[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-a-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army":3,"chapter-a-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army-a-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army-chapter-185":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","A Little Soldier of the Late Ming Border Army",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1205474,1561,"Chapter 185: Artillery Talent","a-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army-chapter-185",185,"\u003Cp>Xu Zu had just returned from the capital not long ago. He had assumed the post of Garrison Commander of Baoan Guard City and needed to go to the capital in person to collect his letter of appointment, official seal, uniform, and other items. His wish had been fulfilled, and he was in high spirits. When he heard Wang Dou’s request, he agreed wholeheartedly. The various paperwork and transfer procedures for Zhao Xuan that followed could simply be handled by his subordinates.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the ninth year of Chongzhen, when Wang Dou went to the guard city after a great victory, he had been deeply impressed at the victory banquet by a young man named Zhao Xuan. At the time, the man kept peering at Wang Dou, sizing him up with an incredulous look. That strange gaze made Wang Dou seriously doubt his sexual orientation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On this trip to the guard city, Wang Dou had a long talk with Zhao Xuan. Zhao Xuan had once been a Company Commander in a certain wagon battalion in Baoding. The impression he gave Wang Dou was that this young man had many bizarre ideas and was full of complaints — a typical nonconformist. No wonder he was squeezed out everywhere in the increasingly stagnant army of the Great Ming.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For example, regarding the use of cannons and war wagons, he believed that cannons could be placed within the battle formation. This way, the gunners would not have to face the enemy’s arrow rain and cavalry charges directly, allowing them to fire more calmly and continuously bombard the enemy. When the enemy charged, they could bombard the vanguard to weaken its impact; after the infantry engaged, they could bombard the enemy’s reinforcements; and when their own side launched a charge, the cannons could promptly follow and provide fire support for the charging infantry.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This idea was too shocking. At the time, Ming wagon battalions always placed their war wagons and cannons on the front line as a barrier for the infantry against cavalry charges. This method of warfare naturally had its pros and cons. The advantage was that the infantry had cover.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The disadvantage was that under a rapid cavalry charge, the firearms on the wagons could only fire a very few volleys. Moreover, facing the charging cavalry directly placed immense pressure on the gunners — they either fired wide or fired too early, further reducing the effectiveness of those few volleys. Furthermore, the wagon battalion firearm soldiers on the front line, lacking protection, faced the threat of enemy arrow rain. They either retreated too early and missed the chance for battle, or suffered heavy casualties under the enemy’s first volley of arrows, making it very difficult to fully utilize their firepower.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It cannot be said that the Ming wagon battalion’s tactical thinking at the time was wrong. Placing cannons inside the formation required infantry capable of directly clashing with enemy cavalry head-on. Given the state of the Ming army at the time, this was unrealistic. No wonder when Zhao Xuan proposed this idea, he was rebuked by his colleagues and superiors as utterly absurd.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, after hearing Zhao Xuan’s words, Wang Dou felt a stir in his heart. Perhaps his own army could try this method of warfare. After all, his army already dared to clash head-on with Qing cavalry in the open field. This matter could be considered slowly later.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That was not all. Zhao Xuan also strongly disapproved of the Ming army’s practice of placing heavy cannons on strong city walls at the time. More and more Ming forces were using red barbarian cannons, and his former wagon battalion was no exception. In Zhao Xuan’s view, red barbarian cannons were extremely cumbersome, very inconvenient to use and maneuver, and outrageously expensive.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He said, “My lord, you may not know, but those red barbarian cannons cost dozens or even over a hundred taels of silver each. Some heavy cannons even cost up to a thousand taels. One red barbarian cannon could already pay for a hundred Folangji cannons or enemy-destroying cannons, and the killing effect of red barbarian cannons is nothing special.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He gave Wang Dou an example: the large enemy-destroying cannons in his former wagon battalion cost only six taels of silver each, and the hundred-shot guns cost only two taels each. Building one war wagon, equipped with a set of mother-and-child divine flying cannons — each cannon with five sub-chambers — cost no more than thirty taels including the wagon itself. As for three-eyed guns, they were even cheaper, only seven qian of silver per barrel. Cold weapons like long axes and sabers were goods costing only two or three qian of silver each.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When discussing the prices and performance of various cannons, Zhao Xuan was clearly very familiar with them. He listed them one by one, then complained, “Red barbarian cannons are large and useless. Spending huge sums to buy heavy cannons from the red-haired barbarians — wouldn’t it be better to build more small cannons and use the saved money and grain to pay the soldiers’ overdue wages?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Dou pondered. He had read relevant historical materials. In the late Ming, a craze arose for purchasing red barbarian cannons from foreigners. From small red barbarian cannons to large ones, prices started at a minimum of a hundred taels and ranged up to several thousand taels. They even purchased red barbarian bronze cannons weighing as much as seven thousand jin, with cannonballs alone weighing twenty-three jin.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Guangqi and Hong Chengchou had once ordered a large batch of red barbarian cannons firing ten-jin cannonballs from Westerners. At the time, each cannon was quoted at one thousand taels of silver. Wang Dou estimated that the cost was only a little over a hundred taels. It seemed the profit margin on selling cannons was truly enormous.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ming officials and generals in the late Ming were so keen on purchasing red barbarian cannons; Wang Dou suspected the kickbacks involved were very generous.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One heavy red barbarian cannon cost a thousand taels of silver, enough to build two hundred enemy-destroying cannons. Xu Guangqi had once hired a large number of Portuguese to make hawk’s-beak guns, quoted at ten taels of silver each — more expensive than one enemy-destroying cannon. A matchlock gun was quoted at four taels of silver… Without questioning anyone’s private motives, was it appropriate to use such expensive and cumbersome cannons and firearms under the late Ming’s financial state of living beyond its means?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In Wang Dou’s view, the late Ming’s approach to using firearms was already mistaken. Red barbarian cannons were expensive, slow to fire, slow to load, and slow to traverse. They could not form dense firepower, had limited killing effect on men and horses, and performed poorly both in city defense and field battles — unless used for sieges… But historically, only the Qing troops were the ones doing the besieging.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In terms of cost-effectiveness, given the Great Ming’s current situation, Wang Dou favored the Ming army’s earlier light-cannon-on-wagon approach. Wagon battalions would form defensive formations for field battles, using rapid-firing light Folangji cannons, small crouching-tiger cannons firing grapeshot, quick guns, matchlocks, and nest-of-bees rocket arrows to deliver uninterrupted suppressive fire. This would be coordinated with infantry thrusting out from the gaps between the wagon formation, and finally cavalry cooperating to pursue and finish off the remaining enemy. The field battle record of this approach was considerably better.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And it was cheap and practical.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After hearing Wang Dou’s words, Zhao Xuan was overjoyed. He slapped his thigh and said repeatedly, “Exactly, exactly! The Defense Commander speaks most rightly.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The two exchanged views and both felt they shared much common ground.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhao Xuan was extremely excited and just wanted to get to Baoan Department as quickly as possible.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Dou asked about the situation of Zhao Xuan’s former wagon battalion in Baoding. Zhao Xuan said, “My lord, the wagon battalion I served in had a paper strength of over three thousand men. It contained over two hundred Folangji cannons, eight grand general enemy-destroying cannons, and one hundred twenty-eight war wagons. Each wagon was equipped with two Folangji cannons, four matchlock guns, and four rocket handlers. There were also sixty crouching-tiger cannons.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Dou nodded. It seemed the proportion of firearms in Ming wagon battalions was indeed very high — on average, one cannon was equipped for every dozen or so soldiers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhao Xuan introduced Wang Dou to the war wagons used by the wagon battalion at the time. There were side-screened wagons, light wagons, and specialized supply wagons. These vehicles could be two-wheeled or single-wheeled, carrying grain, equipment, abatis, and other items. The side-screened wagons were slightly heavier, each weighing over six hundred jin. The light wagons were somewhat lighter — normally two men could push or pull them, and even crossing mountains and fording streams required no more than four men. Yet in battle, each could shelter twenty-five men.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhao Xuan said excitedly, “My lord, if you wish to build war wagons and cannons, I am willing to serve with the utmost effort.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then he revealed his own little hope — that in the future, this cannon unit or wagon battalion would be under his command.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Dou glanced at him in surprise. This fellow’s background was not simple — he actually knew how to build cannons and wagons?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>War wagons and cannons were certainly something he intended to build. As his power expanded, operating beyond his borders would become inevitable in the future. As the saying goes, no scheme is more vicious than cutting off supplies. When campaigning abroad, the greatest fear is having one’s supply lines severed. The Qing troops had many cavalry, making this possibility very high. To protect his supplies and materiel, the use of war wagons would be essential.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To strengthen his army’s firepower in battle, cannons would also have to be used.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, regarding building wagons, he still needed to think it over carefully. As for cannons, he still had a large stockpile in Baoan Department, so he would use those for now. In fact, he already had a group of skilled craftsmen at hand. With Zhao Xuan’s guidance, building some light cannons should not be difficult. Wang Dou even knew of later-era iron mold casting methods and internal bore cooling methods, which would make cannon production even faster.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What Wang Dou needed to do at present was to properly modify the various cannons in Baoan Department — for example, converting some cannons from their four-wheeled high-legged carriages into two-wheeled carriages and mounts that were easier to move. Currently, many of the Folangji cannon mounts under Wang Dou’s command had serious problems; they became useless once the Qing troops charged within a certain range and needed modification.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Artillery training was also a problem. To be honest, aiming and firing Ming cannons was very difficult, requiring a complex set of mathematical knowledge. The cannons the Great Ming produced now had no sights, not even basic rangefinding tools. Relying solely on visual estimation, training a qualified artilleryman was far too difficult.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As for the mathematical knowledge needed for artillery training — not only was Wang Dou not skilled in mathematics, but even if he wanted to teach it, later-era mathematics and Ming mathematics were two completely different systems. There was no way to even begin teaching. He could only have some clerks teach the artillerymen to read and write, instruct them in arithmetic, and ultimately rely on expending large quantities of cannonballs and gunpowder to cultivate the artillerymen’s experience.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After hearing Wang Dou’s words, Zhao Xuan pondered and said, “Modifying the gun carriages is not difficult. As long as my lord gives me a free hand to do it, I will certainly satisfy my lord.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>According to Zhao Xuan, many places in the Ming army were already widely using two-wheeled gun carriages, which were really no different from Western designs. Zhao Xuan had seen plenty of two-wheeled gun mounts, so modification was not a challenge for him. What mattered was Wang Dou’s trust in him, allowing him a free hand to manage it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“As for training the gunners, if my lord can trust me, I will also train a crack artillery unit for my lord.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As he spoke, Zhao Xuan looked at Wang Dou with eager, wide eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Dou’s strong point was his willingness to delegate authority — he did not use those he distrusted, and did not distrust those he used. Since Zhao Xuan had spoken thus, Wang Dou was also very pleased to have acquired a vigorous and promising artillery talent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Having received this weighty commission, Zhao Xuan was overjoyed. He even suggested to Wang Dou that the crouching-tiger cannons also be fitted with two-wheeled mounts. He said, “Not only that, I also suggest that my lord’s crouching-tiger cannons use pre-packaged cartridges. This would greatly speed up the loading process.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At present, loading grapeshot into Ming crouching-tiger cannons was very troublesome — one layer of shot had to be covered with one layer of earth, making it extremely slow. Zhao Xuan suggested having the grapeshot rounds pre-made and wrapped in cloth. In battle, they could be directly stuffed into the barrel and rammed to the bottom with a ramrod.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Speaking of grapeshot, Wang Dou recalled the later-era “no-conscience cannon,” whose power was truly immense. But that no-conscience cannon relied on the power of high explosives to generate a massive shockwave. Wang Dou only had black powder now; to achieve that kind of power, it would have to be contained in a sturdy metal casing. Better to forget it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Dou handed the matter of cannons over to Zhao Xuan. A few days later, Zhao Xuan was transferred to Baoan Department City, where he threw himself joyfully into his important task of modifying cannons and training gunners.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the middle of the eleventh month of the tenth year of Chongzhen, Lin Daofu came happily to the department city to report to Wang Dou. Lai Yuanlong and the others at the Shunxiangbao firearms factory had successfully developed a self-igniting gun — that is, the flintlock firearm Wang Dou had spoken of.\u003C\u002Fp>",2359,"2026-06-03T14:05:19.908Z",1,"Novelzhen Translator","942d26d632924df668eacc6546d22f38c933ada8c8c7daeb4aeffef1ca6a6ca2","a-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army-chapter-186","a-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army-chapter-184",896,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fa-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army-cover.jpg"]