"This is the only way Mr. Duan can come up with such a method because of his unparalleled ingenuity. I admire you."

Tong Guan flattered him again.

Although he knew it, Duan An still found it very useful.

"Stop talking about these useless things, don't embarrass me."

Tong Guan also had a family background, so Duan Ang entrusted him with such an important matter. As for Fei Tian, ​​the left minister, he passed the imperial examination and entered the Hanlin Academy. He was an orthodox civil servant and was not familiar with him.

However, this man was well-known as a good old man in the court. He smiled all day long and obeyed his arrangements.

For example, he left everything as important as the establishment of the new army to Tong Guan, and Fei Tian actually had no objections...

It went well together and he was very satisfied.

"There are still many official vacancies in the Ministry of War. The chief officers of the staff and arsenal departments have not yet been decided. Fei Tian, ​​do you have any candidates you can recommend?"

Duan Ang gave an obvious hint.

The power of appointment and dismissal of the chief officials of these two departments was given to Fei Tian, ​​who was the second in command after all.

"It's up to you to decide this. I don't have any suitable candidates here."

Fei Tian bowed slightly, humbly and naturally.

"You can submit..."

Duan An was about to say something when there was a knock on the door.

"Come in."

The door was pushed open and a middle-aged man walked in.

"Gao Fei, what's the matter?"

This person was one of the officials from the Wu Xuan Qing Dynasty, and one of the few officials who was not implicated by Deng Qiu.

"I'm sorry to bother you, but I really have something important to report."

Gao Fei said: "I just got the news that Guan Ning went to the Ministry of Industry. He proposed to improve the horse gear and the attack and killing weapons used by the cavalry."

"Is there such a thing?"

Tong Guan asked suspiciously: "Isn't Prince Guan very capable of doing things like this? Can he improve the harness?"

Horse gear refers to saddles, stirrups and other equipment used by cavalry.

"You don't know what you can do. Do you really think he can accomplish anything?"

Duan An shook his head, he had never seen such a ignorant person.

"Let him go through the trouble. It will be him who will be embarrassed when the time comes."

Tong Guan was very disdainful and didn't care at all.

He was asked to formulate a plan for establishing a new army, but he went to the Ministry of Industry.

Isn't this nonsense?

This is a matter for the Ministry of War. What does it have to do with the Ministry of Industry?

"There's no need to ask. Let him fiddle with it for a few days and he will figure it out by then."

Duan Ang said casually.

"yes."

He also thought it was ridiculous. Coming from a military background, he was no stranger to harnesses. They had been using them for so many years and there were no big deviations in various countries. You said they could be improved by improving them?

A fantasy!

The news that Guan Ning wanted to improve the harness quickly spread like wildfire.

The main reason is that he has too much attention, and people will pay attention to him whenever he makes some movements.

But he didn't hide it. Originally, he wanted to improve the harness.

Harness is an auxiliary device used by a person to control the horse more conveniently when driving a horse, including a saddle, a bridle, a bit, a horse jacket, a leather harness, a reins, etc.

It may seem trivial, but it's actually quite important.

Without saddle stirrups, people need to ride on the back of a naked horse, holding on to the reins or mane and clamping the horse's belly with their legs to prevent themselves from falling when the horse is galloping.

But this method is very unreliable. First of all, it is easy to fatigue when riding for a long time. At the same time, it is difficult to use bows and arrows effectively on a running horse. In close combat, the rider cannot use swords and spears as he likes, chop or

A failed assassination attempt or the collision of weapons from both sides could cause the rider to slip off his horse at any time.

Therefore, in addition to being superior in speed, such cavalry's combat effectiveness is far inferior to that of down-to-earth infantry.

Dakang is a country in the Central Plains, and there is a shortage of cavalry, so the supporting horse equipment is not paid attention to.

During the inspection, Guan Ning found that the harness at this time had great flaws.

For example, stirrups are quite primitively made and are made of leather, hemp fiber, or pure wood without a metal outer skin. These are easily damaged and decayed, and may not work when they are actually used.

Another major flaw is that the stirrups they use are single stirrups, which are only used for mounting horses.

In actual war, only double pedals are most useful.

Stepping on it can help you gain strength, ensuring your body can perform freely and improving your combat effectiveness.

If there are no stirrups, considerable equestrian skills are required.

But this is what the Central Plains countries lack. No matter how much you train, you can't compare with the natural equestrian masters... the barbarians.

In addition, there are problems with saddles and even horseshoes.

These are the main factors restricting the combat effectiveness of cavalry.

Guan Ning came to the Ministry of Works, and the person who met him was Wang Ducheng, the right minister of the Ministry of Works.

He is nearly sixty years old, thin, but looks very energetic.

Most of the officials in the Ministry of Industry are craftsmen and are very pragmatic.

The reason why the Right Minister was allowed to come to see him was because Guan Ning's words were too harsh.

"Prince Guan, if you have any ideas, please tell us and we can discuss them together."

Wang Ducheng yawned, but he clearly showed a lack of interest.

Who doesn’t know who you, Prince Guan, are?

You can compose poetry, write novels, do business, and check accounts... there are quite a few things you can do.

But improving horse gear is a bit irrelevant.

Professional things should be done by professional people.

"Excuse me for a moment."

Guan Ning thought it would be quite interesting to have a right servant minister meet him.

He also has a good attitude.

"This is the drawing I drew, along with the instructions. Mr. Wang can take a look at it first."

He won't come without preparation.

"drawing?"

Wang Ducheng looked at Guan Ning in surprise, and then took it.

The first picture is a stirrup.

Of course he knew it, but he was a little unfamiliar with it because it was different from traditional stirrups.

The pictures are very good and can be seen clearly.

The stirrup has a longer stirrup body, an oblate body, and the foot is slightly concave. However, the stirrup in Feng Sufu's tomb has a shorter stirrup handle, a stirrup body with a rounded triangle shape, and a straight foot.

.

From his perspective, it fit the human foot perfectly.

And this is not a single horse stirrup, but a double horse stirrup!

Wang Ducheng glanced at Guan Ning suspiciously, and then looked at the next picture. It was a saddle.

It is also different from traditional saddles.

It is explained that this is a Takahashi saddle.

Wang Ducheng could tell at a glance that this kind of saddle could give the rider longitudinal stability, which was many times better than what is in use today.

And the saddle and stirrups come as a set.

In other words, it can be fixed on the horse's back as a whole!

good!

Very good!

Wang Ducheng is the right minister of the Ministry of Industry, so he naturally has discernment. At this moment, he retracted his contempt and did not dare to neglect again.
To be continued...