Four-wheeled carriages are no longer new in Huaihuang. These four-wheeled carriages have increased their capacity exponentially compared to two-wheeled carriages. Hetao single horse pulling four-wheeled carriages can carry ten stones for one day. Two horses can pull twenty stones. Even on flat roads, four horse pulling cars can pull forty stones on a double train, weighing more than three tons.

Compared with single-wheeled carriages, Huaihuang's four-wheeled carriages are taller. However, this kind of four-wheeled carriage is not as simple as adding two wheels. In fact, people in ancient times also added wheels to two-wheeled carriages, but they did not achieve the expected goals. In addition to the more convenient water transportation in the Guyuan area of ​​Zhongshi, the more expensive and the higher requirements for roads, the four-wheeled carriages at that time did not solve the problems of steering. In addition, the four-wheeled carriages were higher in loading, but also had higher requirements for horse pulling. Finally, by this time, the four-wheeled carriages did not pass, but gradually disappeared into the long river of history. Historically, in the Song Dynasty, due to the increasing demand for transportation volume and the busy water transportation, the four-wheeled carriages with stronger land loadings appeared.

Yi Feng established a foundation in Huaihuang. With the prosperity of commerce, the transportation problem of Huaihuang is becoming more and more serious. There is no water communication between Huaihuang and the Central Plains, and all of them have to go through land. This has increased the cost of commodities entering the dam, especially the food transported from the Central Plains, which has increased significantly. At the same time, Yi Feng's transportation on mines was also very difficult. In the end, Yi Feng took out the four-wheeled carriage. This four-wheeled carriage was not the Taiping carriage of the Song Dynasty. Although the Taiping carriage of the Song Dynasty was also a four-wheeled carriage, and it can still be seen in the countryside until the 21st century later. However, this kind of Taiping carriage was not a four-wheeled carriage of Western languages. Taiping carriages really only had two more wheels than ordinary two-wheeled carriages, and there was no steering device, shock absorbing equipment, etc. Although Taiping carriages can carry a load of thirty or forty stones, the requirements for roads are extremely high.

The four-wheeled carriages that Huaihuang are walking on the road are Yi Feng, based on the characteristics of the four-wheeled carriages in later generations, and pointed out some design directions for the four-wheeled carriage manufacturing. Finally, they worked together to solve several key technologies. They created a four-wheeled carriage that was ahead of this era, and even the four-wheeled carriage that was also ahead of the West. For Huaihuang, who cannot rely on a little water transportation, all by land and relatively speaking, the terrain is also very suitable for the dam grassland terrain of the four-wheeled carriage, the newly built four-wheeled carriage is indeed a great role and has played a great role. Even Yi Feng also started to establish carriage tracks in mines, warehouses, and workshops on the basis of the four-wheeled carriage. The four-wheeled carriages and carriage tracks have further improved their capacity.

The General Shogunate has even begun researching and is preparing to build two carriage tracks between the three Lianchengs in Huaihuang in the short term, so that the three cities can be connected and the transportation of the three cities will be more convenient. They have also proposed a medium-term goal and a long-term goal, which is to plan to build flat carriage lanes between Huaihuang and the thirteen military towns below in the medium term, and add a carriage track. The long-term plan is to build a four-wheel carriage lane from Huaihuang to Youzhou. Huaihuang to Daizhou border Great Wall, so that the connection between Huaihuang and Hedong of the Central Plains and Hebei of the Central Plains can be smoother, so that the goods from Huaihuang and the food from the Central Plains can be transported faster.

Yi Feng was supportive of the ambitious plan of the shogunate, but the plan must be long and may take several years or even longer to achieve.

The military was very jealous of the shogunate's road construction plan and quickly proposed a plan, which was the chariot plan. The plan proposed by the staff team under Wei Zheng was to use the carrying capacity and mobility of the four-wheeled carriages to build a chariot battalion. During the battle, especially when fighting against the Hu Qi on the grassland, according to the usual tactics of dealing with the Hu Qi in the Central Plains, they used the chariot as a formation to fight the defensive counterattack. After the plan was submitted, the staff did not really think it would be passed. This was just because they wanted to speak out and show their presence. However, to everyone's surprise, Yi Feng quickly responded to the staff's plan and even held a secret meeting of the military headquarters.

The chariot battalion plan of the staff did touch Yi Feng. Although the chariots flourished in the Spring and Autumn Period and Warring States Period, they had already declined by the Qin and Han Dynasties. However, chariots were used less in the wars in the Central Plains and withdrew from their main position, but they were not useless. In the battle between the Central Plains dynasty and the grassland dynasty, chariots still played a great role. When many Han dynasties fought against the Hu people, they used chariots as their camps, protected the cavalry inside, formed gun formations outside, and placed crossbowmen in the middle to fight against the mobility of the cavalry. After blocking the attack, they launched a defensive counterattack, and finally waited for the opportunity to launch cavalry attacks. This tactic is basically the mainstream tactic.

Even in the Ming Dynasty in later generations, the Ming army, which had long been fighting against the Mongols in the grassland and the Manchus in Liaodong, used a large number of chariots, and even the chariot troops grew stronger. For example, the Ming Dynasty general Qi Jiguang trained troops, and his troops had the organization of war barracks.

The Huaihuang Army built by Yi Feng is now extremely sharp, but the Changgong Battalion is rare. Last time, the expansion from more than a thousand long archers to more than 4,000 long archers, but the overall combat power of the archers has decreased. The cavalry of the Huaihuang Army now has only one battalion, and the number is too small. An army is best for infantry training. The spearmen may be enough for one year. The sword and shield soldiers can be in battle in two years, but the long archers and cavalry must be well trained for at least two or three years. Time is the most lacking for the Huaihuang Army. No matter how beautiful the victory in the Battle of Shihe and Taoshan, it is only a new army that has been established for less than a year. Even though most of the soldiers are border citizens of various Hu and Han ethnic groups on the border, they are very brave. Many people are old soldiers and bandits with ages, but they are still new troops.

However, the main enemy of the Huaihuang Army was the cavalry on the grassland.

Even though the grassland cavalry is actually herders most of the time, these grassland cavalry are huge.

If it was to deal with a small group of nomadic cavalry in the grassland, Yi Feng was not afraid, but if it was to fight against a large number of cavalry, it would be extremely dangerous. Yi Feng wanted to build heavy infantry, but it was also to fight against the grassland cavalry. The staff members wrote a letter to establish a chariot camp. This made Yi Feng's eyes lit up, and he thought of many troops using chariots in China and abroad. The chariot camps in the Ming Dynasty, and even the chariot formations in the European war. After a long time of consideration, he summoned his generals, staff and craftsmen. After a long discussion, he finally felt that if the chariots cooperated well, it would be of great use.

The new chariot is based on four-wheeled carriages, but unlike ordinary carriages, an armor plate is added, allowing archers to hide behind the armor plate of the chariot. There are arrow holes left on the armor plate. When leaving the city to fight, the chariot can be used to transport food, grass and supplies. When stationed in the camp, the chariot can form a chariot array to form a moving castle. For the Huaihuang Army, the chariot can not only transport food, grass and supplies, but also provide shelter on the flat and open grasslands.

When I saw the newly built chariot battalion, my first impression must be his size.

It is really too big. Compared with the two carriages transported on land in various parts of the Central Plains today, it is simply a difference between a donkey and a camel. Even the four-wheeled carriages in Huaihuang City are now lined up in front of the chariots lined up in front of the soldiers who went out to fight, which is also a difference between a donkey and a horse.

The formation was lined up in front of Yuchi Gong and Cheng Yaojin. The Salt Lake Chariot Brigade currently has 200 chariots, with two chariot regiments under its jurisdiction, each with one hundred chariot regiments. Each regiment has another five brigades, each with twenty two chariots under its jurisdiction. It has two chariot regiments under its jurisdiction, with ten chariots under its jurisdiction.

Each chariot has two riders, responsible for driving the carriage and connecting the chariots after the camp. There are also a chariot leader. There are 600 people in the entire chariot battalion, but the chariot battalion does not directly undertake the combat tasks. During the battle, the crossbowmen boarded the chariot and shot arrows after loading the board, while the heavy infantrymen wore heavy armor and held a big sword to defend behind the gap between the chariots and the chariots. Behind him are spearmen and swords and shield soldiers. The cavalry and longbowmen are in the chariot array and are under protection. There are also artillery battalions newly built with the chariot battalion, which have heavy crossbows such as Baniu Crossbow, Fuyuan Crossbow, Crouch Crossbow and Stone Cavalry, which cooperate with the chariot battalion.

The Salt Lake Chariot Brigade in front of Yuchi Gong and Cheng Yaojin has twenty chariots, lined up, and the four wheels wrapped in steel are inlaid with a layer of arc-shaped armored steel plates. After the armor plates are treed, they are as high as two feet high. The wheels are more than half a person high, and the carriage is as high as one person high. The armor plates on the carriage can be folded and put down and can be supported firmly.

At this time, the chariots were lined up, forming a wall of vehicles, and the armor plates on the wall of the vehicle were all supported. Five arrow holes were opened on the wall of the car, and five crossbowmen could stand at the arrow hole at the same time. The one-person-high carriage and the higher front wall armor plates could allow the crossbows to shoot arrows without any worries. The heavy infantrymen stood in the place where the chariots were connected, just withstand the front face, without worrying about attacks from both sides. The long spearmen and sword shield soldiers stood behind the escorts of the chariots and heavy infantry, and the long bowmen and artillery behind them could be safe from the range without any distractions. The cavalrymen just sat in the formation to rest and prepare to go out at critical moments.

Two hundred chariots can even have a transportation capacity of 10,000 stones when walking. Also equipped with the transportation capacity of two-wheeled carriages and mules, even if the army penetrates deep into the grassland, there is no pressure for two or three months of logistics guarantee.

The body of the chariot is coated with tung oil and iron. The front armor plate can even withstand heavy blows. There are also various ancient mythical monsters painted on it, which are extremely ferocious and ferocious. There is a door on the inside of the car. When the door is lowered, it is a bridge plate leading to the car, which can replenish the crossbowmen in the car at any time. Once the car door is pulled up and closed, even if the cavalry can break through the car formation, the crossbowmen in the car can rely on the high and solid car in a short time, so there is no need to worry for a while. This is completely different than an ordinary military formation, once it is broken, it is difficult to reorganize again. As long as it can hold up the attack, the car formation has the opportunity to reverse the situation.

The chariot formation allows Huaihuang Army to carry a moving castle anytime and anywhere even if it is pulled to the grassland. If you encounter an enemy, outside the chariot formation, you can also dig trenches, tree stakes, plant deer antlers, and throw caltrops.

Yuchi Gong and Cheng Yaojin stood in front of the tall chariot, showing a look of marvel, "Last time the army joined the army said they wanted to build a chariot camp, there was not much time before and after. There were already two hundred chariots. I didn't expect that the newly established chariot workshop would do so quickly."

Yuchi Gong was also amazed, but shook his head and said, "This chariot is indeed very strong, but I think that to deal with Hu cavalry, you can still ride against cavalry and use cavalry to truly defeat the Hu people. Even if this chariot is strong, if the Hu people suffer one or two losses in front of the chariot, they will definitely not be fooled again. If the Hu people avoid the chariot's edge and use surprise attacks, the effect of the chariot will be greatly reduced." Yuchi Gong always felt that to deal with Hu people's cavalry, they had to defeat them with cavalry. After all, the chariot is a defensive means, not an offensive means. And with this chariot, the speed of the Huaihuang Army must be slowed down.

"I think it's good to have this chariot. At least we are invincible. Even if we leave the strong city of Huaihuang base camp, it is equivalent to bringing a moving castle at any time. With this moving castle, we will be invincible. No matter how fierce the Hu Qi is, we don't have to be afraid. It is of great help to the morale of the army. Moreover, this four-wheeled carriage transports supplies, food and grass, and is several times stronger than an ordinary carriage." Although the Huaihuang army is now known to have 50,000 people,

But in fact, the number of soldiers is only 30,000, and the main force's state soldiers is only more than 10,000. Among them, only a few thousand people have experienced combat. There are a large number of soldiers, but they have not experienced real combat. If they are fighting in the city, they can also increase their combat effectiveness. But if they leave the castle like this and go to the vast grassland to fight with the Hu Qi, many soldiers are actually very nervous. Even the commander in the army like Yi Feng is not very confident.

For the senior military leaders, victory in the battle is important, but the first thing to do is to ensure is that you cannot lose. Even if you cannot win, you cannot lose. If you win one or two games, the enemy will not be destroyed. However, if the Huaihuang army is defeated one game, it is very likely that it will collapse.

"I really want to see the savage Hu cavalry who hit the head with blood before this armored chariot." Cheng Yaojin looked at the chariot with a smile.
Chapter completed!