Super Cultivation System of the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 351: Armored Heavy Cavalry
Seeing that he looked normal, Zhang Yong didn't think much about it.

"The 6.5 million shi of grain and fodder we obtained earlier, plus the annual military rations and taxes we collected, are enough to expand our army to a larger scale than before. Especially the more than 126,000 war horses we seized this time, which are enough to allow our army to form an invincible cavalry that can sweep across the world!"

When Guan Yu heard Zhang Yong mention this, his expression became more lively.

"Wow! With so many war horses, plus the several thousand cavalrymen under my second brother, the size of the Purple Gold Dragon Cavalry must be as large as 50,000. My goodness, with such a cavalry, who are we afraid of? It's more than enough for us to even break into Luoyang!"

Cheng Liang started shouting with his eyes shining.

"Third brother, stop talking nonsense... cough cough..."

As soon as Liu He spoke, Cheng Liang quickly shrank his neck and kept silent.

Cui Jun said: "In theory, it is true, but it is easy to form a cavalry, but it is extremely difficult to support it. If we really have 50,000 cavalry, the people are not a problem, but the horses will sooner or later eat our army out of money."

"Well, what the military advisor said is indeed a problem. I wonder what suggestions the military advisor has?"

"My lord, I think that the Purple Gold Dragon Riders will be restored to 20,000. The remaining horses will be given to Mo Wende and Zhao Mingliang to be taken to the grasslands of Wuyuan and Shuofang for domestication and reproduction. The rest will be divided into batches of varying numbers and sold in trading companies in exchange for money and fodder. Although our army is not short of money at the moment, we always need to be prepared for the worst."

"As for the Han Wuzu and the Golden Sword Battalion, they will be expanded to 10,000 each. However, the northern border has been basically pacified, and the targets of future battles may change. The Han Wuzu will naturally need to be adjusted as well. General Gao needs to think carefully about this matter."

"The Divine Tiger Cavalry and the Thunder God Cavalry have very high requirements for soldiers, and they focus on quality rather than quantity, so we only hope to restore the original size. The Divine Machine Battalion will remain unchanged, with 10,000 soldiers."

"However, in addition to this, we must recruit a group of soldiers specifically for the purpose of defending the relatively stable city. Now, except for the Golden Sword Battalion, the remaining 20,000 infantrymen under General Mingwei have been taken away by Xu Huang, and the rest are scattered around to defend the city. Most of them are elite soldiers who have fought many battles. It is recommended that they be transferred to Shuofang, Shangjun and other places for garrison. As for Dingxiang, Yanmen, Yunzhong and other places, except for Yanmen Pass, the rest of the places will be stationed with a mixture of new and old soldiers."

"In this way, the total strength of our army will be around 105,000 to 110,000. The consumption of equipment and food is completely within an acceptable range. Moreover, the number of young and strong people conscripted will not affect the farming of the cities under our jurisdiction."

Liu He held the cup of hot water in his hands, listened to Cui Jun's suggestions, and nodded repeatedly.

"Military Advisor has considered it very carefully, and there is nothing wrong with it. However, He Shang has a few ideas that I would like to discuss with you."

"My lord, please speak."

"First, over the past year, the company has grown stronger and stronger, and the cities under its jurisdiction have prospered in commerce and tourism, and all industries have developed. The population of Yanmen alone has grown from less than 200,000 before we came to more than 400,000, and refugees and small Xianbei tribes move in every day. The taxes to be collected this year, not to mention grain, should be no less than 100 million coins. After the company's profits are distributed among several parties, we will have nearly 100 million in our hands."

"In this way, we will have enough money and food. If we sell a batch of war horses, it will not only be enough to build new weapons, but also to accomplish something that my second brother and I have always wanted to do."

Cui Jun and others were confused when they heard this, but Guan Yu's face lit up with joy.

"Brother, you mean..."

Liu He looked at Guan Yu, and they both said in unison: "Armored and heavily cavalry!"

Cheng Liang's eyes lit up: "Ha, second brother's cavalry is heavily armed, so my tiger should be treated the same way."

Liu He laughed and scolded, "Third brother, you are making trouble again. A tiger is heavier, lighter and more flexible than a war horse. It needs to move left and right, and jump up and down. It would be inconvenient to wear armor."

Cheng Liang looked a little frustrated: "Brother, that's what you said. It's true. Sigh, what a miserable life." Cui Jun smiled and said, "Generals, don't be depressed. Masters Pu, Fang and Xiao are becoming more and more skilled. Given time, they may come up with a solution. By then, it may be just around the corner to equip your tigers with armor."

Cheng Liang then smiled and said, "Hey, that's true."

Zhang Yong asked, "I have also read about these heavily armored cavalry in many military books. Once tens of thousands of heavily armored cavalry launch a charge, their might is truly terrifying. Combined with my second brother's bravery, they are truly an invincible weapon. However, it is very expensive to build such a cavalry, and the requirements for war horses are even more stringent than before. Although our army has a lot of money and food now, there are also many expenses. I wonder if we can afford these 20,000 heavily armored cavalry."

"I have discussed this with the three masters many times. With the current manpower and technology of our army, it will cost about 30,000 coins to build all the equipment needed for a heavily-armored warhorse. In addition, the daily maintenance of these equipment also requires a considerable amount of expenses. In addition, the care and training of these warhorses also consume more money and food than other warhorses. In this way, 60,000 warhorses with 20,000 heavily-armored warhorses will require at least 2 billion coins."

"Oh my goodness, this is going to bankrupt us!"

Cheng Liang opened his mouth wide.

"This is just the war horses. In addition, the soldiers' equipment must also be replaced. Armor is easy, but the main thing is weapons. I have discussed this matter with my second brother privately many times, and we have come to a conclusion. Second brother, you can tell us."

Liu He felt a little short of breath and quickly took a sip of water.

"Yes, brother." Guan Yu took over the topic.

"The so-called cavalry has two purposes. One is to charge the enemy with great force and intimidate the enemy. The other is to disrupt the enemy with flexible skills and conduct guerrilla warfare. The first purpose is what the heavily armed cavalry needs."

"As for the heavy cavalry full body armor, although the three masters' exquisite skills have made the armor of soldiers and horses reduce the weight by about 30%, and the protective power has not decreased but increased, it is still very heavy. In this way, if the weapons used require more flexible movement, it will inevitably greatly affect the combat effectiveness, and the soldiers' arms will ache after fighting for a while."

"In view of this, halberds, knives, hammers, axes, swords, etc. are not convenient to use. Only the spear is more suitable. Lengthen the spear handle and spear head. When charging, keep the spear head facing forward. With the charge of the warhorse, you can naturally kill many enemy soldiers."

At this time, Cheng Liang on the side interrupted and said, "Hey, that's not right. No matter how long this spear is, it can only skewer three or five enemy soldiers like barbecue. But once it is full of people, the soldier must first throw the spear head backwards and drag it on the ground to empty the spear shaft. This process is still a bit laborious, and at this time the soldier's front is empty, which is very dangerous."

"Haha, what Third Brother said is indeed a big problem, but this problem has now been solved."

Guan Yu said this with a smile, which made Cheng Liang curious.

"Oh? Tell me how you solved it. Who knows, our Divine Tiger Cavalry might be of use to us in the future."

"Third brother is anxious. This is not difficult. It was inspired by the Xiongnu this time."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Yong suddenly asked, "Could it be... the Huns' scimitar cavalry?"

Guan Yu clapped his hands and smiled, "Fourth brother is really smart. The Xiongnu scimitars cut off the heads of soldiers wherever they passed, and the scimitars did not stop. If they were equipped with powerful heavy cavalry and charged forward, the soldiers would at most switch the scimitars from the right to the left to let their arms rest for a while. There was no need to do anything else, which was the best way to save energy. Moreover, our army's technology in making scimitars is naturally far superior to that of the Xiongnu. Once fully equipped like this, the combat effectiveness of this cavalry's charge would be terrifying!"

"Originally, the horse lance was the most suitable weapon. The lance shaft was extremely tough and could not be damaged by swords and axes. Moreover, the lance had eight armor-piercing edges, and its armor-piercing ability was unrivaled in the world. The lance head was slender, and after piercing the enemy, the hand went around the enemy's body and grabbed the front end, and then the lance could be pulled out of the enemy's body and continued to charge. The most important thing is that if this weapon was in the hands of a person with strong physical strength and riding skills, when used to attack an enemy formation with a shield, the lance shaft's strong elasticity could be used to directly bounce the opponent away, thereby disrupting the enemy's formation. It could be called the best weapon for heavy cavalry. But..."

Guan Yu was halfway through his speech when Liu He continued, "It's just that the production cost of this horse lance is extremely high. A good horse lance costs at least hundreds of thousands to two hundred thousand coins to make. The most important thing is that the shaft of the horse lance requires the cooperation of excellent carpenters, bamboo craftsmen, and bamboo craftsmen in addition to the three masters. The production cycle is extremely long and it takes at least two years to complete. Moreover, using this thing as a weapon requires a high level of martial arts skills from the user. It is difficult for ordinary people to do it, and there is no rush for the time being. So I only let the three masters secretly prepare to make a small batch of horse lances for future use. The current weapon for heavy cavalry is still mainly scimitars."

(End of this chapter)