Disciplining Emperor Gaozu of Han

Liu Bang looked down on Xiang Yu, and when it came to Xiang Yu, Liu Bang's words were not very credible. Liu Ying smirked: "Xiang Yu's bravery is unparalleled throughout history, what is there that he wouldn't dare to fight?"

"Xiang Yu's bravery is unparalleled throughout history?" Liu Bang was stunned, and the eldest brother spat on the ground: "Bah! It's just the bravery of a common man. How can it compete with the bravery of a great army? Xiang Yu's grandfather, Xiang Yan, was beaten like a dog by Wang Li's grandfather, Wang Jian. Xiang Yu, without cutting off Wang Li's supply lines, went to fight Wang Li and saw if he would follow in his grandfather's footsteps and be beaten like a dog by Wang Li."

"This... is a battle of destiny." Liu Ying ignored Liu Bang's contemptuous words about Xiang Yu and was very surprised that the rise and fall of the Qin Dynasty was so closely tied to the Wang and Xiang families.

After the Qin state destroyed the Chu state, Wang Jian led an army of 600,000 to defeat Xiang Yan, thus destroying the Chu state and helping Qin Shi Huang unify the country; in the Battle of Julu, Xiang Yu defeated Wang Li and destroyed the Qin Dynasty.

It really feels like fate.

"Xiang Yu only dares to fight second-rate trash like Zhang Han." Liu Bang hated Xiang Yu to the bone and still despised him.

"Zhang Han is a famous general, how can you say he's second-rate?" Liu Ying rolled his eyes. Zhang Han was very famous and praised by later generations, who called him "Little Bai Qi". But in Liu Bang's mouth, he was considered second-rate.

"During the Battle of Julu, Zhang Han had nearly 300,000 troops, while Xiang Yu had only 50,000 men. He couldn't defeat him. How dare he call himself a famous general?" Liu Bang looked down on Zhang Han.

At Xin'an, Xiang Yu massacred over 200,000 surrendered Qin soldiers. When the two first clashed, Zhang Han likely had even more troops—at least 300,000, if not 300,000.

Zhang Han had five or six times the number of troops as Xiang Yu, yet he still couldn't defeat Xiang Yu. Naturally, Liu Bang looked down on Zhang Han.

"Even with 560,000 men, you can't defeat Xiang Yu's 30,000." Liu Ying smirked, mocking Liu Bang: "You and Zhang Han are in the same boat, so neither of you should criticize the other."

"You unfilial son! I'll beat you to death!" Liu Bang, like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, jumped up and cursed, rolled up his sleeves, and wanted to hit Liu Ying.

Liu Ying quickly hid behind Fan Kuai, who protected him, while Liu Jiao and the others persuaded Liu Bang to stop.

"I can't beat Xiang Yu, but I can beat Zhang Han? Humph!" Liu Bang said triumphantly, raising his head like a crowing rooster.

"What do you mean by that?" Liu Ying was confused.

Liu Bang held his head high, ignoring Liu Ying.

If you don't want to talk about it, I don't want to hear it either.

Zhang Liang and the others watched the father and son bickering, their eyes wide with amusement, and none of them offered to stop them.

We've seen plenty of arguments between Liu Bang and his subordinates, so it's not bad to see a father and son arguing with each other.

After checking the provisions, they then inspected the weapons and equipment.

Aocang is not only home to japonica rice, dried meat, and fine wine, but also to weapons and equipment.

This is the most convenient transportation hub; how could it not be a place to store a batch of weapons and equipment?

The armory was filled with boxes, piled up one on top of another, like a mountain.

Liu Bang ordered someone to bring down a box and place it in front of him, then had it pried open.

Liu Ying opened her eyes wide and saw that the box was full of Qin swords. She picked one up, drew it from its sheath, and a dazzling cold light flashed like lightning. It was a top-quality sword.

"What a fine sword!" Liu Ying couldn't help but exclaim.

This was a four-foot-long sword. Liu Ying's forearms were too short to pull it out, so he had to put the scabbard on the ground, step on it with his foot, and then pull it out with all his might.

Upon closer inspection, I saw that the sword was coated with grease to protect it and prevent it from rusting.

There was a layer of metallic crystal on the sword's surface to prevent rust. Liu Ying was shocked: "Chromium plating!"

The Qin swords unearthed from the Terracotta Army are as bright as new because they were chromium-plated. Chromium oxidizes in the air, forming a passivation film that makes it difficult for it to oxidize again, thus protecting the metal substrate.

The West only mastered chromium plating technology in the mid-20th century, with the advent of electroplating. Our ancestors, however, had already mastered mature chromium plating technology more than 2,200 years ago, which is astonishing.

It's also puzzling how the Qin people managed to do that.

Near the hilt of the sword, there is a small seal script inscription that reads "34 September 11 Yiyang Gong".

"A quality management system!" Liu Ying exclaimed in surprise.

In the words of the ancients, this is called "marking the name of the craftsman on the object to test its integrity; if the work is improper, the offender shall be punished to investigate the matter," which is what we call the quality management system.

September 11, 34th year of Qin Shi Huang's reign, refers to September 11th of the 34th year of his reign, which is the date of his birth.

Yiyang refers to the sword-making workshop, and the swords were made in Yiyang.

Gong is the name of the engineer in charge of production.

If there is a problem with the quality of this sword, it can be used to trace the source, find the person responsible, and then punish them according to Qin law.

This is a solid quality management system.

Liu Ying had long known that the Qin Dynasty had a well-established quality management system, but he was still inevitably shocked when he saw the actual product with his own eyes.

"An iron sword." The sword is very wide, about six centimeters, thick in the middle and thin on the sides, with a texture that resembles iron. Liu Ying determined it to be an iron sword.

In this era, bronze weapons were still the mainstream; Qin Shi Huang's fierce army, which swept through the six states, primarily used bronze weapons. Liu Ying was genuinely surprised to see an iron sword.

"These were forged for cavalrymen," Chen Ping explained to Liu Ying from beside him. "Yiyang refers to Yiyang in the former state of Han. There are many iron mines here, so Han had a great many iron soldiers, and they were very sharp. Therefore, Han also earned the reputation of 'Strong Han'."

"Unfortunately, even the sharpest iron sword is no match for the bronze swords of Qin," Liu Ying remarked with a sigh.

South Korea's weaponry was primarily based on iron weapons, thanks to its location at Mount Iyang, which gave it an advantage over Qin's bronze arsenal. Ultimately, South Korea was conquered by Qin.

"Good!" Chen Ping nodded seriously: "Bronze weapons cannot be used for chopping, therefore cavalry must use iron weapons in combat."

Bronze is fragile and has poor toughness; it can only be used for stabbing, not for chopping.

Therefore, assassins in the Warring States period often used bronze weapons to carry out assassinations, and were thus called "assassins."

When cavalrymen charge on horseback, it is very inconvenient to use bronze swords for stabbing, but slashing is much more convenient, which requires the use of iron weapons.

Iron is tough, malleable, and not easily broken; it can withstand being chopped. It was precisely because of this that when iron weapons appeared, cavalry, the ace unit of the cold weapon era, was born.

Iron weapons appeared during the Spring and Autumn Period, and cavalry also emerged during this period. By the Warring States Period, iron weapons were widely used to equip the army, and cavalry dominated the battlefield, leading to King Wuling of Zhao's "adoption of nomadic dress and mounted archery".

Because these two things are born together.

After examining Qin Jian, he went to check the armor.

"This is so scientific!" Liu Ying picked up a suit of armor, examined it for a while, and exclaimed in admiration.

The armor is a single piece, but it is divided into upper and lower sections, both covered with armor plates. Only the middle section lacks an armor plate and is used to fasten the leather straps. The upper armor plate overlaps the lower plate; the lower armor plate overlaps the upper plate.

The advantage of doing this is that it is convenient and flexible, making it very suitable for the needs of war.

Humans always have to bend over, especially on the battlefield where various movements are required. The upper plate of the upper armor plate overlaps the lower plate, compressing towards the waist when bending over. Similarly, the lower plate of the lower armor plate overlaps the upper plate, compressing towards the waist when bending over.

If the lower armor plates still use the upper plate pressing down on the lower plate, it will not be compressed to the waist, but to the legs, like a steel plate stuck between the chest and legs, making movement stiff and unable to meet the needs of the battlefield.

After looking at the armor, they went to look at the bows and arrows.

Liu Ying had seen arrows before; he had used such curved arrows to force Zhongli Migui to retreat.

"Standardized production." Liu Ying was once again amazed when she examined the crossbows one last time.

The Qin crossbows were not pre-assembled; rather, identical parts were packed neatly in a box, piled up like a mountain. When needed, these parts were simply taken out and assembled.

The Qin Dynasty implemented standardized production, and all crossbow parts were interchangeable, so there was no situation where they couldn't be used.

If a crossbow breaks down and becomes unusable on the battlefield, no problem. Simply remove the good parts, reassemble it into a new crossbow, and continue fighting.

"We have enough weapons and equipment for an army of 100,000." Liu Bang was extremely satisfied: "With these weapons and equipment, why should I fear Xiang Yu?"

"This is an attempt to revive the Qin army," Liu Ying exclaimed.

These are all weapons and equipment from the Qin Dynasty. Wearing them on the Han army is like reviving the Qin army.