Alexander was very curious about all unknown things, and he also liked to talk about marching and fighting, but he didn't just dance around with guns and sticks like other children, but seriously discussed various strategic issues, which was very against Medanzo's temper. Amon lived reclusively in Aristotle's residence, and he didn't have much contact with other people, so it was not easy to meet each other, but Medan Zuo often talked with Alexander about all kinds of things.
Judging from the information obtained by Philip II, Medanzo is also a great figure, and may even be another god. The king also specially asked Alexander to respect Medanzo as he respects his teacher. It wasn't difficult for Alexander to do this. Apart from showing off his prestige, Medanzuo didn't have any pretensions on weekdays. Alexander deliberately made friends, and the two got along well.
Alexander was only eighteen years old this year, and Medanzo saw in him the shadow of young David. David Solomon is a disciple of Medanzuo. Medanzuo liked the duke miner very much when he was a boy, but the current owner of Salem made him a little disappointed. David-Solomon's ambition is to establish the kingdom of the people of Salem. Out of love for his disciples, Medan Zuo still hopes that David can have what he wants.
David demolished the Temple of Amon and changed the main temple in Salem to the Temple of Aroha. Although the gods didn't care about it, they escorted Aesop out of Salem. David Solomon already has the seventh-level achievement of the original power, but his biggest vow now is to establish the kingdom of Salem. I am afraid that the achievement of the original power in this life will stop here, because what he is pursuing is another kind of achievement.
When Medanzuo saw Alexander, he thought of David Solomon when he was a boy. He liked this kid very much, probably out of some inexplicable compensatory psychology. Perhaps he felt in his heart that he did not bring David into the Garden of Eden, nor did he help him realize his desire to build a nation, so he felt some unspeakable regret.
Alexander was influenced by his father since he was a child, and his life aspirations are similar to those of David Solomon, but even more ambitious. He wants to conquer the huge and unimaginable Bozi Empire and avenge all Hidonians. The youth is wild and imaginative when it is the most imaginative, which in the eyes of others is simply a dream, but Alexander told Medan Zuo seriously that he has this wish.
Mei Danzuo neither laughed at nor hit him, but patted him on the shoulder and said: "Good boy, have ambition! It's just that the road is one step at a time. Now that the Heaton Peninsula has not yet been unified, there is no need to talk about how to conquer Poland." This is the empire. Regardless of whether your wish will be realized in the end, the real difference between empty talk and practice is—when you talk about the future, what are you doing now?"
Alexander was not empty talk, he had been studying military formations and the art of war, and asked his guards to perform formations. This was like a child's game, but he played it very seriously. After getting acquainted with Mei Danzuo, he pestered Mei Danzuo to ask him to explain the customs, population distribution, previous wars and military command of various parts of Tianshu Continent.
Aristotle had also been to the Tianshu Continent and experienced wars, so he would naturally teach these courses to Alexander, but when the sage mentioned military issues, he mostly talked about national strategies. And Mei Danzuo was born as the captain of the personal guard who charged into the battle. He often talked about a series of details of strategic command and tactical arrangements, from the formation of the large army, the coordination of various arms, the scheduling of the logistics system to the charge duel, battle formation rotation, and hand-to-hand combat.
Aristotle taught students how to look at the world, and Medanzo became another teacher of Alexander. Perhaps what Alexander learned from Medanzo was how to conquer the world. Medanzuo did not intentionally teach this way, but Alexander will learn the required knowledge from his own perspective.
One day Medanzuo tentatively asked Alexander: "You know my origin and story. If one day in the future, when you really conquered the Bozi Empire, David Solomon had the opportunity to establish the Kingdom of Salem, would you support me? and allow?"
This sounded like a joke, but Alexander knew that people like Medanzo would not ask casually, so he replied seriously: "The people of Salem want to establish their own country, they must get rid of the rule of the Bozi Empire, which is different from ours. The goal is the same. If my desire to beat Potts can be realized, it will also help them."
Medanzuo nodded: "Very well, I hope you don't forget what you said today. Let me ask you again, David-Solomon demolished the temple of Amon, which makes me very disappointed, if one day you are in the same situation position, will you do that?"
Alexander replied seriously: "I swear to the gods, I will never! If I can reach Eju one day, I will personally sacrifice to the Temple of Amon and rebuild the Temple of Isis!"
This kid actually added icing on the cake, and expressed his idea of rebuilding the Temple of Isis on his own initiative, knowing very well how to please Amon. Amon was a warrior from the Temple of Isis, and became the head of the legion under the recommendation of the guardian saint Mary of the Temple of Isis. Among the ancient gods of the gods in the Tianshu Continent, Amon admired the goddess Isis the most. The rebuilding of the Temple of Isis did not damage the brilliance of the god Amon, but entrusted it with a profound meaning of commemoration.
I didn't expect this eighteen-year-old child to have such a mind, he is indeed extremely intelligent!
When Alexander answered in this way, Medanzo vaguely heard a cough in his soul, but he couldn't tell whether it was from Zeus in the sky or Amon on earth. Medanzo patted Alexander on the shoulder again: "Come on, don't sit here and chat all day long, take me to the Macedonian military camp."
A few mornings later, when Amon and Aristotle were talking in the study, Medanzuo walked in with Alexander. Alexander said excitedly: "Mr. Amon, Mr. Aristotle, I have something to show you!"
He ordered the guards to move in a sand table model. The terrain of the sand table was an open area at the foot of the mountain, and there were soldiers dolls standing in arrays. At first glance, it looked like a bare grove. Amon frowned and asked, "What formation is this?"
Alexander replied: "Infantry formation."
Amon: "These soldiers are standing very densely. Are they holding long guns? Calculated according to their height, they are twenty feet tall! I have never seen such a tight battle formation, and it is so difficult to maneuver. Weapon, how did you come up with it?"
Alexander: "Mr. Medanzo helped me think of the idea. It solved the biggest military problem of the Kingdom of Macedonia!"
Mei Danzuo smiled and waved his hands and said, "I just gave some inspiration. This kid organized a drill by himself and figured out the military formation. In fact, there are already such formations on the Heaton Peninsula, but there is no systematic drill."
Aristotle stood up, waved his hands at Amon and Metanzuo, and said, "Stop talking, let Your Highness speak for himself." Then he asked Alexander: "What is the military problem of the Kingdom of Macedonia? How did your army overcome those difficulties?"
Alexander stood in front of the sand table and began to explain one by one—
Macedonia is the most powerful state in the northern part of the Heaton Peninsula, and its strength is no less than Yalun and Kibata in the south. But in the eyes of a well-informed general like Medanzo, Macedonia and even the entire Heaton Peninsula are just tiny places, far from being able to compare with the former countries such as Ecu, Baron, Hatti, and Assyria. Not to mention the sprawling Potts empire.
The Heaton Peninsula is surrounded by the sea and is mountainous. The Kingdom of Macedonia has a rare open plain, but more than half of the country's land area is still mountainous. It is difficult to fight here with the chariot formations that are common on the battlefields of the countries of the Tianshu Continent. Due to the relatively small size of the city-states, the number of heavy cavalry is also very small. Often only wealthy noble citizens can afford the armor and weapons of knights. In wars, usually a small number of cavalry and a large number of infantry rushed to kill each other.
It is difficult to build and operate a chariot formation here, and there are not many cavalry. In addition, there is another biggest problem, that is, the number of warriors is limited, and it is difficult to form a regular army like the traditions of the countries in the Tianshu Continent.
The regular legions that Amon has seen in various countries, except for the abnormally powerful Uruk Legion, basically have 5,000 warriors and 50 priests in the standard system, and the formal soldiers are at least part of awakening the power of the blood. level samurai. Because large armies are most afraid of collapsing in battle, it is difficult for ordinary people without strong blood power to hold heavy weapons.
For a country with a large population base, it is not difficult to organize several regular legions. As for combat effectiveness, it depends on the level of training and logistics support. But this is difficult to achieve in the Heaton Peninsula. In the conflicts and wars between the city-states of the Heaton Peninsula, in addition to the city-state citizens bringing their own weapons, there are also many mercenaries wandering around fighting, most of whom are ordinary people. The farmer, although strong, is not a warrior.
Therefore, the war scene between the city-states of Heaton is a bit messy. Only a city-state like Kibada that is so perverted that it is formed entirely by military means can form a strong regular army. Among the official citizens of the Kibata city-state, all adult men are warriors. If they do not awaken the power of their blood, they will be eliminated by cruel training before they are twenty years old.
Kibata warriors can organize a battle formation with strong combat effectiveness, but it is difficult for other city-states to follow suit. The shield of the Kibata warrior is very heavy, and it needs to be tied to the left arm with a belt to level it. The spear spear worn can be used for melee combat or throwing. Ordinary fighters in other countries simply cannot meet this requirement, so they are always at a disadvantage in confrontation with Kibata warriors.
According to conventional thinking, as Macedonia expands its sphere of influence and population growth, more people can try to practice martial arts, and the lucky ones will awaken the power of their blood to become warriors, and then form legions to perform training in the traditional way of Tianshu Continent, then I don't know how long it will take to wait, and it will be very difficult.
Alexander, inspired by Medanzuo, created a new type of formation, emphasizing formation and coordination. The first thing that changed was the main battle weapon. It was no longer the traditional throwing shuttle gun or the tomahawk knife shield, but a twenty-foot long spear.
Medan Zuo was also a master of martial arts. He told Alexander that it took a long time for ordinary fighters to learn to use swords and battle axes, but after simple training, almost everyone could master the most basic spear assassination techniques. Moreover, the cost of building other weapons is relatively expensive, and large-scale equipment is extremely costly. Wooden spears are relatively the cheapest.
Alexander, on the other hand, took this idea to the extreme, designing a spear that stood as tall as three people. Such a long gun shaft is difficult to manipulate. If you want to dance freely in the chaos, you must be a samurai with amazing strength. But Alexander did not require soldiers to have this ability, but to assassinate forward in a dense formation. The techniques used in the battle are relatively simple, and what is more important is the power of coordinating and coordinating. The tight formation cannot be disordered when advancing. .
Medanzuo helped Alexander make a long spear, about twenty feet long. When they lined up, the point of the gun pointed to the sky, and the butt of the gun rested on the ground. Such a long gun should not be too heavy as far as possible, but it should have good toughness, and the butt should also be counterweighted so that the center of gravity is between the positions of the hand, so that it is easier to maintain balance when stabbing flat.
When marching, you can lean your spears on your shoulders and point them towards the sky. When approaching the enemy, the soldiers in the first row will lay their spears flat, the soldiers in the second and third rows will point their spears forward, and the queue behind will keep up with them. Such a tight spear formation looks like a hedgehog with nowhere to bite from the front. Even a powerful samurai would not be able to exert the advantage of personal combat power in the face of this formation.
If the army formation is formed in this way, the three most troublesome problems will be solved at the same time: First, the source of soldiers. In addition to warriors, strong ordinary people can also be incorporated into the battle formation, which greatly expands the regular army. scale. The second is finance. Compared with other weapons, its equipment is not expensive, and it can be built in large quantities in a short period of time. The third is the effective use of arms. It is difficult to build a large-scale chariot army on the Heaton Peninsula. This kind of battle formation makes full use of the advantages of infantry.
Why did Metanzuo make the barrel of the gun so long? The distance it pierced from the front of the soldier was just over the length of a chariot.
After Alexander finished his introduction, Aristotle frowned and asked, "Well, you have indeed solved the biggest problem of the Macedonian Kingdom by forming a battle formation like this. But what is the biggest problem with such a battle formation?"
Alexander replied: "I have already let the guards practice. With such a long gun barrel, the tight formation cannot turn around and can only advance during the battle, and the advancing front must not be chaotic. This requires focused training, and the order and pace must be unified. If the soldiers in front fall, the soldiers behind must immediately catch up, and those who violate orders must be severely punished."
Amon said with a half-smile: "This is a matter of normal training. Formation is the simplest and most important training for a large army. During a battle, this kind of formation can only move forward and it is difficult to turn around. It is the same when marching. The state of leaving the battle becomes In the state of marching, the commander must give at least three orders to turn the battle formation in one direction, and how fast it can be completed depends entirely on your level of maneuvering."
Alexander nodded and said, "Yes, I made the guards line up in sixteen square formations, and it was done very well. But if you want ordinary soldiers to form a large-scale battle formation, you have to put in a lot of effort to train."
Amon pointed to the sand table and asked: "In the state of engagement, the front of this battle formation is very strong, but the flanks are very weak. This cannot be compensated by training. If the enemy outflanks from the flanks or rear, what are you going to do? "
Alexander replied: "It is precisely because there are not enough warriors and the number of cavalry is limited that I thought of forming a battle formation with strong and ordinary people. In this way, the liberated warriors can form auxiliary forces on the flanks and rear. In the battle formation, the two wings can also be protected by cavalry."
Amon pointed to the sand table again: "There are two fatal weaknesses in such a dense spear battle formation. One is that if you encounter a volley of archers, you can't even hide; Wang, no matter how many casualties there are, you won’t retreat, you can’t fight melee with long spears, what should you do if the sword and shield soldiers are in front of you?”
Alexander showed hesitation, scratched the back of his head and thought: "The range of bows and arrows is limited. It is a way to use the cavalry on both wings to attack and cover the advance of the battle formation. When the national power of the Macedonian Kingdom increases in the future, these pikemen can also be equipped with short spears. Shield and short sword."
Amon smiled and said: "The method of warfare you came up with because of the limited number of warriors and the inability to organize large-scale legions is very valuable for promotion, and it is likely to cause a major change in military history. However, I still recommend , the first three rows and the last row of this spear array still use regular warriors."
Alexander blinked his eyes and thought for a long time, then said with some disappointment: "I thought my idea was perfect, but after asking you this question, I realized that this battle formation has many weaknesses and is not as strong as I imagined."
Mei Danzuo comforted: "There is no perfect military formation in this world. It is already a kind of perfection to be able to exert the maximum combat effectiveness under the current conditions. Anyone can follow the same tactics, but usually it depends on training and military discipline. In wartime, it depends on command and logistics. Your battle formation has weakened the difference between individual combat capabilities and solved the most critical problem of the source of troops, which is also a pioneering work.
Based on the existing situation of the Kingdom of Macedonia, it is the most suitable. Didn’t Mr. Aristotle say that the world we perceive is not perfect, but you have to be aware of its shortcomings and know how to avoid them. This is the difference between genius and mediocrity. Son, take this sand table to your father, and tell him what you just said, and he will know what to do. "
Aristotle also waved his hand and said, "Your Highness, there is no need to attend today's class. Take this sand table and the guards to the palace. His Majesty the King will be pleasantly surprised."
After Alexander left, Medanzuo sighed: "I have to admit that there are indeed geniuses in this world! It's a pity that this little prince was born with a weak bloodline, unable to awaken the original power. If he wants to live a long and healthy life, he must pay attention to his body."