Chapter 5: The Qin Army II
Fu Su looked on, suddenly feeling a bit strange, and said to Wang Jian: "General, can you ask them to stop? I have some questions for them!" Wang Jian was somewhat taken aback, but nodded and instructed Wang Biao, who rushed over to the officer in charge of the scene. Before long, the officer waved his red flag, and the cavalrymen quickly came to a halt, gathering together. Although everyone's face was solemn, their bodies still, and their eyes fixed on the front, there was some confusion in their eyes, clearly unsure why they had been asked to stop!
Fu Su walked forward, surrounding the hundred or so cavalrymen and began to circle around them, circling three or four times without saying a word. Wang Xi couldn't help but ask: "Young Master, do you have any questions?" Fu Su pinched his nose, looking puzzled: "This doesn't seem right! Why don't my Qin cavalrymen have stirrups? And the saddles they're using aren't good either!" (This wasn't strange at all - due to his young age and always following 'Old Man Zhong' to learn skills, Fu Su still didn't know how to ride a horse. He had always gone out in a carriage, and he had never been to the military before!)
Wang Jian was somewhat puzzled and asked, "Young master, what is a stirrup? I've never heard of it before! Moreover, this saddle has been used in Qin for many years and is considered one of the best among the seven states. How can it not be good?"
Fu Su's eyes widened as he suddenly remembered: "Normally, cavalry is not allowed to enter the palace, so I didn't notice. I recall that stirrups did not appear until the Han Dynasty and were developed during the Mongol military period. Now, where can you find them?! Moreover, the saddles used by horses now are all low-bridge saddles with slightly raised heads, which is unfavorable for stable horse control and also cannot well protect the riders' vital parts - the crotch! It seems that those high-bridge saddles were invented hundreds of years later! Hehe!" Fu Su secretly laughed to himself: "As long as I equip a cavalry unit with these two weapons, stirrups and high-bridge saddles, wouldn't they be invincible in the world?!"
But Wang Jian and others suddenly saw Fu Su alone there, staring blankly with a silly smile. For a moment, they were also inexplicably puzzled. Wang Xia stretched out her small hand to touch Fu Su's forehead with some concern: "Fu Su brother, what's wrong?" Fu Su suddenly woke up with a start, patted Wang Xia's small hand and said: "Nothing, I was just thinking about things!"
He turned to face Wang Jian and said, "General, I'm extremely interested in cavalry. Can you give me a detailed introduction?" Wang Jian's expression changed slightly as he smiled and said, "Alright! Young master, please take a look. The selection of both horses and soldiers for the Qin cavalry is extremely strict. As for the horses, there's an ancient saying that goes 'the front hooves stretch forward, the hind legs kick back, with a distance of two chi between them, making it impossible to count.' This refers to how our Qin horses run with their front hooves stretching forward and their hind legs kicking backward, with a distance of over 1.6 meters between the front and hind hooves. Moreover, there are strict military regulations for the height of warhorses. Young master, please take a look - in order to maintain the integrity of our cavalry formation, all Qin horses have a height of 5 chi 8 cun (1 meter 33), with very little variation!"
"Oh, is this really the case?" Fu Su exclaimed in surprise and circled around the horse array again. Indeed, he found that Wang Jian's words were true, and he secretly felt a chill: "Qin's selection of horses is so strict, I'm afraid even Zhao, which is famous for its cavalry among the Seven Warring States, can't compare to it!" He then asked Wang Jian: "General, if the selection of warhorses is this strict, what about the cavalry that controls them?"
Wang Jian smiled, without directly answering, but instead ordered a row of cavalry: "Dismount, form up!" "Hua!" The cavalrymen promptly obeyed, jumping off their horses and forming up in an instant, showing they were well-trained and quick to react!
The king pointed to the cavalry in the array and said with a smile: "Please look, my lord. The selection of cavalry in our Qin state is also very strict. The height is generally between 7 feet 9 inches and 8 feet 1 inch (about 1.8 meters), neither more nor less. And the body shape must be symmetrical, not fat or thin, and the expression must be nimble, with agile movements! Therefore, all our Qin cavalry can be called elite soldiers! Their ranks are also higher, all of them are decorated with a badge, wearing a cowhide hat to tie up their hair for battle!" As he spoke, the faces of the solemnly standing Qin soldiers couldn't help but reveal a hint of proud smile!
Fu Su took a closer look and found that Wang Jian's words were indeed true, and he couldn't help but nod frequently, smiling: "Our Qin army is so strict in selecting cavalry and war horses, no wonder we can conquer without fail!" Speaking of this, Wang Jian felt a little ashamed: "It's almost the same, if it's a commander of the same level, our Qin country's cavalry would not be afraid of even the famous Zhao country iron cavalry! However, Li Mu of Zhao country is really a genius in cavalry warfare. Although our Qin country has first-class cavalry, we don't have a first-class cavalry commander, so when facing Li Mu of Zhao country, we often suffer defeats, which is regrettable!"
At this point, it was clear that the faces of the Qin army cavalrymen all had an indignant expression, and for the proud Qin army, this kind of undefeated defeat was a shame they could hardly bear! However, the commander-in-chief couldn't beat Li Mu, and these small soldiers were also helpless.
Fusu's heart stirred: "Brothers, don't be impatient, wait. I will establish the strongest and most invincible elite cavalry in history. At that time, my Qin army will not be famous for its infantry, but will reign supreme with its cavalry!" Fusu thought for a moment and asked: "General, how do the cavalry of various countries fight now?"
Wang Jian replied, "In general, the cavalry of various countries, apart from their own quality and the quality of their warhorses, do not have much difference in their combat methods. They all use bows or crossbows on horseback to launch arrow storms against the enemy with their super-strong mobility. However, they can only be used for long-range harassment warfare, but when it comes to close combat, due to the inconvenience of turning around on horseback, the defensive long swords they are equipped with can only be slightly stronger than ordinary infantry! Therefore, countries generally only use cavalry for harassment purposes, but rarely for close combat. After all, the training and equipment costs of cavalry are far higher than those of ordinary infantry, making it not worthwhile for them to engage in close combat with infantry!"
Fu Su thought for a moment, pointing to a cavalryman and saying: "You get on the horse and demonstrate how to control it." The Qin soldier didn't move upon hearing this, but instead looked at Wang Ji. Wang Ji nodded, and the cavalryman then came forward to the horse. Without a stirrup, he could only use force to jump onto the saddle, but in doing so, he showed off his exceptional physical strength and explosive power.
The serious-looking cavalryman on the horse began to show Fu Su his control skills: "If I want to turn right, I will pull the reins to the right with my hand while simultaneously exerting force with both legs, left leg heavy and right leg light, controlling the warhorse to make a sharp right turn. If I want to turn left, I will pull the reins to the left with my hand while simultaneously exerting force with both legs, left leg light and right leg heavy, controlling the warhorse to make a sharp left turn. If I want to charge forward, I need to exert force with both legs at the same time, pulling the reins and whipping fiercely. When encountering enemy troops and preparing to attack, although our cavalry crossbows can be fired with one hand, in order to ensure accurate shooting, it is still better to control the horse with both legs and fire with both hands!"
The cavalry finished speaking and came to the field to demonstrate it to Fu Su according to the example. After watching, Fu Su frowned and asked: "Then how do you control your body balance when running on horseback or fighting?" Fu Su was obviously puzzled by how cavalry without stirrups could control their balance on horseback.
The cavalry officer replied respectfully: "Reporting to the young master, when we ride and fight on horseback, in order to maintain balance, it all depends on these two legs. The young master please see, when riding a horse, due to the weakness of the calf, one can only rely on the thigh to tightly clamp the horse's abdomen, so as to maintain balance during galloping and fighting. Because controlling the horse is extremely laborious, after galloping for over a hundred miles, the inside of the thighs will often be rubbed bloody! Therefore, although the cavalry of various countries has extremely strong mobility, they cannot sustain long-distance raids!"
Fu Su listened and said with great admiration: "Such a war horse is not something that ordinary people can control, let alone fight on. The cavalry of my Great Qin are all brave warriors with extraordinary skills!" As soon as he spoke, the faces of the cavalrymen showed a faint smile, and their goodwill towards Fu Su greatly increased!
Fu Su said to the demonstrating cavalry: "You can return to formation!" The cavalry nodded and jumped back into the crowd of soldiers. Fu Su turned around in front of everyone, thought for a moment, and suddenly showed a smile on his face: "Are you truly proud of yourselves as heaven's favored sons, as a group of brave warriors with extraordinary skills?" "Yes!" The cavalrymen replied without hesitation, showing their extremely strong confidence.
Fu Su nodded and said, "Very well, but I have found that the honors you have obtained do not match your actual abilities. This is not only a shame for you, but also a shame for my Great Qin!" As he spoke, the faces of the cavalrymen involuntarily revealed a hint of shame, revealing their strong sense of self-respect!
Fu Su smiled and said, "I know this is because you don't have a qualified commander, and secondly, it's due to the inherent limitations of cavalry itself, which has led to your current situation. But I can tell you that from today on, things will change. From now on, chariots will disappear from people's sight, infantry will take a big step back, and only you, the proud sons of heaven - the Iron Blood Cavalry - will be able to dominate the world!" The cavalrymen were greatly inspired by his words, but there was also a hint of skepticism, apparently they didn't quite believe Fu Su's grand vision for their future.
It's not just them, even Wang Jian and Wang Ben also showed a look of surprise. To know that at present, the cavalry is limited by its own combat power, and its position in the army of various countries is still inferior to that of infantry and chariots, and it belongs to a subordinate position. So Wang Jian couldn't help but ask: "Young master, what do you mean? Do you have any good way to train soldiers?"
Fu Su ignored Wang Jian, only smiling at the cavalrymen: "You don't need to worry, after some time I will return and I will take back for you the honor that belongs to you!" After finishing speaking, Fu Su turned to Wang Jian and said: "General, I want to see our army's complete formation when we formally go into battle. Can you arrange it?" Wang Jian saw that Fu Su was being mysterious and unwilling to answer, so he could only give up and turn his head to order Wang Bi: "Order the whole camp to beat the drums and gather urgently!"
