My father, Li Shimin, please call me Crown Prince

Chapter 185: Three Sacred Weapons of the Iron Cavalry

June fifteenth.

There was only half a month left before Li Chengqian set out on the eastern expedition to Goryeo.

Five thousand cavalry.

The army held a big tent for meetings.

Li Chengqian sat at the top, with the marching map in the middle.

Below them are four thousand-cavalry commanders: Su Dingfang, Li Dejian, Helan Chushi, and Chen Yunchao.

The other thousand cavalry were led by Li Chengqian himself.

Xue Rengui, Pei Xingjian and Li Xiang were the commanders of a hundred cavalry.

The current discussion is about the march route and time.

A proposal has already been submitted to the Ministry of War.

There have always been strict requirements on the marching routes.

For example, how many miles to travel per day, how many days to go, and where to arrive for supplies, all these things must have been discussed in advance.

Li Chengqian's marching route is mainly divided into three stages.

First, it was from Chang'an to Luoyang.

The distance is approximately 800 miles. Considering that the army is in good condition in the early stage and the road is flat, it is required to arrive within ten days.

Then he set out from Luoyang to Xiangzhou, Weizhou, and then to Youzhou.

It is expected to arrive in about twenty days, but the requirement is within twenty-five days.

Finally, it takes half a month to get from Youzhou to Yingzhou.

There are three sections of the journey, and on each section, you will pass through certain stations and cities, and then you will get supplies and rest.

There will be specific instructions on the roadmap provided by the Ministry of War.

Because it is a domestic march, the level of security is greatly guaranteed.

Basically all the soldiers marched without armor.

Su Dingfang stroked his beard and pondered for a moment, then said in a deep voice: "Your Highness, although the journey from Chang'an to Luoyang is flat, it is now June and the weather is extremely hot."

"The soldiers were sweating profusely even in their single layers of clothing, and they were very likely to suffer from heat stroke after a long journey."

The so-called marching and fighting.

Fighting is one thing, marching is another.

An excellent general, from another perspective, is also a very good nanny.

We must take care of every aspect of the soldiers.

Otherwise, by the time you’re exhausted from fighting, you won’t have any fighting spirit left.

To a certain extent, marching and camping are more important than fighting between two armies.

"Wujing Zongyao·Volume 5": "When the army is marching on the road, they should rest every ten miles, collect dry food every thirty miles, and eat and sleep every sixty miles."

This means that when an army marches, they need to rest after walking ten miles, and eat something after walking thirty miles. Dry food refers to dry food.

After sixty miles, we will start to set up camp and cook.

Traveling sixty miles a day is the requirement for a large army.

Li Chengqian said: "For this march, I have prepared more than 2,000 carriages. All the followers, food, and baggage will be transported by carriages."

"Of course, what General Su said makes sense. It's hot in June, and all kinds of supplies are indispensable."

"In addition to the medicine for heat stroke, I also have a method for making ice, equipped with cool water."

Li Chengqian still had some saltpeter in his hands, and the saltpeter that had not been made into gunpowder would also be taken along with the army.

Although it cannot be said that it can be made into ice cubes directly, it is still very effective in cooling water.

When marching in the hottest weather, soldiers can drink a sip of cool water, which will greatly boost their morale and energy and also prevent heat stroke to a great extent.

Su Dingfang said in surprise: "If there are enough carriages and cold water, we will definitely be able to reach Yingzhou faster."

The prince's words shocked Su Dingfang.

Among everyone, he had the most experience in leading troops in battle. After all, Su Dingfang had made great military achievements when attacking the Turks.

Li Chengqian asked the Ministry of War to transfer Su Dingfang to his army, and His Majesty agreed.

Li Shimin also took into consideration that most of the people on the prince's side had no experience in long-distance marches and battles, and with Su Dingfang's assistance, there would be no trouble.

Moreover, Su Dingfang is also the prince's confidant.

But Su Dingfang didn't expect that the march could be like this, marching in a horse-drawn carriage and even drinking cold water on the way.

When he led his troops on the march, he did not receive such treatment.

Li Dejian suggested: "Your Highness uses tens of thousands of horses, and the care of the horses is also crucial."

Li Chengqian nodded.

This time, it is estimated that there will be more than 11,000 horses, including more than 5,000 war horses.

Taking care of horses during a march is obviously a very important matter.

Therefore, hundreds of veterinarians are deployed to deal with possible horse diseases.

Inside the tent, other people also gradually began to discuss and speak.

Based on the route conditions, speculate on the problems that may be encountered and make preparations in advance.

In addition to caring for the horses, proper storage of food and fodder is also of paramount importance.

Summer is hot and humid. If you are not careful, food and grass will easily become moldy and infested with insects.

Therefore, a dedicated person is needed to check the condition of food and fodder to ensure that each batch of food and fodder is in good condition before use.

And sufficient moisture-proof measures should be prepared to properly cover the food and grass when setting up camp.

The search and protection of water sources should not be ignored either.

Although horse-drawn carriages carry some drinking water, during long marches, there may be a shortage of water.

It is also necessary to decide in advance which places along the route can provide sufficient water sources and whether the water is drinkable.

As for this, Li Chengqian would arrange supply points along the route to replenish the honeycomb coal carried on the carriages.

It is easy to get sick if you drink water directly from many sources, but boiling the water before drinking can ensure the health of the soldiers.

Li Chengqian's troops were marching entirely by horse-drawn chariots. If a large number of infantry were added, one can imagine how complicated the situation would be.

After all, not everyone can have the same configuration as the prince, and most of the time people walk.

Even in terms of supplies, it is impossible to be so abundant.

As for the simplest water source, it is impossible to drink boiled water. You can only drink river water or stream water directly.

During a long march.

Even if there are only a few thousand people marching, everyone can be brought to the designated location in good health and safety.

In this era, he is already an outstanding leading general.

In fact, during large-scale marches, a large number of civilians would usually fall ill or even die. The deaths of civilians were never recorded separately, nor would they appear in history books.

For example, this time Li Shimin mobilized 400,000 civilians. It was very normal for two to three thousand people to die from the moment they arrived in Yingzhou.

Civilians are usually responsible for transporting food, fodder, and other supplies, which are often very heavy. They need to carry or push and pull a lot of items over long distances, which consumes a lot of physical energy.

When transporting food, laborers may have to carry dozens or even hundreds of kilograms of food and walk dozens or even hundreds of miles every day.

In such a hot summer, heatstroke is a common phenomenon. During large-scale marches, the army's food supply itself faces great pressure, and food security for civilians is often even more difficult.

Due to the large population and great demand for food, as well as limited transportation and storage conditions, food shortages are likely to occur.

The army first guarantees the physical strength of its soldiers, not the civilians.

Even if there were doctors, medical resources were mainly concentrated in the military, and it was difficult for civilians to get professional medical treatment. Usually only a small number of doctors were responsible for the medical work of the military, and they could not take care of the large number of civilians.

When the laborers fell ill or were injured, they could only rely on some simple herbal remedies or folk remedies for treatment, but the results were often not good.

During the march, the laborers had to suffer from hunger, disease and hard labor, and those who were in poor physical condition were basically dead.

These days, which civilians are in good health?

But this phenomenon is inevitable as long as a large-scale war is launched.

If we mobilize a large amount of resources to treat civilians or ensure their food supply because of soft-heartedness, then how can we win the battle if the army's food and medical care are not guaranteed?

This is the reason why they say a kind man cannot command an army.

June seventeenth.

The prince returned to the East Palace.

At the same time, he ordered eight hundred blacksmiths to make horseshoes.

Horseshoes are extremely important for horses, as war horses need to run for a long time on various terrains during marches and battles. Without horseshoes, horseshoes are prone to wear, cracking, and even injury and infection.

The installation of horseshoes can effectively protect the horse's hooves, reduce hoof damage, enable the warhorse to run continuously for a longer period of time, and greatly enhance the warhorse's endurance.

In long-distance battles, war horses equipped with horseshoes could march hundreds of miles continuously for several days, while war horses without horseshoes might be unable to move forward after a shorter distance due to damaged hooves.

Horseshoes can make the weight of war horses more evenly distributed on the hoof, reducing local pressure. In this way, when the war horses are running, the pressure on the hoof is better dispersed, thereby reducing fatigue.

Just like when humans run in suitable shoes, it can reduce the pressure on the feet and improve running endurance.

The shape and pattern of the horseshoe can increase the horse's grip on different terrains.

On a flat road, horseshoes allow war horses to exert better power and run faster.

On soft terrain such as mud or sand, the grooves of the horseshoe can embed into the ground, preventing the horse from slipping and allowing the horse to maintain a steady speed.

On the battlefield, when a warhorse needs to charge, good grip can allow the horse to burst out at a faster speed in an instant, quickly approach the enemy, and cause a huge impact on the enemy.

The cavalry charge is a very powerful attack method. When the horseshoes are equipped, the horses are faster and more powerful, which can cause a huge impact on the enemy's infantry and other arms.

The sturdiness of the horseshoe makes the warhorse more stable and less likely to get injured when colliding with the enemy.

In the confrontation between cavalry and infantry, the high-speed charging cavalry can penetrate the enemy formation like a sharp sword, disrupt the enemy's formation, and create favorable conditions for subsequent attacks.

Not only for war horses, but also for pack horses for transportation, horseshoes enable war horses to walk on all kinds of complex terrains, including mountain roads, muddy ground, rivers, etc.

Horses equipped with horseshoes can more easily pull vehicles loaded with supplies on various roads, improving the efficiency of logistics transportation.

Historically, horseshoes were not widely used until the Yuan Dynasty, hundreds of years before the Tang Dynasty.

Now, Li Chengqian has invented it ahead of time.

The making of horseshoes is not complicated, as the Donggong blast furnace produces sufficient high-quality iron.

If a craftsman is skilled, it will take about an hour to make a set of horseshoes. If an unskilled craftsman is unskilled, it may take two hours.

However, it is not a problem for a blacksmith to forge two pairs every day.

The progress will be slow at the beginning, but after a few days, the progress will naturally speed up.

The more troublesome part here is that the size of the horseshoe needs to be measured.

However, the East Palace is now using high-precision calipers. It only needs to record the horse's hooves and limbs, and then send the data to the craftsmen for direct production.

Among them, Li Chengqian also needs to arrange hundreds of people to repair the existing horse hooves.

After all, in the era without horseshoes, the bottoms of most horse hooves were not flat and could not adapt better to horseshoes.

Overall, there is not much difference in the fifteen days.

For this purpose, Li Chengqian mobilized a total of more than 2,000 people to complete this project.

Tai Chi Palace.

The news of the prince making horseshoes soon reached Li Shimin's ears.

"Put iron shoes on the horse?"

Stirrups and high-bridge saddles matured in the Han Dynasty.

During the Tang Dynasty, there was already a relatively mature system of horse harnesses.

These horse harnesses played an important role in riding and warfare, and people were familiar with and dependent on them.

In fact, horseshoes had already appeared during the Sui Dynasty.

It’s just that as a newly emerged or less widely recognized type of horse gear, its importance may not be fully appreciated.

During combat, the Tang Dynasty cavalry paid more attention to the comfort and stability of the saddle, as well as the support provided by the stirrup to the rider, while relatively neglecting the protection of the horse's hooves.

For a long time, people's care for horses has mainly focused on feeding, training, and disease prevention, and there is no systematic understanding of the protection of horse hooves.

In traditional concepts, horse hooves are considered to be a relatively strong part that can withstand a certain amount of wear and pressure.

Therefore, even in such an open and innovative era as the Tang Dynasty, the importance of horseshoes was not realized.

Instead, more emphasis is placed on horse breeds and training to improve the horse's speed and endurance, while the protection of the horse's hooves is relatively secondary.

Li Shimin quickly took the prince's actions seriously.

It was not that he recognized the function of the horseshoe, but that he was familiar with the prince.

Various signs indicate that many of the prince's actions are highly purposeful.

The sudden large-scale production of horseshoes means that the role of horseshoes may be beyond one's imagination.

"Your Majesty, why don't you call the prince over and ask him about it."

Zhang Ananda suggested.

Li Shimin nodded: "Summon the prince to an audience."

Li Chengqian came to Taiji Palace and heard the emperor's question, but he didn't say much.

A skilled blacksmith was called in to make the horseshoes.

First, Li Shimin was asked to ride a warhorse without horseshoes to experience it.

Then put on the horseshoes and ride it to experience the feeling.

Li Shimin's horsemanship was naturally at the highest level. After this comparison, he immediately realized the great effect that horseshoes would bring.

It was decided immediately to popularize horseshoes in the army, and all war horses in the Tang Dynasty army were equipped with horseshoes.

(End of this chapter)