After entering the twelfth lunar month, the weather has become even colder. Although Taohuaji is located in the south, it is still located in the north. It is not only invaded by the cold from the north, but also the humidity from the south of the Yangtze River, making it damp, cold, and bone-chilling.
Especially since there was a northerly wind last night and a small burst of sleet and snow in the middle of the night. This morning it is even wetter and colder.
When Zhu Ping'an inspected the Zhejiang Army's morning exercises in the morning, he found that more than 30 soldiers were pulled out by the supervisory team to beat them with military sticks because they were not wearing armor.
The Zhejiang Army's drill regulations stipulate that during morning drills, not only do you have to be fully armed, but you also have to carry twenty kilograms of weight.
The reason why they carry an extra twenty kilograms of weight is because the Zhejiang Army currently does not have enough armor, and most of them can only wear half armor.
According to the military system, the full uniform of the Ming Dynasty's regular frontier troops weighed eighty-eight and a half kilograms. The specific armaments are as follows: mail armor, battle skirts, arm shields and other gear weighed a total of forty-five kilograms; the helmet and headband weighed seven kilograms. It weighs five kilograms to protect the heart and side, the bow and quiver weighs ten kilograms, the waist knife weighs three and a half kilograms, the thorn bone weighs three kilograms, the quiver weighs one kilogram, and the battle hook with the skin and clothing on top and bottom weighs eight kilograms. All the weapons added up are just right. It's eighty-eight and a half pounds.
The Zhejiang Army currently has insufficient armor. There are only 280 pairs of mails. Most of them are incomplete armors and simple cloth armors, arm coverings, neck guards, side guards, caltrops, etc. None of these are available. The Zhejiang Army's The total weight of all the armor is about 40 kilograms, so an extra 20 kilograms of weight was added.
The reason why these soldiers don't wear armor is because they think the armor is too heavy and they want to be lazy?!
no.
Zhu Ping'an noticed that although these soldiers were not wearing armor, they felt that they were carrying an extra thirty kilograms of weight. The other armored soldiers were carrying twenty kilograms, but they were carrying a full fifty kilograms.
"Why would you rather carry more weight than wear armor?"
Zhu Pingan asked curiously. Judging from their conscious increase in weight, they were not lazy because they disliked the heavy armor.
"Sir, it's not that we don't wear armor, it's just that it's too cold. The armor looks like lumps of ice and we can't bear it with it on."
The unarmored soldier rubbed his chin and replied with an aggrieved look.
"Armor is life-saving. If you don't wear armor because it's too cold on the battlefield, your life will be killed if you lose it. It will be too late to regret it. Ten days ago, Hu Yushi led his troops to stop the Japanese pirates in the cherry orchard. It was precisely because the soldiers were suspicious of It was freezing cold, so I took off my armor to warm myself up by the fire, and was attacked by the Japanese pirates. I was completely defeated, and more than half of them were killed or injured! The lessons from the past are still there, the blood in front of the cherry orchard has not yet dried, and you have forgotten the lesson?! You have to overcome the cold, it is better than losing it. Kill your life!" Zhu Ping'an gave them a serious lesson.
"Yes, this is what you are trying to teach me." The soldiers realized their mistake and put on their armor on the spot, grinning with their teeth covered in ice.
So cold?!
With an attitude of seeking proof, Zhu Pingan had someone fetch a pair of iron helmets and armor, and put it on himself.
Nest grass!
It's so cold!!! The moment the armor came into contact with his body, all the hairs on Zhu Pingan's body stood up!
cold!
very cold!
At this moment, Zhu Ping'an had a deeper understanding of the poem written by Cen Shen: "The general's horns and bows cannot be controlled, and the guard's iron clothes are cold." The moment he put the armor on his body, he felt as cold as an ice cellar.
No wonder they would rather carry more weight than wear armor. In this damn weather, wearing armor is really a challenge!
Zhu Ping'an couldn't help but think about this.
A set of armor weighs forty or fifty kilograms. In this kind of ghost weather, the armor is as cold as a ghost. And although we are in the cold weapon age, fire blunderbuss and bird blunderbuss are also used more and more on the battlefield.
Many elite Japanese pirates are equipped with iron cannons (actually Japanese-style muskets), and the armor's protection against muskets is seriously insufficient. Even heavy armor is vulnerable to fire muskets when they are approaching. There is a difference between wearing armor and not wearing armor.
It's not much bigger. If you think about it this way, wearing armor is not worth it.
But if you don't wear armor, it won't work. At this stage, cold weapons are still the main ones, and armor's protection against cold weapons is still very strong.
Is there a way to get the best of both worlds?!
Zhu Ping'an suddenly began to think, is there any good way in history?
Oh, I remembered, cotton armor! It’s cotton armor! When Zhu Pingan looked at history, he first thought of cotton armor.
Cotton armor began to appear in the Yuan Dynasty. At that time, there were only a small amount of cotton armor, and the quality of the cotton armor was not high. However, cotton armor had relatively good buffering and protective properties against firearms, so it began to move towards the stage of history.
In fact, during the Jiajing period, many armies of the Ming Dynasty were also equipped with cotton armor, but the number was not large. It began to gradually increase during the Longqing period. During the Chongzhen period, which was the late Ming and early Qing Dynasties, cotton armor began to be worn in large numbers.
Popularized during the Manchu and Qing Dynasties, the Manchus captured the Ming army's cotton armor in the early days, and then became loyal supporters of the cotton armor. After years of development, improvement and evolution, the Manchu and Qing Dynasties determined the cotton armor as standard equipment, and its shape was gradually fixed.
, divided into many parts such as body armor, front guardrail, armor sleeves, shoulder guard, left guardrail and so on. During the Qing Dynasty, when the Qing army campaigned in Junggar and conquered Jinchuan and Jinchuan, the cotton armor made great achievements.
Don’t just think that cotton armor is simple and inferior. In fact, when it comes to protection, cotton armor is even better than iron armor. Not only is its protection against firearms excellent, but its protection against cold weapons is not as good as iron armor.
Duorang. The quality of mature cotton armor can ensure that it does not absorb water when it rains, cannot be cut through by sharp blades, and cannot be penetrated by muskets!
Moreover, cotton armor has advantages that even iron armor cannot match. First, cotton armor is warm and comfortable to wear, and it imposes less restrictions on the sergeant’s physical movements. Second, cotton armor is cheap and a set of composite
Cotton armor requires about seven or eight kilograms of cotton, lined with iron sheets and fixed with copper nails on the outside. The cost is several times lower than that of iron armor, and its weight is also several times lighter than that of iron armor. In addition, cotton was grown everywhere in the Ming Dynasty, and the material
It is easy to obtain; thirdly, cotton armor is easy to maintain and the leather is durable. This is not the case with iron armor. When it rains and the ground is wet, iron armor is easy to embroider and is not durable. The several carts of tattered armor brought from the Linhuai Marquis navy camp are examples.
In addition, at the end of the Ming Dynasty, the whole of China would fall into the Little Ice Age. The weather was colder than usual, and it even snowed in Guangdong. The Ming Dynasty used more force in the north, where it was colder and cotton armor was more adaptable.
The early popularization of cotton armor would be a great benefit to the Ming Dynasty's border troops, and also a great benefit to the Ming Dynasty.
The cost of cotton armor is low. The cost of one set of iron armor can be used to make four or five sets of cotton armor. In this way, the cost is low and the armor coverage rate is high. The higher the armor coverage rate is, the survival rate of the Ming army will be higher, and the combat effectiveness on the battlefield will also be improved.
Quite a few.
When it comes to cotton armor, there is no doubt that the cotton armor from the late Manchu and Qing Dynasties is of high quality, and the production technology is more practical and mature.
So, come out, Manchu cotton armor! Zhu Ping'an's eyes lit up and he made up his mind. The maturity and popularization of cotton armor will start with our Zhejiang Army!