Chapter 118 Strengthening the ability to fight in the mountains and forests
Just when everyone felt that they had mastered their skills and were ready to go back to train and let more soldiers master this ability, Feng Jie poured cold water on them:
"With the current achievements, we can only deal with plain battles. In the mountains and forests, we will still be shot like prey by the slaves!"
This is a very unpleasant thing to say, but it makes some sense.
Hou Jin was very skilled in mountain and forest warfare.
They hunted in the mountains and forests all day and night, and their marching and archery in the mountains were obviously better than those in the Central Plains.
The previous two defeats were marked by blue flags.
They defeated the enemy in battle, but they were chased away in the mountains and forests.
The wild nature of the slaves still existed, and it was funny to return to the mountains and forests, but it was almost not tiring to climb mountains continuously.
Even the Sichuan and Baigan soldiers of the Southern Army, who were best at fighting in the mountains, could not climb mountains as fast as Jiannu in mountainous areas like the north.
Feng Jie took Wang Hongyu and others to the mountains and forests.
The light suddenly dimmed, making it difficult to determine the direction. There was a large amount of snow and fallen leaves under my feet, and every step made a "click-click" sound.
This is very fatal.
The light flickers on and off, which greatly disturbs the vision.
When marching in the forest, the sound of footsteps is loud. Once the enemy ambush, the Ming army is as conspicuous as holding a torch in the dark.
Even if you can hear the sound of arrows and flying axes coming, you can't prevent them.
What's even more terrible is that Jiannu has a very scary trick, which is a group of heavy armored infantry fighting close to each other, and a group of archers shooting the enemy's face from the gap between the people at a distance of ten to twenty steps.
Shooting people in the face is a hunting skill developed in the gaps between trees in the mountains and forests. For hunters in these mountains and forests, shooting people is much easier than shooting wild boars.
Encountering an ambush in the forest, the Ming army's terrain was unfavorable and they couldn't even fight back!
Feng Jie walked with difficulty in front of everyone on crutches. He raised his crutches and pointed at the forest: "In a place like this, your square formations and lines are of no use."
Indeed... Wang Hongyu's heart sank.
Not to mention the current Franconian line, even if the lobster soldiers, the mature line infantry armed with muskets 150 years later, were brought over, they would probably not perform better than when they encountered an ambush in the forests of North America.
better.
"What should we do?" someone from the Sichuan Army veterans asked.
"In the mountains and forests of the south, I can kill dozens of slaves alone... In this forest, they can kill many of them like me..." Another veteran told the truth in his heart.
Feng Jie had no eyes, but slowly turned his head left and right, as if observing the details in the mountains and forests: "I have been hunting in the mountains and forests of the north for decades, and I have summed up some experience."
Everyone listened attentively.
"First, there are often birdsong in the forest. If you suddenly don't hear it, there is probably an ambush."
The forests in the north don't have a lot of insect chirping like those in the south. You only need to focus on the birdsong to determine whether there are a large number of enemies hidden in the forest.
“Two, if you find or encounter an enemy ambush in the forest, first seize the upper wind, then shoot and set fire.
The northern forests are dry and flammable. If you find an enemy ambushing you, you will not be able to defeat them by shooting. Melee combat will be even more passive, but fire attack is a viable option.
If you are at the disadvantage, you will lose; if you seize the advantage, you will win.
If there is no wind or the two sides continue to be anxious at the upwind, if they are at a disadvantage, they should also set fire, and die together or see who is more unafraid of death!
Third, in an unfamiliar forest, retreating is definitely not as fast as the enemy's pursuit. Only when we meet on a narrow road, the brave will win, and we can fight for a way out!"
!
Everyone was in awe.
Be good at observation, have skills, and don't worry about life. These three methods may seem simple, but in fact they are quite difficult to achieve.
In the last few days of training, Wang Hongyu and dozens of Sichuan Army veterans lived directly in the forest.
Listen carefully to the chirping of birds and observe the difference when there is an ambush.
Veterans can quickly learn how to judge the wind outlet when trained in the forest, but it took Wang Hongyu three days to master it.
Finally, it is the reaction when encountering an ambush, abandoning all thoughts of retreat in the forest, and frantically fighting for the upper wind when encountering an enemy, gathering tinder and making a fire as quickly as possible.
Common pine wood, elm wood and dead leaves have different functions when lighting fires.
Elm is more difficult to ignite, but it is heavier for the same size and can burn longer.
Pine wood is not difficult to light and can burn for a long time.
Litter leaves are the easiest to ignite, but they can only be used as kindling materials. They must be used to ignite elm or pine wood.
After repeatedly lighting dozens of bonfires, everyone has become proficient in using dead branches and leaves as kindling to light pine trees, and then using pine wood to light other elm trees to light the bonfire.
Feng Jie also shared his experience and suggested that as soon as soldiers and horses enter the forest, they should deliberately collect tinder and pine wood, so that when encountering an emergency, they can quickly get to the wind and light a fire.
There are other techniques such as setting fires on leeward slopes in wind and snow, moving forward in crosswinds in strong winds, collecting Ganoderma lucidum in the forest, adding camouflage to clothing and armor to enhance concealment, and temporarily building igloos or underground caves.
Everyone trains day and night to master it.
Fifteen days passed in a blink of an eye.
When Zhou Dunji came back, he was immediately dumbfounded.
He looked into the forest, and a pile of branches and dead grass came out to greet him.
If everyone hadn't grinned and showed their teeth, he wouldn't have been able to recognize him.
"Brother!"
"General!"
Everyone happily introduced their training results to Zhou Dunji.
Feng Jie, also on crutches, came over and added: "I did not make this disguise."
After saying that, he pointed at Wang Hongyu's position accurately with his crutch.
"Third brother?"
Zhou Dunji carefully observed the disguises on everyone's bodies and reached out to touch them.
A wolfskin coat, tied with dead branches and leaves, has limited concealment effect in the snow, but it is extremely effective in the woodland in spring and autumn.
"Isn't this disguise likely to catch fire?"
The eldest brother carefully touched Wang Hongyu's disguise and noticed its weakness.
"Weaknesses can sometimes be turned into weapons~"
Wang Hongyu's eyes lit up and he immediately demonstrated the results of the special training.
Immediately seize an upwind outlet and use the flint that he brought with him to quickly ignite the kindling, which in turn ignited the pine wood.
Then he raised a torch, rushed towards the supposed enemy, and pretended to light the camouflage on his body while running.
"stop!"
Zhou Dunji immediately shouted to stop, he already knew what tactics he wanted to show.
Wang Hongyu walked up to him and took off his wolfskin coat, which was covered with camouflage:
"Ignite this camouflage suit and rush directly to the slaves. You can take off the camouflage suit when it is on fire. This way you will surely gain the upper hand."
Zhou Dunji and Feng Jie were secretly amazed.
This training is finally over.
Wang Hongyu and dozens of veterans immediately returned to the army and trained according to this method.
Everyone has long known that Zhou Dunji and Wang Hongyu's military training methods are fast and particularly effective, and they are all very motivated to follow them.
The entire southern army first sent people to observe, and then the Zhejiang soldiers and the Baigan soldiers sent dozens of elite soldiers to exchange with the Sichuan soldiers.
The subordinates were exchanged with each other, and their positions were promoted and they were respected. The Confederate army quickly improved its ability to defend against arrows, fight in the dark, and break ambushes in the woods.
A large number of Northern Army generals such as You Shigong, You Shilu, Liang Zhongshan, Zhao Lejiao, and Jiang Bi also sent people to observe and learn.
Even He Shixian and others personally inspected it once. Although he could not bend down and was unwilling to learn from humility, at least it showed that he quite recognized the attitude.
As the new year begins, the decisive moment is getting closer and closer.