Chapter 68: I'll Go

"Horses?"

Zhang Zhuanggen glanced at Li You's incredibly handsome face and didn't want to answer. The squad leader Zhao Duyan beside him said, "At least twenty-something!"

"Twenty-something? Doesn't that mean almost everyone has a horse?"

Hearing this, everyone's hearts grew colder. These might all be elite scouts; just how much combat power would that be?

In the Ming era, the official price for a top-grade Mongol horse at the border market was eight taels per horse, while the civilian price was slightly higher at over ten taels. In the present day, a standard fat horse starts at sixty taels of silver. If it is a well-trained warhorse, eighty to one hundred taels per horse is very normal, because in chaotic times a horse can save your life and is basically impossible to buy.

Li You heard these words in his heart, and his thoughts grew fervent. Twenty-something horses! If he had this capital, whether he wanted to nibble away at Longmen Zhai or climb into the central command, he would have the leverage to challenge them. Even if he couldn't overthrow Wu Datou, sitting on the main chair should be no problem.

Thinking of this, his heart "thump-thump" pounded wildly, and his mouth grew dry.

Wu Dading saw Li You licking his lips, and his face immediately darkened. He was about to lean close to Li You's ear to ask, but Li You had already stood up abruptly and declared with great heroism, "I'll go... Big Chair, let me take people to deal with them!"

Everyone in the hall froze with wide eyes, all thinking they had heard wrong. Then Zhang Zhuanggen laughed first, and it spread like a plague throughout the entire hall.

Li Qinxiang was also stunned by Li You's earth-shattering idea, but a indescribable surge of heroism rose in his heart. He thought silently: "Indeed, I didn't follow the wrong person. Just based on this boldness, ten thousand people cannot compare!"

"Deal with them? How exactly?"

Wu Nai said mischievously, "Is it 'Immortal Points the Way' or 'Great Tree Coils the Roots'?"

Li You ignored Wu Nai's nonsense and said with full vigor, "Aren't they all humans? Doesn't everyone have two shoulders carrying one head? Who fears whom? One life for one, and in the end, we still win!"

Hearing this, Wu Nai said with some jealousy, "One life for one? Not everyone is as capable as you!"

Wu Zhuge suddenly reacted, his face turning black immediately. "Damn it, don't think about ruining my archers! That's my capital!"

This made Li You's chest seize up. He thought: This old schemer is thinking so filthily! I really wasn't thinking of trading one life for one to wipe out your archers!

"What does the Big Chair mean? Those precious archers, I can't bear to use them either. I'll just use the raw recruits I've just trained from the mine workers to take a look. If there's an opportunity, I'll strike; if not, I'll come back!"

Li You licked his lips and said, "If it succeeds, wouldn't the Big Chair be relieved of his worries? If it fails, the ones dying are just a bunch of mine slaves plus me, a mine worker. Either way, it's no loss!"

Li You's words were heroic and upright, completely without fault.

Zhang Zhuanggen's hawk eyes locked tightly on Li You. At this moment, he truly couldn't figure out what this scholar was thinking.

He hadn't been in the zhai for these two days, but upon returning he heard about the commotion Li You had caused. He was both shocked and angry, feeling that Li You would sooner or later sit in the fifth chair of Longmen Zhai, which is why he had such an opening remark when he first saw Li You.

But this Li You was sometimes like cotton, sometimes like a hedgehog; in front of them, he always knew when to advance and when to retreat, even showing some tolerance toward insults.

Just now, he even produced such precious items as Bin steel knives, giving them away freely, yet now suddenly he wants to seek death?

"Are you speaking the truth?"

Wu Zhuge hesitated for a moment. He absolutely believed in Li You's martial prowess. Moreover, where were his new recruits? With Li Qinxiang and these fierce soldiers included, and his scribe Wu Dading being big and burly, looking like a martial artist himself. But ultimately, wanting to fight two or three with one is still a tall tale!

"It's true. I'll go take a look. If they are just show-offs, won't we make a fortune?"

Li You said, "If they are truly fierce soldiers, then I will definitely come back with my tail between my legs. At that time, please don't laugh at me... haha..."

Wu Zhuge was actually somewhat tempted. If he could get some horses, why would he fear the Liu brothers? He stared at Li You for a long time, then finally said, "My people cannot be taken away. If you need any equipment, I can lend it to you!"

"Good, thank you, Big Chair!"

Li You said to Zhang Zhuanggen, "If I am ready, you must have that brother on the line make contact!"

Having said this, he returned the brush and Xuan paper to Zhang Cang.

Zhang Cang took them and was overjoyed, because Li You had somehow already completed the remaining poem for him. Holding his breath and focusing intently, he immediately grimaced...

On it was written crookedly:

"Nine decades of jade dew extinguish【】 the yellow dust, (Amitabha, muamua), where are the hurried years now? (Amitabha, muamua)."

As soon as Li You stepped out the door, Wu Dading asked, "Brother You, do you have confidence?"

"Let's try!"

"Good!"

Wu Dading never bothered to use his brain; since childhood, whatever Li You said was what he did.

Now Li You was even more incomprehensible to him. He was even lazier about thinking too much; just follow. If he dies, he dies. In this world, dying early means reincarnating early!

Back at Nanzhai, Li You called Wa Qingyun, Gao Conglong, and the other eleven people into his side room. After explaining today's events, the room fell silent for a moment, everyone's hearts pounding with fear.

"Donkey, damn it, let's do it! This life was already picked up by the Xianggong anyway; going out to fight a big battle is no loss!" Guan Hongxin, also a desperado, spoke first.

"Immortal my foot! I haven't ridden a horse in two years; I really want to get a few to ride!" Zhou Yin was extremely energetic.

"Stupid Hammer, do your thing! I just said the Xianggong is definitely going to do something big! These routed soldiers capturing those forty or fifty old men must have burned and eaten them. Calling them fierce soldiers is simply throwing away the face of our brave old Qin!"

Li Qinxiang was also not calm; he was rarely so excited.

Gao Conglong looked with some concern at Gao Conghu, who was flushed with excitement. He loved his younger brother the most; if anything happened to him, wouldn't he cry to death?

Suddenly having an emotional tie, he completely changed his usual loud-mouthed style.

In his view, Li You had never truly experienced a battlefield and completely underestimated the concept of heavy armor. Wasn't Nurhaci the one who started his army with just thirteen sets of armor? 【Note: Regarding heavy armor】

Xiang Ying and Qi Jingkun were much simpler; Li You had saved their lives, so they would follow him even into a mountain of blades or a sea of fire.

Wa Qingyun and Liu Longjin, although considered old bandits, had always followed the old Chair who was kind-hearted, doing proper "virtuous banditry." Neither of them had ever seen blood on their hands. Now they were about to fight border army deserters, and their hearts were unsure, but both gripped their sword handles tightly and said no discouraging words.

Chen Shu, Lu Yi, and Mu Qianjun appeared eager to try. These three were the most capable fighters under Cao Er's command, but recently they had already been subdued by Li You.

"This world is truly terrible; those who can survive are all desperadoes!"

Li You thought happily. He waved his hand to quiet everyone and said, "That you can trust me so much is truly Li You's fortune... But everyone rest assured, I naturally will not let everyone take risks lightly. These lives of ours are not easy to live; no one is allowed to casually speak of death... One more thing: everyone follows my orders. Let's go feel things out first. If it turns out they are all elite soldiers and generals, we will just come back!"

【Note】: Armor was a very important link in the late Ming cold and hot weapon warfare, even related to the origin of the Qing Eight Banners' name, and to a certain extent dictated the outcome of the war.

Although the Ming Dynasty restored the orthodox Han system in clothing regulations, in military equipment it mostly followed the Yuan Dynasty. At that time, most equipment was chainmail or scale armor; in any case, they all belonged to lamellar armor.

However, with Zhu Di, a master of firearms, specifically establishing the Shenji Camp in 1410 to command and manage firearms, the systematic deployment of firearms onto the battlefield directly upgraded the intensity of war, and traditional lamellar armor became live targets for guns and cannons.

This directly caused an equipment upgrade in the region. Ming armor once again absorbed the intricacy of Tang and Song Han armor and the simplicity of Yuan armor. After combining the two, a new type of cotton armor emerged, commonly known as cloth-faced armor. The Qing armor was not some inheritance or development of Ming armor; rather, it was simply wearing the Great Ming's armor while killing the Great Ming's people!

One cannot intuitively think that armor pressed from cotton must be inferior; in reality, it is exactly the opposite.

Whether from practicality or artistry, Ming armor found the most scientific balance point. Without exaggeration, it is the pinnacle of ancient Chinese armor craftsmanship.

Its cloth-faced armor is also called "dark armor." Dark armor and bright armor are corresponding terms.

In terms of material, the Dark Armor remains a type of lamellar armor. The Dark Armor features a cotton cloth and padded shirt exterior to withstand the impact of guns and cannons and the severe cold of northern winters, with both the outer and inner layers made of cotton cloth.

It also includes an inner lining, which uses iron armor steel plates for interlocking and filling; the iron armor resists attacks from cold weapons, as well as blades, spears, and arrows, thereby enhancing the overall defense of individual soldiers. This inner lining can be removed.

Historical records often state that the Manchu Eight Banners troops wore two sets of armor, mostly one bright and one dark, also called Bright Armor and Dark Helmet; the outer set was often Bright Light heavy armor weighing over 30 kilograms, while the inner Dark Armor lining consisted of steel plates (around 3.5).

All of this is compiled by me from "History of Chinese Armor," "Wars of the Ming and Qing Periods," "Warfare of Cold and Hot Weapons," "Eight Banners Storm," and "Construction of Gun History." Originally, I intended to weave this into the text, but after thinking it over, I opened my computer and moved it to the 【Note】. The point about armor is also a major reason why the Great Qing infantry were mythologized; many people generally know that the Qing army had superior equipment, but exactly where was it superior?

Here I write about armor; the subsequent reasons will be written later. Of course, I will not elaborate on the systems: one is a newly born military slavery system, the other is a corrupt and declining feudal system.

These are excerpts I copied into my notebook. There are quite a few 【Notes】; they probably aren't on Baidu. If they are on Baidu, oh dear, then I truly lost out, having wasted money buying the books.