Chapter 402: Unexpected Wealth

"Even so, one still must not underestimate the enemy," Zhao Xu said.

After equipping the Flintlock and Artillery, he repeatedly emphasized this issue, not out of contempt for firearms.

Rather, it was to remind Chang Wei to value tactics even when using firearms.

One must not underestimate the enemy because of this and adopt reckless, brainless tactics.

In the contemporary 1879 Zulu War in South Africa, the British army at the time was already equipped with Rifled Musket and fixed ammunition, capable of firing twenty Bullets per minute.

But when facing the Zulus, who only had shields and threw Long Spear, they still suffered heavy losses and severe casualties in the early stages.

Let alone that the Northern Di they were facing were at their peak, with combat power far stronger than the Zulus who lacked Cavalry.

Furthermore, the Northern Di were no longer just Grassland tribes with cold Weapons.

They had transformed into something like the Qing army of the late Ming period, which had mastered firearms.

If one also counted the two vassal states of Xiliang and Gaoli, this upcoming war was actually extremely perilous.

No one could guarantee what the outcome of the great war would be.

He even had a contingency plan in his heart for Da Song being defeated, the Northern Di breaking through from the northwest, occupying Yizhou, and then descending from Wuguan to Jingzhou.

At that time, he would have no choice but to disregard everything, close his doors, and focus on development, then seek an opportunity to break the deadlock.

However, he certainly did not hope for this situation to occur.

That was why he was so cautious regarding this war.

Beyond Bayonet and War Chariot, he also had the idea of putting Hot Air Balloon into the war.

"Yes, Your Highness." Chang Wei immediately calmed down.

Zhao Xu continued: "Since the Bayonet Technique training is about done, it is time for a war simulation."

"War simulation?" Chang Wei was stunned for a moment.

Zhao Xu nodded; some time ago, what he had given the generals were Flag Language, Firearm Tactics, and Sand Table Simulation.

But he had never spoken to them about exercises before.

The reason he did not mention it was because the Prince's Personal Army's troop types were too singular at that time, so it was unnecessary.

But now it was different; the Prince's Personal Army not only had a rich variety of troop types, but the types of firearms were also rich.

Besides Artillery, there were now Mortar, and Flintlock had been fitted with Bayonet.

Of course, the most important thing was the issue of War Chariot.

Soldiers needed to master how to coordinate with War Chariot to fight an encounter battle against Northern Di Cavalry in the field.

After all, the Northern Di were different from Xiliang; their iron cavalry, known as invincible under heaven, was not just for show.

At a distance of one hundred meters, a Cavalry charge only took eight seconds.

Within these eight seconds, even Three-Stage Shooting could not fire two rounds.

Only by relying on War Chariot to form an effect like Caltrops to block the Cavalry on the perimeter could the effect of the Flintlock be maximized.

Otherwise, even if the soldiers held Flintlock equipped with Bayonet and raised a forest of guns, they would still suffer losses.

He did not like to trade the lives of his own soldiers for the lives of Northern Di soldiers; this was a losing business.

Moreover, like Xiliang, the Northern Di also had Heavy Cavalry.

"In the past, this Prince only let you simulate on the Sand Table;

now, after you simulate on the Sand Table, I want you to take the soldiers out, find a place, and play both sides to fight a battle," Zhao Xu explained to Chang Wei.

Now, they still had sufficient time for exercises.

For one, it allowed soldiers to become familiar with tactics, and for another, it allowed soldiers to become familiar with weapons like Mortar and War Chariot.

Next, he explained in detail to Chang Wei how to organize the exercises.

At the same time, he also had him establish a Director Department, specifically responsible for planning the exercises.

After listening carefully, Chang Wei pondered for a long while and exclaimed repeatedly.

In Da Song, soldiers only had drills.

All activities basically took place on the Drill Ground.

Daily training was nothing more than practicing Battle Formation.

Even he had never thought of taking soldiers out to fight a "directed" war in a certain area.

Although this was not a real battle with real blades and guns.

But if they encountered a similar situation in war, the soldiers would not panic.

They could use the experience learned in the exercises to react.

At the same time, it could also test the command ability of the generals; it was killing many birds with one stone.

"How could this subordinate not think of such a brilliant idea?" Chang Wei patted his head, his expression excited, "This subordinate has also stayed in the camp long enough; I will find a place to conduct exercises."

He said the word "exercises" with great emphasis.

Zhao Xu smiled and nodded; besides explaining this matter, he came to the camp to check on the soldiers' training.

However, because the Prince's Personal Army was now numerous.

They were now stationed separately; besides the North Camp, there were also the South Camp, Feihu Pass, Yanguan, and the current Jinghai County, all of which had Prince's Army of considerable scale.

For this exercise, Chang Wei needed to draw soldiers from all these places and participate in turns.

He then toured the camp with Chang Wei once more.

Zhao Xu went specifically to the barracks to check the internal affairs.

That is, the cleanliness of the barracks, the folding of bedding, and other such matters.

He had long since had Chang Wei implement these internal affairs.

Because the discipline training of modern armies started from these small things.

A soldier who could not even fold his own quilt would certainly not be a disciplined soldier.

Without discipline, Line Tactics are a joke in warfare; one would only be routed by a single volley from the opponent.

What made him feel satisfied was that the several barracks he visited were all very tidy, and the soldiers' bedding was also very clean.

After wandering around for a while, Zhao Xu let Chang Wei go about his business, and he headed toward the Prince's Mansion himself.

Before he even reached the entrance of the Prince's Mansion.

Zhao Xu saw Yang He surrounded by a group of merchants, and Yang He seemed to be arguing about something.

Seeing him arrive, Yang He and the merchants swarmed over in a flock.

"What is going on here?" Zhao Xu looked at the wry-smiling Yang He and the expectant merchants.

"Your Highness, they want to hang their signboards on that thing that flies." Yang He pointed at the merchants, "For the past two days, my ears have been calloused from them pestering me; I told them this matter is impossible, but they insisted that I come to find Your Highness."

"That is called a Hot Air Balloon," Zhao Xu said helplessly.

"Right, right, right, that is the Hot Air Balloon," Yang He chuckled.

This matter had long since spread through official circles; this thing that could send people into the sky made everyone feel incomparably shocked.

And it was precisely because the Hot Air Balloon was too eye-catching every time it flew over Yancheng that some merchants had a sudden inspiration to hang their signboards on it to promote their Wine shops and fabric businesses.

"Your Highness, we are willing to pay Silver; anyway, it flies back and forth every day, it would be a waste not to hang something on it, don't you agree?" one merchant said.

Zhao Xu smiled amusedly; these signboards were the kind of cloth banners hung at shops, with the shop's name and such on them.

Seeing that there was no lack of wealthy individuals among the merchants before him, a flash of inspiration struck Zhao Xu's mind.

He said to Yang He, "Fine, you negotiate the Silver with them, and I will have people hang them up."

While speaking, he winked at Yang He.

Yang He understood; naturally, the price could not be cheap for them.

Having agreed to this matter, he returned to the Prince's Mansion, leaving Yang He to tangle with the merchants.

He was not lacking this bit of Silver.

But he suddenly thought that the students in the Technology Academy had no income.

Although they did not have to worry about food and clothing, they had families.

Therefore, it would be better to take the Silver earned by the Hot Air Balloon and distribute it as a bonus to the students of the Technology Academy to resolve their worries.

Furthermore, using the things they had researched and built themselves to earn money was also the best incentive for them.

(https: //)

Let's set a small goal first, for example, remember in 1 second: Shukeju mobile version reading website: