Chapter 61 Section 6 The Mysterious New Army in the Grand Canyon

It has been a whole year since Che Ying was ordered to train the new army. After elimination and reorganization, Qin's new army only retained 30,000 armored cavalry and 20,000 heavily armored infantry.As far as the total number is concerned, it is only half of Qin's original military strength.According to Zhou etiquette, Qin State was the great prince of the "Nation of Thousand Vehicles" when King Ping of Zhou first appointed the princes. That is to say, the number of chariots it owns is calculated in units of thousands, and the maximum number of chariots is not more than 5,000.The heyday of chariot warfare coincided with the war of war in the Spring and Autumn Period. When Duke Mu of Qin ruled over the hegemony, the State of Qin had at most 5,000 chariots and a total force of nearly 200,000. It once vibrated the Central Plains.

In the Yin, Shang and Western Zhou dynasties, the configuration of the chariot was as follows: three soldiers on the chariot—one on the left and one on the right of the chariot were the main warriors, and the chariot was driven by one person, all of whom were strong men of noble origin; Ten infantry, known as "Yishi", consisted of civilians and soldiers of slave origin.At that time, chariot warriors were the highest level of knights in the army, and their training was extremely strict. Not only did they have to be proficient in fighting with long spears and spears, but they also had to have high skills in short soldiers and archery.In addition, riding skills, driving skills, physical skills to withstand severe bumps and stand upright in combat, and the tacit understanding of the three people's cooperation, etc., are all the keys to the success or failure of a car battle.

In the Spring and Autumn Period, due to the long-term war, there was a great shortage of chariots and soldiers.At the same time, the source of soldiers has also changed a lot, and the configuration of military vehicles has formed a common situation in which there are fewer soldiers on the vehicles and more infantry under the vehicles.The configuration of the Qin State’s military vehicles was roughly the same as that of the Shandong princes at that time. The number of soldiers on the vehicle was reduced to two—one for the battle and one for driving the vehicle; A small combat unit with one person "five" and five five one "two"; the pawns under the vehicle are commanded by the soldiers on the vehicle, and the soldiers on the vehicle are called "two Sima".

According to such a large-scale configuration, Qin's military strength in the heyday of chariot warfare was roughly more than 100,000.The maneuverability of this kind of vehicle battle is very poor, and it is very easy to tell the winner.After the two armies fought each other, they agreed to set up a large-scale phalanx on a relatively flat mountain plateau, charge one at a time, and fight for a few hours, and the victory will be clear.Therefore, the war for hegemony in the Spring and Autumn Period has never been a long-term war of stalemate and confrontation.The world-famous Jin-Chu City-Pu War, the main battlefield has only been entangled for a day.After the First World War, the losing side had to rebuild tens of millions of military vehicles and retrain tens of millions of vehicles and soldiers, which is really easier said than done!This is the root cause of the "hegemony in World War I" in the Spring and Autumn Period.

A chariot that can withstand high-speed galloping, violent impact, rugged mud, extreme cold and heat without paralyzing requires high-quality mulberry wood for the body, extremely hard wood for wheels, and wood with excellent elasticity and hardness for combat. The big axle of the car; the wheels should be wrapped with tough and thick animal hide or cowhide, the shaft and carriage should be wrapped with high-quality copper and iron, and the axle head should be made of copper and iron pillars as thick as spearheads; at least two horses must be purchased and trained to match Mercedes-Benz good horses, not to mention large chariots need to be driven by four horses; special harnesses that are different from ordinary saddles and bridles must be made, long-range spears and long-range hard bows for chariots must be made, and superb drivers and chariots must be trained. Soldiers... All these make the chariot a classical heavy weapon that is difficult to manufacture.In the Spring and Autumn Period of farming, about ten peasant households had to accumulate financial resources for two years before they could manufacture and supply a qualified battle-army vehicle.

In the late Spring and Autumn Period and the early Warring States period, wars became more frequent, and the construction of chariots could not keep up with the consumption and needs of wars.As a result, the princes of the Central Plains, who had frequent wars, took the lead in becoming a "mixed chariot and infantry" military system in which chariots and infantry were separated, and infantry could fight independently.Wei Shu, a general at the time of Duke Ping of Jin Dynasty, played a pioneering role in the "confusion of vehicles and steps".When he led the army to rush on the narrow mountain road, he encountered a sudden attack by the Rongdi cavalry, and the chariot battle could not be started. Twenty-five of them formed a small infantry phalanx, and the phalanxes were connected to form a small phalanx. They fought on foot in the mountains and repelled the Rongdi attack.Since then, there has been the world-famous "Wei's Step Formation".Later, Wu Qi, a famous general of the state of Wei, trained the soldiers on the chariots as knights to fight with the infantry, thus having special cavalry.It cost a lot of money and manpower, and it was like a mighty and fragile heavy military vehicle, so it gradually withdrew from the war arena of the great powers in the Central Plains.

There is a big difference in "national conditions" between Qin and the princes of the Central Plains.Before entering the Central Plains and becoming a vassal, the Qin tribe fought for many years among the nomadic tribes of Rong and Di. There were no chariots in the first place, only knights on horseback.It is precisely because of the cavalry of the old Qin people that they were able to gallop thousands of miles to attack the Rongdi Hun cavalry who invaded Haojing, saving the dying Zhou royal family in one fell swoop.At that time, the chariots of the princes of the Central Plains faced the hurricane-like cavalry of the Western Regions. They couldn't run and couldn't run, and they couldn't fight.

However, a "civilized" retrogression occurred in the Qin military system!After becoming a great vassal in the Central Plains, the Qin people decided to become a state of kingship, so they abandoned the cavalry who were ridiculed by the Central Plains people as "field warfare", and began to "purge" the military system in accordance with the regulations of "Zhou Li", banned and dismissed the cavalry, patiently and meticulously Building military vehicles has become a well-regulated "country of a thousand vehicles".By the early Warring States period, the Central Plains chariots had been basically eliminated, but Qin still retained most of the broken chariots.He was unable to eliminate and update, and faced the strong pressure of Wu Qi, the famous general of Wei State, to destroy Qin.The Qin State had no choice but to recruit troops on a large scale, and its military strength swelled to nearly 300,000 at one time, almost all men.However, the 300,000 army of old chariots, bronze cavalry and untrained new infantry were defeated by Wu Qi's 50,000 elite soldiers in one fell swoop!If it weren't for the 50,000 old Qin cavalry soldiers who were poorly equipped but excellent in riding skills, Qin would really have suffered a catastrophe.Qin Xiangong learned from the pain and returned all the redundant soldiers to the fields, and returned to the old scale of more than 100,000 troops.

Qin Xiaogong fought as a young man, so he is naturally familiar with the disadvantages of Qin's military system.But to completely change the old military system and train an elite new army, for a impoverished vassal state that is still struggling with food and clothing, it is no different from a seductive dream.Now that reforms are being implemented, dreams have come true, and Qin State has begun to train its new army, how can it not become a major concern of the Qin State government and the public? After passing Mei County, the Weishui River gradually narrowed and deepened, and the green mountains on both sides of the river were already facing each other in the distance.After letting the horse gallop for half an hour, they passed the old Guo State.There is a mountainous area of ​​thirty or fifty miles behind the old Guo State, which was the first piece of land conferred by King Xiao of the Western Zhou Dynasty to the Qin people. horse.Over the years, five or six hundred years have passed, the old Guo State here has already become the mainland of Qin State, and the ancient "vassal" mountainous land has also become an ordinary countryside.And to the west of this unremarkable countryside is the steep and precipitous Chencang River Valley, where there is a small manor that will forever be etched in his heart... Looking far away, Qin Xiaogong couldn't help but be filled with emotion.

"Your Majesty, the Chencang Canyon is just ahead." Wei Yang pointed his whip and reminded loudly. Qin Xiaogong raised his head suddenly, but saw two high mountains standing several miles away, and a small river faintly passed through the middle of the two mountains like a silver thread.The mountain is pale yellow and green, the spring breeze is howling, and it is a deserted scene. I can't help asking: "Is the camp behind the mountain?" "Exactly." "Good place! Where there are mountains and rivers, there will be grass. Let's go!" The horse team rolled towards the Grand Canyon like a storm.

Che Ying felt that her burden was too heavy, and she felt the heavy pressure of being ordered in a crisis. From Che Ying's point of view, according to Qin's tradition of holding military power, Yingqian should be in command of the new army.However, since Yingqian was tortured, he blocked the gate of the mansion, did not communicate with anyone, let alone participated in state affairs, even refused several visits from the monarch, so could he still serve the country?When Daliang asked the monarch to appoint him as the commander of the new army, Che Ying was deeply moved. More than 400 years ago, the Ziche clan was originally a Daluo clan in the Rongdi tribe who had intermarried with the Qin people. Later, it was included in the Qin Ying tribe.However, because the three famous generals of the Ziche family, Yixi, Zhongxing, and Zhenhu, were "forced" to be buried by Qin Mugong, the Ziche tribe was deeply stabbed, and they left Qin and fled to the Western Regions.After more than a hundred years, the Zhongxing Department where Che Ying was located returned to the hometown of Qin.At this time, Zi Che's meritorious noble status no longer existed.They kept their names incognito and started their farming and military careers like countless ordinary people in Qin State.Unexpectedly, the heavens have eyes, and Che Ying met the monarch by chance in front of the Yueyang State Mansion, and the Zi Che family jumped up again. After the bloody battle in Didao in the west, the whole family moved back to Guanzhong, restoring the honor and vitality of the old Qin tribe.Although Che Ying is a rising star of the Zi Che clan, but to be honest, he has little military merit. He was the former deputy general of Yingqian and later the guard of Wei Yang. Naturally, there is also the nostalgia and guilt of the ruling and opposition monarchs and ministers for Zi Che.If it is said that it is a kind of promotion with a tinge of retribution, then letting him lead the training of the new army is a real responsibility.It is no longer the time for Qin to live on hereditary merit. Without talent and own merit, there will be no family glory or personal brilliance.In this world of great controversy, how can Che Ying not be excited to have such an important career opportunity? Che Ying completely got rid of the old way of car warfare, and with his military talent and military training, he started a meticulous new army system and harsh actual combat training. The first thing is that with the assistance of Jing Jian, Che Ying completed the arduous task of selecting soldiers and weeding out the old army within three months.The strategy Wei Yang explained to them was to "reduce the old and edit the new, and take a two-pronged approach", in order to complete the replacement of the old and the new as quickly as possible, and prevent the sudden outbreak of war.Che Ying took ten military officials and ran all over the military camps of the Qin State non-stop, selected more than 20,000 officers and soldiers one by one, and properly accepted all available military equipment.The rest of the more than 70,000 Qin veterans were all handed over to Jing Jian's team for resettlement.With such an arrangement, in a very short period of three months, the embryo of a new army was initially formed, and the transformation from the old army was completed.This is simply unimaginable for the six kingdoms of Shandong. The second thing is to recruit more than 20,000 new recruits from the young and strong in various counties.Inspired by military merits, the recruits came enthusiastically and greatly surpassed.Facing the wave of soldiers joining the army, Che Ying reported Wei Yang's approval and established two military laws: first, only those with three or more families were recruited into the army, and those with only or second sons were not recruited even if they were outstanding.Second, the selection is strictly based on the standard of Wei Guo's "martial soldiers". The most famous infantry in the world at that time was the "Wei Wuzu" trained in the Wu Qi era.The standard is to wear three layers of armor, an iron helmet on the head, a broad dagger on the waist, a twenty-stone crossbow and fifty arrows on the back, a spear on the shoulder, and three days of dry food on the back. Can still maintain combat power!In terms of the weight of the armor and the things you carry with you, it is about fifty or sixty catties, and the armor and weapons are all cumbersome and grown-up things. When the whole body is full, you can walk hundreds of miles a day like flying, and you have to have it at any time. It's easier said than done with the remaining physical strength!For untrained men, this is simply impossible.Che Ying's workaround is: only test the school's physical strength and willpower, and those who can wear the clothes according to the above requirements and travel a hundred miles a day are qualified, and there is no requirement to maintain combat power.In this way, even though Qin is a well-known martial arts state, it can only select 20,000 qualified candidates. The third thing is to update the equipment.The main symbol of the new army in the Warring States Period is the degree of application of refined iron.Iron cavalry, iron armor, and iron weapons must be made of high-quality iron in order to maintain an absolute advantage over copper soldiers.At that time, Tieshan was mainly located in South Korea, so although South Korea was small, it had the name of "Strong Han".Qin State lacked iron materials. According to the original strength of more than 100,000 troops, it was impossible for Qin State to build an "iron army".However, the number of troops has been reduced to 50,000, and with the addition of iron materials that have flowed into Qin from Shandong and other countries since the reform, they can barely cope.Wei Yang ordered that, except for farm tools, all iron and iron materials that could be collected should be turned over to the government office, and all of them should be handed over to Che Ying's supply camp.For a time, three households of the Qin State used a kitchen knife, the only iron wheels on the bullock carts of the wealthy families, the iron incense burner of the ancestral temple, and a small amount of iron weapons left by the old army, all entered the weapon field in Chencang Canyon.Che Ying sent a capable lieutenant to supervise the manufacture of weapons, armor and harness.For a year, the fireworks in the canyon lasted all night, the wind blew like thunder, and the clanging of hammers and hammers almost drowned out the sound of fighting. After these things were in place, Che Ying began the real army training. At the beginning of the fire, Che Ying first selected a group of young generals in the army.According to the titles of the Qin State military system, corporal chiefs and chiefs are usually the lowest-level titles of "public servants", "two chiefs" (five five one-twos, twenty-five people) are usually the second-level titles of "scholars", and centurions are generally It is the third-level "hairpin" title, and these cannot be counted as lieutenant generals.Those who are called "generals" are at least commanders, and the titles are usually the fourth-level "buchang" or the fifth-level "doctor". After the elimination of chariot warfare, the cavalry and infantry's thousand-man team is the basic unit for fighting on the battlefield.The commander is the most basic and most solid general in the army, and they usually must be young men or outstanding young men under the age of forty.In the general class of the commander-in-chief, there is no such thing as a "veteran".In the military system of the Warring States Period, a commander of a thousand commanders could have a banner order with a large surname, but a commander of a centurion below the commander of a thousand commanders could not have a battle banner with his name on it.The strength of a country's army depends to a large extent on the tactical quality and courage of the commander-in-chief.Because even if it is a small battlefield, the commander is also the most direct commander of the charge.The later "Wei Liaozi's Art of War" said, "Thousands of people are killed, capture the enemy and kill the general. Ten thousand people are killed, and they rule the world", which is exactly the direct combat role of the thousand-man team as a basic unit. Che Ying set out to join the army, and also served as a "hundred chariot commander" among chariot soldiers who was equivalent to a commander. Naturally, he knew the importance of a commander, so his selection focus was on the candidate for a commander.Thirty thousand cavalry need thirty thousand commanders, twenty thousand infantry need twenty thousand commanders, and the entire new army needs fifty thousand commanders.According to the figures, there were more than one hundred original commanders in the Qin army.However, due to the frequent wars, it was too late to be eliminated in time, so most of the commanders had become "veterans" over the age of 40, and many of them were "veterans" from slaves who had no titles and could never be promoted again.At the beginning of the selection of officers and soldiers from the old army, Che Ying repeatedly screened and selected more than 20 young commanders who had experienced many battles, and more than half of them had to be selected from the new army. Che Ying's method is to break the identity and promote talents.Although the new law of the Qin State has eliminated the natural barrier of status in the army, there is no longer a distinction between noble soldiers and "li soldiers" who can only be veterans in the army forever.However, the prejudices and barriers between soldiers from the three families of nobles, commoners, and new freemen cannot be eliminated in a short period of time after all.What Che Ying has to do to break the identity is to break this prejudice, especially to eliminate the contempt of the nobles and civilian officers and soldiers towards the children of the new free people.To achieve this, rhetoric alone is not enough, the most solid way is to compete with one another, and use talents only. The position of Commander-in-Chief does not need to be proficient in military books and battle books, or even illiterate. The most important qualities he needs are excellent ability to organize and command small-scale actual combat and outstanding personal fighting skills.Che Ying ordered the military officials to make a one-acre "Hexi Mountains and Rivers" with soil in the hidden area, and then closed it with rocks.Afterwards, the 200 strong men who had passed through the individual fights were brought to the shrunken "Hexi Mountains and Rivers" one by one, and each of them walked into the "Hexi Mountains and Rivers" individually, and completed two tasks in front of the sixteen generals of the whole army. Military examination - identify the direction of mountains and rivers, and immediately tell the most favorable offensive and defensive terrain.In this exam, more than 150 people were eliminated at one time, leaving only about 40 people.A lean and thin young man in his twenties caught Che Ying's attention - he not only explained the direction and the terrain of attack and defense in one breath, but also gave all the place names accurately!The place names were originally not required to be mentioned, because most of the soldiers in the new army had not been to the Hexi area. "You, state your name." "Report to the general, my name is Shanjia!" The young man raised his head and chest, and replied loudly. "Where is the family?" "Business in Dashan!" "You are so young, have you ever been to Hexi?" "Report to the general, when I was five years old, I followed my grandfather to gather medicine to make a living. I have been to every mountain and every river in Qin State!" "When did you join the army?" "The year Zuo Shuchang's political reform started! I was fifteen years old!" Che Ying was surprised, since the reform began, it is strictly forbidden to recruit youngsters into the army!At this time, a military official walked up to Che Ying and whispered something in his ear, and Che Ying couldn't help laughing, "Ah, you are the wood-immigrant boy from Liyangnan City!" "Report to the general, that's right!" "You, why did you call me such a name?" Che Ying smiled with interest. "Report to the general, my grandfather is a drug farmer, and he named me Pangolin. When he joined the army, he said it was indecent, so he changed it!" "Pangolin? Then you must have mountain skills?" "Report to the general, I will never get lost in the mountains and forests, I will not eat for three days, I can chase wild rabbits when I climb mountains, and catch wild birds when I climb high!" "What about strength?" Shanjia blushed slightly, and said loudly: "Report to the general, we can only capture wild wolves alive, maybe not tigers!" "What about sword fighting?" "Report to the general, I only finished sixth in the military competition, not good!" Che Ying laughed happily, "Oh, tens of thousands of people finished sixth, isn't that good?" When the commander was determined, the 23-year-old Shanjia became the youngest commander in the new army.Shanjia is a son of "Yaoli" who has no fixed residence, no land and no property, and is so young. According to the tradition of the army, it is very unusual to be a centurion.Che Ying boldly appointed Shanjia as the infantry commander, breaking the prejudice against the new free militia soldiers in one fell swoop.The recruits rushed to tell each other, and the crowd was excited, and everyone saw the hope of being honored for their meritorious service. After the selection of commander-in-chief was over, Che Ying held the first meeting of generals in the main tent of the Chinese army.More than 60 generals above the commander-in-chief of the whole army gathered together, and they were especially purged. Che Ying said solemnly: "Generals, the training of the new army is about to begin. The first important thing I want to tell you is the temporary division of titles. Qin's new law prohibits those who have not made military achievements from being awarded titles. Among the generals of the new army, there are two The sixteen commanders are white generals without any titles. There are also eight newly promoted generals of the cavalry army who have not received any titles. The eighth-level "Public Cheng" nobility, no nobility. In order to maintain the new law, this general decided not to report to the government for ordinary merit until the new army implements a temporary separation of titles. There is no war, no beheading and meritorious service. , all wait until the time of decapitation and meritorious service! What do you think?" The generals in the tent said in unison, "I will be honored for meritorious service, and I will be convinced!" "Okay!" Che Ying stood up abruptly, "Our army only has eight months to go before the spring of next year. In eight months, the new army will be trained to be an invincible elite division! The first enemy the new army will face, It is the Hexi garrison of the Wei State. Every officer and soldier of the Qin State New Army must become a sharp soldier who can defeat the world-famous Wei State soldiers! It is a disgrace to Qin State and a shame to the New Army if it does not recover the land of Hexi! You generals must inspire the soldiers, sincerely help each other, work hard to train troops, stand firm and stand ready, and avenge the shame of our country!" The whole account shouted passionately: "Train your troops hard! Stand ready! Shame on our country!" All of a sudden, the Grand Canyon is filled with melting snow and flowing water, and the mountains are green and spring is full of spring.After undergoing rigorous training without stopping for a day in the scorching heat and severe winter, this new army has become a veritable iron army.The cavalry are all armored and long swords, not only the horseshoes, but also iron masks on the horses' heads.The infantry was divided into three groups: five thousand strong crossbowmen, all with strong bows and crossbows of more than 20 stone; five thousand spearmen, all iron spears, plus a fine iron dagger; The battle infantry, each with a thick-backed broadsword weighing eight catties, and a three-foot shield covered with hardwood and iron.The armor of the soldiers has also been changed, and the knights have double-layer iron armor and red-tasseled helmets.The infantry has three layers of iron armor, with iron spears and no tasseled helmets.The whole army is divided into the left, middle and right armies, mixed in cavalry and foot, and can fight on their own.The left army has 8,000 cavalry and 5,000 infantry; the right army has 8,000 cavalry and 5,000 infantry; the central army has 14,000 cavalry and 10,000 infantry.There are also 10,000 heavy soldiers converted from chariot soldiers to escort food and supplies. Today is the day of the New Army's big performance. Fifty thousand soldiers will practice a thrilling offensive and defensive battle in this hidden and vast Grand Canyon.Che Ying, who was in full military uniform, had just stepped onto the central general's platform, and rode in front of the Pegasus platform, "Report! The monarch, Daliang Zao, and the princess have arrived! General Shanjia blocked the camp gate!" Che Ying suddenly stood up, "The commander of the three armies will follow me!" The mouth of the canyon village is the general post of the infantry commander Shanjia.When Qin Xiaogong and his party arrived on horseback, Shanjia shouted: "Who is coming? The military camp is important, and horses are not allowed!" The forward guard cavalry general shouted: "The monarch is here! Open the gate of the village!" "There is a big show in the military camp, no trespassing is allowed! Rong Mo will inform the chief general to make a decision!" The guard cavalry general yelled angrily: "What's the point? Open the gate of the village and welcome the king into the camp!" Shanjia said in high spirits: "The laws of the three armies are only obeyed by the orders of the generals. The last generals don't know that there is a king!" The guard knights all changed color and glared at each other.Qin Xiaogong smiled, "Don't be restless, don't be impatient, clean up and stand by." He dismounted with Wei Yang Yingyu and waited three feet away from the camp gate. In a short while, there was a lot of smoke and dust in the gate of the canyon village, and Che Ying led the generals of the three armies and three escorting military vehicles to come rumbling.Che Ying flew off her horse at the gate of the camp, and bowed deeply, "Chen Che Ying sees your majesty! Forgive me for being in armor, so I can't fully salute." Qin Xiaogong strode forward to support Che Ying, looked at it with emotion, "Che Ying, ah! I haven't seen you in a year, and you are so black and thin, and your beard has grown!" Che Ying said loudly, "Thank you, Your Majesty! See Daliang Zao! See Princess!" Wei Yang laughed and said, "Che Ying, Shi Don't wait for three days, you should look at it with admiration. Your Majesty is not looking at the appearance." Che Ying bowed her hands in awe, "Please, Your Majesty, Daliang Zao, and Princess, board the car and enter the camp!" The three of Qin Xiaogong boarded the military chariots respectively, Che Ying hurriedly gave a few words to the left army commander, then flew on the horse, led the generals to guard the three military chariots and rumbled into the barracks.When he came to the empty tent of the Chinese army, Qin Xiaogong was quite surprised. Che Yingjue reported: "Report to Your Majesty, there is a big show today, and all the military officials are dispatched. Your Majesty, please rest for a while, and the military ministers will be able to go after the show is over." Report!" Qin Xiaogong said with a smile to Wei Yang: "It's such a good thing, why should I stay here?" Wei Yang said: "General Che Ying, please invite your majesty to inspect the performance first." "Obey! Please, Your Majesty, Daliang make a replacement horse!" "Hey, General Che Ying, I want to take a look too." Yingyu blushed anxiously. Che Ying looked at Qin Xiaogong, but Qin Xiaogong looked into the distance and smiled, Wei Yang nodded, "Let the princess go." The military officials brought three war horses, Qin Xiaogong put the saddle in his hand, and turned on the horses briskly and skillfully.However, Wei Yang saw that Yingyu didn't move, and seemed to be undecided whether he should give her a hand or not.But Yingyu smiled at Wei Yang, grabbed the red dress with her left hand, put on the saddle with her right hand, and flew onto the horse's back like a ball of flame.Wei Yang nodded, and quickly got on his horse.The horse team flew towards the school field deep in the Grand Canyon. The new military academy field is very special. In terms of area, it is almost the entire wide and deep canyon, far beyond any capital city or ordinary military camp.As far as the terrain is concerned, it has rivers, ridges, hills, and even muddy ponds, which are far from being as flat as ordinary school grounds.The small river in the canyon divides the school grounds into two, and the platform is located on a high hillside in the east.Fifty thousand new troops have assembled in a square formation in the vast canyon and waited.Qin Xiaogong, Wei Yang, Yingyu Bing Cheying and other generals stepped onto the stage, and they were immediately moved by the mighty and majestic military appearance in front of them! From a bird's-eye view from a distance, the entire army is arranged in three large formations, left, middle and right, and each large formation has two square formations of cavalry.The six phalanxes were arranged in an orderly manner. The knights and war horses all wore black armor masks. The infantrymen's shields, knives and crossbow spears shone like a cold iron wall.The banners fluttered, the sword lights flickered, the fifty thousand troops were as quiet as a mountain, and all their dark faces were silent.Qin Xiaogong, who has been in battle for a long time, and Wei Yang, who is quite proficient in the art of war, can understand at a glance that just standing motionless in the mountain wind is definitely not something ordinary troops can do! Che Ying announced loudly: "Soldiers of the three armies, the monarch, Daliang Zao, and the princess are here to inspect the new army! All the soldiers of the army took off their helmets and saluted and cheered——!" When the voice fell, there was a neat and clear clang and vibrating sound in the canyon. All the knights and infantry uncovered their iron masks, suddenly showing a large number of bright faces, followed by cheers like mountains and seas, "Long live the monarch!" Long live Liangzao!" "Long live the princess—!" Qin Xiaogong and Wei Yang solemnly waved to the tsunami-like phalanx in the field.Yingyu was also excited, waving her red long sleeves, and paid tribute to the soldiers frequently.Wei Yang said to Che Ying in a low voice: "Let's perform first, and please give instructions after the end." Che Ying nodded, and when the cheers subsided, he gave an order loudly, "The generals of the three armies will return! The show begins—!" The generals on the platform responded in unison: "Obey!" They turned around and mounted their horses, galloped down the mountain, and each fell under the banners of the left, middle and right armies.Che Ying bowed her hands to Qin Xiaogong and said loudly: "Your Majesty, I want to return to the show, please forgive me for not being able to accompany you." Xiaogong nodded, but Che Ying turned back when he got on the horse, "Da Liang made, please pay attention to the black and white of the Chinese infantry. Battle flag." Then galloped away. The three flag officers on the highest mountain, each holding a big flag, stood solemnly. Seeing Che Ying return to the flag of the Chinese army commander, the middle flag officer immediately raised the black and red flag and threw it down. Thirty cowhide drums on the top of the mountain sounded in unison with the rhythm of "boom-boom-boom-".Advance when you hear the drum, and retreat when you hear the gold, this is the basic law of the cold weapon army.But when the drums and thunder sounded, the flags of the generals of the left and right armies waved, and the two phalanxes galloped to the north and south immediately. The cavalry went east of the river, and the infantry went west of the river. They disappeared into the Grand Canyon between cups of tea.The flags of the Chinese army that remained in place fluttered and flew crosswise. In a short while, they spread out and formed a large formation of cavalry on two wings and infantry in the center. On the high platform, Qin Xiaogong asked: "Da Liang Zao thinks, how will he perform?" "Probably the left and right armies attacked the central army." Wei Yang smiled. "The new army is really amazing. Isn't it?" Yingyu interjected excitedly. Wei Yang smiled faintly, "Don't worry, we have to read it before we talk about it." Duke Xiao sighed, "That's right, the battlefield is the best at distinguishing the true from the false, and no one can fool anyone." The big flag was flying on the top of the mountain, and thirty big drums roared shaking the sky and the earth—this was the first battle drum of the official attack.When Pu heard the sound of the drum, he saw dust rising from the canyons on the north and south sides, flags were flying, and cavalry from the two armies charged towards the center of the canyon with overwhelming momentum!The infantry in a phalanx suddenly appeared at the root of the mountain and attacked from the flank.The infantry and cavalry of the northern and southern armies attacked in two directions, and the central army was attacked from all sides. The total strength of the left and right armies was 30,000, while the central army only had 20,000, which was obviously at a disadvantage.At this time, seeing the banner of the Chinese army unfurling, the cavalry on both wings pressed down on the farther infantry phalanx of the two armies like a storm. The infantry phalanx of the Chinese army changed rapidly, and instantly became a large circular formation. There are 3,000 strong crossbow archers, and the inner formation is six layers deep. The infantry formation of the Chinese army is in the wilderness under Jiangtai Mountain, and it can be seen very clearly from the stage.The cavalry of the left and right armies numbered 16,000, and the infantry of the central army numbered 18,000.According to the tradition of cavalry combat in the Warring States period, cavalry can attack and defeat infantry three times their own.Qin Xiaogong was a cavalry general, so he couldn't help worrying about the infantry of the Chinese army. He said anxiously to Wei Yang: "It can last for half an hour!" !" But seeing the strong crossbows and arrows on the periphery of the Chinese army raining like rain, the armored knights in the fields on all sides "shot their arrows and fell off their horses" one after another.But the crossbowmen were not allowed to load the second round of long arrows, and the armored horses roared in all directions and were drawn into the infantry positions!In an instant, the strong crossbow archers immediately became an offensive and defensive unit with right sword and left shield, fighting with "Wu".The deep infantry fought fiercely with the cavalry in groups of two with one sword and one spear.As the general of the Chinese army, Che Ying did not lead the cavalry to charge, but sat in the center of the infantry position and personally directed the infantry battle.The goal of the cavalry of the left and right armies is to break through the center and capture the main general of the army to end the war.General military law of the Warring States Period, "In a war between the three armies, if the general dies, and more than 500 officials cannot kill the enemy, he will be beheaded! The general's left and right near soldiers in the formation will be beheaded! The rest of the soldiers who have military merit will win the first rank. Those who have no military merit will be killed. Three years of garrison..."That is to say, if the chief general is killed or captured, the entire army will be severely punished and humiliated: all officers who lead more than 500 soldiers will be beheaded, and all the guards around the chief general will be beheaded. punish!It can be seen that the danger of a general is the danger of the whole army. The death, injury or capture of a general is naturally the biggest defeat.However, as the chief general of the Chinese army, Che Ying sits in the most dangerous central position where the infantry fights against the cavalry, which can be described as the most severe test for the Chinese infantry! "Che Ying has courage, which greatly boosts morale." Qin Xiaogong praised. "It's quite clever to explore the battle of cavalry." Wei Yang nodded. "Look! The infantry is dead—" Yingyu shouted sharply. At this time, I saw that the infantry formation had been torn open five or six gaps by the cavalry, and rushed several times to the earthen square formation of the general of the Chinese army!Che Ying's commander's platform is surrounded by a round formation formed by a thousand-man team. The commander's flag is black and white with the word "mountain" written in the middle.Facing the turbulent armored knights, the "mountain" flag flew back and forth across the gaps like black lightning.A thin black figure kept roaring angrily, "Pierce people with spears! Slash horses with short knives!" "Two gaps changed to five! Quick!" Under his running command to remedy, the gaps were closed one by one. But at this moment, a group of cavalry broke through the outer depths, and a huge dust storm swept over, and they were about to break through the central general's platform in one fell swoop!At this time, I saw the "mountain" flag suddenly shaking in the wind in the dust storm and smoke, and a long howl like a wolf resounded through the valley.With the sound of howling wolves, the thousand-man team gathered in the gully about half a mile wide in front of the cavalry like a storm.There was a flash of light, and a strange wooden club suddenly appeared in the hands of each pawn!The pawns threw away their shields, with wooden sticks in their right hands and broadswords in their left hands, roaring and pounced on the cavalry, dividing and besieging the cavalry in twos and threes, and killing them together!Looking carefully, this wooden club is about three feet long, with a slender body and a big head, designed to hit the horse's head with an iron mask!The pawns stood in front of the horse, while their left sword blocked the knight's long sword, and at the same time, the wooden stick with their right hand pointed at the head of the horse that was just about to exert force and struck suddenly!The horse head visor does have a good defensive effect against ordinary swords.But he was extremely afraid of the big wooden club that was thrown at him violently.But hearing the sound of "Boom!", once the horse's head hit the iron armor, the horses all neighed and retreated.Even if the steed steed managed to dodge, the big wooden club on the other side jumped up and followed up, and immediately attacked violently from the other direction!This strange weapon and strange way of fighting made the cavalry hard to defend against. Repeatedly dodging, the horse knight's slashing combat power was naturally greatly weakened.The big-headed wooden clubs and the armored knights entangled repeatedly for two hours, but the cavalry of the left and right armies were unable to defeat the infantry formation of equal strength. The three of Qin Xiaogong were very excited to watch, but they heard the roar of the big gong on the top of the mountain, and they were performing a retreat. Che Ying was covered in mud and sweat, and the flying horse took the stage, and the three armies assembled in a moment.The military officials who counted the battlefield flew to report: "Report to the general: the casualties of the left and right armies are equal to that of the central army! The position of the central army has not been breached, and the left and right armies have not been defeated. The outcome is uncertain!" "Your Majesty, please make comments and instructions!" Che Ying was sweating through the iron armor, but still valiantly. "The soldiers are exhausted, let me read it later, what do you think of Daliang Zao?" Wei Yang cupped his hands and said: "After the comments are accepted, please give instructions to the three armies to boost morale." Qin Xiaogong shook his head and smiled, "Da Liang Zao is the general of the country, and he should give instructions to the soldiers. It won't be too late when I get to the tent." Che Ying turned around and faced the army of the canyon, "Please make it with Daliang, and give instructions to the three armies—!" Wei Yang didn't refuse anymore, Gao Guan took the sword and walked up to the earthen platform, his white cloak fluttering in the wind, "Soldiers of the new army, Qin has reformed for more than ten years, and you are the sharp soldiers of the new army born of the reform. After years of training, Soldiers of one heart, you have created an extraordinary new method of warfare, and you will surely become an elite division that will conquer the world and shame the country! The heart of the Central Plains and the Warring States will never die, and we have little time to win in the cracks. A big battle is imminent .Soldiers of the new army, your chance to make contributions is coming——!” The whole audience chanted: "Shame on the Snow Country! Make great achievements! Long live—!" Che Ying bowed deeply, "Your Majesty, Daliang Zao, Che Ying asked the princess to comfort the soldiers of the three armies." Qin Xiaogong laughed heartily, "Da Liang Zao, what do you think? The army is full of men." Wei Yang smiled and nodded at Yingyu, "Madam, a word from a beauty can reach thousands of troops." 莹玉脸上泛起激动的红潮，向卫鞅投去热烈的一瞥，缓缓走上高台，红色的斗篷就象一团火焰在燃烧。车英令旗挥下：“公主抚慰三军——！”大军屏息，峡谷中一片寂静，唯闻战旗猎猎之声。 面对这遍野翻卷的猎猎战旗，面对这黑色山岳般的万千骑士，莹玉激动了。她蓦然想起跟随景监出使中山东六国对秦国的种种蔑视，不禁热泪盈眶，“新军将士们，你们都是秦国的勇士，都是秦国父老的好男儿。秦国民众的土地、房屋、牛羊，你们的妻子儿女，你们从变法中得到的自由之身和宝贵土地，都要靠你们手中的刀矛剑盾来保护。你们是秦国真正的长城，是护法的铁军！你们要保住这个国家，保住你们的家园……你们的父母与妻子儿女想念你们，期盼你们杀敌立功，光耀门庭。你们的汗水、泪水、鲜血，将伴随你们的荣誉和爵位，永远铭刻在你们家族的牌坊之上！家人不能来看望你们，我要为你们唱一首秦地民谣，当作你们父母妻儿对你们立功报国的期盼之心。” 悠悠歌声如丝飘荡，那是每一个秦人都熟悉的美丽情歌，五万官兵的泪水顿时溢满了眼眶。 歌声落定，峡谷中刀剑齐举，骤然爆发出雷鸣般的吼声，“保卫家园！光耀门庭！”“为国效命！舍生忘死！”“公主万岁！” 卫鞅被莹玉深深感动了，不禁深情的看了她一眼，“夫人……” 骤然之间，莹玉肩膀一抖，大袖遮住了脸庞。 是夜，秦孝公与卫鞅在中军大帐听车英详细禀报了一年来的新军训练。孝公起自军旅，对新军战法和兵器改制逐一详加询问，竟是感慨不已。但他最感兴趣的还是两件兵器：一是对骑兵的阔身短剑改为窄身长剑，二就是那怪异威猛的大头硬木棰。 秦孝公本来是骑兵将领，又是秦军中的铁鹰剑士，自然知熟天下骑兵的用剑都是阔身短剑——剑身四寸宽二尺长，加上剑格护手，也就是二尺五六寸长短。如今秦军骑士的用剑变窄为不到三寸，长度却加长了八寸，连剑格在内竟是三尺有余。“我来试试。”孝公拿过一把骑士长剑掂了掂，竟是比自己的阔身长剑轻了许多！“好使么？”他笑了笑，似乎不太塌实。 “君上，帐外有木桩，可以试手。”车英看出孝公心思，立即提议。 “好，试试手。”孝公提着长剑走到中军大帐外，车英指着几根三四尺高的木桩道：“君上，这是我立的试剑桩，请君上一试。”孝公见那木桩高度与骑兵对步卒的高度相类，不禁赞叹车英的训练细致，便猜测这试剑桩肯定是为检验工师交来的剑器而立的。他站稳马步，长剑斜举过头，猛然向木桩挥下——只听“噗嚓！”一声大响，剑身陷入木桩半尺有余，却竟然没有劈开木桩！“噫！”的一声惊诧，秦孝公不禁疑惑沉默。他的佩剑也是长剑，只是宽了一寸，是阔身长剑。难道窄了一寸多，力道与锋利程度就如此大减？依他的剑术造诣，若使用自己的阔身长剑，一剑劈开这三尺木桩当不是难事。依照目下这剑的效果，骑士砍杀会有威力么？ “君上，这窄身长剑是我琢磨出来的，轻便趁手，只是须得训练劈杀手法。臣是让一千骑兵先行训练，确有威力，才配置全军的。君上且看，当是这样——”车英拔剑做了一个大斜劈的动作，一剑挥下，另一根三尺木桩已经“咔嚓”一声迎刃开为两半！“噢！”秦孝公不禁惊讶的笑了。车英也是少年成名的铁鹰剑士，论剑术自与孝公相当，然则一剑轻挥，竟能将三尺木桩从中间一劈到底，可见这窄身长剑确实威力不小！轻而锋锐，对于骑兵自然是大大的好事，同等体力之下，可挥舞劈杀的次数可能大大增加，这在战场上的作用可就难以想象了。 经过三个骑兵千夫长的演练，秦孝公已经看出了劈杀诀窍。他再次挥剑，竟是凌空一剑将粗大的三尺木桩劈开挑起，犹自觉得力道未尽，不禁哈哈大笑，“好！改得好！也给我配一把！”场边的将领们不禁高声喝彩起来。孝公意犹未尽，兴致勃勃道：“大良造，试试，好用得很哪！” 卫鞅本是名门名士，对剑术自然也是颇有造诣，然却是独身搏击的路数，讲究灵动点刺，与马战剑术的注重劈杀有许多不同。他上前拿起一支窄身长剑，试试觉得颇为趁手，一剑劈下，却只是将三尺木桩堪堪劈开了一半，剑身夹在木桩中却是不能动弹了，不禁摇头笑道：“看来呀，不能斩首立功了。”惹得众人大笑起来。 进得大帐，秦孝公振奋有加，又兴致勃勃的问到大头木棰的奥秘。 车英略有尴尬的笑了，“君上，这大头木棰，我也不知山甲何时搞的？他在山野与野兽多有搏斗，曾说过他将硬木削成的大头木棰随身隐藏，威力极大。没成想他的千人队竟然人人一支，我也惊讶，不知他什么时候赶造的？今日看来，却是威力不凡。方才，他还在帐外为私用兵器请罪呢。大良造，我让你注意的就是他，二十多岁，你应当认识他的。” “我？认识这个千夫长？”卫鞅惊讶。 “想想，栎阳南市，徙木立信。” “啊——？莫非他是哪个徙木少年？！” “对呀！没错！现下是新军最年轻的千夫长了。” 卫鞅感慨中来，“难得也难得，异数啊。一个药隶少年成了军中将领，那时侯谁敢想哪！” 孝公笑道：“大良造啊，你这变法可不知要多少人新生呢，感慨不完哪。” 突然，峡谷中马蹄声疾，车英习惯的霍然转身，正待发令，听得马蹄声已到帐外，卫士高声禀报：“大良造府长史景监到——！”三人不禁一惊。 景监匆匆走进一躬，“君上、大良造，斥候星夜急报，山东有变！” “噢？快讲。”秦孝公和卫鞅已经同时站起。 “一，楚国联络中原，图谋攻秦。二，三晋龌龊，魏国正在秘密准备吞灭赵国韩国。三，齐燕结盟，企图迫我秦国割地！” 秦孝公和卫鞅相互对视，半日沉默，突然，两人同声大笑起来。