Big man: I am the Champion Marquis!

Chapter 34 Time is running out
There is a village outside Chang'an City. It looks larger and richer than ordinary villages.

This village is very famous. Both the villagers and some people in Chang'an call it the "Champion Village".

This is not the fief of Guanjun Hou Huo Qubing, whose fiefdom was in Nanyang and Wan County, Henan. Guanjun Village is where Huo Qubing's followers settled after purchasing land, which is fundamentally different.

"The Lord is here!"

"My Lord! It's my Lord who has arrived!"

A teenage boy rushed into the village on horseback, shouting excitedly.

Feng Xu, who was originally chatting with a few old brothers, immediately became anxious because all the old brothers had gone to see the prince. He could only hurriedly yell at his second son, third son and others to carry him over!

The majestic Huo Xian was dressed in armor, and a pheasant feather on the helmet indicated his identity.

A feather is inserted into the helmet, which is also a part of the armor. In addition to showing identity, it is also used to distinguish between friends and enemies.

"Your Majesty!"

"You are truly my Lord!"

The soldiers who were in their thirties, forties, or even fifties or sixties shouted excitedly, "The Lord is back!"

Huo Xian sat on the horse and said loudly, "Where are the boys?"

No matter if they were fifty, sixty, eleven or twelve, as long as they were male, they would respond loudly, "Yes!"

"Those who are adults and those who are serving, come out!" Huo Xian looked around and said, "Those who are the only sons in the family, please step back!"

One young man was not convinced and asked loudly, "Sir, why can't I join you in achieving success?"

Chen Ju immediately cursed, "Your Excellency has been very kind to me, and you still dare to say anything? When will I, a son of the Han family, ask my only son to go into battle?"

"Those who have served in the army will be recruited into the Southern Army, and those who have reached adulthood will be selected as brave warriors to serve as personal guards!" Huo Xian spoke directly, "You boys should practice riding and shooting diligently. I will reward you with thirty horses for your training!"

"color!"

"color!"

"color!"

Zhao Hexi and others drove the horse-drawn carriage and ox-drawn cart into the village. Chen Ju said proudly, "You have all drunk the imperial wine with the general. The general considers your old age and disability, so he will reward you with a jar of wine each!"

As soon as Chen Ju finished speaking, a lot of dirty words were thrown at him. He was teasing these former comrades, but these people would not tolerate him.

Huo Xian dismounted with a smile on his face, turned around and said, "Hurry up and distribute it. Every household will get some. Children under five years old, come here, two candy balls each!"

Sugar is a good thing. Even though the people in Champion Village live relatively well, it is very difficult for ordinary children to get sugar.

So a dozen children came running over. Huo Xian was delighted when he saw them. "Come over if you are under ten years old. One piece of candy for each child between six and ten years old!"

Chen Ju and others watched happily as they began to unload the cart. The prince brought a lot of good things, not only a jar of wine for each old soldier, but also meat and grain, and each household was rewarded with one foot of cloth and three feet of linen.

"Uncle Feng." Seeing Feng Xu being carried over, Huo Xian was happy, "Are you doing well lately?"

Feng Xu smiled and responded, "It's OK. I train these bastards with the old guys all day long, but I always miss you, my lord."

The families of Chen Ju and others also lived in Guanjun Village. In the past, Huo Xian was often in the palace, and they only occasionally returned to the village to stay for two days. Now that Huo Xian has left the palace, these family generals basically will not come back easily.

"It just so happens that I have something else for Uncle Feng to do." Huo Xian also spoke up, "I brought fifteen horses, all of them are poor horses. I will teach Uncle Feng some techniques when the time comes, and Uncle Feng will take care of making the horseshoes."

Feng Xu asked in confusion, "Sir, what is a horseshoe?"

Zhao Hexi said, "Why do you care about horseshoes? Just do what the Lord asks you to do. Will you understand if I ask you?"

Seeing that they were about to quarrel again, Huo Xian was helpless and said, "Let the boys practice. It's a good opportunity for me to watch."

Thirty horses were for practicing horse riding and archery, and almost every villager of the appropriate age could have a horse. Moreover, Guanjun Village already had horses, so it was more than enough.

Fifteen inferior horses were used for experiments. They wanted to see how thick the horseshoes should be, how deep they should be inserted into the hoof when installing them, how to tighten them, etc. This was also the reason why Huo Xian wanted more than a dozen inferior horses. The principle of horseshoes seemed simple, but he had no idea about the specific manufacturing and installation.

First experiment and use it on a small scale, then consider popularizing it.

There was jubilation in Guanjun Village because of Huo Xian's arrival, and it was definitely not because Huo Xian brought a lot of rewards.

"Uncle Feng, you can help train these young men in the manor from now on." Huo Xian said to Feng Xu, "What do you think of Feng Dan following me in the future?"

Feng Xu immediately said, "My Lord, I know that I am unable to serve you in killing enemies with my crippled body. My son is quite brave, and I feel relieved to have him with me."

"I've thought about it. Uncle Chen will follow me on the expedition, and these guys will be under his command." Huo Xian continued, "Ten men will be enough, and we can rest assured that they can be used by the farm."

Although Feng Xu and others wanted to persuade them again, they obviously understood that some things should not be taken too far.

Bringing ten personal guards is no problem, but if you bring fifty people, that would be a problem. Not only would the emperor be unhappy, but he would also become a joke in the army.

Looking at the young men of Guanjun Village performing martial arts, Huo Xian nodded approvingly.

It seems that they are developing in the direction of cavalry, which is indeed a good thing.

"When the blacksmith comes, in addition to making horseshoes, he will also make armor for me." Huo Xian said, "I plan to make heavy armor, just keep it in mind."

Feng Xu asked hurriedly, "Sir, there is still armor in the army. If you go to war, His Majesty will definitely reward you with armor."

Iron armor already existed in the Western Han Dynasty, and in large quantities, which was also known as the "Xuanjia".

However, according to the previous custom, armor made of iron and leather are still called armor.

Ordinary soldiers wore leather armor made of tanned cowhide to protect their chest and back; more advanced ones wore fish scale armor, which was made of thousands of densely woven iron plates and had very good protective capabilities.

However, in terms of the shape of armor, it is mainly fish scale armor, zebra armor, and liangdang armor.

Chain mail has not yet appeared. It is said to have been introduced to China from the Western Regions, but it has not yet been introduced here at this stage.

What Huo Xian wanted to make was actually infantry armor, which could improve protection by increasing the number of armor plates. Although it would be heavier, it would provide better protection. Infantry armor could also be worn on horses, but it was larger and heavier for cavalry.

Forget about plate armor. Plate armor first appeared in Europe and seems to have excellent defensive capabilities.

However, it was initially used as a reinforcement for chainmail, scale armor, and lamellar armor, and it is difficult to cast large plates now. In addition, flexibility and other factors may also be affected.

What Huo Xian wanted was an elite and powerful heavy cavalry. Before the Qin and Han Dynasties, there were only light cavalry. The prototype of heavy cavalry was the three hundred armored cavalrymen used as personal guards by Yuan Shao in the late Han Dynasty.

Light cavalry is naturally based on the principle of fast and long-distance mobility, while the armor of heavy cavalry soldiers weighs only 50 to 60 kilograms at the lightest and 70 to 80 kilograms at the heaviest, which is definitely not suitable for long-distance raids. However, when heavy cavalry is used to charge into battle, its combat effectiveness is no joke.

Light cavalry and heavy cavalry each have their own advantages and disadvantages, but Huo Xian doesn't care. He needs some strategic decision-making power.

It is difficult for the Han Dynasty to popularize heavy cavalry now, but it is possible to pile up resources to create a team of elite heavy cavalry. Others may not be able to do it, but Huo Xian has a chance.

Think about it, his Jianzhang camp cavalry seems to have 800 people. If there are 200 heavy cavalry among them, it can also give the Huns a shock.

A mixture of light and heavy cavalry is also necessary.

Sometimes, hundreds of heavily armored cavalrymen really dared to charge at the opponent's thousands of light cavalrymen. Li Shimin did so.

Even the Mongolian cavalry that was said to have swept across the Eurasian continent were not all light cavalry, but also included a considerable number of heavy cavalry.

First, we need to create an elite heavy cavalry. Huo Xian felt excited and expectant when he thought about it.

By then, it may be recorded in history that the first heavy cavalry came from the Jianzhang Camp Cavalry of Champion Marquis Huo Xian!
Time is very tight. They are about to attack the Western Regions and the Huns may counterattack. Huo Xian needs to seize the time.

Li Guangli suffered heavy casualties in the battle against Dayuan and made two more expeditions to achieve success.

Moreover, Zhao Po Nu would soon go on an expedition against the Huns. If he did not do something, his 20,000 cavalry would be wiped out and he would be captured.

Huo Xian could not tolerate these things and could not let the Huns return to the south of the desert again!
(End of this chapter)