Making you a son-in-law is not about making you conquer the world.

"It's time to begin."

Lin Ping nodded and shouted loudly, "Bring the horses!"

"Leading a horse? Has this guy gone mad?"

Pang Xingji looked on in astonishment, as if he thought Lin Ping was out of his mind.

Pang Xingji's greatest skill is horsemanship, a fact that Jiang Yunying specifically reminded Lin Ping of yesterday. It seems he brought trouble upon himself.

The ten men under Lin Ping were also taken aback, muttering to themselves, clearly cursing Lin Ping.

"What? You don't dare?"

Lin Ping asked in a sarcastic tone, once again making a gesture of surrender.

Horsemanship and archery have always been two essential skills for soldiers. Although their horsemanship is not as good as Ryubei's, it is not far behind. Moreover, fighting on horseback is the real contest between men, which they are eager to do, so why would they dare not?

Before long, twenty warhorses of similar size appeared in Lin Ping's sight, and the warhorses quickly came to their respective masters.

The moment they stroked their warhorses, everyone revealed an unwavering determination to win, as if as long as their good brothers were there, they could never be defeated.

"You think you're worthy of riding a horse?"

The ten members of Ryubei spoke in a sarcastic tone, clearly not believing that the other side could win.

"Young master, we're not really going to have a horsemanship contest, are we?"

Pang Xingji was always proud and arrogant, and he would feel ashamed if he beat Lin Ping in horsemanship.

"That's natural. The two sides compete on horseback, and the one who falls off the horse first loses."

Lin Ping briefly explained the rules.

Once a soldier falls from his horse, he loses most of his fighting ability. On the battlefield, he should fight desperately, but this is a friendly match, and safety comes first. Falling from his horse means defeat.

No one objected. The soldiers of Ryubei lightly touched their toes and leaped onto their warhorses, the whole movement quite smooth.

Leaping onto a horse is a basic skill that even Tiger Guard's soldiers can do. Just as they were about to mount, Lin Ping scolded them: "Has the competition started yet? Do you know how many calories this will waste? You must save your best energy for the strongest enemy!"

That makes a lot of sense!

The group finally understood Lin Ping's good intentions. The reason for not training that day was to conserve their energy so that they could unleash their full power during the competition.

After all, for these veterans, a day of intensive training is meaningless and does not improve their skills in the slightest.

With half an hour to go before the agreed time, Lin Ping waited calmly, while Pang Xingji was extremely anxious.

The soldiers, already mounted on horseback, had no reason to dismount. They could only grip the saddle tightly with their legs and wait under the scorching sun, beads of sweat dripping down their backs.

During this time, Lin Ping kept looking up to estimate the time, and finally waited for the two young apprentices of the blacksmith.

The two men, each carrying a dozen or so iron ring-like objects, came panting to Lin Ping and said breathlessly, "Young master, these are the weapons you requested."

"Weapons? This kind of dull, unsharpened iron is called a weapon?"

The Dragon Guards laughed so hard they could hardly breathe, and even the ten Tiger Guards looked at Lin Ping with astonished expressions, shaking their heads helplessly, knowing that they had no hope of winning.

Lin Ping took the two iron rings and examined them carefully. He nodded in satisfaction and put away several small knives, pliers, and other tools.

Next, Lin Ping hung twenty iron rings on both sides of the saddle, just at the right position for his feet.

That's right, those two iron rings are stirrups!

A seemingly insignificant iron ring that has influenced the entire world order!

In the ancient times that Lin Ping knew well, cavalrymen were not popular before the Han Dynasty. The reason was simple: it was difficult for soldiers on horseback to maintain their balance. They not only had to squeeze their legs tightly against the horse's back, but also had to hold the reins tightly with both hands.

This caused soldiers to sway and slide back and forth when their warhorses were galloping at high speed, making it difficult for them to aim their crossbows at the enemy, let alone fight with spears and lances.

Later, people invented the saddle, a type of horse tack that curves forward and backward, which finally prevented cavalrymen from sliding back and forth, greatly improving their combat effectiveness. At the very least, it made using crossbows easier.

However, with only a saddle, the cavalrymen still had no foothold, making it difficult to fight with spears and lances, and their legs would start to tremble after a few rounds.

Later, the ingenious ancient people invented the stirrup, which greatly improved the strength of cavalry and completely changed the status of cavalry.

The invention of the stirrup not only changed the cavalry of the Chinese nation, but also spread to Europe, influencing the Western landscape. This led to Napoleon's French Empire, the subsequent constitution, and gradually influenced the entire world.

Although stirrups already existed in the Han Dynasty, which Lin Ping knew well, they did not exist in the present-day Wu Kingdom. That is why Lin Ping dared to compete with Pang Xingji in horsemanship.

Following Lin Ping's instructions, several soldiers leisurely rode on horseback, their feet pushing off the ground with all their might, their bodies filled with power, and their legs no longer needed to grip the saddle tightly.

The group looked at Lin Ping with surprise, feeling more gratitude than doubt. They were not much worse off than him to begin with, and with these stirrups, it was as if they had divine assistance.

"Sir, they look a little different than before."

The Dragon Guards asked in confusion.

"Hmph, who cares? They're still far behind us!"

Pang Xingji said dismissively.

"let's start!"

Lin Ping said calmly, revealing a strange smile that sent a chill down Pang Xingji's spine.

The ten men of Ryubei could no longer wait. They gripped the saddles tightly with both legs and waved the reins with one hand, urging their warhorses forward in unison.

Tiger Guard's ten men were equally determined, urging their warhorses forward to meet the enemy.

In terms of basic riding skills, there was little difference between the two, but a subtle difference caught Jiang Yunying's attention.

That's right. The ten Ryubei held their spears with one hand, meaning they had to hold the reins with their other hand to maintain their balance. In contrast, the ten Torohei held their spears with both hands, pushed off with both feet, and practically stood on their horse's back. Their agility was unimaginable.

"Stop all drills and come watch the competition!"

Jiang Yunying's clear voice echoed throughout the entire training ground.

Before this, Jiang Yunying thought Lin Ping was bound to lose, so she deliberately let the other soldiers train and forbade them to watch. Now, she had changed her mind and wished that all the soldiers could come and learn from her experience.

Thousands of soldiers swarmed over, all cheering for Pang Xingji. They dreamed of seeing this spendthrift son who bullied Qin Diaohui get his comeuppance.

Lin Ping naturally understood Jiang Yunying's intention, and said with a grin, "My wife foresaw the outcome..."

Jiang Yunying shook her head and said, "The result is not important. I want to know how these iron rings are made and whether they can be mass-produced!"

Jiang Yunying, as expected of an army commander, had a keen eye and immediately guessed the consequences once stirrups became common in the army. At that time, the strength of the city lord's 10,000 private troops would increase significantly, and they would no longer be afraid of the covetousness of some small fry.

Lin Ping chuckled: "The blacksmith Hua knows the manufacturing method better than I do. As for mass production... well, the blacksmith Hua made ten pairs all by himself in one night..."