Guide to Traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty.

Chapter 1183 Epilogue Learning to ride a horse is similar to learning to drive a car

This Zhang Jiulang was named Zhang Xianqing, with the courtesy name Chunchen.

He is neither a descendant of Zhang Guangdao nor a descendant of Zhang Tong, but a descendant of Zhang Gen, the founding prime minister and father-in-law of the country.

During the reign of Zhu Guoxiang and the early years of Zhu Ming, the emperor had been deliberately suppressing the Zhang Gen family because there were a large number of officials in Jiangxi and the Jiangxi nobles obstructed the distribution of land tax.

In the middle of Zhu Ming's reign, officials in Sichuan, Shandong and Shaanxi became too powerful to be controlled, so Zhu Ming relaxed his control over Zhang Gen's family and Jiangxi officials.

Until the Crown Prince Zhu Yang ascended the throne, in order to consolidate the throne, he naturally had to promote my grandfather's family.

As a result, Zhang Shen, the son of Zhang Tao, the emperor's uncle, soon became the Prime Minister of the Ming Dynasty.

Zhang Tao should have been the runner-up in the eighth year of Zhenghe in the Northern Song Dynasty, but Prince Zhao Kai personally took the exam and pushed Zhang Tao down to become the third place.

This person is extremely capable and selfless.

Historically, when the Southern Song Dynasty was in the most difficult financial situation, Zhang Tao took the initiative to donate his own wet copper smelting site to the court. At this time, Zhang Tao also donated half of his own copper smelting site to the Ming Dynasty court.

After Zhu Ming lifted his suppression of Jiangxi officials, Zhang Tao rose to the position of Minister of Works.

Zhang Tao's son Zhang Zhen was only of average appearance, but his advantage was that he was stable. Zhu Yang promoted Zhang Zhen to be the prime minister, but there was no trouble. Except for some personnel changes in the cabinet, his administration was consistent with his predecessor.

As for the descendants of Zhang Guangdao and Zhang Tong, they each split into several branches and spread across various provinces in the country. But their main branch that remained in Luoyang was completely destroyed!

When Emperor Dingtai was in his forties, in order to reorganize the army, he stripped the fourth-generation grandson of Zhang Guangdao of his title and exiled him, and confiscated all the property of the main branch of the Zhang family. His crimes were very serious: disobeying the emperor's orders, granting military positions privately, colluding with civil officials, embezzling military funds, reselling military funds, using soldiers for business, lying about military intelligence, nurturing the enemy, seizing civilian land, bullying and dominating the market...

Zhang Tong's direct descendants were killed by Empress Dowager Ye and Prime Minister Deng because they supported Prince Yong's coup.

Of course, only the main branches of the two families in Luoyang were killed, and the collateral branches scattered around were not implicated. One of Zhang Tong's descendants was now serving as the Guizhou Education Commissioner; and one of Zhang Guangdao's descendants was now serving as the Deputy General of Korea.

Zhang Xianqing was very enthusiastic. He introduced himself first and then said, "Master Xie, just call me Jiulang. My family has been studying both arts and science for generations, and many of them specialize in academic research. I am also studying mathematics, astronomy, and physics, but unfortunately my talent is limited and I have never published a paper in an academic journal."

They are all science students, so they can get close to each other.

Xie Yan smiled and said, "My courtesy name is Chaozong, and I am the sixth child in the family. Jiulang can just call me by my courtesy name or my first name."

"What a good name, and what a good handwriting," Zhang Xianqing, a science student, could write an article fluently. "The rites of Yao and Shun have spread all over the world, and the changes of Cheng Yu will be passed down through the ages. The seventeen-year-old scholar Furong will surely become a great scholar in the future. Your doctrine should be able to carry on the past and open up the future, spread all over the world, and be passed down through the ages."

Xie Yan was very happy to hear this. Is it so special to have such a name?
Yan: Water flows into the sea.

Xie Yan asked curiously, "What allusion did Jiulang just talk about?"

Zhang Xianqing said: "The words and sentences in the Book of Documents. I studied liberal arts for a few years, focusing on the Book of Documents. Later, like my brother, I switched to science. Alas, I know a little bit about everything, but I am not good at anything."

"Jiulang is knowledgeable and talented, I admire him very much." Xie Yan complimented casually.

He is very good at flattering people. When he delivers takeout into the community, he can get the security guard to open the door with just a cigarette and a few words.

The two chatted all the way to choose horses, and Li Dunshi followed beside them with envy.

The so-called horse selection actually means finding a royal stable to rent one.

Hearing that the eldest princess would need horses, the horse breeder quickly brought two fine horses and introduced them, "These two are both top-quality Shandan horses, with mixed bloodlines. They are the first choice of war horses for the Ming cavalry. They tend to gain weight easily, but also lose it easily."

This Shandan military horse is a high-quality war horse that was crossbred in the Hexi Corridor several decades after the founding of the Ming Dynasty. Its bloodline is extremely complex, with bloodlines from various war horses from Central Asia to the Northeast mixed in.

The only drawback is that it loses weight easily during long-distance marches and its ability to withstand rough feed is not as good as that of the Mongolian horse.

The horse that was led to Xie Yan was a mare, which had been tamed and had a gentle temperament.

Shoulder height: 1.35 meters.

This height is already considered relatively short, after all, it is used for playing polo.

The Shandan horses of the Ming Dynasty, which were actually used for combat, generally had a shoulder height of over 1.4 meters, and some even exceeded 1.5 meters.

The horse breeder began to explain the key points of horse riding: "Before getting on the horse, you should lead the horse for a walk to relax its mood and muscles. By the way, check the horse's harness, especially to see if the straps are secure..."

Xie Yan automatically applied what he had learned in driving school. Before getting in, he would walk around the car and check whether it was in good condition. He also made sure to fasten his seat belt.

After walking the horse for a while, the horse keeper helped Xie Yan to mount the horse.

"When you mount a horse, lift your feet high and don't kick the horse's butt. The quicker and cleaner, the better. If you are nervous, the horse will also be nervous... Don't pull the reins too hard, Mr. Xie, please relax a little, as long as you sit firmly, you won't fall off... Use the front half of your foot to step on the stirrup, yes, yes, that's it... Yes, yes, control the horse to walk slowly..."

"After walking this section of the road, you can pat the horse's neck and say a few words of encouragement to it. People and horses can communicate, and the better the horse, the more spiritual it is... Yes, that's it. See, this horse is responding to Mr. Xie, and it is in a good mood today..."

Xie Yan was very nervous at first, but after riding slowly for a while, he gradually relaxed.

Especially when he was learning to communicate with the horse, the horse actually responded, which gave Xie Yan a great boost of confidence, and he felt that he could definitely ride the horse at a gallop.

Riding a horse is not difficult.

Back then, Xie Yan learned to ride a bicycle in less than fifteen minutes.

The whole process was extremely rough and simple. He pushed his classmate's bicycle to the top of the slope, and then rode down the slope directly. At first, he squeezed the brake with his hand and touched the ground with his feet, and gradually released the brake and put his feet away. He played downhill sprint for the first time riding a bicycle.

Although I broke my classmate's bicycle and got myself bruised and battered, I really learned how to ride a bicycle in just fifteen minutes.

"drive!"

Xie Yan imitated Zhang Jiulang and gently waved the whip. The horse under his crotch, which had been wanting to run for a long time, gradually began to speed up and run faster and faster.

Facing the wind and feeling the increasing speed, Xie Yan had an urge to shout excitedly.

So cool.

Men like this kind of excitement.

The horse keeper was frightened and chased after him on his horse, shouting, "Scholar Xie, slow down. This is your first time riding a horse! Hold on tight, hold on tight, hold the reins gently, don't pull too hard at once..." Zhang Xianqing and Li Dunshi were also afraid that something might happen to him, so they hurriedly rode their horses to chase after him.

The horse was running faster and faster, and Xie Yan was a little panicked, but he didn't dare to turn on his own, so he could only carefully pull the reins and run in a straight line.

Ahead is the unopened area of ​​the cavalry training ground...

"Stop, stop!"

Seeing Xie Yan rushing towards them on horseback, the two guarding soldiers shouted loudly.

Xie Yan said in panic: "I'm braking, I'm braking, I dare not brake all at once!"

When they were still six or seven steps away from the restricted area of ​​the training ground, the horse finally stopped completely, and Xie Yan was so scared that his back was covered in sweat.

Shit, I haven't even practiced the right-angle turn in the second part, and I'm already jumping straight into the 100-meter acceleration in the third part.

The horse breeder who was temporarily acting as a coach finally caught up with Xie Yan and was also scared to death.

On the polo field, the game has begun.

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And it's a mixed men's and women's competition.

Today is more or less a blind date, with many unmarried men and women here. If they are attracted to each other and get permission from both parents, they can ask a matchmaker to proceed to the next step.

There are many cases like Li Dunshi.

They were not directly invited by the princess, but were brought in by relatives or friends. Some came to mingle with the princess, and some came to find a rich husband.

Xie Yan was busy practicing Subject 2 and had no mood to watch the competition.

He tried to control the horse's speed and make right-angle turns or S-curves while trotting. Unfortunately, the horse could not reverse into the garage.

Gradually, Xie Yan even learned how to change gears and could accelerate and decelerate more smoothly.

After a polo match, Xie Yan took the opportunity to ride his horse to the stage and shouted to the eldest princess: "Your Highness, I have learned a little bit, but my butt hurts from being bumped around!"

"Hahahaha!"

The eldest princess was amused and laughed heartily, and the other ladies also started laughing.

The eldest princess ignored the vulgar words and shouted loudly: "If your butt hurts, come up and sit down. It's not too late to practice another day."

Xie Yan didn't dare to get off the horse directly. He waited for someone to hold the horse before he got off carefully.

Then I found that not only my buttocks hurt, but also the inner thighs hurt a little.

Walking up to the platform in a strange posture, Xie Yan was led to the back of the Grand Princess, where an empty chair had been placed.

Xie Yan sat down crookedly, trying his best to avoid the painful area.

Seeing his funny look, Princess Fuyan held back her laughter and moved closer to him, whispering, "Ninth sister, you have good taste. This Scholar Xie is very interesting, free and unrestrained, and has the demeanor of a famous scholar."

The eldest princess smiled and said, "Seventh sister, please don't praise me. He just doesn't know how to behave."

Princess Fuyan said: "It's boring to be too polite. My husband is very boring. He is polite outside and polite at home, as if he is a guest."

"My brother-in-law is a modest gentleman, so Seventh Sister, please stop showing off." said the eldest princess.

Princess Fuyan also smiled, and it seemed that she was very satisfied with her husband.

While the two princesses were talking, Qingluan held a bowl of drink and brought it to Xie Yan, saying, "Master Xie, please have a cold drink."

"Thank you, sister." Xie Yan said without hesitation.

When he was delivering food, he called everyone "big brother", "handsome guy", "little sister" or "beautiful girl".

Qingluan was called out and retreated with a smile.

Xie Yan then took a closer look at the cold drink in his hand. It contained raisins, sesame seeds, watermelon cubes... and ice cubes!
Xie Yan thought of the various types of milk tea he had given away.

This cold drink also contains milk, I don’t know if it is goat’s milk or cow’s milk.

Xie Yan took two sips and found it tasted good.

The eldest princess turned around and said, "Do you like this cold drink? If not, I'll change it next time."

Xie Yan said, "It's delicious. Next time I go to the princess's house, I'll show off my cooking skills and let the princess taste my dishes."

"You can cook?" the eldest princess asked curiously.

Xie Yan said: "I have learned it before."

New Oriental does not have a civil engineering major, so Xie Yan is naturally not a professional.

But when he was waiting for the food to be served, he would look at some of the dishes. Even if the chef was too busy, he would help out, just to serve the food earlier and deliver the orders.

The eldest princess asked, "When are you free?"

Xie Yan said: "I have been idle all the time."

"Then come to my house tomorrow. I'm looking forward to eating the food you cook." The eldest princess couldn't wait.

"Okay, I'll go there tomorrow morning." Xie Yan planned to discuss cooperation with the princess. He couldn't always rely on his family for living expenses, so he had to start a business as soon as possible to earn some pocket money.

(End of this chapter)