"Smack! Gollum, Gollum, Purr......" The glass in my hand fell to the ground, rolled and turned to the side. The wine in the glass spilled, wetting the floor in a large slight.

"It's a shame...... "I turned to Mainhull again, and the smile on my face must have been unusually ugly." I was going to see you off in person early tomorrow morning, but now it seems that I can't. Then I'm here to wish you a safe journey! I'm sure we'll meet again one day...... Chiyo Tsuru, go get those things! ”

"Yes!" Chiyo Tsuru answered and ran quickly to the inner hall, and in a short time brought the leather bag to me.

"It's a little meaning, I hope you don't see it!" I shoved the bag into Mainhull's hand and said, "I want to tell you that Japan has opportunities, and all kinds of opportunities may create miracles that people who have been living in Europe cannot imagine!" I await the day you return! ”

"Your Highness!" He took the bag of gold without any false concessions, and in the European tradition it was only natural for a knight to receive a reward from the lord for whom he served. It's just that he looked at me with a hesitant expression, and after thinking about it, he still said it. “…… Your cavalry can undoubtedly now be among the strongest in Japan, but that's not to say they're invincible at all times! Kyoto is a metropolis with complex streets, and it would be foolish to send cavalry into such an area for street fighting. At this time, it is practically too late to use the infantry, and the cavalry has to take a great risk! As far as I know, you have no direct obligations to the general, and even your relationship is sometimes very delicate, is it worth it for your sake? ”

"Hell that bullshit general!" Ke'er Caizang suddenly yelled. "Now the young lord and the wife of the lord are in Kyoto, and even the families of our people have hundreds of families! We...... We ......" he couldn't say any more. A few years ago, he brought his only relative, his mother, to the Koikan, and this time he was also in the relocation team.

"I see...... "Meinhull was speechless for a while, and it was also an unshirkable duty to protect women and children in the code of European knights.

"This time I will personally lead the cavalry ......to set off," I stepped back to the main seat and said loudly to the ministers: "Teacher, Maeda Keiji, Yamanaka Yukimori, Keer Caizang, Kusunoki Mitsunari, and Ban Changxin will follow me out of battle; Shigeharu Takenaka led Nagano Yosmori, Yoshitsugu Otani, Kazuku Tsuda, and Tadsuna Ishikawa to defend the castle! The Miyoshi family suddenly sent troops and couldn't prepare for anything, everyone must be cautious and carefully prepared! Everyone went back to prepare, and gathered and sent troops after a quarter of an hour (half an hour). "After some consideration, I still brought Nagano Yemasa this time, although he is older, but in the end he is a battle-hardened general, and Takenaka Hanbei is a scholar after all, and his health is not very good, he may not be able to bear this kind of overnight attack.

"Yes!" The generals agreed in unison, and the momentum was magnificent.

"Your Highness......" Mayinhull suddenly stepped forward a few steps and said, "I ask to come with you to fight!" ”

"You?" I hesitated and said, "Mr. Ernst is not urging you to ......"

"It's just in time!" He immediately interrupted me. "Mr. Ernst's ship will not leave until ten days later, and a delay of two or three days is not a big deal! But this opportunity to fight is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and I can't give up the opportunity to witness the power of this cavalry, this is the first Eastern army born in my hands! ”

"Okay!" After a little thought, I agreed to his request.

***************************************************************

Half an hour later, I walked out of the main castle tower in full armor. 1,000 cavalrymen stood in the courtyard in front of the gate, neither men nor horses made a sound, and those who didn't know would think that this was a group of realistic statues. Compared with the previous training, this cavalry is more fully equipped, except for the 5 javelins arranged in a small fan shape on the back, the most conspicuous thing is the horse armor on the body of those tall war horses!

The last time Song Haitian went back from here, he began to make these horse armors day and night, and they were all tailor-made for these "big guys"! Although the size of the horse armor is much larger than the armor, it only consumes more materials, and when it comes to the complexity of human armor, it is far less than the armor of a person, so the final batch of equipment was finally completed at the end of last month. Now with a complete suit, this cavalry can be called the "armored cavalry" of the stars.

I walked down the steps to them, and saw more clearly by the light of the torches swaying in the wind. The horse armor was of the same texture as the armor worn by the soldiers, with large pieces of black leather armor nailed with "starry" copper nails protecting the torso, neck, and head of the horses, and finely cast copper armor plates were added to the vital points. The lower edge of the horse's armor to the base of the thigh was hung with a suspension four inches wide and a foot and a half long, providing quite effective protection for the horse's legs and lower abdomen. The horses' jaws began with overhanging stacked carapaces that extended to their chests, following Mayinhull's advice to protect against enemy "suicidal" charges from hostile lancers! This "cumbersome" body must be more than fifty pounds, plus the knight on the body is more than three hundred pounds! If it weren't for these oversized "monsters" from Ezo, it would be absolutely wishful thinking to build such a cavalry. Due to the cancellation of the flag behind the back, some "Zhuxingmaru" emblems are decorated on the armor of people and horses, which should be used to identify them.

"Are you all ready?" Although I saw it, I still asked uneasily, this battle is not only about simple success or failure, but also about the safety of Xianzhi.

"It's all in place!" Keiji Maeda came to me. "We're probably going to have to run through the snow all night and expect to be in the fight tomorrow morning! I asked the Quartermaster Division to prepare four rice balls and a small bag of turbid wine for each of them, ensuring that it would not affect combat effectiveness at any time! ”

"You're doing a good job!" I nodded in acknowledgment of what he was doing. An army hungry and tired and frozen, no one could expect them to emerge victorious. "Everyone, ......," I said, raising my right hand, about to swing forward.

"My lord! Please wait a minute......" At this moment, Nagano Yemasa, who came from behind, stopped me. "Please ask everyone to take off their horse armor!"

"Huh? Why? I was stunned for a moment, not understanding why he would make such a suggestion. Now it can be said that it has reached the point of meeting each other, and what is the need to save the "hole cards"?

"Lord, the old man doesn't have the idea of preserving his strength...... "He saw my guess at a glance." With such heavy equipment on his back, he can't run at all, and even if he arrives in Kyoto tomorrow morning, he won't have combat effectiveness! ”

The teacher said ......, "But it's not that I don't have other concerns." It's freezing now, can the horses stand it without these horse armor? "It is recorded that for any reason in Hokuriku, Japan, soldiers will not be used in the snow in winter, and even here there have been cases of livestock freezing to death a few days ago. These armors are equipped with a detachable cotton lining, and even if it is slower, it is better than something happening on the road, and then it will be all delayed!

"No, it won't!" At this time, Meinhull also came from behind, wearing a hussar steel armor brought from Europe. "Your Highness, don't forget that these horses come from the cold Far North, and the cold here will not be a problem for them!"

"Damn! How could I forget! I immediately turned my head and shouted, "Attention! Everyone's unloading their horse armor! ”

"Yes!" The order was immediately executed with unmistakable accuracy.

"Attention everyone!" I stepped on the "gold" and pressed the "Dai" on my waist with my hand, and looked back. There are neatly draped Nagano Yoshimasa, Maeda Keiji, Yamanaka Kanosuke, Koer Caizo, Kusunoki Mitsunari, Ban Naganobu and Mainhull, and 1,000 Star Armor Riders. "Target Kyoto! Let's go! ”

"Squeak~~! Ahh、......h Bang Dang! "As the gate opened, I was the first to rush into the snow.