The founding history of Yuanyang array

Before Qi Jiguang, the military valued personal martial arts, and the soldiers who could swing their weapons like flying were the heroes in the eyes of the public. Boxers, thugs, salt owls and even monks and Miao people from all over the country were recruited into the army. It was not until being defeated by organized enemies again and again that the authorities realized that the success or failure of a battle did not depend entirely on the individual's martial arts. When training this new army, Qi Jiguang not only requires the soldiers to have excellent skills, but also pays full attention to the cooperation of various weapons in the small army. Each infantry class is equipped with both long weapons and short weapons. When fighting, a pike with a total length of more than 12 feet is an effective attack weapon, but its limitation is that it must keep a considerable distance from the enemy. If you can't stab the enemy and let him be within the range of the gun, this weapon will be useless at once. Therefore, Qi Jiguang made the following configuration for an infantry squad: captain 1, cook 1, soldier 10. 10, four of the soldiers were armed with long guns as the main force of the attack. There are four soldiers in front of it: the soldier on the right is holding a big rectangular pentagonal rattan card, and the soldier on the left is holding a small round rattan card, all made of rattan. After that, two soldiers held the "wolf", that is, the big bamboo with branches and leaves, which was about three feet long. After the long gunman, two soldiers carried "palladium". "Palladium" is in the shape of a mountain, made of iron and seven or eight feet long. Put a rocket in the concave place at the top, that is, an arrow with blasting battle, which can go straight to the enemy line after being ignited.

This configuration is called "Yuanyang array" because of its left-right symmetry. Soldiers with Fangteng cards on the right, its main task is to maintain the established position and stabilize the position of the team. Soldiers with round rattan cards on the left should crawl forward and throw javelins behind the cards to lure enemy soldiers out of their favorable defensive positions. If the lure is successful, the two soldiers behind will sweep the enemy to the ground with wolves, and then let the partner with the pike jump up and stab the enemy to death. The last two soldiers with sharp handles are responsible for protecting the rear of the team, guarding the flanks, and supporting the partners in front when necessary to form a second-line attack force. It can be clearly seen that this 12-person infantry class is an organic group, and the success of the predetermined tactics depends entirely on the division of labor and cooperation of the soldiers, and few individuals have the opportunity to stand out. Because of this, General Qi Jiguang repeatedly stated the importance of close cooperation among all the players and made a disciplinary guarantee with clear rewards and punishments. Of course, this tactical rule is not immutable. If the enemy's situation and terrain permit, the whole team can be divided into two and become two horizontal teams to fight against the enemy. You can also arrange two palladium players in the back as usual, with the first eight soldiers in a row and the long gunners between the rattan player and the wolf player respectively. The tactics formulated by Qi Jiguang only limit the application of firearms to a limited scope. He said: "Firearms are used before receiving the enemy and cannot be relied on as the main weapon." In the later stage of training, he stipulated that 12 infantry team should be equipped with two birds, and a bird catcher (equivalent to a company) must have an infantry "killer" to fight together.

The soldiers recruited by Qi Jiguang are simple and reliable young farmers, and the tactics of "Yuanyang Array" are also designed according to the characteristics of these soldiers. He has made it clear that the two soldiers equipped with Wolf Dodge don't need special skills, and their muscles are competent enough. This kind of wolf can not only sweep down the enemy, but also play a hidden role and give courage to the soldiers. The "mandarin duck array" used in the war against Japan is a tactic mainly based on small infantry, aiming at dealing with pirates and adapting to the topographic characteristics of the south. The task of Jizhou military town is to defend Mongolian cavalry, so this new technology developed on the basis of "Yuanyang array" has begun to take shape in the scale of coordinated operations of various services and arms.

The use of chariots has become an important part of this tactic. The performance of this kind of chariot is mainly defensive. The shape is similar to that of a folk cart. The difference is that there are boxes on both sides of the trunk of folk carts, but this chariot has only eight folding screens, which are 15 feet long and usually lie flat on the axle. During the war, it was opened and stood behind a wheel to replace the trunk, so it was also called "partial box car". Dozens of chariots can be connected side by side and placed in a circular or square defensive stronghold. The two doors farthest from the screen can swing back and forth like door leaves for infantry to enter and exit.

A chariot was loaded with two Franco light machine guns. By today's standards, this European-style firearm can only be regarded as a large-caliber musket, not a cannon. It is made of bronze or cast iron, ranging from 3 feet to 7 feet in length and less than 2 inches in caliber, and is loaded with lead bullets from the muzzle. The largest Franco machine with a range of 2000 feet. Usually, the bird's head of this kind of artillery and sub-artillery fires lead bullets behind the screen on the chariot, and the screen is open for the export of lead bullets.

Twenty soldiers deserve a chariot. Among them, 10 people are directly under the chariot, and the task is to throw the robot. Another 10 people are "killers" emphasized by Qi Jiguang, and their task is to meet the enemy with rattan and palladium long handles. Keep the killer within 25 feet of the chariot. If they advance, the chariot will advance with them.

Other infantry units still use mandarin duck array tactics. Slightly different, rattan players have to crawl forward to cut the enemy's horseshoe, while long gunmen mainly aim at playing tricks on the enemy to make it fall, and some bamboo wolves have easily been beaten by subway.

This Huncheng Brigade has 3,000 cavalry, 4,000 infantry, 128 heavy chariot and 2 16 light chariot. When encountering the enemy, the cavalry blocked the enemy in front, giving the chariot enough time to form a battle formation. When the enemy approached, the cavalry retreated into the chariot array. When the number of enemy riders was less than 100, the Huncheng brigade refused to participate in the war. Only when a large number of enemy riders come within the range of about 250 feet of firearms will the French machine, the bird spear and the rocket be released at the same time.

HunChengLv may also carry heavy artillery, one of which is commonly known as "general". This kind of heavy artillery weighs 1000 Jin and is shipped by mule car. When placed, it needs to be wedged into the ground for fixation. Small iron balls and stones, rather than bullets, are tightly packed in the gun chamber to kill a large number of enemy troops at zero distance. Gunners should also jump into nearby fortifications after igniting gunpowder to avoid injury. When the power of firearms comes into play, the infantry rushes out from behind the chariot, forming several attack waves to fight the enemy, and directing the action with the sound of the horn. When the enemy's offensive was defeated and the formation was scattered, the cavalry also attacked from behind the car. This kind of cavalry is actually an infantry on horseback, and they also fight with different white blades in the mandarin duck formation. The Mongols charged in droves with cavalry, overwhelming their opponents with rapid strength and momentum, which Qi Jiguang had never followed.

Such a carefully studied tactic soon reconciled with the Mongols, but it failed to pass the rigorous test of actual combat and did not have a decisive influence in military history. From a purely military point of view, this result is somewhat regrettable.