Light Dance Jiajing

A few days after the banquet, Altan came to talk to Meng'er besides doing official business. After all, they were on someone else's territory. Although Meng'er had some grudges in her heart, it was inconvenient for her to be too disrespectful. However, the coldness was clearly written on her face. What made Meng'er particularly uneasy was that when she proposed to return to Ming Dynasty, she still did not get a reply from Altan. Did he want to trap her on the grassland?

That day, Altan took Meng'er to ride horses. Meng'er then thought, she had been here for a while, but why didn't she think of riding horses? This is the grassland, and she can't go back now anyway. What's the point of being upset? Following Altan out, she met a few acquaintances. Alai was the friendliest to her and led a pony with shiny hair to her. Meng'er pouted and said, "You should know my riding skills. What's the meaning of leading such a pony for me?"

Alai smiled and said, "You don't know that. Many of our Mongolian horses are short in stature, but they have good leg strength and endurance when running. They may perform mediocrely in short distances, but you can see the difference in long-distance running. Don't be fooled by the small size of this horse. I selected it carefully. You don't know how to judge horses, but I dare say that this horse is absolutely one in a million." This is a black and brown pony with shiny black fur. Although it is not very tall, its limbs are strong and it looks very energetic. Meng'er patted the pony gently. The pony was also very smart. Its big black eyes looked at her very docilely. Meng'er put her face close to it. The horse seemed to like such intimacy and rubbed against her face. Meng'er was happy. This was the pony. She liked this feeling of attachment.

"Anan, do you know Nadam?" Altan asked. Meng'er seemed to have heard of this term, but didn't know its specific meaning. Altan explained, "The Nadam Festival is held every year to celebrate the harvest. Our Tumote Nadam Festival not only has singing and dancing, but also horse racing, wrestling, archery, chess, etc. I think you must be interested in horse racing."

Mei'er's eyes lit up. This should be the biggest event on the grassland. Altan said it would be held next month. However, she missed her mother and brother very much and had been eager to return home. She was in a hurry to go back, but it was a pity that she could not watch such a grand event.

In addition to Alai, the old acquaintance, there were Zhao Quan and Zixuan in the group with Altan. Meng'er talked to Alai and deliberately ignored the two people. Altan didn't care about their holiday. He called Meng'er and said, "I will watch a martial arts performance tomorrow. You guys come too. Then we will go to Bansheng City. Bansheng City is very big. I will take you to see it." He turned to Zhao Quan and smiled, "You will entertain us when we get to Bansheng City." Zhao Quan agreed repeatedly and said it was his honor.

The next day, the grassland was covered with flags. When Altan arrived, the men and horses were already waiting in line. The leaders in the array came out to meet Altan. Altan rode on his horse and passed slowly in front of the queue. Alai and other attendants followed him. Meng'er, Zhao Quan and others were in his attendant team, and they followed Altan through the square formations. Meng'er dressed as a man today, and no one noticed her among the group of men.

The Mongolian soldiers were all cavalrymen, with young, dark faces, and their horses were also very strong. Altan was very satisfied to see that the commanders were controlling their troops in an orderly manner. He rode his horse to the high platform that had been built long ago, then dismounted and walked up. Mei'er and others followed him up the stairs. The platform was very wide and it was not crowded even with a hundred people standing there. Altan waved to Mei'er, who hesitated and walked to his side. Altan nodded to her, said nothing more, and said to the officer below the stage: "Begin."

At one time, the orders of the generals of each team sounded one after another, and the athletes all mounted their horses swiftly. Soon, they were divided into two opposing groups, each with about a thousand people. Each group quickly assembled into ten square formations, each with a hundred people. These soldiers were obviously well-trained, and they arrived at their positions quickly without any disorder.

The military performance was mainly a display of strategy and tactics, not a real fight. Both sides lined up, and on the charging side, three columns gradually moved to the front. Mei'er noticed that the soldiers of these three columns were wearing willow leaf armor, hoop armor, chain mail and other armor, and even the horses were fully armed. The metal scales on the horses' heads and bodies reflected light in the sun. The other seven columns did not have these equipment, and neither the soldiers nor the horses wore armor.

Altan explained to Meng'er at the right time: "The three groups in front are heavy cavalry. They are the vanguard. Although they are dressed clumsily, they are also powerful." At this time, the heavy cavalry team had already moved. From a distance, Meng'er felt that they were moving slowly. The other side had also formed a formation. The soldiers abandoned their horses and stood in a row. Everyone held a rectangular shield in front of them, just enough to block the people behind them. At this time, another row of soldiers came up. They held spears in their hands and thrust the spears through the gaps in the shields. The spear tips were slanted upwards. The whole row of spears extended far away and looked very spectacular.

At this time, the light cavalry behind the heavy cavalry also rushed out. They urged their horses and pulled their bows, and shot out a rain of arrows. Of course, the arrows used in the exercise were not equipped with arrowheads, but had paint on the heads. The soldiers who were shot would be replaced, and soon the two sides were fighting together.

Altan looked at Meng'er for a while and saw that she was not interested. He said to her, "This is just a drill, just a battle formation. Every once in a while I will call two teams out to practice. Nowadays, there are fewer and fewer large battles. If they are not pulled out to practice, they will be unfamiliar with the deployment of troops. The real battlefield is rolling logs and stones. You have never seen a catapult, right? It needs several horses to pull it, and there are muskets. It is not only the Ming Dynasty that has it."

Mei'er said calmly, "What is the purpose of the chief bringing me to watch the martial arts performance? To show off his military strength?"

Altan said, "Do I need to show off? Anan, not everything you do has to have a purpose."

Meng'er sneered: "A man as successful as the Great Leader would never do whatever he wants."

Altan thought for a moment and said, "As for my purpose, I just want you to be closer to my life. I will not hide anything from you, good or bad, and I will show you the most real things. You never hide anything in front of me, right? Anan, I just want to see you live like this. You can be free on the grassland. After the martial arts performance is over, we will go to Bansheng City, which is a city built by the Han people. Maybe you will like it."

Mei'er frowned and said, "Captain, I won't stay here forever."