Germans, black forest, black cross and black military uniforms are all standard for Germans. Therefore, the 500 guard cavalry newly selected by Marin, the rhino leather armor they wore were all covered with black paint.
In fact, black paint is not only highly praised by Germans, but also cheap. Unlike red paint, blue paint, although it is bright and beautiful, it is really expensive in this day and age!
Originally, Marin wanted his cavalry to wear red uniforms like lobster soldiers, because they were more handsome. However, red paint was too expensive. Moreover, too high-profile, it was easy for people to focus on fire on the battlefield to focus on fire... Marin hoped that these guards cavalry would protect their lives. If they were killed by the focus on fire first, their lives would be lost. Therefore, wearing black armor made it look thicker and more stable, and at the same time, they were low-key and restrained, and they were not given priority on fire...
Even Marin himself wore black armor when he was marching and rushing to avoid being sniped by the enemy's sharpshooter. Only in major rituals can he wear gold-painted armor to show his identity.
Of course, Marin would not be so stupid that she really wore heavy metal armor. Although the metal armor was shiny, it was really heavy! Wearing a set of real golden armor would gain what Marin didn't know, but he knew that doing so would definitely exhaust himself...
After all, the density of gold is more than 2.4 times that of steel. If you really want to wear a set of golden armor and don’t need enemies to hit yourself, you will be exhausted first.
Therefore, since he had the resources of rhino leather, Marin no longer wore steel armor, but instead asked someone to help him create a luxurious version of rhino leather armor. His rhino leather armor is different from ordinary rhino leather armor. It is not only more beautiful and generous, but also has many small "pockets".
Of course, this is not a small pocket, but a place to insert steel plates. After all, the rhinoceros leather armor is insufficient to resist bullets and can only resist cold weapons. Therefore, when charging, it is best to learn from later generations of bulletproof vests, insert steel plates, etc.
For example, in the "small pocket" outside the Marin leather armor, the steel sheets of high manganese steel are inserted. Each steel sheet is not big, but there are many "pockets" on the Marin armor, so many steel sheets of high manganese steel can be inserted to protect the key points of the mind. With the level of muskets in this era, it is still difficult to penetrate the rhino leather armor with high manganese steel sheets.
However, in order to keep it a secret, Marin did not announce that it was rhino leather armor, but lied that it was "finished and high-quality multi-layer cowhide armor". Because there has not been a big war recently, the superiority of the Beihai Kingdom's rhino leather armor has not been revealed. Therefore, no one paid much attention. Otherwise, how could the Portuguese allow Marin to be beautiful before?
You should know that the origin of rhino Africa is controlled by the Portuguese. They want rhino leather, which is much more convenient than Marin. Moreover, it is also convenient to cut off the supply of rhino leather in Marin Africa. After all, Senegal is also the legal "sphere of influence" of the Portuguese.
But Senegal is too small after all. The hunting team has already spread across the West African prairie in the Senegal region. However, over the past few years, the rhinoceros leather supplied is only enough to make 13,000 sets of rhinoceros leather armor. However, the Beihai State has tens of thousands of troops, which is not enough to divide!
Moreover, rhinoceros leather armor is also depleted. Like the bulletproof vest, the attacked rhinoceros leather armor is actually scrapped. Although it can be repaired and repaired, the repaired rhinoceros leather armor not only reduces its protective power, but also becomes very ugly. Therefore, rhinoceros leather armor is a consumable item. If a war breaks out, it is estimated that after a big battle, at least two or three thousand sets of rhinoceros leather armor will be scrapped. Not to mention, it is completely useless, but it must be used after major repairs. Moreover, the effect will be reduced.
Unless Marin has a stable supply of rhino leather, it allows armor craftsmen to replace the rhino leather armor pieces on the armor very conveniently. In this way, they will not be afraid of losses during combat.
However, Senegal is just a big place, there are really no rhinos!
At the beginning, the 100 musketeers of Reus' hunting team gained a lot. They hunted two or three thousand rhinos in a year and could make more than 7,000 pairs of armor. However, it would be difficult for them to encounter rhinos next...
After all, rhinos are solitary animals with a large territory. Each rhino has a territory of about 10 square kilometers. Hunting two or three thousand rhinos is equivalent to sweeping rhinos within 20,000 to 30,000 square kilometers. But how big is the Senegal area?
Moreover, the territory of rhino is not connected together, but is scattered and far apart from each other. Therefore, killing two or three thousand rhinos has already involved tens of thousands of square kilometers.
In addition, there are also a large number of humans in the Senegal region. Although the decline of Mali Empire is also a "remote area", many humans live in it and have strong strength. In human settlements and nearby areas, there are generally no rhinos.
So, over the years, Reus only got enough rhino leather to make more than 13,000 sets of armor, that is, he killed two or three thousand rhinos.
Marin did not distribute all of these more than 13,000 sets of rhinoceros leather armor, but only sent out ten thousand sets, and only sent them to officers and the most elite veterans. To a certain extent, in the Beihai National Army, rhinoceros leather armor became a symbol of identity.
But Marin obviously doesn't want to have only such a little rhinoceros leather armor! You know, if you really fight, rhinoceros leather armor will definitely consume a lot. If you fight a few more battles, those officers' rhinoceros leather armor will be scrapped and he will not be able to replace it.
Therefore, Marin hopes to get more rhinoceros leather to make more rhinoceros leather armor.
But how can we get a better understanding of rhino skin while concealing it from the Portuguese?
At present, it is best to send a reliable hunting team to hunt rhinos on the African savanna. As long as you carry a powerful mesh rope gun and use steel ball bullets produced in the North Sea, you can easily kill rhinos and get rhinoceros skin. Not to mention anything else, the power of the Mushket musket alone is enough to hunt rhinos.
This chapter is not over, please click on the next page to continue reading! But the problem is that Marin tried his best to rely on the power of Jorge de Renkastre, Duke of Coimbra, to obtain permission to hunt rhinos in the Senegal region.
But Jorge de Rencastre himself failed to compete for the throne with Manuel I. Although he was a duke, his situation in Portugal's political arena was very bad.
As the loser in the battle for the throne, in ancient China, iron nails were to be wiped out. Even if the situation in Europe is much better, it is inevitable that they will be targeted and suppressed by the winner Manuel I.
Therefore, even if he was the son of the previous Portuguese king, even if he was the duke of Portugal, Jorge de Rencastre was actually limited in ability, and it was rare to help Marin get the management rights of this small place in Senegal.
Moreover, as a great nobleman and former competitor to the throne, the other party was obviously not a fool. If Marin had not handed over all the rhino horns he had hunted to the other party and made a big profit, he might not have been willing to cooperate with Marin.
However, if you don’t cooperate with Jorge de Lencastre, who can Marin cooperate with? You must know that Africa is the territory assigned to Portugal by the Holy See. Although he can use tough means to force Portugal to submit, or simply send people to do it directly without notifying Portugal. However, the consequences of breaking the rules are very serious. Once he takes the lead in violating the rules of the Holy See, he will not only lose the support of the Holy See, but also make people find excuses to covet the American colonies he values ​​most...
But the battle is imminent, Marin really wants more rhinoceros leather! If the soldiers have more rhinoceros leather armor equipment and replacement, their combat power will be greatly improved. Not to mention whether the armor has been improved, but the weight can allow the soldiers to maintain high protection while saving a lot of physical strength and can be used for combat. Unlike wearing plate armor, let alone other things, bearing weight is extremely exhausting...
How to get more rhino skin? For this, Magellan, who had been under Marin's command, gave very good suggestions - to cooperate with former minister Joao II...
The so-called former ministers of Joao II refer to the Portuguese nobles of the previous Portuguese king Joao II. They were once loyal to Joao II and later supported Joao II's parent-child - Jorge de Renkastre, Duke of Coimbra, to inherit the Portuguese throne.
But Jorge de Rencaster failed in the end, and finally Manuel I inherited the throne...
Chapter completed!