Chapter 1396 The Gradual Formation of the Elite Grenadiers of the Tang Dynasty
Chapter 1396 The elite grenadiers of the Tang Dynasty are gradually taking shape (please subscribe and vote)
In front of each of them, there is also a thick incense stick.
Cheng Chubi saw that everyone was ready and turned to look to the other side.
Then I saw Cheng Jie waving his hand in this direction from a distance.
Cheng Chubi nodded with satisfaction, picked up the bamboo whistle and put it in his mouth. The next moment, two short bamboo whistles sounded.
Everyone picked up a metal kettle in unison and got down on one knee.
As a long bamboo whistle sounded, everyone put the fuse at the spout of the kettle to the incense stick and lit it.
Then he stood up and threw forward without hesitation...
One by one, the kettles streaked across the exceptionally colorful sky, and then crashed onto the soft muddy river beach more than ten feet away.
Two short bamboo whistles sounded again, and all the soldiers once again repeated the actions just now, and once again lit the fuse amidst the long whistle, and then threw it out with all their strength.
But this time, two of the iron kettles that fell on the riverbank suddenly burst into flames, and a huge roar suddenly echoed in the river valley.
It's just that in this scene, the soldiers did not make any unnecessary movements other than their eyelids twitching and rolling their eyes.
On the contrary, the two soldiers who threw out the kettles containing gunpowder instead of water suddenly beamed, as if they had won a big prize.
However, the moment Cheng Chubi's whistle sounded again, everyone was shocked and continued to mechanically repeat the action of lighting the fuse and then throwing the bomb.
From time to time, there will be explosions, but these originally deafening explosions have become accustomed to these elites who are undergoing secret training.
Cheng Chubi kept a straight face, blowing the bamboo whistle from time to time, and occasionally yelling at the grenades who acted irregularly. As for the huge explosions that came from the scene, he didn't even bat an eyelid.
Ever since Li Ji led his army to leave Luzhou, not even a hair on his head was left behind. Only brothers Cheng Sanlang and Li Ke were left staring at each other with big eyes and small eyes.
A strong sense of insecurity made Cheng Sanlang immediately alert.
Especially after that, Li Ke Ji Ji Wai Wai wanted to take on the responsibility of going south to pacify Yaozhou.
Cheng Chubi knew very well that if he didn't have any trump cards in his hand, he would rely on those soldiers who only knew how to fight with the wind and only knew how to fight in a swarm.
After arriving in Yaozhou, if something unexpected happens, what can I do if I only have a hundred well-trained elites under my command?
He had stockpiled a batch of saltpeter, sulfur and charcoal powder before, just in case.
Therefore, from the moment he decided to go south, Cheng Chubi decided to take precautions and began to develop gunpowder weapons.
Especially after dealing with the rebel soldiers in Xuezhou last time, Cheng Chubi discovered that this iron kettle was really a good treasure.
Although there are not enough fragments after the explosion, a certain proportion of broken iron can be mixed into it.
Since this thing was mass-produced by Han and Tang Dynasty trading houses, it can be said that nowadays, it can be seen everywhere in the entire Jiannan Road area.
Precisely because this is a mass product, it is of high quality and low price. In addition, everyone uses this thing to drink water.
Therefore, transporting this kind of iron kettle grenade will hardly arouse anyone's suspicion, and they will not even think that this thing is related to military operations.
Cheng Chubi prepared enough gunpowder to cope with two major battles, and asked the backbones of the Han and Tang Dynasty trading houses to load two thousand empty kettles into their convoy.
Since leaving Luzhou, Cheng Chubi began to strictly train this elite group.
It is to strive to make these elite Wu Ben of the Tang Dynasty who in the past only know how to slash and kill with a big blade.
Change your job to become an elite grenadier who is calm and has more terrifying long-range attack capabilities.
On these days, they would set up camp almost an hour in advance every day, and then let them practice throwing bombs away from the main camp.
At the beginning, of course, he didn't dare to use real toys. Later, Cheng Chubi felt that just letting them throw them around like this would not provide any exercise.
Therefore, it was decided to mix live ammunition with a small amount of gunpowder into the iron kettles used for practice.
It was also announced that anyone who throws a live bomb will receive a certain amount of money as a reward for the lucky ones.
In this way, this group of elites who were used to seeing life and death, instead of feeling scared, were actually inspired to be competitive.
As a result, those who threw a real iron kettle grenade smiled happily, while those who did not throw it were very envious.
By now, it is no longer the small amount of gunpowder at the beginning, but a complete live ammunition exercise.
Fortunately, after so many days of repeated drills, everyone has become accustomed to such explosions, so their movements will no longer be affected by the explosions, resulting in missile throwing errors.
Even so, Cheng Chubi still requires every soldier to be an elite soldier and must not be ignored.
Watching them practice, the huge roar in his ears made Cheng Chubi feel a lot more at ease.
This is the trump card, it is the secret of going to Yaozhou and facing all abnormal situations.
With the large carts of gunpowder that I had made, plus the more than two thousand kettles, well, this did not include the iron kettles that each of the soldiers had.
Even if the main force of the Tubo people comes from the Erhai Lake to attack Yaozhou.
Cheng Chubi was also confident that Yaozhou would definitely not lose the iron kettle grenade before it was completely consumed.
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After each round, the soldiers would rush to their throwing sites to check where the tin kettle grenades they threw had landed.
Cheng Chubi admired these ancients very much. They were indeed elites who often used cold weapons, so they were not as powerful as any of them.
So as long as you master the skills and know-how, there will be no problem in throwing down fifteen or sixty feet.
In a few days, the army will soon enter the border of Yaozhou, and Cheng Chubi feels that he will give a good lesson to those Erhai imperial edicts then.
The other thing is that Han and Tang merchants were forced to move in. After all, I didn’t have that much free time to talk nonsense with these Yaozhou tribal leaders.
What's more, they still dare to collude with Tibet secretly, just to make them be honest and obedient, and jointly develop and make money.
If they are not happy and dare to be gibberish.
I will also be happy to sneak out those who are least willing to cooperate and bring them to the edge of Erhai Lake to shock the imperial edicts of Erhai Lake by killing chickens and respecting monkeys.
When the last round was about to begin, there was a sharp sound of gunfire in the distance. Cheng Chubi looked up and saw Cheng Jie making frequent gestures in the distance.
That meant that someone came to see him with something urgent. Cheng Chubi gave two instructions to Cheng Fa next to him and walked away quickly.
Soon, a handwritten letter from Yaozhou Governor Ning fell into the hands of Cheng Sanlang.