In the morning, there were dark clouds everywhere, outside Huaiyin, and in the martial arts field, a large number of cavalry were marching, circled around a military formation.

Turn northeast, the cavalry snatched their horses, and then dismounted.

Some people held stair bows and shot arrows at the "straw soldiers" in the military formation to cover their companions' charges.

Some of the people who charged also held a stair bow but did not shoot arrows. They protected them with small balls of cards (round shields) tied to their left arm, and walked towards the straw soldiers.

He approached the outer edge of the army and shot the "straw soldiers" with heavy arrows, then moved away from the outer edge to resist the horse, with antlers, and rushed in.

At this time, the dismounted cavalry who were covering the archery dozens of steps away had already boarded their horses and rushed towards the army.

However, because it was an exercise, I did not really rush into the military formation along the "gap", but instead went around from left to right.

A complete set of cavalry dismounting combat tactics is completed like flowing clouds and water.

In the distance, Li Li looked at the pocket watch and was very satisfied with the tactical time control.

However, the princes who watched the tactical exercise felt inexplicable: the cavalry dismounted and fought with the infantry, isn’t this based on their own weaknesses and their strengths?

"It is sometimes very necessary for cavalry to dismount and fight, especially against the enemies who have been arranged in the upper array." Li Li explained to his sons, "When cavalry meets war, they do not have to ride horses."

It is difficult for people without practical experience to understand that it is only possible to analyze tactics by talking about theory.

After making arrangements, Li Li asked his sons to take a spear, not wearing armor or wearing a scepter, and followed him toward the scarecrow army.

"Now, our father and son are the people recruited by the government. They fought with the army and rushed to the front for reinforcements. The weapon was just a spear."

Li Li said while walking: "Walking in the wilderness, why? The enemy cavalry will appear at any time."

Crown Prince Li Fang looked around and saw that his father and son formed a small team, which was quite interesting.

Li Li looked at the cavalry that began to approach in the distance and said, "Suddenly, the enemy cavalry attacked, and hundreds of cavalry appeared in sight, coming in full force."

"What should we do if we are empty all around us?"

"Form a formation, forge a step formation" A prince answered, and Li Li nodded: "Then, hurry up! Run!"

He led his sons to run away and ran into the "step formation" composed of scarecrows, panting one by one.

And the cavalry had come over and circled around the outside.

Riding on horseback and shooting arrows.

Of course, this is an exercise, so the arrows shot are specially prepared thatched, and are specifically shot into the air, rather than shooting people.

Even so, the princes in the straw infantry formation were still a little scared when they looked at the "arrows" flying over their heads:

Even if it is the thatch, if the eyes are shot, it will be blind!!

"We are very scared because the enemy cavalry shot arrows around the formation, and the arrows flew everywhere, and we were not wearing armor or snails. As long as we were shot with one arrow, we would be disabled even if we were not killed."

Li Li said slowly, exaggerating the atmosphere. The princes watched the dust flying outside and the "flying arrows" flying around, and soon "get into the play".

There are many cavalrymen in circles, and the "arrows" they shoot are really like rain!

"Now, what should we do? The enemy cavalry kept firing arrows?" Li Li asked, and Li Fang replied: "Shoot with a step bow!"

Li Shi also echoed: "Yes, use a step bow to shoot, the range of the step bow can be much longer than the range of the ride bow used for riding and shooting!"

Several other princes also reacted and thought of this answer.

Li Li nodded: "Yes, we have step archers who can shoot against enemy cavalry. They ride on horseback and use ride bows, but the range is not as good as step archers."

The princes heard from their father that the effective killing range of step bows is about seventy steps, and the effective killing range of ride bows is much closer.

In actual combat, cavalry usually shoots arrows at about twenty steps, so if you just shoot at the same time, you can't shoot a archer without catching a archer.

Li Li continued to "narrate": "Now, our army has stabilized its position. Whether it is the war soldiers or the young and strong army, they are crowded together, and there are people everywhere."

"The armored warrior guarded the outer edge with a spear in his hand, and a archer shot arrows from outside. The enemy cavalry had no choice but to take advantage of it, so they could only circle around the periphery..."

He looked at his son and asked, "Are you still afraid at this time?"

"Don't be afraid!" The princes shook their heads. Indeed, even if they were in the straw army, as long as the cavalry could not come, they would not be so afraid.

Li Li asked again: "So, even if many of us are not armed, they do not know how to do martial arts, and they have never killed anyone, and their hearts are much more stable."

"Because there are obstacles on the periphery and armored soldiers, they confront the enemy cavalry with spears and archers, and they can't rush in, so we are not afraid."

After Li Li finished speaking, he blew the whistle. After a while, the cavalrymen dismounted, then lined up and began to charge towards the straw army on foot.

The princes watched the dismounted cavalry rushed towards them, blocking the front with a group of cards tied with their forearms, approaching them quickly, and they were a little furious.

"At this time!! The enemy dismounted and charged towards us on foot!" Li Li was still serving as the "narrator" and exaggerated the atmosphere.

"They are wearing heavy armor, so even if they get shot several arrows, it seems nothing is wrong!"

"The distance is getting closer and closer! They bend their bows and put arrows. What kind of arrows are arrows? A heavy arrow like a short spear! The arrow is like a spearhead!"

"Thirty steps, twenty steps, ten steps! These dismounted cavalrymen in heavy armor shoot arrows at us at a distance of about ten steps, and also shoot faces specifically!"

"Even if the arrow is in the air, even if he is carrying a pony, he will be shot through his head by arrows. He can't even shout out, and he will fall to the ground and die!"

"The cavalry who rushes out of the horse, abandons the bow, draws out the knife, axe, hammer, moves away the obstacles, rushed towards us directly, chops over the armored soldiers around, and kills in!"

"What should we do? We can't fight, we have never killed anyone, we... we don't have armor on our bodies, if we cut off our swords, we will break our hands and feet, and we will die!"

Li Li's exaggeration, coupled with the dismounted cavalry that was exercising, he rushed in with great angrily, which made the princes who had never fought a war more and more "enter the show", and his hair stood up in fear.

I just felt my legs were weak and my throat was very dry.

With a "bang", Li Li slapped the princes and brought the princes' thoughts back to reality.

"Do you understand?" Li Li asked, and several young princes looked at him in confusion.

"I understand!" Li Fang replied. He really understood and expressed his opinion:

"If the target is an infantryman who has completed formation, our cavalry can't rush head-on. Next, just shooting around the outside is actually the only way to attack the other's strengths based on one's own weaknesses."

"It is a waste of time to shoot with a short range riding bow and a long range step bow."

"If the opponent has a large number of soldiers who are not armed, you can dismount and shoot with a stair bow, which can greatly reduce the opponent's morale."

"At the same time, relying on the advantage of heavy armor, we launched a hiking charge in the rain of arrows. First, we shot the heavy arrows in close shot, and then fought with bloody battles. After breaking through the armored soldiers outside the army, we broke into the formation."

"In the formation, those soldiers who were not armed, even the young and strong, did not have the courage to fight with heavy armored soldiers who were caught in several arrows but still fought bravely."

"As long as you break into a corner of the step formation, you can defeat the morale of the other party. Those who flee will directly lead to a major defeat in the formation and a scattered formation."

"At this time, the other cavalry will start another pursuit and the enemy will be finished."

After Li Fang said this, the other princes understood.

Li Li added: "When fighting, the weak soldiers still have the courage to maintain the formation when both sides shoot at each other, but once a hand-to-hand combat breaks out, the weak soldiers collapse for a moment."

"Not all soldiers can have armor and horns, so most of the soldiers in many armies are armorless soldiers. They actually don't have much courage when facing arrow rain and armored soldiers rushing in front of them with strong and sharp sterns."

"So, using the cavalry dismount assault tactics is effective."

This is not Li Li fooled his son. In actual combat, it is common for cavalry to dismount and fight. If you blindly emphasize that cavalry must fight on horseback, then there is a problem with your brain.

Of course, the premise is that the cavalry must be armed and dismounted, they will become heavy infantry directly.

Li Shi suddenly said: "No wonder all the officials in all dynasties have to ban armor. Those who have privately kept armor are considered as rebellion."

Li Li smiled: "Yes, a big man in armor, facing an ordinary person with no martial arts skills, it is not a problem to beat ten people at one time."

"On the battlefield, there are about ten armored soldiers who can chase and chop up a group of armorless soldiers, like wolves entering a flock of sheep..."

"So, the government must increase the armored rate..."

In the distance, Duan Shao and several military officers looked at a group of new horse armor that was immediately worn by war horses.

If the Chu cavalry was wearing horse armor, they were usually half equipped and only had frontal protection.

That is, wear face curtains (face armor), chicken neck (neck armor), chest (breast armor), body armor and body armor will be avoided.

In this way, at least half of the weight can be reduced, so that the horse's physical strength can last longer, and run faster.

In addition to the integrated surface curtain, horse armor is either a traditional form of armor, a ring lock armor, or an improved cloth armor.

Now, the new horse armor, all the main parts, like the face curtains, are all full of iron sheets.

Even if you have to wear armor and wear, there are still several large pieces of armor made of iron.

A war horse in the armored whole set of new horse armor looks like an iron horse.

As for the cavalry...

Duan Shao looked at the cavalry wearing strange armor and didn't know how to describe his mood at this moment.

Due to the improvement of smelting technology, large pieces of uniformly cooked iron plates (iron sheets) can be made in large quantities at low cost (relatively speaking).

Then, use this to make a new type of armor.

This kind of armor is completely different from armor and cloth-surface armor. It uses a whole piece of iron to make body armor, shoulder armor, arm armor, leg armor, and tibia respectively.

When a person wears this kind of armor, he looks like an iron man: his torso and limbs are covered with iron.

But it is a bit funny, because the body armor is made of two pieces in front and back. When combined, it looks like a turtle shell or an egg shell.

So when people wear this kind of armor, they will have a round and big belly, like a fat man with a big belly.

If you want to bend over, you cannot bend over normally, and you must straighten your waist and "pull" it down, which is somewhat inconvenient.
To be continued...