Daming: Dad, you are really not good at governing the country

Chapter 474: The safety of war horses is related to national defense, and the responsibility of epidemic prevention is as heavy as a beam

In the hall, everyone's eyes were focused on Zhu Yuanzhang.

The Hongwu Emperor was sitting on the dragon throne at this moment. Although his face was calm, he could not hide a little worry about the matters at the horse farm in his eyes.

Chief Censor Zhao Ren stepped forward and hurriedly bowed and replied, "Your Majesty, I think we need to be extremely cautious about this matter at the horse farm.

The most important thing at the moment is to get the horse farm management back on track.

Once everything is in order, we can proceed slowly according to the court’s financial situation and gradually consider adding more breeding grounds.”

As Zhao Ren spoke, he gently wiped the beads of sweat from his forehead with his sleeve.

His face was full of caution, and he continued, "Your Majesty, this matter cannot be rushed!
It has to be done like building a tall building, step by step.

For example, we can first select one or two places with mature conditions and low costs for pilot projects.

The selection of this place must be very careful. It must be a place with abundant water and grass, so as to ensure that the horses have sufficient fodder.

Your Majesty, you know that horses have different habits, and different breeds of horses have different preferences and needs for fodder."

Having said this, Zhao Ren raised his voice slightly so that everyone could hear clearly.

"Take the Mongolian horse for example, it is strong and has great endurance.

It is a natural good horse, highly adapted to the vast grassland environment in the north.

Mongolian horses are not picky about their fodder, whether it is fresh green grass or hay in autumn and winter.

As long as it can fill its stomach, it will eat with relish.

Thanks to his unpicky spirit, he seldom fell ill during long journeys or battles on the battlefield, and was therefore deeply loved by the officers and soldiers in the army.

However, even though Mongolian horses are easy to raise, there are still many key points to pay attention to when breeding them.”

Zhao Ren cleared his throat and explained in detail: "Although Mongolian horses are not picky about fodder, they must be fed at regular times and in fixed quantities. They cannot be left hungry one day and full the next.

Every day, they need to be given an appropriate amount of hay and water according to their physical exertion.

In addition, the stable must be kept dry and ventilated, otherwise the humidity will be too high and the horses will be prone to hoof diseases.

In winter, you have to prepare enough warm fodder in advance.

Cover the stable with thick hay mats to keep the horses warm and keep them safe during the winter.

In addition, disease prevention and treatment is of utmost importance.”

He frowned and said seriously, "Your Majesty, I have to talk to you about the epidemic prevention of war horses."

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded slightly, and said with a focused look: "Okay, Zhao Aiqing, you go ahead."

Zhao Ren bowed and said seriously, "Equine influenza is a common disease in Mongolian horses. It is usually caused by the sudden change in temperature during the season change, and the horses are exposed to the cold.

Once a war horse is found to have a runny nose, cough, or lethargy, it must be isolated immediately to prevent infection.

At the same time, the veterinarian was asked to prepare a medicinal soup that cleared away heat and detoxified the body, and fed it to the sick horse using a medicine drencher to achieve the effect of exorcising evil spirits. "

As Zhao Ren spoke, he demonstrated the actions of isolation and medication, and his expression looked very solemn.

Zhu Yuanzhang frowned slightly, and then asked: "Are there any other diseases?"

Zhao Ren took a deep breath and said, "There is also equine infectious anemia, which is quite difficult to prevent and treat.

Blood samples must be drawn regularly for testing and the horse farm must be kept clean on a daily basis.

While cleaning the manure, the stables and water troughs must be disinfected with lime water to cut off the transmission pathways of germs.”

Zhu Yuanzhang crossed his arms and asked, "Where is the Hequ horse?"

A gleam of light flashed in Zhao Ren's eyes, "Hequ horses are tall, strong, and muscular. They run fast and steadily, and are a good breed for breeding.

It prefers aquatic plants in low-lying areas near rivers and has high requirements for water quality, which must be clear and sweet.

Normally docile, but majestic when galloping.

To raise it, you need to carefully select aquatic plants, pay attention to grazing time and range, and ensure activity time. This is done to allow the Hequ horse to run freely, with firm and strong muscles, which is conducive to breeding excellent offspring.

But the grazing needs to be supervised to prevent danger and accidental ingestion of poisonous weeds."

Zhu Yuanzhang asked anxiously, "What diseases are Hequ horses prone to?"

Zhao Ren had a serious expression, "Hequ horses are prone to gastrointestinal diseases. They are picky about grass and will get sick easily if they eat unclean or moldy grass.

Check the quality of the forage before feeding, and do not feed it if it is moldy.

If the dog suffers from gastrointestinal discomfort, diarrhea, or loss of appetite, stop feeding him/her and feed him/her liquid food such as rice soup, and ask the veterinarian to prescribe herbal medicine to regulate the gastrointestinal tract.

There is also the risk of parasites, so deworming is required once in spring and autumn.

Use special anthelmintic mixed with feed to ensure that there are no worms in the body. "

Zhu Yuanzhang leaned forward and asked, "What are the requirements for selecting pilot sites?"

Zhao Ren said solemnly: "The place selected for the pilot project must be able to meet the habits and needs of various types of horses.

It should also be close to an existing horse farm or garrison to facilitate care.

First carefully observe the results, summarize the experience, and then decide whether to expand the scale.

Take it step by step and avoid blind investment, lest you waste money with no results.

Your Majesty, the situation in the Ming Dynasty is now a matter of life and death, so we must not act rashly!"

After Zhao Ren finished speaking, he bowed deeply again, his face showing his anxiety and loyalty.

He raised his head slightly, his eyes always fixed on Zhu Yuanzhang.

His eyes were full of earnestness, hoping that His Majesty would approve of his carefully considered proposal.

At this moment, Liang Yexian, who had been standing aside, frowned and shook his head gently.

He took two steps forward, bowed to Zhu Yuanzhang, then turned to Zhao Ren and said, "Sir Zhao, I know that the court is in a lot of trouble right now.

The situations you described are indeed real problems facing us, and I know this clearly in my mind.

Lord Zhao is so cautious in his actions, which really makes me admire him."

Liang Yesian paused, the look on his face becoming more anxious.

He raised his hands slightly, gestured and said: "But your majesty, the matter of war horses is imminent!

The world is in turmoil right now. From time to time, there are foreign enemies in the border areas, who invade the territory of our Ming Dynasty like vicious wolves.

The iron cavalry of our Ming Dynasty is a sharp weapon to defend our country.

Without a good warhorse, this sharp blade would be useless.

How can we defeat the enemy on the battlefield and protect the people of our Ming Dynasty?

If we don't start to solve the problem of warhorse breeding now, it will be even more difficult to deal with it in the future. We are racing against time now!"

Liang Yexian looked around, his eyes swept across the faces of the ministers one by one, and said in a more serious tone: "The court can completely improve the management of the horse farm while gradually promoting the breeding and talent training. Don't you think this makes sense?

We can't just sit here and wait for everything to be ready before we take action."

Seeing that everyone was listening attentively, Liang Yexian continued, "For example, we can first select a few places with relatively low costs, even if the conditions in those places are relatively simple.

As long as we manage it carefully and carry out breeding work on a small scale, we will gradually see results.

We can't just focus on the perfect conditions. After all, the current situation does not wait for anyone.

Your Majesty, you may not know that there are many skilled horse breeders among the people.

These people have been dealing with horses for generations, although they have not read much and cannot give long speeches.

But his actual horse breeding skills are quite impressive.”

(End of this chapter)