Expand the Royal Horse Farm

Chapter 68: Expanding the Royal Horse Farm

Chu Huaibei waited until all the horses had entered the city before coming down from the city wall and falling behind the herd.

She was flattered that the emperor was willing to give her two thousand horses. She originally thought that he would just give her five hundred or one thousand as a token of his appreciation.

In addition to guarding the northern gate in the north, the southern border of Daxia has also been guarded by the Marquis of Zhennan for generations.

However, the unrest in southern Xinjiang was relatively small. The Southern Yi had hundreds of small tribes, and sometimes fighting among them would disrupt the border. At these times, the Marquis of Zhennan would dispatch troops to quell the unrest. Daxia had only one principle: you can fight as much as you want, but you can't bring your troops to our doorstep.

After these horses are sent to the imperial horse farm for breeding, they will most likely be sent to southern Xinjiang first. The emperor has wanted to annex southern Xinjiang for a long time.

However, in Chu Huaibei's opinion, southern Xinjiang is not easy to take over. The south is mostly mountainous and forested, and no matter how good the horse is, it cannot run fast. Moreover, that place is a tropical rainforest. If you are not a local, the miasma and poisonous insects will be enough to make you suffer.

The current Marquis of Zhennan is almost fifty years old, and I haven't heard that any of his sons are particularly outstanding. He has many sons, and there are many rumors about him, but none of them are good...

Chu Huaibei originally planned to place the wild horses from the northwest on another farm after he exchanged them next year. He wanted to take this opportunity to expand the horse farm first, and then keep them in one place for easier breeding, saving her the trouble of secretly connecting the two horse farms.

The existing horse farm of Zhenbei Palace is located in the north of Youzhou City, next to two farms. The land in the north of the city was originally awarded by emperors of successive dynasties. Later, the palace also bought some from aristocratic families one after another, which resulted in the continuous land.

There are nearly a thousand horses in the stables now, and if she encounters a wild horse on the grassland, she will do her best to catch it. The horses in the stables are provided to the personal soldiers first, and then the palace soldiers.

The official horse farm in the northern border is in Yingzhou. The emperor sends the horses bred in the imperial horse farm here and does not allow Yingzhou to breed fine horses on its own. The horse officials here only need to take good care of the horses.

As for this matter, Chu Huaibei said that the emperor was worrying about nothing. If the Chu family really wanted to rebel and needed a large number of horses, there would be a way to do it.

After completing the handover procedures for the horse with Wei Zeng, Chu Huaibei happily followed the horse into the palace's stable.

With the addition of these two thousand horses, the stables instantly became crowded.

Some of the bad-tempered horses have already started fighting. Tsk, the Mongols probably caught a lot of wild horses to make up the numbers. But even the wild horses are several times stronger than those in Daxia.

The two farms nearby grow horse grass. Fortunately, my mother is always well prepared for everything she does, otherwise, with twice as many horses, there wouldn't be enough grass to feed them.

Let the craftsmen build a wall to connect the farm on the east side with the horse farm, so that even if another 2,000 horses come, they can be accommodated.

The fifty acres of land newly awarded by the emperor is also in the north of the city. Crops have not yet been planted on it, so it will all be planted with horse grass, waiting to welcome next year's wild horses.

I don’t know whether my mother’s caravan’s journey to the northwest will be smooth, but they must not encounter the Mongolian army, otherwise it would be like throwing a meat bun at a dog and there would be no return.

After arranging this group of horses, they had already arrived at the north of the city. Chu Huaibei simply turned to the sugar factory to check on the sweet potato seedlings.

"Your Majesty!"

The palace guards outside the greenhouse bowed their heads and saluted when they saw the visitor.

Chu Huaibei waved his hand to signal them not to be polite, and pushed the door open to enter the greenhouse.

"I have met your Majesty."

The three of them heard the noise and stood up and saluted.

"Well, get up. You guys continue with your work and don't worry about me."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

It was the time when the sweet potatoes were growing, and the three of them were cutting and planting the seedlings according to her instructions. The two empty rows were now one and a half rows full.

Chu Huaibei squatted down and dug the soil with his hands without any tools to check the depth and spacing of their cuttings.

The first potato seedlings that were transplanted have started to grow small potatoes. After checking them, she gently covered them with soil. They are such precious treasures that she couldn't bear to destroy any of them.

The three of them did a passable job, following all the precautions as she instructed and even applying fertilizer once. However, judging by the atmosphere while they worked, it seemed the woman hadn't yet tamed the other two.

However, at this time, women's status was much lower than men's, and being able to work together without making mistakes was considered good communication.

Tsk, shouldn't the status of women in the North be improved a bit? With the advent of the curved plow, many women have taken on manual labor like tilling the soil, and the intensity of their labor is no less than that of men.

She had seen some widows in military settlements who could cultivate 50 mu of land with their young children. Although their neighbors would also help, they were no worse than any man.

Let's start from small things first. Customs that have lasted for thousands of years cannot be changed overnight.

Chu Huaibei collected his wandering thoughts and stood up.

"You've done well. Once the remaining ridges are fully planted, there's no need to prune the seedlings. Wait until the roots start to produce small potatoes before fertilizing again. I'll come back to check on you in a few days."

"Yes, Your Majesty, I understand."

The three of them were visibly relieved.

Chu Huaibei opened the door and went out, ready to return to the palace. After walking a few steps and thinking for a while, he returned to the greenhouse and picked a handful of tender leaves from the lush runners. It was winter and the mansion had been eating cabbage for several days, so he wanted to change the taste today.

She had carefully watched before pinching it, so it wouldn't affect the growth of the sweet potatoes. She didn't explain this to the three of them, because after the sweet potatoes grew, everyone could eat them until they vomited.

In her previous life, she didn't like to eat much when she was a child. Anyone who eats the same thing every day will get tired of it. For example, bean sticks can make you collapse from eating them.

After returning to the palace, Chu Huaibei excitedly went to the kitchen first, handed the sweet potato leaves to the two mothers, and told them that they just needed to be stir-fried with garlic. The two mothers just nodded without asking what it was.

If the prince says it’s edible, then it must be edible!

We had previously plucked some toffee flowers and herbs and made a meat sauce that was so delicious it made your mouth water. Unfortunately, there was not enough of it, so everyone just tasted it and the rest was taken away by the caravan.

The journey to the northwest is full of dangers. Whether the caravan encounters the Mongolian army or heavy snow, it is in danger of being destroyed. I will first give them this food that can both replenish salt and maintain body temperature, hoping that they will have a safe and smooth journey.

Sure enough, the stir-fried sweet potato leaves were the most popular dish for dinner; even Hu Zhi ate several bites. Du Jiping didn't even bother asking anymore; if the palace had it, it would eventually show up in the northern border.

He believed that given the character of the King of Zhenbei, this leafy green vegetable today would appear on the dinner table of the people sooner or later.

"Dad, can Hengheng still eat this dish tomorrow?"

Hengheng already knew that whenever there was a new dish in the mansion, in most cases it was made by his father.

"No, we'll continue eating cabbage tomorrow."

Chu Huaibei was still eating with his bowl in his hands. When he heard Hengheng's question, he refused without even raising his head.

"Oh... okay."

Hengheng felt a little disappointed looking at the empty plate on the table.

"Wait until next year, and then you can order this dish every day starting the summer after next, until you don't want to eat it anymore."

Chu Huaibei's words were not only an explanation to Hengheng, but also a message to everyone that all the people would be able to eat it by the year after next at the latest.

"Oh, yes, Dad!"

Hengheng thought happily that he would eat this dish for every meal in the future.

Before going to bed at night, Sun Mingsi asked the question he had been thinking about all night.

"Huaibei, can sweet potato leaves, or sweet potatoes in general, be grown on very poor soil? They might not even be as good as the woodlands here."

"Hmm...it's hard to say. If you need it, we can try shipping some sweet potatoes."

"Then I'll arrange for someone to come over and learn how to plant next year?"

"Yes, it's absolutely necessary. Remember to find someone smarter, someone whose mind isn't confined by traditional thinking. The way to grow sweet potatoes is different from other crops."

"Okay, I'll remember that."

"Well, go to sleep."

After the Toffee learned about the horse farm, she arranged for people to take care of it and also adjusted all the previous preparations.

It's already the 28th day of the twelfth lunar month, and the day after tomorrow is New Year's Day. Children always look forward to the New Year. For example, from the first to the fifth day of the New Year, the teacher won't let them study. Although they like to study, it's nice to be able to play without any burden.

However, Hengheng's New Year was ruined by his father. He was beaten every morning, even on the first day of the new year.

After the fight, he was forced to read military books, which lasted the entire day. Even though he had a photographic memory, he was still dizzy from the overwhelming amount of knowledge that filled his head.

He secretly complained to his grandmother, but she said his father had gone through the same thing. Hengheng lost heart and stopped struggling, trying to learn from his father.

Grandmother said that as long as he could surpass his father in all aspects, he would not be forced to study in the future. At the age of fifteen, his father surpassed his grandfather.

Hengheng will be six years old this May. Soon, in nine years at most, he will definitely surpass his father.

Compared to the normal New Year atmosphere in the North, Fengjing is extremely lively.

First, they won a victory this year, and then they exchanged a mere 300,000 dan of grain for 10,000 Mongolian horses. This was the first time that Mongolia bowed to Bactria.

The emperor hosted a banquet for all civil and military officials and celebrated the event.

Later, the eldest prince was released from confinement and brought his eldest grandson to the palace for a family banquet. The emperor held his chubby and adorable grandson in his arms and reluctantly let him go.

The other two princesses crumpled the handkerchiefs in their hands, but still had to smile politely and chat with the people in the hall.

The second prince and the third prince looked at the eldest prince's attentiveness to the emperor, and squeezed and unclenched the wine glasses in their hands. They couldn't break the plates and utensils at the family banquet, as it was unlucky and not decent.

The second prince actually secretly consulted the imperial physician to check his pulse, and the physician said that he was in good health and had no problems of that kind. The women in the backyard also consulted the doctor to check their pulses, and the doctor said that there was nothing wrong with them.

The Second Prince's wife even asked the Imperial Court to take her pulse, claiming she had caught a cold, and it was fine. It was truly bizarre, working so hard for a year and not even producing a single melon seed.

The Second Prince's only comfort was that the Third Prince's palace had also failed to harvest a single grain. The two brothers, rarely vying with each other, toasted each other with a glass of wine and chuckled bitterly to themselves.

The eldest prince's wife sat between her sisters-in-law. She didn't dare to mention the child at all during the conversation. The other two sisters-in-law showed jealousy from time to time, and their eyes almost shot her into a sieve.

Perhaps having children really depends entirely on luck, just like the concubines in her mansion, who are currently childless. After she became pregnant, she stopped giving all the concubines contraceptive soup. The eldest prince tried hard in the backyard for a year, but there was no fruit.

A few days ago, the eldest prince was still smiling and teasing the child, asking the child whether he wanted a sister or a brother. Stop it, not even a radish has been born, it's not happening at all.

In the end, the happiest people at the banquet were the Emperor, the eldest prince, and the Empress. Everyone else had no appetite and was only concerned with pretending and maintaining their facial expressions.