It is no exaggeration to say that as long as they do not encounter the heavy armored infantry of the Western Army, which is several times their own, these more than 500 elite heavy armored cavalry are almost invincible in the territory of the Great Song Dynasty.

If you want to force an analogy, the heavy cavalry of this era is equivalent to the tanks of World War I in later generations.

Strong is really strong, but expensive is also really fucking expensive.

Even putting aside all the costs, the daily maintenance of the war horse alone is a large expense.

War horses need to be trained every day, right?

Once trained, it is necessary to replenish enough concentrate and salt water every day, otherwise the war horse will not talk about gaining weight, and I am afraid that it will be abandoned in a few days.

And the appetite of war horses is huge, and the refined grain consumed by a war horse in a day is equivalent to three to five Qingzhou Army soldiers.

More than 1,000 war horses, plus more than 1,000 pack horses and walking horses, how much is it just to eat and drink Lazar?

Secondly, the soldiers had to drill, they had to take night lessons, and they did not have much time to take care of the horses.

Therefore, it is necessary to pay for professional horsemen to take care of it, and a cavalryman must be equipped with at least two people, one horseman and one handyman.

In this way, the war horse can be taken care of properly.

The groom's eating, drinking, and earning money is another expense.

In other words, these more than 500 heavily armored cavalry, not counting the cost, just the daily maintenance expenses per month are as high as seven or eight thousand.

And the heavy cavalry has a very large load, and the loss of war horses is much higher than that of light cavalry.

These seven or eight thousand guan are still because Han Zhen implemented the horseshoe, which effectively protected the soles of the war horses and greatly reduced the loss of the war horses, otherwise the cost would have exceeded 10,000 guan per month.

A heavy cavalry of 5,000 people is 100,000 in a month and a million in a year, who can withstand this?

There was no shortage of horses in Western Xia, but after so many years, the number of iron harriers has been maintained at 3,000.

To put it bluntly, it's the money that makes trouble.

Three thousand is already the limit of Western Xia, and no matter how much it is, it can't afford to raise it!

A quarter of an hour later, Liu Qi got up and said, "Wear armor and change horses!" ”

More than 500 cavalrymen changed into heavy armor, swords and guns, and turned on their horses.

After all the cavalry were ready, Liu Qi waved his hand and took the lead in setting up his horse and running towards the official road ahead.

Thundered!

More than 500 heavy cavalry, plus more than 1,000 horses, galloped with an extremely terrifying momentum.

What puzzled Liu Qi was that the army in front did not react at all to this movement.

I had been running for two miles, but I didn't see a single spy along the way.

Lao Jiu couldn't help but sigh: "I never thought that this Martial Guard Army would be so corrupted. ”

The erosion of the forbidden army in the Great Song Dynasty is already a well-known thing, but it is rotten to this extent, it is still the imagination of the Western Army.

This has lost the basic qualities of an army.

It wasn't until it was less than five hundred meters away from the army that the sound of galloping horses' hooves finally attracted the attention of the Wu Wei army.

"Cavalry! It's cavalry! ”

"Run!"

The sergeant of the town navy, who was responsible for escorting the grain and grass, saw the black cavalry from a distance, and his first reaction was not to line up and be on guard, nor to report to the commander.

Instead, run away!

I saw hundreds of non-commissioned officers of the town navy, running towards the mountains and forests on both sides of the official road with frightened faces.

Well, it's not stupid to know how to run into the woods.

Seeing this scene, Liu Qi immediately smiled.

It's not that I'm happy, but I'm laughing angrily.

Once the Jin people go south, expect such an army to stop the golden people who are like wolves and tigers?

……

Located in a luxury carriage of the Chinese army, Luo Sha was bored and leaned on the carriage to eat and drink.

Yu Chaohuan, who was sitting opposite, held a few copper coins in both hands, shaking his face with excitement.

As the hands continued to shake, the copper coins slammed together and made a clanging sound.

After shaking for a while, Yu Chaohuan stopped his movements and said with a smile on his face: "Brother Luo, guess!" ”

"One hundred Wen, two backs!"

Luo Sha took out a hundred yuan from his bosom and threw it on the table.

The two of them played playfully, and their name was Guan Pu, which was the most popular gambling method in the Great Song Dynasty.

From the princes and nobles to the peddlers and pawns, there is nothing that can't play.

The rules of the game are very simple, one person sits in the bank, chooses one to several copper coins, and then shakes them in their hands or bowls, and guesses how many copper coins are on the back to win.

To what extent is it prevalent?

When you are shopping in the city, if you come across a favorite item, but you don't have enough money with you. At this time, you can ask the boss to play Guan Pu, win and take away the goods for free, and keep the money on your body if you lose.

And most of the time, the shopkeeper will agree.

It is conceivable how much the Song people love Guan Pu.

Hearing this, Yu Chaohuan lifted the palm above, revealing five copper coins.

Seeing that the three were on the back, he immediately laughed proudly: "Brother Luo, you lost again!" ”

Hearing this, a trace of disdain flashed in Luo Sha's eyes, but he said: "Brother Yu is really lucky, if it goes on like this, I am afraid that if I don't live like this, I will lose all my family resources." ”

He is now doing tens of thousands of dollars at a time, and he is no longer interested in this little trouble in front of him.

If it weren't for Yu Chaohuan's insistence on pulling him to play, he wouldn't want to play at all.

Besides, how could Luo Sha not see that Yu Chaohuan had been cheating, but he didn't expose it for the sake of face.

In the past, I thought that Yu Chaohuan had some pattern, but now that I look at it, I can't get on the stage after all.

Yu Chaohuan was afraid that he wouldn't play it, so he hurriedly said: "Feng Shui takes turns, I can't say that Brother Luo will be transferred immediately." ”

Scold!

Luo Sha sneered in his heart.

"Enemy attack, enemy attack!"

Suddenly, I heard a heart-rending roar from outside the carriage.

Immediately after, the sound of rumbling horses' hooves was faintly heard.

Cavalry!

And a large number of cavalry!

The faces of the two suddenly changed drastically, and their eyes were full of horror.

At this moment, one of the Marquis Yu of the Armed Guards came to the window of the car, hugged his fists and said: "Commander, there are a large number of heavy armored cavalry rushing from the rear!" ”

Yu Chaohuan hurriedly asked, "But dare to blaze the army?" ”

"I don't know!"

"How many people are on the other side?"

"I don't know!"

Seeing his dazed appearance of not knowing anything, Yu Chaohuan was angry, raised his hand and slapped Yu Hou's face, and scolded: "Pass my order and form a formation to meet the enemy!" ”

"Obedience!"

Marquis Yu hurriedly surrendered his hand and ordered the soldiers to start forming a formation.

After the order was finished, Yu Chaohuan and Luo Sha also got out of the carriage, and after calling the guards, they hurriedly began to put iron armor on their bodies.

When the charge reached a distance of less than 200 meters from the army, Liu Qi pulled the reins and controlled the war horse to stop.

I saw tens of thousands of soldiers in front of me shouting and neighing, and they were completely in a mess.

This is to meet them, if it is really an enemy army, with just one charge, this army of tens of thousands of people will collapse in an instant.

Liu Qi clasped his hands in front of his chest and watched coldly.

After waiting for a quarter of an hour, the Wuwei army barely formed a battle formation.

And this battle array, in the eyes of Liu Qi and others, is full of loopholes.

Only then did he order: "Lao Jiu, go and call Luo Sha and them!" ”

"Order!"

Lao Jiu responded with his fists in response, hitting the horse and rushing forward.

At this time, the Wu Weijun had also come back to their senses.

This group of heavy cavalry did not charge at the first time, but waited quietly for them to form a formation from a hundred meters away, obviously not an enemy army.

Therefore, seeing Lao Jiu coming alone on a horse, the Marquis of Du Yu did not give the order to release the arrows, but asked loudly: "Which army are you a soldier?" ”

Lao Jiu didn't answer, and said loudly: "On the orders of Zhao Zhizhou and Liu Tongju, come to take over the Wuwei Army and let you command it." ”

Hearing this, Yu Hou was shocked.

Take over the Armed Guards?

"Wait."

Du Yuhou said, turned around and walked towards the Chinese army.

Not long after, Yu Chaohuan and Luo Sha wore iron armor and came on horseback.

The moment he saw Lao Jiu, Luo Sha's heart sank.

No one else recognizes it, but he does.

Some time ago, he didn't run to Linzi County, although he didn't remember Lao Jiu's name, but he was very familiar.

For a while, Luo Sha's brain turned sharply.

Could it be that Han Zhen was recruited?

But when I think about it, it's not right, Han Zhen's posture doesn't look like he's going to be recruited.

Which thief who is ready to accept Zhao'an will pay ten times the price to buy a war horse, a step armor, or even a divine arm crossbow?

It's clear that they're going to rebel.

Don't......

Hiss!

Luo Sha suddenly thought of a possibility, and couldn't help but gasp.

Yu Chaohuan on the side didn't notice his abnormality, and at this moment, his attention was on the heavy cavalry a hundred meters away.

Even if you are hundreds of meters away, you can feel a fierce and ferocious atmosphere.

The cavalrymen were tall and strong, their swarthy heavy armor reflected a cold light in the sun, and even the war horses under their crotches were covered with thick armor.

When did Qingzhou have such an elite heavy cavalry?

What's even more terrifying is that he, the commander of the armed guards, doesn't know anything about it.

Glancing at the two of them, Lao Jiu asked, "You are the commander of the Martial Guards?" ”

"Exactly!"

Yu Chaohuan couldn't figure out the identity of the other party, and the deterrence of the hundreds of heavy cavalry in the rear, so he didn't dare to hold it up.

Lao Jiu greeted: "Come with me!" ”

At this moment, Luo Sha said with a smile: "Is it in front of County Magistrate Han in front of you?" ”

Lao Jiu naturally recognized Luo Sha, so he replied: "The county magistrate didn't come in person, it was Camp Chief Liu who came this time!" ”

Luo Sha raised his eyebrows: "It was Xiao Yanei who came in person." ”

Yu Chaohuan was confused when he heard it, and asked in a low voice, "Which little Yanei?" ”

"Liu Zhongwu's youngest son."

Luo Sha whispered.

"Why did Liu Jiedu's son come to Qingzhou? Could it be that the Western Army has arrived? Yu Chaohuan was confused at the moment, and countless doubts appeared in his heart.

Seeing the two talking in a low voice, Lao Jiu burst out: "What are you waiting for, do you want to disobey?" ”

Crash!

Hearing the word disobedience, the heavy cavalry in the rear raised their spears one after another and put on a posture of wanting to charge into battle.

This movement frightened the soldiers of the Wuwei Army.

Yu Chaohuan swallowed his saliva and said vigilantly: "Is there a transfer document?" ”

Lao Jiu replied: "Naturally! ”

Hearing this, Luo Sha and Yu Chaohuan glanced at each other, and each led a team of personal soldiers to set up their horses and walk out of the military formation.

Following behind Lao Jiu, Yu Chaohuan asked in a thin voice: "Brother Luo, where are these people coming from?" ”

He is not stupid, judging from Luo Sha's reaction just now, he must have recognized these people.

Luo Sha smiled bitterly and said: "This matter is a long story, Brother Yu should think about how to pass this level first." ”

While speaking, everyone came to Liu Qi.

Liu Qi didn't talk nonsense, took out the appointment document from his arms and threw it over.

Yu Chaohuan hurriedly caught it, and after opening it, he looked at it carefully.

The handwriting is Zhao Ting's, and there are also the official seals of Zhizhou and Tongju below.

Obviously, this appointing instrument is genuine.

Liu Qi straightened his face, learned Han Zhen's tone and said coldly: "From now on, the two armies of Wuwei and Zhenhai will be taken over by me, and they will be temporarily reunified, can you two understand?" ”

"Xia Guan understands!"

Without any hesitation, Luo Sha immediately replied.

Yu Chaohuan looked hesitant.

Although the text of this decree is true, this matter is full of strangeness and is obviously strange.

Seeing his hesitant expression, a trace of murderous intent flashed in Liu Qi's eyes, and he said in a calm tone: "Yu Chaohuan, do you want to disobey?" ”

"This ...... Xia Guan understands! ”

Yu Chaohuan was shocked and hurriedly responded.

The other party did not hide his killing intent at all, and if he dared to question it, he was afraid that he would be killed immediately.

At this moment, he also let go, and he will save his life first.

Anyway, this decree is true, and he is also acting on orders, even if something really happens at that time, he can't be blamed if he wants to come to the court.

Tut!

Liu Qi pursed his lips, a little disappointed in his heart.

He also wanted to kill chickens and make an example of monkeys, and use Yu Chaohuan's head to deter the group of Qiu Ba of the Wuwei Army, but this guy turned out to be so cowardly.

"Let's go, take over the army with Pontus!"

With a wave of his hand, Liu Qi led the cavalry battalion towards the army.

When he came to the military formation, his first order was that the whole army rest for a day.

Changing formations is a big no-no, so it will take him some time to get used to it and take control of the Guards.

Even if you can't do it like your fingers, at least you can't be like Fang Cai, a mess.

Nie Dong only set off today, even if he traveled lightly, it would take at least three or four days to get around the rear of Shouguang County, so Liu Qi had enough time.

As the military tents were set down, Liu Qi ordered the soldiers who had fled to the mountains to be captured.

The deserters did not go far at all, and when they ran into the mountains, they saw that the cavalry did not charge, so they stopped.

Therefore, it was not long before all the more than 200 deserters who fled to the mountains were caught.

More than half of them were town navy, and there were more than a dozen soldiers of the Armed Guards.

Looking at the deserter kneeling on the ground, Liu Qi's face was cold, and he said sharply: "Article 8 of the military law, those who escape from the battle, behead!" ”

Crash!

Hearing that he was going to be beheaded, the escape who was kneeling on the ground immediately panicked, crying and begging one by one.

"I was wrong, I don't dare anymore."

"I don't dare, don't kill me!"

“……”

Yu Chaohuan's lips squirmed a few times, and he was about to open his mouth to plead, but he felt that someone was pulling his arm.

Turning his head slightly, he saw Luo Sha glaring at him.

Seeing this, Yu Chaohuan had no choice but to swallow the words back into his stomach.

Facing the cry of the deserters, Liu Qi was unmoved, and waved his hand: "Drag it down, cut it!" ”

The brethren of the cavalry battalion immediately dragged the deserters to the open field and raised their swords in their hands.

Poof!

Poof!

The sound of a blade entering the flesh kept ringing.

The heads fell to the ground like dumplings.

Where have the soldiers of the Wuwei Army seen such a scene, their faces are pale, and their hands and feet are weak.

If you want to quickly master this army, it is necessary to make an example of chickens and monkeys.

Since you can't kill Yu Chaohuan, then kill these deserters.

Ci is not in charge of the soldiers!

Besides, if you escape from the battle, you should have been beheaded according to military law.

More than 200 headless corpses lay quietly in the clearing, and the gushing blood completely stained the ground red.

The strong smell of blood permeated the military house.

The effect of more than 200 lives was very good, and at this moment, the whole army, everyone looked at Liu Qi with a deep fear and awe.

(End of chapter)