Guide to Traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty.

Chapter 420 0415 [equipped cavalry]

In the south of Dangyang County, on the bank of the Zhang River.

Chen Ziyi had more than 1000 cavalry under his command, and picked out [-] cavalry who were both strong and strong, and went to receive the first batch of heavy cavalry equipment.

Lieutenant General Geng Zhongnian asked curiously: "What does the Generalissimo look like? A tough guy with a nine-foot body and a strong back?"

"You watch too many dramas." Chen Ziyi laughed.

Geng Zhongnian said: "Brother and the Generalissimo are old friends, and now they have to wear horses and horses. Do I have to be the Generalissimo's personal guard in the future?"

Chen Ziyi didn't answer, feeling a little emotional in his heart.

When Zhu Ming first arrived in Xiangyang, he went to report for duty.

After meeting old friends for many years, although Zhu Ming is still enthusiastic, Chen Ziyi always feels a little strange.

It was his own problem, a friend suddenly turned into a boss, and his status was still unattainable.And he originally planned to make a career in the battlefield, but after many battles, he failed to show his personal appearance.

Just like a friend who is doing business in partnership, one person excitedly goes to a big city to make a living. When he returns to his hometown after working hard for many years, he is still a small businessman.But the old friend is already the richest man in the local area. For the sake of his future, he can only choose to rely on him, and he is subservient to the old friend as a small department leader.

In addition to sighing, it was extremely awkward, and my mentality had to be adjusted slowly.

Ju Ming lives in a small town. A lot of equipment has been placed at the entrance of the town, and there are more than 100 Sichuan horses standing quietly.

Chen Ziyi led the cavalry forward: "Meet the Generalissimo."

Ju Ming greeted him warmly: "You don't need to be too polite, just change your clothes and try!"

Geng Zhongnian was a little disappointed. Although the Generalissimo was quite tall, he was not as strong as he imagined.

Reminiscing that the Generalissimo was born as a civil servant, he felt relieved.

Facing the armor, Chen Ziyi didn't worry about anything anymore, and immediately took Geng Zhongnian to get the equipment.

Eighty pairs of cavalry armor are modified from infantry armor, and they cannot be used without modification.

The upper body of the infantry armor has five rows of armor, while the cavalry armor has only four rows.This is because horseback riding needs to bend down. If there are too many armor plates, it will push against the armpits and two crotches, thereby affecting the activities of the arms and waist and abdomen.

In addition, the armor skirt of cavalry armor is shorter, after all, you have to sit on horseback.

The eighty pairs of vests were newly built, consisting of leather and iron sheets.

Helping each other put on the armor, the vest was also put on, instantly becoming majestic and majestic, and exuding a chilling air.

In particular, the neck and visor were pulled down to tightly protect the neck and face, only revealing the two dark holes around the eyes. That terrifying appearance can scare a child to tears.

Zhu Ming said: "When you get the well-equipped cavalry, each will give two Sichuan horses, which will be used to carry people and armor during the march. Try it once!"

"As ordered!"

Chen Ziyi became excited, reined in his horse and turned to line up.

"Woooooo~~~"

The horn sounded, and they walked forward slowly.

Accelerate gradually, run faster and faster.There are only [-] heavy cavalry, and it seems that they have the momentum of running thousands of troops. If this thing is thousands, it will be worth it?
The riders were also full of enthusiasm. When they came back after the charge, they all stood there and whispered how awesome they were, regardless of the fact that the generalissimo was still there.

Ju Ming was very happy and asked with a smile, "How do you feel?"

Chen Ziyi suddenly became free and easy, regaining his old style, patted the armor on his body and said: "If you have a thousand armors, just fight bravely, and you will be invincible in the world!"

"Yes, I'm not afraid even if I beat Liao people!" Geng Zhongnian also said.

Zhu Ming thought of the Iron Buddha of the Kingdom of Jin. He was not afraid to fight the Liao people, but what about the heavy cavalry of the Kingdom of Jin?
If you want to know the combat power of Song, Jin, Liao and Xixia, you can refer to Wu Lin's words in his later years.

It probably means something like this: "My elder brother and I joined the army when we were teenagers. We often fought against Xixia, and we could tell the winner by charging once or twice. Later, when we fought against the Kingdom of Jin, the Jin soldiers won't rush forward when they win, and they won't be chaotic when they lose. Eat The defeated golden soldiers will not break up, but alternately cover and retreat, and they can fight again soon after the army is reorganized. The golden soldiers are tenacious and durable, the military orders are cruel, and the soldiers die hard. Winning or losing. So when I first encountered Jin Bing, I didn’t know how to win, and I gradually got the knack after fighting many times.”

The heavy cavalry of the Kingdom of Jin, if they can't break through the enemy's formation, can also be turned into heavy infantry before the battle.

There is a record in "Golden History Wanyan Talan Biography" that Wanyan Zongwang led [-] cavalry against the [-] Song Dynasty army.The Song army was defeated, and all the troops collapsed, leaving only the [-] heavy infantry led by Shi Zhen.

No matter how Wanyan Zongwang charged forward, Shi Zhen's heavy infantry did not move.

Therefore, Wanyan Zongwang ordered the whole army to dismount, and six thousand gold soldiers surrounded and beat up two thousand Song troops.The two thousand heavy infantrymen of the Song Dynasty were also tough, and fought to the death until the entire army was wiped out. Song general Shi Zhen was captured alive by Wanyan Zongwang.

Compared with the heavy infantry, the cavalry in the Northern Song Dynasty has long been played badly.

During Song Zhenzong's time, there were as many as 20 war horses, and "there were so many cavalry that filled the valleys."But it is very nonsense to use. Translating the records at that time into vernacular, that is, marching forward carefully, and fleeing immediately if there is a slight disadvantage.

After another 30 years, the heavy cavalry of the imperial army were weak and could no longer put on their armor and mount their horses by themselves, so they had to be supported by someone (under normal circumstances, heavy cavalry could mount their own horses).You can only use five or six bows for riding and archery, and the arrows will fall to the ground after shooting 20 meters.

……

The 80 people in front of me are all Ju Ming's treasures.

After receiving the equipment, Zhu Ming hosted a banquet in person, and even the war horse carefully prepared bean cakes.

These horses are also very precious. In Ju Ming's army, there are really not many war horses that can wear armor to fight.

Everyone sat on the ground, eating meat and drinking in big bowls.

After drinking a few bowls of wine, Zhu Ming joked, "Brother Chen, you have been unfamiliar with yourself a few days ago, and you shy away from talking and doing things in front of me. Have you forgotten how you and I drank freely in Heifengzhai back then?"

Chen Ziyi smiled awkwardly, then stood up and held up the bowl: "I respect the Generalissimo, and I promise not to frown when I charge forward in the future!"

"Okay, refreshing!" Ju Ming laughed.

Geng Zhongnian followed suit and stood up: "I also respect the Generalissimo. The emperor has no morals, and the Generalissimo raised his troops to rebel against the Song Dynasty. He is a first-class man in the world!"

"It's easy to say," Ju Ming gulped it down. "From now on, I will rely on you warriors."

Zhu Ming asked the family members of the soldiers and asked Bai Sheng to record the addresses of their hometowns and the information of their relatives.

After finishing the recording, Zhu Ming said: "When you return to the army, write down the family members of the other warriors and send them to Xiangyang. I will send someone to contact them and try to bring them here, even if it costs money to redeem them! "

"Thank you Generalissimo Ende!"

All the soldiers were overjoyed, and their loyalty gradually increased.

Zhu Ming's territory has resumed non-governmental trade with the Song Dynasty, especially Sichuan commodities such as tea and silk, which are shipped in large quantities to Chang'an, Luoyang, Kaifeng and other cities.

Send a few businessmen north to find Li Bangyan who is at home with Ding You. As long as you send some goods, Li Bangyan will definitely be willing to help find someone.

Li Bangyan still has his party members in the court, and with a single sentence, he can sentence the thief to exile for two thousand miles, and all the families of the heavy cavalry will be exiled to Xiangyang.

After drinking for three rounds, Zhu Ming said: "Drinking is not allowed in the army. Today is a special case. You will rest in the town and return after you sober up."

"Yes!" Everyone agreed.

Chen Ziyi was completely let go. After drinking and eating, he found Zhu Ming alone: ​​"Marshal, I have only been home to visit relatives once in these years. When the war here is over, I ask for leave to return to Hanzhong."

"It should be," Zhu Ming asked, "You never married again?"

Chen Ziyi sighed: "I planned to marry after becoming an official, but being an official is more difficult than imagined."

Zhu Ming said, "Now that you're a military officer, I'll ask my wife to find one for you, and I'm sure he'll run the family properly."

"Thank you Marshal for your concern." Chen Ziyi said with a smile.

The next day, the [-] heavy cavalry who got their gear went south happily one by one.

One person has three horses, one person rides a Sichuan horse, the armor is carried by another Sichuan horse, and the real war horse is carefully served throughout the process.

As a large number of small boats were carried to the riverside, more and more Chu army naval divisions gathered, and Zhong Xiang mobilized more troops to rescue Zhijiang.

The guard of Zhijiang of the Chu army was named Li Huan, and the general who commanded the navy and reinforcements was named Yan Qi.

In another time and space, Yan Qi took refuge in Yue Fei, and his son Yan Chengfang was also a fierce general under Yue Fei's command.

At the narrowest part of the Yangtze River, Li Huan has already built a fortress.

Yan Qi dispatched [-] troops to increase the defense of the stronghold, and the rest of the army was on the south bank of the Yangtze River. He planned to wait for Zhu Ming's side to cross the river, and take a boat across the river for a land and water attack.

"Brother Yan," Li Huan said, pointing to the north bank, "the enemy army has been filling up the river bank with negative soil these days, and there are cavalry cruising back and forth on the bank. Master (Zhong Xiang) has suffered a great loss from the enemy cavalry. When you send troops across the river, you can Be careful."

Yan Qi said: "My subordinates are all big ships. As long as they don't enter narrow places, they are invincible on the water. They can transport troops across the river calmly. This time, I prepared a lot of archers. After landing on the shore and forming an array, I only went to fight the half-crossed bandits. You won't fight against the bandits' cavalry, just send a troop to stop them."

"That's right, with the Yangtze River as our back and a large ship to support us, the thief cavalry can't do anything about us." Li Huan felt that there would be no danger.

Of course they didn't know that Zhu Ming had just equipped eighty heavy cavalry.

"boom!"

There was a muffled noise from the north, and Li Huan and Yan Qi thought it was thunder.

Then there were several muffled sounds, and the iron ball flew over the camp.

On the artillery position, Deng Xia said dejectedly: "The enemy army has been prepared for a long time, the barracks are very high, and the artillery directly hit the wall."

This section of the Yangtze River is only tens of meters wide.

The artillery is mainly for attacking warships, and it is impossible to pull it too far.Bombarding the enemy camp at such a close range, the projectile would fly two or three miles across the river, but the direct shot would be blocked by the barrier.

Deng Xia said to Han Shizhong: "Go apply for some tiger squat guns."

"Is the tiger squatting cannon more powerful than this?" Han Shizhong asked.

Deng Xia said: "The tiger squatting artillery fires close, and the position is set farther away, just enough to penetrate into the enemy's camp."

Han Shizhong said: "Forget it, since the Generalissimo didn't let the tiger squat with guns, he has other considerations. The artillery only needs to guard against the enemy warships, and I am sure to take down the bandit camp without too many casualties. "

"That's right," Deng Xia said, "Even if the Tiger Crouching Cannon is called in, it will only throw some shells. The enemy army is protected by camps and barriers, and the shells will not cause much damage other than hitting the enemy's morale."

(End of this chapter)