Chapter 51: Armor

The next day, at noon.

Zhao Xu was in the study, holding a brush to draw designs for Armor.

In his mind, there were several types of Armor to choose from, such as chain mail, Scale Armor, Song-style armor, Plate Armor, and so on.

Ultimately, he decided to choose both Scale Armor and Plate Armor based on the different targets the soldiers would be fighting, as well as the pros and cons of the Armor's performance.

Scale Armor is the traditional armor of the ancient East, named for its resemblance to fish scales.

Armor plates with a slight curve on the surface are layered one over another and sewn onto a lining to complete it.

Scale Armor has good defensive capabilities against swords, spears, and arrows, but its disadvantage lies in its low coverage, and the plates are easily knocked off during combat.

Plate Armor, on the other hand, is a product of the contemporary Western post-cold-weapon era.

It is made by riveting together large plates of armor, providing high coverage; a person is like one encased in an iron barrel, and it also has good defensive capabilities against swords, spears, and arrows, but its disadvantage lies in its high cost and complex manufacturing.

Therefore, it is generally only custom equipment for Western knights and lords, and cannot be widely issued to soldiers.

Furthermore, Plate Armor is heavy, and in the contemporary West, it is mainly used by Heavy Cavalry and Heavy Infantry.

Currently, the Northern Di possess a large number of Light Cavalry; if his Cavalry were all to wear this, he fears they would be "kited" to death by the Northern Di Cavalry.

After weighing the options, he decided to produce some Scale Armor for the Light Cavalry and Light Infantry, and then produce some Plate Armor to form Heavy Cavalry and Heavy Infantry.

In this way, the advantages of the Armor could be fully utilized.

However, because he had improved the smelting standards of Yan Commandery.

He believed that regardless of whether it was Plate Armor or Scale Armor, the quality of those produced by the Yan Commandery Armory would absolutely surpass those of any other armory in the Great Song.

Moreover, because iron and steel could be smelted in large quantities, the cost of Plate Armor was not very high for him.

The only thing he needed to do was to utilize the river to build a Water-Powered Trip Hammer to forge the large armor plates.

Having finished drawing the exploded views of the two types of Armor, he was about to call someone to send them to the Armory.

At this moment, Feng'er walked in.

Ever since she took on the role of Steward of the Prince's Mansion, all the miscellaneous affairs, big and small, within the mansion fell under her management.

However, this young girl had abundant energy and handled it all with ease.

"Your Highness, General Chang has woken up." Feng'er's pretty face was full of smiles.

She knew that Zhao Xu would certainly be happy to hear this news.

"Is that so?" Zhao Xu stood up. "Let's go, let's go take a look."

Feng'er nodded and accompanied Zhao Xu to the courtyard where Chang Wei was staying. On the way, she said in amazement, "Your Highness, you are truly amazing. You saved General Chang with just a pile of garlic. Hu Langzhong keeps calling it a miracle medicine and asks Your Highness to bestow some upon him."

Zhao Xu felt a little proud.

The fact that Chang Wei had improved in a day and a night was enough to show that Chang Wei's physical constitution combined with this natural antibiotic was effective.

In this way, he had not only saved Chang Wei but also created a Great Song version of antibiotics.

And that was impressive.

On future battlefields, the number of his soldiers dying from wound infections would be greatly reduced.

Most importantly, even if others knew this was made from garlic, they would be unable to produce it.

Because every step of the process had its requirements; for instance, the garlic needed to be left to sit after being crushed. If this step was not done well, the effectiveness would be greatly diminished.

Furthermore, only he could produce high-proof White Wine.

They arrived at the courtyard where Chang Wei was.

Zhao Xu entered the room; Chang Wei was sitting up, leaning against the bed.

Seeing Zhao Xu, he struggled to get up to pay his respects.

Zhao Xu pressed him back onto the bed and smiled, "Your wounds have not yet fully healed; there is no need to worry about these tedious formalities."

Upon hearing this, Chang Wei's eyes suddenly moistened, and he said sorrowfully, "Your Highness, this subordinate is incompetent. I was unable to save the common people, and I have suffered losses of both men and horses. My crimes deserve death."

"Victory and defeat are common occurrences for a soldier. You need not blame yourself. If it were me, I might not have done any better than you," Zhao Xu comforted him.

This was Chang Wei's first time engaging the Northern Di in battle, and the Cavalry he took were a ragtag group. Being able to return alive was already quite good.

Chang Wei still blamed himself and sighed deeply, "Your Highness, I do not know how large an army the Northern Di will send for this Autumn Hunt. In this subordinate's view, Your Highness is in extreme danger in Yan Commandery. It would be better to hide in another commandery and let this subordinate stay behind to fight the Northern Di to the death."

"I am not one who fears death. Yan Commandery is my fief; how could I abandon my people and flee? Do not mention this again," Zhao Xu scolded. "You, too, must pull yourself together. If we are to die, we shall die together on the battlefield."

Chang Wei felt as if he had been struck by a bolt of lightning and stared blankly at Zhao Xu.

Previously, he had only admired Zhao Xu for his diligence and love for the people.

Now, looking at him again, Yan Wang was also a man of iron and blood.

In his heart, he felt even more that Yan Wang was a rare and virtuous lord.

He nodded, "This subordinate's life was saved by Your Highness, and from now on, it belongs to Your Highness. When the Northern Di come again, this subordinate will risk his life to protect Your Highness's safety and protect the safety of Yan Commandery."

Zhao Xu laughed, "That's more like it. You should rest and recover for now. When you are better, I will show you something."

"What thing?" Chang Wei asked curiously.

Zhao Xu spread the blueprints out in front of Chang Wei, "It's this."

Looking at the Armor on the drawing, Chang Wei's eyes could not move away.

"Is this Armor for this subordinate?"

Of these two sets of Armor, he recognized the one in front; it was Scale Armor.

He had never seen the one behind, but seeing such high coverage, he also felt it was no ordinary item.

"Your Highness, is this for this subordinate?" Chang Wei asked happily.

"No, it is for all the soldiers," Zhao Xu said.

Chang Wei was instantly stunned into silence.

The kind of Armor Yan Wang had drawn was extremely refined; in the Great Song, generally only generals could be wrapped up so thoroughly.

It was already good if ordinary soldiers could wear armor sewn with a few scraps of iron.

If all of his soldiers were equipped with such Armor, he simply dared not imagine it.

"Your Highness, if the Prince's Personal Army could all have such Armor, this humble general could fight into the Grassland," Chang Wei said excitedly.

"Alright, stop bragging; talk about fighting into the Grassland once you've recovered," Zhao Xu said.

However, despite saying this, he was also very expectant.

Although it is said that a Weapon is not the only standard for victory in war.

But with these conditions, why not use them?

Chang Wei's old face flushed red, and he scratched his head.

Because the movement tugged at his wound, he grimaced in pain again.

After giving Chang Wei a few more instructions, Zhao Xu left.

Chang Wei's physical constitution was quite good, and the infection had cleared up.

With an arrow wound like this, he would likely be able to get out of bed after resting for seven or eight days.

He would likely be jumping around in ten days or half a month, after all, there was no injury on his legs.

Walking toward the outside of the Prince's residence, he was on his way to the Armory Bureau.

Suddenly, he saw Hu Langzhong coming over with a medicine chest on his back.

Seeing him, he immediately came up to meet him.

"Your Highness, this commoner has a request," Hu Langzhong's eyes were sparkling, looking at Zhao Xu as if he were his first love.

"You want my medicine?" Zhao Xu asked, recalling Feng'er's words.

Hu Langzhong nodded, "This commoner has a few patients in his hands who are also unable to survive due to red and swollen wounds; I hope Your Highness will grant me the medicine to try, and furthermore, this is enough to distinguish whether Your Highness's medicine is truly effective?"

Zhao Xu nodded, thinking to himself that this old man was quite rigorous.

He was still suspicious that Chang Wei had survived on his own.

"Very well," Zhao Xu called for Feng'er, "Fill a jar for Hu Langzhong to take back."