Qin Official

While Chen Ping was venturing outside the Great Wall, Hei Fu was not idle either. In February, he finished his travels to the county and returned to Yiqu City, spending a few days with his beloved wife and seizing all the time to create a human being.

But the time the young couple got together only lasted a few months, and Hei Fu had to go on a business trip again...

The place he was going to this time was not far away, in Yuzhi County, forty miles north of Yiqu City.

Yuzhi City is located at the intersection of Huanjiang River and Mishui, with the mountainous Baima Ridge to the north. The mountains block the water, and it is dangerous on three sides. It is easy to defend but difficult to attack. It is a good fortress.

The natural situation of this county is similar to that of other places in the North. It is also half-agriculture and half-pastoral. However, except for Oyuan, the largest and most abundant pasture in Beidi County is located here, so it was opened up by the Qin Dynasty into the "Priest Garden". Specialized in raising war horses.

When Heifu arrived at the Priest's Garden, it was spring time and flowers were blooming around the river. Even the sky seemed exceptionally high and clear in this season, with fragrant grasses swaying like waves in the long wind, across the river. , he could see a large group of horses running on the grassy slope... "Good horses!"

Behind Heifu, there was a burst of cheers.

Lieutenant Hei did not come alone. This time, there were three hundred more followers behind him. They were all well-dressed, their buns were uniform and tilted to the right, and they had their own horses, bows and swords. They rode steadily on the only low-rise saddle on horseback.

These three hundred people are Heifu's biggest harvest in Kaichunxing County: good families from all counties in Beidi County!

These sons of good families in the north are all good people who have migrated to the border, and their families have a certain amount of land, wealth, and titles, which are enough to support them in martial arts since childhood. They can also buy horses in the east market, saddles and bridles in the west market, and bridles in the south market. , "Beishi bought a long whip" and concentrated on pursuing fame.

Beidi Liangjiazi is good at riding, shooting and fighting. He is an excellent soldier in the eyes of Heifu. He is also the source of low-level generals in the future war against the Huns...

But among the three hundred people, there are also good and bad ones. After the good men were recruited by Heifu, they gathered in Yiqu City last month and were divided into three "hundreds". The three who served as the hundred generals were the best among them, respectively. They come from three counties: Qianghua in Jingyang County, Fuzhi in Yiqu County, and Ganchong in Niyang County.

Qiang Hua is another grandson of Qiang You, the governor of Shangjun. Things are like this in official circles. Qiang Hua is likely to be the commander-in-chief of the Qin army to attack the Huns in the north in the future. How could his grandson, Heifu, not help him? However, Qiang Hua was born as a general, and his skills were not weak. He was especially good at riding and shooting. It is said that he once led his family's cavalry to chase a group of bandits, killing many of them, and he was well-known in the local area.

Fu Zhi from Yiqu County also came from a military aristocracy. Heifu's deepest impression of him was his great strength. He played the "rock throwing" that is common in the military. He was like a strongman in the Olympics. After spinning a few times, he threw dozens of steps in one breath. ! Beyond the pavilion!

Compared with these two people, Gan Chong from Niyang County is much less conspicuous. His family is just an ordinary small landowner, but Gan Chong has two unique skills: one is to take a small stone and put it in a leather case and throw it casually. Within twenty or thirty steps, the shots will hit hundreds of times, and the person who hits them will basically suffer a bloody head. His ability to throw stones was learned from herding horses when he was a child, so he is also very good at horse training and riding.

The three young men followed Heifu closely, and no one wanted to be left behind.

Heifu also wanted to test them in school. He waved his whip and pointed at the noisy horses on the other side of the river: "Do you know what they are doing?"

The three of them have all been dealing with horses since they were young. How could they not know this? They argued with each other: "In the month of spring, the green buds of grass begin to sprout, the water and grass are abundant, the cows and horses are tired together, and the females swim with the males. In short, It's a stallion mated to a female!" "Then, can the second or third son be sure to tame these spring-hungry horses?"

Among the three hundred good family members, some looked embarrassed, but most of them were eager to try!

Horses in estrus are the most irritable, but it is also a good opportunity to test the rider's horse-control skills. Hei Fu announced the good news to the good family members: "You and other three hundred people are enlisted in the army and will serve as the knights of this county. Don’t ride with unscrupulous horses. The second and third sons will go into the garden and choose. If the horses you pick can be tamed, they can be used as your mounts to train and ride on in battle! "

As soon as this was said, the good family members cheered.

Except for the children of Qiang Hua, Fu Zhi and other military nobles, the other two hundred people were mostly children of small landowners. They had no worries about food and clothing, but their mounts were not much better.

There are two important concepts in the physical indicators of horses. One is "withers height". The so-called "withers height" refers to the distance from the shoulder blades to the feet of the horse. When measuring the height of the horse, the withers height is used as the criterion. Generally speaking, the higher the withers, the better the horse. "The Rites of Zhou" divides horses into three classes according to their shoulder height: "A dragon with a height above eight feet, a lái with a height above seven feet, and a horse with a height above six feet."

The second concept is "teeth", that is, the age of a horse, which is judged based on its teeth. Generally speaking, the period from 4 to 10 years old is the golden age of the horse, which is most suitable for riding, fighting, and breeding. By the age of ten, the teeth have been worn down, middle age has begun, and energy and physical fitness have begun to decline.

Therefore, before unifying the country, Qin issued an order: "It is forbidden for horses to be more than six feet tall and have unleveled teeth to leave the pass."

A few years ago, Heifu saw the local horses in the Chu Kingdom. Except for the general's cart-drawing four-horse, which was higher than six feet at the shoulder, it is no exaggeration to say that most of the Chu horses were as short as mules and donkeys. Because since Qin established Dongjun and cut off the six kingdoms, Chu State could only raise horses locally or import them from southwestern Yi.

The mounts bought by good families from various counties were mostly inferior horses with a shoulder height of five feet eight inches to six inches. The war horses tamed by the Pastoral Court have reached the passing mark of "six feet" and are generally under ten years old. If you can get one as a mount, it will be a great addition to a good family who is dedicated to killing the enemy and making meritorious deeds. Help!

So, the three hundred good men rolled up their sleeves, tightened their belts, and were eager to give it a try.

These young men were left to toss with the horses that had just been mated, while Heifu, under the leadership of the local county magistrate Sun Bailu, inspected the entire pastoral garden.

After all, Qin started out as herding horses, and did a very good job in horse administration. At least it was much better than a certain dynasty that had a "win rate of 70% in foreign wars." The horses domesticated in the priest's garden all had strong spirits and abundant energy. The vitality and long-term running on the pasture have left them with a bit of residual wildness.

Gongsun Bailu introduced to Heifu that in order to ensure the good running speed and endurance of the war horse, Yuan Shifu had to conduct strict training on the foal and also stipulated the standards for the use of feed.

"The law states that the draft horses recruited from the Pastoral Garden must be over five feet eight inches, and the war horses must be over six feet!"

If the recruited war horses do not meet the qualities of a "war horse", officials at all levels who manage the horses must be punished according to relevant laws. The old rule is still fines! The county Sima was punished with a second-level penalty, and the Ling and Cheng were each punished with a second-level punishment. Half a year's salary was lost. Even if they meet the standards, in the Qin people's favorite "class", that is, finishing last in the competition, they will still be fined, and the person in charge of the army and horses will be fined the second grade, and will be dismissed from his position and will never be renewed!

Heifu couldn't help but sigh, annual performance evaluation has really existed since ancient times, and it is specially used to evaluate national civil servants. Do you want to be lazy and slack in government? too difficult!

So as far as Heifu saw, the county Sima almost lived in the Pastoral Garden, and the Yuan Ling and Yuan Cheng in the garden carefully inspected every pasture regardless of the horse dung on their bodies.

But to be honest, even though the Qin Dynasty's horse administration was very meticulous, and even though the Qin Dynasty had "the advantage of the Qiang in the west, the livestock of Rong Zhai in the north, and the livestock breeding is the best in the world," in Heifu's eyes, these war horses are still Not a good horse.

Most of the war horses in the Pastoral Garden are smaller Mongolian horses, Hequ horses, or hybrids of the two. The height at the shoulder is basically between six feet and seven feet, and every inch higher is considered a level of excellence.

Seven-foot horses are rare in the Central Plains. The so-called "thousand-mile horse" is used to describe them. Bole, during the reign of Qin Mugong, took great pains to find such a horse, and even made a story about "a horse bone worth a thousand pieces of gold".

An eight-foot horse can probably only be found west of Congling.

"China's unscrupulous horses." Heifu couldn't help but sigh after making a tour.

"In the opinion of the county captain, how can it be called a good horse?" Gongsun Bailu was a little surprised by Hei Fu, a southerner's high standards for horses, and couldn't help but ask.

Heifu said: "Your Majesty has a horse with a shoulder height of seven feet and five inches. He keeps it in Shanglin Waiyuan. This is the best horse. It is said that a few years ago, Wuzhi merchants bought this horse from the Xiongnu and Hexi. It took silk as heavy as a horse in exchange for it..."

When Gongsun Bailu heard this, his eyes lit up.

But Heifu added: "But this horse is castrated and cannot reproduce. After it dies in another ten years, it will be difficult to find similar horses."

The Xiongnu and Yuezhi were also ghost spirits. Although they continued to import livestock to the Central Plains, excellent horse breeds were never allowed to flow out...

This is also the reason why Heifu is greedy for Hexi, Hetao and even the distant Western Regions. Wu Shiluo is right. The horses of the Xiongnu and Yuezhi are indeed better than those of the Central Plains. And the Dawan Tianma to the west of Congling is even more like a dragon! If they can be introduced, the war horse breeds in the Central Plains can be improved.

Just as Hei Fu was sighing in the pastoral garden, Chen Ping, who had been "invited" to the Helan Mountain by the Huns' powerful family, was stunned to see the Huns' Prince Maodun, riding a horse eight feet tall with shoulders and covered in red. The tall dragon flew past them and was about to greet his bride...