After talking in detail with the two elders of the embroidery and the wolf lamb and the white horse lamb, the next day they returned to Chang'an with Sister Yang and Hu Che'er, leaving Ma and Jiang Xu to follow the two elders to recruit two warriors into an army. According to Zhang Xiu's meaning, it is enough to recruit 30,000 warriors, and Zhang Xiu's grain and grass reserves are not enough if there are too many soldiers, after all, the Qiang people help themselves to fight, and Zhang Xiu provides half of the grain and grass supply, and the spoils are divided equally, which is an agreement between Zhang Xiu and the two elders.

And in addition to these 30,000 Qiang soldiers, Zhang Xiu also asked Ma to lead 20,000 Ma family troops away. After all, most of the members of this Ma family's army are Qiang and Di Hu tribes, so it is best to let them go on the expedition. Such a battle can be conducive to the improvement of the combat power of the Ma family's army, the elite of a hundred battles, how can you become an elite without experiencing a hundred battles.

After returning to Chang'an, Zhang Xiu asked Wang Wei to lead 20,000 Ma Jiajun to Tianshui to stand by, and let Wang Wei go to Ma to listen to orders. Ma Yonglie, when fighting, he is naturally brave and brave, but it is easy to fall into the enemy's strategy, so Zhang Xiu arranged Jiang Xu, a Liangzhou man who is familiar with geography and has a calm personality, and Wang Wei, an experienced and well-informed person who has been a ranger, to assist Ma.

Chang'an, the General's Mansion.

This Fat Cavalry General's Mansion was expanded from the place where Zhang Xiu used to live in Chang'an, and everyone under his command initially suggested that Zhang Xiu use Dong Zhuo's previous mansion in Chang'an as the location of the Fat Cavalry General's Mansion. But Zhang Xiu always felt that the place was not good. Dong Zhuo, Lu Bu, and Li Qi had used the mansion, and the other two except Lu Bu were no longer in the world, so Zhang Xiu immediately vetoed it when he heard it, and decided to expand the original place of residence. Therefore, at this time, the Fat Cavalry General's Mansion was located in the east of the city, occupying a large area.

At this time, in the main hall of the General's Mansion, Jia Xu, Fa Zheng, Yang Fu, and Ma Jun were all there. Zhang Xiu first introduced Yang Zhuo to the three of them. Then he said: "Wenhe, Yishan funded Han Sui's strategy of governing the Qiang people's grain, grass and weapons. What do you think? ”

Jia Xu nodded and said, "Yishan's strategy is very good. However, it is believed that it is not advisable to fund too much grain and grass for the Qiang people, and in addition to the Qiang rebellion in Han Sui for many years, another important reason is the shortage of grain and grass. If the lord wants to help him with too much food and grass. These Qiang people live a settled life, and I am afraid that the people who deal with Han Sui will not do their best. Therefore, it is believed that the subsidy part is enough for them to use for one to two months. If they want to get more grain and grass, they can only use the weapons provided by the lord to rob Han Sui, so that they can cause trouble to Han Sui. ”

Yang Fu frowned deeply when he heard this. said: "Jia Changshi's strategy is too vicious. ”

Jia Xu shook his head and said: "Yishan's plan is also to fund the Qiang people to oppose Han Sui, but if it is too much. The Qiang people did not do their best to oppose Han Sui, so it would not only be a waste of money, food and weapons, but also could not achieve the goal of weakening Han Sui, and next year the lord would still consume a lot of energy, since this is the case, it is better not to fund it. And to fund the Qiang people to oppose Han Sui, that is, in one year, the lord will destroy Han Sui with a thunderbolt next year, and the Qiang people will be able to live a good life. ”

Zhang Xiu had to admit that although Jia Xu's strategy was morally unjustifiable, it was always the most efficient. After weighing it up. Zhang Xiu nodded and said: "There is no meal in vain in the world, since Ben will fund them, naturally they will work for Ben General, so let's do it according to Wen He's policy, all arrangements will be taken care of by Wen He, and Yishan will be temporarily supervised by the Department." ”

Jia Xu and Yang Fu heard it and knew that Zhang Xiu's plan had been decided, and at the same time, Gao Zhuo promised.

Zhang Xiu turned his head and asked Fa Zhengdao: "Xiaozhi, why is you in such a hurry to find your general?"

Fa Zheng replied: "The lord is strategically advocating to the south, but the soldiers under the lord's command are mainly cavalry, and I think there is something wrong, so I have come to explain it to the lord." ”

Zhang Xiu asked: "Filial piety and careful talk." ”

Fa Zheng said: "If the lord waves his army to the south. It can attack Jing and Yierzhou, among which Jingzhou is densely covered with water networks, and it is very difficult to attack without the assistance of the water army, especially in Jingnan, which is blocked by the Yangtze River, which is even more difficult. Although the lord has formed a naval army, and General Gan has trained it, the Jingzhou naval army is the best of the Han, and it is too difficult to annihilate it in one fell swoop. Moreover, Jingzhou is the land of the four wars, if Liu Zhang in the west, Cao Cao in the north, and Sun Jian in the east after taking Jingzhou, they are not good at their generation. However, Yizhou was mountainous, and the cavalry could not be used, and most of the force relied on by the lord went to work. If the lord attacks the Central Plains in the future, and there are many fortified cities in the Central Plains. Relying only on cavalry may not be able to take the Central Plains, so it is thought that the lord has changed his habit of relying on cavalry to fight. ”

What Fa Zheng said is actually reasonable, Zhang Xiu was born in the Xiliang Army, and he is also a general of the Xiliang Army at the end of work. Xiliang is rich in horses, so the generals born in the Xiliang military system relied on cavalry during the war. And Zhang Xiu's main attack was on the plains of Guanzhong, which was where the cavalry was used, so he didn't feel anything wrong. As for the previous battles with Yuan Shu and Liu Biao, they were mainly field battles, and it was not surprising that Zhang Xiu, who used cavalry as the main force, defeated Yuan Shu and Liu Biao's weaker soldiers in the field battles.

But as Fa Zheng said, after the Guanzhong was settled, there was a lot less available land for the cavalry that Zhang Xiu had always relied on, and it was the places that could be of great use to conquer Yizhou and Youzhou. As for the future march into the Central Plains, cavalry can play a role, but it is not the key to victory.

There are many cities in the Central Plains, and an ordinary county town is not so easy to capture. Just like Cao Cao's Chongzhou, there are strong cities such as Chenliu, Puyang, and Dingtao, if Cao Cao sends a large army to defend it. Cavalry alone may not be able to conquer these cities.

Lu Bu is a good example, his subordinates have elite Liangzhou iron cavalry and Bingzhou wolf cavalry, when he first arrived, he relied on Cao Cao to conquer Xuzhou, Kezhou was empty and internal, invincible. After Xun Yu and the others reacted, they immediately defended the cities in Chongzhou, and they were able to block the pace of Lu Bu's attack without the command of a general by relying on weak troops. After Cao Cao returned to the division, he counterattacked Chongzhou, Cao Cao avoided a field battle with Lü Bu's army, and only carried out siege warfare, and successfully drove Lü Bu out of Chongzhou. Of course, Cao Cao's strategists made great contributions, but in general, attacking the Central Plains with cavalry does not necessarily mean that they will win every battle. Not to mention attacking Yizhou, which is famous for its mountainous and dangerous places, and Jingzhou, which is covered with a dense water network.

However, Zhang Xiu only uses cavalry now, not because he thinks other types of troops are not useful, but because it is a matter of habit. It's like the southerners are used to taking a boat. And the northerners are used to riding horses. For people like Zhang Xiu, who were born in the Xiliang military department, cavalry is used

After Zhang Xiu listened, he asked: "What Xiaozhi said is reasonable, I don't know how to change it?" ”

Fa Zheng said: "Now there is still Han Sui in the northwest, the Qiang people are undecided, and the north of Liangzhou is based on the Xianbei and Xiongnu people, with the greed of the Xianbei people and the Huns, there will be a battle between the lord and them, so I think that the cavalry cannot be cut." Moreover, it has now been part of Liangzhou. With the natural grassland to raise war horses, there is no need to consume forage to feed, and it is not difficult for the lord to feed these cavalry. And the foot soldiers of the lord were left except sword and shield soldiers, pikemen and archers, and they thought that they should be strengthened on foot soldiers. ”

After a pause, Fa Zheng continued: "The lord can remember that Deheng built the thunderbolt car that day, and the battle of Chang'an showed its might, and the previous battle between Fancheng and Wancheng guards, the thunderbolt car also made miraculous achievements. Since the lord has set up an organ hall in the Chang'an School Palace, he should know the reuse of the organ, so he thinks that the strengthening of the foot soldiers should start from the organ. ”

Zhang Xiu smiled slightly and said: "What Xiaozhi said is reasonable, Deheng came here to think about it for this matter." ”

Ma Jun nodded and said, "Exactly." ”

Zhang Xiu said: "In this case, Deheng will talk about what mechanisms are suitable for the strengthening of the foot soldiers. ”

Ma Jun nodded and said, "There are many organs and equipment that are directly used in warfare, and they are all divided into three categories for the time being: siege, defense and field warfare. As far as siege is concerned, the most used are naturally ladders and bows and arrows, and these two lords have been in great armies for a long time, not to mention. For large siege equipment, there are well railings, rushing cars, and stone throwing machines, among which the thunderbolt cars that have been improved by the stone throwing machine are more powerful. The owner of the well fence and the punch should also know. As mentioned later, these are the ones that are less commonly used by the Lord. Ordinary soldiers can use the flying hook, the frontal siege flying hook has little effect, the flying hook is mainly used for night attacks on the city, and this flying hook is also very convenient to make, and the skilled blacksmith can almost create it. As for the large-scale siege equipment, there are also Gan roller cars similar to the rushing car, as well as the Xuan car that uses the towering Xuan to attack the city, the wall car that dodges the arrow stone, the moat bridge that crosses the moat, and the nest car and the building car that watch the situation of the high city

When Zhang Xiu heard this, he was very surprised and asked, "There are so many mechanical instruments?"

Fa Zheng nodded and said, "Yes, this is only siege equipment, as well as city defense and field battles. Due to the Yellow Turban Rebellion, the Yellow Turban thieves attacked by numbers, and the Han defense equipment was old, and the Yellow Turban siege was often in the way, so except for some necessary siege equipment, the rest of the weapons were rarely used by the princes. After their soldiers were recruited, they only practiced a little and then went into battle, and the princes followed the example of the Yellow Turban to win by numbers, so they almost did not build any mechanisms that cost money, iron, wood, etc., and even if they did, they were built by cutting down wood at will, which was a world of difference from the truly carefully crafted mechanisms. The lord took the route of elite soldiers, such as the defensive wall car, the moat bridge and other mechanisms to be built, when the soldiers who lost a lot of money and food could not be allowed to attack the city with flesh and blood, and fill the moat with their lives. It is not worth the loss of elite soldiers who have spent a lot of money and food to train here. After listening to this, Zhang Xiu nodded solemnly, and said to Ma Jun: "Deheng, and continue." What are the equipment and field organs for defending the city?

Ma Jun nodded and replied: "The siege equipment is actually no less than the siege equipment, and there are several kinds of equipment that can be used by one to several soldiers, including the wolf tooth slap and the night of the righteous that are specially used to deal with flying hooks. The wolf tooth slap is placed on the wooden board with an iron hook and an iron nail, and then hangs high at the head of the city at night, if the enemy attacks at night with a flying hook, it will be hooked and stabbed, and the city can not be climbed, the night of the plugging is similar to the wolf tooth slap, but the iron nail is placed on the log, and it can be used as a wood insert if necessary. In addition, there is also the main destruction of the enemy's ladder of the rod, the rod is very long, the soldier can avoid injury by hitting the enemy ladder with the rambling rod, and the lord now only uses a few pikemen to push the ladder together, although it is effective, but the gun is too short, and the soldier dies a lot. And the guards of the city gate have a knife cart with a plug gate. Placed behind the city gate, if the city gate is knocked down by the enemy by a wooden or rushing car, etc., the Saimen knife cart can play a role in preventing the enemy from entering the city and killing the enemy. The most useful instrument in the defense of the city is the crossbow, among which the crossbow, thin crossbow and other small and lightweight, fast-shooting crossbows are mostly used to defend the city. ”

After a pause, Ma Jun continued: "Small crossbows are used to defend cities, and large crossbows are used in field battles, among which the big yellow crossbow used by the Han Dynasty to deal with the Xiongnu, the Zhaozhang crossbow with both arms stretched out, and the crossbow pedaling are all big crossbows used in field warfare. These crossbows can be used by one person, and the most powerful of these crossbows is the bed crossbow, which contains several bows and a twisted shaft, and it takes several people to work together to twist the bow with a twisted shaft, and the bed crossbow is more powerful than all crossbows. In addition to the bed crossbow, there are also crossbow carts for large crossbows, and a crossbow cart can be loaded with more than 60 large and small arrows, which need to be controlled by ten people. When shooting, the power of a single crossbow arrow may be weaker than that of a bed crossbow, but it is better than a wide range of blows. These crossbows, as well as bed crossbows and crossbow carts, were mostly used in field warfare. In addition, there are also equipment such as rejecting horses and other equipment in the field, but they are not widely used, and the field organs should be mainly crossbows. I have heard that in the pre-Qin period, there were single-person repeater crossbows, as well as large crossbows that were more powerful than bed crossbows. This crossbow only exists in the classics, and it is said that it was made by the Qin State, so it is called the Qin crossbow. It is a pity that these two crossbows have been lost to this day. ”

When he first heard about the crossbow car, Zhang Xiu first thought of the famous Zhuge crossbow, and the horses to be heard explained the crossbow car. Only then did I know that this repeater was different from Zhuge repeater. When he heard the back, he knew that the crossbow used by a single person had been lost after Qin was destroyed, and only the two-arrow or three-arrow repeater remained. Thinking of this, Zhang Xiu began to marvel at the wisdom of the Chinese ancestors. The Qin State was destroyed, and some crossbows were also lost because of this, which has to be said to be a pity.

After listening to this, Zhang Xiu settled down and asked, "Deheng, in your opinion, what is the time and time spent in making these instruments?"

Ma Jun thought for a while and replied: "The bumper rod, flying hook, wolf tooth slapper, and night plug for a single person are simple to make, and it is not difficult to manufacture them in large quantities. In addition, the process of cars and crossbows is complex, it takes a long time to manufacture in large quantities, and iron and wood are also consumed, not to mention large cars and large crossbows and large crossbows, even small crossbows and light crossbows are not easy to make because of their small size and precision craftsmanship