Chapter 665: The people are the creators
Yunnan horses and Mongolian horses are two excellent horse breeds in China.
They are all resistant to long distances and rough feeding.
It's just that one is for transportation and the other is for riding.
Yunnan horses can carry things on rugged mountain roads for half a month, covering sixty miles a day.
When a Mongolian horse is ridden, it can travel an average of 150 miles a day in the grassland area, and can also be ridden continuously for about half a month.
Even if you move to other places, the speed will decrease, but it can still reach about one hundred miles.
Note, this is data after the Mongolian horse breed has been severely degraded.
There is a view on the Internet in later generations that human endurance is better than horses, so infantry is more useful than war horses for long-distance attacks.
At the same time, various observational data are also used as the theoretical basis.
This data source should be the so-called noble blood horses that foreign gentlemen use for entertainment and viewing.
Then some people applied these data to China, and finally formed this view.
Later, it also deceived many people who did not know the details.
In the history of Western wars, battles involving large regiments of cavalry and large roundabout operations may indeed be somewhat rare.
But this does not mean that the same situation exists in China.
It is common for various theories popular in the world to be acclimatized in China, but some people still enjoy being slapped in the face.
China has had large-scale cavalry warfare since the Han Dynasty, and until the Qing Dynasty, large-scale cavalry raided more than a thousand miles in a few or ten days, and war records of two to three thousand miles are common.
So that view also cannot explain this phenomenon—unless Chinese historians have been tirelessly lying about cavalry combat for more than a thousand years.
In the era when the Mongols were sweeping across the Eurasian continent, the Mongolian army marched five hundred kilometers in one day and one night in the battle to attack the city of Khorazimo.
You want to ask the infantry to run?
Even if there is no one person riding two or three horses, just one person and one horse, the Mongolian horses that have been severely degraded in later generations are enough to slow down the speed of the infantry.
A severely degraded Mongolian horse can travel 1,500 miles in half a month when ridden by someone, which would be about 1,800 miles in today's Han Dynasty.
In this era, a raid of 1,800 miles in half a month should be possible if the Nanxiang soldiers at Feng Yong's hands risk their lives, but only if they are lightly armed.
In the process, some people may be killed or vomit blood. Less than half or even fewer people can actually get there, and they can't even stand up. This is not called running, this is called delivering food.
Since other soldiers of the same era were far behind in terms of nutrition, organization, discipline, etc., if any general dared to do this, all of them might have escaped halfway.
So even if the infantry is on horseback, riding a Mongolian horse instead of walking is much better than the infantry running on two legs.
Most of the tall horses in the West are younger brothers than the short Mongolian horses in terms of long-distance running and endurance. And they are the younger brothers.
In terms of feeding, the two are even more different.
Compared with Mongolian horses that are not afraid of the cold, can adapt to extremely extensive feeding and management, have strong vitality, and can survive in harsh and harsh conditions.
Horses of noble blood in the West must be handled with care, otherwise they will get sick and lose their vitality.
This is like the Tiger vs. T34 during World War II. No matter how thick and long the Tiger tank's barrel is, it can't compare to the T34's simple structure, strong and durable skin.
As war horses, both have their own advantages and disadvantages.
The Western horse is a tall horse with strong explosive power and short-distance sprint. It is suitable for assembling heavy cavalry and attacking the enemy head-on.
The Mongolian horse is suitable as a light cavalry horse. When one person rides two or three horses, it can launch a surprise attack from a distance where the enemy cannot see it.
In the battle of Jieting, the cavalry part of the Central Army of Wei led by Zhang He consisted of a considerable number of one man, two cavalry or even three cavalry. Only then, after running nearly two thousand miles in more than ten days, could they still cross Longshan and launch a sneak attack. Street pavilion.
This allowed Feng Yong to experience the power of long-range raids by light cavalry for the first time.
Even if a large number of war horses are run away, being able to deliver soldiers thousands of miles away in a short period of time is a victory in a battlefield where every second counts.
After all, it is not strange for cavalry in this era to dismount and fight.
So the war horses used by Zhang He, even if they are not Mongolian horses, should be close relatives of Mongolian horses, or have some kind of connection.
The big man finally obtained the horse-producing land of Longyou. The most important thing now is to carefully select and train the horses in this land that are suitable for use as war horses.
Rather than being picked out to be draft horses or pack horses.
If Feng Yong really dares to do that, Mr. Zhao will probably come over to talk to him with a whip and a spear until the Prime Minister of the Han Dynasty opens his mouth.
Wu Ming carefully glanced at Guan Ji who was following Feng Yongshen, and said tentatively, "Why don't you use a mule?"
Feng Yong glanced at Wu Ming and said angrily, "Where did there come from so many mules?"
The mule is a good thing. It is the offspring of a donkey and a horse. It has the best of both worlds and is a typical hybrid dominant species.
It is tolerant to roughage and hard work, has strong disease resistance and adaptability, and has strong pulling power and long-lasting performance. It is most suitable for pulling carts and carrying loads.
Although he is a bit impatient, he is very smart and considerate.
In later generations, there are traces of it from the northeast to the northwest, and even in the mountainous areas of the southwest. There is no such regional restriction of the Yunnan horse.
It can be said that except for being inferior to Yunnan horses on rugged mountain roads, mules are much easier to use than horses for transportation.
But how to obtain such good animal power is a big problem.
Because it cannot reproduce on its own.
As a large rancher, Feng Yong still knows some things.
Mares are basically pregnant in the spring and summer.
At this time, the big stallions carefully selected in the pasture are generally more cooperative and will not make too many mistakes.
But as a donkey is another species, it is very likely that it turns a blind eye when it is time to cooperate.
The suitable time for a mare to conceive is five to seven days per month.
Most of the time, there will be a time difference between the two.
So how can mules be so easy to get?
It was still a rarity in the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods. It was only used by princes and nobles for appreciation, and was regarded as a kind of auspiciousness.
At present, although it is no longer a rare animal, it has not yet become a common draft animal in large numbers.
And if you want to get a good breed of mule, the breed of its parents must not be too bad.
Donkeys are okay, after all, they are just like the stallions in the pasture, and the number does not need to be too large. As long as you are willing, you can find a few good donkeys even in Shu.
What’s more, you can also conduct external transactions through Juxian, Nanxiang, Yongan and other places.
But it’s hard to say how good a female horse can be. How good a mule can it produce if it’s as small as a Yunnan horse?
This thing is not easy to do in the first place, not to mention that the breed of mare is not good. In addition, Feng Yong underestimated the adaptability of Yunnan horses to the northern climate, so he has not bothered to get any horses and mules in the past few years.
This wrong decision has finally made Feng Yong suffer.
After saving for a few years, no matter how bad the breed is, it will be much better than the current situation of directly consuming the number of Yunnan horses.
Wu Ming moved his lips after hearing Feng Yong's words, glanced at Guan Ji again, and finally closed his mouth.
Feng Yong noticed his action, and felt a little unhappy in his heart. You guys, I am talking to you about business, and you have already peeked at my wife twice. What do you mean? Do you think you live too long?
So Feng Yong said to Guan Ji, "Xi Jun, is there someone quarreling over there? You go and take a look first."
Guan Ji's eyes were clear, and she glanced at Feng Yong with some inquiring eyes, and then at Wu Ming, but she didn't ask why, she nodded, and walked away.
“Okay, madam, I’m leaving. If you have anything to say, you can just say it.”
Wu Ming then smiled sheepishly and said, "Your Majesty, please forgive me. What I wanted to say was a bit dirty. I was afraid it would offend my wife's ears, so I didn't dare to say it clearly just now."
These words made Feng Yong a little strange, "What is it that cannot be said in front of my wife?"
Wu Ming looked around again and confirmed that there were no women, then he came up and said softly, "If you want to have more mules, someone among the villain's useless disciples has suggested a way."
"Oh?" Feng Yong became interested immediately after hearing this, "What's the method?"
Wu Ming turned around and shouted to the horse circle, "Zhou Lu, Zhou Lu, come here quickly."
I saw a young man trotting past Feng Yong very quickly. There was a confused look on his face. It was obvious that he didn't know what his master had asked him to do.
However, when he saw Feng Yong, the expression on his face turned into excitement and admiration that could not be concealed.
“What are you still doing? Come on, please show me your gifts!”
Wu Ming was very angry and kicked this young man who looked a little stupid.
“Villain…Zhou, Zhou Lu, I have met Feng Langjun!”
Zhou Lu looked overly nervous and had a stutter in his speech.
At this time, those who used to call Feng Yong Feng Langjun were basically the early residents of Nanxiang.
Especially for young men like Zhou Lu, nine and a half out of ten are Feng Yong's admirers, and they are Feng Yong's staunchest supporters.
Feng Yong smiled warmly and understandingly, trying to make him relax as much as possible, "Zhou Lu? Where did the name come from?"
"Yes, it was taken from the gentleman in the school." Zhou Lu's face turned red and his chest heaved a little. It seemed that he still couldn't restrain his excitement. "The villain is a craftsman. Thanks to Feng Langjun's great kindness, he changed his mind." It has become a good book."
“Later, the little man was elected to the school and had to give him a formal name. The teacher in the school knew that the little man was born next to a stove, so he gave him a stove.”
Damn this bunch of poor literati, no matter how unscrupulous they are, they still looked down on Qian Shou from the bottom of their hearts at the beginning, otherwise they wouldn't have given him such a name so perfunctorily.
Feng Yong kept the smile on his face and nodded, "I see. Then why did you become a veterinarian?"
There are two ways out of the school, one is medical school, and the other is to do practical work at the grassroots level.
Being a veterinarian should be considered an exception.
“The villain studied in the school for two years, and then entered the medical school to help. Because there are not enough patients, and the villain prefers animals, he often goes to treat the animals in the pasture and practice his skills.”
Feng Yong:…
So I am still worried about the medical conditions of my soldiers.
“Why do you like animals?”
Feng Yong resisted the desire to complain and asked again.
“When I was a child, my family was too poor and I always dreamed of having a big animal...”
This dream of yours is really...
Feng Yong suddenly realized that he didn’t know how to complain about this.
"Then what?"
“Then the master saw that I was eager to learn, so he taught me a lot of things.”
Zhou Lu glanced at Wu Ming gratefully again.
Wu Ming had a kind smile on his face.
What a simple and good boy!
Feng Yong sighed, and then asked, "Master Wu just said, do you have a way to produce more mules?"
Zhou Lu glanced at Wu Ming again in surprise. After receiving Wu Ming's encouragement, his face that had just returned to normal began to turn red again, and he said with some embarrassment, "It's just a random guess."
“It’s a good thing to have ideas.” Feng Yong encouraged, “Come and listen.”
"It's just...it's just..." Zhou Lu felt embarrassed for a long time, but couldn't explain why, and his face turned redder and redder.
Looking at the other party's appearance, Feng Yong frowned. What's not to say about this beast?
"That's it…"
Seeing the urging look on Feng Yong's face, Zhou Lu finally explained in a hesitant voice, as if he was mumbling to himself.
If Feng Yong hadn't concentrated on listening, I might not have been able to hear clearly.
But after he finished listening, his eyes suddenly widened and the corners of his mouth twitched a few times.
Wu Ming looked anxious and thought Zhou Lu's voice was too low and he couldn't explain clearly.
In addition, he was older and thick-skinned, so he immediately coughed and said, "Junhou, Zhou Lu's intention is to only wait until the mare is ready to conceive, then treat the donkey..."
Feng Yong raised his right hand and said, "Okay, you don't need to say anything."
Wu Ming's words were interrupted. He was a little confused and looked at Zhou Lu worriedly.
Zhou Luo woke up with a start and quickly hid his hands behind his back, even his neck turned red.
Feng Yong looked at the helpless young man in front of him and was speechless for a long time. In the end, all the words in his heart could only be condensed into one sentence: You are really a talent!
Wrong!
It should be said that Lao Tzu’s Nanxiang Academy is really full of talented people!
“How did you come up with it?”
Feng Yong couldn't help his curiosity and asked further.
“Little man, when the little man is castrating the livestock in the pasture, he sometimes accidentally bumps into them and finds them...”
Okay, you don’t need to say any more.
Your observations are really careful.
Feng Yong pondered for a moment and then asked, "Have you tried this method?"
“The donkey has not tried it, but the horse has.”
Wu Ming nodded quickly, "There are always one or two stallions over there in the pasture every spring. Sometimes they are not so active. We tried this method and it was solved quickly."
solved?
Feng Yong was really unable to complain about Wu Ming's words. As expected, the broad masses of the people are the real creators of productivity!
(End of this chapter)