxi, Guo Xin had no chance to make meritorious deeds.
In addition, Guo Xin is Guo Ziyi's nephew. At first, Guo Ziyi was loyal to the old family and had an ambiguous attitude towards Zhou Jun. He was not a firm supporter, which caused Feng Changqing, Liu Zai and others to dislike Guo Ziyi. This also caused Guo Xin, Guo Ziyi's nephew, to
He has not been reused for many years, but he has gradually become a military envoy of the Han Navy.
This time, Zhou Jun mobilized troops from Anxi, and Liu Zai, the governor of Anxi, originally wanted to recommend Deng Xing, a veteran who had participated in the Talas Battle, as the chief general.
But Zhou Jun named Guo Xin as the commander-in-chief.
On the first day after arriving in Liangzhou, Guo Xin did not change his armor or take care of his robes. He took the lieutenant general and the judge and rushed directly to the Privy Council of the Imperial City.
Seeing this general for the first time, who was known as the last Jiedushi of Anxi in the history books, Zhou Jun was filled with emotion and curiosity.
The army fought alone in the Western Regions for forty years without any foreign aid or even a letter of reinforcement from the court. It fought hard against the Tubo people and never took a step back until it died in battle. What kind of person was this?
Seeing that Guo Xin was still kneeling on one knee, Zhou Jun said, "Get up and talk."
Guo Xin said solemnly: "Thank you, Your Majesty."
Zhou Jun was a little surprised when he saw Guo Xin's appearance.
Unlike Guo Ziyi, who has a tall and heroic figure, Guo Xinsheng is tall, but he is unsmiling, has a dark face, and is a bit dull.
He would answer whatever others asked him.
Be concise and to the point, no nonsense.
Zhou Jun asked Guo Xin: "Have you brought all the weapons and equipment that accompanied the army commander?"
Guo Xin: "The artillery, gunpowder, and war horses all have their records. In addition, the six thousand muskets entrusted by your Majesty have all been shipped."
Zhou Jun: "Has the training I told you been completed?"
Guo Xin: "Man, horse, armor, and musket are four in one, and can be used in actual combat."
Zhou Jun said hello.
Seeing that other people in the Privy Council looked puzzled, Zhou Jun said: "Most of the 30,000 troops in Anbeiting are cavalry, and there are 6,000 cavalry among them, which is the most special. They abandoned Ma Shan and other long soldiers, and
Equipped with flintlock and saber."
Feng Changqing heard this and asked: "Your Majesty, do you want the cavalry to carry muskets and use them as infantry cavalry?"
Zhou Jun nodded: "The cavalry carries muskets. When encountering the enemy, they dismount their horses and form a formation. After the shooting is completed, they mount their horses and retreat. After completing the loading, they circle around and approach again to shoot. Because when the cavalry muskets are fired, the smoke is filled, and the sound is like thunder, like a dragon's roar.
I gave these cavalrymen a name, dragoons."
Feng Changqing first recited the name of the dragoon silently twice, and then said: "The name of the dragoon is quite appropriate, but has your Majesty considered that the accuracy of the musket is insufficient, and the enemy needs to be brought closer to cause damage.
What should an enemy do if they notice a dragoon approaching and fire back with bows and arrows?"
Zhou Jun asked Feng Changqing: "In how many steps can an archer in the army cause damage?"
Feng Changqing: "Ordinary archers can hit the target within 80 steps, but the best archers can hit nine out of ten shots at 120 steps (180 meters)."
Zhou Jun: "Even if the enemy archers have a shooting range of only 120 steps, a flintlock gun loaded with granular black powder and a fixed charger will have a certain accuracy within 50 steps, but the projectile's effective lethality is
The range can reach up to three hundred steps (450 meters)."
Feng Changqing still didn't quite understand: "A musket has an accurate target within fifty steps. Beyond this distance, no matter how far it flies and how powerful it is, it loses its hit rate and is useless in the end?"
Zhou Jun smiled and said: "A musket will indeed lose accuracy if it exceeds fifty steps, but if it is a thousand muskets, aimed at a dense enemy formation three hundred steps away, and uses concentrated fire, how much damage will it cause?"
Woolen cloth?"
Feng Changqing suddenly realized that Zhou Jun meant to use intensive shooting to make up for the lack of accuracy of the musket.
Imagine that there are thousands of enemies arrayed four hundred meters away, with the gap between them being less than half a meter.
At this time, even if a bullet fired loses its accuracy, there is a high probability that it will hit an enemy.
What's more, thousands of muskets are shooting at the same time?
Zhou Jun continued: "Moreover, if you think about it, when archers shoot arrows, in order to pursue range and damage, most of the arrows are thrown. When the arrow falls from the sky, the killing range is only a small area."
"But the musket is different. When it shoots, it uses a flat shot. The trajectory is almost a straight line, directly running through a large area, and it has a larger killing area than a bow and arrow."
The people who attended the meeting in the Privy Council couldn't help but nod their heads when they heard this.
Feng Changqing had one last question: "Your Majesty, what if the enemy sends out cavalry and wants to use its speed advantage to get close to the dragoons?"
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! Zhou Jun said with a smile: "Don't forget, muskets can be dismounted and fired in formation, but as long as they are trained, they can also shoot on horseback, but their accuracy will be better
A little worse. But while retreating, it can still pose a threat to the chasing cavalry."
When Feng Changqing heard this, he had no doubts anymore and bowed to Zhou Jun: "Your Majesty is so talented, Chang Qing is impressed...but there is one more thing."
Zhou Jun asked: "Is there anything else?"
Feng Changqing looked at Guo Xin in the palace and said: "General Guo led troops in the Western Regions in his early years and has been stationed in Beiting. He has never participated in a major war. I am worried that he lacks experience and may not be able to convince the crowd."
Zhou Jun glanced at Feng Changqing and asked, "What's the right minister's proposal?"
Feng Changqing: "I suggest that your Majesty send a supervisor to accompany General Guo."
Zhou Jun finally understood the implication of Feng Changqing's words.
When Guo Ziyi recommended Guo Xin to be an official in Beiting, the Anxi civil and military circles were not at ease with this general of the Guo family.
This time, the emperor made Guo Xin a general on a whim, and Feng Changqing did not know the news beforehand.
Therefore, Feng Changqing's move can be regarded as a post-event balancing act.
However, Zhou Jun has always been a little reluctant to let the eunuchs in the palace serve as supervisors.
For example, this time Guo Ziyi led the Central Army to attack Jiangnan. The supervisor army assigned to him by Zhou Jun abandoned the eunuchs and instead chose Zhu Changyi, a general from the Imperial Guard's Huben Army.
After thinking for a moment, Zhou Jun said to Feng Changqing: "The Prime Minister's words are reasonable. Guo Xin is leading the army. I intend to order the Jinyi Guards to supervise the army."
Feng Changqing nodded and said: "Jinyiwei is the emperor's personal guard and can take this position. I wonder who your majesty plans to send to supervise the army?"
Zhou Jun thought about it for a while and gave the answer: "Kong You, the supervisor of the Jinyi Guards and the censor Zhongcheng."
This chapter has been completed!