It is no exaggeration to say that as long as they do not encounter the heavy armored infantry of the Western Army that is several times their own, these more than 500 elite heavy armored cavalry are almost invincible in the Song Dynasty.
If we want to force an analogy, the heavy armored cavalry of this era is equivalent to the tanks of later World War I.
Strong is really strong, but expensive is also really damn expensive.
Even if all costs are put aside, the daily maintenance of the war horse alone is a huge expense.
Do war horses need daily training?
Once trained, enough concentrated feed and salt water must be supplemented every day, otherwise the horse will become useless in a few days, let alone gain weight.
And war horses have huge appetites. The amount of refined grain consumed by a war horse in one day is equivalent to three to five Qingzhou Army soldiers.
There are more than a thousand war horses, plus more than a thousand pack horses and walking horses. How much does it cost just to eat, drink and have sex?
Secondly, soldiers have to drill and take night classes, so they don't have much time to take care of their horses.
Therefore, it is necessary to spend money to hire professional grooms to take care of them. Each cavalry must be equipped with at least two people, one groom and one handyman.
Only in this way can the war horses be taken care of properly.
The groom's food, drink and salary are another expense.
In other words, the daily maintenance cost of these more than 500 heavy armored cavalry, not counting the cost, is as high as 7,000 to 8,000 guan each month.
Moreover, the load of heavy cavalry is very heavy, and the loss of horses is much higher than that of light cavalry.
These seven or eight thousand guan are due to Han Zhen's introduction of horseshoes, which effectively protected the soles of the war horses and greatly reduced the wear and tear of the war horses. Otherwise, the monthly cost would have exceeded 10,000 guan.
A heavy cavalry force of 5,000 men costs 100,000 guan in a month and a million guan in a year. Who can withstand this?
There is no shortage of horses in Xixia, but after so many years, Tie Yaozi has maintained at 3,000 people.
To put it bluntly, it’s all about money.
Three thousand is Xixia's limit, and it can't afford any more!
A quarter of an hour later, Liu Qi stood up and said: "Put on your armor and change your horse!"
More than five hundred cavalrymen put on heavy armor, carried swords and guns, and got on their horses.
When all the cavalry were ready, Liu Qi waved his hand and took the lead in setting up his horse and running towards the official road ahead.
Boom!
The galloping momentum of more than five hundred heavy cavalry and more than a thousand horses was extremely frightening.
What puzzled Liu Qi was that the army in front did not react at all to this movement.
After running for two miles, I didn't see a single spy along the way.
Lao Jiu couldn't help but sigh: "I never thought that the Wuwei Army would be so corrupted."
It is a well-known fact that the Forbidden Army in the Song Dynasty was corrupt, but it was still beyond the imagination of Yuan Laojiu, the Western Army, to such an extent.
This has lost the basic quality of an army.
It wasn't until they were less than 500 meters away from the army that the sound of galloping horse hooves finally attracted the attention of the armed guards.
"Cavalry! It's cavalry!"
"Run!"
When the Zhenhai soldiers who were responsible for escorting the grain, grass and baggage saw the dark cavalry from a distance, their first reaction was not to form a guard formation, nor to report to the superior.
Instead, run away!
I saw hundreds of Zhenhai soldiers running towards the mountains and forests on both sides of the official road with frightened expressions.
Well, he's not stupid enough to know how to run into the woods.
Seeing this scene, Liu Qi suddenly laughed.
Not happy, but angry and laughing.
Once the Jin people go south, do you expect such an army to stop the Jin people who are like wolves and tigers?
…
Sitting on a luxurious carriage belonging to the Chinese army, Luo Sha leaned against the carriage and ate wine out of boredom.
Yu Chaohuan, who was sitting opposite, held a few copper coins in his hands and shook them excitedly.
As the hands continued to shake, the copper coins collided together, making a jingling sound.
After shaking for a while, Yu Chaohuan stopped and said with a smile on his face: "Brother Luo, take a guess!"
"One hundred coins, two backs!"
Luo Sha took out a hundred coins from his pocket and threw it on the table.
The two of them played a game called Guan Pu, which was the most popular gambling method in the Song Dynasty.
From the princes and nobles to the traffickers and pawns, there is no one who can't play.
The rules of the game are very simple. One person sits on the bank, chooses one to several copper coins, and then shakes them in his hand or in a bowl. If he guesses how many copper coins are on the back, he wins.
How popular is Guanpu?
When shopping in the city, if you come across something you like, but you don’t have enough money with you. At this time, you can ask the boss to play Guan Po. If you win, you will get the goods for free. If you lose, you will keep your money.
And most of the time, the shopkeepers will agree.
One can imagine how much people in the Song Dynasty loved Guan Pu.
Hearing this, Yu Chaohuan opened the palm of his hand and revealed five copper coins.
Seeing that three of them were on the back, he immediately laughed proudly: "Brother Luo, you lost again!"
Hearing this, a trace of disdain flashed in Luo Sha's eyes, but he said: "Brother Yu is really lucky. If this continues, I'm afraid I will lose all my family wealth before I live long."
He is now doing tens of thousands of yuan in business at a time, and he is no longer interested in this little fuss.
If Yu Chaohuan hadn't insisted on pulling him to play, he wouldn't have wanted to play at all.
Besides, how could Luo Sha not see that Yu Chaohuan had been cheating, but he didn't expose it for the sake of face.
I used to think that Yu Chaohuan had a certain pattern, but looking at it now, I can't get on the stage after all.
Yu Chaohuan was afraid that he would stop playing, so he hurriedly said: "Feng Shui is changing, I don't think Brother Luo will change his fortune soon."
Ah!
Luo Sha sneered in his heart.
"Enemy attack, enemy attack!"
Suddenly, I heard bursts of heart-piercing roars coming from outside the carriage.
Immediately afterwards, the rumble of horse hooves was faintly heard.
cavalry!
And there are a large number of cavalry!
The expressions of the two people suddenly changed, and their eyes were full of horror.
At this moment, Yuhou, a member of the Wuwei Army, came to the car window on horseback, cupped his fists and said: "Commander, there are a large number of heavy armored cavalry coming from behind!"
Yu Chaohuan asked hurriedly: "But dare to Chijun?"
"I don't know!"
"How many people are there on the other side?"
"I don't know!"
Seeing his confused look, Yu Chao was filled with joy and anger. He raised his hand and slapped Yu Hou on the face, scolding: "Give me my order and form a formation to meet the enemy!"
"I humbly obey my orders!"
Marquis Yu hurriedly responded and ordered the soldiers to form formation.
After the instructions were given, Yu Chaohuan and Luo Sha also got off the carriage. After calling their personal guards, they hurriedly began to put on armor on their bodies.
After charging to a distance of less than 200 meters from the army, Liu Qi tightened the reins and controlled the horse to stop.
I saw tens of thousands of soldiers in front shouting and neighing, in complete chaos.
This means meeting them. If they are really enemies, it only takes one charge and this army of tens of thousands of people will collapse in an instant.
Liu Qi clasped his hands on his chest and watched coldly.
After waiting for a full quarter of an hour, the armed guards reluctantly formed a battle formation.
In the eyes of Liu Qi and others, this battle formation was full of loopholes.
Only then did he order: "Lao Jiu, go and call Luo Sha and the others!"
"Got the order!"
Lao Jiu responded with his fists clasped, and rushed forward on his horse.
At this time, Wu Weijun had also come to his senses.
This group of heavy cavalry did not launch a charge immediately. Instead, they quietly waited for them to form a formation a hundred meters away. They were obviously not enemies.
Therefore, when he saw Lao Jiu coming with his horse alone, Du Yuhou did not order to fire arrows, but asked loudly: "Which army are you a soldier?"
Lao Jiu did not answer, but said loudly: "On the orders of Zhao Zhizhou and Liu Tongpan, we came to take over the armed guards and let you command them."
Hearing this, Marquis Yu was shocked.
Take over the Wuwei Army?
"Just wait."
After saying this, Marquis Du Yu turned around and marched towards the Chinese army.
Not long after, Yu Chaohuan and Luo Sha came wearing iron armor and setting up horses.
The moment he saw Lao Jiu, Luo Sha felt a chill in his heart.
Others don't recognize it, but he does.
He had been to Linzi County a lot in the past few days. Although he didn't remember Lao Jiu's name, he looked very familiar.
For a moment, Luo Sha's mind raced.
Is it possible that Han Zhen was recruited?
But then I thought about it, something was wrong. Han Zhen's posture didn't look like he would be recruited.
Which rebel who is ready to be recruited will spend ten times the price to buy war horses, infantry armor, or even divine arm crossbows?
It was obvious that he was going to rebel.
Could it be...
hiss!
Luo Sha suddenly thought of a possibility and couldn't help but take a breath.
Yu Chaohuan on the side did not notice anything strange about him. At the moment, his attention was on the heavy cavalry a hundred meters away.
Even from hundreds of meters away, you can feel a fierce and fierce aura.
The cavalry were tall and strong, and their dark heavy armor reflected bursts of cold light in the sun. Even the horses under their crotches were covered in thick armor.
When did Qingzhou have such an elite heavy cavalry?
What's even more frightening is that he, the commander of the Horse and Budu of the Armed Guards, doesn't know anything about it.
After glancing at the two of them, Lao Jiu asked, "Are you the commander of the Armed Guards?"
"Exactly!"
Yu Chaohuan couldn't figure out the opponent's identity, and the hundreds of heavy cavalry at the rear were intimidating, so he didn't dare to trust him.
Lao Jiu greeted: "Follow me!"
At this moment, Luo Sha said with a smile: "Is County Magistrate Han in front of you?"
Lao Jiu naturally recognized Luo Sha, so he replied: "The county magistrate did not come in person. This time it is Battalion Commander Liu!"
Luo Sha raised his eyebrows: "It was Xiaoya Nei who came in person."
Yu Chaohuan was confused when he heard this, and asked in a lowered voice: "Which small office?"
"Liu Zhongwu's youngest son."
Luo Sha whispered.
"Why did Liu Jiedu's son come to Qingzhou? Could it be that the Western Army has arrived?" Yu Chaohuan was confused at this moment, with countless doubts popping up in his mind.
Seeing the two people talking in low voices, Lao Jiu shouted loudly: "What are you waiting for? Are you trying to disobey me?"
Wow!
Hearing the word "disobedience", the heavy cavalry in the rear raised their spears and assumed a posture of charging into the formation.
This movement frightened all the soldiers of the armed guards.
Yu Chaohuan swallowed and asked cautiously: "Is there any transfer order document?"
Lao Jiu replied: "Of course!"
Hearing this, Luo Sha and Yu Chaohuan looked at each other, each led a group of soldiers, mounted their horses and walked out of the military formation.
Following Lao Jiu, Yu Chaohuan asked in a whisper as quiet as a mosquito: "Where are these people, Brother Luo, from?"
He is not stupid. Judging from Luo Sha's reaction just now, he must recognize these people.
Luo Sha smiled bitterly and said, "This matter is a long story. Brother Yu should first think about how to get through this."
While talking, everyone came to Liu Qi.
Liu Qi didn't waste any time, took out the transfer document from his arms and threw it over.
Yu Chaohuan hurriedly caught it, opened it, and looked at it carefully.
The handwriting is Zhao Ting's, and there are the official seals of Zhizhou and Tongpan below.
Obviously, this transfer document is genuine.
Liu Qi straightened his face and said coldly, imitating Han Zhen's tone: "I will take over the Wuwei and Zhenhai armies from now on, and I will serve as the unified commander for the time being. Do you two understand?"
"I understand!"
Without any hesitation, Luo Sha answered immediately.
Yu Chaohuan looked hesitant.
Although this transfer letter is true, there is something strange about it, and there is obviously something fishy.
Seeing the hesitation on his face, Liu Qi's eyes flashed with murderous intent, and he said in a serious tone: "Yu Chaohuan, do you want to disobey me?"
"This... I understand!"
Yu Chaohuan was startled and responded quickly.
The other party has no hidden murderous intention at all. If he dares to question it, he will be killed immediately.
At this moment, he was willing to risk everything and save his life first.
Anyway, this transfer order document is true, and he is acting under orders. Even if something happens, the court will not be able to blame him.
Tsk!
Liu Qi curled his lips, feeling a little disappointed.
He also wanted to kill a chicken to scare the monkeys, and use Yu Chaohuan's head to frighten the Wu Wei Army, but in the end this guy turned out to be so cowardly.
"Let's go and take over the army with our lord!"
Liu Qi waved his hand and led the cavalry battalion towards the army.
When he came to the military formation, his first order was for the entire army to rest for a day.
Changing generals on the spot is a taboo, so he needs to spend some time getting familiar with and controlling the armed guards.
Even if you can't use your arms and fingers, at least you can't be in a mess like just now.
Nie Dong just set off today. Even if he went into battle lightly, it would take at least three or four days to get around to the rear of Shouguang County, so Liu Qi had enough time.
As military tents were set up, Liu Qi ordered the soldiers who had previously fled into the mountains to be captured.
Those deserters did not run far at all. After running into the mountains, they stopped when they saw that the cavalry did not charge.
Therefore, it didn't take long before all the more than 200 deserters who fled into the mountains were captured.
Most of them were Zhen Haijun, and there were more than a dozen soldiers of the Armed Guards.
Looking at the deserter kneeling on the ground, Liu Qi looked cold and said sternly: "Article 8 of the Military Law, anyone who escapes from battle must be killed!"
Wow!
When they heard that they were going to be beheaded, those who were kneeling on the ground immediately panicked and cried and begged.
"I was wrong, I never dare to do it again."
"I don't dare anymore, don't kill me!"
"..."
Yu Chaohuan's lips moved a few times, ready to plead, but he felt someone pulling on his arm.
Turning his head slightly, he saw Luo Sha winking at him.
Seeing this, Yu Chaohuan could only swallow the words that came to his mouth back into his stomach.
Facing the cries of the deserters, Liu Qi remained unmoved and waved his hand: "Drag them down and kill them!"
The brothers in the cavalry battalion immediately dragged these deserters to the open space and dropped their swords.
Poof!
Poof!
The sound of the blade entering flesh kept ringing.
The heads fell to the ground like dumplings.
The officers and soldiers of the Wuwei Army had never seen such a scene before. Every one of them looked pale and their hands and feet were weak.
If you want to quickly master this army, it is necessary to kill the chicken to scare the monkeys.
Since Yu Chaohuan can't be killed, then these deserters will be killed.
Compassion does not command troops!
Besides, anyone who escapes from battle should be killed according to military law.
More than two hundred headless corpses lay quietly in the open space, and the gushing blood turned the ground completely red.
The strong smell of blood filled the military residence.
The effect of killing more than two hundred lives was very good. At this moment, the entire army looked at Liu Qi with deep fear and awe in their eyes.
(End of chapter)
