Tian Zong did not dare to neglect, and quickly brought Yang Qian to the foundry. This is a permanent military camp, so blacksmiths are also one of the standing resources.
Before they even reached the casting room, they heard the sound of metal clashing. As soon as the two entered, a heat wave hit them from inside, and the temperature rose by at least ten degrees.
The two people, who were already sweltering, began to sweat on their foreheads.
"General!" A strong man with swollen arms and a dark face walked over and hugged Tian Zong and Yang Gan with a respectful look on his face.
Tian Zong introduced, "Old Xia, this is the new partial general, Yang Qian."
"Yang Qian, this is the blacksmith of the military camp, Ou Yexia, we all call him Lao Xia."
Tian Zong smiled and said, "General Yang said that there is something that can make war horses replace chariots. I wonder if Lao Xia has heard of it."
Looking at Yang Gan's thin and short figure, Lao Xia smiled disdainfully. He was the oldest here and had the best craftsmanship.
One look at a person like Yang Qian, and he knew that he must have come from somewhere else to earn military merit. He was the most disgraceful to such a person, and his face was naturally not good at all.
"Back to the general, cavalry relies entirely on momentum. Only a few tall soldiers can use long weapons. Ordinary cavalry can only use bronze swords or iron swords."
"Chariots are different. Two-horse chariots and four-horse chariots have terrifying impact. If there are hundreds of four-horse chariots, they can definitely destroy thousands of infantry squares."
"If there is a five-hundred-horse four-horse chariot that can directly threaten tens of thousands of infantry phalanxes, how can one thing replace the chariot? Hahahaha, General Tian, don't say I haven't seen it, I've never even heard of it. , I can’t even think about it.”
Tian Zong could only look at Yang Qian. Ou Yexia was a master-level scholar, peasant, industrialist, and businessman. Below the scholar-bureaucrats, there were farmers and craftsmen, especially the leaders in the industry. Although their social status was not high, they were very important. Not all blacksmiths. Everyone can make weapons, and not all blacksmiths who can make weapons can make good weapons.
"Is there any iron material?"
Lao Xia's eyes are getting more and more evil. Isn't he just here to cause trouble? You still have such a strong tone, okay, I will see how you die today. It is a joke in the army, but your head will be chopped off.
Lao Xia sent his apprentice to get an iron bar and handed it to Yang Qian, "General Yang, this is good iron material."
Yang Qian is not a three-year-old child. This guy obviously thinks that it is a waste to use it for himself. The corners of his mouth raised, and he will let you call him grandpa later.
After being introduced by the apprentice, he took the iron bar and put it into the smelting furnace. The apprentice began to push the skin bag to inject oxygen. The temperature in the originally lukewarm furnace suddenly turned upside down, and the temperature rose sharply. After a while, the iron bar turned red.
Clip out the iron bar and pick up the hammer.
"Dang Dang Dang Dang~~!" started to beat.
Tian Zong was fine, but Lao Xia and the apprentices looked over in surprise. General Yang was young and energetic, and he was small. He didn't expect that he was so strong. He could actually hammer down the iron bar two or three times, and the shape of the iron bar changed.
If you can specialize in the art of smelting, you can achieve quite a lot with just this strength.
A half-moon shape was gradually punched out. Yang Qian was very strong, but he had never punched iron before. He only roughly made out the shape, and used a special awl to make six small holes on both sides.
"Bah~~!"
The finished product was put into the water and cooled immediately. I also asked for a piece of iron bar and beat it, and an oval-shaped object with a flat bottom was created.
The two things were placed on the table, and everyone present fell silent. Ou Yexia was one of the most skilled blacksmiths in Yuntong City, but due to the limitations of the times, he was already screaming in his heart after discovering that they were just two gadgets.
"Little bastard, the blacksmith is not a person like you who has mixed military skills. He can just play around. What he does is like cow shit. It is extremely ugly."
Tian Zong's face didn't look good either. He had no idea what Yang Gan was doing.
"Pfft~~~~!"
The apprentices had already laughed. Sorry, in the military camp, you can't just joke around.
Generals and the like must not laugh when they are embarrassed. They can tolerate this very well, but there are exceptions to everything. Seeing Yang Gan do such a vulgar thing, they really couldn't help it.
"What is this?" Seeing the looks in the blacksmiths' eyes, Tian Zong had no choice but to break the deadlock, holding the half-moon-shaped object and looking at Yang Qian.
Yang Gan did not answer directly, but asked, "General Tian, how long can an average war horse be used?"
For Tian Zong, who has been fighting all the time, he didn't even think about this problem and blurted out, "Cherish it and fight less, it can be used for five years. If you don't cherish it and fight often, it may only be used for three years. After three years, the war horse They will be sold and used as pack horses, so that they can be used as meat if there is a food shortage."
Yang Gan smiled and said, "The thing you are holding is called a horseshoe. If you put six thin iron nails through the holes and nail them to the horseshoe, the horse can be used for about ten years. You only need to replace the horseshoes regularly."
"What?"
Tian Zong looked at Yang Qian in disbelief. At this moment, he deeply doubted the authenticity of this thing. If all the war horses in the country were shoed like this, how much money would be saved? How much armor and iron swords can this money equip the soldiers with?
"Haha, General Yang, once the nail is driven in, what will happen if the war horse is disabled? This thing is something I have never heard of or seen."
Yang Gan glanced sideways and sneered, "The horse's shoe is divided into two parts. The upper part is the flesh and blood veins, and the lower part is the cuticle."
"Cuticles?"
"It's just like the nails on our bodies. We drive the nails diagonally and pass them through the horse's nails. Cut off the excess nails and grind them smooth. This will not only extend the life of the war horse, but also prevent the death of the war horse. Hold on to the ground firmly to make the cavalry more stable.”
"Hiss~~~~" Tian Zong and everyone took a breath of cold air. If this thing is true, what a great achievement it is.
"Then what is this?" Tian Zong immediately picked up the oval iron ring, his face full of anticipation, and even Ou Yexia turned slightly sideways, their ears perked up, and their eyes were full of curiosity.
Yang Gan explained, "This is a stirrup. I only made one of these. In fact, there are two in a set. They are attached to both sides of the saddle. After a person rides on it, his feet are inserted into it, and the whole person can ride on it in an even and stable position." Right now, General Tian, you don’t know what this means.”
Tian Zong clutched the stirrup tightly, with a look of disbelief on his face, "Does this mean that it can increase the combat effectiveness of the cavalry?"
Yang Gan nodded, "Yes, if riding skills are divided into ten points, then the Huns can almost reach eight points. Horse riding is no joke."
"The riding skills of our Daxia cavalry are only five points, but once they are equipped with stirrups, they can be improved to at least seven points or even eight points. By then, powerful cavalry will not need iron swords, but halberds. , the power is several times more powerful? It can also draw a bow and shoot arrows like the Huns on horseback."
"When the power of cavalry increased sharply, the role of chariots became useless. After all, a chariot requires 2 to 4 horses to drive. One person drives the chariot, one holds the halberd, and one shoots arrows. Not to mention the horses, it also takes the soldiers. Three people are all needed, which is a waste of force.”
"Everyone present today is not allowed to spread this news. Anyone who disobeys the order will be killed!" Understanding the seriousness of the matter, Tian Zong immediately issued a strict order. As a general, no one knows these two things better than him. the value of.
This can definitely lead the cavalry revolution and make Daxia become a super overlord. Shangguo and Xiaguo have been at war for a long time.
Part of Shangguo's territory is more suitable for raising horses. With the focus of training, Shangguo's cavalry can far surpass Xia's. Otherwise, Shangguo would have been destroyed by Xia.
"General Tian, this thing needs to be kept secret even if it is reported to the superiors. After all, it is not difficult to build it, but I am curious, how much credit do I have for inventing this thing?"
Tian Zong nodded. He was more thoughtful than Yang Qian. After smiling, he said, "This is a great achievement, but I don't think the reward this time will be particularly large."
"Go out and talk?"
Yang Gan understood immediately and told the blacksmith to knock out the stirrups first. It was actually quite simple. At least he didn't have to worry about his butt splitting into eight pieces when he went back. He was not the Xia Houchun in Three Kingdoms, who was strong? That's an anal fissure! ! !
When he came outside, Tian Zong looked around and saw no one. He cupped his hands and said softly, "Sir, if you are promoted too quickly, the temple's attention may be focused on you. This may not be a good thing for you, especially Young Master Jie and the Prime Minister."
"You're talking about my cheap brother. Is there any other prime minister?"
"I don't dare to say more. If you have the opportunity to return to Chaoxian, it would be best for you to investigate on your own."
Yang Gan frowned. Although Tian Zong was a bit of a bad person, he was definitely not a talkative guy. Since he named him, he must have been very serious.
After thinking for a while, Yang Gan smiled and said, "I won't go back."
"Why? Even if the young master is demoted, with your status, as long as the king nods, you can still justifiably want to go back."
"My cheap brother has been in Chaoxian for a long time, let alone the prime minister. What do you think will happen if I go to Chaoxian? I just want to live a good life here."
Yang Gan didn't tell the truth. Although Tian Zong had a good relationship with him, he also liked to listen to him. He could even say that 80% of everything he did here was with his help.
But who knows, will it be Infernal Affairs? What if it is? Then wouldn’t he be betrayed miserably? Might as well play it slow and steady.
"What will happen if I have a lot of influence here and all the temple's attention is focused on me?"
"The eldest son will definitely send someone to recruit you. After all, the king is almost 60 and his health is not particularly good."
Suddenly Yang Gan grabbed Tian Zong's shoulders and said seriously, "Tell the truth, how many years does my father have to live?"
