Chapter 863 Men are like tigers, horses are like dragons!
The wind grew even fiercer, and the roars of dragons and tigers echoed through the air.
Feeling the ground beneath her feet tremble so violently that even small stones began to bounce and tumble, Shang Ruyi opened her eyes wide and watched as the dark cloud in front of her drew closer and closer, finally stopping when it was about an arrow's distance away from them. All that could be heard was the neighing of a strong horse, which echoed across the plains!
That was a troop of cavalrymen dressed in dark black armor!
Upon closer inspection, these soldiers were tall and strong, wearing heavy black armor, and each one rode on horseback like an iron tower; and the horses were obviously carefully selected steeds, plump and strong, with a roar like a dragon, and the horses were also covered with iron armor, which blended with the soldiers on the back of the horses, and they looked indestructible and invincible!
After the group stopped, they were completely still, not a single person moved, not even the horses took another step forward. It was clear that they were a well-trained team. However, even though they were motionless, an almost tangible aura of menace seemed to emanate from them, constantly rushing towards them with the wind!
People are like tigers, horses are like dragons!
Just then, Yuanzi, who was behind Shang Ruyi, widened her eyes and suddenly burst into tears.
Upon hearing the child's cries, Shang Ruyi snapped out of her shock and hurriedly turned around to look. The child was pouting, tears streaming down his face, his cheeks flushed with grievance. Tu She'er quickly turned the baby around, keeping his back to the line of people in front of him, to prevent the biting wind from blowing on the child's face.
Yuwen Ye glanced at the child and said with a faint smile, "He's still young."
Indeed, taking such a young child out to listen to the noise around him is already quite a challenge. And facing such a menacing group, let alone such a young child, even an adult would be frightened.
Shang Ruyi felt both heartache and excitement, so she asked Tu She'er to take the child back a few steps. With She'er's soft words of comfort, Yuanzi's crying subsided in no time.
Looking back at the line ahead, a familiar feeling welled up inside me.
Shang Ruyi recalled that when she had just married Yuwen Ye and followed the Yuwen family from Taiyuan back to Luoyang, she had encountered Wang Shao, the Right Guard General at the time, and his Black Armor Army blocking the road. Their fierce aura was extremely similar.
But it also seems a little different.
Such disciplined training seemed to be beyond what Wang Shaoji's previous troops could achieve, and the armor of this team also seemed to be different from theirs, somewhat resembling the heavy cavalry led by Ashina Zhuxie that they had seen on the grasslands before.
As Shang Ruyi was watching, Yuwen Ye waved to the group, and then the cavalryman at the front of the group dismounted and walked towards them.
That was Mu Xian.
He didn't walk fast, not because he was being lazy, but because he was wearing heavy armor, which made it difficult for him to move. It wasn't until he got closer that Shang Ruyi saw the black armor he was wearing, which turned out to be a full suit of iron armor!
Mu Xian stepped forward, about to bow and kowtow to them, but Yuwen Ye raised his hand and said, "You are wearing armor, no need for the ceremony."
Mu Xian then cupped his hands and said, "Greetings, Your Highness Prince Qin, Your Highness the Princess, and Your Highness the Young Prince."
Shang Ruyi looked Mu Xian up and down, then smiled and said, "Mu Xian, you look so impressive!"
Mu Xian smiled so hard his eyes narrowed, but immediately said, "Your Highness is teasing me."
Shang Ruyi hurriedly said, "What kind of mockery is this? I've come here today to see your might. Quickly, bring your horse here so I can see it!"
Mu Xian waved to someone behind him, and someone led his horse over. Shang Ruyi walked around the horse, which was nearly twice her height, snorting, and as strong as a wall, then looked back at Mu Xian and exclaimed, "Incredible, incredible!"
Yuwen Ye smiled faintly to the side, but though the smile was faint, a hint of undisguised smugness still showed in his eyes.
He certainly understood that Shang Ruyi was a knowledgeable person.
Previously, Wang Shaoji's Black Armor Army was also fully armored, but it was mostly leather armor and not such heavy iron armor. Ashina Zhuxie's heavy cavalry was armored with iron, but the iron armor on the horses was not as completely covered as it is now, making the rider and horse as one, like a whole iron chariot. Such heavy cavalry, once on the battlefield, as long as they are well trained and form a formation, are almost invincible.
However, everything has its advantages and disadvantages.
Wang Shaoji wasn't unwilling to equip his cavalry with iron armor, nor was Ashina Zhuxie unwilling to equip his horses with heavy armor; the reason boils down to one thing—money.
Raising cavalry is already several times more expensive than raising infantry. Judging from Mu Xian's armor, it was obviously very expensive. The daily fodder for these horses alone is a huge expense. Wearing heavy armor requires even more energy, so they need to be fed fine food. All things considered, the amount of silver needed to build this army is at least five times, or even ten times, that of an ordinary cavalry army of the same size!
Shang Ruyi couldn't help but ask, "How much did you spend?"
Upon hearing this, Yuwen Ye's expression darkened slightly. Before he could say anything, Mu Xianxian, who was standing to the side, laughed and said, "As expected, the Princess Consort manages the Qin Prince's household. The first thing she asks about is money when she sees this."
Yuwen Ye said, "Don't worry, I haven't touched your money yet."
Shang Ruyi was wealthy. Not only was her dowry astonishing, but after marriage, especially after giving birth to Yuanzi, Yuwen Yuan's rewards to her amounted to thousands of gold coins. Even though she ran a school in the city and tried her best to support some students, those expenses were just a drop in the ocean compared to her wealth.
Upon hearing this, Shang Ruyi smiled and said, "That's good. I was worried that Yuanzi and I would be eating coarse food."
Yuwen Ye glared at her.
Shang Ruyi smiled and took a few more steps forward, looking at the stationary but menacing cavalry unit ahead, and asked, "So, you've been running to the military camp these past few days just to train this cavalry unit?"
"Um."
Where did people and horses come from?
"The men were recruited strong men, and they had to have some martial arts skills before they could be selected; the horses were Ferghana horses bought from merchants in the Western Regions, and they were fed the finest feed."
As he spoke, Yuwen Ye walked up to the horse, stroked its mane which was as sharp as steel needles, and said, "If this team can gather enough men, they will be invincible once they go into battle!"
Upon hearing this, Shang Ruyi raised an eyebrow and looked at the line ahead: "How many people are there now?"
"Just now, there were 1,200 people."
"So how many people do you need?"
"At least three thousand."
"..."
At this moment, Shang Ruyi understood why Yuwen Ye had so readily brought her to the military camp this time.
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