Chapter 10: Establishing Cavalry (Part 2)

"Commander Wu Du, you can't create such a crossbow, right?" Zheng Tai was very surprised and asked loudly, her eyes widening.

The key to this matter is whether the crossbow can meet the requirements. If the crossbow meets the requirements, the benefits are obvious. If the crossbow fails to meet the requirements, everything will be in vain.

"You can try it." Wu Ji nodded and said, "I have found that some places need to be improved in the hand crossbows equipped by the Congxin Army, so there should be no problem."

After this battle, Wu Ji found that the crossbow should be adjusted. The improved crossbow should have a longer range and more powerful range. If it is used to equip cavalry, there is no big problem.

"That's great!" Zheng Tai, Huangfu Song and Qi Dabao agreed in unison.

As long as you are not a fool, you can see that when the enemy cannot reach you, and you can effectively kill the enemy, there is no need to say the benefits of this, it is extremely good.

"There is another point, I'm going to equip the cavalry with a spear." Wu Ji then analyzed and said, "You think that when the two armies meet, they are now waving their swords to slash and kill. However, this can also be used. When the cavalry charges, they first shoot with a crossbow, then shoot with a crossbow, and then charge with a spear. No matter whether the opponent is a cavalry or an infantry, they will stab it hard first."

Zheng Tai, Huangfu Song, Qi Dabao's eyes shone brightly, and the more he listened, the more he became more interesting.

"The war horses charge forward very strongly and have very high lethality. If you don't use it, wouldn't it be a pity?" Wu Ji's voice was a little high and he was very excited.

Cavalry charges will be earth-shaking and have a particularly strong impact. If you have a spear in your hand and stab the enemy hard, will you have to say the benefits? If you stab it, you will either have a broken tendon or die.

If you don’t use a spear, but slash with a knife, it is really a waste. After Wu Ji’s reminder, Zheng Tai could no longer bear it: “Not to mention whether there can be many casualties, at least one thing is certain, which will cause chaos to the enemy. On the battlefield, you need a dignified formation to win. Once chaos occurs, it will give the enemy an opportunity to take advantage of it. This is a good idea!”

Chaos on the battlefield, if you don’t pay attention, will turn into a defeat. If you can cause chaos to the enemy, you must not be lenient.

"It's really a good idea." Huangfu Song and Qi Dabao agreed in unison.

"The cavalry of the previous dynasty was equipped with horse lances, and when they hit, the results were really good." Zheng Tai sighed a little, "It's a pity that this dynasty lacked war horses, and the use of cavalry was getting worse and worse, so he actually learned from the Khitans. The Khitans' cavalry and shooting skills were good, and they came and went like the wind, but when they encountered the cavalry of the previous dynasty, they suffered heavy casualties. Wu Zetian only sent a side division, and almost destroyed the Khitans. The Khitans shrank for hundreds of years and did not dare to move."

"There is such a thing?" Wu Ji, Huangfu Song, and Qi Dabao were very surprised. Unexpectedly, the Khitans who were rampant today were almost exterminated in the hands of the Tang Dynasty.

"It's true!" Zheng Taixin pointed: "When the previous dynasty, when it comes to cavalry tactics, they were really much more intelligent than the Khitans. Although the Khitans were born rider shooters, they were far inferior to the previous dynasty in terms of equipment. At present, although the Khitans have improved, they still did not reach the height of the previous dynasty."

The cavalry of the Tang Dynasty was the pinnacle of ancient Chinese history. It was well-equipped, well-trained, strict disciplined, amazing combat power, and was invincible when fighting.

"In this way, this equipment and spear is inevitable!" Huangfu Song agreed very much and came to a conclusion.

"That's natural!" Zheng Tai and Qi Dabao agreed in unison.

"The commander of Wu Du can see the shortcomings of the Khitan cavalry. Although he has only been in the army for a short time, his eyesight is not simple. Even Wang Shao does not have this sight!" Zheng Tai praised him.

In the entire Song Dynasty, there were not many generals who really valued cavalry. Yue Fei was the best one to use cavalry, and secondly, Di Qing was needed. Apart from some, few people valued cavalry, let alone built cavalry.

The reason is that there are insufficient horses and the horse politics are corrupt, so they cannot raise good horses, so they have to buy and sell them from the Liao and Xixia. These two countries know the shortcomings of the Song Dynasty and ask for prices everywhere. The Song Dynasty thought that the gain is not worth the loss, so they turned to formulate a strategy of "using steps to control cavalry".

This strategy is simply a death talisman for cavalry, which has caused the cavalry to plummet. There are very few generals who value cavalry. Only Yue Fei was the only one in the Song Dynasty who could build an elite cavalry. The Yue family's army was not large, but there was a cavalry team with a stronger combat power than the Jurchen cavalry, which was unique in the Song Dynasty.

What caused this situation was that the cost of building a cavalry could equip five infantry. Therefore, in order to save money, instead of taking the path of elite troops, the Song Dynasty turned to the strategy of "using infantry to control cavalry" in full. A large number of cavalry groups, including Fan Zhongyan, Han Qi, and Shen Kuo, all supported this strategy.

Even Song Shenzong, Wang Anshi, and Wang Shao did not break out of this rude.

"It's too much!" Wu Ji said humbly, "This chopping is not fierce enough, it's obvious. The Xiongzhou cavalry is equipped with a Maza knife, which is too light and insufficient. If you cut and kill, it's not fierce enough. If you change to the sword, it's different."

Zheng Tai first agreed: "The horizontal swords of the previous dynasty are heavier than the Mazaku, and they are more powerful and fierce. With the swords of the enemy, this problem will be solved. How can I say that if I cannot use them properly?"

Wu Ji did not speak immediately, but pursed his lips. After thinking about it, his tone suddenly turned higher: "Maybe, this is the reason why the Song Dynasty's martial arts are not strong and the Khitans are always fighting!"

"Ah!" These words were so amazing, Zheng Tai and the other two exclaimed in unison.

The Song Dynasty could not defeat the Liao Kingdom and suppressed the Liao Kingdom for hundreds of years. The Song Dynasty found the reason for hundreds of years, but there were many different opinions and it was difficult to make a conclusion. There were so many statements, and there was no such statement as Wu Ji, which attributed the lack of martial arts in the Song Dynasty to the inability to use cavalry.

The Song Dynasty could not defeat the Liao Kingdom, and more people tended to be corrupt and incompetent than to the cavalry.

"What do you mean?" Zheng Tai asked first, his eyes widened and looked at Wu Ji.

"I understand the use of the Xiongzhou Army. They dispersed the cavalry and divided them into various battalions to support infantry operations." Wu Ji stood up and said, "This is simply a crime!"

"The commander of the Wu capital, the cavalry of the Song Dynasty are used in this way, and they are not wrong!" Huangfu Song disagreed with Wu Ji's statement and defended the Xiongzhou Army.

"It is precisely because of this that the martial arts of the Song Dynasty were not strong enough!" Wu Ji said a little angry and said, "Even elites like the Xiongzhou Army are still inevitably used to disperse the cavalry. What about other armies? Are they still very dispersed?"

"That's true." Zheng Tai nodded and said, "Even the imperial guards, they also disperse cavalry and soldiers. All squads have a certain number of cavalry. What's even more hateful is that only 30% of the cavalry have horses, and the rest have no horses. Although they have the name of cavalry, they have no cavalry." When Zheng Tai said this, he shook his head, feeling very regretful.

"What happened like this?" Wu Ji was very surprised. The Imperial Guard was the most elite army of the Song Dynasty. It was used to protect the capital. The Imperial Guard's cavalry had no horses and 70% had no horses. This was too nonsense.

"It's true!" Zheng Tai nodded fiercely.

"It is better to break up and reorganize the cavalry and form a real cavalry." Wu Ji immediately thought of a solution.

"It's not that no one has asked, but no one dares to move." Zheng Tai shrugged, feeling helpless.

"Forget it, let's talk about our affairs. The affairs of the imperial guards are not under our jurisdiction." Wu Ji was very upset: "My opinion is to concentrate the cavalry and use them. Send them wherever they need them. If they are used in a scattered manner like Xiongzhou Army, there is no difference between these cavalry and not."

In the era of cold weapons, cavalry was a trump card, famous for its high-speed maneuverability and amazing sprinting power. With an elite cavalry, you can have the capital to come and go like the wind and attack the enemy's weaknesses.

To achieve this, cavalry must be used in a concentrated manner. During the Qin, Han, Sui and Tang Dynasties, China had many cavalry, and often dispatched tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, and tens of thousands. How amazing is this. These cavalry are used in a concentrated manner and use the amazing maneuverability of cavalry to deal a heavy blow to the enemy. This is the key to Emperor Wu of Han defeating the Huns.

With cavalry, there is also a need for corresponding cavalry theories. Wei Qing and Huo Qubing were geniuses who mastered the combat of large cavalry corps. Under their leadership, the powerful Han army galloped and fought the Huns helplessly.

The Huns grew up on horseback and were skilled in riding and shooting. They claimed that they could live on horseback for a lifetime. In front of the powerful Han army, they would not defeat them? It was not that the Huns were strong, but that the Han Dynasty found a better way to use cavalry, giving cavalry more advanced equipment and more flexible tactics than the Huns.

During the Qin, Han, Sui and Tang dynasties, cavalry were used in a concentrated manner and were used as the main force. Infantry could only play an auxiliary role and help cavalry fight. Therefore, the Qin, Han, Sui and Tang dynasties achieved amazing martial arts.

On the contrary, the Song Dynasty reduced the status of cavalry again and again until no one was concerned about it and became an auxiliary army for infantry. The principle of concentrated use of cavalry was thrown behind, and the cavalry became an auxiliary army for supporting infantry operations.

This reversal resulted in completely different. The martial arts that were prosperous during the Qin, Han, Sui and Tang dynasties suddenly disappeared. The Song Dynasty suppressed the alien race and finally destroyed the Mongols.

During World War II, the Germans concentrated the tanks and formed armored clusters to make breakthroughs. The British and French coalition forces had more tanks than the German tanks, but in the face of the Nazi Germany blitzkrieg, they were defeated and could not organize any resistance.

It was precisely because the Song Dynasty used the cavalry in dispersed manner that when encountering the attacks of the Khitans, they were attacked everywhere, but they were helpless and could not fight back.
Chapter completed!