In ancient times, if you wanted to sell something or someone, you only had to stick a piece of grass in the goods.
Seeing someone selling horses, Han Zhen suddenly became interested.
Stepping to the foot of the tree, he first looked at the seller.
This middle-aged man was wearing tattered Shu brocade clothes and squatted there without saying anything.
Then, Han Zhen turned his attention to the horse beside him.
The whole horse is brown and red in color, tall and looks quite impressive.
He was just a little thin, and his body was dirty and his hair was messy, as if he hadn't been cleaned for a long time.
He doesn't know much about horses and can't tell whether it's a Western Xia horse or a local Jingdong horse. He just thinks this horse is good.
Seeing that the seller was silent, Han Zhen asked Dr. Tea beside him who was watching the fun: "What's going on?"
Dr. Tea recognized Han Zhen and immediately said: "Hey, this man said he came to do business, but he was robbed by gangsters on the way. Now he is penniless and wants to sell his horse to get some travel expenses."
As he spoke, he winked at the horse's butt.
Hearing this, Han Zhen followed his gaze and saw a vague scar on the right side of the horse's butt, and the outline of the brand could be faintly seen.
He immediately understood that this was a branded official horse.
Moreover, although this man was wearing Sichuan brocade, he did not have the shrewd aura that a businessman should have. Instead, he looked very honest, with several calluses on his dark and rough palms.
Obviously, any businessman who encounters robbers is a bullshit.
Han Zhen asked aloud: "How do you sell this horse?"
When someone asked about the price, the middle-aged man raised his head and said stiffly: "Fifty dollars!"
People around him shook their heads and scolded him for being crazy for thinking about money.
According to today's market price, a good horse for fifty dollars is not expensive.
At present, the price of a bad horse is around fifteen guan, while some good horses in excellent condition can be as high as 100 guan.
The horse in front of me is probably a well-trained war horse, and fifty guan is really not expensive.
But the key point is that there is a problem with the origin of this horse. It is a branded official horse and may cause trouble for the government.
Privately erasing the official mark is a serious crime!
Han Zhen didn't talk nonsense and said directly: "Twenty-five guan, if you want to sell it, come with me to get the money."
After that, regardless of whether the other party agreed or not, he turned around and walked towards Zhenquan Temple.
Others were afraid of trouble from the government, but he didn't care.
Looking at Han Zhen's back, the middle-aged man hesitated for a moment, then finally stood up and led the horse to follow.
He has been squatting here for a long time, and as a result, most people were scared away when they heard the offer of fifty gold.
There were also a few people who made offers, but the prices they gave were really outrageous, and the highest one was only six dollars.
…
The middle-aged man was very vigilant and stopped moving as soon as he reached the gate of Zhenquan Temple.
Han Zhen turned around and took a look. Seeing that he was ready to run away at any moment, he just smiled and walked into the temple gate.
Not long after, he came out dragging baskets of copper coins.
Seeing the copper coins, the middle-aged man was obviously relieved, and most of the vigilance in his eyes disappeared.
Pointing to the basket, Han Zhen signaled: "Here's the money, let's count it."
The middle-aged man actually squatted on the ground and started counting money one by one.
Han Zhen ignored him, walked to the horse, and looked at it carefully.
This is a stallion, but it has been castrated.
There was some uncertainty before, but now I am sure that this is a war horse.
War horses will be castrated because the castrated war horses are docile, easier to train, and more suitable for combat.
The horse seemed very docile. Even when Han Zhen reached out to touch it, he just tilted his head.
After touching it for a while, after the war horse became a little familiar with his scent, Han Zhen tried to comb its hair with his hands.
It seemed that no one had brushed it for some days, and the war horse seemed particularly comfortable. Its head was slightly raised, and its eyes were half-closed, looking like it was enjoying itself.
At this time, the middle-aged man finally counted the money. He picked up a dozen copper coins, handed them over and said, "You gave me too much!"
When he gave the money just now, Han Zhen didn't pay attention.
After all, he really didn't have the patience to count the twenty-five pieces of money slowly.
To his surprise, the man did not take advantage of the situation and chose to return the extra money.
interesting!
Han Zhen took the money, looked at the other person again, and asked with interest: "A man from Qinfeng Road? Who is the Prime Minister's sect?"
He guessed that the opponent was most likely a deserter, and in the entire Song Dynasty, only Qin Fenglu's Western Army could equip such well-equipped war horses.
The middle-aged man did not answer, but just said: "If you still want to buy a horse, you can go to Songshan Ridge to find me. My name is Wei Da."
Han Zhen's heart moved and he asked quickly: "How many horses do you have?"
He didn't expect that buying a horse would be an unexpected blessing.
Horses in the Song Dynasty were an important strategic resource. Folks could only buy rhinoceros horses for carrying goods, while good horses that could be used as war horses were tightly controlled by the government.
Wei Da said vaguely: "There are still some."
It's normal for the other party to be wary, so Han Zhen didn't care and continued to ask: "It's also twenty-five passes?"
"Um!"
Wei Da nodded, took off his clothes, covered the basket, and left with difficulty carrying the basket.
Songshanling, Wei Da.
Han Zhen secretly made a note in his mind that maybe there would be a chance to cooperate in the future.
…
This war horse is a little thin. It is obvious that it has not been eating well recently and needs to be replenished with grains and salt.
Because he was not familiar with it yet, Han Zhen did not dare to ride on it rashly, so he could only lead the horse back to the temple.
He took out a bag of soybeans and wheat from the kitchen, mixed them in a wooden basin, and then mixed a basin of salt water with well water.
Before Han Zhen could put down the wooden basin, the guy put his head over and opened his mouth to eat.
In a short time, the whole bowl of grains was eaten up, and then the salt water started to be enjoyed again.
After eating and drinking, the horse snorted.
Han Zhen could clearly feel that it was getting closer to him.
That's what animals are like, they can tell who is nice to them.
Han Zhen knew that this was the time to get closer, so he continued to comb its fur with his hands.
As he combed and combed, he suddenly discovered that the horse's horseshoes were not equipped with horseshoes.
It stands to reason that war horses will definitely be equipped with horseshoes...
Could it be said that horseshoes had not yet appeared during the Northern Song Dynasty?
Han Zhen did not specialize in historical research in his previous life, so this question touched on his knowledge blind spot.
It's useless to think so much, just go to the blacksmith shop and ask.
If the horseshoe has appeared at this moment, then the blacksmith will understand with just a word.
Thinking of this, Han Zhen reloaded a bag of copper coins, held the reins and went straight to the blacksmith shop.
When he came to the blacksmith shop again, Han Zhen first settled the balance. After getting the plain knife forged from fine steel, he casually asked: "Shopkeeper Tian, do you have horseshoes here?"
"What?"
Shopkeeper Tian was stunned.
Han Zhen changed his name again: "It's horseshoe!"
As a result, Shopkeeper Tian still looked confused.
It is now certain that horseshoes did not appear in the Northern Song Dynasty.
After talking and making gestures for a while, Han Zhen finally made Shopkeeper Tian understand what he wanted.
Shopkeeper Tian looked at him with a strange expression and hesitated to speak.
Han Zhen was a little impatient and frowned: "Can you fight?"
"Of course I can fight, just wait and see."
For Shopkeeper Tian, horseshoes have no technical content and can be made casually.
He just couldn't understand why Han Zhen would make 'shoes' for horses out of the blue.
Maybe I made some money recently and it's gone.
Thinking in his heart, Shopkeeper Tian couldn't help but laugh secretly.
