The real thing that Zhao Bing can refer to is Chen Fenglin's "improved" Wugang chariot. Its "advanced" is that the cowhide rhinoceros armor of his predecessors was replaced with wooden chassis, and there was no major improvement. The one he was most familiar with in his previous life was the "side-hand chassis" used by Qi Jiguang, a famous general of the Ming Dynasty. This period was in the period of cold and hot weapons being used alternately. It was also an example of the most common use of chariots. Another is the "Hus Chariots" of the Czech army to resist European heavy cavalry in the 14th century. At that time, Europe was also in the use of firearms in war, but the focus of the debate was on which of the two-wheeled and four-wheeled chariots were advanced.

Nothing happened out of thin air, but was inherited, and the same was true for the side vans that appeared later. In Zhao Bing's memory, the first thing that Guo Deng built in Datong in the Ming Dynasty was the side vans built for defense. The shaft was 10 feet long, 3 feet wide, and 7 feet high. The vans were thin plates and fire guns were equipped with ten people. Each van was equipped with left and right combat, with hooks and loops connected to each other in front and back. The car was loaded with clothes, grain, equipment and the foot corners that blocked the horse.

During the Chenghua period, the famous general of the Ming Dynasty, Yu Dayou, guarded Datong. At this time, the war between the Mongolian tribes against the Ming Empire gradually turned into a large-scale field battle with multiple armies, siege battles, and the pressure on the border of the Ming Empire suddenly increased. It was at this time that Yu Dayou learned in detail about the situation of the Datong border army and Altan Khan's army. In addition, the general high expenditures on the nine sides of the Ming Empire made it difficult to support large-scale corps operations. He adapted to the times and local conditions, and changed the tactics of using several or even dozens of times of force to eliminate opponents in the southeast, and began to advocate the small-cost tactics of winning with infantry surprises.

Based on the so-called "chariots defeat cavalry, cavalry defeat infantry" in the art of war, Yu Dayou proposed a new method he used in Guangdong and Guangxi, where horse infantry, cavalry and combat chariots cooperated to fight. He thought it meant that infantry could not resist the trampling of cavalry, and that combat chariots could block the trampling of cavalry and could also give full play to the advantages of firearms. Based on this mutually restrained relationship, after the initial training of the chariot camp had achieved certain results, he let go of his hands and feet to create a chariot tactic that brought about a turning point in the northern battle situation of the Ming Empire - the Datong Town military chariot control method.

The new type of chariot-type built by Yu Dayou uses a wheelbarrow. The wheels are four feet and six inches in diameter, and two large woods are laid straight, each one or two feet long. There are three small woods in the middle for pushing and transporting, and there are three ropes for shoulder lifting. A piece of six feet long wood is placed in front of the car and two small straight wood are installed vertically as a barrier. There are four large spear heads, one door of the Big Bo Lang machine, two shields, two small moon flags, and one curtain. There is a standing wood in the middle of the rear of the car, which is equivalent to the steering wheel of the car, and is controlled by a team officer. There are two brackets in front of the car, which are placed as a frame when parking. There are two iron cones behind the car, which are inserted into the ground when parking, which is equivalent to an anchor.

There are fifty people in each new chariot. Among them, there are two flag-teamers, four card players, two tiger-crossed hands, two hook and sickle hands, and four knife-pulling hands, a total of fourteen people. These people are skilled in martial arts, usually standing next to the chariot, and when they encounter an enemy, they charge forward and break through the formation. There are a total of sixteen people who push the cart, divided into two shifts, eight people in one shift, and four people push the cart on both sides. The 16 cart pushers are not civil servants, but firearms. Among the sixteen people, there are four bird gunners, four sharpshooters who fire the Bolang machine and carry the sub-gun, and four knife-pulling hands. These sixteen people are only responsible for pushing the cart and guarding the cart, and do not charge to break through the formation.

Each soldier is not allowed to put his luggage on the cart. Each four people carry one baggage for a cart, and only those who push the cart can put the weapons on the chariot. Finally, there are two team officers, one of whom is on the cart, one of whom is on the cart, supervises the charge troops to break the formation, and one of whom is responsible for helming and supervising the chariot behind the cart. When encountering the enemy, the chariot is arranged in front of the cart. The soldiers on the cart fire the bows and crossbows and cannons, and the infantry will ride out the formation. The distance is close to the distance and fire guns and arrows are fired when they intersect with the enemy horses. After that, the cavalry took the opportunity to rush into the enemy formation and chop them, and ten infantrymen are responsible for cutting the heads.

Zhao Bing thought that Yu Dayou's use of a wheelbarrow as a chariot was also a big idea, which changed the common people's understanding of a chariot. But it is also very admirable. Its ability to boldly adopt common chariots under limited financial resources, and to push and pull by humans to change the way it was to be towed by livestock in the past. The chariot is equipped with a spear in front of it, which is light and easy to transport. The vehicle itself, plus the guns, cards, guns, etc. on the chariot, weighing only 300 kilograms, is carried out in shifts of 16 people, and can be lifted when encountering a pit, and even a rugged and dangerous road can be smoothly passed. The purpose of each car cooperating with each other, walking in formation, and stopping in camp.

Zhao Bing thought that if the chariots were also divided into levels, this type of unicycle could be considered an ultra-light chariot. Although it has good passability and lightness, it also determines that the defects of this chariot are very obvious. The small model determines that it cannot carry more weapons and supplies, and it cannot carry soldiers. It chooses to drag livestock and push and pull with human power, which determines that this chariot cannot fight long distances and can only fight on the city to facilitate material replenishment. Therefore, unicycle is not his first option.

Later, Qi Jiguang was transferred to Ji Town to serve as the commander of the Beijing Defense Army. He carefully studied the chariot camp established by Yu Dadan and believed that it was promising to develop the chariot camp. However, he did not retain its unicycle, but made it into an ancient car. It was used as a side van to protect the military and civilians. The shaft was 1 zhang and three feet long, and the front and back horizontal shafts were nine feet wide, and seven feet five inches high. The chassis was made of thin plates, and the wheel axles were left and right, and the wheel axles were connected in sequence. The shafts at the front and rear ends were dependent on each other, and each was hooked and looped. They were tied together, and they were curtained with cloth. From this, it can be seen that this kind of chariot is very distinctive. There were long shafts at both ends, and both ends could be used to mount horses, and they could be advanced or retreated.

In addition, Qi Jiguang also built a heavy four-wheeled chariot, which is 1 2 feet tall. It should not be connected with wooden ladders to 1 5 feet tall. It is equipped with large and small fire guns and arranged five-color flags. It is to see that there are thieves in the square flags. It is advancing when they hear the drum, stop when they hear the gold, and carefully advance and retreat. It can be said that this is a command vehicle, which also serves as a moving fire fortress, and is placed in the array to strengthen firepower.

Each chariot of Qi Jiguang was equipped with twenty soldiers, divided into two teams, two teams, ten people in each team. The one who operated the chariot was the main chariot, and the one who fought with the chariot was the surprise chariot. In terms of organization, a chariot was called one sect; every four sects were one bureau, and a hundred generals were set; every four sects were one department, and a thousand generals were set; every two sects were one battalion, and a general was set; a total of 128 chariots were set, and more than 2,600 officers and soldiers were set. All the side vans were connected, so that the chariot camp could "go like a wall" and become a wooden fortress.

Zhao Bing can see from the configuration of his van that it uses the Flang machine rapid-fire cannon as the core of firepower and the coercion as the auxiliary to firepower to kill the enemy. However, they are still equipped with cold weapons such as rattan cards, swords and guns, and rakes. They have not completely overestimated the full-equipped firearms. However, the concentrated firepower should not be underestimated, and it can cause terrible casualties to the cavalry outside the range of bows and arrows.

From a formal perspective, Qi Jiguang's modified side van increased in size, was pulled by horses, and was refined, with a distinction between slight and heavy, and assisted by cavalry. However, Zhao Bing believed that Qi Jiguang's foothold was still defense. Because his car was imitated with antiques, some shortcomings have not been overcome, such as the chariot style was too heavy, requiring too many people and horses, not suitable for risk, and not suitable for offensive battles, and the large-scale use of firearms also made surprise soldiers idle. Therefore, it is far from enough to completely defeat the Mongolian cavalry in a field environment...

Zhao Bing drew a few sketches, but he felt unsatisfied. Since the domestic ones were not good, then look at the imported ones and turned his attention to the Hus chariot. In terms of function, the roles of Chinese and foreign chariots are no different. Hus chariots support troops' mobile combat on weekdays, and when threatened, they become a defensive fortress and serve as a barrier fortress.

However, the design concept of Hus chariot is somewhat different from that of China. They believe that it is necessary to be extremely heavy as a barrier. The basis of the design is actually to support the four-wheel farm chariot towed by four horses. The already heavy cart itself, but they also installed heavy removable wood guards on the side panels of the carriage with ropes, which is equivalent to the "shielding armor" of modern tanks, in order to strengthen the protection of combat infantry in the body of the combat vehicle and reduce the threat of projected weapons.

In addition, the Husse chariot is equipped with a heavier, longer extended guard plate, which has triangular gun holes on it, and soldiers can shoot with guns or crossbows inside the chariot. Another long one is inserted between the wheels under the chariot and serves as undercarriage. It has the function of blocking small projectiles and preventing creeping enemies from coming from undercarriage.

Zhao Bing only heard of the shape, had never seen the real thing, and had not even seen the restored picture, so he could only draw a sketch based on his imagination. However, he was stumped by how to install the side guard plate on the side. You should know that the guard plate will collide and rub with the wheel, and may even jamm the wheel. At first, he also thought that there might be any errors in the records, but when he thought about the problem he had thought of, others could also think of it.

After thinking hard for a while, Zhao Bing finally figured out that as long as the carriage is designed into a bucket shape with a narrow bottom and a wide top, the guard plate will not touch the wheels when it hangs down from the roof like a curtain. As long as the wheels are slightly modified and reinforced, the wear of the tilted carriage plates on both sides can be reduced, which can explain why the guard plates recorded are fixed by ropes. At the same time, these suspended guard plates can also play a buffering role and reduce the hard impact on the carriage. He thought this was an amazing design, which provided another idea than simply increasing the thickness and strength of the material to reduce damage.

In addition, the Hus chariot's body adopts a fully enclosed car, with only a narrow door on the other side. The wall can be put down like a suspension bridge to allow the passengers inside the car to enter and exit. Zhao Bing actually intended to adopt a van-like design, which can prevent soldiers from suffering from wind and snow, and can prevent gunpowder from being wet by rain. It can even be used as a mobile barracks for soldiers. The interior is slightly modified and can also be used as a logistics vehicle, medical vehicle and kitchen vehicle, etc., which has great potential for transformation as a mobile platform.

According to records, a Hus chariot can carry fifteen to twenty combat personnel, namely crossbowmen, musketeers, halbers and shieldmen. From the perspective of organization, Zhao Bing estimated that the size of the Hus chariot should be similar to the size of the light side van used by Qi Jiguang, but the four-wheel design is much higher than the two-wheel load capacity and stability, and can carry more weapons and equipment.

In terms of the organization of the chariot, each chariot has its own commander, and the combat personnel are in groups of ten. A "column leader" commands a convoy of 50 to 100 combat vehicles. A commander also has a commander in charge of the chariots, and the commander in charge has two sub-commands under the commander, one of whom is in charge of infantry and the other is in charge of the knights who fight on horseback. It can be seen that their combat method is also centered on the chariot formation, and the infantry and cavalry are mixed and cooperated in combat.

In terms of marching, the chariots move forward in the form of a column. The last chariot in each column is a flag chariot, and this formation is controlled and dispatched with signal flags. The chariot team advances in four formations, two of which are on the periphery and two teams inside. The outer teams are longer and are deployed on the front and rear wings of the inner teams. These chaotic chariot teams act as flank guards.

After assembly, the chariots are arranged in an circular defensive formation, and the chariots are tightly clamped together with chains, so they can quickly set up a defensive formation and arrange them into a circular melee position. After the chariot is deployed, the soldiers unload the bars and harnesses, and then put down the defensive wooden boards. When conditions permit, the soldiers dig trenches in front of the chariot and cover part of the wheel with the dug soil to protect the wheels.

The horses remained near the inside of the chariot barrier in case they could be used quickly again if needed. The horses were guarded by the driver and the shield player, and the shield player also had to cover the narrow gaps in the battle workshop. Armed soldiers with cold weapons stood in the gaps in each chariot and the workshop, and musketeers and crossbowmen were deployed next to them. Inside the circular fortress arranged by the chariot, there were cavalry detachments ready to take turns to support the combat personnel of the chariot convoy.

The Hus chariot has many advantages, but its shortcomings are also fatal. The heavy body of the past discourages Zhao Bing. After recapturing Jiangnan, the Song army seized the Luzhou horse farm among the twelve horse farms of the Yuan Dynasty. In addition, a batch of war horses seized. Although the shortage of horses was alleviated, it was far from enough to build a powerful cavalry based on this. Therefore, spending small money to do big things is still Zhao Bing's principle.
Chapter completed!