sovbooks Chapter 112 The Terrified General!
Chapter 112 The Terrified General!
Chapter 112 The Terrified General!
Ling Luoshi's pupils contracted, and he immediately abandoned his contempt for Wang Shouren.
He looked Wang Shouren up and down seriously for a few moments before saying, "Of course I am loyal to both the Ming Dynasty and His Majesty."
Ultimately, I am loyal to His Majesty!
Ling Luoshi, being such a clever person, would naturally not allow himself to be criticized on such a matter.
Wang Shouren looked at Ling Luoshi intently for a moment, then suddenly smiled and changed the subject.
"General Ling has traveled all the way from Datong and must be very hungry. I have already ordered a banquet to be prepared. Let's eat and chat."
"Hahaha! Alright! General Wang, please!"
"General Ling, please!"
Suddenly, the tense atmosphere vanished.
Wang Shouren and Ling Luoshi walked side by side toward the training ground.
Zhuge Zhengwo, Tang Dazong, Xiao Jianseng, and others behind them also breathed a sigh of relief and followed them forward.
Of the entire team, only Ling Xiaodao was unaware of what had happened.
He just felt that his father was arguing with a young man one moment, but the next moment the two of them were chatting and laughing together.
It’s weird.
At this moment, Ling Xiaodao felt quite annoyed.
When she was in Datong, she stayed in the military camp.
Now that she's come to the capital, she's still stuck in the military camp.
Didn't she come to the capital for nothing?!
She wants to go to the capital city for a stroll!
Fortunately, Ling Xiaodao was not the kind of willful woman. Even though she was dissatisfied, she just followed Ling Luoshi and the others to the high platform next to the training ground and sat down.
A banquet has been set up on the high platform, with the tables facing the drill ground.
After everyone sat down, there were no long formalities, just a few simple pleasantries, and then the meal officially began.
After several rounds of drinks and dishes, Wang Shouren said to Ling Luoshi, "General Ling has returned from Datong in a hurry, so I have nothing to prepare."
"We have simply prepared some wonderful programs for the general and invited him to enjoy them together."
They arrived as expected.
Ling Luoshi sneered inwardly.
When Zhuge Zhengwo brought him to the Xishan military camp, he knew that Wang Shouren was definitely trying to intimidate him.
This show of force was simply a way to inspect the Beijing garrison in front of him and demonstrate their military discipline and appearance.
He saw these things every day when he was in Datong, and he was already tired of them.
Ling Luoshi chuckled coldly and said, "If General Wang is merely inspecting the troops in the capital, then there is no need for this."
"Having been in Datong for so many years, I am used to these things and they are nothing new to me."
Wang Shouren smiled faintly and said, "Knowing that General Ling is knowledgeable and experienced, I would naturally not dare to present anything that is not worthy of my attention."
Ling Luoshi laughed heartily: "Very well! Then I'll wait and see!"
Wang Shouren waved his hand, and the generals of the Xishan military camp understood immediately and went to make arrangements.
Soon, a square formation of five hundred men, each holding a flintlock pistol, marched into the drill ground in neat rows.
In the middle of the training ground, there was a row of heavy iron chimes. These chimes were made of cast iron and were incredibly thick. Ordinary firearms could not break them, let alone ordinary bows and arrows.
At first, the 500-man musketeer team did not arouse Ling Luoshi's interest.
After all, the battles he commanded involved tens of thousands of people.
This force of five hundred men, placed on a battlefield with tens or hundreds of thousands of soldiers, is like a drop of water flowing into the ocean, attracting no attention whatsoever.
Even though these were firearms units of the Divine Machine Battalion, Ling Luoshi knew very well what the current state of the Fire Command was like.
The firearms have the characteristics of long reload time, short effective kill distance, and low accuracy.
Musketeers are destined to be nothing more than embellishments on the modern battlefield, never becoming the mainstream.
Nowadays, direct combat on the battlefield mainly depends on cavalry charges and the sheer number of infantry troops.
But the next moment, Ling Luoshi's expression suddenly turned serious, his whole body instantly straightened, and his gaze was fixed on the iron chime in the training ground.
After a series of loud bangs, the iron chimes in the training ground exploded instantly.
These musketeers were at least thirty feet away from those iron chimes!
A distance of thirty zhang would have been utterly harmless to Huo Tong in the past.
But now, these thick iron chimes were directly pierced and blown apart by a barrage of bullets!
In that instant, Ling Luoshi drew at least five conclusions.
First, the firearms carried by these musket teams were definitely not the original firearms, but rather newly developed firearms by the Ministry of Works.
Secondly, the effective firing range of these firearms was at least fifty zhang (approximately 150 meters), otherwise they would not have been so powerful.
Third, the power of these firearms was astonishing, far surpassing that of the original firearms.
Fourth, the accuracy of these firearms was frighteningly high, because Ling Luoshi observed that at least 80% of the bullets fired by these 500 men hit the iron chime.
Fifth, when this batch of new firearms is deployed on a large scale on the main battlefield, it will completely end the current status of cavalry on the main battlefield!
Ling Luoshi felt a chill run down his spine. The appearance of this batch of new firearms completely overturned his preconceived notions about firearms.
With just one shot, Ling Luoshi keenly perceived the boundless potential behind this new type of firearm.
Ling Luoshi's only concern now is how many of these new firearms His Majesty has left.
Just as Ling Luoshi was about to ask Wang Shouren a question, he heard the sound of a trigger being pulled again.
"Bang bang bang!"
What?!
Ling Luoshi was so shocked he almost jumped up!
He clearly saw those five hundred men pull the trigger at the same time. How long has it been? How come they're already firing a second shot?
Could it be that musketeers from other places fired another volley?
Ling Luoshi looked around but didn't see any other musketeers.
"Bang bang bang!"
Another volley of fire confirmed Ling Luoshi's suspicion that these volleys were fired by the same musketeer team!
"Bang bang bang!"
Another volley!
Ling Luoshi was completely shocked by this new type of firearm. His eyes widened, and he subconsciously clenched his fists, instantly crushing the wine glass in his hand to pieces!
fast!
That's incredibly fast!
The rate of fire of this new type of musket is simply too fast!
The reason why fire control systems remain marginalized on the battlefield today is not primarily due to their short effective firing range, poor accuracy, or low firepower.
The only problem is the slow rate of fire!
As long as the rate of fire increases, all of these problems can be compensated for.
This is the same principle as martial arts. Of all martial arts techniques, none are invincible except for speed.
The problem was that the original muskets had a very slow rate of fire.
Often, before they could even fire a second shot after a volley, the enemy cavalry would already be upon them.
This is why line infantry tactics were developed to compensate for the slow rate of fire.
But now, the new firearms not only have high accuracy, long effective firing range, and great firing power.
Even the most crucial firing rate has been greatly increased.
This new type of firearm is absolutely terrifying!
Ling Luoshi couldn't even imagine what it would be like when such firearms appeared on a large scale on the front lines!
Not only was Ling Luoshi shocked, but Tang Dazong and Xiao Jianseng beside him, as well as the two thousand personal guards, were also shocked and stared wide-eyed.
They were also seasoned soldiers, and naturally they understood the value of this new type of firearm.
At that moment, they suddenly understood why His Majesty had sent them to the Xishan military camp.
So the main course of this welcoming banquet was this new type of musket!
On the drill ground, the musketeers ceased firing.
The heavy iron chime had also turned into a pile of scrap metal.
Silence fell over the banquet on the high platform next to the drill ground, and no one spoke for a long time.
After a long while, when the smoke from the gunpowder on the training ground had dissipated, Ling Luoshi finally spoke slowly.
"Indeed, this batch of firearms has truly broadened my horizons."
"9
Ling Luoshi didn't feign surprise or act coy; instead, he openly admitted his shock.
"The program arranged by General Wang was truly spectacular!"
Wang Shouren smiled without saying a word, simply watching Ling Luoshi quietly.
Ling Luoshi felt a sudden unease as he looked at Wang Shouren.
Ling Luoshi asked Wang Shouren, "What is the name of this new type of firearm? How much does it cost? How many have the Ministry of Works produced so far?"
Wang Shouren smiled and said, "General Ling is a general of our Great Ming Dynasty, and he is extremely loyal to His Majesty. There is no need to hide this information from him."
Without saying a word, Wang Yangming tapped Ling Luoshi again.
"His Majesty has named this new type of firearm the flintlock musket, and the Ministry of Works has already produced over 20,000 of them!"
"And up to now, no fewer than one hundred flintlock muskets are being manufactured every day."
"What?!"
"Twenty thousand?!"
"They can still produce a hundred of these every day?!"
Ling Luoshi's expression changed instantly, and for the first time, he truly felt what fear was.
With 20,000 flintlock muskets in stock, they can still produce 100 flintlock muskets every day.
The scene they were just imagining—when these flintlock muskets appeared on the battlefield in large numbers—was something Zhu Houzhao could have already realized!
Such terrifying industrial strength filled Ling Luoshi with deep-seated fear!
But that wasn't all. Wang Shouren then casually said, "The first program is over. General Ling, please enjoy the second program."
"There's more to the show?!"
Ling Luoshi could no longer sit still and looked at Wang Shouren in shock.
Wang Shouren waved his hand, and a loud command rang out: "Release!"
"Boom boom boom!"
In an instant, the earth shook!
A tremendous roar resounded behind Wang Shouren!
Immediately afterwards, huge clouds of dust exploded from the hill in front of Wang Shouren!