In August, the weather in Guanzhong is getting cooler and the autumn harvest season has begun. Golden ears of millet are swaying in the farmland everywhere.
Lieutenant Army Camp located on the outskirts of Xianyang. Zhao Tuo was wearing black narrow-sleeved clothes today and was standing at the military camp with Lieutenant Sima Guang and a group of lieutenant officers.
"This time I am borrowing the Lieutenant's venue and soldiers, and I would like to thank Brother Sima for his support." Zhao Tuo said in a gentle voice, and thanked Sima Guang.
Since the First Emperor decided on the troop strength and time of the Northern Expedition, Zhao Tuo spent more than half a month tinkering with several things in the Shaofu workshop in order to make the war go more smoothly. A weapon used by nomads to fight.
Unlike paper and block printing, this kind of military equipment, in addition to private experiments, naturally requires actual demonstrations in the army to know the specific effects.
The Qin State had very strict management of troops and horses. Zhao Tuo had no right to mobilize troops, so he approached Sima Guang, the lieutenant responsible for guarding the capital, and wanted to carry out joint cooperation between the two departments.
Sima Guang was about fifty years old. After Sima Cuo, the famous general in the reign of King Huiwen, he had been fighting in the army. Now he was the lieutenant of the Xun capital. He was in charge of the military and was also a powerful figure.
He agreed to Zhao Tuo's request very generously, and treated Zhao Tuo as a brother very close to him.
Zhao Tuo was a little surprised by Sima Guang's enthusiasm. After all, the two of them had never interacted with each other before, but he reacted quickly.
The Sima family is a veteran general of the Qin State, and many of their clansmen serve as generals in the army. This time Zhao Tuo leads the army in the northern expedition to regain Henan. There will definitely be many Sima family's children following him in the army, so Sima Guang's friendship Okay, it's a matter of course.
Today he is good to you, but tomorrow you have to be good to other people's children. This is the way of the world. Sure enough, when he heard Zhao Tuo's thanks, Sima Guang laughed and waved his hand: "Brother Zhao, you don't have to be so polite. The giant cannon you made back then was a powerful military weapon that destroyed cities and fortresses. I admire you very much. Now you have I'm looking forward to coming up with something new. Let me see it soon." Zhao Tuo nodded with a smile and asked Zhang Han, who had followed him, to bring out a horse to the school field.
"Brother Sima, please see, how is this horse different from ordinary war horses?" When everyone stepped forward, Zhao Tuo pointed at the horse and spoke.
Sima Guang raised his thick eyebrows and said, "This saddle is a little weird. It's not the saddle commonly used by our Qin army." Saddles have been around since the Warring States Period. The main body of the saddle is sewn with leather and filled with dense materials inside. It is made of animal hair, the front and rear ends of the saddle are slightly raised, and there is an abdominal belt on the lower edge to fix the horse's body. It is a soft saddle.
But Zhao Tuo felt that the saddles of this era were not enough, although they could reduce the friction between man and horse and help the knight control the horse.
However, it does not prevent people from sliding back and forth on the horse's back when the horse is exercising violently. When a knight is sitting on a horse, he can only maintain balance by clamping his legs. Over time, he will become tired and lack stability. If an impact is made, he is likely to be thrown away directly.
The saddle made by Zhao Tuo has raised wood at the front and rear ends, like a bridge, and is very low in the middle, allowing people to ride on it.
The cavalry can sit firmly on the horse's back through the two saddle bridges at the front and rear. When the horse is running, it is blocked by the two saddle bridges and it is not easy to slide back and forth.
Sima Guang was born as a general and was proficient in riding combat. He just looked at it for a while, then his eyes shone and he said with his hands: "Good thing, with this thing here, you don't have to be afraid to gallop."
"Zhang Han, let's practice for the lieutenant." Zhao Tuo said.
"Wei." Zhang Han responded loudly. Although he was a civil servant serving as the Examination Office Order, he was an authentic Guanzhong man, with a burly figure and skilled pommel and horse skills.
He held the horse's body with one hand, put his feet on a metal object hanging from the saddle, and climbed onto the horse.
Only then did Sima Guang notice that there were two round, flat-bottomed metal objects hanging down on both sides of the strange saddle.
He thought it was an accessory, but he didn't expect it to have another use.
"This thing..." Sima Guang narrowed his eyes. He noticed that when the young official stepped on the ring and mounted his horse, he was very relaxed. The effect of this thing could be seen at a glance.
After Zhang Han got on the horse, he did not put his feet out, but kept stepping on them.
"Drive!" Zhang Han roared and galloped forward in front of everyone watching. The war horse ran very fast, but Zhang Han himself didn't sway much, and he showed ease and ease. Even after slowing down, he took out the bow and arrow prepared in advance from the horse, opened the bow left and right, galloped and shot, and the arrow missed it.
Real mounted shooting. It's not about stopping the horse to shoot, or dismounting to shoot. This scene made Sima Guang look solemn. He had already realized the role of the strange saddle and the two rings for stepping on.
"Master Zhao, what's the name of this thing?" He said in a deep voice, referring to Zhao Tuo's position, which represented his solemnity on the matter.
Zhao Tuo said calmly: "The sides of the saddle are like bridges, which are called high bridge saddles. As for the things that are stepped on, they are called stirrups. With these two things, our cavalry in Da Qin can defeat Hu'er with just a period of training. ." Sima Guang nodded and said: "These two items are extremely useful for riding and shooting. With this high bridge saddle and stirrups, those barbarians may not dare to shoot against our Qin army." Zhao Tuo smiled slightly and said: "In addition to riding and shooting, it also has other great uses."
"Oh?" Sima Guang was startled. At this time, after Zhang Han finished riding and shooting, he asked his servant to get a short spear.
He galloped forward on his horse, heading straight for an archery target.
"Broken!" Zhang Han yelled. As the horse was charging, he let go of the reins, held a spear in both hands, and stabbed the target directly. The terrible force penetrated the target to pieces on the spot, shocking everyone around him. stunned.
Even Sima Guang's expression suddenly changed. He found that he still underestimated the role of the high bridge saddle and stirrups.
"This is a military artifact. Once word spreads, it will probably change the form of cavalry warfare in the future." Listening to Sima Guang's exclamation, Zhao Tuo smiled and said nothing.
Yes, when the high bridge saddle and stirrups appear, the entire world's mounted combat style will be greatly changed.
The cavalry will no longer be just an auxiliary unit used for patrolling, guarding, and harassing attacks, but will play a huge role and become a real main battle unit.
The advent of high-bridge saddles and stirrups greatly enhanced cavalry's shock tactics. Wanqi charges and crushes everything.
After a while, Zhang Han finished his drill and dismounted. Zhao Tuo showed Sima Guang another metal object.
horseshoe.
"With the presence of this thing, the wear and tear on the horse's hoofs can be reduced, so that even if it runs thousands of miles, it can be done easily." Zhao Tuo's explanation made Sima Guang shocked again.
He silently looked at the high bridge saddle on the horse's back, the stirrups hanging on the horse's belly, and the horseshoes that could be nailed to the horse's hooves.
Sima Guang shook his head and said: "Facing such a god as Shaofu Zhao, I really feel sorry for the Yuezhi and the Huns." After some admiration, Sima Guang and Zhao Tuo recruited the knights from the lieutenant's army and asked them to fight in the battle. Immediately equip a high bridge saddle and stirrups, and then conduct a drill to observe the impact of these things on ordinary cavalry.
For example, how much is the bonus for good cavalry, how much is the bonus for ordinary soldiers on horseback, etc.
The final test result is that with these two things, people with excellent riding skills will be even more powerful. Whether it is riding shooting or impact slashing, it will become very easy.
It will be easier for ordinary soldiers to learn to ride horses, and the cost of training cavalry for the Qin army will be greatly reduced.
After obtaining the test data, Zhao Tuo was full of confidence in these three things and formally wrote to the First Emperor, requesting to promote them in the army.
Lieutenant Sima Guang also wrote a letter, praising the great role of these three things and calling them
"Three Treasures of Cavalry". The First Emperor was delighted and agreed to the proposal of Shaofu Zhao Tuo. The State of Qin will mobilize knights from various border counties to prepare a large number of elite cavalry.
