Great Han Empire

Chapter 403 Introduction of Northern Minority Cavalry and Han Dynasty Infantry in the Eastern Han Dynasty

Introduction to Northern Minority Cavalry and Han Dynasty Infantry in the Eastern Han Dynasty

Author: Mustafa
At the beginning of the article, four points need to be explained. First: In this article, most of the information about the minority cavalry in the Han Dynasty is taken from the Xiongnu cavalry.Second: In a large-scale battle, a complete infantry formation is rare, and a complete cavalry formation is even rarer, so please pay attention when reading this article.Third: Due to time constraints, many places in this article were directly excerpted by me, so they are not original.

Before we examine in detail an army dominated by cavalry and an army dominated by infantry, it is necessary to classify cavalry and infantry. The combination of cavalry and horses as a whole greatly enhanced the assault capability of cavalry in the stirrup era. In the translation and commentary of "Stirrups and Feudalism-Does Technology Make History?", there is the following text: "Stirrups, except Side support was added to the front and rear support provided by the saddle and gallop, effectively merging horse and rider into a single fighting unit capable of unprecedented strength.The warrior's hand is no longer used to strike directly, it is only used to guide the direction of the strike.The stirrup thus replaced human power with horsepower, and infinitely increased the warrior's ability to injure his enemy. 'In order to facilitate the description below, we will not classify the cavalry in more detail, but the infantry can be divided into light infantry and heavy infantry very simply. It is customary to divide cavalry into light cavalry and heavy cavalry. If heavy cavalry is defined as both men and horses wearing armor according to history books, then the so-called heavy cavalry is out of the scope of our discussion, because in the Eastern Han Dynasty, horses began to be equipped with leather chests. Made of "Dang Chest", (this is recorded in "Three Kingdoms. Bao Yong Biography").In the Three Kingdoms period, relatively complete horse armor began to appear, but this kind of equipment was very precious at that time.Cao Cao said in "Military Policy Order" that Yuan Shao had three hundred horse armors, and then sadly said that his army did not even have ten.During the Battle of Guandu, Yuan Shao's tens of thousands of cavalry troops still had only a few hundred horse armor, and the proportion of heavy cavalry was only [-]% of the total cavalry.At this time, the horse armor was still made of leather armor, and the front of the spear could still pierce through the armor.

So what kind of equipment was the northern minority cavalry at that time?First of all, in terms of war horses, the Xiongnu horses are slightly shorter in body and larger in head, so they should belong to Mongolian horses.Although Mongolian horses are not very tall, they have abundant physical fitness, long-lasting endurance, and fast action, and are very adaptable to the plateau environment. Therefore, Mongolian horses have more advantages than other horse breeds as grassland war horses.These excellent war horses, coupled with advanced imperial horse tools - bridles and saddles for riding, greatly enhanced the combat capability of the Huns army. "Historical Records. Biography of the Huns" records that the Xiongnu's troops are "all armored cavalry", indicating that war horses are an important component of the Xiongnu's military. "More than [-] people who control strings" fully demonstrated the strong military strength of the Huns Empire.

In terms of weapons, "Historical Records. The Biography of the Huns" records that the weapons of the Huns were "bows and arrows for long soldiers, and knives for short soldiers". The archaeological excavation data is exactly consistent with this.Excavations in Xiongnu cemeteries show that weapons are generally unearthed in male tombs, mainly made of copper, iron, bone, and wood, and mainly include bows, arrowheads, crossbows, knives, swords, daggers, spears, axes, and meteor hammers.The bows of the Xiongnu are mostly wooden, with ornate decorative components, and their length can reach 1.3 meters.Xiongnu arrowheads come in a variety of shapes, with three textures: copper, iron and bone, including the famous Xiongnu Mingdi used for signaling.Although no confirmed Xiongnu Mingdi has been found so far, we can get inspiration from the later Khitan Mingdi.Other Hun arrowheads used as weapons have been unearthed in large numbers, especially the arrowheads unearthed in southern Transbaikal, northern and central Mongolia have distinctive features and exude terrifying power.Looking at their sharp forwards, and their power when fired with crossbows or fierce sharpshooters, people can still truly feel their huge lethality and the fragility of life in the shadow of swords and swords.Most of the Xiongnu swords are made of iron, and there are also a small amount of copper knives.Most of the knives are equipped with wooden handles, which can be divided into several shapes, such as straight back curved blade, curved back straight blade, straight back straight blade, etc., and the scabbard has decorations.Most of the Xiongnu daggers are found in the Ordos area, and they have a more obvious style of Ordos daggers, double-edged, and the end of the handle is often decorated with animal patterns, and some are bell heads or ring heads.Long swords are generally about 1 meter long, double-edged, some have handles, some have no handles, and most of them are severely corroded, making it difficult to see their original appearance.The axes, spears and Geying unearthed from the tombs of the Xiongnu are the introduction and reference of the weapons of the Central Plains.These Hun short weapons showed strong consistency in the vast empire territory.
Finally, look at the armor.In the era of cold weapons that require close combat, the solidity of soldiers' equipment will greatly affect the overall combat effectiveness of the army.The Huns are well aware of this and attach great importance to the protection of their soldiers. Unlike soldiers in the Central Plains who protect themselves with shields, they equip themselves with less labor-intensive and stronger armor, forming a "all-armored cavalry", flexible and agile. And huge Hun cavalry.The Xiongnu helmets unearthed inherit the tradition of the northern grasslands, and are similar in shape to the Donghu bronze helmets unearthed from the tomb of the Western Zhou Dynasty in Changping, Beijing, and the Donghu bronze helmets unearthed at Nanshangen, Ningcheng, Chifeng City, Inner Mongolia. There are square buttons, and there are small holes for wearing straps under the ear protectors on both sides, with openings on both sides, so you can wear it regardless of front or back.From its shape, we can understand how the Xiongnu helmet was worn, and at the same time, we can also appreciate the good protective effect of such head protection on soldiers in fierce hand-to-hand combat.Hun armors are rarer than helmets. The Hun armor fragments unearthed from M32 in Golmaudu are made of bronze, densely covered with fish scales, and appear very solid.The Museum of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region restored a Xiongnu armor with a Xiongnu bronze armor piece. The size is about 65×50cm.The nails were originally connected by leather strips, but the leather strips have decayed, so only the nails remain.
So after talking about the nomadic cavalry, let's take a look at the equipment of the Eastern Han infantry.

Armor, for ordinary soldiers, is leather armor made of cooked cowhide that protects the chest and back; advanced ones are fish scale armor, with thousands of pieces of iron densely packed, and it is the best equipment for soldiers in the Han Dynasty. Because the iron is black, it is also called "" Xuanjia"
One cannot talk about armor without talking about shields. At that time, shields were closer to fortifications than weapons. Shields were small and large, and they were all one thing, usually made of wood. I remember that the unearthed lacquered shields were two centimeters thick.The skinned iron shield is too heavy, and it is generally not used except when fighting against cavalry.There are also small shields, which are called "hook inlays". It is said that they are small shields with hooks on the front, which can lock and hold enemy weapons, and they also have certain attack power.But it takes quite a bit of skill to use it.The ring head knife combined with the hook setting is the nemesis of long weapons.But it is not easy to train this kind of soldiers.As for Dadun, it was more famous in Wudi in the pre-Qin period, so it was also called "Wu Ke".
Regarding the sword, the ring of the ring head knife is wrapped around the arm to prevent it from falling.The longer the ring, the more difficult it is to use the first knife.The unearthed cultural relics show that the average length of the ring head knife of Sun Wu soldiers is more than 70 cm.The Shuhan is 120CM, which shows the combat effectiveness and forging level of the soldiers of the two countries.In addition to the long knife, there is also a short knife, because it is hung on the thigh and called "pati" and it should be considered a long dagger.
The halberd, the main weapon of the Three Kingdoms, has different lengths and specifications. The infantry is taller than one person, and the longer the cavalry, the more powerful it is, but it is also more difficult to use.The simple halberd is in the shape of a "bu" with one horizontal and one vertical.In the Three Kingdoms, the "male halberd" was turned upward horizontally, and a hook was added vertically.Dian Wei used this kind of male halberd when he used his halberd to "pierce more than ten spears with one fork" before his death.

A spear, about the same length as a halberd, is a wooden stick with various heads inserted into it.The longest one is three feet long and is used to break cavalry.

For bows and crossbows, the units of measurement are divided into catties (0 kilograms), jun (2228 catties), and stones (120 catties are different from ordinary weights and measures).The general crossbow has thirty strings and one bow, but the Zhuge crossbow has been lost.The cavalry also has a special crossbow, and the real thing has been unearthed.

As for the sword, it was basically not considered a weapon at that time, it was something that boring literati pretended to be elegant, that is, Cao Pi and Lu Su only practiced it when they had money and leisure.As for practicing well, it seems to be a skill.

The rock-throwing device, Cao Cao used a rock-throwing vehicle in the Battle of Guandu, and it was named "Pili Chariot" because of the loud sound when throwing stones.It is the earliest rock-throwing device recorded in history books (Zizhi Tongjian: Yuan Shao piled up soil in the camp to form a mountain, built tall buildings, shot arrows at Cao Ying, Cao Cao built thunderbolt chariots, and used huge stones to attack tall buildings.).The principle is to use the lever principle to throw stones to attack the enemy's city or city defense facilities and personnel.
If an army with cavalry as the main force confronts an army with infantry as the main force, then we can easily find:
1. The most critical advantage of cavalry over infantry: strong mobility and the ability to quickly attack the opponent's weaknesses.It can do a violent raid at a critical moment and insert it into the center of the enemy's formation to play a great role in destruction.The cavalry is generally the main assault force. The cavalry assaults the enemy's formation from the side and rear, and cooperates with the main frontal attack.

2. The cavalry has the advantage of speed, strength and height. The weight and speed of the horse strengthen the impact and striking power of the cavalry. It is a very powerful assault force. The infantry is obviously inferior in this regard.

3. Cavalry has momentum and psychological advantages. Looking down on people from a high position makes people feel a sense of accomplishment and superiority. On the contrary, it makes people feel inferior and a sense of crisis.
4. The infantry is generally in a defensive position due to their disadvantages in mobility. Generally, they cannot take the initiative to attack and pursue. If there is no large amount of cavalry input in the pursuit operation, it is difficult to achieve great results.

5. Infantry has advantages in jungles, mountains and rivers, as well as in siege and defense battles, while cavalry cannot take advantage of its maneuverability in narrow areas.Therefore, in the dense water network area in the south of our country, it is difficult for cavalry to make a difference. At the same time, in the western Italian Peninsula, Iribia Peninsula (now Spain and Portugal), and the Balkan Peninsula (mainly the former Greece, Macedonia, and Thrace) , a large number of cavalry is also difficult to use. Due to the relatively high requirements for terrain conditions, cavalry cannot exert its combat effectiveness in many areas. I think a consensus has been formed, and I will not discuss it in detail in this article.The front of the infantry has strong combat capabilities, but its sides and rear are very weak. To make a simple model, if our army has 200 infantry, then if our front has 50 soldiers, there are only [-] on the side.
So where is the advantage of infantry?

Whether it is for heavy cavalry or cavalry archers, the lethal weapon for infantry to defeat them lies in strong bows and crossbows.Because in combat, infantry lacks tactical mobility, the weapons they use must be faster than cavalry and must be long-range (because in order to form combat effectiveness, infantry must maintain a strict formation) in order to effectively defeat cavalry, and this weapon The characteristics of the strong bow and hard crossbow have exactly.If we examine the attitudes of Easterners and Westerners towards strong bows and crossbows, we will easily find that the Mongols, with light cavalry as the main force, were extremely resentful of strong bows and hard crossbows. In a rage, they ordered the abolition of strong bows and crossbows. The manufacturing technology of crossbows (hehe, seeing the bold behavior of the Mongols, I still want to abolish nuclear weapons now!); A lowly peasant can kill a brave knight with a single crossbow!Of course, cavalry cannot be defeated with a strong bow and crossbow alone. Remember the three-foot-long spear we mentioned in the above article?Four warriors who have undergone short-term training set up a scull with a height of 3 meters and a width of 1.5 meters in front of them before the cavalry assault. , supported by warriors to resist the impact of the cavalry) another one stood on the side holding a ring-headed knife to kill the cavalry who fell from the horse. .So is it the first layer of resistance that the cavalry faces when they charge is these giant shield soldiers?The answer is no, in front of these giant shield warriors there is a protective line of wooden Juma, and in front of the Juma there is a trench with a width of 2 meters and a depth of 1.5 meters. Spike traps and horses the size of rat holes.

OK, I believe that after such a complicated introduction, everyone has a preliminary understanding of the cavalry and infantry at that time, then let's talk about logistics supplies.

Whenever an army sets off, (how) to get food from the enemy is the most important thing.Not only is it expensive to transport grain, but the situation does not allow long distances.Someone once calculated that a person would carry 18 liters of rice, and a soldier would carry five days' worth of dry food.A civilian husband pays for a soldier’s military food expenses, and he can travel for 1 days at a time; (18 liters of rice, one person needs to eat 26 liters of rice per day, and two people eat together, and it takes 3 days to finish eating.) If the return journey is counted, You can only go forward nine days.Two peasants can afford a soldier’s food expenses, and they can walk for 8 days; (6 liters of rice, 18 people eat 13 liters per day, and after 8 days, a peasant has finished eating the rice he carried, and he will be given 5 days of food to let him go back, after 3 days Two people eat 1 liters of rice plus dry food per day).If the return journey is counted, it can only go forward for 31 days (consume 6 liters per day for the first 4 days, and eat 4 liters plus dry food every day for the next 17 days and the return journey). , can walk for 9 days at a time (18 liters of rice, the first 16 and a half days, 6 people eat 7 liters per day, then subtract a civilian husband, give him 11 days of grain, the next 3 days, three people eat 1 liters of rice every day, and then reduce Go to a civilian husband and give him food for 7 days; for the last 30 days, the two people will eat 3 liters of rice plus dry food every day) Counting the return journey, they can only go forward for [-] days (the first [-] and a half days eat [-] liters of rice, [-] liters per day for the first [-] days, [-] liters plus dry food per day for the next [-] days and the return journey) [-] civilians can afford [-] soldier, which has reached the limit.If [-] troops are dispatched, one-third of the supply troops will be taken up, and only [-] soldiers can actually participate in the battle, and [-] soldiers are already needed to transport food, and it will be difficult to increase it. (The civilian husbands on the way back must be escorted by soldiers, because there will be a slight decrease in the number of people who die or get sick during the journey, and the part of the food consumed by the reduced number of people will just be used to escort the soldiers).When transporting grain, each person carries [-] liters of rice, which is calculated by the total amount.Among them, the captain does not carry rice, and the number of people who collect firewood and fetch water has to be halved, and the part of these people will be shared equally with other peasants.If there are dead or sick people (citizens) on the way, the rice carried by them will be divided equally, so the amount carried by each person often exceeds [-] liters.Therefore, no one in the army can eat free rice. If there is one more person who eats free rice, two or three people will have to pay for the military rations for him, and it may not be enough.If livestock vehicles are used to transport grain, then camels can transport [-] liters, horses and mules can transport [-] liters, and donkeys can transport [-] liters.Compared with people transporting it, although it transports more and consumes less, but (on the road) if it cannot be fed and cared for on time, the livestock will easily lose weight and die. If a livestock dies, it will be thrown away along with the grain it carried. Compared with using people to transport food, the advantages and disadvantages are half and half.There are more cavalry, because the fodder for the war horses is also added. During the battle, the horses must not be free-ranged to eat coarse fodder, so the fodder for each horse is [-] catties/day, the supplies required by the veterinarian, and the water supply for the horses ( Calculate the cost yourself, after reading so much of what I wrote, it’s time to work).

Well, I originally planned to write the general process of cavalry combat, but now I suddenly lost the enthusiasm for writing (the above article took more than 3 hours to write and copy, reaching the limit), so let’s talk about it next time.

Recently, I have been following Mengzi's "The Wind and Cloud Records of the Great Han Empire". In my memory, this is the first time I have paid so much attention to a novel.This article is also specially written for this purpose. So except for Mengzi, other people are not allowed to repost, thank you.

Supplement: The long halberd, the most important long-handled weapon for fighting in the Han Dynasty, is inseparable from riding and walking.As important as the halberd, there are spears, both of which are used in large quantities, and have all been used.
It's made of steel.The short-handled weapons are knives and swords. Some of the unearthed steel swords can be as long as 124cm. The knives began to rise in the Han Dynasty and had not yet appeared in the Warring States Period.
In the early Han Dynasty, iron swords were still the main short-handled weapons, but after the appearance of knives, swords were gradually squeezed out and became widely used weapons.The armor in the early Han Dynasty was still mainly

Armor and shield.Shields are made of wood, leather and iron. The common style is that the bottom edge is flush, the upper end is composed of double arcs to form a gourd shape, and the middle ridge is raised. The shape is about

It is equivalent to one-third of the height of a soldier (50~60CM). Later, two sharp hooks were installed on the iron shield, and it became a new type of weapon-hook inlaid, which can be attacked and attacked.
Shou.The armor of the Han Dynasty was mainly "xuanjia", that is, iron armor, which was gradually perfected and replaced the traditional leather armor.

Armor pieces can be divided into three categories.The first category is large strips of nails (the unearthed one is 23.4cm high and 4.4cm wide), also known as nails, whose height changes with time.

Gradually shorten; the second type of nail plate is much smaller than the first type, and its shape is closer to a square (height 4.6~5CM, width 2.7~3.4CM, weight 10g), generally the lower edge

It is relatively straight, with two corners of the upper edge in an arc shape; the third type is the smallest, closer to a square, less than 4cm high and less than 2.5cm wide, another type of nail plate

The appearance is made into the shape of locust leaves or willow leaves.Two types of armor can be woven with the above three kinds of armor pieces, that is, the armor made of large strips of armor and the armor made of small and medium armor pieces.
Fish scale armor, in addition, there are two kinds of armors, those with or without a shawl, and cavalry mostly use the armor without a shawl.Leather armor has become a supporting role for iron armor, but it is still an important auxiliary defense
With.

[This post was last edited by Mustafa at 2006-5-20 11:53 PM]
(End of this chapter)