Chapter 286 The quality of the war horse is insufficient? The idea of ??aluminum alloy instead of iron armor!
From tens of thousands of war horses, only 85 horses were selected that met the requirements for tiger riding, not even 1%. This simply subverted Liu Bian's imagination.
You know, Liu Bian originally thought that by capturing the horses of the cavalry camp, he could collect at least a thousand heavy cavalry, but he found it hard to believe that in the end he could not even collect a hundred horses.
Although there were heavy cavalry from the Eastern Han Dynasty among them, the armor rate was insufficient and they were not heavy cavalry in the strict sense, but even so, Liu Bian was still surprised.
certainly!
He will not lower the standard of tiger riding because of this.
After all, if the armor coverage rate is insufficient, there will be flaws. As long as there are flaws, the real meaning of the tiger cavalry charging into battle and being invincible will be lost.
When Liu Bian stared at the eighty-five war horses selected by Tang Feng according to the standards, he had to admit that they were indeed eye-catching. They were tall, burly, and had an extremely loud snort. He could tell at a glance that they were BMW-level creatures.
"teacher."
Liu Bian frowned, and with a thought in mind, he communicated with the Military Advisor Alliance: "Are the standards we have set a bit too high? Out of more than 10,000 war horses, only 85 meet the requirements."
"Master Ben, don't worry."
"Experts say it's actually quite normal."
The Alliance of Military Advisors seemed to have already predicted this, and analyzed: "There are mainly three types of war horses in ancient my country: Mongolian horses, Hequ horses, and southwestern horses."
"The Mongolian horse has an average height of 120~135cm and a weight of 267~370kg. It is a small and medium-sized horse. It has thick limbs, excellent adaptability and endurance. It can march 120 miles in eight hours a day and continue for many days without losing weight.
standard."
"The Mongolian horse is not a good racehorse, but it is a first-class war horse, especially suitable for light cavalry. Most of the Bingzhou and Liangzhou war horses are Mongolian horses."
"so!"
The Military Advisor Alliance said softly: "Although we have more than 10,000 war horses, in fact most of the war horses are suitable for light cavalry, not heavy cavalry. It is normal that we cannot choose many."
"ah?"
Liu Bian suddenly wilts: "Then the expert still wants to form Tiger Cavalry?"
The Military Advisor Alliance replied: "Although most of Bingliang are Mongolian horses, there are also a large number of Hequ horses in Liangzhou. The average height of Hequ horses is 132~139cm and the weight is 350~450kg. They are suitable for heavy cavalry."
"Experts predicted that there should be more than 200 Hequ horses, but they did not expect that only 85 horses were selected that met our requirements."
"Although the heavy cavalry is powerful, if it does not reach a certain scale, it will be difficult to truly display its combat effectiveness. These 85 horses are obviously not enough."
Liu Bian's lips twitched subconsciously: "Teacher, are we going to give up on forming the Tiger Cavalry?"
The Alliance of Military Advisors immediately denied: "Master Bian, please don't misunderstand. Tiger Cavalry, Leopard Cavalry, and Wolf Cavalry are indispensable. Especially since we may have a decisive battle with Yuan Shu, how can we not be without Tiger Cavalry charging into the formation!"
"But......"
Liu Bian frowned and took a deep breath: "The actual problem is before us. We can't choose too many war horses at all. Those that meet the requirements of tiger cavalry can't even meet the quantity, let alone the quality."
"Master Ben, don't worry."
The military advisor alliance hurriedly said: "Experts have backup plans."
Liu Bian was surprised: "You are indeed an expert, and you have prepared a backup plan? Tell me!"
The Alliance of Military Advisors said softly: "Actually, it's very simple. The reason why heavy cavalry has strict requirements on war horses is that the load is too heavy. If the load can be reduced, the number of horses that meet the requirements will naturally increase."
"According to the previous calculations, the weight of the war horse includes four aspects, the weight of the soldier, the soldier's armor, the war horse armor, and the weapons carried by the soldier."
"Among them, the weight of the soldiers and the soldiers and horses they carry cannot be changed. We can only reduce the load by reducing the soldiers' armor and the horse's armor."
Liu Bian was a little confused when he heard this: "Teacher, are we trying to reduce the armor rate? In this case, wouldn't it expose the weaknesses of the defense, so that the opponent can seize the flaw and launch a counterattack?"
"Master Bian misunderstood."
The Military Advisor Alliance immediately denied: "We must not reduce the armor rate, but should find a way to use materials to replace the iron sheets."
hiss-!
Liu Bian was shocked, gasped, and his thoughts were wandering.
Liu Bian, who has an engineering background, immediately thought of a material: "Aluminum? No, aluminum is too soft, and its defensive capabilities are not as good as iron sheets. It must not be replaced by aluminum."
"Pure aluminum really doesn't work."
"but......"
The Alliance of Military Advisors continued: "Although the strength of duralumin alloy is not as good as iron armor, there is definitely no problem in defending against the slashing and assassination of ordinary swords."
"The most important thing is that the density ratio of aluminum alloy to steel is about 2.7:7.8. Calculated in this way, the original 65kg armor load can be reduced to 22.5kg, which reduces the load by 42.5kg."
"If you calculate it this way..."
The voice of the Military Advisor Alliance was slightly longer, and said softly: "As long as it is a Hequ horse, it should basically meet the requirements of tiger riding. Even some excellent Mongolian horses can also meet the requirements."
While Liu Bian was ecstatic, he suddenly became suspicious: "Teacher, this is obviously the best solution. Why is it only a backup solution for experts?"
"It's very simple."
The Military Advisor Alliance did not hide it: "Because aluminum alloys are not only aluminum, but also other metals, copper, manganese, and magnesium. In other words, we must at least find aluminum, copper, magnesium, and manganese ore in order to create aluminum alloys."
"Ah, this..."
Liu Bian had to admit it.
This is indeed a very real problem.
He tentatively asked: "Apart from copper mines, are these mines difficult to find?"
Military Advisor Alliance: "It's not difficult to find. Modern Henan was originally a major aluminum province, second only to Shanxi and Guizhou. If we compare it to the Eastern Han Dynasty, there were several heavyweight mining areas in the Sili and Yingchuan areas.
.”
"One: Shaanxi County-Mianchi-Xin'an;"
"Second: Yanshi-Gongyi-Xingyang;"
"Third: Yangcheng-Mi County;"
"Fourth: Yangcheng-Yangzhai-Jiaxian;"
Liu Bian was overjoyed and asked quickly: "How difficult is it to mine? What are our current technical conditions?"
The Alliance of Military Advisors did not hesitate: "During the Western Han Dynasty, Gongyi's iron smelting furnaces used bauxite as refractory material. I guess it is not very difficult to mine, and it may even be an open-pit aluminum ore."
"Furthermore, in the early 1980s, open-pit mining was still the main method in our country. It was only after the 1980s that we switched to well mining, so Mr. Ben can rest assured that bauxite mining is not difficult."
"only......"
A god from the Military Advisor Alliance made a sudden change and said: "The rare metals magnesium and manganese are a bit difficult to get."
Liu Bian frowned: "Is it difficult to do it? Or is it impossible to do it?"
"Difficult!"
The Military Advisor Alliance affirmed: "Our country's magnesite ore is mainly concentrated in Liaoning, Shandong, Hebei and other places, and the closest one to Bian Ye can only be brucite in Xixia, which is Xi County. We can mine it independently, but it is relatively
Waste of time."
"As for manganese mines, they are mainly concentrated in Guangxi, Hunan, Guizhou and other regions. The one closest to Bianye that can be mined in the open is in Chen () County, Guiyang County, Jingnan, in the area now called Agate Mountain."
"So Mr. Ben!"
The Military Advisor Alliance concluded: "If we want to replace iron armor with aluminum alloy, we must mine brucite and bring back manganese ore from Guiyang County. Both of these are indispensable."
Damn it!
Liu Bian finally understood.
Why did the Military Advisor Alliance consider aluminum alloy as an alternative?
The reason is very simple, you need a lot of things, and some of them are beyond your control.
Liu Bian hesitated immediately: "It seems that it is indeed difficult. Not to mention whether the mine in Guiyang County can be solved, even if it is solved, I don't know how long it will be."
"Master Ben, don't worry."
The Military Advisor Alliance said softly: "Experts do have a response plan, but the success rate is not too high."
Liu Bian tried to ask: "What plan?"
Military Advisor Alliance: "Let Jingzhou Mu Liu Biao pay tribute to manganese ore. To him, this kind of thing should be just a useless stone. If he doesn't want to offend Bian Ye, he won't refuse it."
"Tribute?"
Liu Bian's eyes suddenly brightened and he nodded slowly: "It's really a good idea. It's useless for Liu Biao. There's no need for him to offend us because of it. Even if the success rate is not high, it won't be much lower if you think about it."
The Military Advisor Alliance gives the probability: "The success rate is 66.8%."
Liu Bian did not hesitate: "Do it!"
"His Majesty!"
"His Majesty?"
Seeing His Majesty the Emperor, he was stunned for a long time.
Xun on the side said hello tentatively.
"Well, it's okay."
Only then did Liu Bian come to his senses and exclaimed: "Where is Tang Feng?"
Tang Feng took a step forward: "The humble minister is here."
"If the standard is lowered slightly, how many war horses can there be?"
"this......"
Tang Feng bowed his head and saluted: "Then it depends on how much your Majesty lowers the number. If the number drops by 10% or 20%, there should be three hundred horses. If the number drops more, there may be thousands of war horses."
Thousands of war horses?
Liu Bian took a deep breath and nodded with interest.
If the number of heavy cavalry can reach one thousand, the effect of charging the formation will be greatly enhanced.
In this way, even if there are tens of thousands of enemy troops, it is still possible to penetrate the opponent's military formation.
Liu Bian took a deep breath and ordered: "You can use this standard, lower it slightly, and gather up a thousand war horses, and raise them separately. I will keep them for great use."
Tang Feng bowed his head: "Your Majesty, don't worry, just leave it to me."
"Walk."
Liu Bian nodded and waved his hand: "Let's go and see the war horses that are famous for their speed."
Tang Feng waved his hand to make an invitation: "Your Majesty, please come this way."
The three of them walked all the way.
Tang Feng pointed to the horse farm not far away: "Your Majesty, they are right there. Most of these war horses have the blood of Yanqi horses from the Western Regions, and they are quite good at endurance and speed."
"Yan Qi Ma?"
Liu Bian frowned.
He had never heard of such a war horse.
Tang Feng bowed his head and hurriedly explained: "Your Majesty, this is a war horse produced in Yanqi in the Western Region. It is a war horse that is no less than the Dawan BMW. It is famous for its endurance and speed. It can traverse mountains and seas as if it were walking on flat ground."
Well......
Walking on mountains and crossing seas, is it like walking on flat ground?
Liu Bian only felt that Tang Feng was bragging. How could there be such a war horse in this world?
As a result, the voice of the Military Advisor Alliance followed: "Master Bian, Tang Feng did not lie. The Yanqi horse can indeed swim, but the distance it can swim is limited."
"Fuck!"
Liu Bian was shocked and thought: "A war horse that can swim?"
The Military Advisor Alliance explained: "The Yanqi horse has a dragon colt and is known as a seahorse."
"It is called a dragon colt because Yanqi horses are good at galloping. A good Yanqi horse can really run three hundred miles a day. It has great advantages in endurance and speed."
"In ancient times, the post station traveled 1,200 miles from Xinjiang to Yanjing to deliver news. The report had to arrive in the capital in five or six days, and the emperor's order also took five or six days to reach Yanqi. The Yanqi horse was used at that time."
"It is said to be a seahorse because Yanqi horses are good at swimming. If possible, Yanqi horses can swim up to 20 to 30 kilometers without any problem. In addition to being able to carry their owners for paddling, they can also carry their owners' luggage and cargo for snorkeling."
"The indigenous Yanqi horses are famous in the Central Plains and Western Regions for their endurance, lightness, flexibility, and stability. They are comparable to the nationally famous Yinli horses. Later, they were hybridized with Central Asian horses, and their characteristics became more obvious."
"I have to admit it."
Even experts from the Military Advisor Alliance couldn't help but praise Tang Feng: "Tang Feng's vision is rather vicious. These war horses are indeed stronger than Mongolian horses in terms of speed and endurance."
"The Leopard Cavalry is a troop that is meant to pursue victory and expand the results of the battle. Speed and endurance are the most critical indicators. It is indeed very suitable to incorporate them into the Leopard Cavalry."
"I see."
Liu Bian breathed a sigh of relief and nodded slowly: "Very good! You have done a very good job. These war horses with Yanqi horse bloodline must also be carefully raised, do you understand?"
Tang Feng cupped his hands and clasped his fists: "Your Majesty, don't worry, Weichen has no other abilities, but when it comes to raising horses, I'm afraid there aren't many people in the world who can match Weichen, so your Majesty, just rest assured."
"good!"
Liu Bian was very satisfied with Tang Feng's answer and gave him a faint smile: "How can I feel uneasy if you say this? The war horse will be left to you. If you need anything, just ask the court."
Tang Feng cupped his hands and said, "Here."
"Wen Ruo, let's go, I have something to discuss with you."
"Here."
Liu Bian did not waste too much time at the racecourse.
After all, Tang Feng's management was much better than he imagined, so he could rest assured.
And he needs to concentrate on solving the problems of equipment, soldiers and horses.
On the carriage.
Liu Bian and Xun were seated respectively as guest and host.
"Wen Ruo."
Liu Bian didn't waste any more nonsense and went straight to the point: "I think you should understand what I mean by classifying war horses in this way."
Xun You nodded and said: "In the fierce battles in the Central Plains, the war horse is king. Your Majesty wants to build an elite cavalry. He should follow the imperial court's strategy of jumping cavalry and stationing cavalry."
"kindness."
Liu Bian nodded: "Yes, that's exactly it."
Xun You frowned: "But Your Majesty, the war horses are good at carrying weight and are so fast, but there are only more than a thousand war horses. What are the other horses?"
"That's right."
At that moment, Liu Bian briefly described the cavalry plan to Xun Yu: "These three types of cavalry have their own characteristics. If they can be used in a reasonable combination, they will be invincible!"
"Wolf, tiger, leopard, dragon."
"These four horses do have their own characteristics."
Xun You was amazed at Liu Bian's talent and couldn't help but nod and praise: "Your Majesty is really talented, and I am ashamed of myself! However, since Your Majesty has made a specific plan, how can I help you?"
Liu Bian said bluntly: "Wen Ruo, the tiger cavalry I want is definitely not a stationary cavalry like the Northern Army. Its armor coverage rate will be very high, which will lead to higher requirements for load-bearing capacity."
"You saw it just now."
Liu Bian sighed and shrugged: "Only eighty-five riders meet my requirements. Such a number is really difficult to form an effective combat force. I must find a way to solve it."
Xun Yiyi bowed his head and said: "May I ask Your Majesty, do you have any solution?"
Liu Bian nodded: "Yes! Under the condition of ensuring that the armor armor rate remains unchanged, some special materials can only be used instead. I have seen in a certain book before that someone made a product that is as hard as steel, but the quality is not.
Extraordinarily light material.”
"I remember the forging method very clearly, but there is an ore that is not available in Nanyang. It is on a certain mountain in Chen County, Guiyang County, Jingnan."
hiss-!
Xun You couldn't help but gasped: "Liu Biao's territory?"
Liu Bian nodded: "That's right! This is it. Do you have any suggestions?"
"this......"
Xun You pondered for a long time and said tentatively: "Your Majesty can send people to sneak into Chen County, Guiyang, buy the mine privately, and then transport it to Nanyang by water."
"It's just that there are too many hurdles to pass, and if it arouses suspicion from others, I'm afraid His Majesty's secret of forging special materials will also be leaked."
"No!"
Before Liu Bian could speak, Xun or himself denied it.
Liu Bian was too lazy to wait for Xun or to analyze, and simply gave his own opinion directly: "Wen Ruo, I have a solution, but I just need a capable person to do it for me."
Xun You was so busy that he bowed his head and said, "I don't know what to do?"
Liu Bian said softly: "It's very simple! I am the emperor of the Han Dynasty. I can directly give Liu Biao an edict to collect various stones and send them to Nanyang in the name of building the emperor's palace."
"If he obeys, he will do it alone."
An irresistible kingly aura flashed through Liu Bian's eyes, and he said coldly: "If not, when the grain is harvested in the autumn, I will send Sun Jian to lead his troops south, destroy Liu Biao, and conquer the entire Jingzhou."
"Ah, this..."
Xun You was shocked when he heard this and hurriedly bowed his head: "Your Majesty, please don't be impulsive. I think Liu Biao will not quarrel with Your Majesty because of some stones. It's not worth it."
"After all, we are his neighbors, and Dong Zhuo is beyond his reach. Although Liu Biao accepted Dong Zhuo's position as Jingzhou Shepherd, Cai Mao never came to take up the post, which proves that he is unwilling to antagonize His Majesty."
Liu Bian said with great interest: "So, this plan is feasible?"
Xun or nodded: "It's feasible."
"Who is the right person to send as envoy to Jingzhou?"
"this......"
Xun You pondered for a moment, and then someone suddenly appeared in his mind: "Your Majesty, Lu Su, the magistrate of Danshui County, is the only one. If he can accomplish this, there will be more reasons to promote him."
"Lu Su?"
Liu Bian naturally knew this person's abilities: "Okay, then let Lu Su go, and you can send someone to deliver the order."
Xun Yi bowed his head and said solemnly: "Here."
Squeaky.
The carriage moved slowly along.
Half an hour later, we returned to Wancheng.
While Xun was compiling the imperial edict, Zhu Tong sent a personal letter from the emperor.
Not long after, we set off on horseback and headed straight for Xinye and Danshui counties.
*****
Xiangyang.
State Shepherd's Office.
Government Hall.
Liu Biao sat at the head, and under him were civil and military officers on both sides.
At this moment, Jingzhou Biejia was engaged in Kuai Yue and was reporting work in the palace: "Lord, our Jingzhou people have suffered a serious loss recently. Most of them are migrating to Nanyang. I'm afraid there are no less than tens of thousands of people."
"so much?"
Liu Biao looked in disbelief and twisted his beard and said: "Although the Nanyang Hanting is exempted from oral tax and calculated tax, the land rent is very high. Logically speaking, there should not be too many people migrating!"
Kuai Yue took a deep breath: "My lord, Nanyang Hanting is exempted from oral taxes. Calculation of taxes is only one aspect. Moreover, I heard that the imperial court invented a kind of water conservancy machinery and equipment that can transport water to farther places for irrigation. This is so easy for no reason.
Hundreds of thousands of acres of paddy fields.”
"My lord, you should know that the yield of paddy fields is very high. It is far from what an ordinary acre can produce, and may even reach two dan. Even if the land tax is higher, the actual income of the people will naturally be more."
Liu Biao frowned slightly: "But can the high-speed train be transferred?"
Kuai Yue nodded: "That's right! Exactly, the lord also heard the news?"
"kindness."
Liu Biao responded and sighed: "The Xi family in Xiangyang suffered greatly. I heard that many tenants of the Xi family went to Deng County in Nanyang to farm for the Nanyang Han court, leaving thousands of acres of land uncultivated by the Xi family.
.”
Deng County is adjacent to Xiangyang, only a few feet away.
The policies of the Han Court in Nanyang can indeed affect the Xi family outside Xiangyang City.
Xi Yu, the ancestor of the Xi family in Xiangyang, was granted the title of Marquis of Xiangyang by virtue of his meritorious service in the battles with Emperor Guangwu Liu Xiu and his return home in rich clothes.
As a result, the Xi family became a famous wealthy family in Xiangyang.
Kuai Yue sighed and said softly: "Not only the Xi family, but also the Cai family, Huang family, Pang family and other aristocratic families have all been affected to varying degrees, especially after the high-profile transfer came out."
"What do you mean by that?"
Liu Biao frowned and asked.
He knew very well that since this matter affected the Jingxiang family, he had to intervene.
After all, Liu Biao was personally supported by them.
Now that I am still on an unstable footing, and it is not yet time to counterattack the family, I can only let them do what they want.
"Lord."
Kuai Yue bowed his head and said softly: "I believe that these magical tools must be introduced to Jingxiang, otherwise a large number of people will move to Nanyang in the future."
"snort!"
Liu Bian snorted and seemed to have realized something: "Then I wonder how we are going to introduce the alien world? Could it be that you want me to go to Nanyang in person and ask for help from His Majesty the Emperor of Nanyang?"
"this......"
When Kuai Yue was about to speak.
"Report—!"
Suddenly, a long announcement sounded outside the hall.
Liu Biao looked up.
However, I saw a soldier hurried up to the palace, leaned down and raised his hands and said: "My lord, there is someone outside the palace who claims to be Lu Su, the envoy of Nanyang Hanting. He said that he is coming with the imperial edict from His Majesty the Emperor, and asks you to come out to greet him."
"Nanyang Hanting, Lu Su?"
Liu Biao was stunned for a moment, his eyes full of horror.
"That's right."
The soldier nodded affirmatively: "That's exactly who he is."
Kuai Yue raised his lips slightly: "My lord, Nanyang Hanting is sending someone here at this moment. There must be something important. It may be an opportunity for negotiation. If possible, my lord should ask for the design drawing of the high-tube car."
"Is that so?"
Liu Biao nodded with interest: "It's not impossible, but can you ensure that the edict sent by Nanyang Hanting is not an evil edict?"
Kuai Yue smiled faintly: "Don't worry, my lord, it's not the time to issue an evil edict yet."
"kindness."
Liu Biao expressed his deep agreement and said softly: "In that case, let's welcome it."