At the end of July, the sun hangs high in the middle of the blue sky, reluctantly exuding its last scorching heat.
News of the war situation in various countries has not yet reached Handan. Zhao Yong was at the Beiying Campus at this time, inspecting the batch of saddle saddles that had just been forged from the arsenal and the new saddle saddles with stirrups installed.
In fact, the saddle has not changed much, except that two pedals are made of cowhide on the side and sewn together, but the function is indeed completely different from before.
One thousand guns and one thousand stirrups are enough to organize a large cavalry brigade.
For this reason, Zhao Yong specially selected a suitable commander for this upcoming independent cavalry brigade...
Pang Nuan was standing under the scorching sun, nervously watching his monarch galloping ahead.
In the spacious school grounds, Zhao Yongzheng rode a green-maned horse with a bow and an arrow.
The effect of this stirrup was unexpectedly good. Just now, Zhao Yong went from twisting to pick up the arrow, to picking the string and aiming, which greatly increased his flexibility compared to usual. He didn't even feel any effort in the set of movements. Without the help of stirrups, he would never be able to complete this set of movements smoothly on horseback.
Silk beads of sweat dripped silently from Zhao Yong's forehead. His eyes were slightly narrowed, aiming at the target in front of him. The horse galloped past from the side, and a warm south wind blew through his bun. "Whoosh" the sharp arrow pierced the air! Because of the excessive force, the bow string bounced back on Zhao Yong's wrist guard, making a clear sound of 'waves'.
Sure enough, the arrow missed the target.
When Zhao Yong dismounted, a group of generals and ministers hurriedly surrounded him.
Fortunately, there were no ordinary soldiers on the campus at this time. If they saw their king making a fool of himself, Zhao Yong would be embarrassed.
However, Zhao Yong did not intend to show off in front of everyone. He laughed and said: "Although I am diligent in bow shooting, I seem to have a unique way of riding and shooting. If I am not good at it, all the ministers will laugh..."
After everyone heard this, they hurriedly bowed and worshiped, but did not dare to shout.
Pang Nuan stepped forward and bowed: "Your Majesty, you are so humble. You just showed me the wrong way of riding and shooting..."
The young general hurriedly pulled Pang Nuan's sleeve from behind, but the person involved didn't seem to realize the irony in his words.
When Zhao Yong heard these words, he couldn't help but twitch the corners of his mouth and glanced at him. This guy was thrown into Wucheng for half a year. He seems to have grown taller and his face has darkened a lot. At this time, Pang Nuan is wearing armor and has a smile on his face, but he still doesn't seem to have learned how to flatter him correctly. What he said It still makes people feel so uncomfortable.
Captain Zhang Yuan bowed his head and flattered respectfully: "Riding and shooting are not ordinary things, but a skill. The king is not yet crowned, but he can already swing his arms like a master, and is proficient in the six arts. The king's martial arts are comparable to those of Yao and Shun in ancient times." !”
Zhao Yong nodded slightly and glanced at Pang Nuan to see how well he could talk. But he didn't blame Pang Nuan, after all, this guy always had such a mouth.
"Since you are good at riding and shooting, why don't you teach me some lessons." Zhao Yong continued to Pang Nuan.
After hearing this, Pang Nuan hurriedly bowed and said: "Since the king is good at foot shooting, it is not difficult to shoot from a horse. As long as you find the right posture and become more proficient, it will be no different from shooting arrows on the ground as usual... But you have to get the posture right first. Please allow me to test it for the king."
Zhao Yong nodded slightly and asked the guards to lead a horse.
"Yu!" Pang Nuan kicked the horse and ran, but it seemed that he had not yet adapted to the convenience brought by the stirrups. When mounting the horse, he still used a clumsy method of exerting force from his waist.
But after all, Pang Nuan has been on the battlefield all year round and is good at riding. He quickly figured out the correct way to use stirrups. He put his combat boots into the stirrups, shifted his focus from his legs to the soles of his feet, and his posture changed from sitting between legs. The horse's belly becomes completely straddling the horse's back.
Pang Nuan continued to run around the school grounds twice, rushing past an archery target. When he was forty or fifty steps away, he immediately turned his upper body slightly and sat up straight. His arms drew the bow calmly and rhythmically. I saw the arrow flying diagonally with a "swish" sound, as if it was floating, but it hit the bull's-eye immediately as if I had eyes.
Zhao Yong couldn't help but praise when he saw this: "Good! Good shot!"
Looking at the horse sprinting, the stretched body lines of the horse, the leisurely movements of the knight... are full of a kind of power and beauty that is different from the softness of women, and it is more beautiful than dancing.
He immediately felt yearning for it. In fact, as a king of a country, the level of martial arts is only the same. Even if he is on the battlefield, he will not charge alone. However, as a king known for his martial arts, he has a warlike nature in his bones. Seeing this A superb riding skill that I instinctively want to learn.
Zhao Yong looked hesitant to try. He felt that he already had a good foundation in rifle shooting, so it shouldn't be difficult to learn riding and shooting. Moreover, as the king of Zhao State, if he can play a leading role in this way, it will be of great help to him in reforming the "Hufu Cavalry and Shooting".
Seeing Pang Nuan riding back, Zhao Yong asked first, "How do you feel about this stirrup? Is it different from before?"
Pang Nuan said with a smile: "I was not lucky at first, but when I put my feet in these stirrups, my legs can relax, and the power of my arms can be used more freely. This time, I only used half of the usual strength to shoot the bow." strength."
The other ministers were secretly surprised after hearing this, and Zhang Yuan and several generals looked eager to give it a try.
Zhao Yong nodded slightly, very satisfied with everyone's expressions, and then ordered the guards to bring in the horses that had been prepared so that all the generals could experience the convenience brought by the stirrups.
"I want to form a brigade composed entirely of cavalry. Do you think it is feasible?"
Fei Yi bowed his head and said: "Riding is good at disturbing and attacking. Now that we have added stirrups, we may be able to charge head-on into the military formation. I think it is feasible. Your Majesty is wise!"
After hearing Fei Yi's words, Zhao Yan, the official of the Gong family, immediately asked: "Does the king want to use cavalry as the main battle force?"
Zhao Yong glanced at the old man and said a little unhappy: "What do you think is wrong?"
This time, all the ministers and nobles were summoned to perform martial arts together. They wanted to use this as an excuse to weaken the resistance of the ministers of the Zhao Kingdom to different clothes. Unexpectedly, it was the old guy Zhao Yan who came to disrupt the situation.
Zhao Yan nodded and said, "My fine clothes are not conducive to riding on horseback and leading a battle... I hope your Majesty will think again."
Led by Zhao Yan, some conservatives also understood what Zhao Yong meant. They knelt on the ground and said, "Don't surrender easily. I hope your Majesty will think twice!"
Zhao Yong cursed secretly, lowered his head and glanced at the opponents: Zhao Yan, the Zongzheng of the Zhao family, Niu Zan, the captain of Changbei Nanying School, Zhao Wen, Zhao Jun, and Zhao Huai, the sons of the Zhao family.
Among them, the Zhao clan was the most fiercely opposed. Zhao Yong knew that his good third uncle Zhao Cheng was behind this. Thinking about it, if Zhao Cheng had not been sent to Wei State, he would have been the first one to stand up and object at this time.
This is also an important reason why Zhao Yong has been unable to make a painful decision.
