"Horse racing?" Zhao Tong put down his wine glass and looked at him and said, "My equestrian skills are ordinary. I'm afraid I won't be able to compete with Prince Duan."
Duan Yichang smiled and said: "Now that Qingfeng is in the hands of the prince, my peach red is far inferior. I'm afraid that in a real competition, Yi Chang can only become a foil."
Zhao Tong said: "It's okay to have fun with horse racing, but I'm offering a bonus. The loser will be fined three drinks when he comes back, and he won't be able to find any excuse to default on his debt. What do you think, Prince Duan?"
Duan Yichang was stunned when he heard this. Originally, he wanted to take this opportunity to propose a lottery. The loser must promise the winner a small thing. Unexpectedly, Zhao Tong said it first. It was actually something as trivial as a penalty of drinking. He immediately felt extremely aggrieved. , but due to etiquette, it was difficult to refute, so he just said: "Just listen to the prince."
Zhao Tong smiled and said: "Then it's settled."
Duan Yichang was irritated at this time, thinking that since he couldn't make a fortune, he could just suppress the King of Qi on the horse race and vent his anger.
Horse racing is not about running haphazardly. You must first agree on a distance. You can determine the winner or lose in a straight line, or you can compare back and forth.
Because they were in the suburbs now, straight lines were meaningless. After discussion, the two decided that the first to arrive in a round trip would be the winner.
Zhao Tong ordered his entourage to estimate the distance of about five miles forward, and then set up a spear there to mark the end. Two followers supervised. Zhao Tong and his two men reached the spear point and then returned. The one who came back to the camp first was the winner.
The rules are very simple. As for unexpected things encountered on the road, such as cars and horses crossing the road, pedestrians or wild animals, these are all considered as normal obstacles and test the riding reaction ability.
After everything was arranged, Duan Yichang took a look at the pink horse. The horse's speed was about the same as Qingfeng's, and its endurance was slightly inferior. However, the distance of only ten miles back and forth could not be said to have any endurance. In this case, consider Zhao Tong again. Although his riding skills are average, Duan Yichang thinks he is invincible.
Even how far he wants to surpass Zhao Tong depends on his own ideas. This time he doesn't want to save any face for Zhao Tong.
The opportunity to determine the winnings during hunting had been lost. He was easily dodged by Zhao Tong because of his poor archery skills. Now that the horse race was about to raise the winnings, but the opponent took the initiative and offered him a fine drink instead, he was really annoyed.
Everything was ready, and the two horses stood side by side. Duan Yichang saluted on the horse: "Please be careful, Your Majesty, otherwise Yi Chang will not be able to bear the consequences."
Zhao Tong smiled and said: "How can you blame others if the horse is injured? Prince Duan underestimates my Da Song's mind."
Duan Yichang apologized and said, "It's Chang Yi who overthinks it." He had thought about this before. Zhao Tao's equestrian skills were average. Although horse racing is not as good as fighting, and the possibility of an accident is extremely small, it is not completely safe. If something happens, if it involves your own family, the gain outweighs the loss.
According to his temperament, he would probably not do anything risky, but he really couldn't say this today because he was choking to death, so he wanted to beat Zhao Tong on the horse race.
Both sides were ready, Lei San shouted from the side: "Start!"
Qingfeng and Taohong jumped out directly. This Qingfeng horse, Zhao Tong, rode all the way from Tokyo. They got a rough idea of their temperament. He was a slow guy. It would be better to say he was lazy and docile, but Dali. It’s not surprising that Ma Duo is like this.
But now that he was running hard, Zhao Tong instantly felt that he was not even the slightest bit different from A Lamp Who Walks A Thousand Miles Alone. However, A Lamp Who Walks Alone A Thousand Miles is a famous horse, so it was normal that Qingfeng could not compare with him.
The two horses drove side by side without being separated for a full mile. Zhao Tong knew that the two horses were actually not much different. They could be compared with ordinary Qingtang war horses in terms of speed. However, according to Duan Yichang, These are the two best horses among the Caiyun horses, and the others are naturally not as good. It is estimated that when there is really no horse available, they can reluctantly try to become war horses.
The two of them ran for more than a mile, and Duan Yichang suddenly urged Taohong hard. This was equestrianism, which mainly stimulated the horse's potential through movement and stimulation.
Taohong's speed suddenly increased, and she was half an arrow ahead of Qingfeng in an instant. Seeing this, Zhao Tong just narrowed his eyes and smiled.
After galloping for another two miles, Duan Yichang looked back and was startled. He saw the Qingfeng horse falling tightly behind, not pulling it down very far.
He was puzzled, gritted his teeth secretly, and exerted force again. The target of the spear could be seen in front of him, but he did not slow down until the pink horse ran to the spear. Then he put his hand on the horse's mane and leaned close to the horse's back. Pull the reins hard.
Hearing a long neigh from the pink horse, the horse stood upright with its two front legs dangling in the air, creating a dangerous scene.
Duan Yi stretched his body close to the horse's back, as if he was growing on it. He pulled the horse's reins diagonally downwards and slammed his feet into the stirrups. Taohong then spun down and ran back almost without any effort.
Zhao Tong also came closer in a moment, but he was not as brave and flashy as Duan Yichang. The Qingfeng horse slowed down and turned around normally, and also ran back.
After the peach red horse had walked a mile, Duan Yichang secretly looked back and was shocked. How could Qingfeng catch up with him?
He was puzzled, but he had no time to think about it at the moment. He just used all his skills to accelerate the horse forward.
Halfway through the journey, Duan Yichang suddenly heard something was wrong and took a peek again. At a glance, the hairs on his back almost stood up.
I saw that Qingfeng horse was so close!
He suddenly lost his composure. Even though he didn't see any special skills Zhao Tong used, he was just riding a horse normally, but Qingfeng's speed was much faster than he knew.
After a few more breaths, the two horses actually ran neck and neck. Zhao Tong laughed and said, "Prince Duan, this Qingfeng horse is indeed better than your peach red horse. Give me the best Caiyun horse." , I’m afraid this horse race was not intended to be won by me, but it’s a great honor!”
Duan Yichang was so angry that he almost fell off his horse when he heard this. The Qingfeng horse was only better than Taohong in terms of endurance and temperament. There is no need to mention temperament, but in terms of endurance, there is nothing to show for ten miles. The two horses should have equal foot strength. yes!
No, it's not quite the same. He uses exquisite equestrian skills. Taohong should be better than Qingfeng. Could it be that King Qi's equestrian skills are better and he has been pretending to be stupid and deceiving him?
Duan Yichang looked at Zhao Tong on the Qingfeng horse in front of him, but he didn't look like he was proficient in equestrian skills. Zhao Tong didn't make many moves on the horse, and the Qingfeng horse ran very fast, as if there was a big insect chasing behind him. How strange!
Zhao Tong smiled secretly in front of him. When it came to equestrian skills, he estimated that his family might not be as good as Zhe Hanmei, but how could a Dali prince like Duan Yichang be able to compete with him?
After all, Zhe Hanmei grew up in the Xiaoxi Army and was exposed to various war horses. She even practiced equestrian skills more often than martial arts.
And where is Dali? There are only a few real war horses, and the number of battles over the years has been very few, and most of them were small-scale battles involving infantry counterinsurgency. How can you develop real equestrian skills without fighting?
The equestrian skills of the Song Dynasty were actually learned on the battlefield. Over the past hundred years, there have been wars with Liao, Xixia, Tubo, Yiyue, and various domestic rebellions. They were all learned on the battlefield. Out of the riding experience.
Even if he randomly pulled out an ordinary Western cavalryman, Duan Yi would not be able to compare with him.
After arriving at the camp, there was no trace of Tao Hong. Zhao Tong dismounted and drank a cup of tea before Duan Yichang returned from the horse.
Zhao Tong looked at him and smiled: "Although I won the horse race because of my love affair with the prince, I still have to drink the fine wine."
Duan Yichang looked ashen at this moment and said reluctantly: "If Chang Yi loses, I am willing to drink three drinks as a penalty."
After saying that, he picked up the wine bottle on the table and poured three glasses of wine in a row. The wine entered his stomach, but it was extremely bitter.
Zhao Tong saw this and said, "It's rude to come and not go back. Since I won the horse race because of my love, why not treat the prince to a banquet in a few days?"
Duan Yichang's eyes suddenly lit up when he heard this, and a light suddenly rose in his heart. The King of Qi actually wanted to entertain him. Didn't this opportunity come again?
(End of chapter)
