Several military households responsible for raising horses were standing nearby and pointing, seeming to be discussing the wonders of the Shuixi horse.
According to historical records, among the southwest war horses produced in Yunnan, Guizhou and Sichuan, Yunnan horses are the shortest, with an average body height of about 115 cm. Sichuan horses are taller, with an average body height of about 120 cm. Guizhou horses are the tallest, with an average body height of about 125 cm.
The above mentioned are all war horses, not draft horses and pack horses.
Guizhou war horses are divided into Wumeng horses and Shuixi horses. Because of Zhu Yuanzhang's royal horse, Shuixi horses became famous in the Ming Dynasty and were also called "Shuixi dragon horses".
The war horse of Li Xi, the commander of the Pingyi Guards, is a Dali horse. It is carefully bred and has a body height of 124 centimeters, which is far higher than an ordinary Yunnan horse. But standing next to Wang Yuan's horse, it is not enough to look at in an instant.
Yes, I know how to raise someone with a height of 163 cm.
Coupled with the legend of Wang Yuan leaping on a horse to kill bandits, this horse has become a big star in Pingyi Guards, and some soldiers even came here to have a look.
Wang Yuan stood in front of the stable, feeding tartary buckwheat with one hand and stroking the horse's mane with the other. Although he gave Zhou Chong the task of raising the horse, he did not completely let go. He still had to cultivate a relationship with the horse every day.
Zhou Chong had already stepped into the stable and was brushing the horses seriously, looking pious as if he were serving his ancestors.
"Second brother, what's the name of this horse?" Zhou Chong asked while brushing.
Wang Yuan suddenly thought of Song Ling'er and smiled: "Some people call it 'Ah Hei'."
Ah Hei is Xiao Hei, and Song Ling'er can't even name them. They are not as good as Wang Yuan's Three Civil Engineering Heroes. Well, the three leopard cats were thrown back to Chuanqing Village, where they stole chickens and dogs all day long, causing great harm to the elders in the village.
Zhou Chong touched the horse's body and praised: "Second brother, look at this horse's fur. It's smooth and smooth, like black silk. I knew when I was learning opera that famous horses have famous names. Uncle Liu Huang
There are Lu, Lu Fengxian and Red Rabbit, Cao Cao... Hey, what is the name of Cao Cao's mount?"
"Jueying, and Claw Huang Feidian." When Wang Yuan was studying, he played a lot of Three Kingdoms games.
"It seems to be called this," Zhou Chong was not sure and said, "Second brother, your horse is covered in black, as if ink has been splashed on it. I think it is similar to Xiang Bawang's Wu Zui. Why don't you get up?
Your name is Wu Zhui, right? Ah Hei really doesn’t show off his majesty."
"Be honest and don't gossip." Wang Yuan smiled and said nothing.
Horses have small stomachs and must eat small meals frequently.
Wang Yuan fed a handful of tartary buckwheat, some grass and salt water, and he had enough breakfast for today. He personally took the horse out, asked the blacksmith in the city to replace the horseshoes, and also gave the horse a pedicure, which was also a necessary daily maintenance item.
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Pingyi Stone City is not large, and its residents are mainly military households and craftsmen households, and in addition are merchants.
"Hello, Mr. Wang!"
"Wang Xianggong's horse is so tall."
"Ms. Wang, my soup cakes are delicious. How about a bowl?"
"..."
In half a day, one night, and one morning, Wang Yuan's reputation has spread throughout Pingyi City, and it seems that everyone in the city knows him.
Well, it's mainly because I know horses. It's rare to see such a tall horse in the southwest.
The reason why the news spread so quickly is because Pingyi City is too small, with only one long and narrow street and a few small alleys, which is less than a quarter of the size of Guizhou City.
Yesterday I brought so many bandit heads into the city, it was hard not to attract attention.
Along the way Wang Yuan walked, people greeted him everywhere, and they all had curious and inquiring eyes.
When he came to the blacksmith shop, Wang Yuan took out his knife and trimmed the horse's feet himself, and then asked the blacksmith to re-shod the horses. It was really hard to raise horses, and he had to get up in the middle of the night to feed the horses night grass. Now the night work was finally done.
You can leave it to Zhou Chong.
That boy is a smart man, otherwise he would not have escaped and come back to become a slave, and he would certainly not be able to do something stupid like stealing a horse and running away.
The main issue is household registration. Low-level registration is better than no registration.
In the cities of the mid-to-late Ming Dynasty, many small traders were stateless refugees, but they were not held accountable by the people. But after all, they were a gray group. They were discriminated against even when renting a house. When they encountered unscrupulous landlords, they even charged them two or three times the rent, and it was still temporary.
He raised the price and threatened to report him to the government if he didn't pay.
Even if Zhou Chong stole Wang Yuan's horse and sold it, he would still have to live in hiding, so he might as well commit himself to slavery and pursue a better future.
After leading the horse back to the guard post, Qin leader had already gathered the caravan and gathered there to prepare to continue on their way.
Zhou Chong carried several cloth bags and ran to Wang Yuan and said: "Second brother, these are the tartary buckwheat, bean cakes and ginger salt that Uncle Qin helped to buy. They cost a total of three hundred and sixty yuan. You
I still have one hundred and eighty yuan left over from the scraps of silver I gave you."
Wang Yuan said: "You can keep the one hundred and eighty yuan yourself, and I will give you one hundred and twenty yuan later, which will be regarded as this month's ICBC."
"Thank you, second brother." Zhou Chong smiled and put the copper coins into his arms.
ICBC is the salary, and Wang Yuan also provides food and accommodation. The monthly salary of 300 yuan is not a lot, because the consumption level in Yunnan and Guizhou is very low.
If it were replaced by Jiangnan, the consumption there would be higher. Taking farm laborers as an example, not only would they have to give ICBC (salary), they would also have to provide food rice (rations), travel expenses (travel expenses), and farm tools (expenses for equipment damage).
, firewood, wine, and silver (drink some wine), Lin Lin finally got up and needed twenty cents a day, and it was only enough for these day laborers to support their families.
Of course, part-time workers also work a lot. They get up early and work late every day, which makes the labor intensity more intense than that of long-term workers.
In principle, Wang Yuan could not pay slaves like Zhou Chong, but only provide them with daily food and accommodation, and occasionally give them some rewards - Wang Yuan really couldn't do this kind of thing.
Zhou Chong was reluctant to put things on the horse's back, and suggested: "Second brother, why not buy another pack horse, specially used to carry the head."
"Okay." Wang Yuan also woke up.
Previously, Wang Yuan was alone, and the official road was narrow, so it was difficult to travel with two horses. Therefore, the book box, clothes, blankets, rice, salt and other items were all carried by "Ah Hei". During the battle, he had to unload the goods first.
Use a war horse as a pack horse.
Now that two people are traveling, they need to carry more things, and they must buy another pack horse.
There is no special horse market in Pingyi City, so it is not easy to buy a horse temporarily. Wang Yuan went to the commander Li Xi and bought a Yunnan horse for five taels of silver. This horse is very short, but has strong legs and feet, suitable for pulling.
Trucks transporting goods.
When Zhou Chong was putting things on the pack horse, Li Ying led the horse over and said with a smile: "You are a good servant, very smart, and also diligent."
Wang Yuan said with emotion: "Based on his life experience, if he were not clever and diligent, he would have starved to death long ago."
At this moment, a ragged young man suddenly ran over. His clothes were all in tatters, and he didn't even have straw sandals on his feet. He was only wrapped in rags and had many scratches and bruises on his face.
It was Tian Qiu who was reduced to sleeping in Datongbu.
Tian Qiu also recognized the horse directly, ran to Wang Yuan, bowed and said: "Your Excellency, are you Wang Ruoxu, the prodigy of Guiyang?"
"Exactly." Wang Yuan bowed in return.
Tian Qiu reported his family background: "I am Tian Qiu, a student from Sinan Prefecture, whose courtesy name is Ruli. I have admired my brother Ruoxu for a long time and I came here to see you today."
"So it's Brother Ruli who is in front of you. Have you met a bandit?" Wang Yuan asked.
"It's really an insult to gentlemen," Tian Qiu said shyly. "I don't have the bravery of brother Ruoxu. My book companion was also killed by bandits. I escaped by jumping off a cliff. All the valuables on me were confiscated by bandits, including my shoes.
He Fangjin also disappeared when he jumped off the cliff."
Another unlucky guy. The journey from Sinan Mansion to Yunnan is a thousand miles longer than the journey from Guiyang to Yunnan. He is about to leave the boundaries of Guizhou, and he ends up like this.
Wang Yuan asked: "Brother Ruli's examination documents were also lost, right?"
"No, the examination documents were wrapped in oil paper and sewn into his underwear. The bandits couldn't find them." Tian Qiu couldn't help but feel a little hot. He actually sewed the documents into his underwear. The bandits really couldn't find them unless they dug through his crotch.
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Wang Yuan turned to Yue Zhen and said, "Brother Wenshi, you are similar in stature to Brother Tian, why don't you lend him a set of clothes, shoes and hats first."
Yue Zhen smiled and said: "We are all Guizhou scholars, so we should help each other."
Wang Yuan took out another five taels of silver and stuffed it into Tian Qiu's hand: "Brother Ruli, please accept it."
Wang Yuan doesn't have much money anymore. He divided hundreds of taels of loot from the night attack on the rebels and spent a lot of it on Wenming Academy. Now he only has about 200 taels left. The Ming Dynasty jin is sixteen taels, which is twelve and a half kilograms.
More than six kilograms of them are still stored in Chuanqingzhai.
Tian Qiu quickly bowed to Wang Yuan and Yue Zhen: "You two brothers have generously helped me, and I can't thank you enough now!"
This man is not old either. He is sixteen years old this year, only one year older than Wang Yuan. At this age, he has traveled more than three thousand miles from Sinan Mansion to Kunming to take the exam. It is really difficult for him. He was not hacked to death or died of illness.
That's good luck.
Tian Qiu quickly put on new clothes and a kerchief, and said: "My eldest brother is the judge of Qujing Mansion. When I get to Qujing, I will have a banquet with all my friends to thank you."
Tong San is the sixth grade, which is equivalent to the deputy mayor of a prefecture-level city. He is in charge of the Qing army (inventory of local military households), anti-theft, farming, salt affairs, water conservancy, farming, horse herding, etc. Anyway, the oil and water are very rich, Tian Qiu's
Brother is definitely not short of money.
"That's easy to say, let's go." Wang Yuan said with a smile.
After the battle to kill the bandit leader, Wang Yuan had become the actual leader, and even the leader of Qin had to seek his opinion in advance before doing anything.
If Wang Yuan says to go, then go.
Originally, traveling was very boring, but Zhou Chong happened to be good at singing and took the initiative to perform for everyone for free.
The Yunnan opera he sang was from the Ming Dynasty, which was different from the Yunnan opera of the late Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China. The singing style was mixed with Shanxi Bangzi, Huguang and Lianghuai tunes, which should be a fusion brought about by the large-scale immigration in the early Ming Dynasty.
"All the sergeants have been suffering from hardship for days and are sleeping heavily, and the old Linggong is suffering from hunger and cold, and his eyes are dizzy... Young General Liulang walks in from outside, takes off his shirt and wakes up the old Linggong..." Zhou Chong sang "General of the Yang Family" loudly, he
This is how I got along quite comfortably in the bandits' den.
"good!"
The caravan porters and laborers cheered, and some people sang and played, which was much more interesting than just traveling.