In ancient society, the best means of transportation is horses, which can not only pull the cart far away, but also hunt and fight, whether it is the transportation of daily life, or the soldiers leading soldiers to fight, they are inseparable from horses.
Especially in traditional warfare, war horses are one of the indispensable parts, and cavalry has become an almost insoluble war bug in the era of cold weapons. China's last feudal dynasty, the Qing Dynasty, was able to enter the customs and occupy the world, and the cavalry superiority of the Eight Banners was an extremely important factor.
So, how much is an ancient war horse worth?
Ancient war horses
In ancient warfare, the strongest combat force was generally cavalry, and if a country's army did not have a cavalry team, it had to wait to be beaten. The importance of war horses as an integral part of cavalry is self-evident.
However, in ancient warfare, not all horses were able to perform the rank of military horse. Among them, the best quality horses are war horses from alpine regions.
Therefore, in ancient times, there were not many areas that could cultivate qualified war horses, and at the same time, it took huge manpower and material resources to cultivate horses, and a natural pasture with abundant water and grass and a vast area was even more indispensable.
Sculpture of an ancient war horse
Therefore, in order to raise war horses, the price paid by the state is very large. Let's take the Han Dynasty as an example. According to the ancients' own calculations, the land spent on raising a horse could feed 25 people.
Some people may think that the value of war horses is not reasonable, so you can look at the feed that a group of war horses needed to eat during the Western Han Dynasty.
At that time, Emperor Wu of han sent cavalry expeditions, and in addition to sending war horses, he also sent more than three times as many cattle as the war horses, which were not used for combat, but the information needed to pull the war horses. According to the historical records of the time, each batch of war horses ate 12 times as much fodder as an ordinary soldier at that time.
steed
The feed that the war horses eat is also very exquisite, and when the horses eat the feed, the digestibility of the fiber is not even 40%. They are odd-hoofed animals, not having multiple stomachs like cattle and sheep, and do not ruminate on the food they eat.
This innate structure leads to a very poor digestibility of warhorses and a great demand for feed. In addition, the most suitable excellent feed for warhorses is black beans and alfalfa, and in feudal society, especially in times of famine, ordinary people may not be able to eat such a good ration. In order for the horses to fight better, these good feeds must be provided.
Ancient cavalry
At that time, the price of a good horse on the market, a good horse at that time could be sold for a hundred gold, a pound in the Western Han Dynasty was equal to 10,000 yuan at that time, and a hundred gold was equivalent to 1 million yuan at that time. If 10 middle-class families work non-stop, they can exchange this huge income.
Even if horses can be sold for such a good price, not many people are willing to raise horses. Because in an agrarian society, for ordinary people, horses do not seem to be of much help to their lives, except that they are an important tool for going out and traveling.
If there is a cow in the family, it can cultivate the land on weekdays, and its manure can also be used to fertilize; they are docile and do not kick people like horses; the beef is delicious and edible, and it can be said that the whole body of the cow is a treasure.
Therefore, in the folk, especially in the Central Plains, people will not think of breeding horses, so that the cost of raising war horses is higher, and the price will naturally increase.
If we really want to compare the war horse with the weapons of war in today's society, its value may be comparable to that of a tank today.