After the teasing, it was time for the main course. Mingsheng accompanied Zhu Biao into the Royal Horse Prison. From a distance, Zhu Biao's eyes were attracted by a tall and strong white horse. He didn't need any help, as long as it had eyes.
One can tell at a glance that this is a divine horse.
It is so eye-catching and majestic that even in the Royal Horse Prison of the Ming Dynasty, even among the many BMWs and famous horses, it stands out like a chicken, with its high and agile head watching the intruders vigilantly.
The horses of the Royal Horse Guard were all locked in the manger. At this time, there were only ten horses in the field, with different colors and neighing constantly. Nine of them were saddled and reined, and only the middle horse was naked and was surrounded by a group of attendants.
Carefully soothe in the middle.
The horse raised its hooves and neighed when seeing the large number of people coming, and all the horses in the Royal Horse Prison fell silent. The horses around it bowed their heads and ran away, regardless of the pull of others.
Thousands of horses are fighting for it, and they cannot get close to each other. They stand up and roar when they are near, and they are so majestic and powerful. Even Zhu Biao couldn't help but smack his lips at this scene. The officials of the Royal Horse Supervisor also looked the same.
Jaw-dropping.
Zhu Biao has never been a person who loves horses very much. There are many royal horses in the palace, and there are high-quality horses as tribute every year in Goryeo, Mongolia and other places, but he is too lazy to take a look, but at this moment he can't help it.
My heart is so excited, it should be said that any man would want to conquer such a magnificent horse.
Seeing this, Ming Sheng's uncle finally breathed a sigh of relief and said respectfully: "Your Majesty the Crown Prince, this horse was born in the winter of the first year of Hongwu. It came from the Yanglong pit in the two mountains. It is said that Yanglong pit's descendants are deep.
, open and close the spiritual energy, and the dragon is hidden underneath."
"When the spring comes and things are in full swing, the natives stand by the willow pit and choose a chaste female horse to tie it... you will surely get a dragon colt!"
The so-called Yanglongkeng was a Gongzhou land affiliated with the Shuidong Song clan during the Tang and Song Dynasties. It was occupied by Shuixi chieftains in the Yuan Dynasty. At the end of the Yuan Dynasty, Ming Yuzhen established Daxia and returned it to the Xia Kingdom. Now it is nominally annexed to the Ming Dynasty.
Zhu Biao couldn't help but ask: "This horse is very tall, what exactly is it?"
"The body is ten feet long, the head is nine feet high, and the tail is two feet higher than the head. There is flesh hidden under the neck, about five minutes thick and more than three inches wide, running through the abdomen and ending at the tail.
"
It’s too tall. What is the concept of a foot in the Ming Dynasty? It is about 31 centimeters in later generations. This horse is nearly three and a half meters long and nearly two and a half meters high. It really doesn’t look like a human horse. The other horses are beside it.
Just like a young foal.
Zhu Biao has also remembered that this horse is also famous in history. It is the same famous Feiyue Peak as Lu Jueying, the lion shines white at night. It was dedicated by Ming Sheng. Song Lian wrote "Praise to the Heavenly Horse" and later Yang Shen also
He has composed "Song of Heavenly Horses Flying Over the Peak in the Dragon Pit".
From all this, we can see how great this horse is. Zhu Biao turned around and said to Liu Jin, who had just come back: "Go and ask the Holy One to come over. God will send this heroic thing to you, and it will be presented to you after returning home. You will know that the treasure is a virtuous one, and it is very close to you."
Everyone is safe.”
Liu Jin accepted the promise and immediately withdrew. The Ming family on the side was overjoyed. It was worth noting that they had carefully prepared for so long. If the Holy Emperor accepted it happily, then it would be difficult to target them both emotionally and rationally, and the Ming family could truly thrive in the Ming Dynasty.
Already.
Zhu Biao couldn't help but chat with Ming Sheng beside him: "I'm afraid such a magical horse doesn't happen often, right?"
Mingsheng also solemnly replied: "Since ancient times, there have been many famous horses in Yanglongkeng, namely water horses, but the average water horses are only more than three and a half feet tall. I am afraid that such a divine horse is rare in hundreds of years.
I met, it is said that this horse was extremely extraordinary when it was born, and Shuixi Tusi presented it as a gift..."
The next question Zhu Biao asked was not about horses, but about the situation of chieftains in Guizhou. In the Tang, Song, and Yuan dynasties in Guizhou, chieftains were all responsible for their autonomy and self-reliance.
Although the Xia Kingdom has surrendered, the chieftains of Guizhou still have no intention of completely surrendering to the Ming Dynasty. They are still bargaining, hoping to maintain their own autonomy and self-reliance, and even have the intention to form an alliance with King Liang of Yunnan to resist the Ming Dynasty.
The four chieftain families had different ideas. The imperial court sent Liu Bowen to Bashu and left Tang and troops to guard the area in order to further put pressure on the Guizhou chieftains.
The situation in Guizhou is complex. In addition to the four major chieftains, there are hundreds of chieftains, large and small. Besides the chieftains, there are countless ethnic minorities who have established villages to protect themselves. The ethnic composition is complex, and various ethnic groups often fight against each other for their own interests.
It was quite xenophobic over there. The Ming Dynasty sent many spies there, but nine times out of ten they never came back. It was common for village chieftains to kill people and loot goods. Under various conditions, the Ming Dynasty did not get much information.
However, Guizhou has been an important passage from the Central Plains and the Two Lakes region to the southwest region and the Indochina Peninsula since ancient times. Whether it is business envoys or troops who want to go south to Yunnan and the Indochina Peninsula, they must go directly through the Bashu region without passing through the Guizhou region.
Yunnan, either crossing from Huguang area to Guangxi,
However, taking these two passages to bypass Guizhou will lengthen the route and supply distance. What the Ming Dynasty lacked most was supplies. It was not easy to travel through mountains and reach the Liang Wang and Dali Duan clan in Yunnan. They sent more soldiers to supply supplies.
If it's not enough, you can't beat it if it's less.
If it controls the Guizhou region, then the Central Plains Dynasty will have a solid strategic fulcrum to control the southwestern provinces, which will greatly shorten the supply distance and will be of great help in regaining control of Yunnan and stabilizing the Sichuan, Yunnan and Guangxi regions.
When the Mongolian army went south to attack the Song Dynasty, Kublai Khan led an army through western Sichuan and Tubo, annihilating the Dali regime entrenched in Yunnan and Myanmar, and then detoured from the Yunnan-Guizhou region into the Southern Song Dynasty, causing the Southern Song Dynasty to encounter the unfavorable situation of being attacked from the north and the south.
Based on historical lessons and realistic conditions, Zhu Yuanzhang had long ago decided to completely wipe out the remnants of the Yuan Dynasty in Yunnan, and then control the Yunnan-Guizhou region. They must not be allowed to escape from the imperial power. To do this, he must first capture Guizhou as strategic support.
point.
Since last year, post roads leading directly to Guizhou have been built. Ming Dynasty has made preparations to send troops to Guizhou to wipe out the chieftains who do not want to be kings.
Mingsheng didn't know much about the inside of Guizhou. After all, even the Xia Kingdom didn't completely take over Guizhou. It just forced them to pay tribute. In addition, Mingsheng himself never held power. In those few years, he just sat on the throne as a lucky man.
things.
Fortunately, there were many people from the Ming Dynasty clan who had dealt with the chieftain, and checking and filling in the gaps made Zhu Biao understand a lot. After all, they also wanted to prove their worth and hope to resume their official careers. It was not pleasant to sit back and have nothing to offer.
.
Nowadays, the largest chieftain in Guizhou is named Longzan Aqi, whose Chinese name is Aicui. He is the 66th generation ruler of the Shuixi Yi people. In the late Yuan Dynasty, he was the hereditary Xuanfu envoy of Shunyuan Road.
The Xuanwei envoy led the 48th eye west of the water.
Just as he was talking, a eunuch came over in advance to report the arrival of His Majesty. Zhu Biao led everyone back to greet him. When he arrived at the gate of the Imperial Horse Prison, he watched the guard of honor approaching in the distance. There were also many officials from the Ministry of Rites and the Hanlin Academy around.
It seems that his father is about to put on a show. Everyone in the Ming family is also bright-eyed. Everyone wants to get what they want. The Ming emperor has a good reputation and treats his subordinates and clan well, which has always been a rare act of kindness.
After paying homage, Zhu Yuanzhang personally helped Ming Sheng up and let him and the prince follow behind him. After entering the Royal Horse Prison, even though Lao Zhu had received the news, he couldn't help but sigh.
Officials from the Ministry of Rites and the Hanlin Academy were also astonished, chanting about the auspiciousness coming from heaven.
Fortunately, Lao Zhu brought all civil servants. If he had brought those noble generals, I am afraid that the Royal Horse Supervisor would be drowned in their saliva. No general can resist the temptation of this horse, far more than any beautiful lady.
A hundred times stronger, who would sleep with his wife if he had this horse?
Zhu Yuanzhang led the people around several times to watch the sacred horse. They were surrounded by voices singing praises. Zhu Biao became irritated and Ming Sheng blushed, while Lao Zhu thought they were farting and didn't hear a word.
Thinking about how to ride it and run two laps.
Uncle Mingsheng hurriedly stepped forward and said: "I would like to inform you, Your Majesty, that this divine horse is naturally wild. The chieftain suggested that if you want to ride it, you must first weigh it down with four hundred bags of sand. People will step on the bag and let it parade in the garden. Over time, its nature will
Only when you become tamer can you ride with a saddle."
Zhu Yuanzhang nodded enthusiastically and said: "The emperor said that since heaven gave birth to such a heroic thing, there must be a god to oversee it. He ordered the Ministry of Rites to offer a sacrifice to Mazu. All the ministers showed their magical powers, painted his portrait and wrote poems to worship the god.
The head of the horse supervisor has prepared the bag of sand as planned, and I will tame this horse myself!"
The first part was easy to say, and the officials around him agreed one after another, but when they heard the last sentence, they all exploded. This horse is so tall and wild, if the emperor is accidentally knocked off, big trouble will happen, so they all came to admonish him to stop it.
, the Minister of Rites had already hugged Zhu Yuanzhang’s thigh.
Everyone in the Ming family also tried to dissuade them. If the emperor had a plan, they would be happy if they were killed. Zhu Biao also tried to dissuade them. It was really dangerous. The horse was so high now, and it would be even higher if it was padded with sandbags.
It would be very dangerous if it fell, not to mention the horse's hoofs which are even more dangerous.
Zhu Yuanzhang also knew it, but a man was really itchy to see such a divine horse, and it would always feel a bit uncomfortable to ask others to help him tame it, but he was burdened with too much, and his son was just born before he was as good as a weakling, and the Ming Dynasty still needed him.
Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly asked: "Biao'er, do you want to ride?"
Before Zhu Biao could reply, the Minister of Rites burst into tears: "Your Majesty, think twice, you can't ride the Crown Prince, and you can't ride either. A son with a lot of money can't sit down in the hall, let alone the foundation of the country!"
Officials of the Hanlin Academy also shouted: "The Ming family harbors evil intentions and seduces the king. Please punish their clan!"
Mingsheng said with tears in his eyes: "Your Majesty, think twice. Although the divine horse is good, it is just a horse. It will eventually surrender to the Holy Majesty. Why do you need the two monarchs to tame it personally..."
Zhu Biao looked at the smart and elegant horse in the distance and said: "I don't want to ride it, but I want to see if this horse has gelded. If it hasn't, it will be a great joy."
Uncle Mingsheng hurriedly said: "It has not been gelded. This horse has only grown four teeth this year. I want to present it to the Holy One for his decision, so I dare not take action privately."
Horses are carefully trained to ride on grass for one or two years after they are born, so that they can eat enough green grass and become fat and strong. They will be castrated as soon as they have four teeth. In this way, the horses will be strong and strong, strong and supple, and will not bite or kick.
People. Riders feel very stable on the horse. There is no need to tie the horse after dismounting, and the horse will not wander away.
