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"Lord Wang, please use tea! Chief of the General Staff, please use tea! As soon as a few people sat down in the office, Shan An immediately poured tea for Geng Jingzhong and Li Guangdi. After all, this place is not as good as the palace, and there are people who are specially serving, usually putting a pot of tea in the office and drinking it yourself. It's hot here, so it's comfortable to drink some herbal tea.

"You just said that the horse farm is in dire need of harness? Why, aren't there craftsmen here who are equipped with special zuò harnesses? Geng Jingzhong asked as he took a sip of tea, and at the same time turned his gaze to Li Guangdi.

Li Guangdi also took a sip of tea first and said: "Oh, I know about this, the craftsmen who can make saddles here in the whole of Luzon have been gathered, but the number is too small, there are less than thirty people, and each person can make two pairs of saddles every day when the materials are sufficient." This month, there are less than 2,000 pairs, since receiving the report from the general manager, I have collected these craftsmen who can make saddles, but in the past two months, a total of more than 3,000 pairs have been made, and they were all sent half a month ago, and this month's estimate will not be delivered until the end of the month. And the harness is not just the same as the saddle, other things are in short supply, the subordinates have previously sent a letter to Fujian, asking for more customization or acquisition of the harness, it may be that you just came to Luzon, missed it! ”

Geng Jingzhong nodded. "Got it! This horse is not missing harness, this matter must be solved quickly. The cavalry division that is being formed, and the training of recruits will also take about two months, and then they can officially train in horsemanship, in this time gap. There must not be a problem with the horses. What is missing. Hurry up! Which departments are needed to cooperate. You can go directly to the Governor's Mansion and let the Governor's Mansion come forward to make unified arrangements. ”

When a person controls a horse, in order to control the horse more conveniently, some auxiliary utensils are used, and if there is no horse harness, it is impossible to talk about controlling the horse, and the horse will never be obedient. Harness is broadly divided into two categories, one is for horses. One is for riders. The main supplies for horses are: saddles, halters, armatures, horse coats, bowed leather and water reins, etc.; Horsemen's items such as helmets, riding boots, breeches, and whips were used for human use.

In this era, the harness used by cavalry was slightly different from the harness used by ordinary people to ride horses, and there were several places on it for placing weapons. But in general, the saddle, stirrups, halters, armatures, vests, bowed leathers, and water reins used by horses cannot be saved, and the rider cannot do without the whip and helmet. People rely on clothes and horses rely on saddles, and among all horse harnesses, the saddle is the most important equestrian product, and it can best reflect the identity, status and hobbies of the owner. A good saddle is a fine work of art in itself, and even if it is a saddle used by ordinary cavalrymen, it is not easy to make a saddle to get hungry.

Attached to the saddle is the stirrup, which is the most important invention of the complete harness after the horse's chew and bridle. In the era when there were no stirrups. One needs to ride on the back of a bare horse, grasping only the reins or mane and clamping the horse's belly with his legs so that he does not fall off while the horse is galloping. But this approach is very unreliable. First of all, it is easy to get tired after riding a horse for a long time, and it is difficult to use a bow and arrow effectively on the back of a running horse, and in close combat, the rider cannot use the sword and spear as much as he wants, and the slash or assassination miss, and the collision of the blades of both sides can cause the rider to slide off the horse at any time. Therefore, in addition to the advantage of speed, the combat effectiveness of the cavalry in this period was far inferior to that of the down-to-earth infantry, so after the cavalry arrived at the destination, it often dismounted and put into the battlefield as infantry, as was the case with the Macedonian cavalry in Alexander's era.

The advent of the Takahashi saddle makes the ends of the saddle turn from flat to high, limiting the forward and backward sliding tendency of the rider's body, and providing longitudinal stability. The use of stirrups, on the other hand, provided lateral stability by fixing the feet, and at the same time, with the assistance of the saddle, united the man and the horse, making it possible for the cavalry to use the speed of the horse to make a frontal assault. Western scholars once commented on the new equipment carried by the Huns who entered Europe: "The saddle is the key to the complete union of man and horse. The unique saddle of the Huns caused a surprise to the Romans. Their saddle was not made of leather that wrapped around the horse's belly like the Romans, and the Hun saddle was special in that it had a wooden carriage that was two ends high. In this way, no matter how the horse runs, the knights can sit firmly on the horse's back. ”

Since the saddle and stirrup are the premise of the combat mode with the cavalry as the main force, some clues can be roughly found from the use of cavalry in ancient China. It can be considered that in China by the Qin Dynasty at the latest, saddles and stirrups were not produced. This judgment is not only due to the fact that the terracotta warriors and horses of the Mausoleum of the First Emperor have detailed horse harnesses, but there are no high bridge saddles and stirrups, but also because in the layout of the terracotta warriors and horses, the number of cavalry is relatively small, and they are arranged in the side corners far from the main formation, which shows that before the Qin Dynasty, the role of cavalry was only reconnaissance, flank outflanking, harassment and blocking, sneak attack and pursuit, and could not become the main force of combat, let alone independently undertake the entire campaign.

The earliest cultural relics found in China that represent the saddle of the high bridge are works from the late Eastern Han Dynasty, such as the cavalry figurines and painted wood carvings of saddle horses unearthed from the tomb of Leitai Han; The earliest sculpture with stirrups is the equestrian figurines in the tomb of Yongning in the Western Jin Dynasty in Changsha, because the stirrups in these figurines only have a triangular stirrup under the saddle on the left side of the horse's body, which is only half as high as the calf, and the right side is not, and the rider's feet are not stepped on it, so it is considered to be the prototype of the stirrup, that is, the instrument used for getting on the horse; As for the earliest physical double stirrups, it is the gilded copper-wrapped wooden stirrup of the tomb of Feng Sufu of Beiyan in the sixteenth period of Beipiao, Liaoning.

Geng Jingzhong also knew that it was not easy to make harness, but now it seems that he could not immediately provide a large number of harnesses, even if he returned to Fujian to buy them on a large scale. In this way, it is clear that he Geng Jingzhong has formed a cavalry of tens of thousands of people, in that case, his cavalry will not be able to play a surprising role in victory. Now in Fujian, the 5,000 horses obtained from Wu Sangui are clearly distributed to the many marines, and the total number of cavalry is only 1,000 people. In the future, tens of thousands of elite cavalry will emerge at once, and that will really have a shocking effect.

"Let's gather all the craftsmen who make the harness of the zuò. There are as many as you can find here in Luzon. Go back and wait for the king to return to Fujian. In Fujian and its surroundings, we are looking for a group of talents in this field, and then I will send them to you. All the materials, you go and place an order with the Kunpeng caravan, and they will find a way to get the raw materials. Geng Jingzhong said.

"In this way, there will be no problem for the subordinates, and in three months at most, the subordinates can ensure that 15,000 war horses can be put into use, within half a year. The rest of the horses can also be trained to the end. Please rest assured! Shan An listened to several questions raised by Geng Jingzhong, and confidently assured.

"Okay, then the king is waiting for your good news!"

Geng Jingzhong has been back in Jingnan Wangfu in Fujian for three days, stayed on Luzon Island for more than half a month, and the sea breeze has been blowing back and forth at sea for 20 days, and the whole person has been a lot darker. This time I returned to Fuzhou, I went back to the palace in the county, and I went out for so long, but I missed my wife and son! It just so happens that now Li Guangdi has also returned to Fuzhou with him, and many things can be handled by Li Guangdi and Yao Qisheng. I am temporarily idle.

But he himself is not only Wenwen has a son, at the end of October last year. Chunzhu also added another son to him, and now the right to name it fell into his own hands, so he thought about it and gave him the name of Geng Han, and his name was strong. The three-month-old child is also the cutest time, with exquisite facial features on the white and chubby little face, especially the big round eyes, anyone who sees it has to praise a few words, which also makes Geng Jingzhong, who is a father, very proud. In the past two days, when I have nothing to do, I like to take a walk around the yard with Zhuangzhuang, and then listen to the praise of others, and the mood of the day will become very happy.

At the same time, in an ordinary dormitory at the foot of Tianma Mountain in the north of the Mawei Military Camp Military Academy, the graduating cadet Zhou Xuezhi touched his bed with some sadness, he slept on this bed for three years, and here he learned that he couldn't think of it before, and he also got to know a lot of brothers who were like each other, and now he is leaving, which makes him really reluctant. Zhou Xuezhi was originally a small officer in the Mawei Marine Army, because he fought bravely against bandits several times, repeatedly made military achievements, and he was also literate and hyphenated, so he was selected to participate in this military academy to study in the accelerated practical yàn class, and the training period is three years, and now it has just ended.

The so-called military academy is an attempt made by Geng Jingzhong before preparing to officially open a military school. The opening of a military academy is different from doing other things, and the training of local grassroots officials can be done by selecting some young people who understand some culture and training them together, and then they can be sent to the localities for training and training. Moreover, these grassroots officials in the local area do not have to worry about what chaos they will make. However, the training of officers in the army is even stricter, and there is no sloppiness in the slightest.

The children of the generals' families account for only a small part of the students in this military academy's fast-track class, and most of them are some outstanding soldiers recruited in the army. First, it is an incentive for military officers and men, and second, it can also ensure the diversity of cadets in military academies, so that military academies do not become a tool for the interests of a certain class. In fact, the second point is what Geng Jingzhong values the most, not that he does not believe in the children of the officer's family, but the important thing is that Geng Jingzhong himself must firmly grasp the army in his own hands.

When selecting the trainees, it was taken into account that if the army put those outstanding officers and soldiers in the army into the training class to study, it would definitely weaken the combat effectiveness of the army, and in addition, those outstanding soldiers themselves had already learned a lot of ways to use troops on the battlefield, not to mention that they were not suitable for this fast-track class, but they could let those outstanding officers and soldiers study for a long time in the evening in the army, so that it would not affect the combat effectiveness of the army, but could understand more ways to lead troops.

And these selected trainees are all grassroots officers, and all of them are literate and hyphenation, and they are usually relatively calm and calm. After three years of study, their temperament has changed a lot. In the past three years, they have not only learned a lot of knowledge about leading soldiers, but also learned scientific knowledge, and their understanding of the whole world has also broadened their horizons. In addition, after studying in this fast practice bar for a few years, you can also gild yourself. Become a veritable "protégé of the Son of Heaven". It is more conducive to future promotion. Just like now. After graduation, they will all be promoted to one or two levels, and if they do a good job, they will be promoted faster, and they will have many more opportunities than others in the future.

Geng Jingzhong himself is the dean of this accelerated academy, of course, this is carried out in secret, so far most of the generals in the army do not know about this matter, when the original selection of students, because the number of selected students is less than two hundred, I thought that Geng Jingzhong had some special task. Everyone cares about it at all. What is claimed here is the place where Geng Jingzhong cultivated his personal guards, and the management is looser than in the barracks.

Zhou Xuezhi is a member of the military academy's crash course, at the beginning, he was reluctant to come to the crash course, after all, he was already in his thirties, but he still had to study like the teenagers in the future school, which really made him a little uncomfortable. But when he stayed in the military academy for a month, Zhou Xuezhi fell in love with the life of the military school. Every morning they study the art of war, practice in the afternoon, and have a day off every ten days. You can go to Fuzhou City to hang out. Or go to the Monkey Island Port business district to hang out, and you can also participate in various competitions organized by the military academy. For example, the football matches often held in the military academy were supposed to be called Keju, but they were given by the dean, who was the prince himself, and there were many changes in the rules.

Thinking of this happy time in the military academy, Zhou Xuezhi was even more reluctant in his heart, he was born in an ordinary person, relying on the literacy skills he learned secretly outside the private school since he was a child. The brave table of several battles is the captain of the newly promoted squad. I didn't expect to be suddenly favored by the prince, and he could spend such a period of time in this crash course at the military academy that he couldn't even think of before, and even when he returned to the army in the future, he could also be reused, maybe in the future, his son could also be like the two later batches of young boys in the military academy, relying on the shadow of the elders in the family to enter the military academy to study.

Thinking that his son could also come to the military academy to study in the future, Zhou Xuezhi couldn't help but feel a little excited, and even diluted the sadness in his heart a lot, and no longer hesitated at the moment, and began to hurry up and pack his luggage, as long as the order assigned to them from above came down, they were going to serve in the new army, but Zhou Xuezhi may not return to the original army, it is likely that he will be assigned to other battalions, and the conditions are the same anyway, so Zhou Xuezhi doesn't care where he goes.

Just as Zhou Xuezhi packed his luggage, the door of the dormitory was suddenly knocked open, and then a tall man rushed in and shouted excitedly at Zhou Xuezhi: "Brother Zhou, we are going to be developed this time!" ”

"Brother Yuan, have you heard any gossip again?" Zhou Xuezhi looked at the person who came and said helplessly, this tall man is named Yuan Hou, who is from a civilian background like him, and the two live in the same dormitory. When he first came, many students called him Monkey, and his name was the same as ape, but in less than three days, everyone in the class called him that way again, and everyone who called him that way was cleaned up by him. Don't look at Yuan Hou looks very thin, like a hemp pole, the wind can blow down, but it is a good family heirloom martial arts that he has practiced in a small way, and he fights alone in the crash course, no one is his opponent, in addition, Yuan Hou likes to inquire about things, the news is the most well-informed, it is a famous bag in the crash course, this time is approaching, Yuan Hou has been asking where these graduated students can be assigned, and it is estimated that he will hear some news today.

"Hehe, my little brother heard a big news today, the academy's assignment to our people has been decided, not to return to the original Marine Army, but to be sent to Luzon Island to form a new cavalry division, let's start from the squadron leader as soon as we go over! Brother, it's developed, cavalry, maybe with our results in the class, it's possible to be a captain! Yuan Hou said very excitedly again.

It's good to be able to stay in Fujian, but they haven't gone out to fight once in a few years, and their bones are rusty, and the current military regulation system is that if you don't have military merits in the future, you don't want to be promoted, and what the newly formed cavalry division is doing, of course, it's a war, and the cavalry itself is worth more than the infantry! In any army, cavalry is the most important, and they are happier to serve in cavalry divisions than in the Marine Army. For these students, the fact that the prince specially trained them and used them to form a cavalry division shows that the prince attaches great importance to this army, and there will definitely be combat opportunities in the future, and with Geng Jingzhong's gaze, isn't it easy to get promoted and make a fortune?

"What? It's true? Zhou Xuezhi was also taken aback when he heard the news, originally they all thought that they were going back to serve in the Marine Army, but they didn't crit, they were born with the Marine Army, and if they didn't go back to the Marine Army, where would they go.

"Of course it's true, I heard it from the guards around the prince, and you also know that my cousin was selected for the guard camp, and he has been with the prince since last year. The day before yesterday, he and the prince had just returned from Luzon, and we were on vacation before graduation in the past two days, and I was drinking with him, and he said it himself. Although the order hasn't come down yet, it's estimated that it's coming soon, just these two days! Yuan Hou said excitedly.

"Great!" Zhou Xuezhi heard that the news was from the mouth of the prince's guard, so there would definitely be no mistake. This must have been said by the prince himself, and the people around him naturally would not be false when they heard it. "By the way, although we have also learned equestrianism in the past few years, the level of service in the cavalry is still a little worse, if the riding skills of our subordinates are stronger than ours, then this team is not easy to lead! Just bring it to you, are you sorry? Just as he was happy, Zhou Xuezhi thought of a question and said with a frown.

Yuan Hou laughed and said: "Hey, then you have to worry too much, my cousin said, the horse farm over there has just been built, and the cavalry division to be formed has just been recruited, and they are all new soldiers, and there are few who can ride horses." Although we haven't had much time to practice equestrianism in recent years, but the riding skills are still so-so, and then we will have to train riding with the recruits, with our level, will it be worse than those recruits? But this news stopped with you, our brothers are as close as one to tell you, my cousin said that this Luzon Island formation of cavalry, if you can, don't publicize it, try to keep a low profile. ”

"Oh, understood! Don't you know who I am, who has a big mouth like you! Zhou Xuezhi grinned.

"Rile, I'll tell you the secret, and you've counted me down, right! I knew I was stealing the fun alone! Yuan Hou pursed his lips and said dissatisfiedly.

"Okay, okay, can't I treat you at noon to make amends?"

"You said that! I'm going to get drunk! Yuan Hou immediately put forward conditions.

"Whatever you want, anyway, there are only a few days left for you to drink, and you don't know when you will be able to taste it when you get to the army!" Zhou Xuezhi shrugged his shoulders and said. He is also a good drinker, but he is not allowed to drink alcohol in the army, that is, he can drink less during this vacation, but now he can let go of drinking after graduation and signing a vacation, and there is no restriction in the academy.

"That's right, the level of food in the canteen of our college has improved in the past two days, and it is not worse than the hotel in Houyu Port. My favorite is the Luzhou Laojiao inside, it is said that they are all transported from the land of Bashu by offshore formations along the Yangtze River, but the price is too expensive, and we have half a month's salary for half a month! Yuan Hou said with a smile.

"You bastard, you can really rob, but you guys are happy today, please! Let's go! ”

"Brother, you are so generous, hurry up, please first!" Yuan Hou immediately jumped up and made a gesture of please, he was never willing to buy this good wine every time he had a holiday, or once had a few students party, and it was rare to buy two jars of wine, and he still has an endless aftertaste. (To be continued......)