Chapter Forty-Four: Plans to Enhance Strength

At present, what Xu Kang desired most urgently was to strengthen his army’s might.

Though he had defeated Peng Tuo’s Yellow Turban forces before, even achieving the legendary feat of “a thousand breaking a hundred thousand,” in truth, most of the Yellow Turbans had not fallen to the Han troops under his command, but rather perished in the ensuing chaos after their camp was breached. Some had been accidentally killed by their own, some were consumed by flames, but the majority were trampled to death in the confusion. The number slain directly by Xu Kang’s soldiers accounted for only a small fraction.

It could be said that the previous victory was owed to strategy and luck in equal measure. Such a triumph, however, would be difficult to replicate, for even if Peng Tuo were foolish, he would not stumble twice at the same spot. If he did, he would never have risen to be a leader of the Yellow Turbans.

Thus, to secure victory in the battles to come, Xu Kang could not rely solely on cunning and fortune. The improvement of his own strength had become urgent.

And to enhance that strength, only two words first surfaced in Xu Kang’s mind: cavalry!

It must be understood that prior to the advent of disciplined professional pikemen, cavalry had always been the most formidable force on ancient battlefields. Especially when facing ordinary infantry, cavalry could wield overwhelming power—if used properly, one could easily defeat ten!

Yet, to achieve such combat power was no easy feat. In ancient times, warhorses were not only military assets but also luxury goods among military supplies.

Warhorses were different from the plodding nags used to pull plows and carts. To train them for obedience and battlefield readiness, they had to be gelded and undergo strict conditioning before being deployed to war.

These two steps alone would eliminate the majority of horses.

This explains why, in the Eastern Han, an ordinary plow horse cost only eight thousand, while a warhorse started at twenty thousand, and the finest steeds fetched prices as high as two hundred thousand.

Despite their value, once on the battlefield, warhorses, being large and conspicuous, often became prime targets for the enemy, suffering heavy casualties.

Even those lucky enough to survive the fighting frequently developed severe hoof wear or cracked hooves from carrying riders long distances.

Either affliction spelled the end of a horse’s military career.

Warhorses, then, were not just luxuries but consumables; without significant wealth and resources, it was impossible to maintain a force of cavalry.

Nevertheless, even with such costs, rulers throughout the ages never abandoned cavalry, for its power was simply too great.

Especially heavy cavalry—true bulldozers of the cold steel era!

Take, for instance, the famed armored cavalry under Li Shimin in the early Tang dynasty, whose exploits stand as monuments in the history of mounted warfare.

Against Wang Shichong, Li Shimin’s thousand armored cavalrymen routed the enemy and slew six thousand; against Dou Jiande, three thousand five hundred heavy cavalry broke an army of a hundred thousand, sending them fleeing in terror.

Such achievements boggle the mind.

Xu Kang, too, longed for such a cavalry force, a foundation on which to stake his claim and his life. For this, he did not hesitate to relinquish the credit for his great victory to Zhang Miao, the Prefect of Chenliu.

Unfortunately, Zhang Miao was a sly fox. Though Xu Kang borrowed three thousand cavalry, he received only thirty thousand catties of iron—clearly not enough to equip all those horsemen as heavy cavalry.

So he had to settle for a lesser goal: first forging horseshoes to protect the hooves of his steeds and prolong their service lives as much as possible. The remaining iron would all be used to forge firearms for his infantry.

At this moment, what he was drafting was none other than the Tiger Squat Cannon, the famous weapon of the Qi Family Army in the Ming Dynasty, used against the Japanese pirates.

Though the Yellow Turbans were not pirates, they shared a crucial trait: sheer numbers.

In the age of cold weapons, numbers were a decisive advantage, for no matter how brave a soldier, one cannot defeat a hundred men alone.

But the Tiger Squat Cannon could!

This primitive, light, front-loading cannon had a maximum range of only five hundred meters and an effective range of just two hundred fifty, but it was capable of firing, in one blast, a two-pound stone ball and a hundred half-ounce pebbles.

It was like an oversized shotgun, inflicting massive damage on enemies at close range!

Most importantly, when fired, the Tiger Squat Cannon produced a deafening roar, like thunder, sowing terror in the enemy’s heart.

Because of these qualities, the Qi Family Army frequently used it to bombard the dense formations of Japanese pirates, effectively curbing their frenzied assaults.

Now, Xu Kang intended to use these very features against the Yellow Turbans.

“When the time comes to fight the Yellow Turbans, I’ll blast them with artillery first, then send in the cavalry to finish them off—ha!” The thought made him burst into laughter, and the speed at which he drew up his blueprints increased markedly.

When he finished the drawings, the blacksmiths who had gone out to shoe the horses returned, accompanied by Zhao Hong and Zhang Cheng.

As soon as they entered, the two men gazed at Xu Kang with eyes full of admiration and saluted him with clasped fists.

“My lord, you are truly a man of genius!”

Hearing this, Xu Kang didn’t need to ask to know it was about the horseshoes, so he laughed.

“Ha ha ha, you two really don’t know how to flatter—always the same line, and if you’re not bored of it, I am. Fine, stand aside for now, I’ll have an important task for you shortly!”

“Yes, sir!” Zhao Hong and Zhang Cheng answered at once, looking delighted as they moved to the side.

Once they were out of the way, Xu Kang beckoned the blacksmiths over, spread his finished Tiger Squat Cannon blueprint before them, and gave his orders.

“From now on, horseshoes will be the responsibility of your apprentices. You few are to focus on forging this. The dimensions, thickness, and weight are all marked on the drawing—just follow them exactly. Understood? If so, get to work!”

“Yes, my lord!” The blacksmiths, all selected from the Han troops, immediately saluted and left the tent.

After they had gone, Xu Kang turned his attention back to Zhao Hong and Zhang Cheng, adopting a grave expression as he addressed them.

“Zhao Hong, Zhang Cheng, you two are to purchase saltpeter and sulfur for me. Buy as much as there is in the city. This matter concerns life and death in our struggle with the Yellow Turban bandits—you must be diligent and make no mistakes!”

“Yes, sir!” The two replied solemnly, “We will not let you down!”