Daqin Engineering Corps

"If there is, I'm afraid it will be against Chu's navy in the future."

"When……"

There is no need for Shen Bing to say more about the next words.

The situation is indeed as Shen Bing said that there is basically no battle to fight at this time.

Yan country?

He has long been scared by the Qin army and shrank in the city, not daring to stand out, and he was also made a fuss by the Qin army's looting of food. It would be good if his domestic problems can be solved.

Qi country?

Still being dizzy by the envoys, he had no intention of going to war at all.

Then there is only Chu State.

Does that mean that Shen Bing and his party faced the Chu State navy without armor on the hell-level difficulty?

Yang Duanhe seemed to have not thought of this question until now, and he frowned and nodded:

"It makes sense."

"In this way, the navy army may have lost countless lives and injuries before reaching the second-level noble and matching armor."

Seeing Yang Duanhe being so reasonable, Shen Bing cupped his hands happily and said:

"It's true what the general said."

"That's why the subordinates thought that they should be merciful outside the law, so they first pulled out a batch of armor for the navy army."

"At least officers have to have armor..."

Unexpectedly, Yang Duanhe raised his hand and interrupted Shen Bing:

"This matter is also easy to handle."

Speaking of which, Yang Duanhe took out a map and spread it out in front of Shen Bing:

"Look at this picture, Captain."

"If Wei State is included in our Great Qin territory, then the water network in Daliang and the north will be bordered by Chu State."

"At this time, the Chu army has been defeated and the flood has not yet receded. The Chu navy may be unable to make trouble."

"But if next spring begins..."

"Chu's navy will definitely use Caozhou as a base to harass everywhere through the water network."

"At that time, you will have the opportunity to make meritorious deeds!"

Shen Bing couldn't help being dumbfounded.

What the hell, I'm here to get equipment, not to ask for a fight.

And next spring, isn't that only a few months?

Does this mean that he only needs to train for a few months before going to the battlefield?

However, Shen Bing could not refute.

Because the Chu State navy in the Caozhou area is not the main force, their main force is in the Huaihe and Yangtze River areas!

Most of these navy troops are "guerrillas" sent by Chu State to harass, such as crossing the river to burn food, sneak attacks and so on.

Wouldn't that just train Shen Bing and his party?

"But the general!" Shen Bing said, "Even so, the officers still need several sets..."

Yang Duanhe nodded heavily and said:

"That's right, the old man will send someone to deliver a set of armor to Captain Zuo!"

Shen Bing: ...

set?

After spending so much saliva, just one set?

Do you want to be so small? !

Chapter 162 Rattan Armor

Yang Duanhe's insistence on not allocating armor to the navy is actually understandable.

This should be said to be that the Qin law is not sound. It does not stipulate that after the surrendered troops form an army of their own, armor should be distributed as appropriate according to the situation.

Since there is no such provision in the Qin Law, it is illegal for Yang Duanhe to distribute it privately, and it is still illegal on a large scale to distribute it to 3000 people in the navy.

This is not because Qin has no armor.

In fact, there are hundreds of thousands of sets of armor seized from Wei Bing, not counting the mountain of brand new armor in Daliang warehouse.

Although these armors are Wei armors that are different from Qin armors, they can be made into Qin armors with only a little modification.

It is more than enough to use these armors to distribute three thousand soldiers of the navy.

The problem is that if the Wei army captives who have no titles in the navy are equipped with armor, a series of problems will arise:

If the navy can be equipped with armor, does that mean that other Wei army captives can also be equipped with armor?

If the captives of the Wei army who have no military merits can be equipped with armor, does that mean that the Qin army's no-ranked and first-level dukes can also be equipped with armor?

If the Qin army's no-rank and first-level nobility still can't be equipped with armor, does it mean that their identity and status are not as good as the Wei army's captives?

……

This is not only a problem affecting morale, but also a problem that may shake Qin's twenty military merit system.

You must know that the twenty military merit system is the foundation of Qin's strength, so even Ying Zheng dare not violate it easily.

So Yang Duanhe could only consider giving the water army more opportunities in actual combat so that they could be promoted to rank and equipped with armor in actual combat.

But Shen Bing knew that this was almost impossible.

It's relatively easy to be a public officer, you only need to get the first one of the enemy's armor.

The problem is that if you want to match armor, you need a second-level nobleman.

In other words, at least six heads must be taken, and mistakes must not be punished during this period.

How many battles will it take to achieve this?

If the water army can get six heads each and is still the "first", then the Chu State water army will almost be wiped out by the regiment!

Will the 3000 sailors still be alive by then?

I'm afraid that even though veterans were sacrificed and recruits were recruited, they would never be able to get the second rank.

Because the battlefield is not as simple as taking one head in one battle and another in another...

What if the next battle is your head being taken by the enemy?

What if the next battle is at a disadvantage and is surrounded by the enemy?

I'm afraid the armor is gone if it doesn't get life!

Shen Bing was a little frustrated.

If it's infantry or cavalry, that's all. If you don't have armor, you can think about surprise attacks and the like.

However, the navy mostly used crossbows in combat, and the difference between armored and unarmored was too great.

The reason is that the navy is almost shooting at the enemy at close range. This may lead to a situation where our side shoots the enemy a few arrows and the enemy can continue to fight, but the enemy shoots me and the situation is over.

In this way, how can we fight this battle?

I'm afraid even the guerrillas of the Chu State Navy can't beat it!

At this time, Wei Wei came into the account to report:

"Captain, the naval warship has been built, please inspect it!"

The manufacture of a wheeled warship is not complicated. Cang and other craftsmen need one day, and sailors learn and do it for three days.

But the irritable Shen Bing didn't have the heart to control the ship's affairs at all, so he raised his head and said:

"Let them try it for a day, and make it after they find the problem."

"Until a warship that meets the requirements can be produced within a day!"

Wei Xi responded and retreated.

Shen Bing's request seems a bit harsh, because "it can be produced in a day" has reached the speed of a craftsman.

But it is not the case, because there is a problem of "practice makes perfect".

And every time a ship is built for a test drive, if there are any problems, and then targeted corrections and improvements are made, then it can be regarded as a true ship-building skill.

Shen Bing then pulled his thoughts back to armor, armor...

Do you really have to wait until the beginning of next spring to brush mobs to upgrade before you can get armor?

How many sets of armor can I get by then?

How much will it cost?

At this moment, a flash of inspiration flashed in Shen Bing's mind:

Water battles are mostly crossbow arrows, right?In other words, the requirements for protection are not high, because there are very few cases of facing enemies with swords and spears.

On the other hand, it is very dangerous for sailors to wear armor, because the bronze armor weighs dozens of kilograms at every turn, and they cannot float in the water even if they swim, and they have to drown.

This is also the reason why sailors are generally equipped with leather armor...

Before Shen Bing went to Yang Duanhe to sell miserably, he also hoped to get the leather armor.

The requirements of the cavalry are the same.

For example: if you wear heavier bronze armor, it will be difficult for the rider to climb on the horse's back.

Another example: wearing bronze armor is not suitable for long-distance marching by riders.After all, there are no stirrups or saddles. If the armor is too heavy, it will be difficult to maintain balance on the horse for a long time, and the physical strength of both the man and the horse will be exhausted.

Another example: the cavalry mainly needs to defend against the enemy's crossbow. The defensive power of this leather armor is enough, and the heavy armor is a waste.This is also the reason why cavalry in this era basically do not have heavy armor...

In the era when there were no stirrups and saddles, heavy armored cavalry basically courted death on the battlefield.

That being the case...

Why not use rattan armor?

When it comes to rattan armored soldiers, one immediately thinks of rattan armored soldiers in the Three Kingdoms period.

But in fact, there may not be rattan armor in the Three Kingdoms period, and there is no record of rattan armor in history books until the Ming Dynasty.

According to the analysis of later generations, it may be because the author Luo Guanzhong was from the Ming Dynasty, so he wrote the rattan armor only in the Ming Dynasty in Romance of the Three Kingdoms.

No matter which dynasty or generation this vine armor appeared in, it is right to have this thing.

And Shen Bing happened to remember how it was made:

"Take fifty catties of red vines, soak them in water for half a month in a stone tank, take them out to dry in the sun for three days, then put them back in the tank to add water."

"Soaked in this way for one year old, dried in the sun, woven and worn according to the pattern, a total of twenty pairs."

"Its exterior is tung oily, and its armor is light and strong, capable of shielding arrows and blades. It is good for water and fire."

"And use this vine as a hat, and make a helmet when facing the enemy, and prepare for rain when it is overcast."

Having said so much, the point is to make rattan fibrous:

Soaking first and then drying, then soaking and then drying, and soaking and drying... is to make the tender rattan bark and rattan meat rot and turn into dust, and the rest is tough rattan fiber.

It will take a year to reach the armor-making standard repeatedly.

Weave it into armor and then apply tung oil... The purpose of applying tung oil is first to prevent corrosion, and second to reduce friction so that swords, spears, arrows, etc. will slip and reduce damage after being struck.

This raw material, that is, red vines, must exist, and it is all over the mountain.

It's just that the soaking time may not be enough.

But it doesn't seem to matter, because as I said before, Shen Bing and the others are going to face a water battle, and most of them have to defend against crossbow arrows.

So this rattan armor only needs to be soaked a few times to be able to resist crossbow arrows.