In the Ordos grassland in the south of the Hetao base area, that is, more than ten kilometers outside the border wall of the Ming Dynasty, tens of thousands of troops of the Far East Army have been deployed and deployed here. Everywhere there were endless barracks, and mountains of supplies.

The troops stationed here also have a newly built cavalry division, and the task of the new cavalry division is very heavy, they will go all the way south, and they will go as fast as possible into the territory of the daimyo to capture their respective targets. Moreover, the cavalry units of the Northern Corps had to fight continuously all the time, which was quite characteristic of blitzkrieg.

On both sides of a small river outside the camp are herds of war horses, where a large number of officers and soldiers of the newly built cavalry division are washing their horses, and Li Shanhe and his comrades are combing the hair on the horses with brushes.

The time of the general offensive of the Central Plains Campaign is in the early hours of tomorrow morning, so this is also the last time that the officers and soldiers of the new cavalry division will comb the fur of their war horses.

It could have been taken care of by a large number of Mongolian herders drawn from various nomadic detachments. However, the officers and men of the newly built cavalry division all went into battle to take care of the horses themselves. In the past, this would deepen the relationship between cavalry and horses.

Li Shanhe carefully washed his war horse, enjoyed the war horse that the master was waiting for, and turned his head from time to time to arch Li Shanhe affectionately, and the hot breath in his nose sprayed on his face.

In the past, the newly built cavalry division had relatively heavy combat and training tasks in recent years, and the loss of war horses was also very large.

That is, there is no shortage of war horses in the Far Eastern Army, if it is the cavalry unit of the Ming Dynasty, even if it is a war horse eliminated by the new cavalry division, it can be a treasure of course, and one horse per person is good.

Since the Far Eastern Company occupied the grasslands in the north and obtained the largest horse-producing land in this era, the Far Eastern Company has never worried about war horses, and every year, nomadic detachments around the country domesticate a large number of war horses and send them to the military horse farms of the Military Commission.

Moreover, the company has opened up land in eastern Liaoning and the outer northeast region, and the demand for cattle is also very large. Without the strong support of the various Mongolian tribes and state farms in the steppe, the huge shortage of cultivated cattle would not have been satisfied.

Although the horses equipped with the various cavalry units of the Far Eastern Army are all seemingly short and clumsy Mongolian horses, there are as many as they are, and the Mongolian horses are resistant to rough feeding and have extremely strong endurance, which is very suitable for the large-scale development of cavalry and mounted infantry in the Far Eastern Army.

Li Shanhe washed the war horses, and then led them back to the horse farm, and put all kinds of horse harness on these war horses before returning to his barracks.

After brushing the war horse for half a day, Li Shanhe was also very tired, but he couldn't rest now. The officers and men of the cavalry division in the barracks were all sorting out their equipment.

The characteristics of the newly built cavalry division are long-distance attacks and large-depth interspersed operations. In many cases, it was necessary to march continuously for a month or two, and in the past, the marching speed was fast and flexible, so it was very difficult to get logistical supplies from the rear.

In this way, the various cavalry units of the Far Eastern Army carried a very large amount of supplies, which was enough for the officers and men of the troops to be fed for twenty days. If you save a little, you can let the cavalry unit last for nearly a month.

Therefore, before every battle, the officers and men of the various units of the newly built cavalry division spend a long time just sorting out their equipment.

In the case of non-commissioned officer Li Shanhe, the first thing is to be equipped with weapons, including a revolver, a double-barreled hunting gun, a sabre, a dagger, ten grenades, four smoke grenades, four horsetail grenades, and so on. And that's not even counting spare ammunition, sabers, and other equipment.

Then there are the equipment, including a change of clothes and trousers, goggles, felt covers, raincoats, compasses, multi-purpose knives, cutlery, military kettles, first aid kits, marching bags, shoulder bags, and a whole lot of more.

Although Mongolian horses are resistant to coarse materials, even in the winter covered with heavy snow, they can still use their hooves to throw off the snow and gnaw grass roots to satisfy their hunger, but the war horses often need to sprint, so they must also be equipped with two bags of concentrated feed and drinking water bladders needed to replenish the strength of the war horses.

In the past, the newly built cavalry divisions had the characteristics of modern cavalry, and when necessary, they also needed to dig trenches and build fortifications to block operations. Therefore, it should also be equipped with the necessary shovels and pickaxes, as well as necessary tools such as wire scissors, machetes, pliers, etc.

Finally, there are the field rations for the officers and men, which are all groups of field food, including various high-calorie nutritious field foods, such as dried meat, dried fish, fried noodles, dried vegetables, and compressed biscuits.

If the battle is fierce, you can directly tear open the package and use it, if the conditions allow, you can directly add water to boil, how to say the taste, it was really good when you first ate it, but you will suffer if you eat it a few times. The packaging of field food is simple, and it has been dehydrated in the past, so it has the advantages of light weight and easy to carry.

There were also some wartime supplies that were temporarily distributed before the battle, including a pair of military cigarettes, a few bottles of two taels of military spirits, a few packets of hard candy, a few plates of dried milk tablets, more than a dozen cans of various cans, and some nutrition bars and drink powders.

With so many supplies, it was only one person to pack them up, and I really couldn't understand how to put them together in a few hours. So it wasn't until dark that Li Shanhe completely cleaned up his rope, and he was so tired that he was sweating profusely.

Of course, so many things could not be hung casually on a horse, but in several cowhide pouches, which were placed on the back of the war horse. Each war horse is equipped with a simple war horse field carrying device, which can say that these materials are evenly distributed in the back of each war horse, and the speed of loading and unloading materials is very fast, and the storage of materials is also very safe.

The outside of each cowhide is equipped with a rainproof cover, so that even in the rainstorming weather or when swimming in the wild, the materials carried by the war horse will not be wet.

Li Shanhe finished picking up his personal belongings, and then took the tableware to the canteen to eat. On the playground in front of the cafeteria, there is a row of steaming cauldrons, which are stewed with roast mutton in red oil and red sauce, which makes people look at it and have a great appetite. Wooden barrels filled with spiping snow-white steamed buns, as well as pickles, salted fish, and kimchi from the sand mouth.

The officers and men of the newly built cavalry division have already lined up in a long line here several times, and they have been busy all day today before they can prepare all kinds of equipment and materials in order.

Li Shanhe made a lunch box full of roast mutton, as well as three snow-white steamed buns, and some side dishes, and found a random place to sit on the ground next to him.

The general offensive of the Central Plains Campaign will begin in the early hours of tomorrow morning, but the soldiers are not the slightest nervous, but very excited. Many veterans in the army were from the border army of the Ming Dynasty, and of course they knew what the Ming army was like. And everyone is from the provinces of the Central Plains, and they have been away from their hometown for several years, and they all want to go back to see it. (To be continued.) )