xymnovel Chapter 455 A Flash of Inspiration
Chapter 455 A Flash of Inspiration
Zhao Ben added from the side, "Immortal Master, it's difficult to wield a weapon with one hand while on horseback, as it's hard to exert full strength. If there's a clash of weapons, the huge recoil force could easily cause soldiers to fall off their horses!"
In a large-scale cavalry charge, anyone who fell from their horse would be trampled to death!
"Therefore, when our cavalry encountered the Xiongnu cavalry, they could only be attacked and it was difficult for them to launch an equal counterattack."
After hearing Fusu and Zhao Ben's explanation, Zhang Fan was stunned.
Do you have to hold the reins to maintain your balance while riding a horse?
Can't you use weapons with both hands at the same time?
Do you need someone to help you mount a horse?
He pictured modern people riding horses in his mind.
That's not right.
Zhang Fan stood up, asked no more questions, and walked straight out of the tent.
"Where did the immortal master go?" Zhao Ben was completely confused.
Fusu quickly got up and followed.
The two followed Zhang Fan all the way to the stables inside the pass.
Hundreds of robust Qin warhorses were tethered in the stable.
The grooms responsible for tending the warhorses bowed their heads in greeting as the general arrived.
Zhang Fan ignored the groom and walked straight to a warhorse, scanning its back with his eyes.
He saw a thick leather saddle strapped to the horse's back, used as a seat cushion.
The horse had a bridle in its mouth, connected to a long rein.
There was nothing else.
The sides of the horse's belly were bare.
Zhang Fan stared at the horse's belly and fell silent.
He recalled his past experiences in the modern park.
Back then, it cost ten yuan to ride a horse around the field, and the old man who led the horse had clearly taught him how.
When mounting a horse, you need to step into an iron ring hanging down from the side of the horse's belly. By using that iron ring to push off, you can easily flip yourself onto the horse.
When riding a horse, you need to place your feet firmly on the iron ring and use your leg strength to stand up on the horse's back, and you can even stabilize your body without using your hands for support.
What's that iron ring called...?
Stirrups!
However, the Qin warhorse in front of us has no stirrups at all!
Zhang Fan walked around the warhorse, then looked at the other horses beside it, but still couldn't find any footholds to step on.
He finally understood why the Qin cavalry had difficulty fighting on horseback.
Without stirrups, the cavalryman's feet are dangling in the air.
All the balance was achieved by squeezing the horse's belly with the muscles on the inside of the thighs and by holding the reins tightly with the hands.
In this situation, if a person makes a large movement on horseback or is hit by an external force, it is inevitable that they will lose their balance and fall off.
The Xiongnu people rode horses from a young age, which developed their leg strength and sense of balance, so they could shoot with both hands free of the reins even without stirrups.
But this requires more than a decade of hard work!
Most of the Qin soldiers were farmers who had only recently learned to ride horses and had no foothold in the ground. How could they possibly defeat the Xiongnu?
Zhang Fan stopped in his tracks.
"No stirrups..." Zhang Fan muttered to himself.
Then, he seemed to have figured something out, and the corners of his mouth gradually turned up.
Then he burst into laughter.
Laughter echoed through the stable.
Zhao Ben and Fusu, who were following behind, stopped and looked at each other in bewilderment.
Zhao Ben felt uneasy watching Zhang Fan, who was sometimes talking to himself and sometimes laughing loudly.
He leaned close to Fusu's ear and asked in a low voice, "Young Master, what's wrong with the Immortal Master? He's suddenly laughing at the warhorses. Has he been possessed by some evil spirit from beyond the pass?"
Fusu was also completely bewildered, looking at Zhang Fan's unusual behavior and not knowing how to respond.
After laughing enough, Zhang Fan turned around and strode over to the two of them.
Looking at Zhao Ben and Fusu, who both looked puzzled, he said, "I can solve the problem of the Qin cavalry's horsemanship."
Zhao Ben was taken aback for a moment, then quickly said, "Immortal Master, horsemanship requires practice from a young age. Our Great Qin doesn't have that much time for our soldiers to practice..."
"No need for training from a young age!"
Zhang Fan interrupted Zhao Ben, his tone firm, "With just one small thing, I can teach a farmer who has never ridden a horse to charge on horseback in three days!"
"It will allow our Qin cavalry to free their hands on horseback, and even stand up to wield their weapons!"
This statement came out.
Zhao Ben's eyes widened, his face full of disbelief.
Although Fusu trusted Zhang Fan, he also felt that this matter defied common sense: "Teacher, is just one small thing all you need?"
"right!"
Zhang Fan didn't explain further, and walked directly past the two men towards the main tent of the military camp.
"Prepare the brush and ink!"
As Zhang Fan walked, he gave the order, "Now take up your pen. I need to draw up blueprints and write a letter to His Majesty."
Zhang Fan quickened his pace. "Seal the letter and send it to Xianyang immediately using the 800-li express courier service!"
Once double stirrups and high-bridged saddles were equipped on the Qin army's warhorses, horseshoes were then nailed onto their hooves.
The Qin cavalry was no longer a supporting force.
They will become the true heavy cavalry of this era, capable of crushing the Xiongnu in a frontal charge.
The course of this war must be completely changed!
Inside the large tent.
Zhang Fan walked to the table, spread out a roll of blank paper, and picked up a calligraphy brush.
Half an incense stick later.
Zhang Fan stopped what he was doing, placed the brush on the brush holder, and turned the paper halfway around so that the front was facing everyone.
"It's finished. This is it," Zhang Fan said.
Fusu, Zhao Ben, and the others stepped forward, their gazes falling on the paper.
The next moment, everyone was stunned.
In the center of the paper was a large, indistinct blot of black ink.
Above the ink mark is a small figure made up of several twisted single lines.
Two semi-circular circles extend from below the figure, forcibly hanging on both sides of the ink blob.
Fusu opened his mouth, but no sound came out.
Zhao Ben and several other generals were flushed red, wanting to laugh but not daring to, and could only look down at the ground, their shoulders trembling slightly.
Zhang Fan sensed the atmosphere inside the tent and glanced down at his painting.
The rough lines and blurry ink blots mixed together were indeed somewhat unsightly.
He cleared his throat and coughed twice, trying to break the awkward silence.
"The drawing skills are a bit lacking, but that's the basic structure."
Zhang Fan picked up the brush and handed it to Fusu. "Here, Fusu, you have good brushwork. You can redraw it for me!"
Fusu held the brush, his face showing difficulty.
He looked at the ink blot, his tone tinged with helplessness: "Teacher, I'm so slow-witted. I really can't tell which part is the horse's head and which is its tail in this drawing. How...how should I draw it?"
Zhang Fan sighed, reached into his pocket, and took out his phone.
Tap the screen to open the TikTok app, and enter "stirrup" and "Takahashi saddle" in the search box.
Several photos of the actual product and an explanatory video popped up on the screen.
He pushed the phone in front of Fusu.
The screen lit up, and the generals inside the tent gasped.
They already held the immortal master in awe of his personal magical artifacts, and now their eyes were all focused on the images on the screen.
Fusu looked at the clear image on the screen and nodded.
He spread out a new sheet of white paper, picked up his brush, and dipped it in ink.
With the physical objects as a reference, Fusu wrote very quickly, and in less than a quarter of an hour, a picture of warhorse equipment appeared on the paper.