In the era of cold weapons, the importance of horses can not be overestimated, whether it is the use of chariots or the development of cavalry, there is no large-scale mastery of horse resources is simply impossible, the Qin Dynasty can unify China in addition to the Shang Dynasty change an important reason is that it once raised horses for Zhou Tianzi to master the horse production land in the Tianshui area of Gansu today

Compared with Han Tang. The Song can be said to be a congenitally deficient dynasty militarily. First of all, the status of the generals is low (although the income is still high, compared to the income of those generals in the Ming Dynasty, it is much higher, but the status is also relatively low, in general, the status of the generals is higher before the Song Dynasty, the Han and Tang Dynasties, and then it is the feudal lord system, and the division of civil and military forces is not so important), frequent transfers and other reasons have led to the disadvantages of soldiers not practicing generals and generals not specializing in soldiers (this is not a problem in modern times, but in ancient times, especially in the era of cold weapons + backward transportation, it has become a big problem).

The Song Dynasty's biggest congenital military deficiency was this, and the Song Dynasty never solved the problem of war horses, the most important foundation for building a strong cavalry army.

During the Han and Tang dynasties (referring to the Tang Dynasty before the Anshi Rebellion), the Central Plains Dynasty had control over the northern pastures (generally speaking, the Hequ horses produced by the horse ranches in the northwest were basically controlled - after all, the capital Chang'an was close to these northwest horse ranches, and the Mongolian horse ranches in the north were in the heyday of the Han and Tang dynasties or could be controlled for a period of time, especially the Han Dynasty, and the Cao Cao period at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty), so the supply source of war horses in the Han and Tang dynasties, especially the Han Dynasty, was not a problem. However, since the founding of Zhao Kuangyin, the Northern Song Dynasty has never had control over the northern pastures (the north has long been controlled by the Liao State, which has been founded for nearly a hundred years, and the northwest horse pastures have been controlled by the Li family), and the problem of lack of war horses has never been completely solved.

But in the Song Dynasty, the Mongolian horse was in the hands of the Liao State.

Before the alliance between Liao and Yuan, Liao had been at war with the Northern Song Dynasty. Controls on horses were tight, and only a handful of smugglers coveted high profits. Only then did he dare to smuggle a very small number of horses to the Northern Song Dynasty at the risk of killing his head, and after the alliance between the Northern Song Dynasty and the Liao Kingdom, although it was in a rare period of peace. The Liao also traded horses with the Song Dynasty through the mutual market on the border - tea, silk, ironware, etc., but the Liao was not a fool and would not let the Song develop cavalry, so the Liao not only strictly controlled the number of horses, but also inferior horses; Of course, the Song was not a fool and also controlled the raw materials for the manufacture of weapons and equipment, such as iron tools.

Hequ Horse in Xiazhou Party Xiang Li.

During the Zhao Kuangyin period, the Li family in Xiazhou played a considerable role in ensuring the supply of war horses in the Song Dynasty. After Li Kerui's death, Li Jisheng even took the initiative to make a pilgrimage to Kaifeng Mansion in Tokyo, giving up hereditary secession, that is, he was willing to further increase the degree of restraint. After a while, Zhao Kuangyin, the only emperor of the Song Dynasty who could fight and fight, had long since died, and even Zhao Guangyi, who looked like he could scare people on the outside (mainly the nearly 200,000 forbidden troops left by Zhao Kuangyin who could fight well), but was actually not proficient in military affairs (the tired army went to fight with Liao, and as a result, he buried the elite army left by Zhao Kuangyin) also died.

This goods should have used the 200,000 elites left to him by his brother to integrate the various departments of Xiazhou first, and then attack the Northern Han; As a result, he used the fatigue division and the Khitan to fight, and this elite suffered heavy losses.

The Dangxiang tribe felt that the opportunity to stand on their own had come, and the relationship with the Great Song Dynasty became wartime and peace, and the supply of war horses was intermittent

Later, after Li Yuanhao, the Northern Song Dynasty basically could not get Hequ horses from Western Xia.

The last place is the southwest horse of the Tibetan tribes in the southwest.

Compared with the Liao State and the Li clan of Xia Prefecture (later Western Xia), the relationship between the Southwest Tibetan tribes and the Northern Song Dynasty was much better, so when the Song could not obtain enough horses from the Liao State and the Xia Prefecture Dangxiang tribe, they would turn to the Tibetan tribes to buy horses. It is a pity that most of the horses raised by the Tibetan tribes in the southwest are plateau horses, which go to the plains of the Central Plains. Survival rates are a big concern. Therefore, the horses of the Tibetan plateau have not reached a critical moment. ...,

The Song Dynasty generally did not procure.

What to do if you can't buy it, in fact, there is another way - to raise it yourself.

During the Han Dynasty, the people were allowed to raise a large number of horses and select the best quality horses to make war horses. Unlike the Han Dynasty, the areas controlled by the Song Dynasty did not have suitable places for pastures.

The most depressing thing is that the absence of these three Ma sources has completely exploded in one breath when Zhao Ji is in office.

For example, in order to raise horses, or even to desert the farmland in the south. It was turned into a pasture and began to raise horses, but the climate in the south was not suitable for horse breeding.

At that time, horses were raised in a ranch in Jiangning Province, and when the ranch was established, a thousand horses were put in, but three years later, there were only 400 left. Such a dismal input-output ratio made the Northern Song Dynasty completely abandon the fantasy of establishing pastures in the south to raise horses.

War horses are always the main theme of the cold weapon period. During the Han Dynasty, the Central Plains Dynasty controlled so many good pastures that there were not enough war horses, let alone the Song Dynasty, which did not even have a source of war horses.

10,000 good war horses don't seem to be much, especially there is no way to compare with the Han Dynasty. The Han Dynasty's large cavalry group, which dispatched hundreds of thousands or millions of military horses, was simply the largest cavalry battle on the planet, and even the Yuan Dynasty established by the Mongols was slightly insufficient. After all, the Han Dynasty pursued annihilation, not defeat.

In a land of thousands, tens of thousands of square kilometers, without so many manpower, it is difficult for you to even catch the enemy.

But Song is different, it is not for annihilation, but only for undefeated.

The foreign wars of the Song Dynasty are strikingly similar.

First, the Song army drove straight into the enemy's territory without much resistance (luring the enemy into depth), and once the Song army entered the open area of the plain, the northern army immediately cut off the Song army's retreat and supply lines, and used the advantage of cavalry movement to cut the Song army into several sections and break them individually. Because the Song army was not mobile enough, it was unable to find the enemy's main force for a decisive battle, which made it difficult for some of the Song army's technical weapons to play a role, and finally had to be passively beaten.

No one will not know that the infantry is charged by the cavalry in the plain area, and generally only the life of being slaughtered, and if it loses, it cannot escape, but if it wins, the opposing cavalry can retreat calmly, so that the infantry cannot gather and annihilate it.

The advantage of the northern army lies in its mobility, and if it gathers, it will roar, and if it is scattered, it will go suddenly, and it will not be able to find its decisive battle, and if it comes unexpectedly, it will be impossible to prevent it, and it will be difficult to ask for it, and if it is left behind, it will be full of troubles. Several northern expeditions ended in fiasco, with the loss of division and territory, the defeat of the army and the suing for peace, and in the end only Nagong's

If you fall too much on the same stone, you will wake up even if you are stupid.

If Ning Caichen opened his mouth to make a bet on something else, the minister of the Manchu Dynasty would definitely scold Ning Caichen for a bloody squirt, just to take care of etiquette, and he would spray Ning Caichen to death afterwards if he was not here.

But they really don't know about the war horses.

Even those who know the military are also worried that this golden man will agree?

Although the cavalry of the Song Dynasty was few, its combat power was good.

In the Battle of Xuhe in 989, the cavalry of the Northern Song Dynasty entered the barracks of tens of thousands of Liao cavalry.

In the battle of the cavalry of the KCq Weilu Army, 40,000 cavalry of the Northern Song Dynasty defeated 90,000 cavalry of the Liao State and beheaded 20,000 ranks

In KO 16, 6,000 Northern Song cavalry broke 30,000 Tubo troops, and the Song army killed 67 and killed nearly 10,000 enemies.

Among these three battles, the 100-year cavalry battle of the Weilu Army can be described as a "hard-hitting" defeat of the cavalry of the northern nomads.

But no matter how strong the army is, it has long since disappeared without a war horse for a hundred years.

Will they really agree? Promise to send 10,000 military horses to the Great Song Dynasty and let the Great Song form cavalry again?

At this moment, it was the first time that the officials of the Great Song Dynasty were so confident, and they had not thought of another question at all, that is, whether Ning Caichen would lose. ...,

War horses have completely captured their attention.

The Jin people discussed for a short time, and Jin Da, who could speak Chinese, said: "10,000 war horses on the horse will not work, 5,000." ”

Ning Caichen shook his head and said, "No, even if there are 10,000 horses or one less horse, you can't do it! Don't you dare to bet?"

The Jin people discussed it for a while, but still disagreed. "No, 10,000 horses is too much, it's not something we can get out of. ”

Ning Caichen didn't believe it, but he also knew that it was useless to rush it. After all, it is 10,000 war horses on the horse, and the Jin people are not strong at this time, and they will also be in pain.

After thinking for a while, Ning Caichen said: "You only listened to 10,000 good war horses, so you don't want to hear what my bet is?"

Jin Man translated to the man behind him, and waited for the rough man to open his mouth before he asked, "What's your bet?"

Ning Caichen raised his index finger and said loudly: "10,000 pieces of human and horse equipment." I'm afraid that's what you desperately want!"

Rumble-

This bomb is simply more amazing than 10,000 good war horses.

There will never be a shortage of war horses in the north. Even if they don't raise it themselves, nature will help them raise it. But the equipment of the heavy cavalry is different, it's not that they can't build this thing themselves, but there are still differences in quality.

The best of the Song Dynasty, this is known.

Although the Jin people defeated many armies of the Liao State and captured a lot, they were only Liao, and the quality was not as good as that of the Song Dynasty.

This group of armored cavalry is the ancient tank and the king of cavalry. Maybe it's a lack of speed.

But is this the problem?

During this period, Liao and Jin, but Liao was on the offensive.

As long as he wanted to attack, he had to collide with the heavy cavalry. And the only one that can collide with the heavy cavalry is the heavy cavalry.

Jin Ren's eyes were red, and the rugged man didn't wait for the translation at all, and asked directly, "Are you talking a word?"

He understands Chinese, but he doesn't bother to say it.

Zhao Ji couldn't help but stand up and said loudly: "I am the Great Song Dynasty and the Heavenly Dynasty, so I am naturally a promise!"

It was this atmosphere that made Zhao Ji excited.

At the beginning of Zhao Ji's ascension to the throne, he also had a great plan for a while, repairing the official system, rectifying finances, and holding education, and was later praised by some people.

Even he had the idea of buying Arabian war horses by sea, the Arab war horses are undoubtedly the best war horses in the world, and I don't know how much better than the boasted Mongolian horses, even the better Hequ horses are still a certain gap compared to the Arab horses.

But Zhao Ji is an emperor who likes harmony, that is, three points of heat.

In addition, the cost of buying a horse in this way is too high. Although the high price of silk and tea in Arabia can offset some of it, but if you buy it, you can't raise it, so you still have to rely on inviting horse breeding experts from Arabia or Western Xia to raise it yourself and breed a new generation of war horses in combination with local horses in the Song Dynasty.

It's a busy circle, but it's still empty.

In raising horses, agricultural civilization can only be at a disadvantage.

Zhao Ji himself is not the kind of fool who doesn't know the importance of armament at all, he just doesn't want to, or doesn't want to care about these things.

He is like a playful child, but the later generations of the house are obsessed with the Internet, but he is willing to work with Mi Fu, Mi Youren, Li Gonglin, Li Tang, Su Shi, Su Zhe, Yang Wujiao, Zhou Bangyan, Huang Tingjian, Qin Guan, Cheng Yi, Cheng Hao, these celebrities, literati and scholars chant poetry and painting together, and play the piano.

After Ning Caichen's heavy gambling aroused interest, he was also extremely arrogant.

10,000 heavy armor, it is not an exaggeration to say that they are worth as much gold, and even gold cannot catch up with them.

But Zhao Ji's statement, the other party didn't pay attention to it at all, just stared at Ning Caichen, waiting for his reply. ...,

Ning Caichen smiled and said, "Of course it's true. And I heard that your lord Wanyan Aguta is a generation of male lords, so I will add another piece of armor below. ”

"What armor?" Hearing Ning Caichen say so cautiously, the rugged man couldn't help but ask.

Ning Caichen did not answer, but said to Zhao Ji: "Your Majesty, the minister's armor is kept at home, I don't know if I can let the minister's family pick it up." ”

"Quasi-play. ”

The more Ning Caichen gambled, the more he gambled, and the others had no way to speak.

Ning Caichen deliberately didn't answer, in order to whet their appetite, what is 10,000 war horses on the horse, I have a better plan.

Yi Ning Caichen's carriage came and went in just an hour.

A golden chest with a crab on it.

Seeing only this box, Zhao Ji seemed to have been hit hard. His memory, his brain・・・・・・ he recognized such a box, this was the box of the Divine Armor.

"Aiqing, do you really want to gamble with this divine armor box?" Zhao Ji said in a lost voice. It's God's stuff!

Although the spell is powerful, it is also powerless in the face of firm obsession.

He can forget everything else, but he becomes a god・・・・・・

Ning Caichen said respectfully: "Your Majesty, it's just a divine armor." For the sake of my Great Song, this little sacrifice is nothing?"

"Okay, good!" Zhao Ji swallowed his saliva and said, "Aiqing is really worthy of being my loyal minister, and he is willing to take it out." Since Aiqing is generous, I will not be stingy. From today on, Aiqing has been a knowledgeable system. ”