A fleet of ships came against the river and docked at the southwest corner of the outer city.

Soon, horses, donkeys, and mules were taken off the boat and wholesaled to local merchants in Luoyang.

These animals come from the Youyan area.

It has suffered from famine, war, and natural disasters for more than ten years, and although it has been sparsely populated, there is also a convenient place - you can graze herd!

In the year when the Jin State ceded Youyan, the Ming court issued a decree: the local people can apply for free-range livestock for uncultivated land in Youyan's prefectures and counties. The ownership of the land still belongs to the government, and the right to use it is temporarily transferred to the people free of charge, but it must be re-registered every three years. At the same time, the government provides low-interest loans, and people can borrow money based on their household registers, which are used to buy horses, donkeys, sheep and other livestock.

As soon as this order was issued, the people of all ethnic groups responded positively.

Even the Han people, who migrated from the south, took out loans to buy donkeys and sheep. The land is cultivated when the farm is busy, the livestock are raised during the slack season, and the beans planted in the wasteland are used as concentrate.

And those who know how to raise horses are even more horse-raising. Although the number of high-quality horses was small, there were many horses that could be used to equip light cavalry, and even more horses that could pull carts and plows.

Now, the results are already beginning to be seen.

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

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

The imperial court moved its capital to Luoyang, and a stadium had been selected, and the address was in the northwest of the Longmen Grottoes. It is specially used to hold games such as kemari and polo, and it is also open to the common people on weekdays, and you can go in and play after paying the ticket.

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

Now that he has bought two good horses, it is like a tiger with wings, and he plans to show his hand in front of the emperor one day.

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

His name is Lu Haojing, and he is one of the few clansmen who can still stay here after the Lu clan in Luoyang split and migrated.

I heard that Da Mingzi likes polo, and Lu Haojing has already started practicing.

"It's cheap." Lu Haojing said happily, and directly picked two horses in one go.

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

"Then buy this horse first, how much?" Lu Haojing asked.

The horse dealer said: "Then we have to wait for next year, and the little minister can give a deposit of five yuan." ”

The horse dealer patted the horse that Lu Haojing fancied again: "This foal is one and a half years old, if it is placed in the front dynasty, it can be used as a war horse." A few years ago, the imperial court controlled it, and the people couldn't buy it if they wanted to, but now it is open to sale. If the little minister doesn't like it, I will order it from other horse dealers, so that they can transport better horses next time. ”

Many young people, who are not short of money to spend, have gone to the horse market to inquire about the price of horses.

In the past, it took at least 25 times for such a good horse, and even 30 times when the border situation was tense.

The horse dealer explained: "Even if the little minister buys it, the Jin country is destroyed, and the grassland is also submitted to the imperial court, how can the Ming Dynasty still lack war horses?" ”

The garden was restored by Zhu Ming and was called "Dongxi Garden" in ancient times, which was a royal garden in the Northern Song Dynasty. In the future, the Ming royal family can move to Dongxi Park in summer to escape the heat, and can also ride horses in the nearby Tiansi Prison Horse Farm, or go directly to Wan'an Mountain to hunt in autumn.

The horse dealer said, "Twenty runs." ”

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

Let the servant lead the horse home, Lu Haojing's mood was extremely comfortable.

"What could you buy better?" Lu Haojing's eyes lit up.

The Tiansijian Horse Farm has also been moved, and the address is selected at the northern foot of Wan'an Mountain.

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

Many of the one-year-old foals purchased by the people of Youyan this year were eliminated by the official horse farms - they were not satisfied with the crossbreeding.

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

Before Lu Haojing led the horse far, he heard the wind and rushed to many citizens and farmers.

"How did you sell this donkey?"

"Liuguan."

"What about that one?"

"Twelve, good donkey. The one is more expensive, fifteen times. ”

"How do you sell the mules?"

"It's a horse mule. Twenty ......"

Mules, very valuable!

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

Especially the "horse mule".

Because the "horse mule" has too many advantages for the common people, it inherits the size, flexibility and running ability of the mother horse, and inherits the weight-bearing ability and disease resistance of the donkey father. He is also docile and not picky eaters.

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

In other words, don't look at the mule-drawn chariot of the Ming Dynasty, it seems to be very earthy.

In terms of military costs, there is no difference from using ordinary war horses to tow them.

"The official family is out of the palace, go and see!"

The people of Luoyang, who were buying donkeys and mules, terminated the transaction one after another and ran to see the emperor.

If the citizens of Kaifeng knew about it, they would definitely laugh at them for being dirt buns.

But I saw that both sides of Suzaku Street were already crowded with people. The nearby streets and shops were empty, and even the shopkeeper and the men stopped guarding the shop and squeezed into the crowd to watch.

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

"Hooray!"

"Official, official......"

People waved and cheered wildly, expressing their heartfelt love for the emperor. Calming the troubled times and reducing the tax burden is only one aspect, and 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 for basic consumer goods have risen only slightly.

This is a lot of preparation, a large number of materials were transferred in advance, and Luoyang businessmen were also interviewed.

Lu Haojing asked the servant to lead a horse and stepped on the other himself, so that the royal team could be seen clearly. He said to the servant who was blocked from view: "The official family is riding a horse, and he is majestic. The back carriages must be made of Zhangrong to make carriage cloth, which can reflect the sunlight from a distance! ”

"Stand back, stand back, don't squeeze forward!"

The guards guarding the car were like facing a great enemy, blocking the sides with their spears horizontally, for fear that someone would take advantage of the chaos to assassinate.

After tossing for a long time, I finally got out of the city smoothly.

Then turn all the way to the east, seven or eight miles north of the Longmen Grottoes, step on the stone bridge to cross the Yishui and go straight to the Dongxi Garden.

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

By the way, take a look at the good horses that have just arrived there for a few days.

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

Knowing that the emperor was coming to inspect, the Taifu Siqing Xu bowed down, and went out of the city yesterday to prepare.

Xu Qian is Huang Tingjian's nephew, Zhang Bangchang usurped the throne and became the emperor in history, and he resigned if he was unwilling to bend to the puppet dynasty. I also heard that some officials avoided Zhang Bangchang and changed their names, and Xu Qian directly renamed the maidservants around him as "Changnu".

As long as there is a guest at home, he shouts "Changnu" to pick up the guest.

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

"Your Majesty, these are foals born since last summer." Xu said as he pointed to a few ponies.

Zhu Ming fought in Liaodong last year, and he was busy when he came back at the beginning of this year, so he never had time to go to Tiansi Prison to have a look.

Xu Qian actually doesn't know how to raise horses, and he has his own horse breeder to introduce him.

"Your Majesty, this foal is only eight months old, and his shoulder height is already more than four feet." Li Gui, a horse breeder, said.

Zhu Ming's eyes lit up: "Is it the descendant of the sweaty BMW?" ”

Li Gui arched his hand: "Exactly." ”

The sweaty BMW mentioned here is the Dawan horse from the Ferghana Basin.

Most of the current Ferghana Basin is occupied by the Eastern Qarakhanid, and only one part belongs to the Western Qarakhanate.

Last time, the Seljuk envoys came from the Eastern Karakhanid Kingdom and presented many Dawan horses as gifts.

Unfortunately, the stallions are all castrated, and only two mares can be used for breeding.

Li Gui took out a small notebook: "This foal is numbered A1A1A1A2." Its third ancestor is a cornucopia of sacred horses, and its third grandmother is a Khitan horse captured from Hezha Meng'an. His grandfather was a Wusun horse from Gaochang, and his mother was a Dawan horse brought by the Seljuk envoys. ”

It's complicated enough.

Whether it is Wusun Horse or Dawan Horse, it is known as Tianma in the Han Dynasty.

As for the Khitan horse, it is one of the ancestral sources of Mongolian horses. But since it has been captured from Hezha Meng'an, it obviously belongs to the best of the Khitan horses, otherwise how could it be used as a heavy cavalry war horse?

The three generations of our ancestors are all excellent horses!

The horse has a sturdy body, long legs, black throughout, shiny fur, and diamond-shaped white spots on its forehead.

Li Gui continued to read the record: "Tall, endurance, speed...... It is not known whether it is resistant to rough feeding. I don't know if it is cold-tolerant, heat-tolerant, thirst-resistant...... Temperamental and moody...... When feeding in the same trough, they will kick and bite the other foals until they drive the competitors away...... Through human nature, only long-term breeders are recognized, and it is difficult for people to approach ......"

Before he finished reading this, Zhu Ming had already walked over.

The foal suddenly looked nervous and snapped its nose and retreated. Retreat to a certain distance, gouge the hooves of the hind legs, and jump up in a hunched back, as if trying to rush up and kick and bite.

The officials who led the horses hurriedly appeased, for fear that the foals would collide with the emperor.

"Good horse!" Zhu Ming praised.

Another Dawan horse sent by the Seljuk messenger also gave birth to a foal, and the third ancestor is also a cornucopia.

But there seemed to be signs of failure in the improvement, and it was noticeably much shorter than this one. The ratio of the four legs to the body shape is slightly stubby and short, so it may be used for carrying more energy.

Under the reassurance of the breeder, Zhu Ming tried to brush the foal.

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

Juming was very happy, so he named the foal "briquette".

How old-fashioned is it?

Briquettes are cute.

While brushing and feeding, Zhu Ming listened to the report of Xu Qian, the Taifu Temple: "The Tiansi Prison here in Luoyang has only moved eighty-four horses for the time being, and they are all the best of the best...... Well, this horse with stubby legs was brought by its mother. It's very powerful and has a lot of stamina, but it's a little slower. ”

"Over there are more than 1,500 horses left in Kaifeng Tiansi. There are more than 2,000 horses in Youzhou Official Horse Farm. There are more than 4,000 horses in the official horse farm in Liaodong, all of which were captured from the Jin soldiers. As for the three major metropolitan protectorates, there is no official horse farm for the time being, and the boundary can be demarcated and set up within this year. ”

"Every year, a batch of good horses will be sent from the major official horse farms to the Tiansi Prison for cross-breeding. If the foals fail to be improved, a small number of them will be removed and sold to the people. ”

"Luoyang and Kaifeng are two Tiansi Prison Horse Farms, and the good horses bred will also be sent to the major official horse farms."

"Sex...... Stable breeds have not yet appeared. Descendants of various breeds of horses, with ...... Obvious ...... of mechanicality"

Xu Qian is too layman, and words such as "trait" and "randomness" are unfamiliar to him. These words all come from Zhu Guoxiang's persuasion of agricultural offices, and the persuasion of agricultural officials has long been popularized.

Zhu Ming plans to change to a servant Siqing.

(End of chapter)