No matter what, cavalry had been a powerful force with absolute dominance on the battlefield from ancient times to modern times.
From the classical slave era to World War I, throughout the entire history of human warfare, the role of cavalry was self-evident.
If they thought that they could abandon cavalry just because they had firearms, and that they could defeat cavalry just because the army was fully armed, then the Song Army and the Ming Army would laugh without saying a word.
Even in the European battlefield, abandoning cavalry after World War I was not without reason. Some countries like Japan and China still used cavalry during World War II. This was not without reason. Cavalry naturally had its importance and irreplaceable attributes.
Armored soldiers were actually armored cavalry. In essence, cavalry could be said to have never been eliminated. It was just that the mounts of the riders had changed, from animals made of flesh and blood to cold alloy armor.
Xiao Ruxun was very clear that Great Qin's greatest enemy wasn't the Jurchens and the southwestern Chieftains, nor was it Japan, which had been split in half and was struggling at death's door. It wasn't the Mughal Empire, which hadn't shown any signs of conflict yet, and it definitely wasn't the Europeans, who were tens of thousands of kilometers away and had been caught up to by Great Qin in terms of technology.
It was the Northern Barbarians.
The existence of the Northern Barbarians made Xiao Ruxun feel that there was a sword on his head.
Everything he did now and before, whether it was driving out the Spaniards in Nanyang and subduing the Portuguese, cleaning up the Jurchens in Liaodong, cleaning up the Chieftains in the Southwest, or the upcoming final battle against Japan, the purpose was to build a solid and stable backyard for the future large-scale northern expedition of the Northern Barbarians.
Military strategists were most afraid of fighting on two fronts. That was because under the conditions of productivity at that time, it was not feasible to fight on two fronts. However, with the development of productivity, Xiao Ruxun believed that both Qin and Ming had the ability to deal with two small local battles at the same time.
Daqin's ability to deal with war was stronger. The mobilization of the imperial power in the countryside and the mobilization of the officials at the grassroots level was enough to support Daqin to fight on two fronts, provided that it was a local battle.
As for the Northern Expeditions to the Northern Barbarians, to be honest, every single one of them was a war between nations.
Ever since the reign of Emperor Wu of Han until now, every war that the Central Plains Dynasty waged against the Northern Barbarians was a war that could topple the entire country. They used the strength of the entire country to wage war against the Northern Barbarians, and had no time to divide their forces to fight against others.
The Northern Barbarians were fighting outside the borders of the country, so it was difficult for them to resupply on the spot. Furthermore, the supply line within the country was too long and the consumption of supplies was too high. Therefore, even with Emperor Wu's might, he could only deploy 100,000 Steel Horsemen for the decisive battle at Mobei.
In order to provide logistical support for these 100,000 cavalrymen, they had to mobilize hundreds of thousands of infantrymen and tens of thousands of horses to transport rations and fodder. Although they had won the battle, they had also lost half of their population. This was a heavy burden to the power that the Han Dynasty had accumulated for decades.
It could be said that without the decades of accumulation of Emperor Wen and Jing and the foundation laid by Emperor Wu, there would be no strategic counterattack. After this decisive battle at Mo Bei, the next time the Han army entered the desert would be the Tang Dynasty and the next time would be the Ming Dynasty.
It was clear to see how difficult and demanding the Han army's northern expedition was.
In fact, it could be said that these factors were the reason why the Han army could not enter the desert and solve the problem of the Northern Barbarians once and for all.
The Han government, which was guided by Confucianism, not only ignored technology, they were also wary of the people at the borders organising themselves to protect themselves.
The migration strategy was proposed by the Han Dynasty to lay the foundation for Emperor Wu's northern expedition against the Xiong Nu. It was a farsighted strategy to shorten the distance of supplies and reduce the financial expenditure.
However, the Confucian Sect, which was pushed to the forefront by Emperor Wu, opposed the people organising themselves. This caused the people in the northern villages to be unable to help the local army when they encountered the Mo Bei cavalry.
The Confucian Sect opposed the people's organising and archery. This caused the people to lose the ability to protect themselves and become lambs waiting to be slaughtered. Once the army was defeated, the people and their property would benefit the Xiong Nu and the Han Army would lose an excellent source of soldiers.
Later, the Chinese government finally realized the power of mobilising the people and the vast sea of people. However, for a long period of time, the ancient Chinese government had no such awareness. In fact, they were extremely wary of such awareness.
It was not that it was unreasonable, but in certain areas, such an approach was wrong.
One of the hundred schools of thought in the pre-Qin period was based on the common people. They proposed that the ruler should be good at organising the people and not ignore them.
The Mohists.
Xiao Ruxun had always felt that the Mohists appeared too early and disappeared too early. They were born at the wrong time, facing the rise of their arch-enemy, the Confucians. It was a historical regret that Emperor Wu chose the Confucians over the Mohists, but it was also an inevitable and irreversible outcome.
Xiao Ruxun felt that some of the Mohists' views were correct. They specifically targeted the weakness of the Confucian Sect's tyranny. It was not that the Confucians had no redeeming qualities, it was just that they had a greater negative impact.
Some of the Mohists' theories were the best way to attack the Confucians and suppress them.
The most direct use was to carry out experiments on the integration of the military and the military in the northern regions, which were planned to be the starting point and supply base for the army in the future.
The government would focus on these areas, assigning some low-level officers in the army who were good at training soldiers to the local people. They would carry out the integration of the military and the military during farming and training soldiers when they were idle. These people, who were close to the areas where the Northern Barbarians would invade, would have the ability to protect themselves under the threat of the Northern Barbarians' invasion. They would be trained in horse riding and archery, becoming reserve soldiers.
Xiao Ruxun wanted to build several areas in the north that were integrated with the military and the military before the northern expedition to the desert. They would work in agriculture during farming and train soldiers when they were idle, so that they would have a strong reserve of basic soldiers. They would also form a horse policy where the government focused on raising horses and the civilian raised horses as a supplement.
The cavalry was the most difficult to train among the many branches of the army. The training organized by the government could train the regular army, while the training of the civilian army was mainly for self-protection. They could train the militia who were skilled in riding horses. In case of emergency, they could immediately join the army and become cavalry.
At present, the Daqin had not gotten rid of the threat of the Northern Barbarians. It was very important to use the power of the people and mobilize them to lay the foundation. Xiao Ruxun set a five year preparation period for the Daqin army. After five years, when the reorganization of the Qin Army was completed, the cavalry would be fully developed, and it would be the time of the northern expedition that would topple the country.
In that battle, Xiao Ruxun wanted to completely solve the northern border trouble that had been pressing on the Central Plains for thousands of years and had not been solved for thousands of years.
At that time, Xiao Ruxun wanted to bring the most fertile grasslands in the north under the rule of the Daqin. He wanted to occupy the grasslands and organize the people to build cities on the grasslands and settle there.
He wanted to organize the people to raise livestock and develop the animal husbandry in the Daqin. He wanted to provide a stable and high-quality source of meat and milk for the Daqin. He wanted to lower the price of meat and milk and improve the diet of the people in the Daqin.
If the northern border trouble could be completely solved and the northern border trouble would no longer be in chaos, then the Daqin and he himself would definitely be able to create a great achievement that would be recorded in history.
This was a great temptation that no emperor could refuse.
Of course, Xiao Ruxun couldn't either.
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