The Song Dynasty on the Sand Table

Chapter 112 Car Formation
When talking about the decline of chariots, we have to mention cavalry.

During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, chariots were very popular, but starting from the Han Dynasty, chariots almost disappeared from the battlefield.

The reason for this is that the Han Dynasty's cavalry was extremely powerful.

Why bother with chariots when the cavalry is strong?
But during the Eastern Jin and Southern and Northern Dynasties, the cavalry of the Central Plains dynasty was no longer effective, so they took advantage of their strengths and avoided their weaknesses and adopted chariot formations to resist cavalry. However, at this time, the types and functions of chariots had undergone tremendous changes. From the previous active offensive to attack the enemy formation, they began to become pure defensive weapons, using chariot formations to block cavalry.

During the Northern Expedition of Liu Yu of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, he used chariot arrays to defeat tens of thousands of Southern Yan cavalry and helped the Northern Expedition army to destroy Southern Yan in one fell swoop.

But during the Sui and Tang dynasties, chariots fell out of favor again and went downhill.

Why?

Because the cavalry of the Sui and Tang dynasties became powerful again. When the cavalry was powerful, I would lose whenever I looked at the chariots.

From this we can draw a conclusion: when the cavalry of the Central Plains dynasty was strong, the chariot declined; when the cavalry of the Chinese dynasty was weak, the chariot rose again.

So some scholars in later generations raised the question: Since the cavalry of the Song Dynasty was so weak, why didn’t they pick up the chariot formation again?
There are many different opinions on the reasons. My father-in-law uses his not-so-bright brain to guess that there are probably two reasons. One is that during the Northern Song Dynasty, the Northern Song Dynasty lost too quickly and was tied in two battles by the Jin Dynasty, so there was no time to play with chariots.

Secondly, during the Southern Song Dynasty, the country was located on the south bank of the Yangtze River, where there was a network of rivers and streams, making chariots inconvenient to use. Therefore, the Southern Song Dynasty did not develop chariots.

After the fall of the Song Dynasty, when it was the Ming Dynasty's turn to resist the northern ethnic minorities, the Ming Dynasty's cavalry was not strong, so they picked up chariots again.

Let’s get back to the story.

Ma Yang took a look and saw that at the front of the rebel army, there were more than 20 light carts. These carts were pushed by people, not pulled by horses.

The wooden boards erected in front of the light vehicle were placed side by side, like a movable wooden wall.

Using his common sense, he could guess that such a large wooden wall was of course used to protect his own soldiers and resist the arrows of the Jin thieves.

"But how can we fight like this?" Ma Yangqi asked, "The enemy's arrows can't reach us, and ours can't shoot out either."

Yue Wenxuan smiled and said, "Look at those wooden boards. There are small round holes on them."

Ma Yang looked closely and found that it was true. There were many small round holes on each wooden board. They were not big, about the size of an apricot.

Yue Wenxuan: "Our troops can shoot the enemy through these holes, but it is difficult for the enemy's arrows to reach us through such small holes."

Ma Yang made a bow-drawing motion and frowned, "It's difficult for our army to shoot arrows out through the hole."

"Except it's not a bow!"

Ma Congyi suddenly joined the discussion: "In the last battle, I saw Gong Dawang's men using a strange weapon. It looked like an iron rod. It didn't require much movement to fire. The small firing hole seemed to be left for the iron rod."

Wu Jialiang chuckled: "You are such a smart kid."

Ma Congyi winked at Wu Jialiang. It was obvious that he had recognized Wu Jialiang, but he did not expose him. He had such wisdom at such a young age.

While they were chatting here, the rebel army's chariot formation training had officially begun.

The chariot formation pressed forward, and a group of musketeers lit the matches and thrust their musket barrels through the firing holes...

"Bang bang bang bang!" A loud roar was heard, and green smoke filled the air.

Since it was a drill, the muskets were only loaded with gunpowder but no bullets, so although the fighting was lively, no bullets flew out.

Ma Yang and others were shocked, but they didn't know what this thing was used for, and they looked confused.

Ma Congyi explained, "When that thing goes off, an iron bullet will fly forward, and anyone hit within a few feet will be killed instantly."

"He won't necessarily be executed! I've been beaten before, but I'm still alive and well, right?" A man suddenly appeared from behind Wu Jialiang. He was the second in command of the Laiyang bandits.

This man's name was Yu Fanwen. In the battle over two months ago, he was shot in the abdomen by a bird shot and lay on the ground, waiting to die. Fortunately, Yue Wenxuan and Mr. Bai Qingen came to his rescue and saved his life. After being carried back by Wu Jialiang and carefully cared for, he is now alive and kicking.

Ma Sheng also recognized this person. When he saw the second-in-command of the Laiyang bandits jump out, he couldn't help but twist his mouth, always feeling that something was wrong. He secretly glanced at Wu Jialiang's face and finally recognized that this Wu County Magistrate was Wu Yong who came to contact him last time.

Damn, after all this time, it turns out that the officials and bandits in your Jimo County are one in the same family?

Ma Sheng waved to Yu Fanwen and said, "Second Master, how are you?"

Yu Fanwen said unhappily, "Don't call me Second in Command. I'm now Yudutou of Jimo County."

Ma Sheng had a strange expression on his face: "Oh, you've become a captain now. Congratulations on getting a job in the government."

Yu Fanwen: "Brother, you saved my life and treated me well. From now on, my life belongs to you, not to the government."

Wu Jialiang said, "Show the scar on your abdomen to the four Masters Ma."

Yu Fanwen nodded in response, walked up to Ma Yang, lifted his clothes, and exposed his abdomen.

I saw a big old wound on his stomach. Due to limited conditions, the wound was treated roughly and the stitches on the scar looked very scary.

Ma Yang was shocked: "That thing hit my stomach and it became like this?"

Yu Fanwen nodded and said, "Yes! I thought I was very skilled in martial arts, but I was knocked down by that thing in one fell swoop and lay on the ground, unable to move."

Ma Yang and the others now had a clear idea in mind and continued to watch.

Each vehicle has a captain who is in uniform, holds a flag, and gives orders.

There is a helmsman who is responsible for transporting the vehicle, moving it left and right, front and back, and separating and connecting it.

A special unit consists of ten flag bearers, led by a brave and capable leader. Four musketeers, also equipped with long swords, carry muskets inside their chariots and fire them first when they leave. They use long swords when the enemy is close. Two rattan shield bearers are stationed on the chariots, firing flares at distant enemies and using rattan shields at close range. Two halberd and mace bearers also fire flares at distant enemies and use halberds and mace at close range. A cook is in charge of preparing meals for the team members.

The wolf-whip technique has been cancelled!
Ma Congyi still remembered that the last time he watched the rebel army suppress bandits, he saw that the wolf-whip master Zhang Dashu was quite brave. Now that he saw that the wolf-whip master was no longer in the team, he couldn't help but run to Zhang Dashu and asked in a low voice: "Brother, there is no wolf-whip master in the army, what are you doing now?"

Zhang Dashu looked aggrieved. "The captain wants me to be a musketeer and a long swordsman. I'm still learning how to use the musket and the long sword. I'm clumsy and always fail to use them properly. I get scolded every day."

Ma Congyi burst out laughing.

Ma Yang and the others were watching the changes in the military formation carefully. After watching for a while, Ma Yang couldn't help but sigh and said, "Such a large military formation, I can't even understand it, let alone command it? The Ma family is indeed not qualified to command the battle formation. I agree that the command should be handed over to Prince Gong."

(End of this chapter)