In the vast territory of the Mongolian steppe, the Mongolian cavalry is famous for its unique traditional rules, like the legend of the wind and clouds in the boundless grass sea, which is admirable. Among them, there is a rule that makes this cavalry team with excellent bows and crossbows and war horses like the wind show their unparalleled grassland pride in front of the world.
The content of this rule is surprising: if a Mongol cavalryman succeeds in recapturing the remains of his comrades, he will receive even more valuable booty, including the wife and concubine of the deceased and all the livestock.
So, what exactly is this regulation all about? And how to improve combat effectiveness?
No matter the bones buried in the barren hills, they still cherish their homeland. ""Life and death are destined for wealth in the sky, and the trees want to be quiet and the wind does not stop. "These poems, which depict the sense of life and death, were widely circulated in ancient Han society.
However, the Mongol nomads under Genghis Khan had a very different understanding of death than the Han Chinese in the Central Plains. In the hearts of the Mongols, they believed that the souls of the dead could only rest in peace when they returned to their homeland.
Otherwise, the soul that has lost its homeland will never be able to be reborn as a new life. This kind"Fallen leaves return to their roots"The belief is deeply rooted in the hearts of every Mongolian nomad and influences their behavior, words and deeds.
Genghis Khan led 100,000 iron horsemen, and he understood that for those warriors from all corners of the steppe, whether they could be buried in their homeland was the heaviest knot in their hearts.
Once the Horse Leather Shroud is in the wild, there will be no return for their souls. Such a thought undoubtedly seriously constrained the performance of the Mongol army on the battlefield. Faced with this general mentality among the Mongols, Genghis Khan fell into deep thought.
He knew that he had to come up with a clever plan to boost morale and boost the morale of the army, otherwise this invincible iron cavalry might collapse in a distant land because of the feelings of his family and country.
After careful consideration, Genghis Khan made a surprising decision: as long as someone succeeds in retrieving the remains of his fallen comrades on the battlefield, he will not only be able to fulfill his last wish to transport his remains back to his homeland, but also inherit all the property of his comrades in his hometown, including livestock, wives and slaves.
However, this shocking policy did not initially gain widespread acceptance among the Mongol army. After all, in the heat of battle, everyone is fighting for their own survival, how can there be spare power to take care of the life and death of others?
Moreover, even if someone is willing to help, how unlikely is it to successfully bring back the remains of their comrades?
Genghis Khan had already seen everything. In his heart, for a Mongolian warrior, being able to rescue his comrades at a critical moment not only shows his fearless courage, but also shows his feelings for his family and country as a descendant of Mongolia.
And this deep brotherhood and the deep affection of the children of the grassland have become an invisible spiritual power, which is enough for them to have the courage to fight when they are in a desperate situation. When the first heroic Mongol warriors bravely killed the enemy on the battlefield and dragged back the remains of their comrades from the battlefield strewn with enemy corpses, the whole military camp was excited!
Not only did they win a great victory in this battle, but every Mongolian soldier who participated in the fight was like a chicken blood, and the courage to rescue their comrades was greater than ever.
Genghis Khan's policy, while having an unexpected effect, set off a chain reaction that is difficult for us to comprehend. Why do they have to feed other people's wives and children, but they can't do anything for their own family's livelihood?
The reason behind this stems from the unique characteristics of the nomadic society of the Mongolian steppe. In their eyes, the herd of cows, horses and sheep is the guarantee of their survival. In the harsh natural environment, the quantity and quality of livestock directly affect their survival.
Therefore, when a Mongolian man dies in war, his old and weak women and children often face extremely difficult situations. Without labor to graze, no matter how many cattle and sheep they have, they will starve to death in the cold winter.
When spring arrives, they can only watch as the few remaining livestock die.
At this difficult time, Genghis Khan's policies became their only light at the end of the tunnel. Those heroes who bravely reclaim the remains of their comrades will inherit all the legacies of their comrades at the same time.
In return, they are obliged to take care of the families of their comrades-in-arms and become their new dependents. Although this will require facing various challenges and hardships in life, it at least leaves them with a path of hope for survival.
For widows and orphans, this is undoubtedly the ideal outcome.
In the nomadic society of the Mongolian people more than 800 years ago, there was a shortage of materials, a harsh natural environment, and life and livelihood were in dire straits. In this era, "etiquette" and "morality" were seen as luxuries, and the seemingly absurd decisions made by Genghis Khan were actually choices he made for the sake of survival in the moment.
From the perspective of the present generation, it may be difficult for us to understand this decision and its consequences, but we must understand that this is a completely different era from which we live.
It is for this reason that we see in the historical record that whenever the northern nomads encountered a survival dilemma, they would climb the Great Wall in droves and launch an attack on the Central Plains Dynasty.
Because in their view, this is the only way to get resources and get out of the predicament. This policy of Genghis Khan is precisely the embodiment of this. Not only did it satisfy the psychological needs of the Mongol soldiers, but it also meant that they would go all out in the war and use more intense means to capture the fruits of victory - the enemy's territory, livestock, and even population.
Of course, this is also doomed to the misery of countless living beings. However, against the background of that era, Genghis Khan did not feel guilty about it.
To sum up, this seemingly out-of-the-ordinary policy pursued by Genghis Khan actually has its practical value that cannot be ignored under the special circumstances of that era. This not only increased the combat effectiveness of the Mongol army, but also meant that the problem of survival in the steppe was continuously solved through war and plunder.
Standing in today's civilized society, although we criticize those barbaric conquests and behaviors in history, we must put ourselves in the shoes of the historical background at that time, deeply analyze its historical inevitability, and not easily draw conclusions.
History cannot be repeated, we can only understand and accept it. Let us look at those events that have passed with tolerance and compassion. History is a pluralistic and complex system, and each era has its own unique social, cultural, political, and economic context.
When evaluating events and figures in history, we must take the context and circumstances of the time as a premise, and avoid arbitrarily judging them with modern concepts and values.