Volume 4 is in the ascendant Chapter 474: The Glory of the Cavalry
After discovering the unusual behavior of Zhang Xiu and Zhang Liao, Lu Bu decided to talk to them separately.
After all, Zhang Xiu was a junior who was mentored by Lu Bu when he was in the Xiliang Army. He was once considered by the outside world to be a "Lu Bu party". Not to mention Zhang Liao, he was a good brother who grew up with Lu Bu.
Lu Bu knew that he was not a good debater, but if it came to these two people, he felt that he could persuade them.
He first found Zhang Liao, who was still in his own residence.
In fact, because Lu Bu was in charge of the central government all year round, and Zhang Liao was leading troops outside for a long time, the two of them rarely drank alone in the mansion in the past two years.
As soon as Zhang Liao entered the pavilion, he saw two sets of bowls and chopsticks on the table. He knew that Lu Bu was looking for him alone and did not even call Gao Shun. He vaguely knew what the other party was going to say!
Lü Bu did not start the conversation in detail, but instead began to reminisce about the past with Zhang Liao while drinking, starting from when Li Su was still around, when they wandered around Bingzhou together...
Even as he continued drinking, Lu Bu also recalled a lot about the fact that Lu Lingqi had recently gotten married and had children, and he even took the initiative to talk about Madam Yan.
Finally, Zhang Liao couldn't help but say: "I am obsessed... If I can be a cavalry general and usher in a peaceful and prosperous era, I will be a cavalry general. If I can be a musketeer general and usher in a peaceful and prosperous era, I will be a musketeer general for once, so what!"
"Hahaha, Wenyuan is not only obsessed with appearance, he is also stuck in a dead end! Who says cavalry will be useless in the future? What are those ships full of food sent to Liaodong and horses pulled back from Liaodong for?" Lu Bu laughed when he heard this.
"But... once the Qi crossbows and artillery are used, even for plate-armored cavalry, I'm afraid the effect may not be very good!" Zhang Liao said unwillingly after hearing this.
Plate armored cavalry satisfied all the fantasies of cavalry generals, including Zhang Liao, about heavy armored cavalry.
"Perfect" defense, lighter than chain mail, and even backed by the Chu State's industry...not too expensive!
Zhang Liao originally thought that the heyday of heavy cavalry was about to come, and he could lead the Chu cavalry to roam the battlefield, kill generals and seize flags...
Unfortunately, this "golden age" was too short!
Even plate armor cannot completely protect the cavalry's safety when facing artillery. At most... when it serves as a meat pad, it can weaken the speed of the artillery shells even more?
When facing the Qi bullet crossbow, Zhang Liao also tried it. When the angle and position were just right, he was able to "unload" the bullets of the Qi bullet crossbow to the side. Although being shot was not pleasant, there would not be too serious injuries.
However, if the angle is not good, or the distance is too close and the bullet hits a weak point, the plate armor will not be able to stop the crossbow bullet!
In order to completely block bullets, the plate armor needs to be strengthened to the point where it is difficult for horses to carry it and for soldiers to move.
The same is true in the game group at the Military Academy... no, in the battlefield simulation.
If the plate armor charges the crossbowman head-on, it will only reduce the opponent's hit rate to 40% of the original, and ignore the ricochet damage of the bullet - it is better to replace it with light cavalry, at least they can approach the opponent faster!
The enhancements that Chu Jia brought to the cavalry were directly wiped out by the crossbows and artillery, and they returned to the starting point...
"Plate cavalry is naturally not suitable. Heavy cavalry has many defects. Otherwise, how could the hard drive be sold to Cao Cao so easily?" Lu Bu said disdainfully.
Indeed, everyone can see this!
Originally, some generals wanted to raise the issue with the king about plate armor not being a priority for export. However, after seeing the crossbows and cannons, no one mentioned it anymore.
Plate armor?
Wouldn't it be better to exchange it for iron ore, copper ore, tin ore... and make it into cannons and crossbows? Why do you need plate armor!
In the end, no one mentioned this...
"Then..." Zhang Liao seemed to be hesitant to speak.
"Heavy cavalry is not suitable for future battlefields, and pure cavalry armies like the Qiang and Xiongnu have no development prospects. But don't forget the real significance of cavalry to the State of Chu!" Lu Bu reminded.
That’s right, for the current Chu State, cavalry is not used to fight alone.
After all, how many war horses did the entire Chu State have? Most of them were transported back from Liaodong!
The number of war horses determines that the greater role of cavalry is to support other armies, just like the Song Dynasty in history...
Although the Song Dynasty was strong in infantry and had long been suppressed by the northern regime in terms of cavalry, the Song Dynasty's front-line troops would at least have several hundred cavalrymen - not for group charges, but for reconnaissance and roundabout support.
Zhang Liao's eyes showed a thoughtful look when he heard this. In fact, he had been fascinated by the plate-armored cavalry before, and his mind was full of cavalry sweeping across the country, so he felt a little disappointed.
Of course, on the other hand it was also because this was Zhang Liao - he would feel uncomfortable if he was not allowed to lead the cavalry charge!
In Zhang Liao's eyes, cavalry should charge directly into the enemy's formation and capture and kill the enemy leader!
Not to mention the drastic changes caused by Bai Tu's technological leap, in history, the mere change from muzzle-loading rifle to breech-loading rifle was unacceptable to many officers.
Just like in history, when Prussia had just developed mature breech-loading rifle technology , some Swiss officers contemptuously called it "enema gun". Even Prussian officers themselves specifically requested that muzzle-loading rifles be fired at their funerals, otherwise they would "die with regret"...
The same is true for Zhang Liao.
He was not worried that his abilities would become outdated, nor was he clinging to his old ways. Rather, he just couldn't accept that the cavalry he was so proud of was actually " outdated"...
Of course, in reality, it was just as Lu Bu said, Zhang Liao was just frustrated for a while and got stuck in a dead end.
In fact, cavalry is still a long way from being obsolete!
Germany still had cavalry in the early days of World War I, and during World War II, Li Yunlong was unwilling to hand over the horses he captured (fog)...
As for the battlefield with the level of thermal weapons in the 18th century?
The most adept tactics of the Emperor of the Fa Kingdom were the three-pronged approach of artillery bombardment, cavalry charge, and infantry.
Cavalry still played a vital role in the late 18th century and early 19th century. It was a very "expensive " type of military force, and the great powers that had already adopted firearms would not think it was too much.
The only outdated tactic is to use cavalry as the main force or even as tanks...
At the peak of the country's development, it had a population of 28 million, an army of 600,000 to 700,000, and an artillery ratio of nearly three guns per thousand men. It had more than 20 light and heavy cavalry regiments, and more than 20 mobile cavalry regiments - the so-called dragoons.
The dragoons of the Fa country are not those who ride fiercely on horses, but rather refer to semi-cavalry that "use horses as mobile force". They use horses to achieve high mobility, but they still fight like infantry on the battlefield.
Only the dragoons were equipped with rifles. The other real cavalrymen used sabers and lances as their main weapons, and only used pistols as a courtesy...
In the Chu State's next plan, the war horse cavalry will become an independent cavalry division like the artillery, and then be attached to various infantry corps in company units. Several reinforced cavalry regiments will be established as the main cavalry to undertake special tasks.
Lu Bu also wanted to recommend Zhang Liao as the commander of the cavalry division, so now he reminded him to go back and think more about the tactical development of the cavalry in the new environment!
Then Lü Bu called Zhang Xiu again. Zhang Xiu was flattered that Lü Bu invited him to meet him at Qu'ahou Mansion, which was his private residence. Under the guidance of the servant, when he just entered the martial arts arena in the backyard, he saw Lü Bu wearing armor and looking at him. Zhang Xiu thought he wanted to give him some advice...
"Put on armor." As soon as Lu Bu finished speaking, Zhang Xiu had already put on armor.
after……
Lu Bu mercilessly kicked Zhang Xiu so hard that he crashed into a rockery nearby, and it was difficult to pull him out!
And before Zhang Xiu could struggle free, Lu Bu kept chasing him, grabbed him out, and slammed him hard on the back of his head!
It looked like apart from not really cutting it, there was no sign of mercy at all.
As a first-rate military commander appraiser, Zhang Xiu's martial arts strength is at the bottom among the first-rate ones. Even if Lu Bu has not entered the divine power mode, he is still enough to crush him.
Half an hour later, Lü Bu and the bruised and battered Zhang Xiu finished their talk...
