Since Qing Ji took the throne, he has been expanding his military equipment, ordering people to build chariots and raise horses.

This makes Wu State’s number of chariots already exceed a thousand chariots, making it a well-deserved “Kingdom of Thousand Chariots”…

Of course, in the true sense, the State of Wu should be a country of ten thousand chariots.

Even so, Wu's country has a great cause and has no shortage of chariots, chariots, and weapons. The only thing it lacks is excellent war horses!

Southern horses have short legs and strong endurance, but lack explosive power, which is a big flaw.

Moreover, the south does not produce war horses, and there are not many places where horses can be raised.

Although Qing Ji had recruited people who were good at raising horses over the years to be responsible for raising war horses for Wu, he had little success.

As the saying goes, "If an orange grows in Huainan, it will become a tangerine; if it grows in the north of Huaihe, it will become a tangerine." The water and soil support each person.

Even horses obtained through crossbreeding are sometimes difficult to use as war horses.

"Boom!"

At this moment, on the huge school grounds, under Qing Ji's gaze, a total of three hundred military chariots were speeding forward towards the clusters of scarecrows on the opposite side.

"Hush, rest, rest!"

Before the chariot arrived, the archers on the chariot had already drawn their bows and shot arrows at the scarecrows.

Then the chariot rolled over, and the soldiers on the vehicle waved their weapons, hitting the scarecrow, and swept past.

The movements are clean and neat, without any sloppiness. It is very relaxing to watch...

In this era, there were two main types of weapons for chariots, combat weapons and long-range weapons.

At the beginning, the main combat weapon in chariot battles was the Ge. The Ge was a long-handled, hook-shaped weapon with a sharp double-sided blade and a striker. The Ge equipped with the chariot was generally about three meters long and was composed of "Rong You".

Used to hook or peck when the chariots are crossing each other.

In the Spring and Autumn Period, Ge was largely replaced by halberds.

The soldiers on the chariot are usually equipped with bronze swords for self-defense, and can fight closely when the chariot is destroyed or the enemy jumps on the chariot.

The long-range weapons on the chariot are mainly bows or crossbows. These long-range weapons are used by shooters and are mainly used for shooting when the chariot impacts at a longer distance.

Personnel protection on the chariot mainly relies on leather armor and shields, and there is also a small amount of copper armor.

Chariot soldiers mainly fight upright in the vehicle, so the leather armor used by armored soldiers has a longer armor body, and has different emphasis according to the division of labor.

For example, Rongyou needs to wield weapons such as swords and halberds to fight, so his "shoulder" usually only reaches the shoulders.

The charioteer extends the mantle downwards to the wrists, with hand guards attached.

Chariots generally use large shields, mostly made of leather, with bronze parts added to the shield for reinforcement.

Chariots were first used in the Battle of Gan commanded by King Qi of Xia.

Later, the scale of wars became larger and larger, and chariots became the main force of wars and the standard for measuring a country's strength. By the Spring and Autumn Period, the country of thousands of vehicles and the country of ten thousand vehicles appeared...

"good!"

"color!"

After the chariot soldiers killed the scarecrows in large numbers, Qingji and the Wu generals who followed him all started cheering.

The following military exercises included formations, unarmed combat, hand-to-hand combat, etc., and the battles were quite fierce.

As the saying goes, it takes a thousand days to raise an army, but it takes only a moment to deploy it.

Qing Ji was well versed in the principle of "sweat more in peacetime and bleed less in war", so the soldiers of the Wu army often practiced drills to prepare for emergencies.

It is worth mentioning that there are not many real professional soldiers in Wu State now.

Even if the soldiers who are conducting military exercises do not have a high enough title, they still need to shoulder the heavy responsibility of cultivating the fields.

In other words, this is still the integration of military and peasantry.

They still need to support themselves through their own labor.

Of course, the price the country has to pay is some farm tools, cattle, etc., and that’s it.

The state of Wu does not raise idle people.

This is not a lie!

Even the standing army stationed near the capital Jinling all year round cannot train every day...

Let me ask, who can bear this?

So in their spare time, they will devote themselves to agricultural production.

No matter how high the rank of a general, there is no exception.

Even senior generals such as Sun Wu, Wu Zixu, and Tian Ruju inevitably had to work in the fields from time to time to take the lead and set an example for the soldiers of the Wu army.

This kind of "integration of soldiers and farmers" has indeed saved Wu a considerable amount of military expenditure, but it is difficult to further improve the Wu army's combat effectiveness. What can be done?

"Guowei, Grand Sima, if our Wu army fights with the armies of the princes of the Central Plains, how will we defeat them?"

When reviewing the three armies, Qingji did not forget to ask Sun Wu and Wu Zixu who were following him.

"this……"

Hearing this, Sun Wu and Wu Zixu couldn't help but look at each other.

It was obvious that they had guessed Qingji's thoughts.

Just not sure!

Has the king already decided to participate in the melee in the Central Plains?

Competing with Jin for hegemony?

"Your Majesty."

After Sun Wu pondered for a moment, he replied: "In battle, I can only win with chariots."

"Our country of Wu has a martial spirit. There is no shortage of warriors who dare to fight. It has a sharp army and a rich treasury. It is the most powerful country in the world. The only flaw, or the place where it is not as good as that of the Jin country, is the military chariots..."

"Since the late King Shoumeng, Duke Shen and his ministers have been ordered by Duke Jin of Jin to bring thirty military chariots into the land of Wu. They have given them to the archers and charioteers of the state of Wu and taught us the methods of land warfare for the people of Wu. So far, nearly nine

ten years."

"The state of Wu used this to develop a large number of chariots, and was able to win many battles, expand its territory, and compete with the Chu people in the southeast."

After a pause, Sun Wu said again: "However, even today, although the chariots of our Kingdom of Wu have already exceeded a thousand chariots and are known as the 'Land of Tens of Thousand Chariots', in terms of chariots, I am afraid they are still inferior to those of the Jin army."

, not as sharp as the Jin army!"

Although Sun Wu's words sounded very harsh to Qingji, they were a fact that had to be admitted.

The countries located in the Central Plains, whether they are Jin, Qi, or medium-sized countries such as Song, Lu, Wei, and Zheng, are all good at chariots.

Because the terrain in the Central Plains is mostly flat and flat, which is suitable for chariots to gallop around.

Now Wu State has a large number of chariots, and the combat power of its chariots and soldiers is also strong, but it can only rely on its national strength and tactics to crush Song, Lu, Wei, Zheng and other Central Plains countries.

Once they encounter a big country like Jin or Qi, Wu's chariots will probably be out of power. In a head-on battle, they won't be able to gain any advantage, and they may even be at a disadvantage when the chariots charge into the battle.

In this era, before the real "cavalry" appeared, the mainstay on the battlefield in the Central Plains was still the chariot!

What is a real cavalry?

It is a war horse equipped with stirrups and horseshoes, which can release the knight's hands to the maximum extent, as well as the method of maintaining the horse's hoofs (the life of the war horse)...

Stirrups and horseshoes are easy to make.

In other words, there is not much technical content.

Qing Ji could bring out the stirrups and horseshoes at any time and train many iron cavalry regiments for Wu.
Chapter completed!