The World of Yellow Sky

"Da da da----"

The dull sound of horseshoes echoed in everyone's ears. At this time, a knight was riding a horse on the school field.

Yan Lun saw that everyone's realization was focused on the knight, and introduced: "These are a few experimenters selected from the Eagle Wolf Guard, and they are all excellent riders of the Eagle Guard."

The knight galloping around the circular runway of the school field at extreme speed, made various difficult moves on the horse from time to time.

Everyone's sights also followed the galloping of the knight. Almost all of them were battle-tested people, even He Man and other generals often rode war horses.

They were no strangers to the sound of horseshoes trampling the ground, but the sound of the horseshoes today was very special, louder and more imposing than the sound of ordinary war horses, and it seemed to run more dexterously.

"Da da da----"

In a blink of an eye, the knight on the horse had steered the horse and galloped around. Although he saw Xu An and others approaching in a mighty manner, he wanted to stop the horse, but he got Yan Lun's instruction, and the soldier who sent the message Let him demonstrate all the specific items of the experiment, so he didn't get off the horse.

On the edge of the school field, a soldier was holding a horse spear in both hands, beside the only way for the knight to pass.

There was a rush of hoofbeats, and when the dust was flying, the knight on the horse stretched out his ape arm and grabbed the long lance in his hand.

The horse was galloping, and the knight on the horse passed in front of everyone's eyes. He suddenly held a lance in both hands, stepped on the stirrups, and stood on the horse, and then suddenly exerted force.

In the blink of an eye, Ma Qian had already picked off the grass-made target.

Lu Bu's pupils shrank suddenly, and he looked forward with eagerness in his eyes.

Which of the generals of the Yellow Turban Army was not a person who was good at fighting, but in just a short moment, they saw some clues.

The double-foot stirrup is different from the single stirrup. It is a pair of pedals hanging on both sides of the saddle. Like the single stirrup, it can be used by the rider to step on the horse and ride.

However, the function of the double-footed stirrup is not only to help people get on the horse, but also to support the knight's feet when the horse is galloping. It can maximize the advantages of riding a horse and at the same time effectively provide a safety guarantee for the knight. .

The knight who used these tools was firmly rooted in the saddle, and his various movements had almost no effect.

Moreover, this kind of stirrup can liberate both hands, without the need for the knight to clamp the legs of the soldiers in both hands tightly. With the help of the stirrups on both feet, the knight on the horse can use his feet to control his balance and finish rushing, stabbing, chopping, A series of difficult movements such as hitting.

Gong Du, Lu Bu, Zhang Liao, Zhang Yang and other cavalry generals naturally understood the meaning of this tool.

The double-foot stirrup will make the horse easier to control, connect the man and the horse as one, and free the hands of the rider on the horseback. The cavalry can ride and shoot on the galloping horse, or they can ride on the horseback. Swing left and right to complete the military action of chopping left and chopping right.

The range of the bow used for cavalry archery will be longer, the melee ability of cavalry on horses will be greatly improved, and knights will be trained faster.

Xu An looked at the galloping knight in front of him, and involuntarily clenched the reins in his hand.

He has known these utensils for a long time, but he has never dared to take them out, and he has never dared to let people make them.

At that time, the Han court was powerful and had a large number of horses and cavalry. Every time the Yellow Turban Army fought the Han army, the battle formation was often crushed by the cavalry formed by the tall horses of the Han army.

On the other hand, the cavalry of the Yellow Turban Army are basically used for reconnaissance and containment, and they have no power to fight at all.

Even if Xu An later occupied Taihang Mountain, Shangdang County and other places, or even occupied Bingzhou, he would not dare to take it out easily.

The "Takahashi saddle", "double-footed stirrup" and "horseshoe" greatly improved the combat effectiveness of cavalry, but they were extremely easy to imitate.

A horse's hoof is composed of two layers. The layer in contact with the ground is a layer of hard cutin about two to three centimeters thick, and the upper layer is live cutin.

In ancient times, when cavalry fought, the horseshoes were often damaged, making them unable to fight. There are usually two reasons for this. The first is that the horseshoes are too worn out by long-term running.

The second is that the road conditions on some grounds are very poor.The horseshoe is in contact with the ground, and it will fall off quickly due to the friction of the ground and the corrosion of accumulated water. The main purpose of nailing the horseshoe is to delay the wear of the horseshoe.

The use of horseshoes not only protects the horseshoe, but also makes the horseshoe grip the ground more firmly, which is very beneficial for riding and driving.

With these horseshoes, it can not only improve the mobility and durability of the cavalry, but also benefit the logistics troops of the Yellow Turban Army and the horses of the transport troops.

Moreover, the horseshoe actually has a less obvious function. A horse equipped with a horseshoe will make a more powerful sound when running, and it will be more powerful when stepping and kicking.

A high bridge saddle, as the name suggests, is a saddle with a high saddle bridge.

The shape of the Takahashi saddle fits the horse's back, and it can "hug" the horse's back. With the function of the girth, there will be basically no rotational displacement, and the Takahashi saddle can also make the knight more comfortable on the horse. safe.

Compared with the previous saddles, it is much more scientific and secure, and it makes both the knight and the horse more comfortable.

The high bridge saddle improves the stability of the knight riding on the horse. At the same time, after the saddle surface is raised, the knight's field of vision on the horse is wider.

The double-foot stirrups liberate the knight's hands and improve stability at the same time.

The horseshoe, on the other hand, greatly improves the mobility of the war horse, enabling it to adapt to various terrains, to move over long distances, and to launch long-distance raids.

These three utensils did not improve the combat effectiveness of the cavalry by a single bit.

At that time, Xu An's cavalry was weak, but his hostile forces were not. Dong Zhuo had a large army, and Huangfusong's Han army was strong. If Dong Zhuo had learned about these weapons after he entered Beijing, perhaps history would really be reversed.

Dong Zhuo, who has a large number of cavalry, may really defeat the Kwantung Allied Forces in one fell swoop because of the strengthening of these equipment, and truly become a powerful minister like Huo Guang, and even really control the world like Wang Mang.

And Liangzhou, which has more cavalry, may become more terrifying because of these equipment. Even Huang Fusong may not be able to defeat Han Sui in the battle of Chencang. The price is undoubtedly too heavy.

So until now, the Yellow Turban Army has owned a large number of horse resources, a large number of well-trained cavalry, and a large number of workshops with high production capacity.

It is only now that Xu An has allowed the workshops in the Taihang Mountain area to start making these three utensils, and he has also tried everything possible to prevent leakage.

For the upcoming Battle of Liangzhou, Liangzhou Han Sui and Ma Teng have a large crowd. Although it has been more than a year of internal friction, their strength should not be underestimated.

Xu An would not treat two historically famous figures as waste, and rushed from Bingzhou to Liangzhou. The journey was far away. If it was not for the Wang family of Liangzhou as the internal support, otherwise Xu An would not have any peeps at Liangzhou. Heart.

But even if there are insiders who can provide them with food, intelligence and other information, it is still very difficult to attack Liangzhou.

The situation in Liangzhou is complicated, Qiang and Han are mixed, and the Han Empire has exhausted for decades, or even hundreds of years, but has not completely solved the problem in Liangzhou.

Every time the Qiang rebellion in the northwest was put down, it would rise again soon after. The reputation of the Xiliang army's bravery was not boasted, but made by fighting with swords and guns.

For this long-distance raid, even if Xu An recruited a large number of cavalry from the Xiongnu and Shanggu Wuhuan, the number of troops sent would not be too many, at most about [-] cavalry.

There are too many factors for cross-state warfare. Although the Wang family of Liangzhou can provide some support, although the Wang family of Liangzhou is a big family in Beidi County, how can it be possible to support the supply of food and grass for the [-] army for a long time? transportation.

Fortunately, there is a four-wheeled carriage. The four-wheeled carriage has undergone several improvements by craftsmen, and it is better than the initial version drawn by Xu An. This time, it can greatly reduce the consumption of transportation and manpower.

Xu An walked to the side of the war horse equipped with new equipment, stepped on the stirrups, and jumped onto the horse's back.

Feeling the padded saddle of Takahashi, with both feet stepping on the stirrups, Xu An felt a little uncomfortable for a while, riding on a war horse equipped with new harnesses was far more comfortable than riding on a war horse before. More, more labor-saving, and more stable.

Xu An kicked the horse's belly vigorously with both legs, and the horse under the seat felt the movement of the knight on the horse, shook his head slightly and snorted, and ran forward slowly with four hooves.

As the war horses galloped, the headwind hit him head-on, and the whistling sound of the wind passed by Xu An's ears.

Xu An was riding on the war horse, and an illusion was born in his heart.

At this moment, he felt that the war horse under his seat was like his legs, which could move according to his will.

Chapter 539 Nine Wins and Nine Defeats

After galloping around the field for two full laps, Xu An reined in his horse and stopped his horse.

Riding a horse with a high bridge saddle and double-footed stirrups as an auxiliary, the knight on the horse can focus more on the opponent and the target, whether it is in close combat or long-distance shooting. For cavalry without these new equipment, they all have a great advantage.

Xu An walked slowly, leading the horse with his left hand, and holding the lance with his right hand. Looking at the generals who were still standing outside the field, Xu An suddenly had a thought, wanting to test the horseshoe, which is equipped with saddles, stirrups, and three horseshoes, in actual combat. How much bonus does the war horse of a new-style utensil have.

"Bring a practice spear."

Xu An handed Ma Li to the guards beside him, and then said to Yan Lun.

Yan Lun knew what Xu An was going to do as soon as he heard it. The practice spear is a kind of wooden spear specially used in the school field, and it is mainly used for training.

The shaft of the practice spear is quite tough, and the spearhead is wrapped with white cloth, which is filled with soft catkins and covered with white ash.

The scouts in the Yellow Turban Army and the generals often use this kind of practice spears for actual combat training when they are training for riding and fighting. However, the horses are very fast. People get hurt.

In the Yellow Turban Army, many soldiers who used practice spears for training were injured, but in Xu An's words, training, training, training leads to battle, and fighting leads to victory. They sweat more in peacetime and bleed less in wartime.

It is better for soldiers to suffer minor injuries during training than to see soldiers die on the battlefield due to lack of training.

What's more, with insufficient training, it is likely that not only one or two people will die, but even tens of thousands of people will die, which will even lead to the collapse of the entire battle situation. This is not a sensational thing.

In troubled times, the army is the foundation of one's life and one's life. With history as a mirror, one can know the ups and downs. Xu An has studied history, so he has never relaxed his attention to the army.

In order to ensure the combat effectiveness of the troops under his command, Xu An not only set up an assessment, promotion and relegation system, but every three months, he must concentrate his subordinates directly under his command and divide them into two parties, one blue and one yellow. The area north of Yangcheng is conducting large-scale military exercises,

Yan Lun was a little at a loss. Xu An looked like he was going to use the practice spear for actual combat drills. Although the probability of being injured with the practice spear was small, there was still a possibility of injury.

If Xu An was really injured, he, the owner of the workshop, would probably be done.

Yan Lun stole a look at Yan Zhong, seeing that Yan Zhong didn't intend to stop him, so he had no choice but to bite the bullet and order his followers to get the practice spear.

"Zhou Cang, come out and practice on your horse."

Xu An glanced at the generals of the Yellow Turban Army, thought for a while, and pointed out Zhou Cang.

As for why Zhou Cang was chosen, in fact Zhou Cang is the most suitable.

Xu An has been exercising all these years, first learning martial arts from Xu Huang, and then practicing from Lu Bu, and his martial strength has also improved somewhat.

Anyway, he is also a great virtuous and good teacher. Although as the master of one party, the level of martial arts is not important, but he can't lose in this kind of situation.

Lu Bu and Zhang Liao's perverts were directly ignored by Xu An. Xu An still knew what level he was. When he didn't have stirrups, he persisted under Lu Bu for ten or twenty rounds. If they were released, even if they were selected to compete, they would definitely release water, but it was still a bit unsightly in the end.

As for why it wasn't Huang Long and He Man and others, it was naturally because they were much worse in riding and fighting than himself. Huang Long was originally at the level of an ordinary general, while He Man was good at fighting on foot.

Even Gong Du is now inferior to him in riding and fighting. Although Gong Du is tall and big, he can only use brute force, and he is too lazy to learn skills, so he hasn't made much progress.

And now that Gong Du was already a heavy general, Xu An didn't want to ruin Gong Du's face.

Choosing a general who was weaker than himself, he couldn't test the improvement of combat power such as double-legged stirrups and saddles. He scanned around, Guan Hai, Bian Xi and other generals of the Yellow Turban Army in the four states. , so now the most suitable person among this group of people is Zhou Cang.

Zhou Cang is qualified as a sparring partner, and he is only slightly better than Xu An in riding battles. It will take a while to decide the winner.

"To!"

Zhou Cang's scalp tingled when Xu An called his name, and he answered out of habit.

"Hahahahaha."

Zhou Cang's voice relieved the rather serious atmosphere around the school grounds.

He Man clutched his stomach and laughed, "This is not a martial arts lecture hall, so why did you answer it?"

All the generals of the Yellow Turban Army laughed.

Zhou Cang was a little embarrassed. It was really difficult for him to live in the martial arts hall these days. He wrote every day without reciting, and he had to learn to read maps and sand tables. There were a lot of things to learn.

And Xu An is the sacrificial wine of the martial arts hall, and he often gives lectures in the martial arts hall. Every time Xu An calls his name in the martial arts hall, he has to answer a bunch of questions, and he often can't answer them. Go back and copy the book.

Although Xu An didn't ask him to answer those messy military theories this time, it still made Zhou Cang a little uncomfortable.

Zhou Cang bit the bullet, and took the practice spear from the guards of the school grounds, feeling a bit more at ease.

Holding the practice spear, Zhou Cang regained the feeling of being on the battlefield. It is too difficult to study these days.

Xu An was also laughing. A group of generals were shouting and laughing. Although the Yellow Turban Army is now divided into several factions and has its own small groups, they are generally friendly. When they fight with each other, they are marching and fighting. , they all wanted to fight for the first place, but they didn't make any grudges because of it. This kind of atmosphere is quite good.

Because of this atmosphere, Zhang Yang and other generals of the Ding Yuan Army began to gradually integrate into the Yellow Turban Army.

At this time, the guards on the school grounds brought special armor and put it on for Xu An and Zhou Cang, covering it quite tightly.

"Are you ready?"

Xu An weighed the practice spear in his hand, and suddenly exerted strength with both hands, the practice spear vibrated, white ash fell from the spear head, and a murderous aura slowly rolled out from Xu An's body.

Although Xu An hasn't carried a sword in battle for a long time, he is not a frail scholar. When Zhang Jiao was still alive, his position as the leader of the Yellow Turban Army relied on the military exploits he won with the sword in his hand. Promoted.

It's not that he, Xu An, has never done the beheading of generals and capturing the flag. He has never been afraid of thousands of soldiers in the field battle in Kuicheng on Taihang Mountain.

Zhou Cang took a deep breath and calmed down. Xu An's aura in front of him suddenly changed. Zhou Cang only felt a haze covering his heart. come.

"Minggong be careful!"

Zhou Canghu roared, he really didn't like the feeling of being oppressed by others.

The roar burst out from Zhou Cang's throat, which also dispelled the discomfort in Zhou Cang's heart.

"Da da da----"

The dull sound of horseshoes suddenly sounded in everyone's ears, and the two horses seated by Xu An and Zhou Cang galloped forward.

Xu Anxu sat on the Takahashi saddle, with his feet on the stirrups. Years of experience in riding war horses made him feel like a duck to water when riding a war horse equipped with Takahashi saddles and stirrups.

Walking against the wind, the whistling wind began to ring in Xu An's ears, and the practice spear in Zhou Cang's hand in front of him was getting bigger and bigger. Because of the practice, the distance between the two sides was not far away, otherwise the speed of the horse would be completely improved. In fact, even using a practice spear is quite dangerous.

"drink!"

Xu An roared, and with the stirrups on both feet as support, he no longer had to clamp the horse's abdomen as hard as before when fighting in close combat. He could use most of his strength on the weapon in his hand.

"Boom!"

But after hearing a muffled sound, a scene that stunned all the generals of the Yellow Turban Army suddenly appeared.

At the instant when the two horses met, Xu An actually picked Zhou Cang off his horse with just one spear.

Everyone knows Zhou Cang's martial power, and they know a little about Xu An's martial arts. It stands to reason that even if Zhou Cang deliberately wants to lose, he shouldn't lose all at once. What's more, Zhou Cang's defeat just now was not an act. what.