The end of the Eastern Han Dynasty was an era of constant wars and wars were commonplace. Because of the influence of most film and television dramas, people think that ancient wars have always been big scenes. Soldiers wore uniform armor and held uniform weapons. At the same time, thousands of cavalry participated in the charge. But this is not the case in history. In the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, due to the prolonged military disaster, the population of the whole country plummeted, but the war continued to be fought. For this reason, almost all people were soldiers in the end of the Han Dynasty. Armed up.
But don’t be disappointed. Although they were mostly peasant soldiers in the late Han Dynasty, professional soldiers still existed. They were just a luxury resource. Take the cavalry for example. There are actually very few horses in the Central Plains. It takes a lot of effort to form a cavalry corps, so the cavalry must be elite. Leaving Xiliang aside, the most famous cavalrymen in the Central Plains and northern regions are the "tiger and leopard riders" and "white horses". Today I will talk about these two "luxuries".
is the best in the world, or from a hundred people will make up
Tiger and Leopard Cavalry is the most frequent professional unit in the entire Three Kingdoms period, according to historical records. From the point of view, the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry first appeared in the Battle of Nanpi. At that time, Cao Cao had already won the battle of Guandu. Many of Yuan Shao's assets fell into the hands of Cao Cao, and there must be no shortage of quality horses.
The horse problem is solved, the next thing is the people who need to ride the horse. "Wei Lue" records that the people who make up the tiger and leopard ride are the elite of the elite, and ordinary soldiers cannot become tigers. Leopard Cavalier, at least a centurion. There are people and horses, and the equipment can't be poor. After all, the value lies there. The tiger and leopard cavalry should be equipped with perfect armor. Compared with other infantry, the tiger and leopard cavalry can be regarded as a heavy cavalry.
"Wei Lue"-the purely supervised tiger and leopard rider, all are the best in the world, or will be supplemented by a hundred people, the Taizu is hard to be handsome. Purely electing as the governor, caressing is very popular.
The combat effectiveness of the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry can also be seen from another point, that is, their commander. From the establishment of the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry to the disappearance of history, the leader has always been named Cao, even with a last name. No Xiahou's. The first leader of the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry was Cao Ren's younger brother Cao Chun. Under the leadership of Cao Chun, the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry participated in most important battles. After Cao Chun passed away in 210 AD, Cao Cao personally led the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry. Later, Cao Cao handed over the command of the Tiger and Leopard Cavalier because of his busy work. This time the commander was replaced by Cao Xiu and Cao Zhen. The time when they commanded the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry is not clear. According to the records, the two are likely to be the relationship between the superior and the subordinate.
"Three Kingdoms: Cao Xiu Biography"-often from the conquest, led the tiger and leopard riding guard.
"The Legend of the Three Kingdoms: Cao Zhen Biography"-Taizu made his bird of prey brave enough to ride a tiger and a leopard.
To sum up, Cao Cao has not dared to hand over the commanding power of the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry to outsiders. This proves that the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry possesses an absolutely powerful combat effectiveness. Even if you don't look at the strength of the Tiger Leopard Cavalry from the commander's side, just looking at its record is enough to prove that this is a strong team.
After Yuan Shao died, Cao Cao led his army to attack Nanpi. Although Yuan Tan fought hard, it did not change his fate of defeat and death, and Yuan Tan was a tiger directly under Cao Chun’s Leopard rider beheaded. In the twelfth year of Jian'an, the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry took part in the war of the Northern Expedition in Wuhuan, fighting against the nomadic democracy on the grassland. The Tiger and Leopard Cavalry did not fail, and Tadun Shanyu died as a result. But the most famous battle of the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry is actually the battle of Changbanpo. The Cao Jun who once chased Liu Bei and abandoned his wife and children was the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry.
So choose the elite three thousand, take the white horse
Gongsun Zan’s hometown is in the north. He couldn’t understand the danger brought by Wuhuan and Xianbei. After studying, Gongsun Zan returned to his hometown, relying on his reputation,Gongsun Zan succeeded in achieving the position of general. In 193 AD, Gongsun Zan defeated Liu Yu and detained the emissary of the imperial court. So far he became a powerful presence among the northern heroes. Even Yuan Shao could not despise him.
Before fighting against Yuan Shao, Gongsun Zan once led the army to fight against the Hu people in the north. Earlier, Gongsun Zan had a small guard. They rode white horses uniformly and were good at riding and shooting. Whenever fighting Hu people, Gongsun Zan often took the lead, and the guards naturally followed him. Because Gongsun Zan fought bravely, the Hu people felt a sense of fear for the troops riding white horses. Later, Gongsun Zan expanded the guard into an organic army. Although the number increased, the characteristic of riding a white horse was not lost.
"Book of the Later Han Dynasty"-Zan Chang and dozens of people who are good at shooting, all ride on the white horse, thinking that the left and right wing, self-proclaimed "White Horse Yicong. Wuhuan even tells, avoiding the long history of the white horse.
Bai Ma Yicong’s combat effectiveness can be ignored, just because the characteristics of the white horse are all white horses, Bai Ma Yicong has a considerable visual impact, and more than one historical record has been recorded. Hu people are afraid of riding white horses. It can be seen that Bai Ma Yicong’s combat effectiveness is completely higher than that of prairie cavalry. Otherwise, how could it cause such a big psychological shadow on Hu people.
Even so far, Bai Ma Yicong has never been able to achieve this. The good result is that although the Northern Huren is not Gongsun Zan’s opponent, Yuan Shao is still staring at him. The contradiction between the two of them will not be discussed. They are both heroes and must fight for life and death. Bai Ma Yicong is the only battle recorded in detail. , Is the battle between Gongsun Zan and Yuan Shao, but unfortunately this is a defeat.
"Heroes"-(Yuan Shao) "There is a'white horse righteousness', some have' Euphorbia', Fear? "Hu Jun: "Jie Yi, I will break it!" ”
Yuan Shao sent Ju Yiwei as the vanguard, with eight hundred swordsman shields and one thousand strong crossbowmen. Before the two armies, Gongsun Zan saw that the enemy had not reached two thousand. , Naturally made the fatal mistake of underestimating the enemy, and immediately let the troops rush to the past, but he did not expect that Ju Yi did not panic, but let the shield soldiers in front, the crossbowmen in the back desperately to release arrows. Seems like a simple tactics , But took the old life of the Gongsun Zan cavalry. Although Bai Ma Yi never was destroyed by the whole army, it has since disappeared in the long river of history.
Conclusion
Bai Ma Yicong must have disappeared with the death of Gongsun Zan. In the face of Ju Yi’s first ascent, Bai Ma Yicong did suffer a loss, but it cannot be denied its value based on this alone. It is rare in the Han army. Looking at the tiger and leopard riding, Cao Wei can have such a foundation, which is indispensable for the tiger and leopard riding. But in the late Han Dynasty, there is no record of the tiger and the leopard riding. It should not be eliminated. As for, it may be that the unit number was changed and gradually forgotten.
References "Three Kingdoms", "Hanshu", "Heroes"
