Lord: Start with a book of Water Margin

Chapter 254 Zhu Yongqing surrenders

At that moment, Zhao Zhen practiced the seventy-two moves of the [Mandarin Duck Double Swords] and the twelve postures of the [Shaolin Guarding Double Swords] swordsmanship one by one.

He first taught Hu Sanniang a set of double swords for guarding the door. Zhao Zhen saw that Hu Sanniang's steps were a little weak, so he asked Hu Sanniang to go back and rest, and continue learning the double swords tomorrow.

Hu Sanniang refused and said, "Sir, if you don't practice martial arts, you will lose them in ten days. I have never slacked off since I started practicing martial arts."

Zhao Zhen said: "You are not feeling well, it would be better if you take it slow."

When Hu Sanniang heard this, her face turned red and she glared at Zhao Zhen.

At this time, Zhao Yuanli came over and said to Zhao Zhen awkwardly, "Sir, yesterday Miss Hu's family sent the warhorse that Madam usually rides. It was locked in the stable yesterday. Today, the servant who cleaned the stable said that there seemed to be something wrong with your mount."

When Zhao Zhen heard this, he put down his two swords and headed for the stable. After taking two steps, he turned around and said to Hu Sanniang, "Sanniang, you come too."

The three of them hurried to the stables, where they saw Kicking Snow Black Horse and Shining Night Jade Lion Horse circling around Hu Sanniang's peach horse. Hu Sanniang's other mount, the Green Mane Horse, was squeezed aside.

When the two horses saw Zhao Zhen, they ignored him and kept sniffing the peach blossom horse with their heads.

Not only that, the other horses in the stable also stretched their heads and looked at Taohua Horse.

If the stable door wasn't closed, the horses would have squeezed in. Zhao Zhen asked, "What's going on?"

The farmhand on duty at the stable said, "Sir, ever since the peach blossom horse moved in, your horses have been like this. The Kicking Snow Black Horse opened the door on its own and ran over, and then the Night Jade Lion Horse also came over. We couldn't drag it away, so we had to ask you to come and take a look."

Only then did Zhao Zhen notice that in terms of appearance alone, the Peach Blossom Horse could probably only be compared to the Zhaoye Jade Lion Horse.

Zhao Zhen asked to lead out the peach blossom horse, which was white with red spots, slender, with shiny fur and bright eyes. After leaving the stable, he trotted to Hu Sanniang's side, neighed softly, and looked down at the Kicking Snow Black Horse and the Night Jade Lion Horse that followed him out.

Zhao Zhen said, "Sanniang, this peach blossom horse is probably going into heat, right?"

Hu Sanniang said, "This horse is four years old now, so it's time for it to be in heat. It's not the right time to be in heat this month. My husband, are all the horses here male?"

Zhao Zhen nodded and looked at the thirteen good war horses in the stable. Zhao Zhen thought that it would be a waste to keep so many good horses here.

Zhao Zhen said, "It seems these horses still have a use. Yuanli, tell the ranch manager to take these horses to the ranch for breeding in turn."

Zhao Yuanli responded.

Zhao Zhen thought about it. Kicking Snow Black Horse was the horse he usually rode on the battlefield. He also liked the Zhaoye Jade Lion Horse presented by [Golden Retriever] Duan Jingzhu very much. These two horses were the most majestic and of the highest grade among the twelve horses. With these two horses, he would have more than enough for his own use.

The white dragon colt was Ji Qingwan's dowry from the main world, and the leopard horse was a gift from her father-in-law Cheng Wanli. It's not a good idea to give it away, so it's kept in the farm for daily riding and breeding.

The two horses, Red Flower Eagle and Snow Dot Eagle, were sent back to the main world, and Ji Minghan and Ji Mingdan each had one horse.

Hu Sanniang's two horses, the peach blossom horse and another green-maned horse, were enough.

In the battle of Hujia Village, four first-class horses were captured, including the Huotanchi horse ridden by Zhu Biao, the Wuhua horse ridden by Zhu Hu, the Shuanghua horse ridden by Zhu Long, and the Huangpi horse ridden by Zhu Wannian. I think the horse ridden by Zhu Yongqing was also of the first-class. There were only five people in the cavalry, Sun An, Lin Chong, Yang Lin, Wu Sanniang, and Luan Tingfang, and their mounts were just ordinary war horses.

All five of them had made military achievements, but he only had four good horses to be rewarded. He only hoped that Lin Chong and others could capture Zhu Yongqing, so that the five horses could be rewarded without any favoritism.

Just as he was thinking about it, he saw Zhao Ji hurriedly walked into the stable, met Zhao Zhen and said: "Sir, the [advance officer] Brother Li San brought the head of Zhu Yongqing."

Zhao Zhen laughed loudly after hearing this and said, "Let's go and take a look."

On the parade ground, Li San was standing in the middle, leading a horse with armor and weapons on its back, and a human head at its feet. The farmhands and soldiers who were training came over to inquire. When they heard that it was Zhu Yongqing who had escaped from Zhujiazhuang, they were all delighted.

When he saw Zhao Zhen, Li San bowed and said, "Sir, Brother Sun An has killed Zhu Yongqing. Here is his head."

Zhao Zhen smiled and said, "Yes, brother Li, please tell me the details."

Li San said, "The day before yesterday, we were ordered to ambush outside Jingyang Town. Lin Chong, Li Ying, and Sun An dispersed their troops at the west, north, and south gates. I went to the town to find Brother Bai Sheng and kept watch for two days, but there was no movement in the barracks. We were amazed at how patient he was. This morning, more than a dozen people wearing red tasseled felt hats rode out of the barracks and scattered around Jingyang Town. Brother Bai Sheng and I checked carefully, and when we returned to the camp, one rider was missing."

"This fellow took advantage of the time when everyone was scattered and sneaked away from the south gate. He ran into Brother Sun An and within ten rounds, Brother Sun An chopped him off his horse with one sword."

"Cut off the head and all the equipment, and let me send them back first to report the achievement. The brothers will follow behind to clean up the traces and slowly withdraw. The weapons, armor, and horses are here, please check them, sir."

Zhao Zhen said, "As expected by the military advisor, after seeing the arrest warrant, Yun Tianbiao, as an official appointed by the imperial court, would never dare to take him in."

As he said this, he asked Zhao Ji to invite Wu Yong, Pei Xuan, and Zhu Wu, and let Pei Xuan record his merits. Cao Zheng in the skinning station slaughtered sheep and pigs, and Zhu Fu arranged a welcoming banquet. The troops from the three cities did not attend Zhao Zhen's wedding banquet because they were blocking Zhu Yongqing, so there would be a lively party today.

At noon, all the people from the three cities arrived at the farm. After everyone sat down, Zhao Zhen asked the farmhand to just filter the wine and entertain everyone.

At the banquet, Zhao Zhen said to all the heroes: "We have just completed the task of getting rid of Zhu Yongqing today. Thank you for your hard work, brothers." As he said this, he drank three glasses of wine.

After that, everyone drank happily. An hour later, when everyone had enough food and wine, Zhao Zhen said, "In the battle of Zhujiazhuang, we got five good horses. There are five brothers in the cavalry who don't have a good horse. Today, each of you five can take one you like."

As he said this, he asked Zhao Yuanli to lead out Huotanchi, Wuhuama, Yinhema, Huangpima and Shuanghuama from the stable.

On the parade ground, five tall horses were lined up in a row, and Sun An, Lin Chong, Yang Lin, and Luan Tingfang were pushing and nibbling at each other.

After some debate, everyone recommended Yang Lin as the first choice due to his seniority, followed by Sun An and Lin Chong who had the merit of beheading generals, and finally Luan Tingfang.

Zhao Zhen said, "Four brothers, how about letting brother Luan Tingyu ride a yellow-maned horse and leaving this yellow horse to Wu Sanniang?"

Everyone nodded, and Yang Lin stepped forward and chose the silver horse that Zhu Yongqing rode. Sun An chose the fire-red horse, and Lin Chong chose the frost-flowered horse. The remaining five-flowered horse went to Luan Tingfang.

Seeing that the four had chosen their horses, Zhao Zhen said, "Brothers, the mare estrus season is approaching, and I would like to borrow your horses for use."

The four men led their horses, looking excited, and didn't care about it. Seeing that the four men were eager to try, Zhao Zhen asked them to return to their respective camps.

(End of this chapter)