Rebirth of Wu Ba Spring and Autumn

Chapter 734 Died at the hands of Song people
"My lord, there are three differences in the decoration of this yellow horse."

Sun Wu replied to Qingji: "The first is cushions, the second is pedals, and the third is 'iron shoes'. Generally speaking, horses don't have such decorations, or... harness?"

"Hahahaha, Changqing, this is not a decoration, but a harness."

Qingji introduced Sun Wu and Wu Zixu with a smile.

He clapped his hands, and immediately three guards came over with trays.

On the tray, stirrups, horseshoes and saddles are placed respectively.

Qingji first picked up a "high bridge style" saddle, and said slowly: "This is a saddle. Both ends of the saddle have changed from flat to high, which limits the tendency of the rider's body to slide back and forth, but provides longitudinal stability."

"This is the stirrup, which provides lateral stability by fixing the feet, and at the same time unites the man and the horse as a whole with the assistance of the saddle, allowing the cavalry to use the speed of the horse for a frontal impact."

After a pause, Qingji picked up the horseshoe again, and said meaningfully: "This is a horseshoe. Although it is just a small thing, it is very useful!"

"The horseshoe is in contact with the ground, and it will fall off quickly due to the friction of the ground and the corrosion of accumulated water. The main purpose of nailing the horseshoe is to delay the wear and tear of the horseshoe."

"The use of horseshoes can not only protect the horseshoes, but also make the horseshoes grip the ground more firmly, which is very beneficial for riding and driving!"

"hiss!"

After learning the uses of stirrups, saddles and horseshoes from Qingji's mouth, both Sun Wu and Wu Zixu couldn't help but gasped and were shocked.

If the horses were equipped with these harnesses, wouldn't it be easy to form a cavalry unit?
Actually, Qingji was not lying.

Not to mention the horseshoe, the saddle and stirrup are the most important inventions after the bit and the rein of the complete harness.

In the era without saddle stirrups, people needed to ride on the back of a naked horse, only by holding the reins or mane and clamping the belly of the horse with their legs to prevent themselves from falling when the horse was galloping.

However, this method is very unreliable. First of all, riding for a long time is prone to fatigue, and it is also difficult to use bows and arrows effectively on the back of a running horse.

In close combat, however, the rider cannot use swords and spears as he likes, the failure of chopping or stabbing, and the impact of the blades on both sides will cause the rider to slip off the horse at any time.

Therefore, cavalry training in this era is extremely difficult, the scale is difficult to form, and the combat effectiveness is not as good as that of later generations!
In fact, in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, there were already "saddles".

"Six Secret Teachings" records: A general who rides a chariot, who does not have a horse and a saddle, will be punished.

Anle is a saddle and a bridle with a chew on the horse's head...

Until the late Warring States period and the Qin Dynasty, the horse harness or equipment of the cavalry included saddle pads, garlands and short belts, a belly girdle on the horse's belly, and the hips were stretched. The entire equipment was generally complete except for stirrups and horseshoes.

But, in the final analysis, the so-called "saddle" is just a simple saddle pad!

The mainstay of warfare in this era is military vehicles.

And cavalry units can also go into battle.

In "Six Secret Teachings", there are a lot of methods for training and selecting cavalry, such as requiring knights to "cross ravines without dust", "rushing through dangerous obstacles" and so on. It can be seen that the selection and training of cavalry is strict!
They were all horse-riding cavalry without stirrups, which could only be compensated for by more intensive training.

"drive!"

In order to convince Sun Wu and Wu Zixu, Qingji ordered them to ride a horse equipped with double-sided stirrups, horseshoes and high-bridge saddles, and gallop away all the way.

Nor is their riding skill covered.

Basically, generals of noble origin have a certain level of equestrian skills.

On the huge school field, Sun Wu and Wu Zixu drove their respective mounts, coming and going like the wind, setting off billowing smoke and dust.

The thunderous sound of horseshoes swept over.

Riding on horseback became more and more comfortable, but Sun Wu and Wu Zixu, who were not yet enjoying themselves, ordered people to fetch bows and arrows, and the arrows hit the opposite target without fail.

So much so that they even tried riding horses, hacking, performing martial arts, and found that things were exactly as Qingji said...

In the end, Sun Wu got off his horse with a look of admiration on his face, bowed to Qingji and said, "Your Majesty, these stirrups, horseshoes and saddles are really treasures, indispensable equipment for cavalry, and a great weapon!"

"If this three treasures of cavalry can be equipped in large quantities in the army, then the importance of cavalry in war will surely keep pace with that of military vehicles, or even surpass them!"

"good."

As a traverser, Qing Ji, who has the advantage of foresight, naturally knows the strength of cavalry equipped with stirrups, horseshoes and saddles!

To a large extent, the reason why the chariot was eliminated in its prime is precisely because of the "three treasures of cavalry"...

"The widow has already ordered the general to supervise the manufacture of stirrups, horseshoes and saddles. They will be delivered for use within three months."

Qingji put his eyes on Wu Zixu, and said slowly: "Zixu, you are in charge of forming an iron cavalry regiment for the widow. It can be said that there is a long way to go."

"The widow needs at least an iron cavalry with a scale of 1 people. In one year, it can be worthy of a battle. Zixu, can you do it?"

Upon hearing this, Wu Zixu immediately solemnly promised: "Your respect!"

Wu Zixu promised again.

Before Wu Zixu accepted this job with no hesitation, but now he is full of confidence.

With the configuration of stirrups, horseshoes and saddles, as well as sufficient horses, how difficult is it for Wu Zixu to train an iron cavalry regiment?

The cavalry in the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods was extremely difficult to train, and it was almost as precious as the air force pilots of later generations.

……

The next day, Qingji received Kuaikui, the crown prince of the Kingdom of Wei, who came from afar in Zide Palace.

When Kuai Kui came here, he really wanted something from the state of Wu.

Prior to this, Qingji had already received news that when he led the Seven Nations Allied Forces to besiege Jinyang City, a war had already broken out in the Central Plains.

In November last year, with Qingji's acquiescence, Song State sent [-] troops to attack Cao State.

With the power of Cao Guo alone, he could not resist the powerful offensive of the Song army.

Fortunately, the previous Qingji also acquiesced in Wei Guo sending troops to annex Cao Guo.

So Wei Hou Jiyuan fought fiercely with the Song army in Taoqiu under the banner of rescuing Cao.

However, the Wei-Cao coalition was defeated and had to retreat to Taoqiu City.

In desperation, Cao Boyang could only send envoys to ask Zheng Guo and Wu Guo for help.

Knowing the ins and outs of the matter, Qing Ji was not in the slightest panic.

Qing Ji avoided seeing Cao Guo's envoys, but Kuai Kui was the prince of Wei Guo, and Wei Guo had helped Qing Ji seize the throne before, so Qing Ji seemed to have to repay such a favor.

At this time, Kuaikui looked depressed and said to Qingji: "King Wu, the Song army is now powerful. After Taoqiu defeated our Wei-Cao allied army, they continued to attack Taoqiu City."

"If the King of Wu doesn't send troops to help the battle, I'm afraid that the country of Cao... will perish at the hands of the Song people!"

(End of this chapter)