Now that Zhao's troubles in northern Xinjiang have been basically eliminated, the Hu people have surrendered, and the scale of the war has expanded.
Zhao Yong realized that a unified war within China was imminent.
Through the recent changes in the attitudes of Wei and Han towards Zhao, he can basically confirm that the princes of various countries have already prepared strategies and necessary preparations for the strong rise of Zhao.
If no measures are taken, it will be Zhao who will attract all the countries to join forces to attack in the near future.
The fate of Zhao may become the next Qin.
In this era of chaotic conquests, everyone is a protagonist, and no one is willing to be a supporting role. The princes of the various countries do not want to be the jealous Duke Yu, the subjugated Zheng Bo, or the begging Wei Jun.
Be it Wei or South Korea, once allies may become mortal enemies in an instant. All friendship and hatred are for self-interest. Today you can ally with Zhao to defeat Qin, and tomorrow you can ally with Qin to defeat Zhao.
The universal unity advocated by Confucius may be realized in the distant future, but this beautiful vision must be based on cruel killings.
As for Zhao, if it wants to continue to win again and again in future wars, in addition to novel tactics, it also needs weapons and troops that are more advanced than other countries!
What Zhao Yong is most concerned about now is the casting of new weapons.
The smelting of new weapons also made him understand the importance of regulation. In the past, due to the inconsistent weapon specifications in various counties in Zhao State, the biggest impact was on the reuse rate of weapons and the allocation of resources.
For example, the simplest bow and arrow require: arrow wings, arrow shafts, and arrow clusters. These three are indispensable. However, the weapons specifications produced by Zhao State's arsenals at all levels in the past were completely different. Whenever there is a war, most of the weapons and baggage are allocated from the arsenals of counties and counties at all levels.
For example: if the arrow wings collected by Jinyang are damaged during transportation, the consequence will be that all the bows and arrows collected by Jinyang cannot be used.
Such situations are not rare. It can be said that similar emergencies will occur in every foreign war. In this backward era, the inconvenience of roads will make the transportation of baggage exponentially more difficult, not to mention sudden natural and man-made disasters.
However, if the specifications and quality are unified, then the arrow wings, shafts, and arrow clusters of Jinyang's arrows will be damaged, and the arrows of other counties can be used for matching.
This will not only reduce the scrap rate of items and increase their usability; secondly, it can also establish a more strict, standardized and efficient production process.
Nowadays, the arsenals of Zhao State at all levels have been gradually separated from the original Internal History Department and are under the jurisdiction of the Shaofu established by the new unified government.
The Department of Internal History has also gradually evolved from its initial role of sole control of national finance to its current role of governing internal history in agriculture.
The newly established Shaofu, in addition to being in charge of the finances of the royal treasury, is also in charge of the administration of hundreds of craftsmanship. The most important point is the "Zhu Ye Jian" under the Shaofu, which is responsible for the military and peasantry of the country.
The empire's superstructure has undergone earth-shaking changes, and the highest-ranking officials in charge of the arsenal at all levels have also changed from the original Prime Minister to the chief of Shang Fang Ling and Zhu Ye Jian, who had a 600-stone ate.
Divide the rights of subordinates and increase the central government's coordination with local governments; change the land self-sufficiency system to a salary system to increase officials' dependence on the empire.
Zhao Yong naturally knew the benefits of unifying weights and measures, but the actual implementation was not as easy as imagined. In fact, he had been working hard on it since the renovation of the stirrups in the past. However, there were too many things to consider at that time, and the control issue could only be put on hold for the time being.
Only now, after several years, has the reform been initially completed.
Zhao Yong reviewed the weapons baggage prepared by the Ministry of War for transportation. The regulations of the equipment did not have any fundamental changes to what Zhao Jun used during the "Battle of Hangu". What was improved was the production system that was not yet mature at the time.
The arrows and gun shafts used to have inconsistent sizes and were troublesome to use. Nowadays, all county arsenals have uniformly used the size standards and casting techniques issued by the Shaofu.
In addition, there are more than ten memorials on the improvement of saddles, improvements in horse armor, and the elimination of bronze weapons, which are also mixed with several pictures painted on silk paper.
As the saying goes, "To shoot a man, shoot a horse first; to capture a thief, capture the king first." War horses are the most important weapons for cavalry. Therefore, war horses naturally become the focus of the enemy's care on the battlefield.
Through the analysis of the three battles: the Battle of Jinyang, the Battle of Hangu, and the Battle of Exterminating Hu, Zhao Yong found that the biggest cause of cavalry damage was that knights were easily killed by war horses.
Although the new cavalry has just appeared in the sights of various countries, the use of war horses has appeared on a large scale as early as the Yin and Shang Dynasties, which mainly focused on chariot warfare.
The enemy may not know how to correctly resist these powerful new cavalry brigades, but relying on their past combat experience in vehicle battles, the 'horses' have become their breakthrough point.
Although the cavalry of Zhao State had protective gear, due to the lack of experience of the craftsmen at first, they could only make simple modifications imitating the leather armor used for "chariot horses" in the past. Although the effect is poor, it is better than nothing.
However, as countries attach great importance to cavalry, the number of defensive methods against cavalry has naturally increased. There are various tricks such as spear formations and horse-repelling stakes.
In the Battle of Hangu, the Qin State initially used a phalanx of spears and horse-repelling stakes to withstand the charge of Zhao's cavalry brigade. If it had not been for the mobility of the cavalry, the outcome of the battle would have been uncertain. It can be known.
Zhao Yong now urgently needs a cavalry that can charge into battle to exert the greatest deterrent of the cavalry on the battlefield.
The greatest role of his cavalry is to charge into battle and defeat the enemy's morale with its indomitable momentum.
Long-handled cavalry and lances are not for display.
Although it is very difficult to install armor, as the country with the most developed iron smelting in this era, the craftsmen of Zhao State have initially completed the smelting of horse armor after years of immersion.
Looking at the vivid harnesses on the silk book, Zhao Yong's eyes couldn't help but become a little fiery.
If such an armored cavalry is formed, it will be a devastating blow to the armies of various countries that are mainly infantry.
But when he saw the rows of seal characters below the picture, his heart sank.
The armor probably consists of seven parts: the 'face curtain' that protects the horse's head, the 'neck armor' that protects the horse's neck, the 'chest' that protects the horse's chest, the 'horse body armor' that protects the torso, and the 'horse body armor' that protects the horse's buttocks. The "horseback" and the "horseback" that stand on the tail and the "leg guards" that protect the horse's legs make the whole body of the war horse protected by armor except for the exposed ears, eyes, mouth, nose and tail.
However, with the current national strength of Zhao State, it is really unaffordable to produce tens of thousands of horse armors.
However, it is not difficult to form an elite team.
However, face curtains, neck armor, and breastplates are essential for light riding.
We can only make temporary choices.
The improvement of the saddle is not that complicated. It just changes the once padded saddle into a high bridge saddle, which further improves the rider's balance ability on the horse's back.
Of course, if it were not for Zhao Yong's promotion and the general trend of history was allowed to develop, the appearance of the Takahashi saddle would have to be at least a few hundred years later.
As for the memorial proposing to eliminate bronze weapons, it was not promoted by Zhao Yong.
In fact, at least half of the weapons and armor currently smelted by Zhao are made of iron.
Except for Qin, the situation of most of the other vassal states is similar to that of Zhao. In addition to the cost itself, the maturity of the technology is also the fundamental reason.
Compared with iron, bronze weapons are brittle, hard, easy to break, and difficult to forge.
Especially on the battlefield, bronze weapons are too rigid and can easily cause damage.
Iron weapons, on the other hand, are as sharp as bronze weapons, and have a flexible steel body that is stronger than bronze.
Especially with the increasingly sophisticated iron smelting technology, Zhao's steel casting level has reached a new height. The elimination of bronze weapons has also become a general trend.
As for the transformation of weapons, especially for cavalry weapons, the original short sword will be completely replaced by a long sword.
The current standard equipment of the Zhao Guoqi Brigade: a gun, a crossbow, a bow, and a sword. In terms of equipment, it can be said that it is armed to the teeth. Crossbows are used for long-distance harassment, lances are used for charging, and swords are used for slashing. However, the lance will basically be released after the first round of charging, and the sword becomes the main killing weapon. However, because the sword is double-sided, It has a sharp blade, and the chopping action is very unfavorable for fighting on the horse, and it is easy to break, which is very disadvantageous in roundabout battles with cavalry.
Zhao Yong has experienced that feeling personally.
The knife is different. It has a single-edged edge and a thick spine, making it difficult to break and making it easier to cut.
Zhao Yongfu rubbed his neatly trimmed beard on his chin, thought for a moment, picked up a pen, and began to sketch on the silk drawings drawn by the craftsman.
The first thing to do is to lengthen the blade and change the marked two feet to three feet. Secondly, add a ring at the end of the handle to make it more stable for the knight to connect the noose and hang the hand to hack.
Not long after, a lifelike ring-headed sword was presented on the silk.
Putting down his pen, Zhao Yong nodded with satisfaction and said to himself: "As the saying goes, if a worker wants to do his job well, he must first sharpen his tools."
The palace attendants standing by heard him speak and quickly paid attention. But Zhao Yong has nothing more to say.
For Zhao Guo, the reform and unification of regulations and the use of new weapons are only the first step.
Its war potential is exploding.
…
Zhao State annexed the Hu region and added new counties and counties, although this was not very good news to the princes of other countries.
But at this time, they seemed to have no time to care.
In February in Yingdu, Jiangcheng, the warm breeze has spread throughout the streets and alleys. At the end of the beards and alleys, tea orchids are fragrant and blue birds are singing. Farmers holding baskets and taking advantage of the early spring are busy in the paddy fields.
The land of Chu is full of peace and harmony.
People seemed completely unaware of the killing and murderous aura emanating from the luxurious palace in the distance.
"Clang!"
In the main hall of King Chu, Xiong Huai had an evil look on his face, and the alliance letter in his hand was torn into pieces by him.
"Qin State! Liuli! How can this be true? How can it be true? It's really too much!" Xiong Huai's body trembled slightly in anger and he threw out the bamboo pieces in his hand.
Qu Yuan stood in the audience, closed his eyes and sighed: "Your Majesty! I have long said that the Qin State has no faith, and Zhang Yi has no faith. It seems that this is not the first time that he has made empty promises and regretted them later."
Hearing this, Xiong Huai frowned deeply and said, "I regret not listening to Zuo Tu's words."
He turned and shouted angrily at the audience: "Jin Shang, Chen Zhen, why don't you speak! I have been deceived! Chu State has been deceived!"
Jin Shang wiped his hands with cold sweat and had already greeted Zhang Yi's parents in his heart. It was true that he accepted bribes, but he did not expect that Zhang Yi would be so bold.
Hearing the King of Chu's roll call, he gritted his teeth and said: "Your Majesty, please calm down. Although our Chu army was deceived this time, our Chu army did not suffer much losses. Although the land of Shang Yu was not obtained, the Qin State He also bears the reputation of being unfaithful. At this time, if we, Chu, unite with the three Jins again, we will surely take revenge!"
Xiong Huai glared at Jin Shang, turned to the palace attendant and shouted: "Go and call the envoys to Chu and Qin. Chu is going to declare war on Qin!"
"Your Majesty, it is not appropriate to declare war with Qin at this time." Chen Zhen quickly stood up and bowed.
Xiong Huai stared at Chen Zhen and said bitterly: "When Zhang Yi bullied Chu, you didn't say anything, but now you have something to say? If you dare to say more, I will kill you!"
Chen Zhen shook his head and said solemnly: "I am not afraid of death. Even if the king kills me, I will say it!"
"I will help you! Someone..." Xiong Huai said sharply.
"Your Majesty, you might as well listen to what your guest has to say, and it won't be too late to convict him." Qu Yuan, who was born at this time, advised his superior.
He would like to hear what other flowers the other party can say at this time.
"Say!" Xiong Huai squeezed out a word from between his teeth.
Chen Zhen raised his head, bowed to Qu Yuan first, and then looked up and said: "The reason why Qin did not return the two places of Shang to Chu was entirely because the Qin army that conquered Yiqu returned to Xianyang, and the border resisted the Three Kingdoms. The Qin army of Jin can already evacuate. On the other hand, our Chu state has offended Wei and Han by breaking alliances and insulting people. How can the three Jin states at this time still be willing to join us in conquering Qin? I thought, we, Chu If there is a war, we should attack Qi at this time."
Qu Yuan squinted at Chen Zhen and sneered after a while.
Just listen to Chen Zhen continue: "Although the Qi State has an alliance with Chu, the King of Qi values profits and has been trying to push the border to the Huaisi line. He has repeatedly invaded Chu. Now he is taking advantage of Chu to attack Yue. During the war, he openly betrayed his alliance and attacked Ju. Your Majesty, at this time, Chu has lost its best opportunity to attack Qin. If we attack Qin rashly, we may unite Qi and Qin. Chu State is defeated by the two countries!"
"This ungrateful Tian Ziqi! Fortunately, the late king took him in and gave him land." Xiong Huai muttered and cursed.
Then he said in a disdainful tone: "Qi and Qin, these two treacherous countries are going to fight. I, Chu, have millions of soldiers, and I am not afraid of Qin and Qi! Qi wants to fight, and Qin wants to fight even more. I hate Qin and bully Chu." , even more hateful than Qi!"
"Your Majesty." Chen Zhen tried to persuade.
Xiong Huai said sternly: "Shut up!" I have made up my mind and order the three armies to attack Qin from now on! Anyone who dares to speak out to stop the war will be killed! "
