Song Dynasty Iron Armored Army

Chapter 206 New Trade Route
Duan Jingzhu said: "There are a lot of horses on the grassland, especially in autumn. The herdsmen are worried that the horses will freeze and starve to death in winter, and they will sell them in large quantities. An iron pot is exchanged for a horse, and dozens of catties of tea are exchanged for a horse. The price is really high. Expensive. It’s just that it costs a lot of taxes and management fees to pass the customs. I don’t know what kind of horse my brother needs?”

"It depends on what kind of horse Brother Duan can get, whether it is a well-trained gelding or a young mare. But I don't want a raw horse that has not undergone any training, or a grassland that has not experienced training. Horses are too savage, and our racecourse is small, but we don’t have the energy to train them,” Chailin said.

Duan Jingzhu nodded and said yes, a horse that has not been trained is not easy to handle, and it is not easy to drive on the road.

Chai Lin said: "The gelling is generally required to weigh around six to seven hundred catties, and the mares must weigh more than five hundred catties. The mares must be young. It's okay to be short and thick, but they must be in good health."

Duan Jingzhu reminded: "Brother, there are many such horses on the grasslands of the Liao Kingdom, why are they rarely seen in the Central Plains? It’s not easy to sell.”

"Thank you, Brother Duan, for reminding me that a batch of prairie iron hoof horses were ordered years ago. The horses are short, weighing only five to six hundred catties. But my farm bought these horses mainly to breed mules. We in Cangzhou The black-headed donkeys are tall and big, and the mules bred by crossbreeding with grassland horses are very good, tall and big mules, with an average weight of more than [-] catties."

"Okay, that's good. Mules are easy to sell. If you simply breed grassland horses, you will lose money. Breeding mules is no problem. The place I am familiar with is a small tribe in the middle of the grassland, next to a desert, rich grassland The biggest characteristic of horses is that they are good at walking in the desert and have good endurance.”

"Okay, Brother Duan, go ahead and do it boldly. A few hundred horses at a time, a thousand horses will be fine." Chailin said.

Duan Jingzhu remembered it, and decided to go back to gather his brothers in the second year of junior high school, form a caravan, and start selling goods to the northern grasslands.

There are very few ways to trade with the Liao and Jin countries in the north, and the main purpose is to obtain short, thick and rough grassland horses.According to Chai Lin's vision, there must be at least 10,000+ prairie horses to make sense.After all, light cavalry, communication soldiers, and heavy soldiers all need horses.

The vacation time is always short. These days, Chailin has almost never stopped, except to go to various army barracks, that is, to visit factories and iron mines.

On the fifth day of the first lunar month, the sun was just right, it was already the beginning of spring, and the wind was not so cold.

Chaijiazhuang East Village is holding the first plowing competition, and the venue is in the open space in the south of the village.

These days there is no mobile phone or computer, so it is difficult to have such a lively event. Thousands of people are watching, ranging from the elderly in their [-]s and [-]s, to children who are just walking.

There are really many people participating in the competition, one person and two animals form a group.There are donkey groups, mule groups, horse groups, and cattle groups.They are all strong animals chosen by experienced plowmen.

Chai Lin spoke first, saying: "This is the first time the plowing competition has been held this year, and we have been organizing it since years ago. Our purpose is to let more people learn and master the knowledge of plowing. Many people think that plowing is very simple and easy. It's easy, but it's a big mistake. People with good skills plow the land without getting tired, and the animals are not tired, and they can farm with ease. Those with poor skills will beat the animals with a whip, and the land has not been plowed much, and the gas is still alive. Some people don't care about cattle and horses, thinking that cattle and horses can plow a lot of land, which often hurts the cattle and horses, and even causes the cattle and horses to die."

I don't know who yelled and said, "There is no plowed land, only exhausted cows."

Chai Lin went on to say: "That's right. Our goal is to plow the land well without exhausting the cattle. That's why we have this plowing competition. Well, everyone, let's watch the competition. After the competition, I will There is an important happy announcement to be made."

The host of the plowing contest was Chai Gang, and it was really like that, going to fight on the temporary stage, holding a tin horn.

"Today is our first farming competition. There are two first prizes and two taels of silver. Four second prizes and two hundred catties of barley. Ten third prizes and five catties of salt."

Everyone cheered, "Okay, let's start."

Chai Gang said: "First, the five contestants from the donkey group will enter the field."

Ten donkeys, five people came up.There are big red flowers on the foreheads of the donkeys. They are all big and healthy donkeys. The black-headed donkeys are tall, and each weighs about five or six hundred catties.

The content of the competition is also very simple. Each group plows two points of land. It cannot be light and fast, and the land cultivated must be good.The judges are three 60-year-old veterans from the village, not to mention there are so many spectators watching, so there is no problem with impartiality.

The five members of the donkey group are quite fierce. Obviously, they have not lacked training. The donkeys and humans cooperate very well, and they plow the land quickly and well.The second part of the land is small, but after a while, the cultivated land will be completed.The three judges quickly selected the best one.It was Li Erlu from Chaijiazhuang West Village. Although he was a tenant, his family rented [-] mu of land and raised two donkeys. They lived a good life.

Next came the mule group. As soon as the mule appeared on the stage, it overwhelmed the crowd and outmatched the donkey.Mules are bigger than horses and donkeys, and they all weigh more than [-] catties. They have good stamina and can walk fast.

With a wave of their whips, the contestants skillfully commanded the mules to plow the land, and the steel plowshares turned over the fertile land.Among them was a group of single mules. This mule weighed at least a thousand catties, and the big black mule was as strong as two mules.

A tall man exclaimed, "Tsk tsk, this mule is fierce, much faster than a donkey."

A short man next to him said: "This is not something that can be said in a few words sooner. If it is ordinary sandy land, two donkeys are in a group, which is three mu of land a day. The big mule easily has eight acres of land."

The tall man said, "Come on, two mules can plow eight acres of land a day?"

"Absolutely, this still preserves strength. If you don't work the next day, it is not a problem to plow ten acres of land. Mules are very powerful. I have a relative who raises mules for others to plow, and they plow two acres a month. With a hundred acres of land, you can earn more than two pennies," said the short one.

The tall man said: "My family has applied to adopt a horse. I don't know if it will be approved. If it is well raised, we will have a mule in a few years."

"Don't even think about it. Mules can't give birth. For the sake of long-term development, horses must give birth to horses. It may take a few years to give birth to mules."

While we were talking, the mule competition was over, and the judges and spectators were judging who could plow faster and better, and the judging came out after a while.The clerk made a record and was going to give out the prize later.

Next came the cattle. Compared with donkeys and mules, this is the most common farm animal and the most commonly used.

Cattle plow the land, and if it is a strong and big ox, it can plow the land alone.If it is a cow or a weak cow, a group of two is required.Local yellow cattle in Cangzhou are neglected in selection and breeding, government management is loose, and they are basically self-bred by the people.Only a few strong cattle can weigh about [-] catties, and most cows only weigh [-] to [-] catties. Moreover, most of the cattle raised by farmers are not willing to give up a little concentrate, which causes the cows to eat too much grass, resulting in a big straw bag.

Followed by horses, it is also to promote prairie horses and make it easy for the common people to accept.

The racecourse sent ten prairie horses to form five groups of plows.Because there are very few local horses, a few of the rich families treat them as treasures, and ordinary people rarely raise horses.

With the sound of the whips from the contestants, the short and thick prairie horses stretched their limbs and pulled up the plow very easily and quickly.

"Okay, that's great. This pony looks strong and powerful." Some said.

Some also said: "What are you talking about? No matter how short you are, you are as tall as a donkey. There are still six or seven hundred catties."

come on! Come on.The crowd cheered and shouted.

After a while, the horses also finished plowing the land.

The contestants rested for a while, and everyone went up to exchange experiences with the contestants, and discussed with each other how to plow the land to save labor and keep the animals from getting tired.These are the knowledge that farmers love to learn very much. Through this form, everyone has the opportunity to communicate more, and they will not work behind closed doors.

Chai Gang shouted: "Now the No.1 of the donkey group, mule group, cattle group, and horse group has been selected. The next four No.1s will be the fastest and most powerful."

Everyone was also very curious and gathered around to watch.Which of the four kinds of animals is better at cultivating land has been a matter of endless debate. Today I finally had the opportunity to verify it, and everyone stared at it with big eyes and small eyes.

(End of this chapter)