Chapter Seventy-One New Invention

  It's now the scene of April, as they say "In rural areas in April, there are few idle people, after finishing mulberry silkworms and transplanting rice seedlings". The whole China is busy with spring plowing and summer planting, from the northern Yan and Zhao to the southern Chu State, everywhere is a bustling scene. Various countries have also ushered in a rare period of ceasefire.

  Korea is located in the north, with few paddy fields, so there is no bustling scene of transplanting rice seedlings. At this time, all things are recovering, and outside Xinzhen City, everywhere is a wheat field, lush and green. The new green full of life seems to be able to penetrate into people's hearts, warming the whole body in an instant. Hardworking farmers have already worked in the fields, weeding out weeds, with meticulous movements like caring for their own children. The land is the most honest, you pay how much hard work, it will give you how much return.

  The city is also getting more lively, and almost every household in Xinzheng has the tradition of raising silkworms. In these early April days, even the most mischievous children are well-behaved as they pick fresh mulberry leaves to feed the baby silkworms. For hardworking adults, the year's plan is made in spring, and they must be busy with spring plowing. For children, how much pocket money they have this year and whether they can get new clothes all depend on these silkworm babies.

  Around noon, a horse-drawn carriage came slowly from the west. As he looked at the city gate getting closer and closer, the driver slowed down even more, preparing to line up and pay the city gate tax to enter the city.

  "Master, we have arrived at Xinzheng City." The young man on the right side of the carriage said respectfully.

  "Oh, is that so?" A middle-aged man lifted the curtain, took a look at the bustling crowd, and smiled: "The master accidentally fell asleep. We've finally arrived in Xinzheng!"

  The young man was indeed young, and while curiously looking around, he excitedly said: "Master, the prosperity of Xinzheng is almost comparable to that of Linzi!"

  A middle-aged man smiled slightly and explained: "Xinzheng is located in the central plains, so it's naturally prosperous. However, compared to Linzi, there are still some shortcomings. If not for the Five States' attack on Qi, Linzi would have been far superior to Xinzheng."

  "Is that so?" The young man had never seen Linzi before the Five Nations' chaos, and he couldn't help but feel a strong yearning for it. But after a moment, his tone changed, and he asked anxiously: "Master, why must you go to Qi from Han? Now that Qi has just restored its country, it's a time when they need people, isn't there a better opportunity for development there?"

  A middle-aged man looked at his first student under the gate and sighed that nowadays, King Qi was muddle-headed and favored nine minor officials. Even Chancellor Tian Dan suffered from their interference. Although he had been appointed as the Preceptor of the Imperial Academy and held the position of Upper Grand Master, King Qi only treated him as a decoration and did not want to accept his political views at all, so he resigned in anger.

  Now the situation in Zhongyuan has changed greatly, and the weakest Korea is surprisingly thriving. First, it defeated Zhao and Wei, then joined forces with them to defeat Qin, and the three countries gained a thousand miles of land. As for himself, he was idle at home with nothing to do, so he took his only disciple on a tour of the various states, expounding his own political views. Who knows, maybe some wise ruler would adopt them. And the first stop he chose was Korea.

  These thoughts flashed between the electric lights, but the middle-aged man's mouth was full of teachings: "Qizhou is good, but it doesn't have the way to be a teacher. The ancient saying goes well, reading ten thousand volumes of books is not as good as traveling a hundred miles. As a young teacher from Zhao to Qi, except for going to Chu once, there has been no touring around the country. Now that you are idle, why don't you take me out to travel around the world and broaden your horizons before making plans?"

  The young man thought for a moment and comforted him, saying: "Master, Korea may have your way! Let's hurry into the city!"

  A middle-aged man smiled slightly, but did not respond. He just looked at the bustling crowd and silently thought to himself: "The Great Way is hard to find! I'm afraid it's not that easy. But even if I reach old age (80 or 90 years old) without finding my own way, I will not give up pursuing the Way."

  Middle-aged people naturally didn't know that if it wasn't for the crown prince, this butterfly effect would have stirred up a great momentum in the world, and it wouldn't be until twenty years later that he would have had the opportunity to start practicing his own political views. But from the moment he stepped onto the land of Xinzheng, his fate was rewritten.

  The crown prince was still unaware that another able minister in his life had appeared, and at this moment he was anxiously waiting in a workshop in the northern suburbs of Xinzheng.

  After experiencing several wars, the prince finally understood why it was so difficult to cultivate cavalry. The food needed to raise a cavalryman is enough to feed five infantrymen, and the biggest cost is still the horse. In the summer, it's okay, the horses can eat some fresh grass by themselves, and the groom only needs to feed them a few kilograms of miscellaneous grains. But when it comes to the time of scarcity, they need to be fully fed. In peacetime, a warhorse eats ten kilograms of dry hay every day, plus more than five kilograms of miscellaneous grains. If you really want to travel long distances and raid thousands of miles, the cost is incalculable.

  Moreover, at this time there were no stirrups or saddles. When cavalry charged, they could only ride naked on horseback or pad with a few pieces of broken cloth and fur, using their legs to clamp the horse's abdomen to maintain balance. Soldiers who were not skilled in riding had to hold tightly onto the horse's mane or reins, otherwise they would likely fall off the horseback. It can be imagined that under such conditions, it was extremely difficult to cultivate a cavalry force that could conquer and fight well.

  Inspired by this, the prince immediately drew out the shapes of the stirrups, saddle and horseshoes in his mind and handed them over to the craftsmen, asking them to make them according to the drawings. Among the three items, the horseshoes were the first to be completed, after all, they were the simplest. The saddle was also quickly settled by wrapping leather around a wooden frame with the help of an experienced carpenter. Now, the prince is waiting for the craftsmen to finish making the stirrups.

  By the side of Prince Ran stood two newly recruited generals, Meng Hu and Li Mu. Of the two, Meng Hu came from a relatively well-off family, had experience with horses, and was quite skilled in horsemanship. As for Li Mu, although he had only been in contact with horses for a few days, due to his innate intelligence, he also rode with style. Early this morning, the two of them were pulled out of the military camp by Prince Ran.

  After returning to Xinzheng, the crown prince was busy assisting King Hui of Han in appointing officials for the newly recovered lands. After completing this task, Crown Prince Ruo discovered that the domestic military forces were unevenly matched and their combat effectiveness was worrying, so he petitioned King Hui to establish a new army, called the Yulin Army, with the meaning "to be the country's wings, like a flourishing forest". It was a cavalry camp with 3,000 people, selecting virtuous sons and younger brothers as soldiers, with Meng Tian as the main general and Li Mu as the deputy general.

  Meng Zhuang and Li Mu initially wanted to decline, citing their short time in the military and sudden rise to high positions as reasons for people not to trust them. However, Taizi Ran insisted that "those with ambition do not care about age, and promoting talent does not require avoiding relatives." He believed that Meng Zhuang and Li Mu were his trusted men. Since no one is born with knowledge, Taizi Ran firmly believed they would become renowned generals who would shake the world. Now he was giving them an opportunity to prove themselves worthy of his trust. The recruitment of new soldiers was also based on this consideration. Taizi Ran let them do their job well and told them to ask for advice from Bao Ying whenever they encountered problems.

  The two were deeply grateful and had the impulse to die for a friend. But when the passion passed, they really started training these three thousand new recruits, and it was quite unbearable. No other reason, cavalry training is just too difficult. Every day, there are several unlucky ones who fall off their horses because they are not familiar with them. Just as Meng Zong and Li Mu were thinking of a good strategy, the Crown Prince quietly pulled the two into the workshop of a craftsman.

  After waiting for a while, the stirrups were finally forged. Meng Huo and Li Mu grabbed them one by one, cooled them down with cold water, and then put them on the horse's body. From the moment they saw the drawings of saddles and stirrups, the two men intuitively saw the great benefits inside, which was no less than a great revolution for cavalrymen, but it still needed to be tried out personally.

  Two men eagerly led out the war horses and ran two laps outside the workshop. The result was naturally not unexpected, and the great practicality of the stirrups and saddles immediately conquered Meng Huo and Li Mu. Adding horseshoes, the two now firmly believed that with these three things, they could quickly turn the Youlin Army into an elite cavalry.

  "The crown prince is truly talented, we are deeply impressed." The two dismounted their warhorses and bowed deeply. Just now, during the test ride, even Li Mu, a novice, could perform some dangerous stunts that he wouldn't normally dare to do, let alone Meng Huo, an expert horseman. For Meng Huo, with the saddle and stirrups, riding was as easy as walking on flat ground.

  "You guys! Stop flattering me! Hehe, with these three things, if you can't train a strong army, I won't let you off easy." The crown prince joked.

  "Yes!" Meng Zhuang and Li Mu looked at each other and said solemnly.

  "Director Zhang." The crown prince nodded and turned his head towards the workshop's administrative officer.

  "Your humble servant is present!"

  "From now on, this workshop will specialize in making horseshoes, saddles and horse nails! The treatment of all craftsmen will be doubled, but remember to keep it confidential. It's best to move the families of the craftsmen here as well, and set aside a special living area for them, so that no news leaks out. Take care of this matter quickly, the sooner the better, do you understand?" The prince instructed.

  "Yes!" The person in charge of the workshop immediately retreated and left.

  "And you two, rest assured to practice military training outside the city. Although stirrups, saddles and horseshoes are small items that can be learned quickly, it's better to expose them later rather than sooner. In a few days, I'll go to the military camp to take a look, don't disappoint me."

  Upon hearing the crown prince's words, Meng Huo and Li Muo did not dare to be slow, and they repeatedly expressed their agreement. However, in their hearts, they had made up their minds to return and intensify the training of their subordinates.

  Thank you for the rewards from Baolong Bird, Tianque Qingfeng and 1 Game Life. The development of Korea will be very difficult in the future, with internal and external troubles, and it will take decades to unify the world. Kneeling down to ask for clicks, collections, and subscriptions, it's already Thursday, and the results of the strong push are quite dismal.