Cavalry armor is the collective name for human armor and horse armor, and is the standard protective equipment for heavy cavalry.
A standard pair of horse armor in the world consists of five parts: face curtain, chicken neck, chest, horse body armor, and the back:
The veil is a long and narrow metal shield with eye holes on it to protect the face of the war horse; the chicken neck is similar to the arm draping, and the neck is usually protected by a scale armor; the chest and horse body armor are worn behind to protect the torso of the war horse.
Mainly Zhajia Yi and Scale Armor.
There are only a few heavy armored cavalry in the Select Front Battalion, and the weight of the horse armor they are equipped with is about 120 kilograms.
Choosing a front camp armored cavalry, in addition to the strong body of the soldier, a set of armor for the whole body weighs about eighty kilograms.
And a strong, well-trained war horse, during fierce battles, must wear saddles, stirrups, reins, and weapons such as crossbows, shields, halberds, or long-bladed war spears. This also means that the heavy armored horse has to carry a heavy load.
Let’s say at least no less than four hundred kilograms.
Therefore, the heavy armored cavalry also needs to be equipped with at least one pack horse (pack horse), which is responsible for carrying heavy armor and luggage to prevent the war horse from being consumed too much before entering the battlefield; more horses need to be taken care of, and they need to be sorted and dressed more before the war.
With more and more complex combat equipment, a heavy armored cavalry requires at least one auxiliary to take care of everything in an orderly manner.
Heavy armored cavalry are famous for their extremely powerful defense and frontal attack power. They are called "iron cavalry" and are often used in frontal assaults.
However, in addition to the extremely expensive equipment and prohibitive maintenance costs of heavy armored cavalry, the emergence of denser and more defensive infantry battle formations also restricted the ability of heavy armored cavalry to charge into formations.
The development of war has also made generals pay more attention to the mobility and roundabout combat capabilities of a unit.
Compared with light cavalry, which is more maneuverable and less expensive, heavy armored cavalry no longer has strategic advantages.
However, due to its powerful frontal assault and formation capabilities, the heavy armored cavalry should not be underestimated.
The level of cavalry and archery of the farming people is inherently inferior to that of the nomadic peoples. Chushan naturally does not expect to be able to suppress the enemy cavalry who are superior in size and combat on the open battlefield. The focus of the construction of troops and horses is on the coordinated combat of infantry and cavalry.
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In order to prevent the enemy cavalry from relying on their superior cavalry and shooting skills to attack and attack the flanks of our own infantry and cavalry array in a roundabout way, and to strengthen the confrontation ability of our own infantry and cavalry array's flanks, the Chushan Army's cavalry mainly practiced short-distance close formations.
Assault combat capability.
The Chushan Army developed coordinated infantry and cavalry operations, but its maneuverability and large roundabout combat capabilities were far inferior to those of cavalry groups.
Therefore, in the past few years, Xu Huai has been conscientiously building defense lines in Chushan, instead of unlimited expansion of the army. He has paid more attention to coordinated operations on foot, cavalry and the city.
The maintenance cost of heavy armored cavalry equipment was too high, and Chushan did not have the luxury of equipping all three thousand cavalry in the vanguard.
Xu Huai even initially considered only armoring the horses on the flanks and front of the cavalry formation for assault operations, so as to shield the enemy's long-range shots from crossbows as much as possible.
During the attack on Bianliang, in the battle of Longjin Bridge and the battle of Zhongmou Gudu, this tactic showed amazing results.
When Xu Huai led his troops to retreat south along the Cai River, he also used this tactic combined with light and sturdy fine iron chariots to suppress the enemy's cavalry and follow them all the way.
However, the situation is constantly evolving.
The current problem is that after the Battle of Ruying, the enemy transferred 20,000 elite cavalry to the four states west of Beijing, including a large number of heavy cavalry. Their mobile combat and assault combat capabilities far exceeded those of Xiao Qian, Yang Jingchen and Yue Hai.
Lousuo tribe surrendered its troops, Chushan could not indulge in past combat experience and could not extricate itself.
Chushan has no way to expand its army on a large scale in a short period of time. If it still wants to use infantry and cavalry coordination tactics to fight against the enemy in the west of Beijing between Ruying, it must also increase the proportion of heavy cavalry to better protect the flanks of the infantry formation.
Prepare more well
Horse armor is also the top priority of the ordnance industry this year.
For heavy armored cavalry with the same equipment, the Chushan Army's individual combat capability will definitely be weaker than that of the elite Red Guards. However, if Chushan chooses a heavily armored horse from the vanguard army, its torso, neck and chest will all be covered with Suozi armor.
, the weight of a set of horse armor will be reduced by forty or fifty kilograms, which will greatly reduce the load of the war horse on the battlefield.
The lighter Suozi armor means that the war horse can maneuver on the battlefield and has a stronger ability to sustain combat.
In addition, the Suozi Armor is not as protective as melee combat, but because of its softness, the joints that are difficult to cover with traditional horse armor can be fully covered, which means that the protection ability against long-range crossbow shooting is better.
comprehensive.
"For the ordnance maker, select a few craftsmen with quick minds, set up a new room, and make ten sets of new armors before the end of the year for trial use by the vanguard army!" Xu Huai said to Chen Rongjun.
"Although Suo Zi Jia was not very useful in the world, the method of making it has not been lost because of its bright and colorful attire. From time to time, some will be prepared in Beijing to serve as ceremonial guards," Zhuang Shouxin said, "At this time, a group of good hands will be prepared to pull
Once you have mastered the drawing method, there will be no problem in making two to three hundred new sets of armor a year..."
Zhuang Shouxin had previously served as a supervisor in Bianliang. Although he was a great craftsman, there was a limit to how much respect he could have for craftsmen in this world. To be given a false title of "San" before his death was already a sign of the emperor's great favor and his ancestors' honor.
I have been burning incense for eight lifetimes.
Throughout his entire life, Zhuang Shouxin had developed a temperament of being cautious and clumsy in words and deeds.
But after arriving in Chushan, on the one hand, Xu Huai still valued the opinions of the work officers in everything and gave them high enough status and attention. On the other hand, everyone in Chushan came from a very humble background and had not yet formed a chain of discrimination. Zhuang Shouxin, he
His son, son-in-law, disciples, and grandsons all serve as work officers in Chushan. If anything happens to him, he will certainly dare to speak out.
In fact, everyone present, like Zhuang Shouxin, did not know when the war would come again. Since the new armor system is likely to greatly improve the heavy armored cavalry, they all felt that Chushan should go all out to promote this matter.
Would it be too conservative to trial-produce ten sets of new armors before the end of the year?
"Everything is wasted and waiting for new things. There are too many manpower needed everywhere. There is no rush to do this." Xu Huai said with a smile. "The state school will set up a craftsman's studio next and recruit apprentices with arithmetic foundation. It will take another two or three days."
In the year, manpower may not be so short, right, how is the trial production of the iron wire?"
On the surface, it seems that the new method of Suizi armor also requires the drawing method to make small pieces of thin iron wire first, but the real cost of armor making is in the subsequent processing. When drawing iron wire using semi-molten fine iron, more attention is paid to material selection and semi-melting.
The state of iron changes, and there are almost no requirements for cost control.
However, the difficulty in preparing iron wire, especially if it is intended to be widely used in war as a standing item, is not whether it can be made or not.
The iron households in Anzhou are already able to make wire iron. How could Chushan not have the ability to make iron wire?
Xu Huai was more concerned about whether Chushan could prepare iron wire and iron wire cheaply enough.
However, after Han Gui arrived in Huaiyuan, he contacted Shen Lian, Chen Rongjun and others, and put more enthusiasm into drawing legal armor, but did not take the trial production of iron wires seriously.
Seeing that Xu Huai's focus was different from what they expected, Han Gui, Shen Lian, and Chen Rongjun all looked at each other in confusion.
Han Gui gritted his teeth and reported: "Shibaliwu is trial-producing some iron wires. The price and quality are slightly better than Anzhou. Shen Lian will send more people to keep an eye on this matter..."
Shen Lian also immediately handed over a small bundle of iron wire that Shibaliwu had trial-produced.
They mistakenly thought that Xu Huai's interest would be completely attracted by the new armor, but they still brought the trial-produced iron wire. However, they knew in their hearts at this time that the price and quality of the wire and iron produced in Anzhou were slightly better, which was definitely not what Xu Huai wanted. See the results.
Wire iron, which is cheaper than copper wire, does not have much practical value at all. It can be used to tie things up and even fine hemp rope can be wrapped a hundred times.
Xu Huai did not show any dissatisfaction with Han Gui, Shen Lian and others' slackness in this matter.
Sitting in this position, he is destined to see further than others.
Besides, if we really expect Han Gui, Shen Lian and others to do everything properly, why would he need to rush to Huaiyuan? Wouldn't it be nice to wait for Shen Lian to finally bring the finished product as a treasure?
Xu Huai shook his head, smiled, and ordered: "Shen Lian, you have to keep an eye on this matter personally. If you have any difficulties or major progress, you can report it directly to me or Mr. Shi. Don't underestimate a small piece of iron." line, we are far from satisfied with being able to prepare it.”
Xu Huai took the small bundle of iron wire from Shen Lian and said: "This small thing is of great use. Just for setting up camps in the army and using it for binding, it is much more convenient than hemp rope. Of course, this thing is in the army It’s not just about bundling”
Xu Huai casually picked up the two long hardwood paperweights on the desk, wrapped the iron wire around them, then staggered the two long paperweights and twisted the iron wires.
Xu Huai pointed to Shen Lian to look at the fracture where the iron wire had obvious signs of stretching, and said:
"...Whether the iron wire is tough enough, the first thing to weigh is its performance; in addition, in rainy and humid places, the rust of the iron wire also needs to be weighed. Taking camping as an example, the traditional method was to cut down the wood on the spot and build a fence wall. ; To be simpler, there should be a bamboo fence to encircle the camp. These two paperweights serve as wooden stakes. If you wrap the iron wire a few more times, will it become a fence? "
While Xu Huai was talking, he wound the wire around paperweights that were placed vertically, and made a small model of the wire fence for Shen Lian, Han Gui, Su Laochang, Cheng Yi, Zhuang Shouxin and others to see.
"... Of course, the iron wire fence is woven into a mesh, and even goes a step further to wrap small pieces of hard wire around the wire mesh, exposing sharp breaks. Even if no one is watching, it will take a lot of effort for the enemy to sneak in. Is it much more convenient than the traditional bamboo and wood fence? Of course, the premise of all this is that the wire must be cheap enough! Anzhou, for example, pays two to three hundred kilograms per year, of course it can only be used as a decoration, but if the military China consumes 200,000 to 300,000 kilograms of iron wire every year, Mr. Shi, if Lao Chang doesn't fall out with me, this little iron wire will make a big contribution!"
Su Laochang, Cheng Yi, Zhuang Shouxin, Han Gui, Shen Lian and others stared dumbly at the paperweight wrapped with iron wires.
Chushan has faced powerful enemies for a long time. Su Laochang, Cheng Yi and others all have a deep understanding of military warfare, especially when they also take into account logistics and supplies.
Marching and fighting is an extremely difficult thing.
The usual process is to walk sixty to one hundred miles during the day, choose a suitable place to camp and rest, and after having breakfast the next day, you need to pack everything up before setting off on the road.
Camping on the way, even if it is a simple camp, is very labor-intensive. It requires cutting down a large amount of wood nearby to make fences and digging shallow trenches. If there is no isolation, let alone the enemy, a wild boar will break into the camp in the middle of the night.
The ground can even knock over the entire camp.
A long-distance marching army usually needs to be accompanied by more than half of the young and strong civilians to undertake these heavy tasks and ensure that the generals get adequate rest and are not overly exhausted.
After Ruying's great victory, the number of civilians captured by Chushan even exceeded the number of captured soldiers.
If iron wire can be supplied to the army on a large scale, on the one hand, camping can be simplified and faster to the greatest extent, so that the generals can get sufficient rest and maintain more physical strength. On the other hand, the number of civilians accompanying the army can be reduced on a large scale, reducing the size of the army.
It will also greatly reduce the pressure on food supply...
Over the years, Chushan has been trying its best to strengthen its defense. Xu Huai gave a simple example. When Su Laochang and Cheng Yi opened their minds, it was not difficult to think of iron wires and gill nets woven with iron wires.
