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

Horse selection is not an easy task!
It is like a profound and complex mysterious knowledge that has been accumulated over the years and embodies the wisdom and experience of countless predecessors.

The tricks involved are as elusive as the intricate network of stars in the vast starry sky.

A true horse judge must have the ability to make accurate judgments like a piercing eye.

Among thousands of horses, you can tell at a glance whether its bone structure is strong, whether its muscle lines are reasonable, and whether its expression and temperament have the qualities of a good horse.

This not only requires the horse appraiser to have a thorough understanding of the horse's physiological structure, but also requires him to rely on his keen intuition accumulated over a long period of time.

Only in this way can you discover the horse's hidden outstanding abilities beneath its seemingly ordinary appearance.

What faced Lin Zhengyuan, the Minister of Yuanma Temple, and old man Li, the horse breeder, at this moment was to complete this difficult task within an extremely short and tight time.

The situation is just like dancing on the tip of a thin and sharp needle. Every movement and every breath must be cautious and not allow for any mistakes.

Even the slightest negligence could result in the selected horses not meeting Zhu Yuanzhang's standard of being able to travel more than 100 miles a day.

If they fail to complete the task successfully, they will be severely punished by the cold and harsh national law.

After all, the state law is majestic, like the sword of Damocles hanging over one's head, shining coldly and frightening.

Thinking of this, Lin Zhengyuan felt a heavy pressure.

Like a surging tide, it rushed towards Lin Zhengyuan mercilessly from all directions, wrapping him tightly and almost making him breathless.

Lin Zhengyuan's heart couldn't help but tighten, as if it was being tightly grasped by an invisible big hand, and every beat was accompanied by a dull pain.

This pressure not only comes from the fact that Zhu Yuanzhang's will cannot be disobeyed, but also comes from a deep understanding of one's own responsibilities and a clear prediction of the severity of the consequences.

At this moment, Old Man Li finally recovered from the great shock brought by the imperial edict.

He slowly turned his head and his eyes fell on Lin Zhengyuan who was worried.

Lin Zhengyuan's brows were furrowed, his eyes full of anxiety and solemnity, like a mountain that was about to be crushed.

Seeing this, Old Man Li was touched and his lips moved slightly subconsciously.

He wanted to comfort Lin Zhengyuan and tell him not to worry too much.

After all, the two of them are quite experienced in horse breeding and horse appraisal, and perhaps they can come up with a solution.

But as soon as the words came to his lips, Old Man Li swallowed them back.

Because he was well aware of the difficulty of this mission, the tight time schedule and extremely high requirements, it was really difficult to be completely sure.

Moreover, in the eyes of old man Li, the words of comfort might sound too pale and powerless at the moment, and could not relieve the heavy pressure in Lin Zhengyuan's heart at all.

At this moment, Old Man Li was very conflicted. On the one hand, he hoped to give Lin Zhengyuan some encouragement to cheer him up.

On the other hand, he really couldn't think of a way to truly solve the problem, and was worried that speaking rashly might backfire.

So Old Man Li just opened his mouth and stammered a few times.

In the end, he was unable to utter complete words and could only sigh helplessly, his eyes full of helplessness and bitterness.

Inside the meeting hall.

The depressing atmosphere was like a thick dark cloud, weighing heavily on the hearts of Lin Zhengyuan and Old Man Li, as if even the air had become sticky and difficult to breathe.

The two of them just knelt there quietly, and everything around them seemed to be frozen.

Only their heavy breathing echoed dully in the silent space.

One sound after another, like a silent sigh for the arduous task that was about to come.

At this moment, the world outside the window did not seem to be affected by the depressing atmosphere in the conference room.

Occasionally, the clear chirping of birds can be heard, the sound is gentle and melodious, carrying the unique agility and vitality of nature.

The sound of the bird chirping passed through the cracks in the window, breaking the brief silence in the hall, but also highlighting the solemn and dull atmosphere in the hall at the moment. Against the backdrop of the bird chirping, Lin Zhengyuan and Old Man Li felt more and more as if they were in a helpless predicament.

The freedom and ease that seemed so close yet seemed so far away.

After each bird song, silence quickly spread and enveloped Lin Zhengyuan and Old Man Li again.

The oppressive feeling became stronger and stronger, as if it was going to swallow them up completely.

“Previously, the horse farms in Datong Prefecture and Yansui Town both experienced sudden emergencies, resulting in a serious shortage of war horses in the Ming Dynasty.

On the surface, this seems to be a crisis, but it is also the hope for the rise of Enma Temple.

As long as we can successfully complete the task of selecting war horses this time, we will definitely make Yuanma Temple Horse Farm the first choice for supplying military horses!"

In this depressing meeting room, Garden Temple Lord Hayashi Masamoto appeared to be confident.

He raised his head slightly, his eyes revealing determination and calmness.

The tightly pursed corners of his mouth seemed to announce to the world Lin Zhengyuan's determination to complete this mission.

His posture was straight, like a steady mountain, giving people a sense of reliability.

One can't help but speculate that Lin Zhengyuan may have already outlined a general plan for selecting good horses in his mind.

It seemed that he had already figured out how to fulfill Zhu Yuanzhang's request.

However, Old Man Li, who is a horse breeder, had a look of deep worry on his face.

Every line on his wrinkled face seemed to deepen a little due to worry.

The originally bright eyes were now covered with an indelible haze.

At this time, Old Man Li lowered his head slightly, his eyes wandering, as if he was deliberately avoiding Lin Zhengyuan's confident eyes.

He rubbed his hands unconsciously on his knees, and the friction between his rough palms and the clothes made a slight sound, as if it was an outward manifestation of his inner anxiety.

Old man Li knew that although horse appraisal was his specialty, the good horses that could run over a hundred miles a day required for this mission were hard to come by.

What's more, the selection had to be completed in such a tight time, and the difficulty made Old Man Li feel uneasy.

Worry was like a tide, surging in his heart.

In this conference room filled with depressing atmosphere, Old Man Li raised his head slightly, with a thoughtful look in his eyes.

He only spoke slowly, "I remember that there was such a story in the History of Song Dynasty: Biography of Yue Fei. Perhaps it can bring some inspiration to our difficult task today."

Old Man Li paused, cleared his throat, and continued, “It was the seventh year of Shaoxing, which was the turbulent period of the Southern Song Dynasty.

Yue Fei, a famous general who fought against the Jin Dynasty, went to meet Song Gaozong Zhao Gou with full loyalty and patriotism.

During the conversation between the emperor and his ministers, Yue Fei mentioned the two fine horses that he had carefully raised.

Those were no ordinary horses, and Yue Fei praised them highly. "

At this point, Old Man Li narrowed his eyes slightly, as if he could see that historical scene through the mist of time.

After taking a sip of tea, he continued his story.

“Yue Fei clearly pointed out that not only did these two horses have an astonishing appetite, but compared with ordinary horses, their appetite was completely different from that of ordinary horses.

An ordinary horse may only need a little grass to fill its stomach a day, but these two good horses require far more grass than ordinary people can imagine.

However, such a large appetite is not in vain. They can travel hundreds of miles a day without rest.

This level of endurance is truly astonishing!" (End of this chapter)