The pork butcher is smoother than a pig butcher!

Chapter 188 The End of Science is Metaphysics
Whether you believe it or not doesn't matter.

As a result, they lost five hundred of their best warhorses.

Although it won't affect the overall situation, it leaves an ominous shadow in the minds of those in power.

The 200,000-strong army continued its southward march.

The previous horse handlers were suspected of being traitors and were destined to die.

Even the shepherds were driven to their deaths by the wrath.

The newly appointed shepherds and horse herders were trembling with fear, their minds racing with intense emotions.

This season is really not suitable for fighting!
The winters in northern Mongolia are cold, dry, and long, and the military horses eat dry hay for months on end.

When the snow melts, the withered grass turns green.

Despite the seemingly vibrant season, this is actually the peak time for livestock to fall ill.

The livestock's digestive systems don't adapt to the transition from dry rations to tender grass very quickly.

Especially when the grass is covered with morning dew, horses and sheep are extremely prone to getting diarrhea after eating it.

In previous years, these warhorses were rarely released during the spring.

The cavalrymen only rode out occasionally to train, just to ensure that the horses' stamina did not deteriorate.

Summer brings abundant rainfall, marking the peak growing season for pasture grasses.

Warhorses eat a lot during the summer to grow.

But the season when warhorses can be used without restraint is autumn.

In autumn, pasture grasses begin to produce seeds, and these seeds are the essence of the pasture grasses.

It's the perfect time to fatten up for winter!
At this point, the warhorses could engage in physically demanding activities such as fighting.

Just then, the Han people also had a bumper harvest, and every household had surplus grain!
Therefore, the Han people also referred to the Tatars' southward raids as "taking advantage of the situation."
Right now, the warhorses, who have been eating dry grass all winter, are so engrossed in the sight of tender grass that they can't move their legs.

Which Mongolian doesn't know that spring is not a good time for grazing horses?

Lingdan Khan: If we wait until autumn to march south, the new emperor of Bei will probably have already ascended the throne!
Whether it was the lower class who won, or other Han Chinese forces who took advantage of the chaos.

If they were to try and take advantage of the new emperor in the year he ascended the throne, wouldn't the other side make an example of them?
Who knows, they might even launch a royal expedition!
The next day, the cavalrymen dared not entrust the task of herding horses to the stable boys again.

They either herd the horses themselves or cut grass to feed them.

In this way, Gan Minglan found another opportunity to thrive.

A few days ago, while training wild horses on the western slope of Junma Mountain, she noticed that the wild horses avoided a plant that looked very much like astragalus.

She was curious at the time.

The sheep in Yanhu County are said to love eating this kind of Chinese medicinal herb.

Are wild horses more picky eaters than sheep?

For the sake of her family's mutton soup restaurant, her future ranch must reserve a place for Tan sheep.

Whatever Chinese medicinal herbs the sheep in Huyan County eat, her ranch must also have them.

Later, when she returned to the border town to report the news, she took a stalk of astragalus and asked the horse herder in the army camp about it.

result!

The horse herder told her that the herb that looked very similar to astragalus was not scutellaria.

The people of the border town call it "Drunken Horse Grass".

It is not only not a tonic for replenishing qi and nourishing yang, but it is also a highly poisonous herb.

The whole plant is most toxic during its spring and summer flowering periods, and it remains poisonous even after it dries.

Livestock love to eat poisonous plants when they are young and tender.

When livestock eat a certain amount of *Hydrocotyle vulgaris*, they will exhibit symptoms of poisoning such as unsteady gait, elevated body temperature, and foaming at the mouth, resembling intoxication.

If consumed in excess, it can cause one to collapse and fall into a coma.

It can be severe and even fatal.

In short, according to the horse herders, the drunken horse grass was an extremely poisonous plant.

Look, look. She said that in nature, nothing is completely useless.

This is true for rodent pests on grasslands.

Even poisonous grasses on the grasslands have their uses!
On her way back, she gradually produced several kilograms of Drunken Horse Grass seeds.

Right now, she plans to encourage the growth of some *Drunken Horse Grass* among ordinary pasture grass.

When plants become tools for wood-type ability users, the most common method is to enhance the plant's inherent characteristics.

For example, when the camel thorn came into Gan Minglan's hands, the thorn became thicker, longer, and harder, and could even be used as a hidden weapon.

After her manipulation, the toxicity of the drunken horse grass doubled.

When grazing, Mongolian horses might even avoid the poisonous weeds altogether.

But she didn't believe that the cavalrymen who cut grass to feed the horses could pick out these poisonous weeds from the ordinary pasture!
The cavalrymen indeed did not discover anyone's underhanded tricks.

It's not that they don't recognize the herb *Drunken Horse Grass*.

Rather, this poisonous plant is so toxic that when you encounter it, nothing else grows around it.

Who would be wary of a large number of poisonous weeds hidden among ordinary pasture grass?
Before it even got dark, more than 5,000 warhorses, while eating, foamed at the mouth and collapsed to the ground with thuds.

Whose horse is it? Whose heart aches?

The cavalrymen all brought their own rations and warhorses to work!
They were screaming in desperation.

The accompanying veterinarians were pulled aside for a face-to-face examination and made a diagnosis on the spot.

"Poisoned! This is poisoned! What kind of grass did you feed it?"

"Oh no, this poison is too potent! There's probably no way to save him!"

"We'll try anything, even if it's a dead end, let's give it some yogurt and meat broth!"

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The veterinarian spent almost half an hour trying to save the horses, feeding them large amounts of yogurt and meat broth to the dozens of horses with the mildest symptoms, but ultimately failed.

Such a large-scale poisoning incident involving warhorses was unprecedented, and the entire army was in an uproar.

Only Lingdan Khan and the commander of ten thousand men were left standing bewildered in the wind.

Although the veterinarians couldn't save the horses, they were willing to help find the culprit that killed them.

The cavalrymen hadn't even finished eating the hay they had personally cut.

With a little effort, you can quickly spot the drunken horse grass mixed in with the pasture.

The veterinarians held up the drunken horse grass in their hands: "This is it!"

There are very few nomadic people who don't recognize this grass.

The heads of the households were very puzzled:
"What exactly is going on? When did poisonous weeds start growing alongside pasture grass?"

"I've only ever heard that livestock that eat 'drunken horse grass' are like drunkards. Isn't this grass a bit too toxic?"

Lingdan Khan was furious:
"Investigate! Investigate thoroughly for me! I also want to know if those poisonous weeds were transplanted into these pastures by someone with malicious intent!"

Such an unscientific and counterintuitive low-probability event can only be explained by human intervention.

How to check?
Check the grass that hasn't been cut yet, and look for human footprints on the surrounding sand.

Secondly, check if there are any signs of transplanting those poisonous plants.

Anyone with eyes can see the difference between natural growth and transplantation.

Lingdan Khan was full of confidence, believing that the investigation results would soon confirm his speculation.

Unexpectedly, more than 10,000 people searched for more than an hour, carrying torches and looking for clusters of trees.

As it turned out, quite a few poisonous weeds were indeed found among ordinary pasture grasses, but there was no sign of them being transplanted at all.

Not to mention human footprints, not even a single prairie rodent footprint was left!
Many people began to waver.

Could it really be divine punishment?

(End of this chapter)