Rebirth of Wu Ba Spring and Autumn

Chapter 643
Since Qingji took the throne, he has been expanding his armaments, ordering people to build chariots and raise horses.

This makes the number of chariots in the State of Wu have already exceeded a thousand chariots, and it is a well-deserved "country of a thousand chariots"...

Of course, in a real sense, Wu should be a country of ten thousand chariots.

Even so, the country of Wu has a great cause, and there is no shortage of chariots, chariots, or weapons. The only thing it lacks is excellent horses!
Southern horses have short legs and strong stamina, but lack explosive power, which is no small defect.

Moreover, war horses are not produced in the south, and there are not many places that can raise horses.

Although Qingji has recruited people who are good at raising horses over the years to be responsible for raising war horses for Wu, the results have been minimal.

As the saying goes, "Oranges born in Huainan are oranges, and oranges born in Huaibei are oranges." One side of the water and soil support the other.

Even horses obtained through crossbreeding are sometimes difficult to use as war horses.

"Boom!"

At this moment, on the huge school field, under Qingji's watchful eyes, a military chariot with [-] rides galloped towards the scarecrows on the opposite side.

"Shhhhhh!"

Before the chariot arrived, the archers on the chariot had already drawn their bows and arrows and shot at the scarecrows.

Then the chariot rolled over, and Rong You in the chariot waved his weapon, hit the scarecrow, and swept past.

The movements are clean and neat, without sloppiness at all, and it is very decompressing to watch...

In this era, there are two main types of weapons for chariots, combat weapons and long-range weapons.

In the beginning, the main fighting weapon in chariot warfare was Ge, which is a long-handled hook-shaped weapon with sharp double-sided blades and a forward striker. The Ge equipped on a chariot is generally about three meters long. Use for hooking or pecking when tanks are staggered.

In the Spring and Autumn Period, a large number of Ge were replaced by halberds.

The soldiers on the chariot are generally equipped with bronze swords for self-defense, and they can fight close to the chariot when the chariot is destroyed or the enemy jumps on the chariot.

The long-range weapons on the chariot are mainly bows or crossbows. These long-range weapons are used by the archers, mainly when the chariot hits from a long distance.

The protection of personnel on the chariot mainly relies on leather armor and shields, and there are also a small amount of copper armor.

Chariot soldiers mainly fight upright in the vehicle, so the leather armor used by armored soldiers has a longer armor body, and has different emphasis according to the division of labor.

For example, Rongyou needs to wield Ge, halberd and other weapons to fight, so his "shoulder" generally only reaches his shoulders.

The warrior extends the shawl down to the wrist, and is connected with the hand guard.

Large shields are generally used on chariots, most of which are made of leather, and bronze parts are added to the shield for reinforcement.

Chariots were first used in the Battle of Gan under the command of Xia Wangqi.

Afterwards, the scale of wars became larger and larger, and chariots became the main force of the war and the standard for measuring the strength of a country. In the Spring and Autumn Period, the country of a thousand vehicles and the country of ten thousand vehicles appeared...

"it is good!"

"color!"

After the chariot soldiers killed the scarecrows to pieces, Qingji and the Wu generals who followed behind him all cheered and cheered.

The following military exercises consisted of array formations, unarmed combat, fighting with weapons, etc., and the battles were also quite intense.

As the saying goes, raising soldiers for a thousand days and using them for a while.

Qing Ji is well versed in the principle of "sweat more in peacetime and bleed less in war", so the soldiers of the Wu army often conduct drills to prepare for emergencies.

It is worth mentioning that there are actually not many real professional soldiers in Wu State.

Even if the titles of these soldiers who are undergoing military exercises are not high enough, they still need to shoulder the heavy responsibility of farming and arable land.

In other words, this is still a combination of soldiers and farmers.

They still need to support themselves through their own labor.

Of course, the price the country has to pay is some farm tools, cattle, etc., nothing more.

The state of Wu does not support idlers.

This is not a lie!
Even the standing army stationed near the capital Jinling all the year round, it is impossible to train every day...

Let me ask, who can stand this?

So in their spare time, they will devote themselves to agricultural production.

No matter how high the rank of the general is, there is no exception.

Even senior generals such as Sun Wu, Wu Zixu, and Tian Rangju would inevitably have to work in the fields from time to time to take the lead and set an example for the soldiers of the Wu army.

This kind of "combination of soldiers and farmers" has indeed saved a considerable amount of military expenditure for the Wu State, but it is difficult for the Wu Army's combat effectiveness to be further improved, so what can I do?
"Guo Wei, Da Sima, if our Wu army fights with the divisions of the Central Plains princes, how will we win?"

When inspecting the three armies, Qingji did not forget to ask Sun Wu and Wu Zixu who were following him.

"This……"

Hearing this, Sun Wu and Wu Zixu couldn't help but look at each other.

Obviously, they had already guessed what Qingji was thinking.

Just not sure!

Could it be that Your Majesty has already decided to participate in the scuffle in the Central Plains?

Do you want to compete with Jin for hegemony?

"Your Majesty."

After pondering for a moment, Sun Wu replied: "In a war, the only way to win is with chariots."

"My country of Wu has a style of admiring martial arts. There is no shortage of warriors who dare to fight, and the soldiers are sharp, the treasury is abundant, and it is the most powerful in the world. The only flaw, or what is not as good as Jin, is the military chariot..."

"Since King Shoumeng, Lord Shen and Wu Chen were ordered by Duke Jing of Jin to take thirty military chariots into the land of Wu and give them to the archers and warriors of the state of Wu to teach us the land warfare of the Wu people. So far, nearly 90 year."

"The state of Wu thus made great use of chariots, and was able to win repeated battles, expand its territory, and compete with the Chu people in the southeast."

After a pause, Sun Wu said again: "However, even today, although our country Wu's chariots have already surpassed a thousand chariots, and it is known as the 'country of ten thousand chariots', I am afraid that the chariots are still not as good as those of the Jin army. , not as sharp as the Jin army!"

Although Sun Wu's words sounded very harsh to Qingji, it was a fact that had to be admitted.

The countries located in the Central Plains, whether it is Jin, Qi, or middle-level countries such as Song, Lu, Wei, and Zheng, are all good at chariots.

Because the Central Plains area is mostly flat, with a flat river, it is suitable for chariots to gallop vertically and horizontally.

Now Wu State has a large number of chariots, and its chariot soldiers are also strong, but it can only rely on national power and tactics to crush Song, Lu, Wei, Zheng and other Central Plains countries.

Once it encounters a big country like Jin and Qi, Wu's chariots may not be able to catch up. If they fight head-on, they will not be able to take advantage of it, and they may be at a disadvantage when the chariots charge forward.

In this era, before the real "cavalry" appeared, the mainstay on the Central Plains battlefield was still the chariot!
What is a real cavalry?
It is a war horse equipped with stirrups and horseshoes, which can release the knight's hands to the maximum, and the method of maintaining the horse's hoof (horse life)...

Stirrups and horseshoes are an easy thing to make.

In other words, there is not much technical content.

Qingji can bring out stirrups and horseshoes at any time, and train many cavalry regiments for Wu.

But, is this really beneficial to Wu Guo?
(End of this chapter)