On the battlefield, horses probably suffer the most. No matter whether they win or lose, they are destined to be ridden. During the war, they have to do the heaviest work, take the greatest risks, and are always faced with the possibility of starvation.
What's worse is that if a soldier is injured, there is still a possibility of treatment. Even if his arms and legs are cut off, he may not be dead. But no one's war horse can still live with a broken leg. It can be considered a happy death if it can be bled with a knife.
.
It may also be turned into roasted horse meat and stuffed into human stomachs to satisfy hunger.
What a miserable life!
'Quick Shadow' was beaten to a head in the previous battle in the Winter Hall. Zhou Qingfeng could only ride an ordinary draft horse when he attacked Broken Bridge City. After beating him, the horse was killed by the enemy, forcing him to
Putting him into a violent state.
Whether it is labor or combat, the death rate of horses on the battlefield is higher than that of humans.
In the fourth year of Yuanshou reign of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, General Wei Qing and Hussar General Huo Qubing led an army of tens of thousands to the Mobei expedition. In this battle, the Han army defeated the Xiongnu with great success, and suffered few casualties, but suffered huge losses in horses.
When they left the fortress, they had 140,000 official and private horses, and a large number of Huns war horses were captured during the battle. However, the total number of horses returned was less than 30,000, which was a huge loss.
Horses were expensive and difficult to maintain, and the casualty rate was extremely high. All the wealth accumulated by Emperor Wen and Jing was squandered in the hands of Emperor Wu. This is a typical portrayal of losing money in war.
Zhou Qingfeng doesn't like cavalry at all because it's too expensive. As a wealthy man, he can't afford the wear and tear, so he has been thinking about how to replace aristocratic cavalry with civilian infantry.
But the advantages of cavalry are so outstanding. Reconnaissance, cover, detour, and pursuit cannot be accomplished by two-legged infantry, only cavalry can be used.
Only when you have actually commanded a battle will you understand how much influence modern mechanized vehicles have on war. It is not a one-dimensional war concept at all.
It’s not like Zhou Qingfeng never thought about how cool it would be to build an alien chariot. But he was ‘scarce in talent’ and knew that he didn’t have that ability. Until...
Returning to Cold Wind City, the city was peaceful.
Ordinary citizens don't even know that their lord has just dealt a severe blow to Broken Bridge City to the west. The Holden family is like an old dog whose backbone has been severed, and can never stand up again.
Wounded soldiers and prisoners did not enter the city, but went directly to the military camp. Naturally, someone would handle the aftermath, such as Rubio, who was a profiteer.
When Zhou Qingfeng came back, Arcee hurriedly pulled him into the alchemy laboratory of the Wizard's Tower. The seven little goblins flew around their master happily, and even Sophia, who had always been reserved, was boastful.
They really came up with something special!
"Master, look at your new mount!" In order to increase the sense of ceremony, Irene even blindfolded Zhou Qingfeng and led him to the 'new mount' before letting go.
Zhou Qingfeng opened his eyes and took a look.
Damn it!
He jumped three steps away.
Opposite is a guy with four thick hooves.
No, no, ‘hooves’ can no longer be used to describe the short and thick legs like stone pillars.
The high-spirited horse's neck was completely gone, and a big monster head was directly mounted on the mount's torso.
The size of ‘Shiying’ was originally very large, but now it has grown even bigger.
Its face is nearly one meter wide and its shoulders are one and a half meters tall. Its body has turned into a mechanical structure, like a monitor lizard lying on the floor. Its length of five to six meters also comes with a large metal tail interlocked with each other.
Earthly dragon?
Mechanically constructed version of the Earthly Dragon.
"Jiying?" Zhou Qingfeng called tentatively, but he didn't dare to recognize it.
This mechanical monster is much more majestic than the original skeletal war horse. The sharp angle on the forehead disappeared and was replaced by a thick anvil. The fangs and teeth are still there, even sharper and more ferocious than before.
The thick limbs are full of strength at first glance. And the long tail is flexible and fierce, and it is absolutely powerful when twitched.
Upon hearing the call, red flames lit up in the eyes of the mechanical dragon. White steam came out of its huge mouth and nose, and it sighed in a helpless tone:
"Master, it's me. Look at the good things Arcee has done. She's just messing around. I was obviously a horse, but now I've become a dragon. This really has no sense of aesthetics and has seriously affected my reputation."
"Forget it, you are originally an undead and half-demon, and you don't have much reputation."
Despite his surprise at first glance, Zhou Qingfeng thought the modification was quite good. He asked Arcee, "Have you tested it?"
"It has been tested." Mo Ji said happily: "'Shiying' is now twice the size and weight of before, so I made a special energy furnace for it and added a little uranium 235 to it to ensure that it has enough power.
The speed remains unchanged. Other defense, impact and attack capabilities are much stronger than before. The entire modification is very successful and is very suitable for killing on the battlefield."
Arcee urged her owner to take a test ride, but Zhou Qingfeng asked thoughtfully: "Can we build a few more of this kind of construct?"
Mo Ji was stunned and asked: "Master, how much do you want?"
"Of course, the more, the better."
The strange maids put a lot of thought into modifying the 'Quick Shadow'. They looked at each other, but they all shook their heads at Zhou Qingfeng. Sophia floated forward and whispered: "Master, do you want to use the construct to equip the cavalry?"
"Yes. A horse costs at least fifty gold coins, and it has to eat at least five soldiers' supplies every day. But it dies much faster than ordinary soldiers on the battlefield, and there is no way to save it.
The most annoying thing is that once the horses are lost, they are replenished too slowly. Even if I have money, I can't have a large number of horses immediately. If there is a war, there will be a long period of strength vacancy."
Others would probably disagree with this, but the strange maid followed Zhou Qingfeng to the real world. They have all seen the world and witnessed with their own eyes how industrialized society can quickly create wealth.
It takes at least two years from the time a horse is conceived to being well trained. Even with the technical level of ‘Holy Light Machinery’, it can make three wheels every day with a three-digit number.
But Sophia shook her head at Zhou Qingfeng, "In order to modify the 'Quick Shadow', we spent nearly a million gold coins in magic materials.
Most of them were copied from the properties of various nobles and wizards in Cold Wind City, and many of them cannot be bought if you have enough money. Let alone a hundred horses, it is impossible to make another one."
A construct requires hundreds of parts and materials. Arcee also showed Zhou Qingfeng a list of materials, and there were a lot of them listed densely.
Zhou Qingfeng threw this material list to the succubus Medais of the Abyss. The other party said that it was satisfactory, but the price was frighteningly high. After spending all his coupons, he could only make two or three more.
"What if the performance is simplified?" Zhou Qingfeng felt that there was no need to equip all of his men with majestic earth dragons. Common ones would be fine.
Arcee immediately said: "If the defense is weakened, the weight can be greatly reduced. Use a lower-end energy furnace. The cost can be reduced by 10%."
"It's only 10% cheaper, which is not enough." Zhou Qingfeng waved his hand, "It's a riding vehicle. It doesn't need any attack power or a cool appearance. The simpler, the better."
The high-ranking people in other worlds all want a dragon to go out, the more majestic and domineering the better. When 'Shiying' heard that his master was cutting off defense and attack, he had a horrifying intuition, as if he was going to be stabbed.
Arcee, Sophia and others gathered to discuss and reduced the cost by another 20%.
But Zhou Qingfeng still shook his head, "It's not enough, it's still too expensive. It's really too expensive. I want a universal model, with a minimum equipment of 100 horses. The unit price cannot exceed 10,000 gold coins.
The parts and components must be standardized so that they can be coordinated and maintained with each other when necessary. The cost of daily use must be low, so it cannot be built or used.”
Ten thousand is still so much to ask for?
It costs more than this to make any construct.
If we really want to create a constructed mount that costs 10,000 yuan, how crude would it have to be?