During his time in Nanjing, Batu often went to a military horse farm on the outskirts of Nanjing. This racetrack was built shortly after the Northern Expedition. In the glory days of cavalry, it was once a place where cavalry brigades were stationed, but now that the cavalry brigades have been abolished, only a small number of military horses remain here for high-ranking generals and dignitaries to ride for entertainment.

Batu sighed for a long time, the fate of this military horse farm is a microcosm of their tens of thousands.

At its executive meeting in the morning, the Central Military Commission announced that the whole army would not expand the size of its troops in the future, and that it would reduce the size of its cavalry in a controlled manner, and that the total number of cavalry in the whole country would be controlled within three divisions within two years.

Compared with the previous decision to transform army artillery into naval shore artillery, this decision involves much fewer interests, after all, cavalry is not the main arm now, and the scale is not large in many units, and whether it is abolished or not does not have a great impact on them.

Besides, the senior generals present here have a fairly rational understanding of cavalry. These high-ranking generals had participated in actual combat, and they were obsessed with the power of artillery fire and armor, so they naturally did not trust cavalry.

After the meeting, most of the generals were discussing the matter of selecting artillery divisions, and Huang Ke, Chen Shaokuan, and Jiang Zhongzheng were also talking about something, and it could be seen that although Jiang Zhongzheng was a little dissatisfied with this, he still agreed.

In the huge synagogue, Batu was the only one sitting on his chair in a daze.

Unlike these mechanized armies, Batu was a cavalryman, and he had feelings for horses and sabers that others could not let go. During the Northern Expedition, it was the initial period of cavalry, when the mule and horse troops were emphasized, and he once led the First Cavalry Division out of Guangzhou and plunged directly into the heart of the enemy as a new force.

In the suppression of the Mongolian rebellion, the recovery of Outer Mongolia, and the Northeast Incident, he led a raid on Lushun...... The size of the cavalry has also grown from the initial regiment to several cavalry corps, and the main generals of the cavalry units in the country were once Batu's subordinates.

Thinking of this, Batu's heart was surging. But with the development of armored forces, the cavalry has been going downhill, which he didn't see, but he couldn't let go of these feelings.

"What's wrong? I don't feel comfortable! Hearing this, Batu raised his head, it turned out to be Liu Jian. This bespectacled and polite man is actually an iron-clad tough guy in his bones, he was hit in the eye before the Northern Expedition, and he was stunned to bite a towel and perform surgery without anesthetic.

He has now been transferred to the Northeast Theater as the deputy commander, but he was partnered with himself in his early years, this person has hard bones, a smart head, and a kind person, Batu is a good partner with him, he really can't think of any shortcomings in him, Batu said before, if you have to talk about Liu Jian's shortcomings, that is, he does not smoke or drink.

Batu smiled hard, patted the chair next to him with his hand, and motioned for Liu Jian to sit down. Liu Jian also sat down unceremoniously, he smiled and said, "Feeling uncomfortable? ”

Batu nodded, then shook his head again, and then fell silent.

Liu Jian said: "Are you interested in going horseback riding?" I've been riding in a car all day, and my bones are almost crispy, so I'll go a few laps! ”

As soon as Batu heard this, he became interested, and the two went to this racecourse on the outskirts of the city.

There are not many horses left in the racecourse, only some old and sick remain. Batu changed into a pair of riding boots, and after completing the simple formalities, he received a red horse. The horse is old, but the number on the horse's butt indicates that it has fought many times.

Lao Ji Fu Fang! Batu gently stroked the sideburns of the jujube red horse, and the jujube red horse seemed to understand his words, and his nostrils let out a breath in response.

Liu Jian took a horse and pedaled the stirrup, and rode it with some trouble, and after riding it, he grabbed the reins of the horse and smiled: "I haven't ridden a horse for a long time, and now it seems that if I don't ride again, I'm afraid I won't even be able to get on the horse!" ”

Batu's mouth cracked and laughed, he jumped for life, turned over on the horse numbly, and made a chirping sound in his mouth, and the red horse jumped on his front hooves excitedly, eager to try.

"How many laps?" Batu asked slightly defiantly.

"Driving ——!" As soon as Batu's words fell, Liu Jian raised his whip and slapped the horse's buttocks, followed by a rhythmic sound of horses' hooves.

"Sure enough, it's still Liu Jian, and the shot is fast!" Batu smiled and raised his whip and ran ahead.

……

When Batu and Liu Jian were riding horses in the suburbs, Huang Ke was not so idle. He went home at noon, and his two sons were not at home, only his wife Xiaowan and daughter Huang Ying were at home.

The family is still the same as before, and the maid and grandmother are still there. The cook Lao Wu was in a trance after his son was killed in Shenzhen, let alone cooking, but he couldn't hold chopsticks well. In this case, Zhao Xiaowan, who was kind-hearted, did not dismiss him, but placed him down.

When I returned home, my daughter Huang Ying came over and talked about all kinds of messy things, at home and in society, there was not only unfair anger, but also a lot of emotion to sing and cry.

"Dad, you know what? When I went outside this summer, I found that in addition to the system, there is also the terrain that hinders the development of society, and I see that many places are backward because there is no way to build roads and bridges. ”

Huang Ke smiled, her daughter has grown up, and now she has begun to care about national affairs, although her understanding is still very shallow, but she is still kind in nature.

"Dad, I want to study architecture abroad, I don't know if you support it?" Huang Ying asked, tilting his head.

Huang Ke scratched the bridge of his nose and said, "Dad supports!" It's good to learn architecture and come back to build the country, I have met Liang Sicheng of China Construction Institute a few times, and I can recommend you to go to his school. ”

Unexpectedly, Huang Ying shook his head and said: "No, Mr. Liang studies the beauty of architecture, and I want to learn the design of bridges and culverts." I set all my goals and go to the United States to study, and their architectural design is very advanced. ”

Huang Ke nodded: "Silly boy, you have such ambitions to support your father, but you can't be half-hearted, but don't force yourself, if you don't want to learn, come back." ”

Huang Ying said stubbornly: "I must be admitted!" ”

When the father and daughter were chatting, Zhao Xiaowan walked in with fruit, she saw her daughter chattering, and said to Huang Ying: "Girl, go down there and eat some fruit, see how thin you are now." ”

Huang Ying said coquettishly: "I want to eat Dad's!" ”

Huang Ke saw that Zhao Xiaowan had something to say to him, so he patted Huang Ying's head and said, "You go down first, Dad has something to tell Mom." ”

Huang Ying grimaced and went downstairs, leaving a brisk footstep in his wake.

Zhao Xiaowan put the fruit plate in front of Huang Ke, sighed and said: "You may already know that public opinion has criticized you a lot recently, especially in the negotiations with the Soviet Union, the newspaper has scolded you for being a dog, I heard that in some radical youth groups, you have become a representative of the 'traitor'." As a wife, I'm really worried about you. ”

"It's not in the way, it's all small means, and it won't hurt anything!" Huang Ke waved his hand and said, although there were a lot of rumors outside during this time, Huang Ke didn't take it to heart, he felt that with his current political status and strength, these small things did not pose any threat to him at all.

Zhao Xiaowan sighed: "Don't you know that those radical youths, some time ago, someone threw a water bottle at the door of our house, but fortunately it was discovered by the guards." Some took out your photos and gouged out their eyes, I was cruel to see them! ”

"Haha!" Unexpectedly, Huang Ke laughed when he heard it, he waved his hand and said, "I'm not a fairy, what's the matter with digging a few holes in the photo?" Only those martial artists who engage in authoritarian dictatorship like to take their photos so seriously, not in the way, not in the way! ”

Zhao Xiaowan pouted and said: "I'm still a little worried, you said that the people used to support you, but now it has changed, and it is those patriotic young people who oppose you." Are we really in power that changes when we get it? ”

Huang Ke shook his head: "Don't worry, I'll ask Fourteen Tsai to strengthen the guards at home tomorrow." As for the 'patriotic youths' you mentioned, they are not called patriotic youths! Thoughtful young people should be able to think independently, not blindly follow the instigation of others, so a few little thieves are worried, then I can't go anywhere every day. ”

"It's just ......" Zhao Xiaowan was still a little worried.

Huang Ke took Zhao Xiaowan's hand and smiled: "Don't worry, go!" Let's go down and eat. ”

After lunch, Huang Ke changed into civilian clothes and went to Batu's dormitory. It is said to be a dormitory, but in fact it is a guest house within the Ministry of National Defense, which is dedicated to entertaining high-ranking officers who come to the capital from other places. Because there was no notice in advance, I was empty when I went, and Batu was not in the dormitory.

The administrator of the dormitory saw that Huang Ke was coming, and said that he would go and get Batu back immediately, but Huang Ke said that he didn't need to, he just walked around, and then left.

It was already dark, and he hadn't been to the front-line combat troops for a long time, Huang Ke felt a little missing, and he said to Fourteen Tsai that he was going to the military racecourse near Nanjing to have a look, maybe Batu was in that place.

Fourteen Tsai wanted someone to notify the racetrack in advance, but Huang Ke stopped him. He drove there and arrived at the racetrack in less than an hour.

The officer at the racetrack was just a major, and when he heard that Huang Ke was coming, he didn't know whether he was scared or excited, and he ran out without putting on his boots, and even fell a few times.

When they arrived in front of Huang Ke, these people stood up and saluted, and spoke incoherently.

Seeing the panicked appearance of the hippodrome management, Huang Ke smiled and said, you all disperse, I just want to come here to have a look, no need to accompany me.

How dare the people in the racecourse agree, Huang Ke finally had to say that as long as one person follows, how should the others work?

However, they are still a little reluctant to go, and they are a little afraid to go. Fourteen Tsai saw that Huang Ke wanted to turn around on his own, and he said to the major in the racecourse: "You go and clean up, maybe the minister will go and see it later." ”

The major suddenly realized, so he asked his subordinates to clean up and follow Huang Ke himself. Fourteen did not let him follow, saying that the minister wanted to go around by himself, because he had already seen a man asleep in the middle of the racecourse.

That's right, it's Batuu!

He was already drunk, and he slept drunkenly in the middle of the racetrack, next to the red horse.

Huang Ke walked straight over.