Li Zhi thought for a while and said: "Based on the amount of gunpowder used by our veterans to shoot a target once every three days and a hundred rounds a month, the gunpowder consumed for target shooting in a month is two taels of silver."
After hearing Li Zhi's calculation, all the generals were slightly moved. Two taels of silver a month is not a small number. Now the cost of raising a soldier is around six taels. Adding two taels of silver every month increases the cost by three.
One percent. In addition, Li Zhi recently increased the monthly salary for workers and soldiers, which puts great financial pressure on them.
Fortunately, the paddy fields in Taiwan are about to be harvested. When the late rice is harvested in Hsinchu this year, Li Zhi can harvest a large sum of money. This money is enough to support Li Zhi in using new gunpowder.
In any case, it is more cost-effective to improve the combat effectiveness of soldiers. An increase in the ability of an individual soldier on the battlefield by one-third will sometimes increase the overall combat effectiveness of the army by half, or even more. This is because more elite soldiers are more effective when facing the enemy.
Be sure to win the battle.
For example, even ten children may not be able to defeat a strong adult. Ten children may be stronger together than one adult, but if their strength is spread out, they will be easily defeated by a strong adult individually.
Li Zhi nodded and said: "Anyway, we will use this new gunpowder from now on. Our firepower will be more intensive in the future."
The heads of several regiments were full of excitement and eagerly looked at the new gunpowder in Li Zhi's hand.
####
On the second day of November, at the Han Army Flag Exercise Field in the south of Shengjing City of the Manchu Qing Dynasty, Huang Taiji led the Qing Dynasty Zhubeile and the honor guard to arrive to observe the shooting training of the Han Army Flag.
One hundred Han flag soldiers, wearing double-layer heavy armor, walked to the shooting position at the shooting range. They skillfully tried the match rope, adjusted the position of the match rope, then took out the fixed black powder from the medicine pot and put it into the gun.
They took out the purge rod and stuffed the round lead bullets into the gun chamber, then blew the match and aimed at the target seventy paces away.
As soon as the conch trumpet was blown, a hundred arquebusiers opened fire. The crackling sound of gunfire resounded throughout the audience, and the target seventy paces away was hit with sawdust flying.
Ten Han soldiers ran to the target and watched the results of the shooting. Every time they saw someone hitting the target, they placed a small triangular flag next to the target. The ten Han soldiers looked down one by one, and the last one hundred people were next to the target.
More than ninety small flags were erected.
Huang Taiji nodded, turned to look at the obedient King Kong Youde, and asked: "How is the armament of the Han army flag now?"
Kong Youde knelt on the ground with a pop and said: "Back to the emperor, all the firecrackers of the Han army flag have been made, and the chain armor and cotton armor are also fully equipped. The 30,000-strong army is ready to go. Just wait for the emperor to say a word,
Then you can charge forward and defeat the enemy to victory."
Huang Taiji asked: "How is the cannon going?"
Kong Youde knelt on the ground and said respectfully: "Back to the emperor, when Prince Su Hauge took charge of the Han army flag, he had built thirty-seven small red Yi cannons. I have been paying close attention to the craftsmen during these days to supervise the construction, and built sixteen more small cannons.
Now there are fifty-three small cannons in the army. Even if we are faced with Li Zhi's artillery, we can still shoot at them."
"The Jianwei blunderbuss of the Han Army Banner can shoot at seventy steps. The double-layered heavy armor of the Han Army Banner Soldiers probably requires Li Zhi's fire blunderbuss to be fired at close range. In this way, Li Zhi's fire blunderbuss soldiers and
Our Han army flags were shot face to face. And our Han army flags outnumbered Li Zhi’s troops, plus the Eight Banners Manchurian cavalry and archery attack. If we fight against each other, we will probably win but not lose."
Huang Taiji nodded and said: "What if we face an ordinary Ming army?"
Kong Youde said: "Your Majesty, if the Han army's flag is against the ordinary Ming army, we can fire a cannon to kill the enemy at a distance of seventy steps and kill a large number of Ming troops. I am afraid that the Ming army has collapsed before it has touched the foot of our army. Even if the Ming army has many soldiers
If the Qi Sheng is not defeated, when the Ming army rushes forward, the gunmen can abandon their guns and use their swords to fight with the Ming army."
"The Han soldiers under the Han Army Banner have been training for two and a half years, practicing every three days to kill each other. If they were to face the Ming Army's border troops, they would not be at a disadvantage even if they thought about it. Therefore, one soldier under the Han Army Banner can defeat two soldiers from the Ming Army, and 30,000 Han Army Banners can defeat them."
, enough to fight against 60,000 Ming army frontier troops."
Hearing Kong Youde's words, the Manchu Baylors on the left side of Huang Taiji all moved. Unexpectedly, thirty thousand sheep-like Han people, after more than two years of military training, have now become a tiger and wolf division. Even against such a military horse,
The Eight Banners Manchu soldiers with the same number will probably not fall behind.
Zhu Beile looked at each other with some surprise and uneasiness in their eyes.
The Eight Han Banners are not controlled by any Baylor and belong directly to Huang Taiji. Although Huang Taiji was criticized by the Baylors because of the failure of his national policy of entering the pass and plundering, but now that he has the Han Banner in hand, his prestige will probably increase a bit.
The Manchu and Qing Procuratorate participated in politics, and Zhang Cunren, a Han minister who surrendered to the Manchu Qing, raised his hands and said: "Your Majesty, now we have the Qing Dynasty's cavalry like clouds, plus Mongolian soldiers, and the Han army's banners and guns. Even if we take over the world, we still have enough strength to spare. Why do we need to hold on for dear life?"
Liaodong? Now that our Han army has completed its training, we should take this opportunity to march south and aspire to conquer the Central Plains."
Huang Taiji asked: "How to conquer the world?"
Zhang Cunren replied: "I have three strategies: top, middle and bottom, which I would like to offer to the emperor."
"The best policy is to pierce the heart. The emperor of the Ming Dynasty is fatuous and all the officials are corrupt. If the emperor sends a large army to Yanjing of the Ming Dynasty and separates Hebei, great things can be done. There are many people living in Yanjing of the Ming Dynasty and the water transportation of Tianjin will be cut off.
The grain road and the Xishan coal road must not be defended."
After hearing Zhang Cunren's words, Huang Taiji said nothing.
Zhang Cunren added: "The central strategy is to cut off the throat. Shanhaiguan is the throat between Beijing and Ningjin. Then the cities outside the pass will fall into menopause and can be easily obtained."
Seeing that Huang Taiji still didn't speak, Zhang Cunren was a little frightened, and then said: "The next strategy is to prune branches, station troops in Guangning, force the gate of Ningjin, make them abandon their farming, gradually seize Jinning, and drive the Ming army back to Shanhaiguan.
.”
After hearing Zhang Cunren's plan, Huang Taiji was slightly moved and nodded.
Huang Taiji said loudly: "Now that our army has been drilled, it is ready for a battle. Even if Li Zhi's entire army attacks, our Qing army will not be left behind. I have decided to attack Jinzhou of the Ming Dynasty, conquer Jinzhou first, and then go down to Songshan.
Xingshan and Tashan go straight to Ningyuan."
The Baylors looked at each other, and Dorgon stood up and said: "Your Majesty, Jinzhou is heavily defended. I'm afraid my army won't be able to capture it in a while."
Huang Taiji nodded and said: "Jinzhou is well defended, so naturally I don't expect to be able to defeat it all at once. Our army is besieging Jinzhou, and the Ming army will come to rescue. Our army will support the siege in Jinzhou City and defeat all the reinforcements from the Ming army."