"This Longyou horse and Hequ horse are the horse breeds with the largest number of horses bred by my Tang Dynasty." Shopkeeper Zhou said brightly: "These two types of horses are collectively known as 'Helong horses'. According to the place of origin, it can be divided into Hequ horse, Longyou horse, Wuwei horse, Tuyuhun horse, Yiwu horse, Guanzhong horse, Taoyang horse, Dunhuang horse, Jiuquan horse, Jiaohe horse and so on. Among them, the river meandering horse and the Tugu Hun horse are the most rare and rare. ”

Immediately, he was afraid that Gu Yuanxi would not understand, and explained: "This Wuwei horse is the previous Liangzhou horse, the Dunhuang horse is the Shazhou horse, the Jiuquan horse is the Suzhou horse, the Zhangye horse is the Ganzhou horse, the Yiwu horse is the Yizhou horse, and the Jiaohe horse is the Xizhou horse." These are also collectively known as 'Western Cool Horses'. The 'Ganliang Light Cavalry' in the Hexi Jiedu Envoy Army and the 'Isi Hunting Cavalry' in the Beiting Jiedu Envoy Army are these Western Liang horse breeds. ”

Li Qi saw that Gu Yuanxi was confused when he heard this, so he stepped forward and explained: "My Emperor Tang was originally a three-level system of Daozhou County, and Tianbao changed the state to a county in the first year. For example, Liangzhou was changed to Wuwei County, Guazhou was changed to Jinchang County, Shazhou was changed to Dunhuang County, Yizhou was changed to Yiwu County, and Xizhou was changed to Jiaohe County. Therefore, the names of the Jiuquan horse and the Suzhou horse are different, but they are actually the same. However, even if the names of states and counties are different, the common people are still accustomed to calling them by the names of the old states. If you go to other places, when others introduce you, they will generally use Liangzhou horses and Yizhou horses to listen to you. ”

Gu Yuanxi didn't seem to understand when he heard it, so he asked the shopkeeper that week: "In this case, what are the characteristics and advantages of the two horse breeds of Hequ Horse and Longyou Horse?" ”

Shopkeeper Zhou took the trouble to explain: "There is not much difference between these two. It's just that according to the division of Hexi and Longyou, people are used to distinguishing it. Both breeds belong to the pull-ride type, this horse has a docile temperament, a stable temperament, strong endurance, and a quick recovery from fatigue. Therefore, it is used for military use. And it has a strong adaptability to the harsh environment of the northwest cold and changeable climate, especially known for being good at walking swamps and grasslands. Therefore, it is famous among the cavalry soldiers. ”

Shopkeeper Zhou's saliva splashed, and his eyes flew with a smile. He excitedly said: "Among these two types of horses, the pure Hequ horse and the Tuyuhun horse are the best. The Hequ Horse is the tallest horse in my Han Dynasty. It is rumored that during the Han Dynasty, in order to improve the horse breeds in the Central Plains, the imperial court had introduced the excellent horse breeds of the Western Regions to graze in the Hequ area, and the descendants of these horses made great contributions to the Han Dynasty's conquest of the Xiongnu. And Tugu Hun horse is also known as 'Qinghai Horse'. "Sui Shu Tuyuhun Biography" records: "Qinghai is thousands of miles around, there are small mountains, and its custom is to put horses on it in winter, and it is said that the dragon breeds. Tuyuhun tastes the Persian grass horse, put it into the sea, because of the birth of a horse, can travel thousands of miles a day, so it is called Qinghai horse. 'This Hequ horse is mixed with the blood of the sweat horse, and the Tuyuhun horse is mixed with the blood of the Persian horse, and they are both excellent horses. ”

He smiled and said, "This Hequ Horse and Tuyuhun Horse are both extremely excellent horses in the Helong horse breed. Generally, it is given priority to charge into the forbidden army and for the elite cavalry of Longyou and Hexi towns, which is extremely rare in the Helong horse breed, and I only have a Tuguhun horse here. Look, do you want Xiao Lao'er to take you to have a look? ”

When the three of them heard this, they readily agreed. Judging from the ornaments worn by the three of them, the shopkeeper knew that the three were the children of the rich and the kind of people who were not bad for money. He was overjoyed, took the horse card directly, and personally led the three of them to the stable in the backyard to watch.

There is a spacious stable behind the hall of 'Bai Jun Xing', which is divided into different stables according to the type of horse and the price. There is also a small open-air racecourse next to the stable for guests to try run.

"Three of you, please." Shopkeeper Zhou smiled and said: "This Tuguhun horse is specially raised, with an independent stable and a groom to feed. And the stables are clean, never as dirty and smelly as the stables of ordinary horses. ”

Gu Yuanqing was originally a woman who loved cleanliness, and she was afraid that these stables would be dirty and smelly. At this time, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief when he heard this, and nodded: "That's very good." ”

"The number of horses in Zhou's shopkeeper is really uncountable." Gu Yuanxi stroked his palms and exclaimed: "There are so many horses, it can really be described by hundreds or thousands. ”

Shopkeeper Zhou shook his head and smiled: "The number of horses in this stable is only a drop in the bucket in Xiao Lao'er's horse shop. After speaking, regardless of Gu Yuanxi's surprised and admiring gaze, he stroked his beard and said triumphantly: "Baijunxing's horse farms are all over Hexi, Longyou, Hedong, Shuofang and Liaodong, and there are dozens of horse farms large and small, raising a total of 30,000 horses!" The largest Longyou total horse farm alone raises 8,000 horses. In addition to local trading, a certain number of good horses are transported every year and grazed in the pastures on the outskirts of Chang'an. Then select hundreds of horses from the Chang'an grassland and place them in the stable of the West Market Bank for guests to watch. In fact, if customers really want to buy, the store will ask the relevant staff to lead them to the suburban racecourse to observe and buy in person. ”

Li Qi couldn't help but smack his tongue and said: "The Tang system stipulates that among the herd supervisors of the imperial court, all horses with 5,000 horses are the upper prisons, and more than 3,000 horses are the middle prisons. The number of horses raised in the largest Longyou general horse farm in the shopkeeper is more than that of the herd supervisors of the imperial court! ”

Shopkeeper Zhou suddenly showed a bitter face when he heard this, and he sighed: "Although Baijunxing raises more than 30,000 horses every year, more than half of the horses die and lose at the end of each year. It's not as glamorous as it looks! Ay...... Don't mention it—"

"These horses are very delicate, and they are harder to raise than children." Gu Yuanxi smiled when he heard this.

Shopkeeper Zhou nodded, glanced at Gu Yuanxi secretly, and said with a smug smile: "But just the number of horses transported from the horse farm on the outskirts of Chang'an every year is also all over the mountain. At a glance, the scene of thousands of horses galloping every day is also spectacular. This Tuyuhun horse happened to be brought over from Chang'an Racecourse by the deputy manager of the head office a few days ago, and the three distinguished guests were also suitable, so they avoided a short trip. ”

As he spoke, he led the men to the stable.

The three of them walked to the stable where the Tuyuhun horse lived, and saw that the Tuyuhun horse in the stable was covered in black except for the black mane and tail, and the rest of the body was all the same color. The horses are stout, muscular, with a long midbody, a long waist and a large abdomen, obvious dimples, and a long mane and tail. It's a horse.

Seeing this, Gu Yuanxi secretly thought: "This is very similar to the Datong Horse of later generations. ”

"Good horse!" Li Qi, who has rarely spoken since entering the store, couldn't help but clapped his hands at this time and praised sincerely: "It's really a good horse." ”

"That's nature." Shopkeeper Zhou Xin Xin said proudly: "This Tugu Hun Horse and Hequ Horse actually belonged to the same family three hundred years ago, and they were originally the same horse breed, but this Tugu Hun Horse is mixed with the blood of the Persian horse. The Persian horse must also know about it, and its size is second only to the big eating horse, which is extremely rare in my Tang Dynasty. This Tugu Hun horse is used for both riding and riding, with a strong physique, flexible and agile pace, and is good at crossing mountains and mountains, and is an excellent passenger war horse. And it is famous for being good at walking opposite side steps, commonly known as 'walking horses'. A few days ago, several stewards who had just returned from the Helong Horse Farm told me that this year, the new horses used by Dr. Wang, the new envoy of the two towns of Hexi and Longyou, to supplement the cavalry of the Hexi and Longyou armies, were all Tuyuhun horses and Hequ horses. ”

Hearing this, Li Qi smiled at the Gu family brothers and sisters: "I have heard about this. I heard that Dr. Wang conquered the Tuyuhun tribe of the Moli army in Shazhou, and captured 10,000 good horses, and in addition to the Shazhou horses, the Tuyuhun horses had the largest number. I heard that there are 4,000 Tuyuhun horses that can be used as war horses. I also heard that many court eunuchs, and the royal nobles repeatedly sent people to the army of Dr. Wang to ask for horses after knowing about it! ”

Shopkeeper Zhou nodded, and said with a slight smile: "In this Helong horse species, this Hequ horse and Tuguhun horse are the most rare and rare. This time, most of the Hequ horses and Tuyuhun horses in Guanlong have been used for military use, so it is difficult to buy at present, and this BMW is a good horse in the Tuyuhun horse breed that belongs to the upper reaches of performance. The three honored guests want to be rich people in the bag, if you fancy it, please buy it as soon as possible, if you hesitate a little, you may be taken away by others tomorrow~"

Gu Yuanqing smiled and said, "When the shopkeeper said this, he obviously wanted to sell this horse as soon as possible. ”

Shopkeeper Zhou's face turned red, and he said with a smile: "Xiao Lao'er is a businessman, so naturally he wants to sell as much as possible, but what Xiao Lao'er said just now is not coaxing." Although this Tuguhun horse is not as rare as the big food horse, Persian horse, and sweat horse. However, due to the reduction of channels, it is quite rare for the current Hequ horse and Tuyuhun horse to be like that Sui Zhu and Bi. ”

"Is this the so-called 'rare is expensive'?" Gu Yuanxi couldn't help but smile.

"If you want, you can also wait for the next batch of horses to enter Beijing, but this time is quite long. The three distinguished guests were well-dressed and elegantly behaved, and at first glance they were either rich or noble. I don't think there is a shortage of money, not the kind of person who will spend a lot of money for a little less, and not the kind of person who would rather spend a long time waiting for a little less money. ”

"The shopkeeper's eyes are very fine." Li Qi shook his head and laughed: "In that case, let's make a price for the shopkeeper." ”

Shopkeeper Zhou flashed when he heard this, and his hands showed eight fingers.

Gu Yuanxi was overjoyed when he heard this: "Eight hundred words? It's never been there! The price level in this era is really low. ”

Shopkeeper Zhou only felt that his eyes were dark when he heard this, and he suddenly sweated profusely and said: "My grandfather, Babaiwen, you should be an ordinary woman to buy rice in Fangtou!" ”

"Eight thousand words?" Gu Yuanxi wrenched his hands and said, "Eight thousand wen is eight thousand yuan, and eight thousand yuan is eight guan." That's ...... It's not expensive~"

"Eight thousand words?" The corner of Shopkeeper Zhou's mouth twitched and said: "The market price of an ordinary Turkic horse is generally 9,400 yuan, this is a good Tugu Hun good horse~ My ancestor——"

"Is it 80,000 dollars?" Gu Yuanxi opened his mouth wide and said, "Eighty thousand dollars? Eighty runs? Shopkeeper, you might as well grab it! ”

The price level is not high in this era. It has always been a thousand dollars, which is equivalent to one tael of silver in later generations. Therefore, the price level at this time determines that this era will not appear as the brain-dead costume TV series in later generations, where the protagonist casually takes tens of thousands of taels of silver tickets, and shouts tens of thousands of taels of silver.

According to Li Bai's description in "Difficult to Walk": "The golden bottle of fine wine is ten thousand, and the jade plate is worth ten thousand dollars." At this time, the extravagant life of the upper class aristocracy cost ten times per meal. A meal of 10,000 yuan is already an extremely luxurious standard of living. And although eighty guan is not enough for these nobles to eat for 4 days, for ordinary officials and middle- and lower-class people, it is already a sky-high price that is difficult to hope for a lifetime.

Shopkeeper Zhou shook his head when he heard this, and said: "Eighty thousand yuan here is just to buy some ordinary good horses, as for this horse-" He re-erected eight fingers and read word by word: "This Tuguhun horse is extremely fine and rare, and the price on the market is - 800,000 yuan, that is, 800 yuan." ”

Gu Yuanxi took a deep breath when he heard this, only to feel that it was dark in front of him, and he was almost about to faint.