Ming Empire

Chapter 50
It was already the beginning of November, and the severe cold in the north was also coming amidst Cao Yue's busy schedule.

The first snow in Datong drifted down with another cold wave.

This time the cold air was very strong, and the howling north wind blew all night and one day, and it began to snow in the evening.In just one night, heavy snow covered the earth with a thick silver dress, and there was a vast expanse of space everywhere.

The snow has brought great inconvenience to the lives of the people, and it has also caused a lot of trouble to Cao Yue's military training plan.

However, the heavy snow also brought inspiration to Cao Yue. Facing the vast snow field, he thought of skiing and sledding.

In later generations, the group army Cao Yue served was stationed in northern Xinjiang, where the winter was very cold, and the snow was often as high as half a person.Roads are blocked by heavy snow in winter, cars and motorcycles are basically useless, and horses can be used, but the best tool for traveling on snow is skis.

Soldiers with good skiing skills can easily patrol and perform tasks on the snow with skis.

There are also sleds, which are pulled by trained short-legged dogs to run, which is more convenient than modern means of transportation.

Although it is stated that there were no factories manufacturing ski equipment in the dynasty, Cao Yue, who grew up in the Northeast and started skiing at a young age, is confident that he can make ski equipment by hand.When he saw the snow falling and his inspiration came out, Cao Yue planned to train a team of men and horses who could use ski equipment to gallop on the snow. They could travel hundreds of miles a day without using horses, and they might succeed. The legend of the battlefield.

Action is worse than excitement, Cao Yue immediately started making ski equipment, including ski poles and snowboards.According to memory, Cao Yue asked people to build several pairs of skis and ski poles out of solid birch.The sled is very well made, and it only needs a small resistance when sliding in the snow.

The craftsmanship of the craftsmen in the Ming Dynasty was still good. In just half a day, they produced dozens of snowboards that Cao Yueting was satisfied with.Ski poles are relatively simple and do not require special craftsmanship.

After the skis were made, Cao Yue also planned to test them himself.If there is no problem with the skis, he will start with his own servants and teach the soldiers how to ski.The winter in the north is very long, and Cao Yue is confident that a large number of people in the army will learn to ski after one winter.Didn't Jiannu live in the so-called white mountains and black waters?

The heavy snow eventually turned into a blizzard, and it took two days and two nights for it to slowly subside.

After the snowfall became smaller, Cao Yue left the city with the [-] Ding troops who remained by his side, preparing to go to practice skiing.

There were originally 700 members of Cao Yue's family army. After he came to Datong, he arranged nearly [-] of them who were good in all aspects to serve as officers and teachers in the army.In this way, he can gradually grasp the entire Datong army in his hands.

After braving the severe cold and leaving the city, Cao Yue found a slope with a slightly undulating terrain.After getting off the horse and walking to the high place on the slope, Cao Yue ordered two soldiers to tie up the skis for him.The two already knew what Cao Yue was going to do, and they happily strapped up their skis according to Cao Yue's instructions, and handed over the ski poles in their hands to Cao Yue.They were eager to see how Cao Yue used these simple tools to run across the snow.

Everything was ready, under the curious gazes of the crowd, Cao Yue lifted his ski-bound feet and walked slowly forward.After trying his body balance and the smoothness of the skis, Cao Yue stood still on the edge of the high slope.

There was a gentle slope stretching down in front of him. Cao Yue half-squatted his body and used the ski pole in his hand to support it twice.Taking advantage of the difference in terrain and the strength in his hands, Cao Yue slowly slid down the hillside.

Cao Yue's body balance was well maintained. Although everything was unfamiliar, including the ski equipment and the terrain, he only took two staggers before his body maintained his balance. The whole person began to slide along the terrain, and began to Accelerate slowly.

Seeing Cao Yue gliding quickly on the snow with such a simple tool, the servants couldn't help applauding.

Some people are eager to try, wanting to gallop across the snow with two boards like Cao Yue.

Under the watchful eyes of all the servants, Cao Yue, who slowly found his senses, began to speed up.Snow foam splashed, and snow dust flew up behind Cao Yue.

After speeding up to a higher ground with a steeper slope, Cao Yue expressed his high desire. When he rushed over the top of the slope, he kicked hard, followed by a somersault, and landed safely after turning around in the air. And continue to slide at a very fast speed.

The servants who were watching the bustle looked straight, and there was an earth-shattering applause, and a few small animals that came out of the woods in the distance to look for food ran away in shock.

After skating for about half an hour, Cao Yue ended his performance. After skating quickly back to the starting point, he stopped in front of the servant with a beautiful emergency stop. "Master, you are so powerful that you can fly on the snow."

"General, your skiing skills amazed us. Quickly teach us too? Haha, it's so exciting!"

“Wish we would do this too!”

The servants were very excited, Cao Yue also stood up with the support of two soldiers, and began to talk about how to ski.

How to keep your body balanced and not let yourself fall, how to use your strength so that you can slide faster.

One afternoon passed, and more than [-] sergeants in Cao Yue's family had already started skiing.After a few more days of practice, Cao Yue believes that they will be able to fly on the snow with two skis, and even shoot with bows or guns.

As long as there are enough ski equipment, Cao Yue believes that he can train a team that can be highly mobile on the snowy field.

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Ten miles outside Datong City, at the North Camp of Datong, Lieutenant Qing Qing and Zhu Yang are having a drink.

The weather was extremely cold, the snow covered the outside, and the training was temporarily suspended. They were able to sneak away for half a day, hiding by the fire and drinking.

Alcohol is not allowed in the army. Although the two are expensive lieutenants, they dare not openly violate military discipline, so they can only hide and drink secretly.

"Brother Zhu, we, General Cao, seem to be really not a simple person. In just over a month, we have trained fifty thousand new recruits to look good." Zhu Yang said: "And the skiing skills he has just started to promote are really admirable."

After Zhu Yang and Gao Gao touched the wine glasses, he poured the wine into his throat, and echoed: "Brother Gao is right, Cao Zongbing is really not simple, he is extraordinary, no wonder he was able to lead more than a thousand troops to break through Sheng Jing, who was a slave, retreated completely. At the beginning, I thought he was just lucky, but now it seems that it is because of his ability. If we were given a chance, we would definitely not be able to succeed in one blow like him and completely solve the problem. After passing the siege of Songshan and Jinzhou, I can lead most of the troops to retreat safely. I think this skiing skill is also very useful. In this kind of weather, it is very inconvenient to ride a horse. If you can learn to glide quickly, you can also come and go in the snow Ziroom. I think Cao Zongbing's plan is to train a team proficient in skiing, and then take advantage of the heavy snow to attack Jiannu again."

"A tiger father has no dogs," Gao Qing sighed from the bottom of his heart, drank the wine in his glass again, hesitated, and said as if talking to himself: "Vice President Wu wants to deal with President Cao, and he is a bit overconfident. what!"

Seeing what Gao Qing said, Zhu Yang was shocked, and after thinking for a while, he asked in a low voice: "Brother Gao, do you think Mr. Cao will be wary of us and Mr. Wu who is behind the scenes? If Mr. Wu tells you Will he be unlucky after the imperial certificate?"

After thinking about it seriously, Gao Qing said: "General Cao is so shrewd, he must have thought that the imperial court sent us here to restrain him, he must be wary of us, maybe he has been watching, Vice President Wu will do something What, he may also be aware of it. Long live Lord also holds him in high regard, and will not easily convict him just because of a report letter from Vice President Wu without evidence. !"

"You mean, we shouldn't frame General Cao together with Vice President Wu?"

After thinking for a while, Gao Qing didn't answer Zhu Yang's question directly, but said with emotion: "Nowadays, there are not many outstanding generals like Cao Zongbing. He dared to lead more than a thousand troops to attack Shengjing and build slaves' lairs." I am afraid that there are only one generals who are ready!"

Zhu Yang heard Mo Ran, and didn't say anything else!
(End of this chapter)