Chapter 415: Inspecting the Military Horse Farm, a War is About to Start
The cold wind was howling, and the sky and earth were filled with a chill. Snowflakes fell from the sky, as if someone was sprinkling salt, and landed on Linhe Hou's neck, feeling icy cold.
Linhe Hou was originally Che Hou who was guarding Lingnan. Because of his meritorious service in suppressing the southern barbarians, he was recruited into the imperial army to fight against the Xiongnu. Then he made more contributions when he followed Huo Qubing to attack.
The imperial court built Shuofang County in Henan, and his fiefdom in Lingnan was abolished. Liu Che added 1,200 households to his fief, and changed his fief to Linhe County of Shuofang County, making him a marquis guarding the place. The fief of 3,500 households accounted for almost one-tenth of the population of the entire Shuofang County.
Linhe Hou tightened his coat and looked at the heavy snow. He said, "Shang Taishou, will this heavy snow cause any damage to the Han army's war horses?
You know, this military horse farm, on a larger scale, is related to the war between the Han Dynasty and the Huns, and to the fate of the Han Dynasty.
To put it simply, Your Majesty is paying attention to this place all the time. The future and fate of both of us depend on this. Whether we get promoted and make a fortune and go to Chang'an to become one of the Three Dukes or Nine Ministers, or stay in this desolate northern border and face the Huns every day, it all depends on this military horse farm.
It will be three years soon. I have been running the Marquisate from Lingnan to Shuofang for more than thirty years, but now I have abandoned it in Lingnan. With such a huge price to pay, I don’t want to fail at the last moment. "
Linhe Hou's tone was somewhat impolite.
The official systems guarding the marquises and counties are two systems. Generally speaking, there is no subordinate relationship between them. If the relationship is good or general, they respect each other. If the relationship is bad, they are hostile to each other and report on each other.
And to some extent, the county magistrate has more power than the garrison marquis. After all, the garrison marquis only has the influence of a county, while the county magistrate has the influence of a county.
However, Marquis Linhe was an exception. Shuofang County was a newly established border county, and military affairs were of primary importance. Marquis Linhe commanded the military affairs of the entire county. In addition to his status as a marquis and his relationship with Chang'an City, he was not comparable to the mere governor of Shuofang County with a salary of two thousand stones.
But Sang Hongyang did not indulge him, and immediately said excitedly: "My Lord, among all the Han people, I am the one who least wants anything to happen at the military horse farm, for the sake of the position of the governor of Shuofang County.
My teachers, sponsors, and even the entire faction have used up countless resources. Everyone is waiting for me to make achievements, return to the capital, and win a place for the school.
What do you mean by that now?"
Sang Hongyang came from the Legalist school, and was not from Qi, which had many allies. Naturally, he was excluded in the court where Confucian scholars dominated.
Upon hearing this, Linhe Hou's expression eased slightly and he said, "I was too anxious, please don't blame me, Governor Sang."
Just as Sang Hongyang was about to speak, they heard the sound of galloping horses. The two men looked over and saw a knight jumping off his horse and saying in a hurry, "My Lord, Governor, a distinguished person has arrived from Chang'an and is waiting at the governor's office."
Linhe Hou and Sang Hongyang were shocked when they heard this. It had only been two days since it snowed heavily and an important person came. And he was not coming for the military horse farm. Sang Hongyang twisted his head off as if to death.
The two men immediately mounted their horses, and Linhe Hou asked anxiously, "Do you know who this noble man is?"
"My Lord, the nobleman brought with him the brave warriors of the Luo clan and the imperial guards of the palace. They are the two superiors, Marquis Guanjun and Marquis Wushuang."
Marquis Linhe felt dizzy upon hearing this. Marquis Guanjun and Marquis Wushuang were actually these two superiors, and they came together.
Although they cannot compare with General Wei Qing in terms of power, everyone knows that these two people are in the emperor's favor, and it is only a matter of time before they rise to prominence.
If these two came at any other time, Linhe Hou would have made proper arrangements, but at this time...
He turned to look at Sang Hongyang and said, "Sang Taishou, it seems that we won't be able to wait until the beginning of next spring. Now I just hope that you can arrange it well enough."
Sang Hongyang frowned, but he was not particularly worried. He said, "Your Excellency, don't worry too much. Before the heavy snow came, I had prepared enough fodder to ensure that all the war horses will still be energetic next year and will not delay the important affairs of the court.
As long as Wushuang Hou and Guanjun Hou don't deliberately make trouble, there will be no problem."
These words dissipated in the air along with the sharp cold wind, leaving only the sound of hurried horse hooves.
Luo Wuji and Huo Qubing sat quietly in the hall drinking tea, chatting about the tactics after the appearance of the three imperial horse treasures, and the plans for the subsequent war against the Huns.
Sang Hongyang and Linhe Hou hurried back.
Of course, the brave warriors and the palace guards would not stay in the heavy snow, but along the way, from time to time one could see one or two brave warriors and guards wearing shiny armor and swords, with cold eyes, and even Sang Hongyang became a little nervous.
After entering the hall, they saw two young generals in military uniforms. One of them was in high spirits and handsome, with a look of wantonness and arrogance. The other one was even more handsome, with a shining holy mark between his eyebrows and a gaze as calm as water.
Linhe Hou and Sang Hongyang bowed deeply and said, "I pay my respects to you, my Lords. I wish you peace and prosperity."
Luo Wuji pushed his hands forward and said in return, "How are you, Governor Sang and Marquis Linhe?"
Huo Qubing was quite familiar with Linhe Hou, so he smiled and greeted him directly, "Linhe Hou, how have you been in Shuofang these years?
I didn’t see you come to Chang’an to celebrate the New Year two years ago.”
Sang Hongyang felt a little envious when he saw this. The friendship formed between these marquises on the battlefield was beyond his comparison.
Linhe Hou was surprised and said, "It is my fault. I was ordered by the emperor to pay homage last year. I happened to encounter a small group of Xiongnu tribes attacking me. I was unable to come to Chang'an to celebrate for Your Majesty and for you, the Lord."
Huo Qubing smiled at first, then suddenly asked: "Marquis Linhe just needs to know that he is carrying out the emperor's order. It is snowing heavily today, and His Majesty is very concerned about the military horse farm in Henan.
This Marquis and Wushuang Marquis will be deploying war horses from here in the future, so we came here to take a look. Is Linhe Marquis willing to take us to check out our war horses?"
Linhe Hou was shocked when he heard this, and said quickly: "Don't worry, sir. The matter of war horses is more important than Mount Tai. I will never take it lightly. This is the governor of Sang County, who is in charge of the county's horse affairs."
Luo Wuji fixed his eyes on Sang Hongyang, who was wearing a civil servant's uniform, and asked, "May I ask your name?"
Sang Hongyang bowed and said, "My Lord, my surname is Sang, my name is Hongyang, and I am from Shandong."
When we met, he didn't introduce himself, but he was a student of the Legalist school.
Just from the fact that Sang Hongyang did not disclose his family background, Luo Wuji knew that he must be a student of the Legalists.
But he didn't care about this. He was a general and didn't care much about these academic matters. Even if he inherited the position of head of the family in the future, Luo's son, who was good at academics, would still be in charge of these things for him.
Luo Wuji clasped his fists and said, "Sang Taishou is very polite. Without further ado, please take the two of us to check it out."
Sang Hongyang took a deep breath and said, "Please come in, my lords."
Luo Wuji and Huo Qubing looked at each other and stood up from their seats. Both of them were very tall, and Sang Hongyang was even just at the level of their shoulders. In an instant, a sense of oppression rose up.
The two men walked out of the hall with the gait of a dragon and a tiger, and shouted loudly: "Organize the troops."
Almost in an instant, warriors and palace guards appeared in various halls of the county magistrate's mansion. They were not wearing thick armor, but only lighter leather armor on their half bodies. They had bows and crossbows on their backs and sharp blades in their hands. Countless snowflakes fell on their shoulders in just a few breaths, but no one made a sound.
Then a hissing sound came from outside the door, and Luo Wuji said loudly: "Get on the horse and get ready to go."
More than two hundred people turned around and went out riding on their horses. With the help of the three horse equipment, everyone could let go of their hands, and they didn't need to clamp their legs on the horse's belly all the time. Moreover, there were many more things that could be hung on the horses, including long weapons, short weapons, bows and crossbows.
It was the first time for Sang Hongyang and Linhe Hou to see the three Ma pieces. The Han court did a good job of keeping it secret, so the two were stunned and had no idea that the court had these things.
"Please lead the way, Lord Sang."
It was not until Luo Wuji's voice that the two men woke up. They rode forward quickly and headed towards the grassland. Sang Hongyang introduced: "My two lords, the Henan Military Horse Farm was built three years ago. Your Majesty allocated a huge amount of money and opened the door. Up to now, there are more than 200,000 horses raised here, of which 100,000 can be used as war horses. If you give me some more time, I am confident that I can increase the number by tens of thousands."
One hundred thousand war horses!
Luo Wuji and Huo Qubing looked at each other. This number was really quite large. Assuming each person had two war horses and a pack horse, this meant that there were already 50,000 cavalrymen.
This number is enough for two people to launch a war against the Xiongnu Right Wise King's Court!
As they were talking, the two finally arrived at the horse farm. It was snowing heavily on such a day, and the grassland was bare without a single green grass. The war horses naturally didn't know how to stay on the grassland. Especially on a snowy day, it was impossible to leave them wandering around.
One after another, stables with thick thatched roofs appeared in front of everyone. These stables were connected in rows, with countless horses in them. On the troughs were slightly dry grass and beans, but being able to eat these in such weather was already very good.
Luo Wuzhi went straight to the stable, observed the appearance of the warhorse in detail, and then stroked its hair and shiny skin. He was very satisfied. A group of people rode on horses, braving the cold weather and heavy snow, and checked the stables one by one.
Seeing the end, Luo Wuji could not help but praise: "Prefect, take good care of these horses, they will be of great use next spring. With this great achievement, you will be very successful.
The position of Minister of Agriculture is now vacant. I think you are very suitable for this position. A talented person like you should go to a higher position to benefit the world."
Sang Hongyang was excited, but he keenly grasped the key point. It would be of great use in the early spring of next year. Would the imperial court send troops to attack the Huns next year?
No wonder he was so anxious to come and see the war horses. If anything went wrong and delayed the court's cause, he would be blamed for his crime.
The heavy snow continued to fall, and after the violent snow, it was the warm spring. Many people couldn't wait, and too many expectations were taking root.
(End of this chapter)
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