The Song Dynasty on the Sand Table

Chapter 409 Desensitization Training
Niu Gao found it interesting and quickly went over to see the "desensitization training".

As soon as he stepped into the training ground, Niu Gao's eyes lit up: "What great horses! So many great horses! I can't believe Shandong horses can grow so strong."

Yue Wenxuan laughed: "These are horses raised after our Northern Song Dynasty implemented the 'New Horse Policy'."

"A new Malaysian administration?" Niu Gao asked in surprise, "What kind of new law is it?"

It turns out that the Northern Song Dynasty had begun to implement a "new horse policy" in the last two years.

Yue Wenxuan is not exactly an expert in domestic affairs, so the new Malaysian policy he came up with was based on a simple logic: throw money at it.

Just like in modern times, state-owned enterprises and private enterprises, regardless of whether they are black cats or white cats, are considered good cats as long as they can develop technology.

Yue Wenxuan first had a state-run horse farm built, and then introduced a plastic man who was a farmer who understood modern horse breeding techniques. He then airdropped countless modern horse feeds and had the plastic man lead a group of workers to teach them how to raise horses using scientific methods.

Horses bred using modern technology are nutritionally balanced and healthy, far superior to those raised using traditional methods in ancient times. Ancient horses averaged only 40-50 kilometers per hour, while modern horses can easily exceed 60 kilometers per hour. Modern horse-breeding techniques surpass modern horses not only in short-duration sprint speed but also in long-distance running endurance.

It's no exaggeration to say that it was extremely difficult to find a fine horse like Lu in ancient times, but any racehorse you find in a modern horse farm would be a superior Lu horse in ancient times.

After the state-run horse farm set a good example, Yue Wenxuan sent the workers who had learned the technology home to run their own horse farms. The Northern Song Dynasty government established a "strategic material support fund" specifically to provide various benefits to horse breeders, such as providing them with modern horse feed at almost a buy-one-get-one-free price, reducing their taxes, and helping them solve problems in their daily lives.

Finally, the horses they raised could be sold to the imperial court at high prices.

After three years of implementing the "new horse administration," the Northern Song army has organized its first real cavalry unit, currently consisting of only one thousand riders. Of course, Yue Wenxuan can also airdrop plastic cavalry units at any time, but those are not considered normal combat power.

Yue Wenxuan couldn't easily explain to Niu Gao what "modern horse breeding" meant, so he only told him that the Northern Song Dynasty used a "new horse breeding method" in conjunction with a "new horse policy" that involved spending a lot of money, with the goal of solving the problem that the Northern Song army was "weak in mobility" and easily outmaneuvered by the Jin army.

After listening, Niu Gao couldn't help but nod repeatedly. The Northern Song court was really good. Fortunately, he surrendered to the Northern Song. If he had followed Li Heng, the dynasty would have been rotten all the way to the Southern Song.

As the two chatted, they walked up to a group of warhorses undergoing "desensitization training."

A knight stood very close to his warhorse, his movements relaxed, when suddenly, without warning, he let out a cry of "Ah!" startling his horse, which recoiled sharply. The knight's face showed disappointment as he stroked the horse's head, saying, "You stupid horse! You've practiced for so long, how can you still be scared? Try again!"

Another knight beside him suddenly produced a gong from somewhere and banged it near his horse's ear. But the horse didn't budge, clearly unfazed by the sudden sound. The knight smiled with satisfaction: "Good boy! You're so calm now."

Niu Gao continued walking forward...

Then they saw a group of tall, strong Shandong men sitting on horseback, lined up in a row, each holding a musket.

They weren't heavily dressed; only helmets and polished, gleaming breastplates barely covered the vital parts of their bodies.

Yue Wenxuan smiled and said, "These soldiers are called cuirassiers, a type of heavy cavalry. Of course, they are a bit lighter than the Iron Pagoda heavy cavalry. Their main equipment consists of helmets, shiny breastplates, muskets, and sabers."

Niu Gao asked curiously, "Everything else is fine, but why do you have to emphasize how shiny it is when it comes to breastplates?"

Yue Wenxuan: "In order to facilitate the use of muskets on horseback, their movement could not be hindered. Therefore, their breastplates are not thick, and are considered light armor compared to the Iron Pagoda. If they are not decorated, they will be easily underestimated by the enemy. So I deliberately polished them to make the breastplates look shiny from a distance, so that the enemy would think 'this armor is very powerful' and thus intimidate them."

Niu Gao: "!"

This is the first time I've heard of this tactic, but upon closer inspection, it seems quite useful. The intimidating effect is crucial during a cavalry charge. From afar, the enemy sees a large swarm of gleaming armor, seemingly a formidable heavy cavalry charge towards them like an unstoppable tide, and they're terrified before the battle even begins.

Just thinking about it makes me feel great!
At this moment, a tall and slender female general walked over and saluted Yue Wenxuan: "Young Master Yue!"

Yue Wenxuan introduced, "This female general is General Zhang Yong's wife, Yi Zhangqing, whose martial arts skills are no less than her husband's."

Niu Gao had heard of Zhang Yong, but he was surprised to find that Zhang Yong's wife was also skilled in martial arts. He was quite impressed.

Yue Wenxuan continued, "This gentleman next to me is General Niu Gao."

Yi Zhangqing was not a modern person and did not know how powerful Niu Gao was in history, so his attitude towards him was very ordinary, and he simply greeted him politely.

Yue Wenxuan: "General Yizhangqing, you continue your training. Don't worry about us. We're just here to observe."

Yi Zhangqing nodded, turned around, and shouted to the cuirassier squad: "Continue training, advance!"

A line of cavalrymen simultaneously began to gallop forward.

Female general: "Light the fire!"

The cavalrymen lit the fuses at the same time. Doing this on a galloping horse is quite difficult. It requires keeping your feet firmly on the stirrups, squeezing your thighs against the horse's belly, and using your waist strength to maintain balance. You really can't do it without proper training.

"Fire!"

"Bang bang bang bang!"

The muskets in the cavalrymen's hands began to fire one after another.

What happened next was quite interesting!

Two cavalrymen were thrown from their horses by the recoil of their muskets, falling in a very embarrassing manner.

Several warhorses were startled by the sudden sound of musket fire from their backs, rearing up and throwing their riders off.

The scene suddenly became chaotic.

Yi Zhangqing shook his head: "Those who are knocked off their horses by the muskets should go to the captain to receive their punishment. Those who are thrown off their horses by fright should temporarily leave the ranks and intensify desensitization training for their warhorses."

The cavalrymen obediently accepted the order, and those who did not fall off their horses continued their training in mounted shooting.

Those who fell off their horses slunk away to receive their punishment and practice riding.

Seeing this, Niu Gao couldn't help but feel a little envious: "Wow! Riding on horseback and using a musket looks so impressive. I want to be a general like that too."

Yue Wenxuan laughed and said, "General Niu, the rifled musket I gave you requires very high shooting accuracy and is not suitable for shooting on horseback. You'd better not think about it."

(End of this chapter)