However, this development process has not been smooth sailing.
At this time, Shen Bing was training his troops... The main direction of Shen Bing's training was to expand the Shenwu Army, that is, the cavalry.
This is the advantage of the Hetao area. The fertile grass and beautiful water in this area make it an excellent horse breeding farm, and the quality of the horses raised is no worse than that of the Xiongnu.
In addition, Shen Bing knew that cavalry would be king in the future, so of course he would not give up this opportunity.
And the people of the original Hetao had some experience in this regard... Many of the people who returned from Dai were horse dealers and herdsmen, and Li Mu's Northern Goblin Cavalry relied on the war horses they raised.
Shen Bing immediately organized them to raise horses for the Shenwu Army. In addition, Shen Bing also took some of the herdsmen who could ride horses to join the Shenwu Army and expanded it to 6,000 people.
But Shen Bing believed that the number of Shenwu troops was not a big problem, the bigger problem was cavalry shooting.
Shen Bing discussed this issue with Wang Ben several times:
"The last time we fought against the Xiongnu, although the Shenwu Army won a complete victory, it also exposed the shortcomings of our army!" Shen Bing said: "Especially the Shenwu Army, although it has more than enough defense, it lacks offense."
Wang Ben feels the same way:
"What the general said is true."
"The Shenwu Army should be the main force rather than the auxiliary force."
"However, in the last battle with the Xiongnu, the Shenwu Army was not only an auxiliary, but almost a shield, used to block the Liang Army."
This is what Wang Ben said.
The last time they killed the enemy were almost all the crossbows of the thousand infantry. The Shenwu Army only used their rattan armor and mobility to block the Hun cavalry, making it difficult for them to get close to the infantry phalanx. In the final analysis, they were acting as shields. .
Fusu Zeqi said:
"However, our army defeated the Xiongnu army of more than 10,000 people with one thousand soldiers and two thousand fine cavalry."
"Why can't we continue to fight this way in the future?"
Shen Bing and Wang Ben looked at each other and shook their heads in unison.
Wang Ben explained:
"Young master, you don't know something."
"The last time I waited to play, I actually took advantage of the defense."
"If our army wants to fight a hundred miles away...the infantry will need to travel for two days and the cavalry will only need one day. How will we respond to the enemy then?"
Fusu said "Oh" and then understood the reason.
In ancient times, it was very difficult for infantry and cavalry to coordinate.
This is unlike modern times, where infantry can ride in cars, infantry fighting vehicles, and even the Soviet Union directly let soldiers lie behind the tanks to coordinate with the tanks.
In ancient times, it was almost impossible to coordinate the speed of cavalry and slow-moving infantry...The infantry could not keep up with the cavalry, and if the cavalry slowed down to wait for the infantry, the cavalry would be meaningless.
Therefore, it is not impossible to say that the infantry and cavalry cooperated to combine infantry crossbows and cavalry maneuvers like last time, but it is by no means the norm.
Especially against the Hun cavalry that came and went like the wind, the Qin army's infantry was even more unable to catch up with them.
In short: the Qin army has the upper hand in head-to-head confrontation, and the Qin army's infantry and cavalry will have to fight separately, so the advantages of the two armies cannot complement each other, and no matter which army confronts the Huns, they will almost have to wait for death.
For example, the Shenwu Army fought against the Xiongnu alone.
Although the Shenwu Army has the defensive advantage of rattan armor, its cavalry and archery are far inferior to that of the Huns. The Huns can hit the Shenwu Army accurately and quickly from a longer distance, but the Shenwu Army has nothing to do against the Huns outside the range.
Over time, the Shenwu Army will fall into the so-called cavalry trap, that is, "it can't hit but can't hit, and it can't run away"... It's not just the infantry who will fall into this trap, cavalry who are not good enough in cavalry and shooting will face The same is true for the Huns cavalry.
If this problem is not solved, the Shenwu Army will not be able to fight the Huns cavalry at all, and it will be useless no matter how much subsidies Shen Bing gives to boost morale.
Fusu thought for a while and said:
"In this case, all we can do is practice riding and shooting."
Wang Ben replied:
"The Shenwu Army has been practicing riding and shooting day and night."
"While the Huns have been practicing riding and shooting since childhood, we have only been practicing for a few years or even a few months."
"No matter how much we practice... we will always be inferior in skill."
In fact, Wang Ben was speaking lightly.
The Shenwu Army was more than "inferior" in terms of riding and shooting compared to the Huns.
If I have to use any words to describe it, it would be that the Huns were professional cavalry and the Shenwu Army were amateurs.
It is not that there are no outstanding figures in the Shenwu Army, such as Yan, Wang Ben, Wang Bai, and Lei Hui can also be counted... Their riding and archery skills are no worse than those of the Xiongnu.
But only these talents with special experience and talents are comparable to ordinary Xiongnu riders. Compared with the overall quality of the Shenwu Army, they are far behind.
Based on Wang Ben’s observation on the battlefield:
"The Huns can use the power of riding to fire their bows. Their range is at least thirty steps further than our army and they are very accurate!"
"It is also supplemented by a scimitar that is good for cutting and slashing. It can be used for long-range shooting and close-range attack. Its combat power cannot be underestimated!"
This is what Shen Bing observed at the top of the city.
The Huns cavalry are almost integrated with the horses. The horses are like four legs growing out of them. They always step on the right point to release the bow and arrow, and then release the arrow in the direction of the horse's progress or even when the horse jumps to the highest point. Arrow...the whole process was completed in one go like clouds and flowing water.
In addition, the Huns were able to draw heavier bows while riding and shooting for a long time:
The bows used by the Shenwu Army generally weighed 200 Qin Jin (equivalent to 101 Jin in modern times).
The power of this bow is not weak. The minimum bow power used by infantry is 120 jins (about 60 jins in modern times), but it is only for the weak.
Most of the cavalry were veterans selected from the infantry. They had bow shooting training when they were infantry, so they could shoot stronger bows, and they could still shoot a bow weighing two hundred jins on an unstable horse.
If a stronger bow is used, the cavalry will have to use all their strength to draw the bow and will not have the extra strength and energy to maintain body balance, let alone control the horse.
But the Xiongnu used a strong bow worth more than 250 Qin Jin...
Coupled with his archery skills, the shooting range is more than thirty steps further than that of the Shenwu Army.
Thirty steps may not be much for cavalry, but it will be a big trouble in battle.
Because in this way the Xiongnu can stay out of the range of the Shenwu Army and shoot at the Shenwu Army, and then do a "enemy advances, we retreat, the enemy retreats, we advance", so the Shenwu Army will never be able to hurt the Xiongnu.
This made Shen Bing want to invent saddles and stirrups.
Because once these two things come out, they can exponentially make up for the Shenwu Army's poor riding skills.
But after thinking for a long time, Shen Bing finally held back.
He could not predict what would happen to the Huns who were also equipped with saddles or stirrups.
If the Huns were equipped with saddles or stirrups, they might no longer be the Huns who could be defeated by Wei Qing and Huo Qubing, but should be the Mongolian cavalry sweeping across Asia and Europe.
Shen Bing would not dare to take this risk no matter what, unless he could defeat the Huns first.
Or at least beat him until his vitality is severely damaged.