Soldiers come to the world

In Xiakou, due to the approaching of the New Year, the construction of the city was suspended, and the peasants were given a few buckets of rice, and they returned home to prepare for the New Year.

After two months of building the city, the outline of the new city has appeared. The circumference of the city is more than [-] miles, and the city wall has been repaired to a height of ten feet. In the smoke and mist, the rough and uneven ground was filled with snow and turned into a vast expanse of white flat land.

In the distance, Huanghu Mountain was also covered by thick snow, as if it was covered with white plain clothes, and the branches turned into bloated silver bars.

However, the pier was very lively. Part of the ships on the pier had been removed, leaving a wide pier, enough for the Qianshijiang boat to dock. More than a thousand soldiers had put the entire pier under martial law, and no one was allowed to approach. Tao Guy stood in front of more than a hundred carriages, looking anxiously at the river, as if waiting for something.

Liu Jing, Liu Hu, Wei Yan, Gan Ning, Liao Hua and other high-ranking military officials gathered in a pavilion on the pier, everyone's eyes sparkled and they were full of anticipation.

Liu Jing had a calm expression and waited patiently for the arrival of the Dow fleet. He was actually a little worried that the Tao's fleet would be intercepted by the Jingzhou navy on the way, because the big ship was transporting extremely important strategic materials.

On the side, Tao Zheng was very excited, but also more worried. After all, this was the farthest Tao family’s business trip in decades, and it cost a lot of money. It was a special dowry for his younger sister Tao Zhan. Credibility will be the hardest hit.

The entire pier fell silent, and everyone was looking forward to the fleet's arrival. At this moment, someone suddenly shouted, "Here we come!"

Immediately afterwards, many people shouted, "Come! Come!"

Liu Jing also saw it. Under the reflection of the setting sun, a fleet of more than a hundred large ships was sailing towards the pier. Liu Jing was relieved immediately. It was great. Fortunately, it was not intercepted by the Jingzhou Navy. Otherwise, the Jingzhou civil war will really break out.

Tao Zheng ran to the pier excitedly, shouting loudly: "Ready to pick up the boat!"

Dozens of Tao guys rushed up, and as the first big ship docked slowly, the plank of the ship landed on the pier, and the pier suddenly cheered, Liu Jing couldn't hold back the excitement in his heart, and walked quickly to the big ship , Liu Hu and Gan Ning had already rushed to the big ship, they were even more impatient.

A group of war horses were pulled out, and they stepped off the big boat. Liu Jing's eyes lit up. There were also quite a few horses in Jiangxia, most of them were draft horses and ordinary animals, but the horses in front of him were completely different. The war horse comes from the Hexi Corridor.

Even the war horses in Liu Biao's army were significantly inferior, which reminded Liu Jing of the Xiahouyuan cavalry he saw in Runan, they ran like mountains, and only this kind of war horses could do it.

He slowly walked up to the group of war horses, gently stroking each of them, as if stroking the most beautiful women, they were tall and strong, with well-proportioned limbs, and their gray, black, white or red-red fur was shiny, and they were so beautiful in the setting sun. Glittering under the reflection, the long tail flutters in the wind, and the high neck of the horse is densely covered with neat mane. They are all young war horses.

The big ships docked one by one, and a group of war horses came out of the boats, and soon crowded the pier. The war horses were all covered with bridles. Most of the war horses were docile and obviously well-trained.

More than a thousand soldiers waiting on the pier rushed forward one after another, each leading a horse. Their expressions seemed to welcome the arrival of their wives, and they loved the horses in front of them.

These more than a thousand war horses were bought by the Tao family in batches from Liangzhou at a high price, and they took the Sichuan Long Road to Hanzhong, then from Hanzhong to Shangyong, and then to Nanyang. The manor in Bishui was finally transported to Xiakou by boat from Bishui. There were as many as 50 grooms responsible for taking care of the horses.

The cost and bribes on the road alone amounted to more than a thousand catties of gold, and the bribe to Yang Song, the number one adviser under Zhang Lu in Hanzhong, amounted to five hundred catties of gold, so that he was able to pass through the entire territory of Hanzhong smoothly.

This is also the largest business deal that the Tao family has done in the past two years. As Tao Zhan's special dowry, according to Kuai Liang, this will indeed become a sensational event in the world. severe punishment.

At this time, Liu Hu led an unusually strong black horse forward, and said with a smile: "Prefect, I want this horse, it likes me!"

Seeing that he was excited like a child, Liu Jing shook his head, stepped forward to pat the horse and laughed, "Although such a horse is good, but you are a general, what do you want the horse for? You might as well give it to someone else."

Unexpectedly, as if the war horse understood Liu Jing's words, it let out a long neigh and raised its front hooves high, causing the people beside it to move away in a hurry.

But Liu Hu put his arms around the horse's neck, coaxed and patted, and soon, the horse became quiet, arched Liu Hu's big face with its mouth, and followed him obediently.

"Have you seen!"

Liu Hu said with a full face of grievance: "He is my brother, can I give it to someone else?"

The people around couldn't help laughing, only Liu Jing was his brother.

Liu Jing was just joking with him. If he really didn't give him a horse, he wouldn't let him come with him. Seeing Liu Hu's aggrieved face, he smiled and said, "Then take good care of your brother! Don't let him come with him." It's getting tough again."

Liu Hu was overjoyed, and led the horse to a clearing. Although the harness was not complete, he was impatient to try the horse.

At this moment, Liu Jing heard someone calling him in the distance, and when he turned his head, he saw Tao Li walking towards him with a man. The man looked tall and big, with thick eyebrows and deep eyes, high cheekbones, and a dent under his jaw. With a big beard, he is obviously not a Han Chinese, but a barbarian from the Western Regions.

Liu Jing stepped forward, bowed and gave a salute, "Second Uncle has worked hard this time!"

This time the horse trade was completely planned by Tao Li, including the transportation from Bishui to Jiangxia, and Tao Li personally took care of it. It can be said that he took great care. Although Tao Li is also an experienced businessman, this time, he also felt extremely difficult.

It was also like this that Liu Jing was full of gratitude to him, and his etiquette was extraordinarily considerate. Tao Li also loved his nephew and son-in-law very much, and he smiled at Liu Jing: "Actually, I am also very successful in completing the task satisfactorily." Moreover, this time the Tao family has also opened up a new business route, and we will be able to transport many goods from the Western Regions to Jingzhou smoothly."

He pulled up the Hu people behind him and introduced them to Liu Jing: "This is the son of the Xianling Qiang chief in Ganzhou, named Asuo, and this batch of war horses was sold by his father. This time he came to Jingzhou specially, thinking Buy some goods from Jingzhou and go back."

He then introduced Liu Jing to Asuo, the son of the chieftain, "This is Governor Liu of Jiangxia, the nephew of Jingzhou Mu."

Asuo's full name is Nangong Suo. On the way, he heard Tao Li introduce Liu Jing. He knew that he was good at fighting and was a brave general. He also saw that Liu Jing was tall and mighty, with an extraordinary appearance. Prefect Liu!"

He can speak fluent Chinese, and although he looks older, like about 30 years old, he can speak with a clear voice, obviously in his early twenties.

Liu Jing hastily stepped forward to plead, "Young Chief, please, don't be too polite!"

Nangong Suo got up, turned around and waved, "Bring me up!"

Several of his Qiang followers brought up a white horse. It was tall and strong, with well-balanced limbs. It was completely white, without any stray hairs. There were white hairs around each of the four hooves. Anyone who knew a little bit about horses could see that this was a horse. It is a rare horse with a thousand li.

Nangong Suo patted the horse and said with a smile: "The name of this horse is Fei Ying. It is a Dawan horse from the Western Regions. It is also quite famous in Xiliang. When we first met today, this horse is dedicated to the prefect."

Liu Jing stepped forward to hold the horse, stretched out his hand and pressed it hard on the horse's back, he pressed it with a force of three or four hundred catties, not to mention a thousand catties, but the horse did not move at all.

"Good horse!"

Liu Jing couldn't help admiring. Although the appearance of the horse is good, he pays more attention to the load-bearing capacity. With their weight plus weapons and other sundries, it will cost at least three hundred catties, so the requirements for war horses are very high. Ordinary ordinary horses Can't afford it at all.

Liu Jing turned around and ordered to his soldiers: "Bring a saber!"

The personal soldiers quickly fetched a horse-chopping knife, which was fully equipped with heavy armored infantry. This is a unique weapon in Jingzhou.

Liu Jing handed the saber-chopping knife to Nangong Suo and said with a smile: "Thank you, Young Chief, for the great gift. There is nothing in return. This saber-chopping knife is a token of my heart."

Nangong Suo had never seen such a long knife before. It was one zhang and five chi long, with a short handle and a long blade.

Seeing that it was getting late, Liu Jing smiled at the soldiers and said, "Take the horse back to the camp, feed it well, and return to Wuchang tomorrow morning!"

All the soldiers were overjoyed, and led their horses to the camp in a mighty way.

. . . . . . . . .

At night, Liu Jing came to the horse camp. This is a tent specially built for war horses. There are more than 100 tents in total, and more than a thousand war horses are placed in these tents.

The war horse was very quiet, and the groom poured buckets of freshly steamed black beans into the trough from time to time, and the nearby trough was also filled with clean water.

Most of the horses in Jingzhou are fed with straw, but this group of military horses has high requirements. Ordinary straw cannot raise good horses, and they must use high-quality food. There is no pasture in Jingzhou, so they can only use black beans.

Therefore, it is extremely costly to raise cavalry, and it takes an average of six families to raise one cavalry, let alone other types of troops.

Without the full support of the Tao family, a single county in Jiangxia would not be able to support more than a thousand cavalry.

In the tent, Liu Jing happened to meet Tao Li, who was also looking at the situation of the war horse with his hands behind his back.

"It's so late, is Second Uncle still not resting?"

Tao Li shook his head and smiled, "I'm so excited that I can't sleep."

"Didn't you get troubled all the way here?" Liu Jing asked again with a smile.

"There are always troubles, but if you use money to clear the way, there will be no danger. More importantly, they will be divided into more than a dozen groups, and they will not attract the attention of the defenders on the road."

Speaking of this, Tao Li smiled contemptuously and said, "Actually, many people know it well, but for the sake of money, they all pretend to be deaf and dumb."

"I heard that Hanzhong is the smoothest, isn't it?"

Tao Li nodded and said with a smile: "We have Yang Song's token in Hanzhong, and the journey went smoothly. All the defenders along the way thought it was Yang Song's business, and no one dared to stop it."

Liu Jing nodded. Remembering Tao Li's words, he stepped forward to observe the horses. The horses were already equipped with saddles, but they were all straight saddles, with rope covers for their feet, and a small stirrup on one side.

Although Liu Jing knew about bridge-shaped saddles and stirrups, they can't use them now. Cao Jun's cavalry is far stronger than that of the south.

However, you can consider using horseshoes. Liu Jing noticed that the four hooves of the war horse are wrapped in animal skins. Although this can protect the horseshoes, it is very inconvenient to walk and they are easy to fall off. From the perspective of protecting the horses, horseshoes can be used.

This batch of war horses is of great significance to Liu Jing. With this batch of war horses, he can build up a powerful cavalry, which will have a great advantage no matter when attacking the enemy's formation or long-distance raids. It can be said that the combat effectiveness of Jiang Xia's army , because of this cavalry and leaped to a new level.

At this time, he was full of gratitude to the Tao family.