Lord: Start with a book of Water Margin

Chapter 280 Huangfu Duan Talks about Horses

Zhao Zhen had just returned to Liangshan County in the fantasy world. Without caring about anything else, he called Zhao Yuanli and asked, "Yuanli, where is Brother Huangfu Duan today?"

Seeing Zhao Zhen's anxious look, Zhao Yuanli quickly replied, "Sir, these days, many horses on the ranch are in heat. Huangfu Duan is staying at the Kushutun Ranch. In addition to the stallions on the ranch, the Snow-Wuzhui Horse and the Night-Shine Jade Lion have gone there to breed."

After hearing this, Zhao Zhen summoned Zhao Ji and said, "Zhao Ji, go to Kushutun and invite Huangfu Duan over."

After hearing this, Zhao Ji responded and hurriedly rode away on his horse.

Zhao Zhen turned to look at the red horse and saw that it was still standing there listlessly, not paying any attention to the sudden change in the environment. The situation was not getting worse, so he was relieved.

Zhao Zhen then instructed Zhao Yuanli, "Put the rattan armor in the warehouse first, and send the ordinary green rattan and tung oil to the carpenter's workshop, and soak them according to this recipe, and dry them in the sun to prepare for armor making. Sheng Tao Youda will be the deputy manager, and will be responsible for supervising the production of rattan armor and rattan armor side plates. Let him recruit a group of people, expand the scale to 50 people, and go to the armor workshop to find Hou Jian. In the future, if there is rattan, weave rattan armor, and if there is no rattan, weave some daily necessities."

"As for the brown-red blood vines, the brown-red greenish green blood vines, the silver silk vines, and the two sacks of cucumber vines, have Tao Youda keep a close eye on them. Just like the rattan armor woven from the gourd vines last time, they must all be treated seriously."

"Ironwood and other wood materials should be sent to the carpenter's workshop after registration, and the ore should be sent to the blacksmith's shop after registration. Put aside those gourds and make them into ladles. Collect the seeds and plant the gourds after a while." Zhao Zhen spoke quickly. Zhao Yuanli and Zhao Xing nodded repeatedly. When they saw that Zhao Zhen had finished speaking, they lowered their heads and said a few words, then went on with their own business.

Zhao Zhen then said to the heroes who came back with him: "Brothers, go back to your bases. Today we need to treat this horse. I will hold a banquet in a few days. Especially for the two brothers Ruan Xiaowu and Ruan Xiaoqi, I am afraid that many brothers in the county do not recognize you now. You two have been away for a long time. Now is a good time to go and see my mother. Ruan's sister-in-law is pregnant now. In a few days, you two will become uncles again."

After hearing this, Ruan Xiaowu and Ruan Xiaoqi picked up the exquisite items and various fruits they had bought in the past few days and happily went to see their mother. The others also dispersed.

Under the arrangement of Zhao Yuanli and the other two, the farmhands drove the horse-drawn carriages and delivered the goods from the parade ground to the designated places one by one.

Perhaps the noise of the people busy at the training ground was too loud, and the chestnut horse, which had been standing quietly, looked around uneasily. Zhao Zhen saw it and hurried forward to comfort it. After thinking for a while, he took the reins and sent the chestnut horse to the stable.

After waiting for a while, Huangfu Duan and his three apprentices, Sun Ji, Sun Qi and Sun Shan, hurried into the stable.

When Zhao Zhen saw it, he said, "Brother Huangfu Duan, come and take a look at this chestnut horse. Can it be saved?"

After hearing this, Huangfu Duan hurried forward, walked around the chestnut horse twice, and asked Zhao Zhen about the horse's characteristics. Zhao Zhen told him everything he knew.

Huangfu Duan heard Zhao Zhen say that the horse had run for half a day and won a horse race, and then gradually ate less and became thinner. Then he said, "Sir, the horse was pregnant during the race, but it was not obvious at the time. The intense running made the horse tired. Later, it got angry, and the Shaoyin meridian went backward, causing the throat to swell, which is why it is like this. A dose of Guolao Decoction will cure it."

Zhao Zhen was overjoyed when he heard this and said, "Brother, please prescribe the medicine quickly. I will have someone fetch it and boil it."

Huangfu Duan said, "This Guolao Soup only needs to be boiled with licorice. The soup must be sufficient. I will also give it some acupuncture. The disease will be cured in five to seven days. After a few more days of rest, it will naturally return to its original state." After hearing this, Zhao Zhen hurriedly called Zhong Lin to the pharmacy to get the medicine for decoction.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Huangfu Duan first performed acupuncture on the inside of the lower lip of the chestnut horse and gave advice to the three students.

After the acupuncture, Huangfu Duan gently patted the horse's body, walked behind the horse, pulled the horse's tail to one side, and looked at it. Then he said to Zhao Zhen: "Sir, this red horse will give birth in another month, and bean cakes and other things must be prepared."

Then he touched the chestnut horse's belly and frowned, "From what I see, this horse seems to have given birth to three sons. This is also the reason why this chestnut horse is so thin. Normal horses only give birth to one son at a time, and twins are rare. If all three sons can survive, it is not an exaggeration to call it a good omen."

Zhao Zhen said, "Brother, I only said that the horse was pregnant, but I didn't say when it gave birth. How do you know?"

Huangfu Duan lifted the horse's tail again and asked Zhao Zhen to come over and look at it. He said, "My lord, look forward from the middle of the abdomen. There is a midline from the breast to the navel. The hair separated by this midline is more than four inches behind the navel. You can tell from this."

"For horses that have never been pregnant, the hair on both sides of this area is closed, and the midline of the abdomen is covered and cannot be seen clearly. After pregnancy, the hair on both sides of this area will separate, like a groove, and the midline of the abdomen will be clearly visible."

"The degree of separation of the hair on both sides of the midline of the abdomen can be used to determine how long the pregnancy has lasted. In the early stages, the midline of the abdomen is just a thin slit. If you touch it with your hand, you can feel a strip-like protrusion as thick as your little finger. After two to four months, the hair on the midline of the abdomen will be squeezed within three inches behind the navel. After that, it will gradually increase until it is more than four inches."

After hearing this, Zhao Zhen nodded repeatedly.

After a while, Zhong Lin brought a bucket of boiled licorice soup, poured it into the basin, and let the chestnut horse drink it.

Huangfu Duan said, "Sir, the foal in the chestnut horse's belly is in its final moments. If there is ginseng to replenish its vitality, you can make some more ginseng soup. Fortunately, this chestnut horse is not an ordinary one and is strong and healthy. That's why it can hold on for so long. But now, it can't hold on any longer. Fortunately, it has eaten a lot of treasures that strengthen its physique, so it can barely hold on."

Zhao Zhen said, "Of course there is ginseng in the medicine shop, and there are several high-grade ginseng plants. Go and have a look, brother. Just use as much as you need. Let's focus on the red bay horse. This red bay horse has suffered so much, it would be best if the foal in its belly can be saved, but it is not necessary."

Huangfu Duan listened and said, "Don't worry, sir. I will do my best. You may not know since you just came back. The military advisor and the county magistrate transferred most of the war horses from the ranch back to the army two days ago for some reason. They also transferred many service horses. Most of the horses left in the ranch are mares in heat. You don't have to worry about this. I will take care of the horses."

After hearing this, Zhao Zhen had no time to stay. After leaving the stable, Zhao Zhen went to Xixi Village to see Xiao Rang and ask him some questions.

As Zhao Zhen walked out of Baishizhuang, he ran into Xiao Rang and Pei Xuan who were rushing over. It turned out that Pei Xuan ran into Xiao Rang on his way to the county government office. Knowing that Zhao Zhen had returned to the fantasy world, he called Pei Xuan to see Zhao Zhen.

Before he could even salute, Zhao Zhen asked outside the manor, "Brother Xiao Rang, what happened in the county?"

(End of this chapter)