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"What is this?! Where did Zhao Fuling get these things?"

After flipping through the thick stack of information in his hand, Meng Tian looked at Yi Huawei in surprise and doubt.

As a general who fought against the Xiongnu cavalry for many years, Meng Tian naturally understood how much stirrups, saddles and horseshoes could enhance the combat effectiveness of a cavalryman.

After the Qin Dynasty unified the six kingdoms, Qin Shihuang began to expand the cavalry on a large scale. Qin set up two cavalry camps in the border areas, "Wai Huangmen" and "Nei Huangmen", each with 3,000 cavalrymen, as well as special cavalry units such as "Houfuqi" and "Qianrenqi", with a total of more than 50,000 cavalrymen.

In terms of equipment, the Qin Dynasty cavalry was also equipped with better horses, armor, spears, steel swords and other weapons and protective equipment. According to the "Historical Records", Qin Shihuang once ordered the classification of horses according to breed, age, size and other factors, so as to accurately allocate them to the corresponding riders. In addition, the Qin Dynasty cavalry was usually equipped with long-range weapons such as strong bows and crossbows.

However, the Qin army's cavalry was mainly light cavalry, fast and mobile, emphasizing guerrilla tactics, and able to carry out surprise attacks, pursuits, and destruction of enemy lines on the battlefield. At the same time, it cooperated with other combat units such as the Qin army's infantry and chariots to form a strict three-dimensional combat system.

During the Qin Dynasty, the number, equipment and combat effectiveness of cavalry were greatly improved. It became one of the main forces of the Qin State and played an important role in the unification and expansion of the Qin State.

Cavalry is the king of the cold weapon era. Whoever has a good cavalry unit can dominate the world. But the cavalry's combat method is not static. It has evolved step by step with the development of cavalry equipment, and finally reached its peak during the Mongol Empire. The most important equipment that determines the cavalry's combat method is the stirrup.

Anyone who has experience in horse riding should know that riding a horse is not an easy thing, and it is not easy to keep balance on a galloping horse.

Imagine how the cavalrymen waved their weapons to block, thrust and chop on the galloping warhorses? Therefore, the cavalrymen at first seldom participated in hand-to-hand combat. We all know the story of King Wuling of Zhao's "Hu clothing and horseback archery". "Horseback archery" was the main combat method of the cavalrymen at first.

The Qin cavalry had to have good jumping ability to get on and off the horse, and they had to use the strength of their legs to hold the horse's belly. They also had to have waist and hip strength and skills to maintain balance so that they could ride steadily on the horse's back. At the same time, they had to free up at least one hand to stab the enemy with a spear, so they needed good height, physical fitness, quality, and training. Therefore, cavalry during this period was not only a technical job, but also the patent of a very small number of outstanding talents.

Think about it, the Qin State had a population of nearly 30 million, and only less than 50,000 cavalry were selected from a million tiger soldiers. It was not that there were no horses, but that there were no knights.

The "Records of the Grand Historian" records the Battle of Changping very concisely:
…After the Qin special forces of 25,000 cut off the Zhao army, another army of 5,000 cavalry cut off the Zhao wall, splitting the Zhao army into two and cutting off its food supply…

The "five thousand cavalry" here refers to the Qin army's light cavalry. The cavalry's ability to control horses has been improved, but most riders still cannot free their hands. Light cavalry still cannot be equipped with powerful cold weapons, and can only carry light crossbows, short swords, short spears, etc.

If the cavalry needed to shoot arrows or crossbows at this time, most of them would do something like this: when they were riding to a certain distance from the enemy camp, they would jump off their horses, draw their bows and crossbows, shoot one or two arrows, and then quickly jump back on their horses and leave, because they had to be careful of the enemy's strong bows and spear throwers.

The generals at that time had not yet realized the necessity and importance of "climbing onto the warhorse", "jumping off the warhorse", and "keeping both hands", so stirrups or things with similar functions were not invented.

Therefore, there were no cavalry with strong impact and lethality, let alone heavy cavalry. At least before the Western Han Dynasty, there were no tools similar to the function of stirrups. The cavalry could only undertake the battlefield functions of scouting the enemy situation, harassing logistics, using natural barriers to block and sneak attack empty enemy camps.

Before the invention of the stirrup, not only could the cavalry not play its role, but the war horses were also the same. For example, installing armor and sharp horns on horses seemed redundant. The cavalry had little role to play, so there was no need to spend extra money to equip horses.

It can be said that the double-sided stirrups invented by Yi Huawei will make cavalry the nightmare of infantry in the era of cold weapons and the protagonists of war, leading to a fundamental change in the logic of war.

Horseshoes can not only reinforce horse hooves and effectively isolate hard substances on the ground to prevent hoof wear, but also greatly extend the life of war horses.

With war horses that could sprint at full speed, the physical fitness of the Qin knights, and double stirrups, the knights, with their hands freed, could ride their horses for longer periods of time, wielding long swords, and could draw and shoot strong bows on horseback at any time, becoming a true "nation on horseback" that shocked and lashed the entire world.

"Haha~, do you believe me when I say that an old man with a white beard taught me in my dream?"

Looking at the shocked Meng Tian, ​​Yi Huawei smiled and said, "You should know that Yi Xiaochuan and I are from the same place. Even children in our place know these things."

"This...this is impossible!"

Meng Tian shook his head in disbelief. Although Yi Xiaochuan sometimes said some inexplicable things, Meng Tian just thought he was talking nonsense. If Yi Xiaochuan knew, why didn't he tell him? Didn't he know the importance of these things?
"General Meng,"

As if he could see what Meng Tian was thinking, Yi Huawei smiled and said, "I know, and Yi Xiaochuan naturally knows it too. As for why Yi Xiaochuan didn't tell you, you have to ask him yourself."

"Regarding stirrups, saddles, and horseshoes, His Majesty has ordered that this matter must not be leaked. All craftsmen involved must be strictly supervised. If they are successful in making finished products, His Majesty will reward them handsomely."

After a pause, Yi Huawei looked at Meng Tian and said, "This hygiene and epidemic prevention manual can effectively reduce the probability of civilians contracting diseases. I have reported this to His Majesty, and His Majesty agrees to use your 300,000 civilians as a pilot. If it is effective, it will be implemented nationwide."

"Yes! Meng Tian, ​​I accept your order!... Are you so kind? If this epidemic prevention manual is really useful, then you have done something good... What about this?"

After hearing that Yi Huawei had informed Qin Shi Huang and bowed in the direction of Xianyang Palace, Meng Tian's doubts were somewhat dispelled. He picked up the last manual and looked at Yi Huawei:

"Is it true that this wheat flour is ten times more delicious than wheat rice?"

"Su Mai" is the name people gave to winter wheat during this period. Wheat was an imported variety that was introduced to the Central Plains during the Yin and Zhou dynasties. Initially, the cultivation season for wheat was the same as that for millet and sorghum, that is, it was planted in spring and harvested in autumn.

But gradually, Zhou farmers who were good at growing crops found that wheat was more resistant to cold than millet but not as resistant to drought, and the best time to sow and grow wheat was autumn rather than spring. So, when an unknown Zhou farmer tried to save a handful of wheat seeds until early autumn before sowing, winter wheat, also known as "Su Mai", came into being.

Since most grain crops in the north are planted in spring and harvested in autumn, there is often a gap between the summer and the summer, which leads to a food crisis. Winter wheat is harvested in the summer and can fill the gap and ease food shortages. Therefore, it has received attention and successfully became one of the five grains.

Although wheat has become one of the five grains, it does not mean that people like to eat wheat. Steamed wheat rice is hard to chew and difficult to digest, so wheat rice is considered "food for wild farmers". Compared with millet and rice, the planting area is not large and it is only considered "coarse grains". In the Qin State, wheat rice was generally given to prisoners. Officials who ate wheat rice were considered to be poor and honest officials, and the same was true for civilians.

Nowadays, the way to consume wheat is either to cook porridge directly, or to use it to make malt sugar, a luxury product, or an expensive snack, which is really a waste of food.

Although the stone mill invented by Lu Ban was already a common household item in wealthy households and had been introduced to the Qin State for at least several decades, it was a pity that the Qin people only used the ground wheat flour to make snacks and had never tried to use it as a staple food.

"Haha, General Meng, have you forgotten my origins?"

Yi Huawei smiled faintly: "If General Meng doesn't believe it, Zhao Gao can have someone make one for you on the spot."

"General!"

Just then, a personal guard came over, approached Meng Tian, ​​and whispered in his ear.

"Bring them all in! ... Zhao Fuling, wait a moment. Let's take a look at Zhao Fuling's cooking skills later."

Perhaps because these gifts were too important, Meng Tian's attitude improved a lot. He looked up at Yi Huawei, then turned and gave instructions to his personal guards.

After a while, hurried footsteps were heard from the depths of the corridor. With commanding shouts, a group of soldiers roughly pushed more than a dozen women wearing white prison uniforms, handcuffs and shackles, with disheveled hair and tattoos on their foreheads to the side of the corridor. The expressions of these female prisoners were mixed with fear, anger and unyielding, but facing the strong soldiers, they could not resist at all. After approaching, the leading guard bowed to Meng Tian, ​​with a hint of respect in his tone: "General, all the female prisoners have been brought here."

Meng Tian's eyes were as fast as lightning as he quietly swept over the female prisoners kneeling on the ground. His eyes were cold and there was not a trace of warmth in them when he looked at these female prisoners.

"Your Majesty!"

"Still not kneeling down!!"

Seeing the group of female prisoners staring at Meng Tian, ​​the soldiers on the side mercilessly kicked their knees, causing them to stagger and fall to the ground. Their struggles seemed so weak, with sweat and dust on their foreheads, revealing a hint of despair, and their bodies trembling with fear and exhaustion, but no one dared to cry out loudly.

"Kneel down! Kneel down quickly."

The soldiers' shouts rose one after another. There was no sympathy in their eyes, only absolute execution of orders.

"These are the Xiongnu women we just captured!"

Meng Tian turned to look at Yi Huawei and said expressionlessly, "In view of these gifts, you can pick any one you like! Just consider it as my return gift to you!"

"Haha~, General Meng is really good at doing business. He wants to repay my favor with a few worthless female slaves? Could it be that General Meng is the reincarnation of an abacus expert?"

Glancing at the group of Xiongnu women, Yi Huawei smiled and said, "General Meng, are you making fun of me?"

"Oh... I forgot! What is an abacus spirit?"

Meng Tian glanced at Yi Huawei indifferently, with a hint of doubt in his eyes.

Yi Huawei obviously had no intention of explaining to Meng Tian, ​​so he smiled and said, "Forget it if you don't understand."

"Kneel down! Kneel down quickly!"

The soldiers' angry shouts rang out again. Yi Huawei turned around and saw that one of the female prisoners refused to kneel no matter how the soldiers beat and scolded her. She just stared at Meng Tian with eyes full of resentment and unwillingness.

"Snapped!"

"How dare you be so presumptuous in front of the general? Kneel down!"

The soldier pointed at the female prisoner with a ferocious look and shouted sternly.

The female prisoner was slapped hard in the face by the soldier, and she fell to the ground. A trace of blood flowed from the corner of her mouth. Looking at the soldier, a trace of anger flashed in the eyes of the female prisoner. She clenched her teeth and tried hard to struggle to stand up.

However, just as she raised her head, the soldier slapped her in the face again, knocking her to the ground again. Her head hit the ground hard, making a dull sound. The intense pain made her body tremble, but she endured it and didn't make a sound. She continued to struggle to stand up, but was slapped to the ground by the soldier again.

Looking at the female prisoner, Meng Tian's eyes were cold and deep, with no expression on his face, but the stubbornness and tenacity of the female prisoner made a strange light flash in his eyes, but he quickly returned to his usual indifference.

Meng Tian spoke calmly, his voice full of indifference and disdain: "Such a stubborn person should be executed immediately!"

As soon as the voice fell, the soldier raised the knife in his hand without hesitation and slashed at the female prisoner's neck.

However, at this critical moment, a figure suddenly appeared in front of the female prisoner, grabbed the soldier's arm and stopped his action.

"Um?!"

Meng Tian looked at Xiaolan with a serious expression. At that moment, even he did not see Xiaolan's movements clearly. He did not expect that this seemingly weak and beautiful maidservant beside Zhao Gao actually had such skills. No wonder Zhao Gao dared to bring her to the general's mansion alone. How could such a master obey the orders of Zhao Gao, a eunuch?

Meng Tian's face darkened as he turned to look at Yi Huawei, "What do you mean, maid? Do you want to die?"

"Haha~, General Meng, are you going to execute all these female prisoners?"

Yi Huawei smiled and shook his head: "It's such a waste."

"These are all Hun spies. What's the point of keeping them?"

Meng Tian looked at Yi Huawei with a half-smile: "Could it be that Zhao Fuling still wants to keep them?"

"You are really a man who is full and does not know the hunger of a hungry man. You have many wives and concubines but forget the hardships of your soldiers."

Gao Yao's body just can't give birth to a son, but he can still use it. Fortunately, Yi Huawei traveled through time in time, otherwise, when the male hormones completely disappeared, he wouldn't be able to regain his virility. So in response to Meng Tian's malicious ridicule, Yi Huawei just silently took note of it in his heart and smiled indifferently:

"The Hun men can be forced to do hard labor if they are captured, but these women can be used as slaves or sent to accompany the army. Isn't it a waste to kill them like this?"

"You!... You will not have a good death! Beep beep (the sound is muted here)..."

The female prisoners who had originally breathed a sigh of relief began to tremble in fear after hearing this, and the stubborn female prisoner even started cursing.

"Snapped!"

Although Xiaolan controlled the force to the minimum when slapping the female prisoner, she still fainted.

"You have to use human methods to deal with people, not animals. This is what happens when you come to my Great Qin Empire to be spies."

Looking at the trembling female prisoners below the stairs, Yi Huawei said coldly with a blank expression: "Aren't you tough? I didn't suggest that General Meng shave off your skulls and use them as wine vessels, which is already a bargain for you!"

(End of this chapter)