Ask the mountains and rivers

Chapter 211 Warhorses (Part 1)

This is the sound of a herd of horses galloping.

Pei Qinghe's eyes suddenly brightened, and she abruptly turned her head to look in the direction of the sound of horses' hooves.

Mao Hongling's eyes lit up, and her voice revealed eager joy: "Has our people returned with the horses?"

“It should be.” Pei Qinghe’s brows relaxed, her eyes filled with laughter. “Let’s wait a bit.”

This wait lasted for the time it takes to drink a cup of tea.

The sound of horses' hooves was like muffled thunder, the ground trembled, and it grew closer and closer. A one-armed man rode ahead, grinning and waving at the crowd, his shouts swallowed up by the sound of hooves and completely inaudible.

“It’s Fang Datou.” Pei Yan grinned. “As expected, he’s one of ours.”

Pei Qinghe smiled and nodded. She waited for the horses opposite to come to a slow stop before stepping forward to greet them.

Fang Datou led everyone off their horses and said in unison, "General, we're back."

The Zhan family members were a step slower, but they were equally excited and bowed in greeting.

Pei Qinghe personally helped Fang Datou up, and then helped Zhan Fei up: "You've been traveling for almost a year, and you must be exhausted. Come into the village first to take a bath, change your clothes, eat, and rest."

Fang Datou looked exhausted, and Zhan Fei was even worse off. They had been used to a life of luxury. This past year, not to mention the various setbacks they encountered when buying horses, just talking about the thousands of miles they had traveled was a story of bitter tears.

Having barely made it back, he was indeed too exhausted to say anything. Zhan Fei roused himself and replied, "I'll lead everyone to settle in. See you again tomorrow, General."

Pei Qinghe said gently, "No rush, it's fine to rest for a couple more days."

The Zhan family had over a hundred members when they left, but only a little over sixty returned. Of Fang Datou's battalion, only half survived. This shows how dangerous that year was outside the Great Wall.

They brought back a large herd of warhorses.

The warhorses were of various colors: black, gray, white, dappled, and chestnut, each one taller and stronger than the last. The sight was exhilarating.

Pei Yan couldn't contain herself any longer and rushed over to pet this horse and then rub against that one.

Mao Hongling restrained herself slightly and had already reached the herd of horses.

Pei Qinghe's eyes gleamed as she instructed Zhao Hai, "Lead the men back to the stables and count the number of warhorses."

Zhao Hai's smile stretched almost to his ears as he nodded repeatedly in agreement. There were about ten people in the stable, which was clearly far from enough for today. Fortunately, there were plenty of people in Pei Family Village, and a group came at a wave of his hand. Each person led a warhorse, slowly making their way to the stable.

Throughout the year, the stables were expanded again and again, eventually forming six rows. Normally empty, they were now crammed with warhorses. There were still dozens more that couldn't be accommodated.

Seeing this, Pei Qinghe immediately said to Shi Yan, "There's still one group that hasn't returned. I wonder how many horses they'll bring back. We'll need to build six more stables."

Two years ago, bricklayers like Yang Shan brought their families and settled in Peijia Village. Peijia Village has been continuously recruiting migrants and building walls and new houses.

Chief Steward Shi was in charge of money and provisions, and matters such as building stables also fell under his jurisdiction. At General Pei's command, Chief Steward Shi nodded in acceptance and immediately began making arrangements.

Building a stable is much simpler than building a house; it doesn't require bricks or stones, only wood. The village has plenty of wood, so construction can begin the next day.

Pei Qinghe slept for a day and a night before waking up from hunger. Her mother, Madam Feng, brought her a large bowl of noodles, her eyes full of tenderness and pity: "Eat your fill and then sleep a little longer."

Pei Qinghe wolfed down her food, eating with relish: "I've had a good sleep, I'm going to check on the stables."

All he ever thought about was his warhorse.

Madam Feng smiled and did not stop her, but gently instructed, "Take a rest these few days and don't overwork yourself."

Pei Qinghe smiled and said, "Mother, don't worry. I know what's important and won't tire myself out." She then enthusiastically invited Madam Feng to go to the stable together.

Ms. Feng readily agreed.

Previously frail, Lady Feng taught children to read every day after arriving in Yan County, and also practiced martial arts. Now she is healthy and her strength far surpasses what she used to have.

Upon arriving at the stables and seeing the magnificent warhorses, Madam Feng was overjoyed: "Excellent! Our Pei family army is desperately in need of warhorses. The Zhan family has rendered a great service this time!"

For an army, having cavalry comprising 30% is already quite remarkable. The former Beiping Army had 30% cavalry. The Guangning Army, Fanyang Army, and Liaoxi Army were slightly less successful, with cavalry making up about 20%.

From the very beginning, the Pei family army lacked warhorses. It wasn't until they decisively defeated the Fanyang army and seized all of their warhorses that they managed to amass a few battalions of cavalry.

Now that the territory has doubled in size, Beiping County is recruiting new soldiers and needs to train 3,000 elite troops. Pei Family Village also needs to replenish its ranks with 3,000 soldiers. With the addition of troops stationed in various county towns, the Pei Family Army now numbers nearly 10,000.

How many warhorses would it take?
No amount of it is ever enough. The more the better, the more the better.

Pei Qinghe summoned Zhao Hai and inquired about the number of warhorses. Zhao Hai grinned and said, "I led the count three times today. Master Zhan and his party brought back 862 warhorses! There are 27 mares, and they are pregnant with foals."

Pei Qinghe was extremely pleased: "Please put in some effort to take good care of these mares. If you are short-handed, pick some diligent and honest men from the village, and they will be paid the same military salary as the soldiers in the Pei family army."

At first, there was no military pay. A group of starving refugees were already extremely grateful to be taken in by Pei Family Village and given a meal.

Only after defeating the Xiongnu barbarians and recruiting good citizens from Changping County into the Pei family army was the Pei family army truly established. New recruits were given settlement money, monthly military pay, and those seriously wounded or killed in battle received compensation.

The Pei family army had far stricter discipline than armies like the Guangning army, and their training was exceptionally arduous, yet people kept joining. Enough food and adequate pay were also crucial factors.

Those who worked in the stables were also members of Pei's army and received military pay as well.

Zhao Hai did the math: "There were originally 413 warhorses in the stable, and with these 862, that makes 1,275 horses. Each person can take care of about 40 warhorses. There are 12 people in the stable now, so we'll recruit 18 more."

Pei Qinghe smiled and said, "Recruit another thirty people. There are also those who bought horses along the way, and they might be on their way back."

Zhao Hai nodded in agreement.

Raising horses is extremely costly; the daily fodder and feed required is a huge expense. Pei Qinghe called Shi Yan over and asked, "We currently have over 1,200 warhorses. Can we afford to keep them?"

Shi Yan's slender fingers clicked rapidly across the abacus as he calculated the costs for his general. He explained how much fodder and feed a horse needed per day, how much silver was needed to maintain over 100 or 200 warhorses per day, the cost of raising them for a month, and the costs for raising them for three months, six months, and a year.

Pei Qinghe's head spun as she listened to the string of numbers. She coughed and interrupted Shi Yan, "No need for such details. Just tell me if we can afford to raise so many horses?"

Shi Yan raised an eyebrow and smiled: "We can afford to raise another thousand."

(End of this chapter)