In the impression of many people, the weapons of the famous Tang Dynasty general Qin Qiong are double hammers. In the novel, there is also a plot about him and his cousin Luo Cheng teaching each other martial arts, but retaining the "killer skill". In fact, Qin Qiong's best weapon was the horse mallet. The horse mallet is an ancient Chinese cold weapon, a heavy cavalry weapon, originating in the Han Dynasty and arising in the Wei, Jin, Sui and Tang dynasties. According to Liu Xun in the Old Book of Tang, "Shu Bao made good use of the horse mallet, and the thief base was outnumbered, which can be described as brave." "And Qin Qiong's unique trick in the use of the horse mallet, for five thousand years, only two people will." The other person was Tuoba Qian, a famous Northern Wei general before Qin Qiong.
Tuoba Qian was born into a humble nobleman, his grandfather was The Zhaocheng Emperor Tuoba Shiyi Qian, his father was Tuoba Qigen, and his cousin was Tuoba Jue, emperor of the Northern Wei Dynasty. He was a man of great looks and great force, and was known for his strength and bravery at a young age. In the early years of his ascension to the throne, he was given the title of Duke of Chenliu Commandery (陈留郡公), and later he was made the Prince of Huan for his military merits. Tuoba Qian's best weapon is the horse mallet, but because of his innate divine power, he always feels that the ordinary hammer is too thin and short. Even with the use of a king-sized mallet, it still feels light. In order to match his own strength, Tuoba Qian ordered someone to be embellished under the blade. At that time, The Wei King Tuoba Yi used a bow of nearly ten stones because of his strength, so the people of the time called them: "Wei Wang Bow, Huan Wang Hammer." ”
Tuoba Qian was so powerful and brave, so his favorite thing to do on the battlefield was to stab people with a mallet and hold them high. In simple terms, it is to hold up a horse mallet to pierce the enemy general, and then lift the dead high to deter the enemy. In addition, he also has a big move, that is, "running horse planting mallet". How is this skill used? Mainly used when he pretends to be defeated. When Tuoba Qian encountered a situation unfavorable to himself on the battlefield, he would "smash the ground with one hand and ride his horse to disguise and retreat."
When the enemy saw that his weapon was lost, he would naturally come to scramble. But Tuoba Qian inserted the horse mallet too deep into the ground, so the enemy soldiers could not pull it out for a while and a half. Just as they were pulling out their horses, Tuoba Qian opened his bow and arrow and shot these soldiers. He often killed two or three people with one arrow, and those who competed for his horse became the ghosts under the arrows. And this big move, in the subsequent history, except for Qin Qiong, almost no one learned.
According to the Tang Dynasty notebook novel "Sui Tang Jia Dialect", Qin Qiong also showed a skill of "running horses and planting mallets" when he helped Li Shimin, the king of Qin, to attack Luoyang. At that time he inserted the horse's mallet into the ground and galloped away. There were more than ten defenders in Luoyang City, and none of them could even pull up a horse' mallet, even if they joined forces. After they withdrew to the city, Qin Qiong easily picked it up. If Qin Qiong was also as skilled as Tuoba Qian, I was afraid that the dozen defenders would also lose their lives. But over time, no one knows how to do this skill.