Three Kingdoms: Prosper Han from the beginning of brushing favorability

Chapter 144 Special Cavalry
Liu Chan led the army to change the dry road to the waterway, and then changed the dry road again. At this time, he finally arrived at Yangping Pass. Not far from passing the pass is Mianyang, where the old Liu ascended the throne of Hanzhong, and further east is the Hanzhong Plain.

"Come and stay! Where are the troops coming from and where are they going!" Guan Shang garrison asked loudly, because the Guan Xia army was fighting under their own flag or the "Liu" banner, so their words were more polite.

Yangping Xiongguan, which is stuck at the west gate of Hanzhong, not only guards against Cao Wei who may invade by Chencang Road in the north, but also is at the intersection of Jinniu Road and Chencang Road.

It is about five miles wide from north to south, and its circumference is about eighteen miles long.

"The Red Star Army under the command of the Prince of Hanzhong is escorting the people who are cultivating fields to Hanzhong! Please switch and let them go!" Li Er stepped forward and shouted loudly.

When the guards were closed, they heard that it was the prince's pro-army, and they had received an order from Chengdu in advance, and it was indeed the case, so they hurriedly opened the switch to let them go.

Liu Chan ordered the army to escort the people, food and grass to continue eastward, and went through the customs first to Nanzheng where Wei Yan was stationed. He himself took Guan Xing and the Red Star Army Baiqi a little behind.

"General Ma Mengqi, are you closing the pass?" Liu Chan asked after finding a guard inside the pass.

"Prince, General Ma is patrolling the pass today."

That would save trouble, guarding Yangping Pass did not live in the pass every day of the year, including soldiers who also took turns to guard.

Generals of Ma Chao's level usually live in nearby county towns and regularly visit the passes.

There are beacon battlements at the pass, and beacon smoke will be ignited when encountering the enemy.

Ma Chao happened to be here, but he saved himself the trouble of looking for him elsewhere.

Just as he was about to ask the guard to lead the way to meet him, he saw two people coming in a hurry.

The first man with red lips and jade face, with a handsome face, but nine feet tall, with strong arms and a wolf waist, walked with a sense of power, it was Ma Chao.

Afterwards, he followed another military general who was born in front of him. He looked like Kong Wu was powerful, and his eyes were full of energy. He didn't seem to be waiting for idlers.

"Chen Ma Chao."

"The last general, Ma Dai."

"See Prince."

The two rushed to Liu Chan with strides, clasped fists and bowed.

"The prince came, but Chao couldn't go far to welcome him, so please don't blame the prince for being rude."

At this time, Ma Chao was no longer as sharp-edged as he was in the past, and his tone was gentle, respectful and polite. Who would have thought that he was the mighty general Qianghu called in the past when he almost killed Cao Cao.

"The two generals don't need to be too polite." Liu Chanxu helped the two of them up, "The general has a heavy responsibility to guard the gate, and he must not leave his post without authorization. How can I blame him?"

He looked at Ma Chao after getting up, and at this time he seemed to be no longer bitter and hatred like the last time we met.

Although he still looks a little gloomy, his complexion has improved a lot.

Liu Chan was looking at Ma Chao, and Ma Chao was also looking at the Crown Prince of Hanzhong.

Compared with when we first met in Hanzhong half a year ago, Liu Chan has become taller and stronger again, his face and facial features still have the immaturity of a teenager, but Gu Panjian does not see the childishness of an ordinary teenager.

Moreover, the aura brought by the battlefield that does not match his age had left a deep impression on Ma Chao last time, and it is even more obvious now.

"After a while, the prince will become more and more powerful." Ma Chao said this with emotion, but it was not flattery.

Liu Chan said with a smile: "After leaving Hanzhong, the general's complexion is much better now than before."

"This is also due to the blessing of the prince, the prince, please follow the minister to talk in the pass."

"Please."

Although Ma Chao's vigor is no longer there, if someone else came...for example Wei Yan with aloof personality, he would not treat him so politely.

The reason why Liu Chan is like this is not entirely because of his status as the crown prince.

After the celebration banquet in Hanzhong, Ma Chao, who led the troops guarding Yangping Pass, often thought of what Liu Chan had said to him that day.

Especially the phrase "Thirty years of fame and dust, eight thousand miles of roads and moons, to start over, clean up the old mountains and rivers", at the beginning, the words ignited a flame in his heart that was about to be extinguished, and later it became more and more tasteful.

In his opinion, the first half of the sentence expresses his ups and downs in the first half of his life, but the second half of the sentence contains an indomitable belief that he does not possess.

Yes, it is belief.

Gradually, from this heroic sentence, he tasted a firm belief in serving the country without regrets, and this is exactly what he does not possess.

The more time passed, the more he was impressed by the grand plans and ambitions in it.

Compared with this kind of belief, when I was young, I rashly raised troops in order not to lose my position as a prince, resulting in the death of my family, and later fought for revenge, it seemed so insignificant... even a little unbearable.

Ma Chao, who is gradually opening up, is also more and more curious about Liu Chan who can say such words...

"The prince wants to form a cavalry army?"

After the two exchanged pleasantries for a while, Liu Chan mentioned one of the purposes of coming to Ma Chao.

When Ma Chao heard about the cavalry, his eyes immediately lit up, but he immediately regained his composure.

Jingyi Erzhou, where are there so many horses...

Sure enough, Liu Chan waved his hand in embarrassment and said: "It can't be called a cavalry army, but I just want to train a cavalry squad for the Red Star Army. But I am not good at this, so I turn to the general for help."

Ma Chao pondered for a moment and said, "Training cavalry is not a matter of just saying a few words. It's an overnight achievement. I need to see the prince's candidate for horses before I can judge."

Liu Chan was not disappointed when he heard the words, even a little surprised.

Ma Chao's favorability score is 37, which is not low considering the time they have been dating, but considering his character, in fact, Liu Chan will be perfunctory when he is ready.

After all, it is normal for dignified left generals, fake festivals, and even princes in the past to not want to do such trivial things.

But since he wanted to look at his candidates and horses, it meant that he was not being perfunctory.

"What's the difficulty? They are already in front of the pass, and the general happens to be watching alone."

Before the two arrived at the pass, Ma Chao circled around the newly formed cavalry team of the Scarlet Star Army with his hands behind his back, scanning the cavalrymen and their horses one by one during the process.

I saw him sometimes smiling and nodding, sometimes shaking his head and sighing.

Liu Chan didn't know what he meant, so he walked up to him and asked, "How does the general see it?"

"The horses are bad."

Ma Chao's outspokenness made Liu Chan feel quite helpless. All the good horses are in Cao Cao's hands. I want to buy them, but he can't sell them? !
"Dian horses are known for their stamina, they can run long distances, and because they mostly live in mountainous areas, they are strong and flexible and can walk on dangerous roads. However, their stature is short, their limbs are short, and their burst is insufficient. If they are used for assault charges, they are not a good choice. .”

As expected of an expert in cavalry, even the Dian horses in the south have such a thorough understanding.

"But soldiers are good soldiers." Without waiting for Liu Chan to answer, Ma Chao continued, "I am in Hanzhong, and I have heard about the Red Star Army's battle in Jingzhou. Today, I saw that the army was clean and tidy, and the momentum was extraordinary."

Liu Chan heard the words and asked: "But I don't know if such a hundred horses can be used?"

Ma Chao didn't answer immediately, but said: "The prince can first order them to charge twice, and I will see."

Liu Chan ordered the cavalry squad to charge in front of the pass according to his words.

Accelerate charge, turn, charge again, decelerate and stop.

Ma Chao nodded. He still has the basics. It seems that he has put in a lot of effort in his daily training.

It's just that this kind of forceful charge is okay if it is against Soochow, which is not good at dealing with cavalry, but if it is fighting against the Northern Army, it may be enough.

"If you charge at this speed, it will be difficult to break through the army formation composed of Cao Jun's spears and halberds. You can only attack from the side or from the back when the battle is tense, but..."

Liu Chan knew what he wanted to say. If Cao Jun, who had no shortage of cavalry, could be flanked or back attacked by his own cavalry without intercepting them, then basically the cavalry would be defeated if the cavalry was not up.

But if it is intercepted, wouldn't it be more difficult for the Dian horse, which is struggling to attack the elite infantry, and the cavalry of Cao Jun, who rides the big horse of the Northland and is good at riding and fighting?

At this time, he was really disappointed. Could it be that his cavalry squad could only be used to beat a hundred thousand?
"However..." Ma Chao changed the subject, "The soldiers of the prince's Red Star Army are well-trained, and the Yunnan horses are stable and flexible. There is a method of warfare that can be tried."

Liu Chan couldn't help complaining in his heart, why do people these days like to make people gasp when they talk?Wouldn't it be nice to finish it all at once? !
However, there was still a look of joy on his face: "Speak quickly, general!"

The soldiers of the Scarlet Star Army have greatly improved their shooting skills after Huang Zhong's guidance for a period of time, but riding and shooting is another matter.

After understanding this situation, coupled with the characteristics of the Yunnan horse, riding and shooting and complete melee assault were all denied by Ma Chao.

"Does the prince know how to throw a gun?"

Liu Chan nodded, of course he knew... Could it be that Ma Chao wanted his cavalry squad to use javelins?

"The whole army of the Red Star Army is armored. It would be even better if the horses can be covered with vests. The power of the Yunnan horses can fully afford it." Ma Chao stroked his train of thought, and said more and more excitedly, "Although the shooting range of the spear is short, its power is great. And it can be thrown with one hand, unlike a crossbow.

"In this way, the prince's cavalry can also be equipped with shields! With shields and armor, it is difficult for the enemy to be killed by ordinary bows..."

Following Ma Chao's explanation, Liu Chan also began to feel that he could try it.

This kind of spear-throwing cavalry equipped with shields does not need to rush into the enemy's formation, but can also cause several rounds of effective damage to the enemy's infantry formation.

Moreover, he can save himself on the battlefield to the maximum extent, which is really attractive to Liu Chan, who is not easy to train soldiers and gets along with him like brothers.

Although it is still weak against Cao Wei's elite cavalry, it is useful to fight against the infantry formation!

Moreover, Cao Wei's cavalry Liu Chan has his own countermeasures. Uncle Zhuge improved the battle formation with three changes, and the last one is for the cavalry...

Back inside the pass, just as I was about to talk with Ma Chao about how to train in detail, someone outside the house came to report: "Report, someone from the pass asked to see the prince, saying that there is an urgent military report to report."

(End of this chapter)