In September, on the banks of the Qin River in Wuhou.

More than 200 high-end Turkic horses whispered the grass by the river. They were already full of food and their belly was round. Now many horses were looking flat with their necks and their eyes closed, and their tails slammed at the flies on their bodies. With the owner watching over the horse, the two big dogs were fighting fiercely with a piece of flesh and bone.

Horses and dogs on the grassland are the most important partners of the herdsmen. A good horse is the life of the herdsmen. They kill enemies and hunt, and even escape by relying on a good horse. The dog is the herdsmen's brother. They are guarding against wild wolves, guarding horses and sheep, and a good helper for hunting. The two horses who stocked the Turkic horses laughed at all. After all, the horses on the grassland have bright fur, like satin, and the sound is powerful. Just like farmers see their fields full of golden rice, the horses all show happy expressions when they look at their animals. The same saying goes, sheep are beautiful.

For a tribe, although the horses, shepherds, cowherds, and horsemen are small in number, they are all very important. On weekdays, they don’t require courage and extraordinary courage to train horses, train horses, and trim horseshoes. Therefore, the horses are the bravest warriors among the herdsmen. Ke Mulun is the youngest among the herdsmen. Not only is the best among the younger generation of herdsmen, but he also has a glove to make the most majestic horse on the grassland turn into his mount. Whenever Ke Mulun rides a horse and rides a horse, the herdsmen ask him to send messages to their acquaintances. In a radius of hundreds of miles, the girl in the tent does not give him a charm.

Another partner, Qia Shu, was much inferior to Ke Mulun, but he was a few years older and had run to the edge of the Great Wall to sell horses with the Han people. I heard that even the Han businessmen who always talked like honey and cunning like foxes did not gain much advantage from him.

Ke Mulun asked, "What did you say that King Khan divided our 100,000 people on the Qinshui River in Wuhou into four divisions?"

Qi A Shu said, "A piece of wood cannot be used as a wheel of a car, and an arrow can easily be broken. This is the truth that Khan said to us at the beginning. In the past, everyone was scattered, as if a pair of hands could not be twisted into fists. Now our 100,000 people have embraced an iron wheel and a bundle of arrows. If the Turks and the Khitans dare to come, they can be asked to look good."

After hearing the Turks, Khitans, Ke Mulun touched the bow beside him and said, "The Khitans have been bullying our room for a long time. If it weren't for the Khitans, we would have been slaves for a long time. This time, if it weren't for the Khitans, we would have to be slaves for a long time. It's right. In the future, we will be united and we will not be bullied by the Khitans and Turks."

As the two of them were talking, they suddenly heard a sound of horse hooves not far away. A man with feathers rode his horse to the front of them and said, "Ke Mulun, Qia Shu, the master of the pagoda has an order to bring you fifty good horses to the big tent."

"What's going on? Why do you need to use a horse?" Qia Shu asked.

The man showed an excited expression on his face and said, "I heard that someone was using golden arrows to mobilize troops and was about to fight, so the main purpose of the pagoda is to use horses."

"Where are you going to fight the Khitans?"

"No, it's going south."

"Looking south." Ke Mulun and Qia Shu looked at each other.

After Kemulun and Qia Shu picked up the horses, they handed over the remaining horses to other horsemen. The two brought fifty horses to the camp on the riverside. According to the Khan's order, the Khanate lived in a hundred tents and set up a master. This master was their former patriarch, and there were 120 tents here.

When the two of them met the Master of the Banner, the Master of the Banner said, "Khan ordered the soldiers and used golden arrows to send troops to meet in Yuyi City. Each of the masters of the military, we had forty-five people and one hundred and fifty horses, and prepared our own food for ten days. You two are the most outstanding soldiers in our clan. One is brave and the other is wise, so let's take you with you."

Ke Mulun and Qia Shu were overjoyed after hearing this and said, "Thank you, Uncle Zemi."

The patriarch laughed and waved his hand and said, "Go down and prepare, and I'll set out tomorrow."

After hearing this, Ke Mulun and Qi A Shu immediately went home to clean up. After Ke Mulun returned to the tent and met his mother, he told her that he wanted Nanzheng news, and he was too anxious to go to his beloved lover's warmth all night, and returned to the tent with unstable feet the next day.

Qi A Shu packed his fur coat, tent, and food on the road early, and he led another horse to wait for him at the tent. Ke Mulun showed a somewhat embarrassed look when he saw Qi A Shu. He knew that Qi A Shu had been single. His father heard that Han merchants were born mercy overnight, and his mother raised him alone and died of illness not long ago. In his tent, his mother also prepared the dried meat early. After the two of them had a meal of milk porridge, they went to the military tent in front of the Banzhu, and reported the rest of the herdsmen and soldiers in each tent also arrived. As a herdsman, not to mention the horse shepherd, the others brought at least two horses, and they were all top-notch fast horses. As for the fifty horses that the patriarch asked them to prepare, they were transferred after the horse was injured, or those who carried injuries in the future, so each person had more than three riders on average.

It is now autumn, and it is the time when the horses are strongest. If the horses are riding for a long distance, they will not lose too much weight and are the least likely to die. The herders hate the war in spring the most. At that time, sheep and horses are the thinnest. If the horses run for a long distance, the horses are most likely to die in large numbers. Now they are prepared for more war horses. After everyone gathers, they will go to Yuyi Town together.

The Master of the Banner first traveled for a day, met with most of the military masters in a valley, stayed overnight, and waited for the ten military forces to be fully equipped. The Master of the Banner eliminated some old and weak injured, and ordered 450 people and set off for Yuyi Town. Because there were horses to transfer, he walked very quickly. After two days, he arrived at Yuyi Town.

"Khan, after receiving your golden arrow command, all herders rushed to come. They had already gathered together, with a total of 9,000 cavalrymen in the twenty army."

Li Chongjiu heard Ying Hefu's report and nodded to the craftsman beside him and said, "Li Zuojiang, how is the matter of horse shoes going?"

Li Zuojiang stroked his beard and said, "Report to the prefect, fifty craftsmen and one hundred and fifty craftsmen have been selected. They have been training for half a year and can all nail horses to their horses."

Li Chongjiu frowned and said, "This manpower is still not enough."

Li Zuojiang also looked embarrassed and said, "Prince, there is no way to do this. He can only install some Hu cavalry first. Even after installing the hoofs, he must remove the hoofs and rebuilt once a month. This is also a problem. You must know that only one of the ten war horses in our Great Sui army had a horse's shoes nailed. This matter was done by the military weapon supervisor. Ordinary civil craftsmen do not. Now we have to practice it, and it took three months to make it for the two thousand horses and horses of the 1,000 iron cavalry in our headquarters. If the handmade work is rough and nailed, it will hurt the horse's shoes."

Wang Mahan said on the side, "Prince, let's walk over the road to Huairong County. The official roads here are all mountain roads, and there are no stone roads, so the horse's hooves will not wear too much. As for the autumn now, the weather is dry and there is little rain, so there is no need to worry about the muddy and rotten horse's hooves on the ground."

Li Chongjiu shook his head and said, "No, this war horse without horseshoes is OK. It's okay to walk dozens or hundreds of miles, but if it's hundreds of miles, you have to sprain your hooves. Our army will run for a long distance, and every horse of the cavalry must be taken care of. Li Zuojiang, you horseshoes will simply follow the army. Wherever our army marches, you will nail horseshoes for us. The Hu cavalry must at least one thousand horses with horseshoes."

Li Zuojiang immediately accepted the order.

After a few days of traveling around, after arriving in Yuyi Town, Ke Mulun and Qia Shu thought they could have a rest, but when they arrived, there were several Han cavalry and craftsmen who wanted to take one of their mounts, saying that they wanted to nail their horse shoes.

Horse shoes, Ke Mulun, Qi A Shu and the others knew that if a horse hurts its hooves, it will basically be useless. Therefore, for a horseman, it is necessary to regularly trim the horseshoe. If it is a long distance, they usually have six or seven good horses to transfer, and they will also wear leather horse shoes for the war horses. Ke Mulun couldn't bear to leave his good horses at the moment, so he chased him and saw what he didn't look at. He was shocked when he saw it. It turned out that what they called nailing horseshoes was nailed to the horseshoe with iron nails and pieces. Seeing his love for horses struggling, Ke Mulun couldn't help but feel aggrieved. When he rushed up, he was stopped outside by several soldiers.

"A bastard, you have to go into the military camp. Do you want to lead the military law?" A Han general said in Turkic language.

At this time, Qia Shu quickly pulled Ke Mulun aside and apologized to the Han general. Ke Mulun immediately told Qia Shu about nailing the horseshoe to Qia Shu. Qia Shu laughed and said, "When I walked through the Great Wall, I saw the elite cavalry of the Sui army nailed iron to the horses. This is a good thing, not a bad thing."

Ke Mulun was confused when he heard this, so Qi A Shu spoke, "You said that there is no shortage of horses on our grassland, but there is a shortage of iron, so no one nailed iron for horses. However, the Han people did not lack iron, but they only nailed iron for horses. Don't worry, your beloved horse will be safe in the future." After hearing Qi A Shu's words, Ke Mulun felt relieved.

After resting in Huaihuang Town for one day, the next day, Li Chongjiu merged nine thousand cavalry of the Hu people and one thousand cavalry of the five regiments of the Cangtou Army, a total of ten thousand cavalry, leading the army southward. The route went south along the river valley and arrived at the border of the Great Wall in just half a day.

The Xiong Pass is located, as the entrance to Duxing, the first of the eight passes of Taihang. The pass here is Dushikou, the throat of Xuanzhen of the Ming Dynasty. Historically, after breaking the pass, the Ola wiped out 200,000 Ming troops here, which is the well-known Tumu Fort change. The Tumu Fort is located in Huairong County. For the layout of the entire Hebei, this is a place that military strategists must fight for.
Chapter completed!