"Major General, you can see Xiushui after climbing over this mountain."
"The road ahead is much easier; we just need to go eastward along the Xiushui River, and we can reach Shangliao in a few days."
A soldier who looked like a guide led a mule and pointed at the mountain road ahead as he walked.
Yuan Yao was sitting on the mule, no longer as carefree as he had been two days ago, now as if he was wearing a mask of pain.
This mountain road is too long and difficult to walk!
One mountain passes and another mountain passes, one water passes and another water passes. Although the mountains are different every day, it seems that the road we have traveled is the same.
On this journey of hundreds of miles of mountainous terrain, not to mention the people, even the horses were exhausted.
Now Huang Zhong and others are holding their horses and walking like ordinary soldiers.
Yuan Yao's mount was originally a thousand-mile horse, but because it was a northern horse, it was tall but not good at walking on mountain roads.
In order to prevent his mount from falling to death, Yuan Yao's personal guards spent a lot of money to buy the only mule in the village when they passed by a large village named Yangxin, so that Yuan Yao could avoid the hardship of walking on the mountain road.
Although there were many donkeys in the team, Huang Zhong and others would rather walk than ride on donkeys.
It’s a joke that a dignified general marches without riding a horse or a donkey. If you tell it, people will laugh out loud.
What a shame!
But mules are different. The general mule is a cross between a male donkey and a female horse. It is larger than a donkey and stronger than a horse. Because its body shape is similar to a horse, it is also commonly known as a "horse mule".
Of course, there is also an interspecific hybrid born from the cross between a male horse and a female donkey. The body shape is more like a donkey, so it is named "donkey mule".
Generally speaking, mules refer to horses and mules.
Mules have a long history in China, dating back to the Spring and Autumn Period. However, at first it was only regarded as a precious animal for the princes and nobles to enjoy, and was not put into large-scale military or civilian use.
Therefore, Yuan Yao not only did not lose his status by riding a horse and mule, but it was also very suitable for his status as a descendant of a noble family.
It’s just that although horses and mules have many advantages over horses and donkeys, they are resistant to roughage, hardy, disease-resistant and adaptable, and have strong pulling power and durability. They are especially suitable for pulling carts and carrying things.
However, mules were still rare until the Song Dynasty, and they were rarely used as livestock by farmers.
Just because the hybrid species of the mule has a huge flaw, that is, it is infertile.
For ordinary farmers, it is difficult for a poor family to afford a livestock.
Even if they could afford it, in ancient times when people could catch a cold at any time, if a rinderpest, horse or donkey plague happened, and the livestock died, it would not be a loss that ordinary people could afford.
Only large households with more fields than people would raise livestock.
Under such circumstances, although mules can do more work than horses and donkeys, they are also easier to breed. But because they are infertile, their cost performance is far lower than that of horses and donkeys.
Although horses and donkeys are more delicate, they can give birth to babies! If you raise them well, you may even be able to get your money back if you sell the horses and donkeys in a few years, and they can be recycled all the time.
Only mules are money-losing products. Compared with donkeys, which can also work, the price-performance ratio is too low.
All in all, under the conditions of a small farmer economy, it is not suitable to raise mules.
It was not until the Ming Dynasty that the government bred horses and mules in large numbers as draft animals in the rear, and mules were gradually accepted by the people.
Looking at the mule under his crotch, which had carried him on the mountain road for several days but showed no sign of fatigue, Yuan Yao couldn't help but pat its head a few more times.
Unlike his own horse, which would shake its head and huff in response to being touched on the head, this mule would just lower its head and walk steadily forward step by step.
They don’t have the arrogance and fierceness of a horse, nor do they have the stubbornness and stupidity of a donkey. While a mule has a gentle temperament, it is also very smart and even considerate.
Although it looks a bit nondescript, this thing is still quite lovable and heart-warming.
Yuan Yao also had the idea of breeding horses and mules on a large scale after returning home, so that mules would be popularized a thousand years in advance.
This thing is an artifact of logistics transportation!
Not only do mules have greater carrying capacity than horses and donkeys, but the most rare thing is that mules have super endurance and don’t eat much.
You know, during World War I when trucks and roads were not yet popular, mules were the first labor force to ensure logistical transportation for the participating countries.
Even in modern times, mules are still important military livestock that can be used in all weather and all terrains.
Although this thing cannot reproduce offspring, it is so practical!
It can even be used as a fighting mount!
The running speed of a mule is faster than a donkey and slower than a horse, but it is not much inferior to a horse. Although they lack the explosive power and acceleration capabilities of horses, mules also have the advantage of endurance.
The land south of the Yangtze River is less plain and more mountainous, which is not suitable for large-scale cavalry operations. Moreover, horses bred in the south are generally short in stature, making it difficult to compete with northern war horses.
It seems possible to consider breeding some large mules and use them as small cavalry teams?
Just when Yuan Yao was daydreaming, he heard someone shouting from the front: "A group of men and horses appeared in the mountain stream ahead, all wearing crimson armor!"
I could only hear these words in the long marching team, from front to back, passed down by word of mouth among the soldiers, and reached Yuan Yao's ears.
The mountain road was narrow and rugged, making it difficult for scouts to move back and forth, so they could only convey military information in this way.
Crimson armor?
Yuan Yao came to his senses instantly.
Jingzhou Army?
"Probe again and report again!"
Yuan Yao stretched his neck to look, but the mountain road was winding and winding, and he couldn't see the mountain stream at all.
The order was passed down by word of mouth.
Yuan Yao thought about it, although there was a high probability that he was not ambushed, but he might have encountered the Jingzhou Army.
Didn't Su Fei say that Han Xi and Huang She's 10,000 Jingzhou army went down the river and took the waterway when they went out?
How could the Jingzhou Army suddenly appear in this mountainous area hundreds of miles away from the Yangtze River?
At this time, the entire one-man march also stopped. Yuan Yao jumped off the mule and picked up his bow and arrows.
Fortunately, Yuan Yao has already developed the habit of wearing helmets and armor when marching, otherwise he would be in a hurry at this moment.
"Report! That troop has also discovered us and is rushing towards us!"
Because the queue stopped, all the soldiers leaned against the mountain to get out of the way. Finally, a messenger ran up and reported the news.
"That Biao army carrying the banner with the word 'Liu' is indeed the Jingzhou army!"
"'Liu' is the word general?" Yuan Yao frowned and repeated.
"Suffer it!"
Suddenly Yuan Yao thought of a possibility and was shocked and said: "It's Liu Pan!"
"Go back quickly and let Lieutenant Lu rely on the terrain to hold the front army's position!"
"If Liu Pan charges up, you can stop him if you can, but if you can't, don't fight with him; it's best if you can resist in steps!"
After Yuan Yao finished speaking, the messenger immediately rushed down.
When we meet on a narrow road, the brave wins!
Liu Pan is brave and good at fighting, and there is no way Lu Dai can stop him.
Yuan Yao frowned, and a sense of crisis instantly enveloped his whole body.
"Quickly go to the rear army and send word to Gan Sima to come!"
"Send someone to Yangxintun again and summon Huang Zhonglang to come! Hurry!"
The two personal guards behind Yuan Yao immediately assumed the role of messengers and turned around to leave.
"Why!"
Yuan Yao punched the boulder on the roadside with a look of annoyance on his face.
From the time when he went south from Huainan, Yuan Yao valued Lu Dai's diligent career and made him a pioneer in building roads and bridges across mountains and rivers.
For such a long time, Yuan Yao was accustomed to placing Lu Dai as the former army general.
However, Lu Dai was not outstanding in bravery, so he could lead a march, but he was not suitable to be a vanguard general in a war.
If Lu Dai encountered ordinary enemy generals, Yuan Yao wouldn't have to worry so much.
But Yuan Yao was almost certain that the Jingzhou Army he encountered must be under Liu Pan's command.
It can only be Liu Pan.
He was the only one who had a reason to appear in the mountainous area in the northwest of Yuzhang.
