Chapter 211: Warhorse
This is the movement only a herd of galloping horses could make.
Pei Qinghe’s eyes suddenly lit up, and she abruptly turned her head toward the direction of the horse hooves.
Mao Hongling’s eyes also brightened, her voice revealing urgent joy: “Is it our people bringing back the horses?”
“It should be.” Pei Qinghe’s brows relaxed, her eyes full of laughter: “Let’s wait a bit.”
This wait lasted the time it takes to drink a cup of tea.
The horse hooves sounded like muffled thunder, the ground trembling, getting closer and closer. A one-armed man led the way on horseback, grinning and waving at the crowd, his shouts swallowed by the horse hooves, completely inaudible.
“It’s Fang Datou.” Pei Yan grinned: “Sure enough, it’s our people.”
Pei Qinghe smiled and hummed in agreement. She waited for the opposing herd to slowly stop before stepping forward to greet them.
Fang Datou led everyone to dismount, and they said in unison: “General, we’re back.”
The Zhan Family members were a step slower but equally excited, all bowing in salute.
Pei Qinghe personally helped Fang Datou up, then Zhan Fei: “You’ve been traveling outside for nearly a year, enduring hardships along the way. Go into the village first to bathe and change, eat, and rest.”
Fang Datou’s face was full of exhaustion, and Zhan Fei was even worse off. Having lived a life of luxury before. This year, not to mention the various hardships encountered while buying horses, just the thousands of miles traveled was a tearful ordeal.
Having finally made it back with great difficulty, they truly had no strength to say anything at this moment. Zhan Fei mustered his spirits and replied: “I’ll lead everyone to settle in, and we’ll see the General tomorrow.”
Pei Qinghe smiled amiably: “No rush, resting a couple more days is fine.”
The Zhan Family left with over a hundred, but returned with only sixty-something. Fang Datou’s camp had only half surviving. It showed how perilous life outside the passes had been this year.
They brought back a large herd of warhorses.
The warhorses were of various colors, black horses, gray horses, white horses, spotted horses, chestnut horses, each sturdier than the last. It made hearts bloom with joy.
Pei Yan could not restrain herself any longer and rushed over, patting this one, then rubbing that one.
Mao Hongling was a bit more restrained but had already reached the herd.
Pei Qinghe’s eyes shone brightly as she instructed Zhao Hai: “You lead people to take the warhorses back to the stables and tally the number of warhorses.”
Zhao Hai’s mouth was nearly split to his ears, nodding repeatedly in agreement. There were only about ten people in the stables today, clearly far from enough. Fortunately, Pei Family Village had plenty of personnel; with a wave of his hand, a group came. One person per warhorse, they slowly headed to the stables.
This year, the stables had been expanded repeatedly, with a full six rows built. Usually empty, today they were packed with warhorses. Dozens more warhorses had no room.
Seeing this sight, Pei Qinghe immediately said to Shi Yan: “There’s still one group that hasn’t returned, not sure how many horses they’ll bring back. The stables need another six rows.”
Yang Shan and the masons had brought their families over two years ago and settled in Pei Family Village. Pei Family Village kept recruiting refugees and building walls and new houses.
Chief Steward Shi managed money and grain, and building stables fell under his purview too. At General Pei’s order, Chief Steward Shi nodded and accepted, immediately going to arrange it.
Building stables was much simpler than building houses, no bricks and stones needed, just wood. The village had plenty of wood on hand, and work could start the next day.
Pei Qinghe slept a day and a night, woken by hunger.
Her mother Madam Feng brought a large bowl of noodles, her eyes full of gentle pity: “Eat your fill and sleep some more.”
Pei Qinghe devoured it ravenously, eating with relish: “I’ve slept enough, I’m going to the stables.”
Her mind was full of the warhorses.
Madam Feng smiled with pursed lips, not stopping her, only softly admonishing: “Rest more these few days, don’t overexert yourself.”
Pei Qinghe laughed: “Mother, don’t worry. I know my limits, I won’t tire myself out.” She then enthusiastically invited Madam Feng to go to the stables together.
Madam Feng happily agreed.
Madam Feng had been delicate before, but after coming to Yan Prefecture, she taught children to read every day and practiced fist and foot combat. Now her body was healthy, her stamina far better than before.
At the stables, seeing the splendid warhorses one after another, Madam Feng was full of joy: “Wonderful! What the Pei Family Army lacks most is warhorses. This time the Zhan Family has done a great deed!”
For an army, having cavalry reach thirty percent was already quite impressive. The old Beiping Army had thirty percent cavalry. The Guangning Army, Fanyang Army, and Liaoxi Army were slightly less, with cavalry around twenty percent.
From the day the Pei Family Army was established, it lacked warhorses. Only after greatly defeating the Fanyang Army and demanding all their warhorses did it barely have a few cavalry camps.
Now the territory had doubled, Beiping Commandery was recruiting new soldiers to train three thousand elite soldiers. Pei Family Village needed to fill out three thousand soldiers too, plus the garrison personnel in various county towns, making the Pei Family Army nearly ten thousand strong.
How many warhorses would that take?
Not enough no matter how many. The more the better.
Pei Qinghe called Zhao Hai and inquired about the number of warhorses. Zhao Hai grinned: “I counted three times today. Shopkeeper Zhan’s group brought back eight hundred sixty-two warhorses! Twenty-seven are mares, pregnant with foals.”
Pei Qinghe was in extremely high spirits: “Put some effort into it, take good care of these mares. If short on personnel, select diligent and honest ones from the village; from now on, they’ll receive military pay just like the soldiers in the Pei Family Army.”
At the beginning, there was no military pay. A group of starving refugees, just being taken in by Pei Family Village and given food, was enough to make them weep with gratitude.
Only after repelling the Xiongnu barbarians and recruiting good folk from Changping County into the Pei Family Army did it truly take shape. Recruiting new soldiers came with settlement silver, monthly military pay, and compensation silver for the severely wounded or fallen.
The Pei Family Army’s military discipline was far stricter than armies like the Guangning Army, with especially grueling training, yet people kept coming to enlist. Having enough to eat and ample military pay were extremely important factors.
Those working in the stables were also Pei Family Army personnel, receiving military pay just the same.
Zhao Hai calculated: “The stables originally had four hundred thirteen warhorses, plus these eight hundred sixty-two, that’s one thousand two hundred seventy-five horses. Each person looks after about forty warhorses. With twelve in the stables now, recruit eighteen more.”
Pei Qinghe laughed: “Recruit thirty more. There’s still one group buying horses, perhaps on their way back.”
Zhao Hai nodded in agreement.
Raising horses consumed greatly, the daily fodder and beans required a massive expense. Pei Qinghe called Shi Yan and asked directly: “Now with over twelve hundred warhorses, can we afford to keep them?”
Shi Yan’s slender fingers flew over the abacus, calculating aloud for his general. How much fodder and beans one horse needed per day, how much silver one hundred or two hundred warhorses consumed daily, the cost for a month, three months, half a year, a year.
Pei Qinghe listened to the string of numbers, her head swelling, and coughed to interrupt Shi Yan: “No need for such detail. Just tell me, can we afford to keep this many horses?”
Shi Yan raised his brow with a smile: “Even another thousand, we can afford.”
