In fact, training chariots and soldiers is not simple at all, it can even be said to be difficult.
The reason is that it requires at least one driver who can drive.
This driver is not an ordinary driver, he is the commander of the chariot, and he is also the target of the enemy... Because if the driver of a chariot dies, not only does the chariot lose its command, but the chariot is also likely to lose control due to unmanned driving. The man turned his back on his horse.
Then there are the halberdier on the right chariot and the archer on the left chariot, both of whom must be veterans.
Not only that, the drivers, halberdiers and archers also have to practice cooperating with each other again and again. The chariot, as a member of the chariot formation, also has to practice formations and so on.
It can be said that chariots are the elite of the elite. During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, the number of chariots owned by a country was based on whether it was strong or not.
The reason why Shen Bing said that "training chariot soldiers" is not difficult is because the chariot soldiers he mentioned are not the same as chariot soldiers in the traditional sense.
Traditional vehicle soldiers are required to fight the enemy at close range, so the armor, coordination, etc. are all perfect. Just like the modern tank crew, they almost need to be able to use their arms and fingers freely, otherwise the vehicle will be destroyed if not careful.
The tanks required by Shen Bing were not so strict. They just fired "thunderbolt fireballs" at the enemy from a distance...
Therefore, the crew does not have the tension and pressure of close combat.
If there is any danger, it is mostly from enemy arrows. For this, just equip yourself with a suit of rattan armor and that will be enough.
In terms of coordinated operations, the role of the driver has been reduced step by step, and he only needs to follow the cavalry team.
Even the command can be transferred to the crossbowman... The crossbowman is also an observer. He can better perceive the changes in the enemy's direction and the distance between the enemy and ourselves, so only he knows how to adjust the direction and speed to better control the enemy. "Thunderbolt Fireball" is launched into the enemy camp.
Therefore, the training difficulty is reduced in stages: the driver only needs to be able to drive, the crossbowman can directly choose from the crossbows, and the loader can deal with any clever one.
If there is anything to pay attention to, it is the coordination between the loader and the crossbowman.
It would explode and shoot out more than a dozen rounds of iron caltrops with sharp corners after the explosion. What's even more serious is that each chariot is equipped with fifteen "Thunderbolt Fireballs"... The space of ancient chariots was not large, only Can hold fifteen pieces.
It's not a joke if you die in an explosion, it will probably cause the collapse of your own troops.
Let alone the ancients who have never seen the power of gunpowder, modern recruits often fail to throw grenades due to nervousness and other reasons, causing accidents.
Not to mention using a crossbow to launch "thunderbolt fireballs". The more links there are, the more mistakes may occur.
For example, the crossbowman loaded the fireball and ignited it without opening the string.
Another example is when a crossbow malfunctions and cannot be fired normally.
Or the fireball is launched without being lit... This situation is not bad, it is just a waste of a fireball, but it should also be avoided, because the fighter plane is also wasted at the same time.
Therefore, Shen Bing rigidly stipulated the operating sequence of the crossbowman and the loader during training, and every step should not be missed.
In addition, the fuse is lengthened to extend the reaction time, and a section of the bottom of the fuse is exposed outside the bamboo tube. In the event of a failure or accident, the fuse can be cut off in time and the fireball thrown out of the car...
The operation manual states that the fireball must be thrown out of the car regardless of whether the fuse is cut off in time.
Although the fireball thrown out of the vehicle may cause casualties to one's own personnel, it is better than causing other ammunition to explode on the vehicle.
Then I followed this operation manual and used the training ammunition over and over again.
The training bombs were made by Shen Bing by workers. They looked the same as live ammunition and had a fuse that could be ignited, but the warheads were not packed with gunpowder.
Various accidents and mistakes did occur during training.
However, after practicing it over and over again, the hands and feet have been solidified in the mind and conditioned reflexes have been formed, and the mistakes will become less and less, and from then on there will be almost none.
Therefore, what Shen Bing is most worried about about the "Thunderbolt Fireball" is not whether it can defeat the enemy.
In fact, it is almost certain that it can defeat the enemy. The key lies in whether you will be accidentally injured by it... There is a saying that "playing with fire and burning yourself". Fighting with this thing is playing with fire. Of course, you must be extremely cautious.
The production of chariots is handled by workers.
This is a trivial matter for Cang. At this time, he is already a general instructor... Groups of workers have been trained by him, and groups of workers have joined the training team.
Although it kept him very busy, he enjoyed it.
With tens of thousands of people under his command, he was much more prestigious than when he was in the artillery division. Wherever he went, people would respectfully call him "master".
This made Cang feel a little complacent.
As for making the chariot, Cang Yi patted his chest and replied:
"General, don't worry, we will drive out the chariot in less than two days."
As a result, it took only two days to drive out 120 chariots, and the workmanship was very precise.
These one hundred and twenty chariots were evenly distributed among the Shenwu Army by Shen Bing, and each village had fifty men to strengthen one chariot.
The chariot troops were mobilized from the Daliang Army.
Like the bed crossbowmen before, Shen Bing believed that converting cavalry into chariot soldiers was too wasteful... The cavalry knew how to ride, and they practiced riding and archery day and night. If all the efforts before converting to chariot soldiers were in vain flow.
At the same time, the Daliang Army's infantrymen were fully capable of converting into charioteers. The difficulty was the driver... not many infantrymen knew how to drive.
But this is not a big problem. Shen Bing raised his arms in Yunzhong County, and immediately many people who knew how to drive volunteered to fight.
You must know that this battle is going to Jiuyuan, which is their hometown, so of course they are eager to take the lead.
Many people among the common people are horse-drawn ones... Although they cannot afford carriages, they still help dignitaries transport things or drive carriages, or some of them make a living by raising horses, so there are quite a few who can drive.
Select some young men from these people and, with a little training, they can serve as drivers.
On the other hand, there is the issue of war horses.
In this era, not only people have never seen "thunderbolt fireballs", but war horses have also not seen them. Therefore, when the "thunderbolt fireballs" explode, the loud noises will definitely frighten the warhorses.
If there is a saddle and stirrups, it's okay, and the war horse can be controlled when frightened. But without these, the rider will drop like a dumpling.
This is no small matter on the battlefield. If you fall off your horse and are stepped on by a war horse, you will either die or be injured. Especially the light rattan armor equipped by the Shenwu Army cannot withstand heavy blows.
The solution is to detonate "Thunderbolt Fireball" near the war horse again and again.
Once, twice...and a few more times the next day.
As time went by, the war horses gradually got used to it. Occasionally a small number of them would be frightened when one of them was suddenly detonated, but most of them had no reaction at all.