29: Chapter 29 The enemy's actual strength was thirty thousand!

Now that we have horses, we can train a small team of scouts.

As for cavalry? The current technology tree is still missing stirrups, so it's fundamentally impossible to create the kind of cavalry that fights on horseback.

Many people have misconceptions about cavalry, thinking that in ancient times, once you tamed a horse, you could fight on it.

In reality, without stirrups, a person can only charge by gripping the horse's back with their legs, making it impossible to exert force.

The earliest cavalry were actually mounted infantry; they rode horses to the battlefield and then dismounted to fight.

This was also why early nomadic tribes had such poor combat effectiveness; without stirrups, they simply couldn't fight while mounted.

It wasn't until the Eastern Jin Dynasty in the 4th to 5th centuries AD that true stirrups appeared. After that, nomadic tribes became overpowered, gaining the ability to fight on horseback and move freely.

However, as a modern person, it wouldn't be difficult for Xu Xuan to invent stirrups later on.

Although this Lord War starts from zero and everyone begins with primitive tribes, if a Lord possesses various kinds of knowledge, they can certainly develop things ahead of time.

Xu Xuan suspected that some DIY experts might already be considering crafting gunpowder and crude cannons.

While thinking, Xu Xuan's gaze shifted toward a herd of wild horses in the distance.

There were a great many wild horses, over a hundred in total.

However, with the current productivity of a primitive tribe, raising horses was a very luxurious endeavor.

It was like asking someone with a monthly salary of three thousand to maintain a multi-million-dollar Porsche.

Even if the car were given to him for free, he couldn't afford it on three thousand a month; a simple paint job or a single part would cost tens or hundreds of thousands.

By the same logic, a horse consumes a large amount of fodder every day. Keeping ten might be fine, but keeping over a hundred would definitely leave the Floating Island completely barren.

"Hu Zi Mei, take some people to tame a few horses and form a scout squad!"

"Sure thing!"

Hu Zi Mei mounted a wild horse, squeezed her legs, and drove the black horse toward the herd.

She swung a rope in her hand, looking just like a Western cowboy lassoing a horse.

How did that song go? "The horse-lassoing woman, you are mighty and majestic~!"

She lassoed a horse's neck, pulling and dragging it forcefully before leaping from the black horse onto the back of another wild horse.

In no time, with the system's buff making everyone like a Druid, Hu Zi Mei easily tamed another white horse.

Under the influence of the Animal Taming Technique technique, these horses quickly became docile.

Looking at the five horses brought back, it could be said that at the current technological level, horses were definitely the fastest mounts on land.

"Chief, it's done!"

Hu Zi Mei brought the five wild horses to Xu Xuan, looking very proud of herself.

Xu Xuan walked up to one of the white horses and gently stroked its smooth coat.

When seeing warhorses in movies, one doesn't realize how big they are, but seeing such a massive creature up close in reality truly gave off a sense of pressure.

In ancient times, when charging on these things, infantry facing such tall horses would probably have their legs turn to jelly.

At this moment, Xu Xuan was considering whether he should go on a reconnaissance mission himself.

After all, if he let a simpleton like Hu Zi Mei do the scouting, she was so inarticulate that she wouldn't be able to describe the situation ahead at all.

Seeing Xu Xuan hesitating, Hu Zi Mei asked curiously, "Chief, aren't you going to ride one and see?"

How should he put it?

Xu Xuan was, after all, still a high school student; much of his knowledge was theoretical and hadn't been put into practice.

For example, when it came to riding a horse, he had no idea how to control one.

"Well, I don't know how to drive them yet."

Hearing this, Hu Zi Mei laughed heartily and reached out to invite Xu Xuan to ride together.

"Chief, come! I'll teach you personally!"

With that, she pulled Xu Xuan onto the horse, pressing against his back from behind, literally teaching him hand-to-hand.

"Look, Chief, you just need to gently tug the horse's mane, and it will run in that direction. If you just slap its rump or squeeze your legs, it will speed up. It's very simple!"

As she spoke, the simpleton Hu Zi Mei suddenly slapped the wild horse's rump. The tall horse beneath them immediately reared up its front hooves and let out a neigh!

Then, its four hooves began to clatter as it accelerated.

Without a saddle or stirrups, riding the horse was incredibly bumpy, making Xu Xuan's backside ache!

Hu Zi Mei hugged him from behind, laughing happily with a carefree, simple smile.

"Wuhu! Charge!"

The few savages behind them also immediately mounted the newly tamed horses and followed Xu Xuan and the others.

The group galloped across the boundless grassland, feeling the refreshing sensation of the air blowing past their cheeks.

By now, Xu Xuan was gradually getting the hang of controlling the horse. Perhaps due to the system's Animal Taming Technique skill, the horse was very obedient, almost as if they shared a telepathic connection.

It went exactly where he wanted, and riding it was no problem at all.

Since that was the case, he decided to ride to where the Japanese Lords were gathering to observe their combat strength.

However, it had to be said that riding on the same horse as Hu Zi Mei, the bumpy feeling along the way didn't seem too bad.

This female savage had no concept of propriety between men and women, leaning her head directly on Xu Xuan's shoulder.

Every now and then, she would make some outrageous remarks.

"Cuddling with the Chief, hehe."

"Chief, you smell so good. How about a kiss?"

"Chief, why don't you grow a beard? You'd definitely look good with one."

Having a chatterbox pressed against his back the whole way, if she hadn't been somewhat attractive, Xu Xuan really would have wanted to kick her off the horse.

"Alright, shut up. Focus on scouting the enemy and stop talking nonsense."

Rebuked by Xu Xuan, the simpleton shut her mouth aggrievedly. "Oh."

When she wasn't talking, it had to be said that it was indeed quite enjoyable.

Xu Xuan suddenly understood why those delinquent youths on the streets liked to go racing with girls, occasionally making sudden stops just to take advantage of them.

Hu Zi Mei was quite a catch; if only she were a mute, she really would be my "Mute Bride."

But with her talking about kissing one moment and taking a dump the next, all in that raspy voice of hers, it really made one want to poison her mute!

One could only say that he shouldn't have too high expectations for a savage's moral and cultural level; he could only slowly influence her and lead her to embrace civilization.

While Xu Xuan was lost in thought, the group had arrived at the northeast side.

From the previous chat channel, Xu Xuan had learned the location where Tokugawa Ieyasu, Yamamoto Aratora, and their group were gathering.

It should be in this direction, somewhere in this vicinity.

After riding over a small hill, he leaped down from his horse.

He hid behind some trees to secretly observe the situation in the distance.

On the distant plain, tens of thousands of savages had already gathered. They seemed to have just arrived, setting up campfires and roasting meat.

Looking at the scale of these tens of thousands of people, Xu Xuan's brow gradually furrowed.

The chat channel had mentioned 15,000 people, but seeing it in person, with more people constantly joining the alliance, the enemy's scale had actually exceeded 30,000!

This is going to be tricky.