I am a thief in the Tang Dynasty

"After that, we will help more widows live a good life."

"After that, we will help the poor people in need."

Chapter 114: Diving into the Woods in Broad Daylight

Hearing the goal her husband mentioned, Chai Xueying nodded her smooth chin with high morale and said seriously:

"I must work hard, settle the widow down, and help more people in the Tang Dynasty."

After saying that, Chai Xueying blinked her eyes and moved closer to Fang Yiyi.

Her fair skin seemed to be glowing with fluorescence, and her alluring curves made Fang Yiyi unable to take his eyes away.

The delicate voice floated into Fang Yiyi's ears.

"Husband, why don't you fight with me in battle anymore!"

"You are responsible for making money, and I will expand the territory so that those poor people can have money to spend and land to farm. How do you think?"

No one was around.

How could Fang Yiyi, who had just suppressed his anger, accept the temptation of his wife at this moment?

He was itching to the point of being unable to bear it, but his wife seemed unaware and just blinked at him gently.

How can you endure this?

Fang Yiyi, who had just suppressed his anger, could no longer accept the temptation of his wife and his desire was directly ignited.

"Okay, you go out to fight, and leave your husband at home, right?"

"How can you bear to let your husband stay alone in an empty house?!"

"Look how your husband punishes you!"

Chai Xueying, with her beautiful eyes blurred and her face blushing, panted and said:

"Husband, Xueying knows she is wrong. Xueying wants to make money with you and fight together, okay?"

The next moment, Chai Xueying, who could no longer control her emotions, took the initiative and picked up Fang Yiyi. Under Fang Yiyi's gloomy face, she went into the dense forest.

Fang Yiyi: Damn my weak body!

The sky is the quilt and the earth is the bed.

Fang Yiyi taught his wife a lesson harshly.

"Tell me, are you willing to let your husband stay alone in an empty room?"

"I'm wrong, Xueying, ah~ I'm wrong, husband, Xueying will never say that again~"

......

After a great battle, Chai Xueying, who was still in high spirits, looked very satisfied. She supported Fang Yiyi, whose legs were weak, and walked towards the house with a smile, jokingly saying:

"Husband, Xueying will keep saying this in the future."

"Hehe, my husband was really so majestic just now!"

Fang Yiyi, with a tense face but a smile on his face, stretched out his slender fingers, touched his wife's smooth forehead, and said lovingly:

"You, just know how to mess around!"

Thinking of her indulgence just now, Chai Xueying couldn't help but stick out her red tongue. She felt her cheeks getting hot and she secretly smacked her lips in amazement at her bold behavior just now.

Although there was no one around, she actually did such a thing in broad daylight, which was really embarrassing.

However, the different environment brought her different kinds of stimulation, which made her feel shy but also looked forward to having such experiences a few more times in the future.

Just arrived at the village.

Fang Yiyi saw an old horse that was a little thin but still had shiny fur. It was being led dejectedly by a man with a broken leg, and was walking slowly on the rammed earth.

It is hard to tell whether the horse is taking care of the man or the man is taking care of the horse, which is why it walks so slowly.

hum!

Old Ma snorted, raised his head and rubbed the cheek of the man with the broken leg, as if to comfort him.

After taking a quick look, Chai Xueying frowned and asked:

"But the horse's hoof is cracked?"

Hearing Chai Xueying's voice, the man bowed to her with a bitter face and said:

"Hello, General. The horse's hoof is indeed cracked. This old horse is old and has worked hard these days. It hasn't eaten any good grass, so it has three cracked hooves. I don't know how long it will take to recover."

As he spoke, the man with a broken leg looked at the listless old horse beside him with pity, and reached out to stroke its head.

Old Ma snorted again, raised his head and rubbed the cheek of the man with the broken leg, comforting him. He was truly spiritual.

Chapter 115 How Did I Forget My Horseshoe?

Fang Yiyi looked at the horse's black and yellow hoof claws. Except for the right leg, the other three hooves had several cracks.

If a person's nails are split and touch hard objects, it will feel uncomfortable and painful. Not to mention a horse that relies on its nails to support its body in contact with the ground. You can imagine how painful it is.

Fang Yiyi slapped his forehead and said in annoyance:

"Good fellow, you forgot such an important thing!"

Since the Qin and Han Dynasties, cavalry has been the sharpest weapon in the era of cold weapons.

A wide variety of saddles and stirrups are available.

However, horseshoes were not used until the Southern Song Dynasty and reached their peak in the Yuan Dynasty.

During the Tang Dynasty, the requirement was that one horse should be equipped with two horses, and the hooves of war horses were simply trimmed with a red-hot iron.

The main enemies of the Tang Dynasty were all foreign countries, either in the extremely cold and earthquake-prone north or in the western regions where the climate had a large temperature difference and travel was difficult.

When an army goes on a long expedition, the unprotected hooves of war horses can easily suffer irreversible damage.

Therefore, war horses were scarce in the Tang Dynasty all year round. It was not until the middle and late Zhenguan period, when the Tang Dynasty initially controlled the Western Regions, that the horse shortage problem was alleviated, but it was not completely solved.

Chai Xueying couldn't help but ask Fang Yiyi:

"Husband, what have you forgotten?"

Fang Yiyi walked to the old horse, reached out his hand and gently stroked the horse's neck, smiling and said:

"If we walk barefoot, our feet will hurt, or even be pierced by sharp stones, so we wear shoes."

“Although the hoof of a horse is strong, it can also crack.”

"What do you think? If we put shoes on the horses, how much will the chances of their hooves being injured during long-distance battles be reduced?"

Chai Xueying and the lame man both looked at Fang Yiyi with a smile, neither contempt nor approval.

Everyone has thought about putting shoes on a horse, but no one has succeeded.

Horse hooves are hard and powerful when running, so they can easily tear through leather boots, unless iron shoes are made.

However, horseshoes are narrow at the top and wide at the bottom, so making such horseshoes is time-consuming and laborious, and is not only troublesome to wear, but can also easily injure the hoof joints.

Instead of wasting time on this, it would be better to forge a few more swords and arrows to kill more enemies.

Chai Xueying stepped forward, thought about the appropriate words and said:

"My dear, some people have thought about putting shoes on horses before, but the shoes will either fall off easily or be stepped on by the horse easily. If you make iron shoes, it will take time, labor and iron, which will do more harm than good."

Fang Yiyi knew what they were thinking, and said with a smile on his face:

"Putting shoes on a horse is just a metaphor. I want to put iron shoes on the horse. Iron is so hard that the hoof will not break so easily under the protection of the iron shoes."

As soon as these words came out.

The two people next to him were stunned.

The scene of nailing iron plates to horseshoes came to my mind.

The horse galloped, and the hooves inlaid with iron plates fell down. The hard rocks either flew away or broke into powder, and could no longer cause any damage to the hooves.

Chai Xueying couldn't wait to say, "Husband, your suggestion is great! I never thought of putting iron shoes on the horse before!"

"Let's ask Blacksmith Wang to make a pair of iron palms and give it a try. If it really works, it will bring great benefits to the Tang Dynasty's cavalry!"

“This is a huge achievement!”

Fang Yiyi knew it would definitely work, but at this moment, he had to leave some room for maneuver:

"You also said that this is a proposal. We have to test it to see if it works."

Then, he couldn't wait to ask:

"By the way, the blacksmith Wang you mentioned is the one with superb blacksmith skills you mentioned before?"

He really wanted to make the Type 95 saber and the Type 81 four-sided bayonet as soon as possible, otherwise he would feel uncomfortable without a suitable weapon!

Chapter 116: Scarcity of War Horses in the North

At the same time, in the imperial study of Taiji Hall in Taiji Palace.

Li Shimin, who was checking the northern military report, frowned and said:

"Mr. Dai, how about buying a warhorse?"

Dai Zhou, the Minister of Civil Affairs, stepped forward, saluted, and said with an embarrassed look:

"Your Majesty, I have already purchased war horses from Tubo and Tuyuhun, but they replied that the price is too high. I need your decision!"

"And there are only a few war horses left in the horse farms throughout the Tang Dynasty, and they can no longer be mobilized."

As he said this, Dai Zhou submitted a memorial to the emperor!

Li Shimin took Dai Zhou's memorial and read it with a frown. He could not help but scold:

"Humph, what a big mouth you have! Once I destroy the Eastern Turks, I will make sure they know how powerful the Tang Dynasty is!"

After saying this, he slowly put down the memorial and asked Li Jing:

"Pharmacist, the north is experiencing a late spring cold snap. Many of our war horses are suffering from the cold. We only have 50,000 left. What do you think we should do?"

"Should we guard the pass temporarily, or fight first?"

Li Jing, with a resolute expression on his face, had already taken all the situations into consideration. He said without hesitation:

"Your Majesty, we have enough food and money now, so just guard the pass and reduce casualties!"

"After the horses have been repaired, 50,000 cavalrymen will be able to decide the outcome of the battle and wash away the three years of humiliation suffered by the Tang Dynasty!"

Li Shimin raised his eyebrows. Originally, there were 100,000 war horses and 50,000 cavalrymen, but only 50,000 war horses were usable, and the hooves of the rest were frozen and cracked.

If we really stay at the pass for the time being and wait for the war horses to recover, I don't know how long it will take.

The loss of food and wages during this period was a huge figure.

Even if he had Fang Yiyi's 20% coal mine as support, it would just be throwing money into it, which was not what he wanted.

Cheng Yaojin, who was standing aside, said with a fighting spirit written all over his rough face:

"Your Majesty, I think the problems of food and shelter have been solved, and we can continue to send more troops to the north."

"Even if we lack war horses, the Tang Dynasty can still use infantry as the main force and advance step by step to completely wipe out the Eastern Turks!"

After saying this, Cheng Yaojin thought about the reason why there was no shortage of food and money, and a handsome face with a pale complexion emerged in his mind.

He rubbed his teeth and looked unhappily at Fang Xuanling, who was calm and composed next to him.

Li Shimin nodded. How could he not know this truth?

But if this is the case, as the army gradually approaches the border, the Eastern Turks will definitely notice something is wrong and be on guard, and then the battle will be difficult to fight.

Li Shimin looked at Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui.

The two knew what Li Shimin was going to ask.

The Tang Dynasty army combines infantry and cavalry, with the infantry being the most important, while the cavalry charges, breaks through, and pursues!

There is no way to solve the problem of war horses. If infantry is the main force now, it will not only cost food and money.

The grassland is vast, and it is difficult for infantry to pursue the enemy. If they are greedy for merit, they may stretch the battle line. If the Eastern Turkic cavalry seizes the opportunity, they will lack cavalry and be unable to rescue, which will result in a one-sided massacre.