In the era of cold weapons, it was impossible to become a military power without a strong cavalry. In order to fight against the Xiongnu, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty formed a powerful cavalry force, so that he was able to take the initiative to attack and chase the deer in the desert; Tang Taizong liked to choose the weak part of the enemy's formation, personally led the cavalry to charge, "the enemy is all defeated", a horse galloped in front, tens of thousands of cavalry followed closely behind, today to think about, especially fascinating.

It was the elite cavalry that made the Han and Tang Empires mighty. However, since the Middle Tang Dynasty, the Han people lost the horse-producing land in the northwest, and the northern nomads arose, so the army of the Central Plains Dynasty began to gradually turn to infantry-based, and the Song Dynasty was the dynasty that took the protection and attack of hoplites to the extreme.

Although the impression of the Song Dynasty to later generations was that it emphasized literature over military force. But what is less known is that the Song Dynasty had the best protected hoplites in ancient China. It is reported that the infantry of the Song Dynasty wore infantry armor, composed of nearly 2,000 armor leaves, weighing up to 30 kilograms, but also equipped with spears, broadswords, crossbows and other weapons and equipment, so the infantry who can go to the battlefield are all people with big shoulders and round waists and strong strength.

In the tenth year of Shaoxing, in the battle between the Song army and the Jin soldiers in Yuncheng, Yue Fei put the armored infantry equipped with broadswords and axes into a formation on both wings, effectively preventing the attack of the Jin armored cavalry. At that time, shields were used to resist the long-range shots of the enemy cavalry, and when the enemy cavalry approached, the rattan soldiers used broadswords to chop the legs of the weakly defended horses, and then, when the enemy cavalry was trapped in their own formation and could not move, the hoplites slashed and slashed, and the enemy suffered heavy casualties.

The northwest border where Gaoyue is located, the Guanlong region, has always been often invaded by bandits and Hu people from all sides. Since ancient times, the people here have the habit of spontaneously practicing martial arts and resisting invasion in groups since the Qin and Han dynasties, which has led to the general martial arts among the people. The local people have been fierce since ancient times, the soldiers produced here are very different from the style of the Central Plains, not only burly and strong and brave and ruthless, but also never afraid of death when fighting and generally have the courage to fight to the death in a group, after training into the army, it has always been known for its fierce tyranny, brave and good at fighting.

As the saying goes, a good horse needs a good saddle. Soldiers with excellent quality should all the more have the equipment they want to be equipped with. Nowadays, soldiers are easy to obtain, but equipment is hard to find. In addition to horses, if you want to improve your combat effectiveness, you also need a considerable amount of armor equipment. This required a large number of pig irons and a large number of craftsmen who specialized in smelting and forging. Nowadays, Gao Yue has a lot of pig iron that has been collected, purchased and collected, but there are relatively few craftsmen with craftsmanship. In Xiangwu City, there were less than 200 people recruited, and Gao Yue also set up an ordnance department for this purpose, so that it was responsible for the construction and maintenance of weapons and equipment for the whole army in Longxi.

When he captured Xihe, Gao Yue didn't stay long, he negotiated peace with Yang Maosou, and then withdrew, he didn't know the city very well. Now listening to Ah Chi's words, there are nearly 100 forging households, and he can't help but have his eyes shining, like a hungry wolf, suddenly seeing a large piece of fresh meat.

With craftsmen, equipment development and forging can be accelerated. In addition to the infantry, just like the famous Zhenxi Army of the Song Dynasty, it was also a heavy steel cavalry corps, and the soldiers wore steel helmets and wore the finest steel ring lock armor. The Ring Lock Armor weighs much less than other metal armors, and because it is a typical flexible armor, it is more comfortable to wear than other metal armor and has a flexible movement, making it ideal for cavalry use.

Although lightweight, the protection of the ring lock armor is no worse than that of ordinary iron armor. The steel ring lock armor of the Zhenxi Army, in addition to being somewhat difficult to fight against the powerful composite bow at that time, had no problem with the cutting of ordinary pig iron swords or the shooting of single bows and arrows. In addition, the war horses of the Zhenxi Army also wore vests, which were leather on the inside and a layer of iron fish scale armor on the outside, and iron masks on the horse's head.

As for the later Beiwei army, they paid more attention to it, and on the outside of the chain mail, they were covered with a layer of iron blades to strengthen protection. Gao Yue himself is a Song army, and he knows all about this. When he came to this life, he continued to develop, and the quality of the soldiers seemed to be much stronger than in the previous life, but when it came to weapons and equipment, it was not at the same level.

However, the meal has to be eaten in one bite, and it seems that it will take a long time to achieve the sophistication of the previous life. But Gao Yue is already in the preliminary planning, step armor and ring chain mail, even if the whole army can't be equipped, a number of elite soldiers can be picked out at the moment, and it is good to equip more than 1,000 people in advance.

The Iron Harrier Army of Western Xia is really famous and has extremely strong combat power, but in fact, it is only an establishment of 3,000 people. It can be seen that the first thing to improve strength is not in the number of soldiers, but in the soldiers. Gao Yue thought so excitedly, it seemed that there was his own Longxi Infantry Armor and Beiwei Army in front of him.

Gao Yue smiled, full of motivation immediately, he decided that when he went out, he would immediately move the Xihe craftsmen to Xiangwu and arrange for it to be implemented. Doesn't it mean that most craftsmen live in poverty, so whoever is willing to come, will be paid well, and if there are concerns and are unwilling to come, they will not be forced, and slowly enlighten and persuade that is, as long as there is a trend, it will eventually be more with less, and the scale of the ordnance division will be slowly expanded.

"Ah Chi, I plan to move all the craftsmen of Xihe to Xiangwu to expand the Ordnance Division, uh, that is, to expand our manpower to make forging ordnance."

Ah Chi was taken aback, "Although there are many craftsmen in Xihe, but their ancestors have lived there for generations, if you suddenly want them to move here, I'm afraid there will be some resistance, husband, they are all my fathers and fellow villagers, you promise me, you must not force me, otherwise how can I have the face to go back." ”

Seeing Gao Yue's appearance, Ah Chi knew that he must have a new plan for some military and political matter. However, she was not interested in these, and she knew that as a woman, it was wise not to interfere in politics and talk less. She is only worried that her husband, as the supreme official, will cause all kinds of resistance when he issues a relocation order, which will lead to constant contradictions, and finally ruin her husband's reputation and lead to a great loss of popular support, which is what she is very worried about.

Gao Yue laughed and said gently, "Don't worry." I have never been violent to the people, let alone to your fathers and fellow villagers? I will offer a good reward, if you are willing to come, I will treat it well, if you don't want to come, I will not force it, persuade it slowly, in short, it will not make you embarrassed. ”

"In that case, I don't understand these things, you can do it yourself, you need to use my place, just let you assign it." Ah Chi lowered his eyes and changed the subject: "This hemp cake is made by our people themselves, can you try it?" When I was a child, I couldn't eat it if I wanted to, and I always looked forward to it, and I could only get a little bit of it during the New Year's holidays or when other families had happy events. Don't dislike it, it's always their heart. ”

Since there is a general direction in his heart about military and political affairs, Gao Yue will also put it aside for the time being. Hearing the words at this moment, he hurriedly held Ah Chi's hand, "What are you talking about, it is to send goose feathers, and it is also polite and affectionate, people can read us, and I am very grateful, how can it be such an unkind and bitter person." ”

"Aren't I worried about you, a big official, putting up a score?" Ah Chi smirked, enjoying the warmth transmitted from Gao Yue's strong palm.

Gao Yue picked up the hemp cake and took a bite, it was soft and sweet, it was really delicious, much more delicious than he imagined. "Huh? The taste is really good, let's eat it for two. ”

Ah Chi picked up a piece, put it next to him, took out a red egg, put it with the hemp cake and said, "Wait a minute, let Luomei taste it, and share it with her, so that the little girl feels that we have never snubbed her." ”

Gao Yue nodded, "It's rare for you to be so generous and careful. He swallowed the food in his mouth, drank a sip of water, stood up, walked to the window, and in the gap between the open window, the cold air that came in made people feel refreshed, Gao Yue took a few sips in a row, turned around, and looked pampered.

"Ah Chi, you have been away from your hometown for a long time, and you must miss your parents very much. In another month, it will be the Qingming season. If there is nothing to do at that time, I will accompany you back to Xihe City to worship your ancestors, and you can also have a happy reunion with your family, how about it? ”

"Really?" Ah Chi's beautiful eyes smiled when he landed, and he couldn't help but applaud. She married from Xihe to Xiangwu, the people and the land are unfamiliar, the only reliance is Gao Yue, although the life is happy and happy, but the longing for her parents is also increasing day by day, more and more intense. It's just that Ah Chi only thinks silently in her heart, and she doesn't say anything, she knows that Gao Yue's official affairs are complicated, so she never bothers with this.

Now Gao Yue is empathetic, and she took the initiative to bring up the thoughts in her heart, and she couldn't help but cheer. Ah Chi walked over, hugged Gao Yue, rubbed his face tightly against his broad chest, and muttered, "Husband, you are so good." ”

A happy smile spread across Ah Chi's face. A lock of hair fell out, covering her eyes, Gao Yue reached over and gently lifted the lock of green silk to her ear, gently stroked her face, and gently pinched the bridge of her slender nose. Ah Chi closed his eyes, his heart pounding, and he was at the mercy of Gao Yue.

Gao Yue suddenly said: "Just eat other people's happy egg cakes, when will I be able to hold my grandson?" ”

Ah Chi raised his head suddenly, and his misty beautiful eyes blinked, "I don't even have a son, so I want to hug my grandson?" ”

Gao Yue waited for her words, lowered his head, rubbed and smelled her unique faint body fragrance in Ah Chi's ear, and asked softly, "Then when can I hold my son?" ”

Ah Chi immediately reacted, Gao Yue was hinting at her. A large flush suddenly swept over her smooth face. An intoxicating sweet pleasure soaked her heart. The passionate and unrestrained temperament of the Di woman was released at once, Ah Chi raised his head suddenly, his hot eyes stared at Gao Yue without dodging, his full chest was tightly attached, and he hugged Gao Yue's hands, but he was tightened tighter.