Riding the wind of rebirth

Everyone laughed and joked as they rode all the way to the town government building, then circled the farm road around the base to familiarize themselves with the dirt road, before starting their journey back.

The scenery and climate in the countryside are very pleasant. Lianhe Township is not only a summer resort, but also a winter leisure destination. In other words, its autumn and winter seasons are not cold.

The main reason is that the sun is so strong that even if the temperature is a little low, as long as you wear a dark-colored garment, the sun's heat radiation will warm your clothes in no time. Many of the villagers here have never seen a cotton-padded jacket or down jacket since they were born. For example, in Zhouzi, winter is basically just a thermal undershirt and a coat. At night, they only need a blanket to sleep, and they basically don't need a quilt.

It was a bit chilly when we were exercising, but we warmed up as we started walking back.

Liang Hong wasn't satisfied yet, so she urged Zhou Zhi to control the big blue horse, turning the stroll into a trot. The four horses started running along the asphalt road, which thrilled her.

“No wonder so many wealthy people abroad like to keep horses,” Yang Honghui said excitedly. “This sport is so much more interesting than driving!”

"Actually, horses are just like people; they need to do sports training." Zhou Zhi easily maneuvered the big blue horse: "Horses also have different jobs, such as pack horses, draft horses, warhorses, and racehorses. If a horse goes out of its profession, it's like a human football player playing basketball; it won't necessarily work well."

"My big blue horse and Xiao Miao's chestnut horse are basically our mounts now. We ride them to run in the mountains every few days. Therefore, they have been trained to run fast on mountain roads for a long time. They are strong, patient, smart and agile."

"But the horses you're riding are dual-purpose for riding and pack animals. They're mainly used as pack horses for carrying things in daily life, but they're also often ridden by villagers in emergencies or when going to markets in other towns during festivals. So they're basically rideable, but they're definitely not as strong as the big blue horses and chestnut horses."

"As for those mules, they have always been the main force for hauling things. Before the village had tractors and cars, they were the ones that pulled carts on the main roads and carried pack animals on the Tea Horse Road. Apart from the occasional rides by children on the riverbank, they were rarely used to carry people. It would be really difficult for people to ride them up the mountain."

"Furthermore, the selection, training, and even feed ratio of horses are different for different purposes. Some require tall and agile horses, while others require strong and robust horses; some require intelligence, while others require dullness; some must be intensively fed, while others can be raised roughly."

"I never knew there were so many intricacies to horse breeding." Yang Honghui shook his head in admiration: "I feel like this... should be considered an intangible cultural heritage, right?"

“Of course there are many tricks to it, otherwise agricultural peoples would not have been able to consistently lose to nomadic peoples in cavalry warfare,” Zhou Zhi said. “This is not just a small gap, but a comprehensive backwardness in the overall system. They not only don’t know how to raise, train, or utilize them, but they also don’t know how to manage, train, or utilize them. This problem was most evident in the Song Dynasty during the feudal period.”

"I know that the Mongol cavalry was at its most powerful back then, they even fought their way all the way to Europe, right?"

“Yes, the Golden Family’s westward expeditions reached as far as the Danube River basin,” Zhou Zhi said. “This represents the pinnacle of cavalry use in the era of cold weapons. But besides the westward expeditions, there was another Mongol cavalry force whose mobility was even more terrifying.” “Eh? Which force?”

"Among the Mongol army was a general named Uriyangqatai. In his early years, he followed the army on an eastern expedition to Liaodong, and later followed the army on a western expedition to what is now Poland and Germany. After that, he assisted Kublai Khan, commanded the western army through Tibet, crossed the Jinsha River, entered Chahan Zhang, marched towards Dali, and occupied Dali City."

"Afterwards, Kublai Khan returned north, and Uriyangqatai remained to garrison central Yunnan. He divided his troops to capture Shanshan City and captured Duan Xingzhi, the ruler of Dali. After two years of fighting, he pacified five cities, eight prefectures, four counties of Dali, as well as thirty-seven tribes including Wuman, Baiman, and Guiman."

"The Wuman are the Yi people, the Baiman are the Bai people, and the Guiman are the Luo clan and other kingdoms that lived in northeastern Yunnan and western Guizhou. They later surrendered to the present-day Mosuo and Naxi tribes. Afterwards, under the orders of Möngke Khan, they led their troops out of Wumeng and towards Lujiang, conquered three cities of the Tula Man, entered Sichuan, and then defeated the Song general Zhang Dutong at Mahujiang. They then led their troops to fight against Shi Jun. Afterwards, they returned to Dali and went south to capture Thang Long, the capital of the Kingdom of Jiaozhi. The King of Jiaozhi surrendered."

"Afterwards, he led his army north and then outflanked the Southern Song Dynasty from central Yunnan. He led 3,000 Mongol cavalry and 10,000 Lolo people and Bo people into Guangxi. He defeated the Song army at Laocang Pass, captured Guizhou and Xiangzhou of the Southern Song Dynasty, entered Jingjiang Prefecture (now Guilin), then entered Hunan Province, captured Yuanling and Zhijiang, reached the city of Changsha, and finally arrived in Wuhan, where he reunited with Kublai Khan."

"This man led the Mongol army across tens of thousands of miles throughout his life. In his last campaign within Song territory, he fought for over a thousand miles, participating in thirteen battles, large and small, killing over 400,000 Song soldiers and capturing three generals. He never suffered a defeat. He lived to the age of seventy-two before he died."

"Aside from the soldiers who fought in warships and airplanes in later generations, this general probably had the largest range of battles in the era of cold weapons. If it weren't for the support of the powerful Mongol cavalry, it would have taken decades just to cover such a large area."

"It's really ridiculously powerful." Even if Liang Hong wasn't very good at geography, she knew that this big bend was extraordinary: "Hey? Liangshan Prefecture is the passage from central Yunnan to Sichuan, right? Did Wulianghetai also pass through here back then?"

"There is no definitive record of this in history, but the first pass that Uriyangkhadai captured when he entered Sichuan was called Shimen Pass, which is located in Gao County, Yizhou. There is a major road into Sichuan there, which was called Bo Road because the Bo people lived there. Later, Li Bing of the Qin Dynasty expanded it to five feet, so it was also called Five-Foot Road. So Uriyangkhadai probably took this road when he entered Sichuan. That road is quite far from here."

"However, Uriyangkhadai later defeated Song general Zhang Dutong at Mahujiang, clearing away the obstacles to entering Sichuan. Mahujiang is located next to Meigu County and Leibo County, which produces good oranges. Moreover, at that time, there were already Luoluo people recruited locally in Uriyangkhadai's army. The Luoluo are the present-day Lolo ethnic group. They are good at raising wasps and now live on the road from Meigu to Huili."

"It seems that even if the Mongol army did not come here in person, they most likely recruited soldiers and supplies in the surrounding area to support their battle at Mahujiang."

"If it weren't for riding this lap of horses, it would be really hard to grasp the power of the Mongol army back then just from history textbooks..." Yang Honghui shook his head and sighed, holding the reins: "They were just too formidable..." (End of this chapter)