This is something Qiao Lian'er can't understand. No matter how much the deficit is, it shouldn't be this bad. Five percent of the taxes is practically driving the court to revolt. Doesn't the court have any concerns about this?
Fang Hong hesitated for a moment, then smiled and said, "Anyway, it's not a secret."
He took a sip of tea: "The reason why the imperial court is in such dire straits is not only because of corrupt officials, but also because of the large-scale breeding of horses."
"Raising horses?"
"Yes, horse breeding, you know, infantry is very vulnerable in both offense and defense against cavalry. Wherever the cavalry's iron hooves go, they are unstoppable, and the infantry simply cannot resist."
Qiao Lian'er said, "Due to its terrain, the Great Swamp Kingdom mainly relies on infantry, but in every battle, the Great Swamp Kingdom always ends up winning."
"But every victory is a Pyrrhic one, requiring a force several times larger than the enemy's and a huge expenditure of financial and material resources. Every victory leaves the Great Swamp Kingdom severely weakened."
"Unless you encounter a brilliant and resourceful general who comes along only once every few decades, you can defeat the enemy with the fewest troops and achieve a draw, but such a general is hard to find."
"Of course, after the great war, the northern tribes, as the defeated side, also need to recuperate. Twenty years have passed since the last great war. Now the northern tribes have raised strong and healthy troops, a new batch of young men have grown up, and they have formed tribal alliances, which will create an even stronger offensive than before."
"But having suffered several defeats from the southward invasion of the Iron Hoof, the Great Swamp Kingdom had already made preparations in advance. Ten years ago, the Great Swamp Kingdom began raising horses in the plains, continuously purchasing horses from neighboring countries. Now, the number of horses in the official horse farms has exceeded 500,000. Horses are expensive, and to raise them to be strong, they not only need grass from the plains, but also need to be fed soybean cakes, barley, and other special feeds. They also need to be treated when they get sick. As a result, the Great Swamp Kingdom's national treasury has been severely burdened."
"Because of the expenses of raising horses, the national treasury is constantly in deficit, and even the local governments need to make extra contributions to make up for it. Now the twenty alliances are tentatively heading south. The emperor feels that there are not enough horses and that we need to continue to buy good horses. At least 200,000 more need to be purchased."
"So now you know why we're so short of food and money. Not to mention the silver, the food isn't just for the soldiers, it's also for feeding the horses."
Qiao Lian'er was shocked by what she heard.
In the Central Plains region controlled by the Great Swamp Kingdom, raising 200,000 horses was already considered an extremely rare and large number, because the terrain and topography did not provide the conditions for raising a large number of horses. Now, this number is approaching an astonishing 700,000. With autumn approaching, there may not even be enough grass on the grasslands for them to eat, and they will need even more money and grain.
And the burden of raising horses is distributed among ordinary people across the country.
"Now that we have so many horses, it's time to train the cavalry. This time, we should be able to win the battle relatively quickly."
Fang Hong, however, was somewhat worried: "His Majesty also has this idea. His Majesty's decision to raise horses is also a way of wanting to win the war quickly. After all, in the past, wars would take at least half a year, or even three to five years."
"The northern tribes know that the Great Swamp Kingdom is raising horses, so they also raise a large number of horses and train even stronger cavalry. In order to resist the Great Swamp Kingdom's cavalry and infantry, they even formed an alliance of twenty tribes. This time, it will probably be a difficult battle."
Qiao Lian'er remained silent for a long time.
She mentally reviewed the history books she had read and began to read them aloud to herself.
"To deal with cavalry, we can rely on crossbow formations, chariot formations, and infantry square formations, along with various tools such as grappling hooks, tripwires, horse-chopping swords, and great axes. If used properly, even the iron-hoofed army will be wary."
Fang Hong looked at Qiao Lian'er in disbelief, not expecting this girl to know these things.
"There are these formations, and dozens of tools. The Great Swamp Kingdom mainly uses infantry, and they have a wealth of experience in attacking and defending in this area after thousands of years of exploration."
"His Majesty's idea is that with the addition of a large number of cavalry, the victory will be achieved more quickly, without the prolonged attrition as before."
"But the problem is that this time the alliance of twenty northern tribes has no less than 800,000 troops, and they are mainly cavalry. Nobody knows when it will end."
Qiao Lian'er had an idea: "Uncle Fang, let me write down a few formations for you."
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