Suddenly seeing Zhang Liang who had overcome obstacles together, Liu Ji was not excited, but he was the son of heaven, so he could only suppress his joy, and asked lightly in a reserved manner,

"Taifu, don't come unharmed, I thought that when you went, you would have to find an excuse to cultivate and escape into the desert."

"Your Majesty is looking for the happiness of the old minister again."

Zhang Liang waved his hand again and again, his white hair trembled,

"The old minister is reluctant to His Majesty, his wife and children in Beijing, and he is reluctant to this world.

Besides, seeing that the Huns were not honest, the old minister also wanted to make another effort for the imperial court. ”

Everyone laughed, Liu Ji heard that he obviously had something to say, and before he could say anything, he saw a meaningful smile brewing on his face, his heart moved, and he hurriedly asked,

"Could it be that in just a few months, what breakthrough have you made in the matter of Ma Zheng?"

Zhang Liang smiled even more on his lips, and there was a hint of triumph in his eyes, Liu Fei on the side was so young that he couldn't hold it back, and hurriedly said,

"Mr. Zifang is talented, he has thought of a fairy-like magic method that can improve the horse breed of our pasture!"

The audience was full of surprise, and Xiahou Ying, the servant in charge of the carriage and horses, stood up even more excitedly, seeing that he was so impatient, Zhang Liangcai told the ins and outs of the matter.

It turned out that he took Liu Fei to travel all over the border county pastures, although the new foals he visited this spring were all unsatisfactory, but in the exchange of cups and lamps with the military households, Zhang Liang learned a secret that the locals knew secretly.

"Master Zhang, do you know how the Huns let the horses go?"

The drunken old military household, with a sense of alcohol, squinted at Zhang Liang.

***

Zhang Liang tilted his neck and drank the farmer's own wine in the cup, this wine was shoddy and spicy, as soon as he entered his mouth, his throat seemed to be on fire, and he felt that a line of fire went straight into his stomach and intestines, and his internal organs were about to burn.

He wiped his mouth and asked humbly,

"I don't know, I'm waiting to ask you for advice."

"Hehe, except for winter and spring, they never keep horses in captivity, and let the horses run around the mountains, sometimes running out for dozens of miles, or even hundreds of miles, and they don't care.

The horses were spiritual, and they knew their companions and their way, and when they were tired of running outside, they returned to their master's felt tent on their own after ten days and a half months.

Even if they can't find their way home, they will stay until the end of autumn, and as soon as they send out a few middle-aged herdsmen to gather along the way, they will be all together. ”

"Oh?" Zhang Liang was stunned, not knowing where the old soldier's words were going.

"So, our horse breeders, sometimes want to try their luck, so they follow the example of the Huns, in late spring and early summer, choose a few mares, and rush to the other side of the border."

What kind of character Zhang Liang is, he has already understood the key between the lights and flints, he did not show his face, only picked up the wine bottle with a slightly trembling hand, and filled the pottery wine glass in front of the old soldier again.

The old soldier took a piece of high-quality goat milk cheese brought by Zhang Liang, put it in his mouth and chewed it, took another sip of wine, smacked his lips with satisfaction, and continued to preach,

"Our mare also knows the way, and will not run too far, and will sway around a few nearby hills to the left and right.

When it's autumn, let's sneak out again and get the mare back early, and guess what-"

"How?"

"If you're lucky, most of the mares already have cubs in their wombs.

These are the cubs of those good horses on the prairie, born in the spring of the next year, each of them is extraordinary, and can be sold for a good price. ”

Zhang Liang asked,

"Your method works every year?"

***

"Nine times out of ten, nine times out of ten."

The old herdsman drank another cup and said mysteriously,

"However, this is our private method, and it is only used occasionally to make some money, and it is not good to put it on the bright road.

If it leaks out, it will be casually put on the hat of a capital enemy, but the gain will outweigh the loss. ”

Zhang Liang hummed heavily.

The Han and Hungarians were not harmonious all the year round, horses were the most important strategic materials, and they dared to put horses on the territory of the Xiongnu without permission, which was a big or small crime, but it was not something that ordinary military families could afford.

"It can be seen from this that the public pastoral supervisors naturally dare not use this method."

Zhang Liang touched a cup with the old soldier and sighed as if asking.

"That's nature,"

The old soldier glared, as if laughing at his whimsy,

"The horses of the pasture are all the property of the imperial court, and they are registered one by one.

What prison master would take such a big risk for an errand?

If the mare can't get it back, won't the gain outweigh the loss? ”

"That's, that's."

Zhang Liang was silent, for many corpse vegetarian supervisors, more things are better than less things, they would rather not do things than do wrong things, and it is not worth taking risks to try.

But he's different, he'd rather do it wrong than give it a try.

"Right now, Jiuxia will thank you, if you release the mare at this time, it's not too late, right?"

"It's just in time......

But Lord Zhang, aren't you here to inspect, why do you bother doing this? ”

Before waiting for the other party's reply, the old soldier was overwhelmed by the strength of the wine, planted himself on the mat, and fell asleep.

***

"You should say it quickly, did you really find some mares and put them on the territory of the Huns?"

Xiahou Ying was overjoyed and asked eagerly, just like at the beginning of the business, a group of old buddies gathered in the dilapidated palace of the old capital of Liyang, excitedly you and me, imagining the future.

"At that time, it was close to summer, and time was pressing, so I even looked for horses and horses, and worked for more than ten days, gathered 360 sturdy middle-aged horses, and let them all go across the border."

"How can there be bits and pieces?"

Liu Ji muttered.

Liu Fei hurriedly explained,

"Back to my father, don't underestimate these three hundred and sixty horses, this is already found by Mr. Zifang and I digging three feet into the ground and exhausting all the treasures.

Not one more. ”

Lu Pheasant asked with a smile,

"You probably scattered all your belongings, right?"

"The queen mother is wise, who says it's not."

Although it was a few months later, Liu Fei recalled the embarrassment of looking for horses everywhere at that time, and still smiled bitterly.

"The horses of the pasture garden are also upside down, the two of us, a prince and a prince, are still a little thin-faced, and we can borrow them with our mouths open and a seal.

At first, from the pasture and the post pass, a total of more than 200 official horses were raised, I thought it was enough to make a difference, but Mr. Zifang was still too little.

In desperation, he could only rely on the counties to abide by the county orders and go door to door to go to the homes of local wealthy families to collect horses.

Mr. Zifang also said that the people's horses are different from the official horses, and they must be clear about the real price, even if they are bought on credit, they must be kept in accordance with the market and set enough money.

In order to buy a horse, the Taifu had no long things, and the sons were even more miserable, so they almost took their robes and boots, and they owed a lot of personal debts. ”

Seeing Liu Fei's complaint, Zhang Liang couldn't help but laugh, and said,

"The eldest prince has said too much.

It's just that the northwestern counties are already poor, and there is not much money left in taxes all year round, and they don't have time to find the inner county for allocation, and they don't dare to alarm the court before the matter is completed. ”

Liu Ji laughed,

"It's such a reason, to collect horses from rich families, you also have to give money.

It doesn't matter, how much money did you use, just ask Xiao He for it. ”

Xiao He was busy responding, and Xiahou Ying urged,

"O ovary, you only talk about irrelevant things, how many percent of the three hundred and sixty horses have been recovered?"

Hearing this question, Zhang Liang's old eyes lit up, like a candlelight in the dark night,

"Before we set off, we took stock twice—

In total, ninety out of three were recovered, and among them, three hundred were pregnant with cubs. ”