My life is like walking on thin ice

Chapter 102 Want to be a prince?

As expected by Liu Rong: Regarding Liu Rong's appearance in the announcement room again, Emperor Qi also once again revealed the profound heritage of the Great Yin Yang Family.

"I haven't seen you for half a day. I miss you so much..."

···
"Young Master, do you think I am too leisurely? Do you think the Wu-Chu rebellion is not enough for me to have a headache?"

The expected complaint only caused Liu Rong to shrug helplessly, and then pursed his lips towards the solemn young man next to him, Ling Cenmai.

——I don’t want to come either~
Seeing Liu Rong acting like this, Emperor Qi couldn't help but straighten his body a little and turned his eyes towards Cen Mai;
But Cen Mai thought for a long time and repeatedly tried to give up his hand, but in the end, like Liu Rong, he turned his head to Han Daidang beside him...

"Then let me tell you."

After all, he grew up on the grassland. Compared to veterans like Cen Mai, Han Daidang had more of a nomadic straightforwardness.

With a word without thinking, when Emperor Qi nodded slightly, he used very brief words to put all the situation in front of Emperor Qi.

"Young Master has made several new things, all of which are equipped on war horses."

"I have tried all these things."

"——It is very possible that a person who has never ridden a horse can learn to ride a horse in three to five days, and become proficient in the bow and horse in two or three months!"

"If our Han family's cavalry is equipped with these things, then our Han family's cavalry will be more brave than the Huns' cavalry. They can even fight one against three, or even one against five!" "

"But I am worried that if these things are obtained by the Huns, they will also greatly improve the knight's combat power!"

"If our Han family's knights have obtained these things, they can fight one against three, or even one against five, then the Huns' cavalry has obtained these things - especially the elites like the 'Condor Shooters' have obtained these things, It is very possible that he has the ability to fight one against ten!"

"So, after I found out about this situation, I immediately asked Master Cen to control everyone who knew about it;"

"Then I will follow the Young Master to ask His Majesty to decide on this matter."

Sensing the urgency in Han Daandang's words and the fact that the young master Cen Mai had brought him over, Emperor Qiben had already paid enough attention to it.

But despite this, when Han Daidang clearly pointed out that Liu Rong had made something that could make the Han cavalry brave and good at fighting, and also make the Huns more powerful, the emperor Qi Mu's face couldn't help but feel One stagnation.

Liu Rong?

The eldest son of the emperor?
Liu Rong, who may not even have ridden a few times?
Have you made something that can greatly increase the combat effectiveness of cavalry?

Is it true...

Is it that exaggerated?

But seeing the solemn look on the face of Shaofu Ling Cen Mai, and the sincere words of Gong Gaohou Han Daidang, they wished they could immediately take him to check on the spot. Emperor Qi finally sat up straight and his face became sullen.

"Do you have a pattern?"

Before he finished speaking, the pile of silk cloth in Cen Mai's arms, which had been included in the highest level of confidentiality, was delivered to Emperor Qi by the eunuch Ling Chuntuo.

He just glanced briefly, then closed his eyes slightly and thought about it for a moment;

In the end, Emperor Qi came to the same conclusion as when Han Daidang first saw the stirrups on both sides...

"Bilateral stirrups?"

"Why bother……"

"Wouldn't it be better to mount the horse from whichever side the stirrups are?"

"With an extra stirrup, at most the horse will fall off, so you don't have to panic around the horse to find the stirrup..."

I don’t know if I guessed what Emperor Qi was thinking, or if I just didn’t want to complain;
——As soon as the Emperor Qi had such an idea, Han Daidang's Chinese language, which was quite standard but had a hint of cumin, was heard again in the hall.

"Bilateral stirrups allow the knight to stand up from his horse!"

"It's like standing on flat ground, except there's an extra horse's back underneath you - you can step on the stirrups on both sides and hang your body off the horse's back!"

"Even if you are not hanging in the air, you can still use the stirrups to completely maintain your body's balance. You no longer have to hold the reins all the time, and you are even ready to grab the horse's mane and hug the horse's neck at any time!"

As he said this, Han Daodang began to dance and draw: "I tried it just now. Although the horse is a little older, it is definitely galloping!"

"I just leaned forward and galloped..."

"Well! That's it! You can draw your bow and set an arrow very easily!"

As soon as these words came out, the suspicion on Emperor Qi's face suddenly disappeared, and his expression suddenly twisted!
Subconsciously looking at Cen Mai, after Cen Mai nodded solemnly and closed his eyes, Emperor Qi took a deep breath and paced back and forth in front of the imperial case.

After much thought, I decided: seeing is believing.

I didn't go too far - I just found a random horse in Weiyang Stables and asked Han Daodang to recreate the 'miracle';
When he returned to Weiyang Palace, there was no trace of indifference on Emperor Qi's face.

"For my Han family, these two things are very important!"

"But as Marquis Gong Gao said: If the Huns also possess these things, then my Han family..."

"Um……"

After thinking again and again, Emperor Qi finally smashed the fist in front of his chin lightly on the imperial case in front of him.

"At least once!"

"——At least, there must be a battle where my Han family has stirrups and saddles, but the Huns don't!"

"This battle has brought us great advantages - at least we can get back some horses. Only then can our Han family reluctantly accept the Huns' cavalry, and gradually begin to own stirrups and saddles."

Han Dai was convinced of Emperor Qi's judgment.

Although he was a reduced general and did not know much about most of the projects of the Shaofu, Han Daodang also had a rough idea: the Huns could only imitate the standard weapons currently installed by the Han family and produce a low-end version.

Even this had to be made by Han craftsmen who had fled to the grasslands or were kidnapped by the Huns.

As for high-tech projects such as crossbows and armor, which are complex in technology and require an entire industrial chain or even an entire country to support them, the Huns couldn't even think about them.

Not to mention that they were made by themselves - even the crossbows and armor captured from the Han army soldiers were not even maintained well by the Huns, and one of them was damaged.

But Han Daedang knew very well: stirrups and saddles are definitely not precision weapons with high technical difficulty and high industrial requirements such as crossbows and armors.

Let’s talk about the high bridge saddle. The main body is a wooden base, wrapped in a layer of leather on the outside, and filled with some soft cloth, fur, etc. in the middle - it is completely within the scope of handicrafts. The Huns can definitely make it!
Not to mention the stirrups - a metal ring hung under a hemp rope. The Huns didn't even have to worry too much and could complete the installation in a short time.

Therefore, rather than saying that stirrups and saddles are newly invented weapons of the Han family, it is better to say that a layer of window paper has been pierced.

In the past, both the Han and Huns regarded stirrups as 'ladders' for knights to use when getting on and off their horses.

——A hundred years ago, the people of Xia used wooden steps to get on and off vehicles and horses!
Only later, after people discovered the stirrup, a small and lightweight thing that could be hung on the belly of a horse, did the wooden steps that originally helped people get on and off the horse gradually evolve into the exclusive use of nobles when getting on and off the horse.

From the previous situation, when Han Dundang turned over on his horse, he subconsciously took out the soles of his feet from the stirrups. It is not difficult to see that in this era, the knight's knowledge of stirrups was limited to the 'portable ladder' that could be used for getting on and off the horse.

After getting on the horse, or before deciding to dismount, the knight will not insert the soles of his feet into the stirrup rings to avoid being caught in the stirrups and dragged along when he falls off the horse.

And after this blind spot in thinking was broken by Liu Rong's "chance and coincidence", everything became different...

"I believe that these two things must not leak out of the Shaofu before our Han family decides to fight the Huns!"

After a long period of thinking, Han Daidang finally came to his conclusion.

——The most important weapon of the country!
But it’s also really too easy to copy.

Even if there was no way to avoid being copied by the Huns, the Han family still had to rely on the information gap to fight and take advantage.

And before that war comes, it's best to keep these things in your pocket and eat ashes, and it's best not to be touched by anyone.

Regarding Han Daidang's reaction as if he was facing a formidable enemy, Liu Rong was thoughtful, but due to Han Daedang's status as a 'Han Dynasty cavalry expert', he did not rush to speak.

Just secretly, Liu Rong couldn't help but feel strange.

Make the Huns even more powerful?

It’s just the icing on the cake after all~
Regardless of whether they had stirrups or saddles, the Huns practiced riding skills from childhood;
Sitting on the back of a bare horse, holding the horse's mane and hugging its neck, you can also run wildly on the grassland.

With stirrups and saddles, the Hun cavalry's riding skills could at best be improved from 7 points to 9 points, or even closer to the perfect 10 points.

But to the Han family, stirrups and saddles are just physics plug-ins!
The Han family relied on agriculture as the country's foundation, let alone the common people - even the soldiers and even the cavalry were idiots who couldn't ride horses.

For Han soldiers who are not good at equestrian skills and have no chance to practice their riding skills all year round, stirrups and saddles can help the cavalry directly improve their riding skills from 1 or even 0 points to at least 8 points!

There is no stirrup and saddle, Han family 0 or 1, Xiongnu 7+;
With stirrups and saddles, the Han family is 8+ and the Xiongnu is 9-10.

Is this a good way to narrow the gap? !
How could Han Dadang be so exaggerated...

Even if the Emperor Qi said that he wanted to fight a wealthy battle in which the Han soldiers had 8+ riding skills and the Huns had 7+ skills, wouldn't they feel like they were facing a formidable enemy?

"Sir, have you ever seen cavalry fighting?"

Perhaps he could see the strange color on Liu Rong's face. When he saw his superior on the royal couch, Emperor Qi was also thinking and weighing things up. Han Daidang spoke without thinking, but Liu Rong felt inexplicably embarrassed. "Forehead……"

"I was born in a deep palace and grew up in the hands of women."

"Even the number of times I go out on horseback is only a handful;"

"I have never been lucky enough to see cavalry fighting in battle..."

Sensing Liu Rong's embarrassing tone, Han Daodang couldn't help but feel a little annoyed, as if he regretted what he said wrongly.

But soon, Han Dandang put this regret behind his mind and continued: "The Huns do not have saddles or stirrups."

"The horses of the Huns would at most be padded with a layer of leather, or even fur, to make it softer for the knights to sit on."

"So the Hun knights often hold the reins in their hands and hold the horse's belly tightly with their legs to control their horses. They always tighten their bodies to avoid being thrown off the horse's back."

"When fighting, the Huns' cavalry would often pretend to charge and charge at our Han infantry array. When they reached the range of the crossbows, they would turn left and right again to consume our Han soldiers. The fletchings of the soldiers’ arrows.”

"——While moving laterally, the Hun cavalry not only avoids arrows, but also observes."

"When they find an opportunity, they will quickly stop their horses, sit quietly on their horses, quickly draw their bows and shoot an arrow, and then ride away without looking back."

···
"After repeating this, our Han soldiers are always tense and draw their bows and arrows, and they will become physically and mentally exhausted, and the arrow feathers will gradually be exhausted."

"When our Han army's crossbowmen can no longer draw their bows, the Huns will actually launch a charge - riding their horses into the Han army's array, and then dismounting to fight hand to hand."

"Looking for opportunities while fighting, getting on the horse again, riding the horse again and knocking several people away, and then dismounting and fighting hand to hand..."

"Such repetition is the most common fighting method used by the Huns cavalry..."

Hearing Han Badang talk about these battle formations, Liu Rong immediately became interested, full of desire for knowledge, and quietly waited for Han Badang's next chapter.

However, Han Tui paused in his words, then turned his head and looked at Emperor Qi above the imperial couch again.

"Your Majesty, you should know the fighting methods of the Huns?"

With just one word, Liu Rong and Cen Mai were both stunned, and they were all surprised by Han Daidang's low emotional intelligence.

Unexpectedly, the gloomy face of Emperor Qi above the imperial couch slowly nodded his head after Han Daandang asked this question.

"Back then, when I was in Dai with the late emperor, although I never saw him with my own eyes, I often heard about it from the generals."

"I still remember that at that time, Acting Lieutenant Song Chang specifically taught me how to arrange our troops in order to deal with the Huns' intrusion."

"——Song Chang told me: One day, I will also be the acting king..."

"As a acting king, you will have the important task of guarding the border and guarding the barbarians on your shoulders..."

Listening to Emperor Qi talking about this old incident, Liu Rong felt like the fire of gossip was burning, but he couldn't show it;

Standing between Liu Rong and Han Daidang, the young master Ling Cenmai nodded thoughtfully, seeming to have some understanding of these matters.

Only Han was stunned.

He seemed to have no interest at all in the past events mentioned by Emperor Qi, and even had a faint reluctance to recall them;
He just took over what Emperor Qi said and said solemnly: "Since you know how the cavalry fights, your majesty should know my worries..."

With a deep voice, Liu Rong and Cen Mai's eyes were once again drawn back to the Emperor Qi who was above them.

But the emperor raised his head, let out a long sigh, and sat back on the couch with a gloomy face.

He clenched his hand into a fist and instinctively punched it on his thigh.

"Just now, Marquis Gong Gao only showed the fighting style of cavalry archers after they have stirrups and saddles."

"But cavalry is not just bow cavalry."

"——As long as they are willing, the cavalry can also hold knives, swords, or even guns and spears."

"The horse archers have stirrups and saddles, but they can draw their bows while galloping."

"But if you are riding on a spear or riding on a spear, you also have stirrups and saddles to stabilize your body, and you can use both hands to hold weapons..."

At this point, the last trace of doubt and entanglement on Emperor Qi's face finally disappeared.

He just slowly narrowed the corners of his eyes and slammed his hand into a fist.

"It must be hidden."

"Even if you want to train troops, you must hide them well!"

"——We must rely on the advantages brought by the stirrups and saddles to bite off a piece of meat from the Huns!"

"Before then, stirrups and saddles must not flow into the grassland..."

"You can't even leave the Young Mansion!"

At the end of the sentence, Emperor Qi's tone already contained unquestionable determination and even a little murderous intent!
When those firm eyes moved towards the young master Ling Cen Mai, Cen Mai had no choice but to bow quickly and said that he would definitely handle the matter.

Having made a decision on this matter, Emperor Qi showed the last drawing again: "Can this horseshoe really protect the horseshoes?"

"If you drive a nail into a horse's hoof like this, do you really think it won't hurt or maim it?"

This question came out of his mouth, and before Emperor Qi raised his head, Han Daandang groaned in a long voice;
After the Emperor Qi Xun's voice came out, he shook his head hesitantly.

"If the horse's hoof is long, the excess can be trimmed off."

"It's just about whether the remaining part can be driven into the nail without injuring the horse's hoof..."

"At least in the grassland, I have never heard of such a thing."

After hearing this, Emperor Qi Zi turned his attention to the designer of this horseshoe: the emperor's eldest son Liu Rong.

"can."

Liu Rong's answer was straightforward.

"Horses' hooves are actually like human nails. They need to be cut when they are long, but if they are cut short, they will hurt the flesh."

"But leave a little extra for shoeing horses, and it won't hurt the horses' hooves."

"——Father, you can send someone to try."

After giving the theoretical basis and showing the confidence that he was "not afraid of practical operations", Emperor Qicai finally withdrew his gaze and looked at the horseshoe pattern again.

Compared with saddles and stirrups, horseshoes - or horseshoes - are not something that needs to be kept secret.

Not that it would be useless for the Huns to learn the horseshoe;

But due to the metal forging process of the Huns, it is difficult to imitate a horseshoe that is half-ring-shaped, needs to be the same size as a horse's hoof, and has nail holes.

Then there is the horseshoe, which was obviously made by Liu Rong to protect the horseshoes from the hard soil and roads in the Central Plains and prevent the horses from being lost in non-combat situations, especially the war horses.

As for the horses of the Huns, they basically lived in the grasslands. The soft grass would not hurt the horses' hooves, so the Huns did not need to use horseshoes.

"The young master has made a batch of these horseshoes in recent days."

"——Just follow the number given by the emperor's eldest son: three thousand pairs."

"Before the Lieutenant's army goes out for battle, it must be delivered!"

The emperor had a task assigned to him, so Cen Mai took it personally and immediately went back to rush for the order without any further delay.

Han Daandang briefly mentioned with Emperor Qi some of the changes that the appearance of horseshoes and saddles might bring to the cavalry's combat methods, and then went back to think behind closed doors and continue to check and fill in the gaps.

Only Liu Rong;

As expected, when he resigned, he was forced to stay by Emperor Qi's sinister eyes.

After Cen Mai and Han Daedang left, and all the people in the palace were dismissed, the first words Emperor Qi spoke shocked Liu Rong, who was stunned on the spot and couldn't recover for a long time... …

"Master, do you really want to be the crown prince?"

"You really want to be called a loner and live alone in the palace of the Crown Prince???"

　Second update.

　　Call ~
　　Will catch up again...

　　Damn it, I have to get up early tomorrow, I can’t wake up naturally anymore!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)