Wei Guangde glanced at the others and seemed to recall: "I remember the first time I met Ma Fang, it was in Huailai County. At that time, he pointed out three "incomparables" between the Ming army and the Mongolian army.

The first is that the Mongolian army is "naturally skilled in riding and shooting, and is skilled in bow and horse"; the second is that it "comes and leaves quickly, caring about one thing and not the other"; and the third is that it "lives in no fixed place and can advance and retreat freely".

The suggestions he put forward to solve these three "incomparable problems" were not like other border generals at that time who only focused on defense and blindly relied on building side walls to deter the enemy's attack. Instead, he believed that "cavalry should be used to control cavalry."

The idea of ​​creating a powerful cavalry force and the Tatars’ decisive battle on the steppe.”

"How much money is needed to build a cavalry? Just for the war horses, I'm afraid it won't be able to skyrocket."

Zhang Juzheng's considerations were still comprehensive. Not to mention the difficulty of acquiring war horses for the Ming Dynasty, even if he could find sources of horses from surrounding countries, the amount of money and property he would consume would be astronomical.

"Actually, the main reason is that we can't find enough war horses. It's easier to raise the necessary property."

Wei Guangde said disapprovingly.

"Shan Loan, don't you know the price of a war horse? To form the cavalry that Ma Fang said could fight the Tatars, it would cost at least 100,000 horses."

Yin Shizhen said with an moved face, "This requires millions of taels of silver, and the horses required are so large, the price of the horses may be even higher."

"The supply of grain and fodder will also be huge in the future."

Zhang Juzheng added.

"If the threat from the north can be completely eliminated, the investment of one million taels of silver or even more will be worth it."

At this time, King Yu said, "We just formed this cavalry force, but if we fail to capture the main force of the Tatars, that will be the biggest loss."

The Central Plains is not like a grassland, with huge pastures where horses can be raised.

Moreover, the war horses used by the Ming army were also different from those used by the Mongols in terms of breed. It was necessary to prepare concentrated feed such as bean cakes for these war horses to ensure the horsepower of the war horses.

These changes were actually one of the methods used by the Ming cavalry to compete with the Mongolian cavalry.

It's just this difference that caused the cost of raising war horses to increase in the Ming Dynasty.

If the decisive battle with the Mongolian cavalry is delayed, the Ming Dynasty will not be able to afford the cost.

"The money in Changying's treasury should be enough to support the purchase of war horses."

In the early years, the information about the Changying Treasury of Taipu Temple was not known to the outside world. However, as the imperial court was unable to make ends meet in the past few years, it often needed to borrow money from the Changying Treasury for turnover, and the name of the Changying Treasury began to spread among the court.

.

However, because Changyingku is too special, no one dares to make any plans here.

"Shan Loi, I have always been curious about how the cavalry led by Ma Fang could fight head-on with the captive cavalry without losing."

At this time, Zhang Juzheng suddenly asked.

Zhang Juzheng's question also made Wang Yu's eyes light up.

What Zhang Juzheng asked was not about strategic matters, but about specific battles.

Ma Fang said that the captives were good at riding and shooting. Even if the Ming army maintained a high morale, they could not compete with riding and shooting. How did he manage to avoid losing in a head-on battle?

Wei Guangde smiled and said, "Brother Uncle, have you ever heard of stacking formations?"

"The stacking formation method? But the stacking formation method created by Wu Lin in the Southern Song Dynasty?"

Zhang Juzheng wondered, but then shook his head, "The stacked formation is used by infantry to deal with cavalry. Ma Fang always uses cavalry to hedge against each other. How to use the stacked formation to fight against the enemy?"

The "stacked formation method" they refer to is the battle formation method created by Wu Lin and Jin general Hu Zhan in the Southern Song Dynasty during the battle between Xi and Buzhu. It is actually a mixed formation with multiple arms.

The "formation" of "stacked formation", in this era, mainly refers to the arrangement and changes of the formations of various parts of the army in battle, and "stacked" is a description of the characteristics of this arrangement and change.

As for what later generations call "formation", it is the standardization and institutionalization of this arrangement and change.

In short, "stacked formation" is to determine the order of each unit in the queue based on the distance of weapon attack. Horses, spears, and bows and crossbows are arranged in echelons and rely on fortifications to achieve effective protection.

A formation that uses the power of different weapons and arms to kill the enemy with maximum effectiveness under one's own conditions.

"In fact, the essence of stacked formation lies in the word 'stack'. Ma Fang's cavalry not only has bows and crossbows, but also a large number of cavalry equipped with fire guns."

Wei Guangde opened his mouth to explain.
Chapter completed!