Steppe Relay Horse Teams

Timeline

1. 1591–1594Tümed camp · Inner MongoliaIn the early 1590s, tribute envoys and messengers dispatched by the Tümed to the Ming relied on the steppe relay horse-changing system to travel west rapidly, swapping remounts at each station and forwarding imperial edicts and trade documents, sustaining communication across the Ming–Mongol border.
2. 1594–1597Küriye · Töv ProvinceDecrees of the Eastern Mongol khans and princes were carried outward from the center to the tribes by relay horse teams; couriers changed horses every few dozen li without resting, and in the mid-1590s this remained the fastest means of communication within the steppe.
3. 1597–1600Upper Onon River · Outer MongoliaAs border conflicts increased on the northern frontier in the late 1590s, relay horse teams carried military intelligence; remount stations lined the river valleys, allowing couriers to cover in one day distances that normally required several days' riding, and the system was still operating around 1600.