Chapter 675: Niuwei's Ambition (Please vote and subscribe)

Never point your back to the enemy!

This seems to be a motto for all kinds of warriors, but it is an exception for cavalry. This may not be quite accurate. It should be the cavalry who can shoot on horseback.

Baoyin's horseback archery technique is very standard. Although he stands on the ground and has no horse under his crotch, he uses the most authentic nomadic archery method.

Nomadic archers have a characteristic. Because they ride on horses, they are best at side shooting and backward shooting. The reason for this is mainly because of the influence of the horse's head in front.

The tactic usually used by archers is to cruise around the enemy and then shoot sideways at the surrounded enemy. If they encounter a pursuit battle, in the absence of stirrups, the person being chased will have an advantage, because every herdsman can master the technique of shooting backwards and can attack the enemy who is following them without any scruples.

However, the pursuers behind could not stand up on the galloping horses because they had no stirrups, so they could only shoot arrows from the side and rear, or directly chase the parallel flanks of the front enemy, so that they would have a chance to fight back.

Another point is that the combat distance of horse archery is usually not too far. Both sides will basically only shoot arrows when they are within 50 meters. The reason for this is that the bows are not good, and the arrows are not so powerful, so they can only shoot when they are close. The second reason is that the targets are moving at high speed, which is not easy to aim. If you shoot arrows when the distance is too far, you have to predict the shooting and take the lead time into account when shooting arrows. However, at this time, the target is also moving at high speed. Experienced people can quickly adjust the direction and speed after you shoot the arrow. Therefore, in the case of horse archery, shooting arrows at a distance too far is meaningless, and it is easy for the opponent to dodge, which will only waste your precious arrows.

"What do you think of this batch of bows and arrows?" Luo Chong asked Baoyin, who had just put away the bow.

Baoyin pondered for a moment and said, "Chief, this bow is very good. Although I haven't tried it on horseback, it feels very good, the weight is suitable, and the length is also suitable, just like it was specially made for cavalry. The elasticity of the bow is also very strong. I think it can shoot farther than the herdsmen's bows. I still have some opinions.

These arrows are too heavy, which will reduce the speed of the arrows. If they are replaced with light arrows, I think they may be more useful in horseback archery. After all, both sides are moving quickly during horseback archery, and the side with faster arrow speed has a more obvious advantage.

Of course, what I said may not be right, because we are all used to hollow bamboo pole arrows. This kind of solid wood arrow is also my first time to contact, so I may not be used to it." Baoyin quickly gave his opinion.

He had a high opinion of these recurve bows, but he was not very satisfied with the arrows. However, in the end, he might be afraid of making Luo Chong unhappy, and attributed the problem of arrows to his own usage habits. As for what will be decided in the end, that is Luo Chong's business, and he is just making suggestions.

Luo Chong pondered for a while. There was definitely no problem with the bow. The problem was the choice of arrows. Luo Chong didn't know much about arrows, but he was very familiar with long-range shooting weapons.

There is a law in thermal weapons, that is, when the speed is equal, the greater the mass of the bullet, the greater the kinetic energy transmitted, which is often said to be the larger the caliber, the greater the power.

Although bows and arrows are not thermal weapons, they are also a kind of long-range weapons, and this theory can actually be applied. Heavy arrows are equivalent to large-caliber ammunition and are very powerful. In the era of cold weapon warfare, heavy arrows are most suitable for breaking armor, but light arrows, which are equivalent to small-caliber ammunition, also have their own characteristics, that is, fast firing speed, less resistance, strong penetration, but not very powerful.

Still according to Luo Chong's theory, weapons of equal quality are not good or bad in terms of type, only the problem of suitability, so choosing the right weapon for your goal is the wisest choice.

The imaginary enemies of the Han tribe are mainly the natives of the grassland. Even the enemies of other tribes are mainly unarmored targets. The enemies are equipped with low-profile leather armor at most. Therefore, the Han tribe does not have high requirements for armor penetration. As long as the arrows are equipped with metal arrowheads, it is a piece of cake to break the leather armor. In this way, it is really useless for the Han tribe to equip heavy arrows.

Then it is better to focus on light arrows, Luo Chong thought.

"Well, I know what you said. I will ask people to prepare light arrows. Take this batch of arrows as well. Just treat it as a reserve for city defense."

Luo Chong nodded and agreed, which made Baoyin very happy, indicating that the leader still valued him.

After testing the bows and arrows, the two began to check other supplies and equipment. A small number of horse lances plus a large number of new sabers, as well as assault knives for heavy cavalry, the luxury of the Han tribe's equipment once again refreshed Baoyin's cognition, but when he thought that he was about to join such an army and become one of its senior officers, he seemed very excited.

The supplies were quickly counted and then loaded. Because there were too many, it would take a day to load. Baoyin would set off the next day, accompanied by Niuwei, the envoy sent by the Xin tribe.

Although they were on the same road, their itineraries were somewhat different.

The supplies would be transported to Liuyang County by a convoy, and then loaded onto a ship. Then Baoyin and Niuwei would board the ship. They would first go to Kaiyuan County on the lakeside of the grassland by water. It was Baoyin's final destination, but it was Niuwei's transit station. He decided to go and see it, and Luo Chong also decided to let him see it.

Niuwei would stay in Kaiyuan County for a few days to see the new base of the Han tribe on the grassland, and also let him see the influence and strength of the Han tribe on the grassland, and then tell their commander-in-chief when he returned.

This was a deterrent from Luo Chong to the Xin tribe, and also a declaration of sovereignty. The grassland would be ours in the future, at least on the surface. Even if the Xin tribe wanted to come to the grassland to trade in the future, it would have to go through the Han tribe, otherwise it would not be allowed.

Niu Wei also knew what Luo Chong meant. Niu Wei knew more about the relationship between the Han and Xin tribes, as well as the real strength of the Han tribe, than their commander-in-chief. Niu Wei actually had a better idea of ​​how the two tribes would get along in the future.

He would stay in Kaiyuan County for about a week, and then take a boat to Zhudao by sea, instead of the dark bridge in the northwest of Zhudao. He had walked on the dark bridge for at least ten years, and there was nothing rare about it. If he didn't catch up with the time, he would have to wait on the shore for a while in vain. It would be better to take the sea route to see how the Han tribe went to Zhudao from the sea.

Luo Chong agreed. This was also to show the strength of the Han tribe to the Xin tribe, and clearly tell them that there was a waterway leading to Zhudao. As the actual developer and controller of this waterway, how many ships did the Han tribe have and how great was the one-time delivery capacity of the Han tribe.

Of course, whether it was to deliver troops or technology and materials, it would depend on the relationship between the Han and Xin tribes in the future.

Showing strength and muscle, many senior officials have seen the purpose of this action, but they are not sure who they are showing it to.

Most people think that the target is the Xin tribe, but in Luo Chong's eyes, there may be only one person, that person is Niu Wei.

Although Luo Chong has not dealt with Niu Wei much, through the Jinwu Guard spies planted beside him, Luo Chong is very familiar with Niu Wei's every move every day.

Niu Wei is a smart man, and he is also a capable and courageous man. Judging from the series of arrangements he made on the grassland that year, and his courage to lead people to the Han tribe without the permission and notification of the Han tribe, as well as his series of performances after arriving at the Han tribe, Niu Wei is not a simple person.

According to Luo Chong's evaluation, Niu Wei is more than qualified to be a county governor. He is even more suitable to lead the Xin tribe than Xin Commander. If he were Xin Commander, the current Xin tribe would never be like this. It would definitely be stronger now, and even bring a lot of trouble to the Han tribe. Unfortunately, he is not, and Xin Commander will not give up his position to him.

So in this case, what will Niu Wei choose after knowing the strength of the Han tribe?

When he has a deep understanding of the Han tribe, and then returns to the Xin tribe he is familiar with, what choice will he make after comparing the two?

Is it to secretly surrender to the Han tribe and accelerate the demise of the Xin tribe, or to stand firmly on the side of the Xin tribe, be loyal to their great commander, and find opportunities to develop rapidly at the stage of cooperation between the two tribes, and then turn against the Han tribe?

To be honest, Luo Chong does not know the answer, but he dares to do it. He dares to let Niu Wei, who has lived in the Han tribe for more than a year, go back. He dares to let Niu Wei, who has mastered the actual situation of the Han tribe, go back. This is Luo Chong's attitude towards Niu Wei.

Luo Chong was betting on Niu Wei's ambition. If Niu Wei had no ambition, he would follow the general trend and do nothing, allowing it to develop under Luo Chong's deduction. But Niu Wei was not that kind of person. Luo Chong believed in his own vision.

If Niu Wei had some ambition, he would join the Han tribe and become an undercover in the Xin tribe, becoming a promoter to help Luo Chong implement his plan.

There was no doubt about this, because Luo Chong knew very well that for Niu Wei, the so-called loyalty to the Xin tribe was nothing but a joke. There were two choices before him. The first was to continue to be the elder of his Xin tribe, and the second was to join the Han tribe and become a senior official of the Han tribe. It was also working under someone else. Which of these two choices was more promising? Anyone with a little bit of brains and ambitions knew how to choose.

It happened that Niu Wei was a man with both brains and ambitions, and Luo Chong had strong self-confidence, because he had a strong Han tribe in his hands, and a brighter future, so he let Niu Wei choose with confidence.

In the last case, when Niu Wei has brains, ambitions, and courage, he will come to Luo Chong for more benefits on the condition of joining the Han tribe.

If his ambition is not limited to a high-ranking official of the Han tribe, then he is likely to expect the leader of the Xin tribe under Luo Chong.

It may be a bit awkward to say this, but this is the fact, to become the actual controller of Zhudao under the jurisdiction of the Han tribe with independent power.

This is probably Niu Wei's biggest ambition.

However, if Niu Wei makes such a request, Luo Chong will never agree to it.

Of course, according to Luo Chong's personality, he will definitely pretend to agree to Niu Wei first, get his support, and then kill him after Zhudao is completely pacified.

Luo Chong has always been a person who does whatever it takes to achieve his goals, and he doesn't mind doing this at all.

In fact, Luo Chong's judgment is also correct. Niu Wei is indeed a person who has both brains, courage, and ambition.

But Niu Wei, who was a person at that time, knew better than Luo Chong that he had no so-called choice at all.

He could only surrender to the Han tribe, there was no other possibility. The only choice for him was whether the reward after the success would be a high official or something else.

Because he had long seen through the intentions of the Han tribe, the Xin tribe would eventually be destroyed, and Zhudao would sooner or later become the territory of the Han tribe. Continuing to be loyal to the Xin leader would only lead to death. He was very sure and certain of his judgment.

The reason was also very simple. It was easy to figure this out by thinking from another's perspective.

If he were the leader of the Han tribe, with such a powerful force in his hands, and found a Xin tribe that was comparable to his own size but very backward, then he would definitely have the idea of ​​​​the Xin tribe and try to conquer it by various means.

That's right, Niu Wei's ambition and courage were so great that he dared to assume that he was the leader of the Han tribe, even if it was just an illusory dream, and no one else had the courage to do it, but he dared and did it.

Niu Wei's idea was very simple. If he was the leader of the Han tribe, he would encounter a tribe like the Xin tribe, and he had the ability to conquer it, so why not choose not to?

In addition to his own observations and judgments, Luo Chong was originally a very strong person, which can be seen from his past with the Xin tribe. The Han tribe has never chosen to compromise or give in in their contacts with the Xin tribe. If they don't obey, they will fight. This is Luo Chong's character.

And from the information he has collected in the past year, from the Han tribe sending a delegation to Zhudao and using diplomatic means to let the delegation stay on Zhudao, he knew that Luo Chong was planning to attack the Xin tribe again.

But he didn't expect Luo Chong to act so quickly, nor did he expect Luo Chong to be so decisive. He actually planned everything before the delegation set off. In his guess, Luo Chong took great pains to let the delegation stay on Zhudao, which should be to let the delegation understand the situation on Zhudao, collect all useful information, and prepare for his next decision.

The behavior of the Han tribe sending a delegation should still be in the early preparation stage of the conquest plan.

This is Niu Wei's judgment.

But when the Han tribe began to vigorously develop shipbuilding and sent an exploration fleet to open up the sea route to Takeshima, Niu Wei knew that the conquest plan had been launched. He didn't know the specific plan yet, but he asked to go back by sea this time because he wanted to observe with his own eyes how far the plan had progressed, including the situation of the Han tribe delegation on Takeshima and what useful intelligence they had collected.

And what choices he would make in the future would all depend on this observation.

(End of this chapter)