Shen Bing was silent for a while, then took Princess Wuyou to the Shenwu Army camp.
At this time, the Shenwu Army was organizing training. War horses roared past on the school field, and arrows hit the target one after another.
Princess Wuyou was a little puzzled by Shen Bing's move, but she still complimented:
"Is this the Great Qin Cavalry Army?"
"It is said that this cavalry army is the confidant of the general, and today I saw it and it is indeed well-deserved!"
Although Princess Wuyou said this, she didn't think so in her heart.
If we say that the infantry of the Qin army is the best in the world, there is no doubt about it.
But compared with the Western Regions and the Xiongnu, the cavalry was still far behind.
This is also another concern of Princess Wuyou: If the Qin cavalry army is not as good at riding and shooting as the Western Regions, how can they obey and command the Western Regions cavalry army?
Shen Bing smiled and replied:
"Look more carefully."
Princess Wuyou looked at Shen Bing doubtfully, and then turned her attention to the cavalry who were training.
This didn't seem like a big deal, but it shocked Princess Wuyou.
It turns out that those Qin cavalry troops were not just riding and shooting, they were also practicing riding shield formations and lance formations...
Princess Wuyou is a person who has been with soldiers for a long time. Of course she knows that the shield formation and the lance formation are basically not feasible for cavalry at this time.
The reason is that the shield rider must hold the shield in one hand and the sword in the other hand, while the lance rider usually needs to hold the gun in both hands to be effective in combat.
It’s not that there are no people who can ride on a horse and hold a shield in one hand and a sword in the other or a gun in both hands, but it must be a soldier who has practiced martial arts since childhood and is good at riding. It is difficult to find a few among ten thousand people, and even if they can do it, it is difficult to find a few. You have to be careful, you may fall off the horse if you are not careful.
However, as far as Princess Wuyou could see, she saw that all Qin Qi had this skill.
Not only does he have this skill, he can also easily set up formations and advance and retreat in a well-founded manner.
At that moment, Princess Wuyou even thought that she was deceived, or that what she had heard before was all lies. The reality was that Qin Qicai had the most exquisite riding skills.
but……
Princess Wuyou looked at Shen Bing with a strange look on her face and said:
"How is this possible?"
"I have seen the Shenwu Army before and know that their riding skills are not as good as those of Qiuci."
“Why have you advanced so far in such a short period of time?”
Shen Bing did not answer, but raised his head towards Ren beside him.
Ren understood, and immediately brought a horse, but it was a war horse with a saddle and stirrups.
It turned out that while King Qiuci was busy reforming and centralizing power, Shen Bing had already produced saddles and stirrups in large quantities.
The difficulty lies in not having thought of these things, but they are not difficult to make.
The saddle is made of wood and covered with fur, which is time-consuming to make. The stirrups are directly formed from new iron in one go.
In addition, Shen Bing also made a horseshoe by the way. Although this thing is just a small piece of iron nailed to the horse's hoof, it can play a big role...
First, it can make the horse's hoofs better able to grip the ground without slipping, so it can walk more steadily and make it easier for the rider to maintain balance.
The second is that the horse can run faster and farther while using the same amount of effort.
The third is to protect the horseshoes so that they are less likely to crack due to long-distance running.
So in this way, it is not only a question of improving the combat effectiveness of the cavalry, but also a question of improving the marching speed of the cavalry.
Princess Wuyou had never seen a war horse dressed up like this before, and was stunned when she saw it. However, being good at equestrian skills, she only hesitated to know the purpose of the saddle and stirrups. She couldn't help but asked Shen Bing in surprise and joy:
"Can I try?"
Shen Bing replied:
"Of course, but as a princess, you still have to be careful..."
Before she finished speaking, Princess Wuyou had already climbed onto her horse.
The posture of getting on the horse was still that of leaning on the horse's back and jumping up. After adjusting the posture, she put her feet on the stirrups... Princess Wuyou didn't know that she could mount the horse with the stirrups on.
Then Princess Wuyou pulled the reins and galloped wildly into the open space, releasing her hands from time to time as if she was enjoying herself.
This is indeed a kind of enjoyment.
Shen Bing felt this when he first made stirrups.
People who can't ride a horse can't understand the previous suffering. Without a saddle and stirrups, it's like a bird with its wings tied up. It can fly but it can only jump and jump, and it must be careful, because if you are not careful, you will get hurt.
With stirrups and saddles, horseback riding is actually horseback riding, and cavalry is also called cavalry in the actual sense.
After turning around for a few times, Princess Wuyou happily ran back to Shen Bing and shouted:
"General, what are these things? Why have I never heard of them?"
Ren replied:
"Of course the princess has never heard of it."
"These were specially made by the general to conquer the Huns!"
Princess Wuyou said "Oh", then jumped off the horse, looked at Shen Bing with incredible eyes and said:
"It seems that the general is not only good at marching and fighting, he can also make many good things."
Ren said again:
"The princess underestimates the general."
"The general is an engineer by training. The trebuchets, gunpowder, artillery, etc. are all made by the general."
Princess Wuyou sighed:
"You are indeed carefree, ignorant and ignorant."
Then Princess Wuyou asked again:
"Does the general plan to equip the Western Region cavalry with stirrups and saddles?"
Shen Bing nodded and said:
"Exactly."
"As the princess said before, the countries in the Western Regions may be hesitant, that is, they will rebel against Qin once defeated."
"Shen Bing believes that the reason for this is that firstly, he is afraid of the Xiongnu's strength and is worried about their revenge in the future, and secondly, he lacks confidence in fighting the Xiongnu on the grassland."
"If you have stirrups and saddles, your riding skills and combat power will be doubled, and your confidence and morale will also increase."
"If all countries believe that the coalition forces can defeat the Huns, they will naturally not need to worry about their revenge in the future."
"then……"
Princess Wuyou nodded in agreement.
The reason is actually very simple.
The countries in the Western Region, including King Qiuci, left themselves a way out because the situation was still unclear: they believed that the Qin army and the Xiongnu army were quite powerful and the outcome was uncertain.
Since the outcome is uncertain, the Western Regions should act as a backwater that can fall to both sides at any time.
However, if they generally believe that the Qin army is stronger and can win this war, then there is no need to be a walleye or at least they should lean more towards the Qin army.
Stirrups and saddles can play such a role.
Although they are just two small things, these two small things mean that the cavalry can completely free their hands.
In this way, even a rookie who has just learned to ride a horse can compete with the elite Huns.
In particular, you can also use swords, shields and spears...In the past, cavalry could only ride and shoot, and they would shoot arrows back and forth, but the hit rate was actually not high.
At this time, if you fight the enemy archer with a sword and shield, and the horse is faster because of the horseshoe, how can the archer be your opponent?
All the cavalrymen in the Western Regions grew up on horses, so of course they know the reason behind this.
As a result, people's aspirations immediately changed.