Daqin: Zulong's Traveling Frog

Chapter 205 Binding the Horseshoes to the Horse's Feet
Eastern Han Dynasty.

Hanhe Emperor Liu Zhao was reviewing the memorial in the palace, when suddenly a servant came to report: "Your Majesty, General Dou Xian seeks an audience!"

A trace of surprise flashed in Liu Zhao's eyes, but after pondering for a moment, he put down the pen and paper, straightened his clothes, and summoned Dou Xian to enter the palace.

At this time, Dou Xian was in a panic. After seeing the emperor, he fell to his knees on the ground, his teeth pressing his lips, and a trace of worry flashed in his eyes.

Although Liu Zhao was the emperor, Empress Dowager Dou was in charge of the imperial court, and Dou Xian, as a servant, kept secrets internally and announced imperial edicts externally.

A few days ago, Liu Chang, the Marquis of Duxiang, came to mourn the funeral of Emperor Zhang. Dou Xian blatantly sent assassins to kill Liu Chang in the guards.

Dou Xian knew that if he was dissatisfied with the Queen Mother, he would not be safe and would even harm his wife and children, so he met Liu Zhao and asked the emperor to pardon him.

It's a pity that Liu Zhao is just an emperor who has been ostracized, and all the power in the court is in the hands of Queen Mother Dou. Liu Zhao can't even keep his attendants who have followed him for many years. Could it be possible to keep Liu Zhao?

But Dou Xian had a plan in mind, and remonstrated: "Your Majesty, I request to attack the Huns to redeem the death penalty!"

"The Huns are divided into two parts, the northern and southern ones. The southern Xiongnu is pro-Han, and the northern Xiongnu is anti-Han. A few days ago, the southern Xiongnu requested the Han Dynasty to send troops to attack the northern Xiongnu together!"

"If His Majesty appoints the minister as the general of chariots and cavalry, wears a gold seal and purple ribbon, and goes to the Northern Huns, won't the minister's life be saved?"

Liu Zhao's face was full of joy, and he let out a hearty laugh.

If Dou Xian can defeat the Huns in the north and do his best, wouldn't he be at the mercy of Queen Dowager Dou?
Therefore, he issued a royal decree: Dou Xian was made a chariot general, wearing a gold seal and a purple ribbon, and Zhijinwu Geng Bing was the deputy general, and sent to the fifth school of the Northern Army, Liyang, Yongying, the knights of the twelve counties of Yuanbian, and Qiang. Hu soldiers went out to conquer the Xiongnu.

At the same time, in the solemn and magnificent main hall of Zhangtai Palace, fragrant palace lanterns are burning on both sides.

Qin Wangzheng was holding a brush in his hand, his eyebrows were bristling, and there was a mechanical sound in his mind.

[Ding, the little childish slave sent a travel mail, please check the host]

In the photo, Dou Xian knelt down begging for mercy, Liu Zhaoduan sat in the main hall reviewing the memorial, and the two stared at each other intently.

After clicking on the recording, Liu Zhao's questioning voice came first: "General Dou, are you sure you can defeat the Huns?"

When Qin Wangzheng heard the word "Xiongnu", his face immediately became stern, his eyes were like ice for thousands of years, which was creepy.

After further learning, Qin Wangzheng knew that the Huns in the other world were divided into two groups, the north and the south. One was close to the Central Plains, and the other was in confrontation with the Central Plains. Dou Xian was ordered to attack the Northern Huns in the face of danger.

Qin Wangzheng smiled contemptuously, and said coldly: "If there is a loyal minister who also instigated against the Xiongnu, wouldn't the attack on the Huns this time reduce a lot of burden?"

But the spark of hope was quickly extinguished by Qin Wangzheng.

Going deep into the northwest is inherently dangerous, and instigating rebellion against the Xiongnu and dividing the Xiongnu is even more difficult than climbing to the sky.

Once discovered, it will be a death penalty, and even life is worse than death. I will not allow loyal ministers to take their lives for the Xiongnu.

But there are still some people who regard death as home, survived for several months in the Huns, and still did not forget their mission, but Qin Wangzheng regarded him as a martyr.

Immediately, a cold and deep laughter spread throughout the main hall, and then Dou Xian said slowly: "Your Majesty, I am sure that the reason why the Xiongnu were able to defeat and fight repeatedly is because they put an important piece of equipment on their war horses. ?”

Attracted by Dou Xian's words, Qin Wangzheng took a deep breath and listened carefully.

Dou Xian added: "The Han Dynasty army led by Wei Qing and Huo Qubing defeated the Xiongnu and achieved fruitful results, but they still did not completely eliminate the Xiongnu!"

"That's because when the two generals led two large armies out of the fortress, they had a military parade at the frontier fortress. There were 14 horses in total, but when they returned victorious, there were only [-] horses left!"

"There are not enough horses, you can't chase and kill the Huns on horseback with two legs!"

Hearing this, Qin Wangzheng nodded slightly.

In the vast grasslands of the northwest, war horses gallop thousands of miles and charge into battle. Without eyesight, swords and guns will injure the war horses. Since the horses have no protective gear, the horses will of course suffer huge losses.

Although I don't know who Wei Qing and Huo Qubing are, but they are national heroes against the Xiongnu. Even heroes are unable to turn the tide and wipe out the Xiongnu completely. Could it be that Dou Xian has a way?
Although Dou Xian does not have a 100% guarantee, he has a way to reduce the losses of the war horse and avoid repeating the mistakes of Wei Qing and Huo Qubing.

Dou Xian bowed his body and said slowly: "Your Majesty, in ancient times, people wore shoes, which reduced the chance of human feet being injured. In the same way, why can't you put shoes on horses?"

Qin Wangzheng's eyes lit up, like drinking nectar.

The reason for the huge wear and tear of the horses is probably that the hooves of the horses have deteriorated due to overwork, and the war horses cannot be used.

If you put shoes on the war horse, wouldn't it be effectively avoided?

The outer layer of the horseshoe is composed entirely of keratin, the hardest protein in the animal kingdom.

Since it is composed of keratin, horseshoes, like human nails and hair, will continue to grow over time, and the speed is amazing, and it can grow as long as a hoof every year.

However, walking and running can wear down keratin.

The reason why most horses in the wild do not require correction is because they grow and wear out at the same rate, and their hooves can remain in good, healthy condition and shape for a long time.

But wild horses living a comfortable life, the growth rate of keratin exceeds the rate of wear, and they need to wear off the excess keratin on the stone.

When the keratin is worn out, the horse will not be able to gallop thousands of miles. This is also the reason why the horses of Wei Qing and Huo Qubing suffered serious wear and tear during the battle.

When a horse's hoof is worn to a certain extent, it will be like our nails cracking. The horse will become inflamed and unable to walk.

The first to discover this problem and try to solve it should be the soldiers of ancient Rome. The horseshoe is exactly the ancient Rome, and later passed to the Huns through the Western Regions. Dou Xian observed the subtleties and realized the special features of the Huns’ war horses, so he proposed this method. .

However, their fixation method at that time was different from that of later generations. They just tied the shoe to the horse's foot with a hemp rope, just like the sandals now.

When the shoe hits the ground, the horse's hoof does not need to be worn, and it does not need to directly contact the ground, which also prevents the wear of keratin, allowing the horse to work more efficiently.

Protein is like human nails and hair, and the shoe tied to the horse's foot is just a nail clipping and haircut.

Therefore, the horseshoe will not feel pain when the horseshoe is tied to the foot.

The horseshoe solves the problem of horseshoe wear, protects the horse's feet, and reduces the loss of war horses.

In the end, Qin Wangzheng took a deep breath, with a bright smile on his face, and solemnly said: "With this thing, we can wipe out the Xiongnu just around the corner!"

A quarter of an hour later, the servant entered the palace. King Qin waved his hand and without saying a word, handed the bamboo curtain paper recording the horseshoes to the servant.

Complex emotions such as joy, shock, and worry appeared in the servant's eyes.

After Ying Zheng watched for a while, the servant was still in an uproar, and there were bursts of gasps.

In the end, the eunuch was overjoyed and said cheerfully: "I am in charge of the horseshoe, and I will definitely give His Majesty a satisfactory answer!"

(End of this chapter)