The great man will live forever

Chapter 66 The value of cavalry
In the military camp and the martial arts venue, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, Huo Qubing, Wei Qing, Liu Han, and Li Xi were all there.

"Is this what you said can improve cavalry combat?" Han Wu looked at the stirrups with some confusion.

Cavalry three-piece suit, saddle, stirrups, horseshoes.

Saddles already existed, and cloth stirrups also appeared during this period, but they were all unilateral, not bilateral, and not popular.

Stirrups are also called "Chinese boots" by the Western horse culture research community. Stirrups include two important components. One is the part where the rider steps, the stirrup ring, and the other is the stirrup handle that hangs the stirrup on both sides of the saddle. Or stirrup penetration.

After the invention of the stirrup, it made the war horse easier to control, made the man and the horse connect as one, and freed the hands of the man on the horse. Swing sharply to complete the military action of slashing left and right.

"This is the stirrup, Your Majesty. Without it, it would be difficult for us to ride a horse, because when the horse is galloping or prancing, the rider sits on the saddle with his feet dangling in the air. He has to clamp the horse's body with his legs and tighten his hands at the same time. Hold the horse's hair firmly to prevent falling off the horse.

So most of the time, we hold a weapon in one hand to kill people, and the other hand holds the horse's mane. Only those with particularly superb riding skills can let go of both hands, and the cavalry has to train for several years in a row before they can master it. On the battlefield, with it, the training time can be greatly shortened, and it is more convenient to shoot arrows and use weapons on horseback. "

Liu Han said, got on his horse and picked up his bow and arrow.

"drive!"

He rode and shot arrows.

"call out!"

The arrow hits the bull's-eye,
There was a "clang" sound, and the arrow feathers were trembling.

"Whoa!"

Two more arrows hit the target, and he even stood up to shoot.

"Okay, your archery skills are as good as curing illnesses. He is indeed my good nephew."

Seeing Liu Han's continuous shooting, the distance between the target and the target was a hundred steps. It is not an exaggeration to say that a hundred steps can pierce the Yang. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was very happy, and several other people nodded repeatedly.

"Shut up!"

After a demonstration, he came to Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty and got off his horse.

"Your Majesty, please give it a try and feel it. Generals, there are a few horses nearby, please give it a try."

"Okay, let me give it a try." Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was able to ride a horse since he was a child, and his riding skills were also quite good.

"You guys keep an eye on it." Wei Qing was a little worried and said to several servants. He was afraid that Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty would fall from his horse.

Falling off a horse is not a trivial matter. If you don't do it right, you will be injured or even disabled.

Li Shimin's prince Li Chengqian fell from his horse and became lame.

"Are you still worried about my equestrian skills? It's okay."

Han Wu got on his horse and shouted: "Bring me the bow!"

The guard immediately handed him a beautiful bow and a few arrows.

"drive!"

"call out!"

"clang!"

"Okay, Your Majesty is good at archery."

Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty also hit the target when shooting arrows, but not the target.

"It's really worse than you guys."

Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty sighed with emotion and didn't care. He didn't have to fight. Then he rode his horse around several times and said, "Not bad, not bad, really good. What a stirrup. You all have a try."

"promise!"

Huo Qubing and Wei Qing also mounted their horses to give it a try.

"drive!"

"Phew!" "The Cavalry General is good at archery."

"The general's great shot!"

They all hit the target with their arrows, and the people on the side praised them.

"Shut up!"

After several people dismounted, Huo Qubing sighed, "It's exactly what Brother Liu said. It saves energy. I don't have to clamp the horse with my thighs anymore, and my hands are free. For me, although it is also beneficial, the effect is not that great. .

That's because I'm very good at horseback riding, so not having stirrups won't have much of an impact. But for those soldiers who only know how to ride a horse or have average horsemanship, it can definitely be said to be a huge improvement.

In this way, as long as we have enough horses, we can quickly raise enough cavalry in one or two years. "

Wei Qing also sighed, "Yes, we now have more than 50 war horses in the country, but there are only [-] cavalry. Training cavalry is expensive, time-consuming, and laborious, but the Huns are different. They have been on horses since they were young and are proficient in riding." You don't need to train to shoot, you just get on your horse and you are a cavalry. With stirrups, you can save at least half the time in training cavalry for combat."

There are many Han people, more than ten times that of the Xiongnu. There are actually a lot of horses in the country, but it is not as many cavalry as there are horses. It is too difficult to train cavalry.

The training of ancient cavalry was an extremely difficult and complex task.

First of all, cavalry requires excellent equestrian skills, including controlling and maneuvering horses, galloping, turning and stopping skillfully, which requires cavalry to spend a lot of time and energy building a tacit and trusting relationship with the horses.

Secondly, cavalry need to master various weapons and tactical skills.They need to learn how to handle spears, bows, swords, and other melee weapons, and fight while maintaining balance and stability on horseback.

They also need to learn how to cooperate and cooperate with other cavalry to carry out group attacks and defenses.

Cavalry training also includes the development and strengthening of physical fitness.

Cavalry requires excellent endurance, agility and strength to adapt to the requirements of long-term horseback riding and fighting.

They also need to learn to shoot arrows from horseback, dodge and counter enemy attacks, and remain calm and brave on the battlefield.

In addition, the cavalry required training in tactics and strategy.They need to learn how to move effectively on the battlefield, surround enemies, protect allies, and perform a variety of missions.

They also need to learn to read battlefield situations, make good decisions, and react quickly under pressure.

Not only that, the training of war horses is also very expensive.

Not all horses can be used as war horses. Excellent horses must be selected. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty even introduced excellent horses from the Western Regions for breeding many times.

The song says: "When choosing a war horse, you should choose four big ones, three tall ones and two small ones. They should be long, two short and flat, with strong hooves and strong bones, and a shape like a crane, with small ears, big eyes, big eyes and a broad chest."

Among them, the four major ones are to have big eyes, a big nose, big breasts, and big sleeves; the three high ones are to have high longevity, high knees, and high metacarpal bones; the second is to have small ears and small bones. .

Such horses can adapt to long-term operations.

After selecting a good war horse, the next step is to raise it well. The old saying goes, "When a horse meets a gentleman, it will live ten years", which is enough to illustrate the importance of the way the horse is raised.

The ancient saying that horse fat is high in autumn refers to the luxuriant growth of various grasses and strong grass seeds in the pastures during summer and autumn, so horses gain fat fastest at this time.

Ordinary horses can just eat some grass, but war horses can't. They can't just eat grass, they have to eat more nutritious food. Therefore, the feed used in daily breeding is basically a mixture of grass and other crops, including millet and wheat. Straw, glutinous rice, beans...

What's even more frightening is that war horses need to eat salt regularly.

Eating an appropriate amount of salt for war horses is helpful for their health. Salt is rich in sodium and chlorine. Sodium ions and chloride ions exist in the horse's blood and body fluids, which can maintain the osmotic pressure, acid-base balance and water balance in the animal's body. It can also help the body achieve energy balance and recovery, which is beneficial to relaxing nerves, relieving fatigue, and promoting metabolism.

……

After choosing and feeding, it’s time to train the war horses. After all, people need to be trained to be soldiers, and horses also need to be trained to fight.

In addition to being able to charge powerfully and run quickly, training horses must also be hardworking and good at long-distance driving.

After all, the Central Plains and the nomadic peoples mostly engage in small-scale invasion and counter-invasion operations, which require cavalry to be able to attack long distances or march for a long time, so endurance is a very important training item.

In general, ancient cavalry are like modern tanks. Their training is a very rigorous and difficult process that requires a lot of time, effort and perseverance from the cavalry.

They need to master multiple aspects of knowledge and skills such as horsemanship, weapons skills, physical fitness, and tactical strategies to become excellent warriors. The training and feeding of war horses also cost a lot of time and money.

The cavalry is high-level, but it really costs money to raise it. It can be imagined that the Han Empire, from the rule of Wenjing to the reforms and accumulation of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, reached its current scale in almost a century.

(End of this chapter)