Yuan Nanyu's leg injury was not serious. Just as the doctor said, with a splint and some medicine, he would recover after a hundred days of rest.

But the difficulty lies in this "resting". Yuan Nanyu is full of energy and active by nature. He usually gets up early to practice martial arts and study. In his spare time, he walks around the streets looking for fun things. Letting him lie in bed for three months is almost like killing him. The family thought he would make trouble, so they found people to take turns to watch over him and finally kept him in the house.

Yuan Sikong supervised Yuan Nanyu to finish his studies in the morning, and Xu Hu came to pick him up to go to the stable to pick a horse.

The stables in Guangning City mainly housed the horses of Yuan Mao and his officers and men, and there were only twenty or thirty of them. Most of the horses were kept in the horse farms outside the city, where there were wide open areas for the horses to run, and it was a place he often visited.

Four years ago, Yuan Mao brought him home, and he took the initiative to ask to raise horses. In fact, he knew nothing about raising horses at that time, but the two of them met because of the phrase "horses have leg problems". He deliberately wanted Yuan Mao to think that he could raise horses and not appear useless. After all, he couldn't get rid of the fear of living under someone else's roof at the beginning, and was afraid that Yuan Mao would not want him. Yuan Mao didn't know whether he believed it or didn't expose it, and really let him follow Xu Hu to raise horses.

This period of raising horses lasted for four years. He not only absorbed all the knowledge Xu Hu had accumulated over half his life, but also collected relevant official and folk records. The more he raised horses, the better. Xu Hu was illiterate and his horse-raising skills were inherited from his ancestors and through experience. Now he had many things to discuss with him.

In the past, Yuan Sikong had to ride on the same horse with Xu Hu, but now he can ride a horse by himself. Xu Hu felt very pleased when he saw the young man's heroic figure growing up.

When we arrived at the racecourse, it was noon, just in time for lunch.

The owner of the stable is Zhao Dayou, the richest businessman in Guangning. He started from scratch as a handyman in a small stable and is now very wealthy. His stable has more than 10,000 horses of all sizes, but only a few of them meet the standards of war horses.

Since Emperor Ningzong of Sheng lost the Hetao area, the power of the Great Sheng declined, and the court could not afford to raise horses. All horse farms in the Central Plains were turned into private enterprises, but they were required to prepare a certain number of war horses for the court every year. Good horses in the Central Plains were hard to come by and horse dealers were all very wealthy.

Zhao Dayou was very happy to see Yuan Sikong and set a table full of delicious food: "Sikong, let's have a full lunch. In the afternoon, we will go to pick two thousand good horses for King Jingyuan."

Yuan Sikong nodded: "Uncle, don't worry."

"Oh, the horses used by the Feng Family Army were originally Qin horses from Huaixi. I went to see them yesterday. They are really good horses!" Zhao Dayou couldn't help but give a thumbs up. "I didn't expect that our Liaodong horses could gallop thousands of miles under the saddle of the Feng Family Army and kill enemies in all directions. My ancestors are really proud of me."

Xu Hu complimented him, "Zhao's ancestors were already honored, and you are bringing more honor to them."

"Hahaha, it's all thanks to Brother Xu who has been taking care of me all the year round."

All dynasties valued culture over commerce, and the status of merchants was actually very low. However, they were extremely wealthy, and money and power were inseparable. Therefore, petty officials like Xu Hu had to curry favor with Zhao Dayou, and Zhao Dayou did not dare to neglect Xu Hu. After all, he was sent by the court to manage war horses, and his words did not count.

Yuan Sikong asked curiously, "Uncle, what is the price for the Feng Family Army to buy horses?"

"It is only slightly higher than the Liaodong Army, but I heard that King Jingyuan gave it to the Liaodong Army for other reasons."

Yuan Sikong worriedly said, "The imperial court wants to take the horses, and we naturally cannot disobey the order, but the good horses have been given to Datong Prefecture. What if the gold thieves come to attack us?"

Xu Hu also sighed, "That's right. I don't know what the higher-ups are thinking." He looked around to see that no one was around, and whispered, "Although the war in Datong Prefecture is tense and the Oirat is much more powerful than the Jin bandits, the court is too partial. First, it gave up the seven states in Liaobei, and now it has given this year's war horses to Datong Prefecture. It doesn't care about the lives of our Liaodong people."

Zhao Dayou put his fat fingers to his lips and said, "You can't spread this. There is a war in Datong but no war in Liaodong. The court must have its own plans."

Yuan Sikong was full of anxiety. There was no war in Liaodong at the moment, but the gold thieves were across the river, watching them intently. The court's move was indeed unfair, but they could do nothing about it.

After dinner, Zhao Dayou called over some of the most experienced horse breeders at the ranch and asked them to go with him to select horses.

The main responsibility of selecting horses still lies with Xu Hu. Yuan Sikong was appointed as the chief of staff because he was intentionally cultivated by Yuan Mao. Of course, he is worthy of the title of chief of staff.

Horse selection is a technical and physical job. Not all horses that are tall and strong are good, or good horses are not necessarily suitable for fighting. War horses cannot be wild and difficult to train, and endurance is the most important thing.

For example, a horse with a big nose has big lungs, and a horse with big lungs is good at long-distance running. The flatness of the structure from the spine to the hip bones determines whether the horse is easy to gain weight. The mouth and nose can be used to determine whether the horse has any disease, and the muscle contour can be used to determine whether the horse has strong bones. There are many more things to pay attention to when looking at the horse's hooves. If they are too thick, too thin, too big, or too small, they are not good horses.

After looking and touching, you have to let the horse run for the final decision.

There is a lot of knowledge involved in horse appraisal. Sometimes horses from different origins and breeds have different appearances. The old master at the horse farm and Xu Hu have been raising horses for more than ten or even dozens of years before they dare to appraise horses, especially war horses, which carry the lives of soldiers and the country of Da Sheng, so how can they be careless?

Half a day passed like this, and when the sky darkened, it was time for them to return to the city.

When passing by a sick horse shed, Yuan Sikong saw a pony less than half a year old, lying listlessly in the shed.

Someone at the stable said, "Oh, this horse has been sick for over a month. If it can't be cured..."

"Let me take a look." Yuan Sikong and Xu Hu walked into the stable. They looked for a long time and asked carefully, but they could only barely figure out that the horse had spleen and stomach problems.

There are quite a few people who can breed horses, but there are even fewer who can treat horses. Most horse doctors rely on experience and use double the dosage of medicines used to treat humans. Common minor illnesses or minor injuries can usually be cured, but if they encounter difficult and complicated diseases that do not heal for a long time, they have no choice but to slaughter the horses to save food and fodder.

Yuan Sikong felt very sorry about this matter.

His mother was a doctor, and her medical skills were passed down from her grandfather. When he was young, he was curious and wanted to learn medicine from his mother, but his father did not allow him to do so. He said that everything was inferior except for studying. In that era when all schools of thought were abolished and Confucianism was the only one respected, fame and fortune were the best career paths for scholars. Later, seeing that he was smart and eager to learn, he let him learn a little in his spare time. He only learned the basics of medicine, but he understood the medical principles and could treat some common minor injuries. He always felt that treating horses was not difficult. If one could understand the bones, muscles, blood vessels and meridians of horses like humans, many horses would not die from diseases. In his opinion, the existing medical books on horses were not detailed enough.

Unfortunately, he didn't have such an opportunity.

Since ancient times, pigs are used for meat, cattle for farming, and horses for transportation and warfare. Horses are magical weapons for fighting, mobile granaries, and wheels for trade. They are the most important thing for the country. Because of their irreplaceable position in war, horses have been highly respected in all dynasties, and eating horse meat is not allowed. The Sheng Dynasty was even worse. Due to the desire for good horses, the court encouraged the people to raise horses, strictly prohibited eating horses, and dead horses had to be properly buried. Yuan Sikong had always wanted to dissect a dead horse to study the art of horse medicine, but Yuan Mao would never agree.

Yuan Sikong felt really sad when he saw the sick pony. If he could cure it, maybe it would provide the Liaodong soldiers with another weapon to kill the enemies.

Xu Hu saw through his thoughts and was helpless: "I'm afraid this horse won't last for a few more days. Let's go back."

Yuan Sikong walked away, looking back every three steps.

——

In the next few days, Yuan Sikong spent all his time at the stable helping Xu Hu in horse selection. As Xu Hu had said, the pony soon died of illness, and the corpse had not yet been cleaned up.

Yuan Sikong passed by the sick horse shed and was tempted again. After all, they were about to send the 2,000 fine horses they had raised with great effort to Datong. His desire for a medical horse became even stronger. While Xu Hu was out riding horses, he secretly found Zhao Dayou and begged him to give him the horse carcass.

Zhao Dayou knew what Yuan Sikong was up to. This was not the first time he had suggested it, but dissecting a horse was considered degrading and was forbidden by the imperial court: "Sikong, just give up on this idea. If your father finds out, how will I explain it to him?"

"Uncle Shi, this horse ranch is yours. Don't let anyone see it. If you don't tell anyone and I don't tell anyone, who will know?"

"Oh, you can't say that..." Zhao Dayou was very embarrassed.

Yuan Sikong's eyes were bright as stars, flashing with wisdom. "My father is a strict person, and sometimes he doesn't know how to adapt. My uncle is a smart man. This huge horse farm is all thanks to my uncle's 'wisdom'. Every year, one or two hundred horses die of illness. If I can learn the art of horse medicine, even if I can save one more horse, it will be a lot of money."

Zhao Dayou blinked rapidly.

If any other kid had said these words to him, he would have scolded the boastful brat away, but Yuan Sikong was different.

As early as when Zhao Dayou discovered that this child was extremely talented, he curiously asked Yuan Mao about his background. Yuan Mao did ask someone to investigate, and the results of this investigation were extraordinary.

I heard that there was a child prodigy from a nearby village in Taining. He was able to write poetry at the age of five, prose at the age of six, and passed the children's examination at the age of nine. His surname was Yan.

Zhao Dayou knew that this kid was no ordinary person. If the kid said he wanted to learn horse medicine, he might really be able to learn it. He was a businessman, so how could he not be tempted?

Yuan Sikong saw that Zhao Dayou was already wavering, and promised: "If by any chance, we are really discovered, Sikong will bear the responsibility alone and will not trouble Shishu."

Zhao Dayou sighed heavily, "Sikong, how could my uncle not want you to treat horses? I feel the most pain when the horse that my uncle raised with great effort dies of illness." He dragged Yuan Sikong to a corner and whispered, "It just so happens that the horse is small and quiet. I'll send the people away, and you go to the sick horse shed to perform the dissection. After the dissection, my uncle will find someone else to take care of it."

Yuan Sikong said calmly: "After the dissection, I will burn the horse Peng with fire. Isn't it clean and pure?"

Zhao Dayou shuddered: "Uh... yes, you are right, burn it, burn it clean."

"Thank you, uncle." Yuan Sikong took a step back and bowed. "Uncle, your action is small in saving the horse, but great in benefiting the country."

Zhao Dayou was so happy that he couldn't stop smiling: "Okay, okay, go quickly, I'll tell everyone at the horse farm to stay away from there."

——

Yuan Sikong took a box of instruments for treating external injuries and used them to dissect the horse. He looked at the pony, thinking that he could finally get what he wanted, and his hands were shaking, one because of excitement, the other because of fear.

When he was a child, he followed his mother to see many patients and was not afraid of blood. However, he had never even killed a fish before. The first time he used a knife, he had to dissect a horse. His heart was pounding like a drum, but he had no time to delay and acted quickly.

While performing the autopsy, he wrote and drew, and the bucket of water used for washing hands soon turned blood red.

Just as he had gutted the horse and was about to remember to do it carefully, he suddenly heard a sharp child's voice shouting, "What are you doing!"

Yuan Sikong was concentrating very much, and was so frightened by the roar, which was immature but full of power, that his heart stopped for a moment and the knife in his hand fell to the ground.

He turned around and saw a boy in luxurious clothes standing at the door of the stable, his eyes wide open, looking at him angrily. He was the most beautiful boy he had ever seen in his life, and it was no exaggeration to say that he was a man of heaven, but he had no time to admire the craftsmanship of God. There was only one thought buzzing in his mind: He had been discovered!

The boy said angrily, "How dare you insult a horse carcass." He turned and walked away, shouting, "Someone come!"

Yuan Sikong suddenly jumped up from where he was, rushed out of the stable, stepped forward, and grabbed the boy's collar with his bloody hands.