After returning to Imagawakan, Imagawa Yoshimoto kept thinking about the 400 iron cannons he bought for so much money. He bought them on a whim because of Takeda Harunobu's strong recommendation. But they must be used after they are bought, but at present
Come on, these iron cannons can be used except when defending the city. They are far inferior to bows and arrows in other situations - but the Imagawa family currently has no chance of defending the city. Should these iron cannons be given to the Matsudaira family?
However, I always say a lot less, and I don’t say much, so it’s nothing to throw 400 fire sticks into the warehouse to eat ashes - Imagawa Yoshimoto thought about it and then forgot about it, and fell asleep peacefully. Until the next morning, he was killed by Taiyuan
Xuezhai screamed early in the morning.
"Old man?" Imagawa Yoshimoto muttered as he got out of the bed, tucked Ginkgo into bed, and then opened the door, "What's the matter, shouting outside so early."
"When did you buy those things called "iron cannons"? Why didn't you tell me about them?" Taiyuan Xue Zhai couldn't wait any longer and pulled Imagawa Yoshimoto out and asked hurriedly.
road.
"When I was in Sakai Town, I didn't spend much money, so I didn't tell you." Imagawa Yoshimoto thought that Taiyuan Xuezai was here to punish him for his extravagance and waste, so he immediately started to prevaricate, "I was wrong, I was wrong.
It’s not okay yet.”
"No, you did a good job. That thing is very powerful. If it can be deployed in the army, it can be regarded as a magic weapon!" But Taiyuan Xue Zhai's eyes lit up with excitement, and he pulled Imagawa Yoshimoto away.
I went to the dojo in Imagawakan Honmaru. When I got there, I discovered that nearly a hundred people had gathered in the dojo. Himura Uyoha, Akai Kurotaka, Matsui Munanobu, Osawa Motoin, and other senior members of the Umeyama clan had all arrived.
Now, more than 20 banners are busy moving equipment and conducting tests.
"What are you doing? Why do you all get up so early?" Imagawa Yoshimoto rubbed his eyes in surprise.
"Master Yukisai found a good treasure and called us all to attend the visit." Himura Hiroyuki also showed a wry smile and raised his finger to point at Sano Shinbei and other Hatamoto who were testing iron cannons in the dojo.
"Good boy, come here!" Before Imagawa Yoshimoto and Himura Hiroyuki could say a few words, he was pulled by Taiyuan Xuezhai to the target area of the dojo. There, there was a wooden board hanging as a target.
They had both cloth armor and a serious iron armor - what they had in common was that each target had several large holes drilled into it.
"You yourself are an expert in archery, don't you understand the significance of this power?" Taiyuan Xuezhai walked to the target area and stood there, pointing at Sano Shinbei who was about to shoot fifty steps away, "At this distance, ordinary
Bows and arrows can't penetrate anything. Experts may be able to shoot through cloth armor, but that's just to injure people. If they don't hit the vital point, they can't effectively kill them. But the iron cannon you bought, as long as it hits, one shot will kill a person.
Human lives. Although these southern barbarians are not well-educated, they do have some tricks up their sleeves when it comes to tinkering with weapons."
"The problem is that his rate of fire is too slow. Unless he is defending a city, there is no chance of shooting, and there is no way to cover the friendly forces from behind." Imagawa Yoshimoto also understands the advantages of the iron cannon, but it is the fatal shortcoming that makes it useless.
It is very likely to appear on the battlefield.
"That's what you have to find a way to overcome! With such a strong lethality, there is no reason not to formulate special tactics for it. Find a way to use its strengths and avoid its weaknesses, and overcome and hide the disadvantages of the iron cannon. This is your next mission!" Taiyuan Xuezhai
He hit Yoshimoto Imakawa hard twice on the chest and said, "You have been weird since you were a child. It's not difficult to come up with some weird ideas!"
Therefore, Imagawa Yoshimoto followed Sano Shinbei to learn the process and techniques of firing iron cannons, while immersing himself in studying how to make iron cannons effective on the battlefield.
The biggest problem with the iron cannon is that after firing the first round in the field, if the enemy launches a charge on the battlefield, the iron gunner will not have time to reload to fire the second round, and has to retreat to the back of the formation - and then lose the opportunity again.
Opportunity to fire. No matter how much the reloading speed of the iron cannon is increased, it will only change from one round of firing to two rounds at most, and there is still no ability to sustain output.
Unless the fighting area has a large number of undulating hills, slopes, and mountains, which can provide shooting angles for the retreating iron gunners to attack past their own troops. But if the fighting area does not have these terrains, then the iron gunners are destined to be nothing but
Passers-by on the battlefield.
The final analysis is that the reloading is too slow. After you finish reloading, the enemy has already run to you.
What if I run faster than the enemy?
——Imagawa Yoshimoto had a sudden idea.
If I equip the iron gunner with horses to ensure that the enemy cannot catch up with me, can't I always shoot on the flat ground? If the opponent is chasing me, I will keep a distance, and if the opponent retreats, I will catch up - equivalent to an enhanced version of the mounted archer.
.
I gave it a try when I thought of it - so Imagawa Yoshimoto brought Himura Umoha, Akai Kuroko and other followers to the outskirts of Imagawakan. He got on his horse with the loaded iron cannon, imitated the archery skills, and used his four hooves to fly into the air.
He pulled the trigger at the right moment - however, the bullet that was fired showed no sign of hitting the target, and it was unknown where it flew.
But Imagawa Yoshimoto's seated horse seemed to be frightened by the roar. It stood up instantly with a roar, kept jumping and tossing, and almost threw Imagawa Yoshimoto off the horse. Imagawa Yoshimoto hugged the horse's neck tightly and tried to get close to the horse.
It was hard not to fall to the ground.
Kira Weisei on the side burst into laughter when he saw this, and kept patting Hayasaka Nao and Tagari Kentaro on the shoulders, making it seem like the three of them were laughing at Imagawa Yoshimoto, making Hayasaka Nao and Tagari Kentaro very embarrassed.
.
"It's not quite accurate." Imagawa Yoshimoto also laughed a little awkwardly, but he still didn't lose heart. "It should be a matter of proficiency. I'll be fine as soon as I practice more."
So Imagawa Yoshimoto lowered his head to load the iron cannon, but he couldn't load it well on the bumpy horseback. Either the gunpowder was spilled, the flint fell, or the match rope failed to ignite. And loading must use both hands.
, which means that the horse's reins cannot be controlled, and the horse is a little bit disobedient when sitting down-maybe because it has just been frightened.
This chapter is not over, please click on the next page to continue reading! "This won't work." Imagawa Yoshimoto quickly gave up his idea, "Humans can endure this roar, but horses can't, and loading on the horse is too troublesome.
Maybe you can become more proficient with reloading with more practice, but the problem of frightened horses will probably never be solved."
"Is there an iron cannon of better quality that makes less noise?" Imagawa Yoshimoto then reined in his horse and asked Sano Shinbei in front of the horse.
"As for your highness, no, what I sell to you is still the highest quality Tanegashima."
"Then there's no other way..." Imagawa Yoshimoto felt a headache. After struggling for a long time, he came up with an idea, "Or, shoot at the enemy first, charge the enemy, then ride a horse to keep the distance, and then try again after reaching a safe distance.
Dismount and shoot?”
"What if the enemy is a cavalry that is chasing after him?" Akai Kurotaka immediately seized the opportunity to argue with Imagawa Yoshimoto.
"Well... then use bows and arrows to attack. If we are retreating, the power of turning around and shooting will be much greater than the forward shooting of the pursuing party. After a certain distance, they will be unable to pursue us." Imagawa Yoshimoto pinched his chin.
I thought of a way to deal with it.
"You have to carry a bow and arrow, and you have to carry this iron rod. It has to be much heavier than others. How can you outrun others?" Akai Kuroko continued to ask.
"Well... Then wear light armor instead of heavy armor. Light armor is enough to protect against arrows. As long as you don't rush into the formation, you can do it without heavy armor." Imagawa Yoshimoto originally wanted to just wear the formation haori, but he felt that
That was too much, and I was afraid that something would happen if a stray arrow attacked, so I took a step back and put on light armor. "We will keep fighting while retreating. When the enemy stops chasing us, we will have time to use iron cannons to fight back."
.If you are still chasing, use a bow and arrow."
"It's like flying a kite." Imagawa Yoshimoto recalled the experience of flying a kite with an iron cannon with Takeda Harunobu in Sakai Town last year. He stretched out his hand and made a few kite-flying gestures. "Always keep a certain distance from the enemy."
"Damn it, Your Highness, I'm a fucking samurai, not an oiran who refuses to welcome you back." Akai Kurotaka sneered at Imagawa Yoshimoto's suggestion, and even swore, "A samurai must wear heavy armor and famous swords.
Those who charge into the battle! We, the warriors on the horseback, are all the best among the best. We have honed our skills in half a lifetime of fighting. Now you want us to abandon these and fly kites with those foreign fire sticks?"
"Half-way to become a monk... Oh no, it's hard for me to understand your samurai baggage as a half-way monk." Imagawa Yoshimoto showed a wry smile to Akai Kurotaka, then turned to Himura Umoha and said: "Himura, what is your intention? Is it acceptable?
?”
"If it is His Highness's order, I will definitely accept it. Not to mention, even Akai-sama, even though he curses fiercely, will definitely accept it in the end." Himura Hiroyuki glanced at the person next to him with a smile.
Akai Kurokugao, Akai Kurokugao gave a blank look in return, but Himura Umoha was still minding his own business and offered a tall hat: "After all,
How could a warrior like him, who is so loyal to his duty, disobey orders? It’s just that warriors have their own dignity and can’t be ashamed.”
"Wouldn't it be nice if a lot of people could die less by fighting like this? Compared with the so-called dignity, wouldn't it be nice if more of our subordinates could return home alive to reunite with their families without having to watch a whole family cry and cry?
?" Imagawa Yoshimoto turned over and dismounted, and put the iron cannon in Akai Kuroko's hand without any explanation: "This is my order, the horsemen will start practicing iron cannon shooting from today."