Chapter 856 0851 [Great-Great-Great-Grandson of the Cornucopia]

A fleet came up the Luo River and stopped at the southwest corner of the outer city.

Soon, draft horses, donkeys, and mules were led off the boats and sold wholesale to local merchants in Luoyang.

These animals came from the Youyan area.

It had suffered from famine, war, and natural disasters for more than ten years. Although it was sparsely populated, it also had a convenience - grazing!

In the year when the Jin Kingdom ceded Youyan, the Ming Dynasty court issued a decree: the uncultivated land in the prefectures and counties of Youyan could be used by local people to graze livestock. The ownership of the land still belonged to the government, and the right to use was temporarily transferred to the people for free, but it had to be re-registered every three years. At the same time, the government provided low-interest loans, and the people could borrow money based on their household registration books, which were specifically used to buy horses, donkeys, sheep and other livestock.

As soon as this order came out, people of all ethnic groups responded actively.

Even the Han people who migrated from the south took loans to buy donkeys and sheep. Cultivate the land during the busy farming season, graze livestock during the slack farming season, and use the beans planted in the wasteland as concentrated feed.

And those who surrendered to the Jin Kingdom who knew how to raise horses raised horses in every household. Although there were few high-quality horses, there were many war horses that could be used to equip light cavalry, and there were even more draft horses that could pull carts and plows.

Now, it has begun to show results.

The price of horses and donkeys in Hebei Province plummeted, and then some merchants saw the opportunity and bought horses and donkeys from Youyan and transported them to Kaifeng. Merchants in Kaifeng bought horses and donkeys in bulk in the Central Plains, and even transported them directly to Luoyang, which had just become the capital.

As soon as these livestock entered Beijing, they immediately caused a sensation in Luoyang.

Many young people who were not short of money went to the horse market to ask about the price of horses.

"Can this horse be sold among the people?" a young man asked.

His name was Lu Haojing, and he was one of the few members of the Luoyang Lu family who could still stay here after the split and migration.

Although most of the real estate, shops, and land were taken away by the government, the floating wealth hidden in the cellar was allowed to be retained.

The horse dealer explained: "Young sir, just buy it. The Jin Kingdom has been destroyed, and the grassland has also surrendered to the court. How can the Ming Dynasty still lack war horses?"

The horse dealer patted the horse that Lu Haojing liked again: "This foal is one and a half years old. If it was in the previous dynasty, it could be used as a war horse. In the past few years, the court controlled it, and the people couldn't buy it. Now it is open for sale. If you don't like it, I will order it from foreign horse dealers and ask them to ship better horses next time."

"Can I buy better ones?" Lu Haojing's eyes lit up.

The horse dealer said: "That will have to wait until next year. Young sir, just pay a deposit of five strings of money."

"Then buy this one first, how much is it?" Lu Haojing asked.

The horse dealer said: "Twenty strings of money."

"It's really cheap." Lu Haojing said happily, and picked two horses at once.

Such a good horse used to cost at least twenty-five strings of money, and even thirty strings of money when the border situation was tense.

Let the servant lead the horse home, Lu Haojing felt very happy.

The imperial court moved the capital to Luoyang and had already selected a stadium, located in the northwest of Longmen Grottoes. It was used to hold games such as Cuju and polo, and was open to the public at ordinary times. People could enter and play after paying tickets.

Hearing that the emperor of the Ming Dynasty liked polo, Lü Haojing had already started practicing.

Now that he had purchased two good horses, he was even more powerful. He planned to show off his skills in front of the emperor one day.

The Tiansijian Horse Farm had also been moved here, and the address was chosen to be the northern foot of Wan'an Mountain.

It was the largest horse farm in Luoyang during the Tang Dynasty, and it was next to the largest garden in Luoyang.

The garden was restored by Zhu Ming to its ancient name "Dongxi Garden", which was a royal garden in the Northern Song Dynasty. In the future, the Ming Dynasty royal family can move to Dongxi Garden to escape the summer heat, and can also ride horses at the nearby Tiansijian Horse Farm, or go directly to Wan'an Mountain for autumn hunting.

As for the Tiansijian Horse Farm in the northwest suburbs of Kaifeng, two-thirds of it is still retained, and one-third is sold to nearby farmers.

Youzhou also has an official horse farm, which has been cultivating horse breeds.

Many of the one-year-old foals bought and raised by the people of Youyan this year were eliminated by the official horse farms - they were not satisfied with the hybrids.

It is said that rich people buy horses, but ordinary people come to buy donkeys.

Before Lü Haojing had walked far with the horse, many citizens and farmers came to hear the news.

"How much is this donkey?"

"Six strings of cash."

"What about that one?"

"Twelve strings of cash, a good donkey. That one is more expensive, fifteen strings of cash."

"How much is the mule?"

"This is a horse mule. Twenty strings of cash..."

Mules are very valuable!

From the Tang and Song dynasties in China until before the reform and opening up, mules have always been much more expensive than draft horses and pack horses.

Especially "horse mules".

Because "horse mules" have too many advantages for ordinary people. They inherit the size, flexibility and running ability of the mother horse, and the load-bearing capacity and disease resistance of the father donkey. They are also gentle and not picky about food.

There is a very outrageous record in the Southern Song Dynasty that a young mule in Huangzhou was directly exchanged for 100 guan - only slightly lower than the price of war horses for the border army at that time (the Southern Song Dynasty had serious inflation, and war horses were particularly expensive).

In other words, although the mule-drawn chariots of the Ming Dynasty seemed very rustic.

In terms of military cost, it was no different from using ordinary war horses to pull them.

"The emperor has left the palace, go and see!"

The people of Luoyang who were buying donkeys and mules stopped the transaction and ran to see the emperor.

If the people of Kaifeng knew about it, they would definitely laugh at them as bumpkins.

However, the two sides of Zhuque Street were already crowded with people. The nearby streets and shops were all empty, and even the shopkeepers and clerks no longer guarded the shops, but squeezed into the crowd to stand on tiptoe and look out.

This was the first time the emperor officially left the palace after the capital was moved.

"Long live!"

"Official family, official family..."

People waved and cheered wildly, expressing their heartfelt love for the emperor. Suppressing troubled times and reducing tax burdens are only one aspect. After the imperial court moved the capital, it was easier for the people of Luoyang to make money.

Wages have risen along with house prices, but prices of basic consumer goods have only risen slightly.

This was a very thorough preparation, with a large amount of supplies mobilized in advance and interviews with Luoyang merchants.

Lu Haojing asked his servant to lead one horse, and he got on the other horse, so that he could see the royal procession clearly. He said to the servant whose view was blocked: "The official is riding a horse, looking majestic. The carriages in the back must be made of velvet, which can reflect the sunlight from a distance!"

"Back off, back off, don't push forward!"

The guards who were escorting him stood on both sides with their long spears as if they were facing a formidable enemy, for fear that someone would take advantage of the chaos to assassinate him.

After struggling for a long time, I finally got out of the city successfully.

Then we turned around and headed east, seven or eight miles north of Longmen Grottoes, crossing the Yishui River on the stone bridge and heading straight to Dongxi Garden.

As early as the Tang Dynasty, this was the largest garden in Luoyang, and during the Northern Song Dynasty it became a royal garden. Now it has become the summer resort of the Ming Dynasty royal family, and Ju Ming plans to bring the whole family to get familiar with it.

By the way, let's take a look at the good horses that were just shipped there a few days ago.

After playing in the garden with his wife, concubines, and children for a while, Zhu Ming rode to the nearby Tiansi Prison New Horse Farm.

Knowing that the emperor was coming to inspect, Xu Fu, the minister of Taipu Temple, left the city yesterday to make preparations.

Xu Fu is Huang Tingjian's nephew. Historically, Zhang Bangchang usurped the throne and proclaimed himself emperor. He resigned because he did not want to submit to the puppet government. He also heard that some officials changed their names to avoid Zhang Bangchang, so Xu Fu directly changed the name of the maid next to him to "Chang Nu".

Whenever a visitor came to his home, he would greet the visitor by shouting "Channu".

Zhang Bangchang didn't dare to do anything when he learned about this...

"Your Majesty, these are all foals born since last summer." Xu Fu pointed at several ponies and said.

Ju Ming fought in Liaodong last year and was busy when he came back early this year. He never had time to visit Tiansi Prison.

Xu Fu actually didn't know how to raise horses, so he had a horse breeder to introduce him.

"Your Majesty, this foal is only eight months old and is already over four feet tall at the shoulders." Horse breeder Li Gui said.

Ju Ming's eyes lit up: "Is he the descendant of the sweaty horse?"

Li Gui cupped his hands and said, "Exactly."

The sweat-blooded horse mentioned here is the Dawan horse from the Fergana Basin.

Today, most of the Fergana Basin is occupied by the Eastern Kara Khanate, and only a few of it belongs to the Western Kara Khanate.

The last time the Seljuq envoy came from the Eastern Kara Khanate, he presented many Dawan horses as gifts.

Unfortunately, all the male horses are gelded, and only two mares can be used for breeding.

Li Gui took out a small notebook: "This foal is numbered A1A1A2. Its third-generation ancestor is the cornucopia of divine horses, and its third-generation grandmother is a Khitan horse captured from Hezha Mengan. Its grandfather is a black horse from Gaochang. Sun Ma, the mother is a Dawan horse brought by the Seljuk envoy."

This lineage is quite complex.

Whether it is Wusun horse or Dawan horse, they were both known as Tianma in the Han Dynasty.

As for the Khitan horse, it is one of the ancestors of the Mongolian horse. But since it was captured from Hezha Mengan, it is obviously the best Khitan horse. Otherwise, how could it be used as a heavy cavalry horse?

The three generations of our ancestors are all excellent horses!

This horse has a strong body shape, slender legs, black body, shiny shiny fur, and diamond-shaped white spots on its forehead.

Li Gui continued to read the record: "Tall body, excellent endurance, excellent speed... I don't know if it can tolerate rough feeding. I don't know if it can tolerate cold, heat, and thirst... I have a bad temper and moody... When eating in the same trough, you must It kicks and bites other foals until competing eaters are driven away... Human nature only recognizes long-term breeders and is difficult for strangers to approach..."

Before he finished reading these words, Ju Ming had already walked over.

The foal suddenly looked nervous, snoring and retreating. It retreats to a certain distance, digs its hooves with its hind legs, and makes a leap with its back arched, as if it wants to rush forward, kick and bite.

The official holding the horse quickly comforted him, fearing that the foal might collide with the emperor.

"What a horse!" Zhu Ming praised.

Another Dawan horse sent by the Seljuk envoy also gave birth to a foal, and the third generation ancestor was also a cornucopia.

But there seemed to be signs of failure in improvement, and it was obviously much shorter than this one. The legs are slightly thicker and shorter in proportion to the body shape, which may be more powerful for carrying.

Under the comfort of the breeder, Ju Ming tried to brush the horse's fur.

I was restless at first, but gradually became emotionally stable. In the end, he gave the emperor a lot of face and ate the fine ingredients sent by the emperor himself.

Ju Ming was very happy and named the foal "Coal Ball".

Wu Zui and whatnot, how old-fashioned?

Briquettes look cute.

While brushing and feeding, Zhu Ming listened to the report from Xu Fu, the minister of Taipusi Temple: "The Tiansi Prison here in Luoyang has only moved eighty-four horses for the time being, all of which are the best of the best... Well, this horse The legs are thick and short because of the mother. It is very powerful and has great endurance, but it runs a little slowly."

"There are more than 1,500 horses left at the Tiansi Prison in Kaifeng. There are more than 2,000 horses at the official horse farm in Youzhou. There are more than 4,000 horses at the official horse farm in Liaodong, all of which were captured from Jin Bing. As for the three There is currently no official horse racing farm in the Imperial Protectorate, but it will be demarcated and set up within this year. "

"Every year, a batch of good horses are sent from major official horse farms to be cross-bred and bred in Tiansi Prison. A few of the horses that fail to be improved are removed and sold to the public."

“The good horses bred at the two Tiansijian horse farms in Luoyang and Kaifeng will also be sent to major official horse farms.”

"Horse breeds with stable sexual... traits have not yet appeared. The offspring of various horse breeds are obviously random..."

Xu Fu was really a layman, and words such as "character" and "randomness" seemed unfamiliar to him. These terms all come from Zhu Guoxiang’s Farm Advising Office, and they have long been popularized by agricultural officials.

Ju Ming plans to change to a Taipusi minister.