Equipment is definitely quite important for an army. The first thing in the army is soldiers, and if there are soldiers, then they must have equipment, and then they must be equipped with training, coupled with strict discipline, tenacious fighting spirit, and excellent command and leadership, so that they can become an excellent army.

Equipment occupies at least one-third of it.

And how to choose equipment is also important, according to different types of troops, reasonable matching of different equipment, in order to maximize the performance of the weapon.

What Liu Jun and Li Chunjiang wanted to establish was a horse team, a township regiment horse team, which mainly patrolled and also arrested robbers and bandits. They have to face thieves, robbers, fugitives, etc., so Liu Jun feels that they have to buy equipment according to this characteristic.

"I don't think it's necessary for the time being, first, the cost of iron armor is expensive, the cost of manufacturing a pair of iron armor is fifteen taels, and although we have a way to buy it, but a pair of iron armor costs fifty taels of silver, this price is already more than three times the cost, and it is ridiculously expensive."

Liu Jun shook his finger and didn't pay much attention to the iron armor.

"Besides, the iron armor is heavy, and what we want to build is a light cavalry team, patrolling and reconnaissance, and what we need is maneuverability. Equipped with iron armor, it has little effect in the face of ordinary thieves, but it increases the weight and slows down the speed, which is really not worth it. I thought that if we thought about the need for defense, we could buy a batch of buffalo leather armor, which was light in weight and had good protection against thieves. ”

"Isn't it better to have a cotton armor?" Li Chunjiang asked.

The Chinese staff member explained to Li Chunjiang on the side, "The cotton armor is not heavy, the standard cotton armor is made of cotton flowers of seven kilograms, wet and repeatedly patted to make a very thin cotton sheet, and then the thick thread is sewn tightly." This kind of cotton armor is lightweight, and it also has good protection against firearms. It can even be thickened and made into sixteen layers, which is almost invulnerable. However, there is also a disadvantage, the cold areas in the north are fine, but the cotton armor in the south is not very suitable. I think Liu Gongzi's choice of cowhide armor is good, the imperial court has already ordered the armies of the southern guards many years ago to change the original iron armor to buffalo leather armor. ”

He also deliberately brought four sets of armor over to show the two, one was cowhide armor, one was iron armor, then one set of cotton armor, and one set of cloth armor.

After his introduction, Liu Jun found out that the bubble nail armor of the Qing army in the film and television works he used to watch was not cotton armor, nor was it an invention of the Qing army, in fact, this kind of armor is called cloth face armor, which is said to have been transmitted to the dynasty from Europe.

This is a true heavy armor, even heavier than the original Iron Armor. The surface of this armor is cloth, and the inside is iron armor, and then the cloth and the iron armor inside are fixed with copper and iron nail bubbles. The weight of such an iron armor is not light, Liu Jun weighed it, and it is estimated that it is no less than thirty catties. According to the staff, this kind of cloth armor is also called cloth iron armor, and the standard weight is 24 to 35 catties, but later it gets heavier and heavier, and often a complete set of cloth armor reaches forty or fifty catties.

This kind of cloth iron armor is actually the predecessor of cotton armor, and cotton armor is much lighter, and a pair of cotton armor is only ten catties. The thickened cotton armor is no more than twenty catties.

The real cotton armor is only sewn with compacted thin cotton sheets, and there is no iron armor inside and no copper nail bubbles on the outside, because there is no need to fix the nail plates. Touching the cotton armor, Liu Jun felt that this was a bit similar to an insoles, very hard and thick, no wonder it could block knives, guns and firearms.

"Cotton armor with copper nail bubbles, can it be stronger and stronger?" Liu Jun asked.

The staff member smiled and shook his head, "It's definitely stronger than it used to be, but it's not necessary. If you really want to add nail bubbles, then you might as well choose the twenty-four pounds of cloth iron armor, which weighs about the same as the cotton armor with nail bubbles, but it is definitely stronger. ”

"Add some silk to it, and the protection ability will definitely improve a lot, right?"

"That's natural, with silk lining inside and copper nail bubbles outside, which is definitely much better than ordinary cotton armor."

Liu Jun thought for a while and said to Li Chunjiang, "Otherwise, we will order this kind of cotton armor, and the cowhide armor is not light, and the performance is estimated to be inferior to this improved cotton armor." ”

"If you say okay, then okay, order a hundred sets first. By the way, Mr. Zhou, how much is a set of such cotton armor? ”

The staff member surnamed Zhang smiled and stroked his beautiful beard, "The cotton armor itself is not cheap, and you are still custom-made, so it is not cheap." A set of ordinary cotton armor costs more than fifteen taels, and I estimate that you will have to pay fifty taels to take it down. ”

"Fifty taels a set, a hundred sets is five thousand taels." Liu Jun couldn't help but swallow his tongue.

"Bought it." Li Chunjiang waved his hand. "Since you need it, then buy it, you don't have to worry about money."

Liu Jun nodded, in the era of cold weapons, the role of armor is still very important.

"Then I'll register you and order a hundred sets of cotton armor, well, I'll help you keep the price down then, and maybe I can let you put up a hundred eight-petal helmets over there."

"Mr. Zhao, this cotton armor must add two copper heart goggles on the front chest and back." Liu Jun explained carefully.

"Well, I wrote it down for you. What about the rest? ”

"A hundred bows and ten thousand arrows. 100 guns, each with 500 pieces of buckshot, gunpowder, and arquebus. Liu Jun felt that it should be equipped with bows and arrows and firearms.

"A small tip horn bow is five taels of silver, a large arrow is five cents of silver, a bird gun is twenty taels of silver, and each lead bullet gunpowder is one penny of silver, and each one hundred parts, right?"

"How much do you say?" Liu Jun felt that he had heard it wrong, the price was a little too expensive, a bow was five taels of silver, an arrow was five cents of silver, and a bird gun was even more expensive for twenty taels of silver!

"It's been an old friendship with all the families, and it's always been this price, but I think you are also your own family, so you go according to the price of Mei Gong and that side, otherwise, it will only be higher." Mr. Zhao's face should have been like this.

"But that's too expensive, isn't it?"

Mr. Zhao smiled, "The cost will definitely not be so high, and even I can almost know the manufacturing cost of these equipment sold by each family." For example, although this small tip angle bow is very troublesome to manufacture, the cost of a bow is only about two taels of silver, and the cost of an arrow is about three dollars of silver. The bird guns are a bit more cumbersome to make, costing about five taels of silver each. If you want a high-quality product with guaranteed quality, it is only eight taels of silver. ”

"Eight taels cost twenty taels, which is two and a half times more." Liu Jun sighed.

"It's not about buying tofu and cabbage, it's about buying everything. This is an ordnance, and it is such an advanced firearm as a bird's gun, even if it is blind to it, but after all, this is not an open serious business, and it still bears some risks, and this price will naturally be expensive. ”

It is indeed the case that arms trading is not about buying cabbage and radish, and the profit is not high, who is willing to take this risk. But in this way, Liu Jun had to think about expenses.

The price of 100 sets of cotton was already 5,000 taels before, and if you buy another 100 bows and 100 bird guns, you will get another 5,000 taels. Although they had the support of a lot of local tyrants yesterday, they only got 5,000 taels of silver. It's all thrown in, and it's only enough to buy cotton nails. Even if Li Chunjiang said that he was not bad for money, Liu Jun still felt that he couldn't do it in such a big step, and he still had to take it step by step.

"Gongji, you see, I have an idea, our horse team now has seventy-two people, and we will organize him into a squad of twelve people, and three squadrons into one squadron, and then just two squadrons into six squadrons. Each of our squads was assigned a different weapon, a team of twelve, a captain, a men, and then four birdmen, four archers, and two hookgunners. ”

"The captain is equipped with a flag gun, a waist knife, and a horn bow, and the soldiers are equipped with a double-pointed iron pole. Each of the four bird guns is equipped with a bird gun and a waist knife. Each of the four archer men is equipped with a long knife and a horned bow, while the two hookgunners are each equipped with a hooked scythe and a horned bow. ”

This reduced the ratio of firearms and compensated for long-range firepower with archers.

A team of twelve people needs to be equipped with nine waist knives, seven angular bows, four bird guns, two hook and sickle guns, one flag gun, and one double-pointed iron pole, all of which are available in melee and long-range, as well as cold weapons and hot firearms.

When Li Chunjiang heard Liu Jun's plan, his eyes immediately lit up, "Brother Jiye, this is in accordance with Qi Shaobao's training method?" ”

Liu Jun nodded, he originally wanted to establish a firearm cavalry, and even had a bird gun and a horn bow in his hands, and even thought that if he had the conditions, he would have a crossbow for one person, and then a cavalry knife and a cavalry shield in his hand, how majestic and majestic it would be. However, seeing that the price of equipment is so high, Liu Jun has no choice but to reduce equipment expenditure.

In the end, the set of equipment plans he proposed was basically compiled by the Qi family army of Qi Jiguang, a famous general of the Ming Dynasty. However, it has been modified according to the actual situation, but in general, it is configured according to the Qi family's army.

"Since it is according to Qi Shaobao's military book, it is naturally good, I agree with your proposal, and order all kinds of equipment according to the establishment of the two squadrons and six squads you just mentioned." Li Chunjiang finally made a decision. He also knew that Liu Jun wanted to save him money, and he was very appreciative of it.

"Mr. Zhao, this order has been placed, how long will it take to get the goods?" Liu Jun asked.

"As long as you pay for the goods, you will be able to get the goods in seven days."

"So fast?" Liu Jun was another big accident. "Including our custom-made cotton armor?"

Mr. Zhao smiled slightly, "Actually, you can't be customized at all, there are already many people who have the same requirements for you, and besides, we don't have more than one family, those people are actually a group, and after receiving the order, they will transfer goods from other companies as soon as possible to ensure the fastest delivery." ”

"Seven days, in fact, is only the latest arrival time."

it! Liu Jun couldn't help but shout in his heart, it turned out that his mother's arms business was so big, and those arms dealers had already communicated with each other, maybe there was an industry association in secret. But in this way, things are much simpler, as long as the money is in place, the goods are in place.

Li Chunjiang seemed to know what Liu Jun was worried about, and patted his chest with a smile, "Uncle Zhao, I will ask someone to send 10,000 taels of silver over first, and you can help me place an order and give money. ”

Mr. Zhao waved his hand lightly, "It's a trivial matter, it's on me." ”

Seeing that Mr. Zhao was so refreshing, Liu Jun hurriedly took out a silver ingot of five taels and sent it, "Please Mr. Zhao to drink tea, a little meaning, thank you for your help." ”

Mr. Zhao didn't shirk it, and accepted the silver directly with a smile, "If there is anything in the future, just come to me directly, Lao Zhao." ”

"Definitely, definitely." Liu Jun nodded.