Unlike the Song Empire, the Tang Empire had an abundance of horses in the early period due to the large number of horse-producing areas and the effective management institutions and effective measures implemented by the imperial court.

Zhang said in the "Monument of the Right Supervisor of Longyou in the Thirteenth Year of the Tang Dynasty": "After the Tang Dynasty took over the chaos of Zhou and Sui, it inherited the disadvantages of the world's conquest...... Originated from the concept of chastity, into the Linde. In forty years, the number of horses reached 706,000...... At the time of Yusi, the world was easy to change a horse, and the prosperity of the Qin and Han dynasties had not been heard of. ”

The number of horses in the Tang Dynasty reached its peak at the end of the Zhenguan period and the period of Gao Linde, exceeding 700,000. In the later period of Gaozong and the reign of Wu Zetian, he suffered heavy losses in the battles with the Tibetans and the Later Turks, and at one time there were only more than 200,000 horses left. In the thirteenth year of the Kaiyuan Dynasty, the number of horses under the control of the imperial court was restored to 430,000. At this time, the horse breeding industry in the Tang Dynasty ushered in the second glorious period.

In addition to this, the aristocratic bureaucracy and the wealthy also kept a large number of private horses. In order to develop social horse husbandry, the Tang Dynasty court formulated some policies to encourage private horse breeding, and the early Tang Dynasty implemented the government soldier system, and the government soldiers needed to prepare their own weapons, horses, pots, and grains. Therefore, farmers in the Tang Dynasty also generally raised private horses.

Therefore, in addition to the official horse breeding industry of the imperial court, the scale of the private horse breeding industry is also extremely grand.

The "New Tang Dynasty Book" contains the soldiers: "The princes, generals, and relatives of cattle, alamas, sheep and horses are a hundred times more than the county officials, all of whom are sealed with the name of the feudal city, and the generals also prepare private horses." Since the Qin and Han dynasties, Tang and Ma were the most prosperous, and the Son of Heaven was keen on martial arts, so he weakened the northwest Tibet. ”

Since the Qin and Han dynasties, Tang horses have been the most prosperous, so various activities related to horses have also been extremely popular. Sports such as horse racing and polo are highly respected and loved by the Tang people.

Therefore, as one of the two CBD high-end business districts of Chang'an, the "West Market" of Datang Jingshi, the transaction of the horse market in China is naturally extremely prosperous.

Gu Yuanxi's brother and sister plus Li Qi and the three of them took a few entourages to a horse shop not far from Shixianglou.

This horse shop is called "Hundred Horses", and the front hall of this horse shop is also extremely gorgeous and bright.

The front hall is divided into several areas according to the price and the type of horse. The different areas are separated by railings, and then the walls of the respective areas are filled with cabinets, and many signs are hung in front of them. These signs indicate the breed, birthplace, age and name of a particular horse.

Each area has several hosts in charge of hospitality. Once a guest is interested in a horse on a horse plate, the hostess will use the horse card as a key to open the cabinet on which it is hung and extract a picture from it. The picture depicts the shape and demeanor of the horse, and the age and name of the horse are written on the picture for the guests to make further choices. After further confirmation by the guest, the servant will put away the picture and lead the guest to the stable at the back with a horse sign to see it in person.

"This shopkeeper is really thoughtful." Gu Yuanxi sighed with emotion, ancient people had already thought so carefully about doing business, and they were no worse than modern people.

"That's nature." Li Qi nodded triumphantly and smiled: "This 'Hundred Horses Travel' is quite famous in Chang'an Horse City. ”

"Are you here to choose a horse?" A middle-aged man with a slightly bloated figure stepped forward with a smile and asked, "Little Lao'er's surname is Zhou, if you want to buy a horse, then I have come to my 'Baijun Xing'." There are all the best horses in the world, although the little old man does not dare to say that he has everything, but he can also say that he is basically complete. Let's have a glass of cheese first, and take a closer look, and the little old man ensures that the three of them can feel the atmosphere of being at home in the bank. ”

Gu Yuanxi saw that the shopkeeper said a lot of things this week, and couldn't help but think of those salesmen in later generations, so he smiled slightly: "What good horses are there here in the shopkeeper, can you introduce them to us?" ”

"That's nature." Shopkeeper Zhou smiled and nodded: "Horse quality divides the use of horses into three types. The so-called 'horse quantity three things, one is called the horse, the second is the field horse, and the third is the horse. This horse is a war horse, and a field horse is a hunting horse. Don't talk about this colt. The three distinguished guests are all noble, thinking that they need field horses so that they can hunt in the suburbs during the season, right? ”

"Not bad." Gu Yuanqing nodded, and said with a smile: "What the shopkeeper said is that what we want is a field horse for hunting." ”

"Naturally, this field horse is for hunting. Najon horses are divided into war horses and pack horses, and their uses are also very fine. Shopkeeper Zhou rubbed his hands enthusiastically and smiled: "In fact, in my Tang Dynasty folk, the difference between this horse and the field horse is not very fine. After all, although this field horse is tame compared to Rong Ma, my Tang Dynasty style is extremely martial, so in the people, except for some weak scholars and children of noble families, even if the children of meritorious heroes hunt in the suburbs, most of them also use Rong horses, that is, war horses. ”

Gu Yuanxi listened with relish: "This horse, please explain more to me." ”

Before the shopkeeper Zhou could speak, Li Qi on the side interjected: "This horse is divided into children, horses, foals, horses, and geldings according to their sex and age. A child horse is a stallion, a horse is a mare, a foal is a pony, and a horse is an old horse. And gelding naturally refers to horses that have lost their fertility after being castrated. ”

When Gu Yuanqing heard the end, his face turned red, and then he smiled and said: "According to the color, there are various colors such as horse, horse, horse, dragon, etc. ”

She smiled and said, "Like the 'black horse' of the Chu overlord, it is a horse with black and white hooves. In the 'Zhaoling Six Horses' of the Tang Dynasty Emperor of this dynasty, the yellow-skinned and black-mouthed horse ridden by Liu Heimin, and the fist with a chain of swirling hairs on his body was a black-mouthed and yellow-haired horse, and the white and yellow Teller horse ridden by King Kong of the Ping Song Dynasty was a yellow horse. ”

Gu Yuanxi was dumbfounded when he heard this, and he was amazed. And Shopkeeper Zhou gave a thumbs up on the side and said appreciatively: "I didn't expect that this young lady is also an expert." Yes, that's right. ”

Gu Yuanqing's face turned red, and he asked a little shyly, "I don't know what good horses the shopkeeper has here?" ”

When the shopkeeper Zhou heard this, he immediately raised his head and chest, and replied with a fluttering eyebrow: "If you want to divide it by origin, this Tang horse breed can be divided into grassland horses, Liaodong horses, Western Regions horses, Huifu horses, Longyou horses, Hequ horses, southwest horses, Tubo horses, big food horses and Jiangnan horses. Under these categories, they can be subdivided into many horse breeds. ”

Li Qi is a royal child, and he naturally knows all about these horse knowledge, but he just has no intention of showing off, so he didn't see surprise when he heard it. And the brothers and sisters of the Gu family rarely come into contact with each other, and they are dumbfounded and fascinated by hearing it at this time.

"Please also ask the shopkeeper to tell me more about it." Gu Yuanxi listened with interest, nodded and smacked his lips: "For example, what kinds of grassland horses, Longyou horses, etc. can be subdivided?" ”

"Huh." Seeing that the guests were fascinated, Shopkeeper Zhou also said proudly: "Don't worry." This southwest horse is divided into Jianchang horse, Yunnan horse, Guizhou horse, Baise horse, Lichuan horse and so on. These are small mountain horse breeds, sensitive and tame, good at climbing, suitable for mountain transport, generally used as transport pack horses. The same is true for that kind of Jiangnan horse, which is not suitable for military and hunting, so I won't mention it this time. ”

Shopkeeper Zhou added proudly: "As for this grassland horse, it does not refer to horses that grow in the grassland. Rather, it refers to the horse breeds of the grassland tribes in the northern desert and the southern desert and the north, and is named according to the tribal tribe. Among them, the Turkic horse, the Yantuo horse, the same Roman, the Fugu horse and other horses are the most famous. This is one of the nine surnames of Tiele in Mobei. In the Fan Yang army of Fan Yang Jiedu Anzhongcheng, there is a 'Tongluo Jing Cavalry', and the 'Fugu Cavalry' in the Shuofang Army are both famous for their bravery in the feudal town. ”

Shopkeeper Zhou continued: "This grassland horse is not big but extremely hard-working, not afraid of cold, has strong vitality, and can survive in harsh conditions. The Mongolian horse that has been tamed is not frightened or deceived on the battlefield, and is extremely brave, and has always been a good war horse. The nomadic cavalry of the Zhufanhu tribe on the grassland are all mounted on this, and in my Tang army, most of the cavalry of the Hedong Jiedu Army also ride this kind of grassland horse, in addition, the cavalry of the Fanyang Army, the Shuofang Army and the Hexi Army also have some grassland horses. ”

"I think this is the Mongolian horse of the next generation." Gu Yuanxi was quite helpless when he heard the horse breeds of these two tribes. Because in the Anshi Rebellion in the future, the famous rebel general Cui Qianyou and Ge Shuhan fought in Lingbao Xiyuan, and attacked the rear of the official army with 6,000 Tongluo cavalry, which made the official army shocked and defeated. The other Fugu cavalry, under the leadership of the famous general Fugu Huaien, made repeated achievements for the Tang army in the Anshi Rebellion.

Seeing that Gu Yuanxi was fascinated, Shopkeeper Zhou talked even more complacently: "As for the Liaodong horse, it is divided into several major horse breeds such as the Khitan horse, the Bohai horse, the Liaodong horse, the Jinzhou horse, and the black hippopotamus. These horses are characterized by a strong, dry constitution, a tame temperament, a fierce temperament, and a well-proportioned structure. The coat color is mainly mule, followed by chestnut hair, and less black hair. The advantages of these Liaodong horses are that they have a large pulling force, fast speed, and can be used both in battle and in battle. It is widely used by the Fan Yang Army and the Pinglu Army. ”

Gu Yuanxi and the three of them nodded and did not interject.

That week, the shopkeeper was even more full of enthusiasm and continued to explain to the three of them: "And the largest number of horses in my Tang Dynasty is naturally Longyou Horse and Hequ Horse. The imperial court set up dozens of herdsmen in the horse-producing lands of Longyou and Hexi, and the Longyou horse and the Hequ horse were also the main horses of my Tang cavalry. For the most part, the two are not carefully distinguished from each other in the military. These two types of horse breeds are also the most abundant in stock. ”