King Xiliang paced back and forth in the palace: "He won't let people go?" We can't attack by force, and if this continues, the black country will definitely come to find trouble. ”

"According to the intelligence from the south, the army of the Black Kingdom has already camped in the north of Beichen, I think it is better to transfer the army, it will be difficult to fight if it starts."

"Go ahead. Send a message to the prince of Dou Guo, we need Dou Guo's help. ”

……

In order to deal with the arrival of the Black Army's army in Beichen, Xiliang took out their housekeeping skills: a new type of chariot. Speaking of chariots, there is always its presence on the historical stage of the Central Plains Continent. It is also this kind of weapon that has always exuded brilliance in the history of the Central Plains War, but at present, only the Xiliang Kingdom has mastered this skill.

Chariots were invented in the Xia Dynasty. The main material that makes up the chariots is wood, which is mostly brownish-black because it is painted with paint to protect it from moisture. Although the standards of the past dynasties are slightly different, the structure is roughly divided into four parts: carriage, wheels, chassis and harness.

The carriage is a combat platform that can accommodate 1 regalia and 2 combatants and stands in a triangular shape. Supported by the chassis, the depth is 0.8-1 meters, the width is 1.3-1.6 meters, and the mouth is open behind the compartment. Except for some copper armor plates installed on the back half of the Warring States period, there was usually no armor. Because the carriage was erected on tall wheels, it gave the chariot a prominent height, and the contrast between the infantry and the cavalry at most chest-length gave it an offensive and defensive advantage over the two.

Wheels are roughly divided into hubs, spokes, and rims. The front wheel diameter of the eastern circumference is 1.3-1.4 meters, and then it has been reduced to about 1.24 meters to improve lateral stability when cornering. The hub is a log in the center of the wheel, including the hub decoration on both sides to share the pressure, with a total length of tens of centimeters, which is also called 'long hub' by the chariot. There is a round hole in the center of the hub to penetrate the shaft, which was oiled in the Western Zhou Dynasty and an iron ring was added during the Warring States period, all to reduce wear. The spokes are spokes, connecting the hub and the rim, which can mobilize nearly half of the wheel's kind to support the pressure on the rim, which is lighter and stronger, and the number of spokes of the wheel continues to increase from the Shang Dynasty to the Warring States period for the purpose of strengthening. The rim is the rim, which is divided into two layers, each layer is formed by two half-circles hooped together by copper sheets, and the rail width is narrowed to maturity in the Western Zhou Dynasty.

The chassis includes a wheel and an axle. The long pole-shaped wheel is embedded between the carriage and the axle, perpendicular to the axle, and connected to the harness at the front. The axle is fixed, perhaps for the sake of convenience, but also seems to be intended to enhance cornering performance by using the method of isolated two wheels, in short, the axle is not connected to the wheels, but passes through the hub, and the position relationship between the two is clamped with copper pins. The piercing part was oiled in the Western Zhou Dynasty, and the iron ring was wrapped in the Warring States Period, all to reduce wear. There are bronze shaft headdresses at both ends of the shaft, which not only play the role of protecting the shaft head, but also evolved into a flat spear to drive away infantry after the Spring and Autumn Period, but it cannot be rotated and strangled like its peers on Mediterranean chariots, and can only be used as a ramming angle.

Harness includes scales and yokes. The balance is a long pole perpendicular to the wheel, connecting the wheel and the two yokes, and hanging on the backs of the two horses in the middle. The yoke is responsible for holding the two horses in the middle and transmitting their pulling force. Judging from the role of the harness, the so-called four-horse chariot seems to be only two horses attached to the two-horse chariot, and these two horses are simply tied to the head and neck of the adjacent inner horse with ropes, and the leather rope on the chest is directly tied to the shaft, and the power cannot be fully exerted.

The workmanship of the chariot is based on the Western Zhou Dynasty, which sets a reference example for future generations. At that time, the car manufacturing specifications were strict, and only the wheels had to go through a series of tests such as measuring the wheel circle by gauge, measuring the spacing between the spokes with the moment, the suspension rope and the water float, the integrity of the spokes and the uniform material, comparing the capacity of the two hubs with millet and comparing the weight of the two wheels with the scales, and the high quality can be seen.

After talking about the chariot itself, let's look at the force and power that the chariot relies on to fight, that is, men and horses.

When it comes to people, the chariot can be regarded as the most class-colored weapon in ancient times in the Central Plains Continent. During the long years from Xia to the Western Zhou Dynasty, the tall and majestic chariot was a symbol of status and wealth, and only the nobility was qualified to drive it. This can certainly be explained as a dictatorship of the class, but it is also an indisputable fact that only the wealthy aristocracy has the opportunity to study in school. In the following Spring and Autumn Period, some of the countrymen were finally able to concentrate on training and boarding chariots by joining the samurai class, but the commoners and slaves of lower clan status were still missing. It was not until the Warring States period, when the chariots were about to be eliminated, that the threshold was briefly opened with the complete disintegration of the clan.

Regarding the equipment of chariot combatants, the popular saying that two people are armed with bows and arrows and spears is obviously too idealistic, and it seems that it is more correct to equip both with bows and arrows and spears. The training of chariot soldiers is very strict, especially the art of driving chariots and the art of long-range killing. After entering the Western Zhou Dynasty, with the sophistication of chariots and the upgrading of the scale of chariot warfare, the tactics became more complex, which led to more demanding requirements, and the norms of five controls and five shots were produced.

The so-called five pilots are the five tests of the royal art. That is, no matter how fast or slow the car is, the car bell should have a clear rhythm; Walking on the winding path by the river, the car cannot fall into the water; Pass through places with the monarch's emblem, pay respects calmly; On the winding road, it is necessary to make the four horses cooperate tacitly and the body turns smoothly; Birds and beasts can be driven to the left side of the car for the left side of the combatant to shoot. These seemingly isolated requirements contain driving skills such as coordination and confrontation. In response to the mutual promotion of tactics and imperial arts, the commander who gives orders at this time is no longer the left combatant, and the commander is a combination of decision-making and control, making it easy for the chariot to cope with changes on the battlefield.

The so-called five shots are the five tests of archery. It consists of drawing the bow to the front of the forehand index finger and only exposing the arrow; Stretch your arms parallel to the arrow, stable enough to place a water glass; The bow is bent like a well; Four arrows are held in the back hand and shot out in succession; The arrows are not parabolic and go straight through the throat of the enemy from under the chin. These demands were not aimed at archers, but at chariots standing on galloping chariots. Although there are discrepancies in the descriptions of the test methods in different accounts, the above description alone shows the mastery of archery at that time.