Liu Yuxi stared at the paper that Wei Renshi put on the table, looked at it, and asked, "What is this?" ”

"This is a kind of thing that can be used in the people, whether it is used in the people or in the army." Wei Renshi said: "I came to ask Master Zhang for help today, and I planned to use this thing as a bargaining chip if he didn't agree." It just so happens that you also came to Luoyang, so I don't have to hide this thing anymore. ”

When Liu Yuxi heard this, he immediately picked up the pieces of paper and looked at them carefully, but he still couldn't understand them.

"What the hell is this?" Liu Yuxi asked.

"Some of the Uighurs live with fresh water and grass, and cattle and horses can be raised, but others are desert Gobi. The Gobi is covered with sharp gravel, and horses walk through it, and their hooves wear out quickly. Wei Renshi said to Liu Yuxi: "So when the Uighurs passed through the Gobi, they would put a wooden hoof on the horse's hoof, which was in the shape of a horse's hoof, just like putting shoes on the horse." The horse's hooves are then wrapped in yak skin. In this way, passing over the Gobi gravel, the wear and tear of the horse's hooves will be much reduced. This kind of thing is called wood astringency. ”

"This is Mu Shi?" Liu Yuxi has never been to the borderland, so he has never heard of Mu Shi.

Wei Renshi shook his head and said, "This is a horseshoe I made according to the principle of wood astringency. ”

"Horseshoe?!" Liu Yuxi was stunned, and from the use of wood astringency that Wei Renshi said, and from this name, he seemed to understand something. Then his eyes suddenly brightened, and he hurriedly asked, "......What is the horsehoe?"

A horseshoe, as the name suggests, is an iron hoof-shaped object nailed under a horse's hooves to protect the horse's hooves.

Because the horse's hooves are composed of two layers, the one layer that touches the ground is a layer of hard keratin several centimeters thick, and the upper layer is the living keratin.

The horse's hooves are in contact with the ground, and are corroded by the friction of the ground and the accumulation of water, so they will wear out quickly, and those that need to be planted or pulled are more likely to break and fall off.

The purpose of nailing the horseshoe is to delay the wear and tear of the horse's hooves, and the iron pieces are beaten into the shape of the horse's hooves and nailed to the horseshoe.

The use of a horseshoe not only protects the horse's hooves, but also makes the barbs make the horse's hooves grip the ground more firmly, which is beneficial for both riding and riding.

In later generations, when I watched TV series and movies in ancient costumes, the horses in them were nailed with horseshoes, so I habitually thought that ancient China knew the method of nailing horseshoes very early on to protect the horseshoes.

But I never thought that China, which was leading the world in iron smelting technology in ancient times, did not think of a way to put iron shoes on horses' hooves.

Isn't there a story in the afterlife: a nail is missing, and a horseshoe is lost. Lost a horseshoe, lost a warhorse. Lost a warhorse, lost a king. Lost a king, lost a battle. Lost a battle, ruined a dynasty. Although this story expresses the truth that the embankment of a thousand miles collapsed in the anthill, it can also be seen that people at that time already knew the importance of nailing horseshoes for war.

Especially for the ancient wars with cavalry as the dominant army and main combat power, and war horses as the main strategic equipment.

Not only for war, but also for ordinary life, horseshoes also play an important role.

After nailing the horseshoe, you can greatly reduce the wear and tear of the horse's hooves, whether it is pulling a cart or riding frame, it can be a better utilization rate of horses, and it can also save a lot of money for recuperating horses.

"The so-called horseshoe is an iron utensil, which can be made from a blacksmith, a round iron piece made with reference to the shape of a horse's hoof, and the iron piece is nailed to the horse's hoof, which is called a horseshoe. It can be used to protect the horse's hooves from the wear and tear of hard objects, and after nailing the horseshoe, even if the horse is riding on a rocky beach, or stepping on a sword, gun and sword, it will not hurt the horse's hooves in the slightest. If the iron sheet below is damaged, directly remove the heavy nail and you can jump alive again. The unloaded horseshoe can also be rebuilt and reused, which is a great benefit. Wei Renshi explained to Liu Yuxi.

As soon as the words fell, I heard a sudden voice from the bed behind me: "What?!" ”

As soon as the two turned around, they saw that Mr. Zhang, who was still lying on the bed, suddenly jumped up from the bed, took two steps to the table, and pinched the paper on the table.

"This thing ......" Mr. Zhang was still a little drunk at the moment, his eyes were burning, he stared eagerly at the paper in his hand, and asked: "When the old man heard the word horseshoes, he had an epiphany in his heart. Listen to you again...... Hmm, can this thing be physical? ”

"Not yet." Wei Renshi shook his head and said, "It's actually very easy to do, any blacksmith can beat it." ”

"Since ancient times, no matter what dynasty or generation, the use of troops abroad, especially those Hu people, the biggest loss is not people, but war horses." Mr. Zhang's hand holding the piece of paper trembled a little, and said: "In every battle, the casualties are less than 10%, while the loss of war horses is as high as 30%, and sometimes even as high as 60%. Part of this was due to the fact that the horses' hooves were so easily worn out during the charge, causing many additional casualties. ”

Mr. Zhang stared at the piece of paper in his hand and said, "Our army is dominated by cavalry, and the most important thing for cavalry is war horses. If something goes wrong with the horse, it will be a fatal wound for a cavalryman. Without a horse, the cavalry's combat power will be greatly reduced. Every time you fight, you have to lose countless horses, then re-cultivate, and then send them to the battlefield to lose them...... This thing must have a physical object! ”

"That's easy to say." Wei Renshi said: "Find a horse, and find a blacksmith." Hit the horseshoe according to the horse's hooves and nail it on. ”

"Let's go! Go now! Liu Yuxi excitedly grabbed Wei Renshi.

Bachelor Zhang also immediately said: "Wait for me to change my clothes and go with me." ”

The most important combat power of the imperial court is the cavalry. The most important thing for cavalry is the war horse.

And the biggest problem of war horses is the loss of horses' hooves.

Once the horse's hooves are broken on the battlefield, the knight on horseback will most likely die without a place to bury. Although a war horse is difficult to cultivate, it can be replenished after all, but it is difficult to have a soldier who has experienced a hundred battles. Every time there is a battle array, the loss of war horses due to the loss of horses' hooves can reach six or seven percent, so no matter how many war horses there are in the imperial court, there are not enough war horses, and the good horses are not in the Central Plains.

Now that there is a way to solve the loss of the horse's hoof, it is no wonder that Zhang and Liu Yuxi are so excited.