Yang Cong originally thought that these elite border troops would find it difficult to defeat the Northern Yuan cavalry with the simple weapons in their hands, but he never thought that Zhang Da had won several more battles.

He couldn't help but curiously, "Oh, you can defeat the Tartar cavalry with these weapons?"

Zhang Da said with a slight pride: "Of course, these weapons are specially designed to restrain the Tatar cavalry. The long-range first shoots with a long bow to disrupt their formation, and then slows down their rush with giant shields and spears. As long as the troops are sufficient, the Tatar cavalry will not be able to take advantage of it."

Enough troops?

Yang Cong couldn't help asking: "General Zhang, how many troops are considered sufficient? Don't you use other weapons?"

Zhang Da said embarrassedly: "This is more than twice the number of Tartar cavalry. Unfortunately, after those wars, the Tartars did not dare to divide their troops. They rushed over 50,000 or even 100,000 cavalry at every turn. It is too difficult for us to defeat them. As for other weapons, they are either rusted or blunt, and are not as easy as wooden long spears and short blades. We basically have to turn them back into the heads and arrows."

There is also such a thing, Yang Cong said curiously: "Where is the musket? Is it not easy to use?"

Zhang Da said inexplicably: "The musket is of course very useful. The problem is that only the Shenji Camp in the capital is now available. Our border army has not been equipped for a long time."

Yang Cong nodded and then asked again: "What if you are equipped with muskets, do you think it's good?"

Zhang Da shook his head and smiled bitterly: "It's okay not to say this, but it's actually useless to pair it with dozens or even hundreds of muskets, because the Tartar cavalry rushed too fast, and at most one round of muskets, the Tartar cavalry rushed up. Without more than a thousand, it wouldn't have much effect at all. How could the court give us so many muskets? So, instead of expecting the imperial court to match muskets, it's better to find a way to match more longbows by yourself. By the way, Lord Yang, what method are you going to use to deal with the Tartars?"

Now it was Yang Cong's turn to be embarrassed. What they just said was that the court could not have given them so many muskets. He wanted to talk about muskets again. This was a bit like doing it without knowing it was impossible.

However, after everyone has said so much, it is a bit unreasonable for him to be hesitant. He can only repeat what he said in the current affairs plan in detail.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Da's face showed a strange look.

This top scholar is really a bit of a naive argument. If the court can give so many muskets and cannons, what else can I say? The Tartars will definitely not be able to fight them!

However, he was not good at discouraging Yang Cong's face. He pretended to think carefully for a while, and then said tactfully: "Mr. Yang, your tactics of chariots, plus muskets and artillery are indeed good. We had thought of ranking grain chariots in front to resist the impact of the Tartar cavalry. However, we didn't have many grain chariots in the beginning, and there was no effect in blocking the front, and the chariots and horses were not so easy to prepare. For example, according to the standard configuration provided by the Ministry of War, it should be three steps and seven horses, which means we should have three thousand cavalry, but now we don't even have a thousand war horses."

It's impossible!

Yang Cong said in surprise: "Don't the subordinates of Shanxi Metropolitan Department have three herdsmen's offices? One herds office has more than one thousand garrisons and guards specialize in raising horses. Will the three herds offices not be able to gather 3,000 war horses?"

Zhang Da couldn't help but laugh and said, "Hehe, the three herdsmen, I don't know how many war horses they have raised. Anyway, we have never seen a single one."

ah!

Yang Cong said in a daze: "Then how did you come from these hundreds of war horses?"

Zhang Da smiled bitterly and said, "The hundreds of war horses we have either equipped a long time ago, raised by generations, or snatched from the Tatars in previous wars. We have never seen the war horses in the herds' center. I heard that they were all used by those officials to make money, so how could they be given to us for free?"

There was also such a thing. Yang Cong couldn't help but think of the tattered uniforms of the border soldiers on the city wall. He couldn't help but ask: "Except for the grain, the salt merchants are responsible for sending you other supplies, weapons, and equipment?"

Zhang Da sneered: "Whoever is the most responsible, I have been begging for many times. Not to mention war horses, I can't even ask for a few sets of chain mail. According to the official text, the elite army's armor rate is about 20%. In fact, we are less than 10%. Moreover, we are wearing old armor for countless years, and we have not changed it in many years."

Who is the biggest official and who is responsible?

Taiyuan Town is under the jurisdiction of Shanxi Metropolitan Division, which means that Taiyuan Town is under the jurisdiction of Shanxi Three Laws. So, who is the largest official in Shanxi?

Needless to ask, Shanxi Governor Chen Da, he is the representative of the Censorate to supervise Shanxi's civil affairs and military affairs. Shanxi Chengxuan Political Envoy Department, Shanxi Examination Censorate Department, and Shanxi Dushi's Dushi are under his jurisdiction.

This guy Chen Da seems to ignore the life and death of the border army!

Yang Cong not only came to inspect why the border troops could not defeat the Tatar cavalry, but also wanted to find some trouble for Chen Da. However, at the beginning, Zhang Da talked about how to deal with the Tatar cavalry, and all his energy was concentrated on this matter and forgot about Chen Da.

Zhang Da immediately reacted to what he said.

OK, Chen Da, you are a good governor!

He carefully tentatively said: "Are you talking about Governor Chen Da and Chen?"

Zhang Da was also a bad temper. Since he said it, he had no scruples anymore. He snorted coldly: "This governor is living a comfortable life. He doesn't have to worry about anything. Just make money. I don't know how many times I have begged him, and what he wants is nothing. He thought I had never been in the border town. What if he wasn't like him at the time. Although there were not many war horses, he could barely do it. He could also send out some new weapons and equipment from time to time. He was fine, nothing!"

When Yang Cong heard this, he also sneered in his heart. He then tentatively said: "Mr. Chen can't ignore anything, right?"

Zhang Da also took the initiative. He couldn't help but sarcastically and said, "Mr. Chen doesn't care about anything. In the 13th year of Jiajing, when the Tartars attacked Xuanfu, Zhao Tong, the general of Xuanfu, sent 800 miles to ask for help from us. I was originally planning to force the army to rescue him. After all, the Tartars only had 30,000 to 40,000 troops that time. If the border troops of Xuanfu, Datong and Taiyuan were assembled, they would not be able to fight them. However, not only did Lord Chen not mobilize his troops to rescue him, but also ordered me not to attack, so as not to lose Taiyuan Town! As a result, Zhao Tong, the general of Xuanfu Town, was killed in battle, and Xuanfu Town was also robbed by the Tartars. Humph, when he was in Shaanxi, the governor wanted to be like him, Ganzhou Town, Ningxia Town, and Guyuan Town were not completely finished! Unfortunately, General Zhao Tong and Zhao died in vain, but I couldn't do anything here. It's a pity!"

Damn, Chen Da is too a bastard. Not only does he care about the life or death of the border army, he also does not allow the border army in Taiyuan Town to assist Xuanfu Town!

Yang Cong continued to tentatively: "General Zhang, did you not report this to the court?"

Zhang Da shook his head helplessly and said, "Oh, Lord Yang, you don't know that once the border is defeated, the responsibility is all for us border generals. Those who are governors always have a way to excuse me. If I report the memorial, it will cause trouble!"

There is also such a thing. It seems that Zhang Da is very resentful. Maybe he can join forces with him to give Chen Da some strong medicine.
Chapter completed!