Taiheiki

Chapter 74 Hemp Armor
"He almost ascended the throne twice?" Zhao Yannian was shocked. "Is this true? Is there such a person in the world?"

Wei Cong smiled and repeated what he had heard from Lu Ping. Finally, he said, "The reason I came back from Chaisang so quickly was because this matter involved so many things. Hey, I originally wanted to catch a silver carp as a tonight snack, but it turned out to be a dragon that took the bait. It was really weird!"

Zhao Yannian was stunned by the ups and downs of the story. After a while, he asked hesitantly, "Then, what should we do?"

"What should we do? What else can we do? Of course we should step aside and wait and see!" Wei Cong snorted coldly. "There are either dragons or crocodiles in the water, or at worst, pythons. Compared to them, we are just wild cats at best. If we get involved, we won't know how we died. Stay away from the water, maybe we can take a bite of the corpse that floats to the shore. By the way, how is the military training going in the few days I've been away? This is the foundation of our lives, we must not take it lightly!"

Hearing Wei Cong ask about the military training, Wei Cong immediately became spirited: "Reporting to my lord, we have been training without slacking off. These days, Wen Sheng and I have been following your instructions, training twice a day, morning and evening. In the morning, we practice formations and marching; in the afternoon, we practice spears and crossbows. We have already recruited over 800 new soldiers, and we are already seeing initial success. My lord, please come and inspect them at any time!"

"Over eight hundred new recruits, plus the two hundred I took with me, that's a thousand. Two hundred will stay behind when we go out, and eight hundred will go into battle. That's enough to train a battalion!" Wei Cong calculated. In the Eastern Han military system, a "battalion" was the largest permanent unit. Larger units were temporarily formed in wartime, with commanders assigned on a temporary basis. As for the number of troops under a battalion, it was estimated to be between three thousand and one thousand, though this was uncertain. Wei Cong estimated that given his current political status and economic strength, this battalion was the upper limit.

"Where are the weapons and armor?" Wei Cong asked.

"We have plenty of bows and crossbows now, but we're still far short of arrows. We're short of craftsmen and materials, so we'll have to find another way. As for spears, I've followed your instructions and bought four thousand stalks of the hairy elm wood. They're indeed very tough and a top-quality material for making spear shafts. The craftsmen are currently working hard to make them into bamboo handles. Many of these soldiers already have their own protective horizontal swords, and I think that's just as well. After all, these short weapons are life-saving, and preparing them yourself is sure to be more practical and handy, much better than the ones distributed by superiors. It's my opinion that we should just give each person some money and let them buy their own protective swords, whetstones, and other miscellaneous items!"

"Hmm, what about the armor?"

"Armor!" Zhao Yannian smiled awkwardly, "This is really difficult!"

"Haven't you gone to see the Chief Clerk?" Wei Cong asked, "You could give him some money! After what happened last time, he and we should still have a good relationship, right?"

"That's right, sir!" Zhao Yannian said with a wry smile, "I went looking for them and took ten gold horseshoe coins with me. But the chief clerk refused to accept them. He said it wasn't that he didn't want to help, but that he really couldn't. The county's armory is currently guarded by Feng Cheqi's men, and anyone who dares to touch it will be subject to military law! There's nothing he can do about it!"

"Alright!" Wei Cong nodded. "It's really not his fault. Forget it, we'll just figure it out on our own. By the way, did you leave the gold to him in the end?"

"The Chief Clerk refuses to accept it, and there's nothing I can do!"

"Yannian, that's not right. How can you bring back the money you gave away? It's just a favor, but we'll have many more things to ask of him in the future!" Wei Cong laughed and said, "Forget it, this is too much for you. You don't have to worry about this matter. Let me ask you, how many armors are the army short of now?"

"Last time, the Chief Secretary gave us sixty-seven sets of armor in the name of eliminating old armor and weapons. When we captured Zhangjiawu Fort, they collected more than seventy sets. There are no more!"

"So we're still short of over 800 pairs, right?" Wei Cong asked. "We can just make them ourselves. No one will bother us anyway at this point!"

"Make it yourself? How is that even possible? To make armor, you need leather. But all the leather on the market has been bought by the government. Even if you have money, you can't buy any more. And the leather craftsmen have all been recruited by the army. Without leather and craftsmen, how can we make armor?"

"It doesn't matter if we don't have leather! We can exchange it for something else!" Wei Cong thought for a moment and suddenly asked, "I remember there's a lot of linen in the warehouse, right?"

"Linen? Yes, there is quite a lot, about five or six thousand pieces!" Zhao Yannian answered in a less certain tone.

"That's all, come here!" Wei Cong raised his voice, "Get five rolls of linen from the warehouse, and some glue!"

Before cotton textile technology became widespread during the Yuan Dynasty, most Chinese people wore linen, a fabric woven from ramie and hemp fibers (jute and linen weren't widely adopted until the Song Dynasty). The phrases "cloth clothes" and "two bolts of cloth granted to each nobleman of the first rank" in Qin and Han history books refer to linen. Compared to later cotton, linen's comfort, warmth, and color retention were significantly inferior. This explains why, once cotton became widespread, it quickly replaced linen as the primary clothing material for the common people.

However, linen also has advantages over cotton. Linen fibers have better tensile strength and corrosion resistance than cotton fibers. Thousands of years old linen clothing can be found in ancient tombs, but cotton clothing that is only a few hundred years old would have completely rotted away. Linen cables were essential for ships in the sailing age. They could not only withstand tons of tension but also withstand the corrosion of salt and alkali in the sea. Fishing nets made of linen fibers were so difficult to cut that even swords could not. Because of this characteristic of linen fibers, people in the ancient Mediterranean world glued together layers of fine linen cloth to create armor to defend against enemy attacks.

In a short while, the linen and glue arrived. Wei Cong cut the linen into two-foot square pieces and glued them together layer by layer with fish glue. When he had glued fifteen layers together, he had them taken to a cool place to dry. Zhao Yannian saw this and guessed that Wei Cong wanted to use the linen to make armor. He didn't say it out loud, but he secretly doubted it in his heart: "Can this thing be used as armor?"

"I don't know whether it will succeed or not, but there's no harm in trying it anyway!" Wei Cong saw through his subordinates' thoughts and said with a smile.

"What you do is certainly possible!" Zhao Yannian complimented him hastily.

"We'll know whether it works or not after we try it!" Wei Cong said angrily, "This kind of thing is no joke. Although we are king and subject, we are like blood. We are trusting each other with our lives. There's no need for such nice words!"

"Yes!" Zhao Yannian lowered his head, beaming with joy. The next day, Wei Cong estimated the glue had dried, so he had the linen cloth brought and hung in the courtyard. He first had people shoot with bows and crossbows, then with swords, spears, and slashes. Sure enough, most arrows couldn't penetrate. Even those that did penetrated were stuck in the adhesive linen, with only a tiny tip showing. They probably couldn't even penetrate the armored man's lining. As for swords, spears, and lances, the linen armor could resist slashing and cutting, but it couldn't resist stabbing with spears or swords.

"I didn't expect that this linen armor can really be used!" Looking at the scars on the linen armor, Zhao Yannian was surprised and happy.

"It's a pity that it still can't withstand the stabbing of spears and swords!" Wei Cong sighed.

"What's the big deal?" Zhao Yannian laughed. "Even iron armor can't stop spears in many cases. We can add thin iron plates as linings in the key areas of the armor! But considering the price, this armor is much cheaper than leather or iron armor. Every soldier can have one, and that's the most important thing!"

"Hmm!" Wei Cong nodded. "This linen armor has another advantage. The weather in the south is hot, and wearing linen armor is much more comfortable than metal or leather armor. It can also be made according to needs. Archers can make it thinner, using ten or twelve layers of cloth, just enough to resist arrows and be lighter. Spearmen use twenty layers of cloth, with an iron lining on the chest. Also, this linen armor is very convenient to wear. Go find a few more craftsmen to discuss how much linen and glue to use. We can make the glue ourselves, using pig bones, sheep bones, cow bones, or fish maw. If we don't have enough cloth, we can buy it on the market and speed up the production!"

"Yes, yes!" Zhao Yannian responded repeatedly, "Actually, you don't have to be so anxious. Feng's cavalry army hasn't assembled yet. If we want to use troops, we have to wait until the spring plowing is over. If we want to send troops to test the waters, we've already sent Cai Buyi. It won't be our turn for the time being!"

"That's true, but who can predict what will happen on the battlefield?" Wei Cong sighed. "Anything might happen, so it's better to prepare early!"

Whatever Zhao Yannian thought of Wei Cong's final words, twelve days later, facts proved Wei Cong's words true. News arrived from Jiangnan: the small special forces led by Cai Buyi, newly promoted to the rank of Jianwu Commandery Commandant, had encountered the enemy shortly after crossing the river. After their initial victory, Cai Buyi excitedly ordered a pursuit, but his soldiers were drawn to the various treasures abandoned by the enemy along the way and rushed to pick them up. The enemy seized the opportunity to launch a counterattack, crushing Cai's troops as they were collecting the spoils. Cai Buyi himself was struck by a poisoned arrow and would have perished in the chaos if not for the unwavering presence of his elite Bantun Man soldiers.

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Thief Cao Ya.

Near the hour of Hai, Wang Shou returned to the yamen to report: He saw Wei Cong, Zhao Yannian, Wen Sheng and others sitting around the table, drinking millet wine, and discussing recent events with grim expressions.

"Has it been confirmed?" Wei Cong asked.

"Yes!" Wang Shou took off his muddy straw sandals and came up to the hall. "It's confirmed. I was just at the dock and saw dozens of wounded people getting off the boat. They told me that Cai Buyi is seriously injured. Not only is he unconscious, but his wounds are swollen and he can't take medicine. The doctors are completely helpless!"

"Few people can survive more than seven days after being hit by the Wuling Barbarian's poisonous crossbow!" Wen Sheng whispered, "Cai Buyi is doomed this time!"

"Asshole!" Diwu Deng spat into the spittoon. "He even fell for such a clichéd trap as feigning defeat. And how could such an idiot even become a Jianwu Commander? The higher-ups are truly blind!"

"Traps age well because they're useful. A trap that doesn't work wouldn't be used, so it naturally won't age well!" Liu Jiu said coldly, "Even if Cai Buyi knew it was a trap, it was useless. With so much valuables left on the ground, he couldn't control his soldiers at all!"

"That's right!" Wei Cong glanced at Liu Jiu. Liu Jiu was usually quiet, but every time he spoke, he made sense and was a man with brains. "Then what can we do?"

"This trick won't work on us!" Liu Jiu said, "Young Master gets paid regularly, and the older soldiers have land and houses, so they'll naturally obey orders. Most of Cai Buyi's men are desperate young men recruited on short notice, all hoping to rob someone. How can they be used in an emergency?"

"Then I feel relieved!" Wei Cong breathed a sigh of relief.

"My dear, you should go to the prefect!" said Zhao Yannian.

"Prefect?"

"Yes, since Cai Buyi is dead, it's probably your turn next!" Zhao Yannian said, "Someone has to pick up the pieces. Feng Cheqi's soldiers are all from other places, and they've come from far away, so they're unfamiliar with the local conditions. I heard he originally planned to send you instead of Cai Buyi to lead the charge, but he just happened to hear you had chickenpox, so he sent Cai Buyi instead!"

"Not only am I a stranger, I'm a time traveler!" Wei Cong muttered to himself, but he also knew Zhao Yannian was right. He had inquired about Feng Gun's military style. It might sound nice to call it cautious, but anyone who hadn't lost their head on the battlefield for a few years understood the principle of first being invincible, waiting for the enemy to be defeated. The problem was, if both sides were equipped with such experienced generals, they would end up with deep trenches and high fortifications, constantly sending out small units to exploit the enemy's weaknesses, while the main force remained behind the ramparts, diligently digging in the ground. Ultimately, victory would depend on who had more rations, whose superiors were more patient, and which side had a traitor escape, revealing important enemy secrets.

As a renowned general during the mid-to-late Eastern Han Dynasty, Feng Gun naturally knew the depth of the imperial treasury. If he lost in southern Jingzhou, not only would the situation in Jingzhou deteriorate, but the Qiang Rebellion, which had been finally quelled, would erupt again, and the situation would be uncontrollable. Therefore, while waiting for the armies from various regions to gather, he would undoubtedly dispatch ragtag armies like Wei Cong and Cai Buzhi, who were familiar with the local conditions. Winning or losing didn't matter; as long as they could detect the enemy's weaknesses, they were enough. This was also a way for local tycoons like Zhang Bolu and Cai Buzhi to gain military merit and political advancement. Figures like Sun Jian and Dong Zhuo during the Three Kingdoms period also achieved prestigious positions and rose to prominence through this path.

Wei Cong gestured, signaling everyone except Zhao Yannian to leave. "If Feng Cheqi gives the order, it will be over in the next few days!" "Let's not even talk about the weapons and armor. We must first divide the army into sections, otherwise we won't be able to fight!"

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(End of this chapter)