All dynasties in the Central Plains encountered the same problem when they went north to the grasslands to attack nomadic tribes: logistics!
Sun Tzu's Art of War says, "An army without baggage will perish; an army without food will perish; an army without reserves will perish."
The prerequisite for winning a battle is to ensure that the soldiers and horses are well fed, otherwise you will surely lose!
When Meng Tian attacked the Huns in the north, the amount of grain transported to the front line from Guanzhong was about two hundred dan.
In other words, only two out of every hundred loads of grain were actually delivered to the front line, and the remaining ninety-eight loads of grain were eaten by people and animals during transportation.
Why did Emperor Wu of Han's northern expedition against the Xiongnu empty the national treasury?
Because the war horses eat too much!
War horses, like humans, need to be well fed and well fed to be in optimal condition.
If you only feed a warhorse with grass, there will be problems with its physical strength and explosive power.
Therefore, when feeding war horses, millet, beans, sorghum and other grains would be added to the grass, and even a small amount of salt would be added to the water.
In the Han Dynasty, each war horse would eat six people’s worth of food every day!
It was not until 194 BC that the problem of food consumption by war horses was slightly alleviated when Zhang Qian brought back alfalfa (a leguminous plant) known as the "king of forage grass" during his diplomatic mission to the Western Regions.
In the Tang Dynasty, the baggage problem of the Central Plains dynasty was truly solved for the first time.
When the Tang army went on an expedition, in addition to asking border residents to transport food, they also asked foreign countries along the way to provide food and fodder.
Secondly, most of the Tang auxiliary troops (vassal troops) that fought with the army were from nomadic tribes. They brought their own logistics and provided support to the Tang army every time they went out.
As a soldier, Liu Zhaoji was well aware of logistical and baggage issues.
He cleared his throat, stood up and said to Yan Yingyuan: "The main rations of the Mongolian cavalry during the Western Expedition were cheese and dried meat. These two things are light and very resistant to hunger. Especially cheese, no fire is needed when eating, which greatly reduces the pressure on logistics and baggage."
(Jerky is mainly air-dried meat. Since it has no moisture, it is very hard and cannot be eaten directly. It needs to be boiled in boiling water when eaten.)
"Secondly, Mongolian cavalrymen took turns riding multiple horses, and most of the horses were mares. When they were thirsty, they used mare's milk instead of water. This way, the army did not need to boil water to drink during the march, which not only enabled them to march in secret, but also reduced the pressure on logistics."
"One more thing..." Liu Zhaoji stretched out five fingers of his right hand, "The Mongolian cavalry were followed by herdsmen and the tribe's cattle and sheep. As long as there was water and grass, they could advance recklessly."
"The reason why Champion Marquis Huo Qubing was able to succeed by advancing alone and using his war-fighting tactics to support his opponent was, firstly, his courage and his tactics were novel and unexpected; secondly, he was lucky to encounter the Xiongnu tribe and obtain supplies. Of course, luck is also part of strength!"
After listening to Liu Zhaoji's analysis, Yan Yingyuan swallowed his saliva.
This kind of cavalry is so terrifying, no wonder they could attack Liao, destroy Song, and sweep the world!
"That's not right..." Yan Yingyuan suddenly said, "Although the Mongolian cavalry don't eat food, don't their horses eat food too? If they do, how do we solve the food problem?"
"Eat!" Liu Zhaoji nodded vigorously. "Because the tribe will go with the army, they will share the food among other horses and cows. After sharing it out, the load of each packhorse and cow is very light, which will not affect the march."
"Wait..." Yan Yingyuan grasped the key point: "Can our army go on an expedition with one person and multiple horses? For example, one person with three horses?"
"Sure," Li Xingzhong suddenly said, "but we don't have a suitable horse."
Yan Yingyuan immediately frowned and asked, "What do you mean? You have tens of thousands of cavalrymen, can't you just give some of their horses to the other cavalrymen?"
Li Xingzhong smiled slightly and said, "Master Yan is wrong!"
"One man and three horses doesn't mean one man has three war horses! It means one pack horse, one riding horse, and one war horse!"
"Pack horses are responsible for carrying armor, weapons, and food supplies. They are average in speed, but have strong load-bearing capacity and endurance."
"As the name suggests, a riding horse is a daily riding horse. Its abilities are relatively balanced but not outstanding. It can be used as a temporary war horse in an emergency."
"There's no need to say much about war horses. They are good at running and sprinting, and they understand human nature."
"Although our army has enough war horses, we lack pack horses, so we say there are no suitable horses!"
"Then..." Yan Yingyuan blinked his eyes: "Can't we use the war horses as pack horses temporarily?"
Li Xingzhong shook his head like a rattle: "No, that would easily ruin the warhorse. Training a warhorse is time-consuming and labor-intensive. Not to mention that I'm reluctant to do so, even the court won't let me do it."
After hearing these words, Yan Yingyuan frowned.
He never expected that the first problem he encountered after going on the expedition was not lack of troops or defeat, but logistics.
As the governor of Xuanda, he was responsible for the transportation of food and fodder for this expedition.
Now that there are problems with the transportation of food and fodder, he bears primary responsibility.
"Everyone..." Yan Yingyuan suddenly thought of an idea: "Since fighting in the grassland is so difficult, can we change our thinking?"
"What idea?" Li Xingzhong, Liu Zhaoji and Tang Tong looked at him at the same time, their eyes full of respectful inquiry.
Although Yan Yingyuan was a scholar, his story of defending Xuanfu to the death had already spread throughout the Ming Dynasty.
In addition, he was facing tens of thousands of elite Jiannu troops at the time, so the military generals admired him very much as a scholar.
Yan Yingyuan said tentatively: "What I mean is that instead of going deep into the grassland to find the Mongols to fight, it is better to let the Mongols come to us..."
"Come to us on your own initiative?" The three generals were surprised at the same time.
"Yes," Yan Yingyuan suddenly laughed sinisterly, "Do you know why the Jiannu attacked Xuanfu Town?"
"I know. Your Majesty has stockpiled hundreds of thousands of shi of grain and fodder in Xuanfu Town. The Jiannu gathered heavy troops to besiege it in order to obtain these supplies!" Tang Tong spoke first.
"Hehe," Yan Ying laughed sinisterly again, "Since you and I know the importance of food and grass, the Mongols must know it too. We can disguise our elite troops as baggage soldiers and enter the grassland. When the Mongols get the news, they will definitely try to sneak attack us from behind."
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