Big man: I am the Champion Marquis!

Chapter 130: Breeding Horses and Educating People
In the second year of Yuanshou, General Huo Qubing, with his 10,000 cavalry, marched out of Longxi, passed Yanzhi Mountain and the Hanyang Grassland, and reached the western end of the Qilian Mountains.

After defeating the Xiongnu tribes entrenched in Yanzhi Mountain and Damaying Grassland, the defeated Xiongnu looked back sadly and sang a tragic song that will be passed down through the ages: "The loss of Qilian Mountain has caused my livestock to stop breeding; the loss of Yanzhi Mountain has caused my women to lose their color."

Now the Shandan Military Horse Farm has a flat terrain, abundant water and grass, and is an ideal place for horses to reproduce and grow, breeding excellent war horses for the Han Dynasty.

Today, the Han Dynasty has established priests in seven counties, namely Wuwei, Longxi, Tianshui, Anding, Beidi, Shangjun and Xihe, and raises 300,000 horses, as well as a large number of cattle and sheep for sacrifices.

Huo Xian came to the horse farm in the snow and wind, feeling very happy, "Let Yuan Ling come over!"

The arrival of Huo Xian, the uninvited guest, surprised many people, but they quickly prepared to welcome and entertain him.

After Yuan Ling arrived, Huo Xian asked, "How many celestial horses are there?"

Yuan Ling answered honestly, "Replying to the Grand Marshal, there are a total of 7,315 celestial horses. 3,200 of them are stallions, and the rest are mares."

Huo Xian was slightly stunned. "More than 7,300 horses? Are the extra 300 foals born this year?"

Yuan Ling replied with pride and satisfaction, "Replying to Grand Marshal, it is indeed true."

Huo Xian still had no expression on his face. He said, "You guard the horse farm for the imperial court. It is your job to breed war horses. Let me ask you, at what age do celestial horses mature?"

Yuan Ling quickly replied, "Reporting to the Grand Marshal, a celestial horse matures at the age of three, gives birth at the age of five, and has a gestation period of eleven months, giving birth to one cub a year."

When Huo Xian came back from Dayuan, he not only captured some craftsmen, but also a lot of horse slaves. These people knew more about the Ferghana horses, so they naturally became slaves to take care of the celestial horses.

Huo Xian asked, "How are the improvements to the Tianma, Wusun, and local horses going?"

The Garden Commander immediately said, "Reporting to the Grand Marshal, I will order all the stallions and mares of suitable age to be bred. Find strong stallions of suitable age and fertile mares for breeding. There should be more good horses next year!"

Huo Xian's face turned ugly. "Let me ask you, how did you do these Pegasus breeding things?"

Seeing Yuan Ling was stunned for a moment, Huo Xian flew into a rage, "Asshole! How can you become Yuan Ling with such shortsightedness! You are so eager for quick success and you almost ruined my plan!"

The Ferghana horse has become a legend in Chinese civilization, but the Ferghana horses left in the native land are almost completely extinct.

A big part of the reason for this is that the Arabian horses are not native to the country, and in order to make them war horses, most of the male horses are castrated.

Coupled with continuous crossbreeding, the Arabian horse naturally quickly disappeared from the land of China.

Huo Xian pointed at Yuan Ling and cursed, "You also took the Tianma mares for breeding. Great! If you produce one more good colt, you will be rewarded with merit. But let me ask you, if this batch of horses is gone, how will you continue to breed?"

It's no wonder Huo Xian was angry, it was because he was too eager for quick success. He allowed all the Ferghana horses that could be bred to bred, without considering the continuation and scale of the original bloodline Ferghana horses.

This is not a long-term solution. If the more than 7,000 Arabian horses get old and can no longer give birth, the Arabian horses will be gone. By then, a large number of mixed-blood horses will emerge, perhaps with some improvements.

But without the best horse breeds, it will be very difficult to continue to improve them in the future!

Huo Xian was so angry because he was worried that the horse breed he had obtained with great difficulty would be wasted. Perhaps the Han Dynasty could obtain a batch of fairly good war horses in a short period of time, but they would not last long at all.

It's impossible that we can send a general to lead thousands of troops to fight in Dayuan after ten or twenty years, right?

Huo Xian was extremely serious and said, "From now on, Tianma mares can only marry Tianma. We can't have fewer Tianma in the Han Dynasty. If we run out of good quality horses, will you let me go to Dayuan again?"

Yuan Ling trembled a little. Theoretically, he and Huo Xian were not in the same system. He belonged to the Nine Ministers and the Imperial Household, and even directly belonged to the royal family. But this guy, that was the Marquis of Guanjun.

Not to mention a Yuan Ling like him, even Jiu Qing would feel pressured when facing the furious Guan Jun Hou.

What's more, this is the 'General of Cavalry'. To put it bluntly, he is the cavalry commander of the entire country!

Although he was angry, Huo Xian did not forget his business. The Garden Magistrate might be eager for quick success, but it could not be ruled out that there was pressure from the emperor or Gongsun Jingsheng.

Huo Xian's speaking out now can indeed bring about short-term results. But in the long run, the emperor still needs to issue an order to avoid the incident.

Huo Xian can only rely on his personal identity to prevent this from happening. If he is not here, or if Yuan Ling is replaced, the old behavior may return.

However, if the emperor issued an order, a system and policy would be formed. It would not completely ban such phenomena, but under normal circumstances, it would be a long-term and effective policy. In the long run, once a long-term and subtle cognition is formed, the Ferghana horses can maintain a certain scale in China, and there may be no need to worry about the reproduction of the race.

At this time, there is no need to worry about exposing his whereabouts. Theoretically, if there really is an imperial edict, Huo Shan will still have to return to Chang'an.

But the round trip was quite far, and the weather was not suitable. The emperor certainly didn't want him to travel.

So all we need to do is let the messenger go back. The emperor will think that Huo Shan has been at the horse farm all the time and will not expect that Huo Shan will continue running.

Still frightened, Huo Xian felt that it was right for him to come to the horse farm this time. He was not a breeding expert, but he had not expected that some of the Han breeding experts were so short-sighted.

This may also be due to the limitations of the times. After all, improving horse breeds is also a long-term task.

Han Zeng and Zhao Chongguo had now seen the power of the Grand Marshal and General of the Cavalry, although they were slightly older than Huo Xian. But they could not compare with the general who had led thousands of troops.

The confidence and aura of the General of the Cavalry were something they could not compare to. This was also due to his noble birth and the fact that he was deeply trusted by the emperor, so he looked more domineering and unscrupulous in his actions.

Right is right and wrong is wrong. In the eyes of this cavalry general, there is no such thing as moderation, no such thing as avoiding suspicion, and no such thing as worrying about offending colleagues and being impeached.

If you see some shortcomings, just speak them out; if you encounter something wrong, just stop it directly. There is no such thing as 'putting the overall situation first'!
Huo Xian stayed at the Shandan Military Horse Farm for ten days, during which he took a good rest and also carefully inspected the conditions at the farm.

Although some problems were found, the basic situation can be assured. The Han Dynasty has been raising horses for 70 years and has already had some rules and regulations. Being able to breed hundreds of thousands of horses means that they have a very good foundation.

"I see there are quite a few Xiongnu here, and they are making full use of their talents." Huo Xian was in a very good mood and said, "These Xiongnu people are suitable for raising horses, and they are better than us Han people."

There were quite a few Xiongnu in the Han Dynasty, and Huo Qubing subdued many of them. These Xiongnu were also settled in various places, some served in the army, some were settled, and some were raised horses.

Zhao Chongguo said, "Lord, when I was in Lingju before, I felt that although there were some bad people among the Qiang people, there were also many good people. If we can get them to work for the Han Dynasty, they can do a lot of things."

Liu Mo and others also admitted this because they had a lot of dealings with the Huns and many of their comrades in the army were Huns.

So when it comes to xenophobia, many people in the Guanjun Hou line treated the Huns equally.

As long as they can serve in the army and the court, that is enough. It does not matter whether they are Xiongnu or Dongyue people, as long as they are Han people.

Huo Xian looked at Zhao Chongguo and said with a smile, "You are quite knowledgeable. Try to make achievements as soon as possible so that I can recommend and promote you. You are more capable than me in guarding the frontier."

Zhao Chongguo was a little terrified, "I dare not. I am a lowly person, how dare I associate with you!"

Huo Xian waved his hand and smiled, "His Majesty Gaozu said that I am not as good as Liu Hou in planning and strategizing; I am not as good as Xiangguo in guarding the country and supplying military rations; I am not as good as Huaiyin Hou in leading millions of troops and winning every battle and taking every city."

Huo Xian said, "Even Emperor Gaozu was like this, so we should not be complacent. If you have the ability and talent, I will naturally recommend you."

Han Zeng and Zhao Chongguo were both moved and impressed. They believed that the General of Cavalry had a mind like that which ordinary people could never compare to.

Liu Mo and Zhao Hexi were not surprised at all, as the general was like this back then. As long as they had the ability, the general didn't care about their backgrounds. As long as they had the ability and could fight, the general would use them!
This is true for generals and dukes. The Champion Marquis' Mansion will not suppress people. If you work in the Champion Marquis' Mansion, you will naturally get opportunities if you are capable. People with ability should make contributions on the battlefield.

The Champion Marquisate doesn't like mediocre people, it's just such a simple truth!

Giving Han Zeng and Zhao Chongguo a chance was a given. Huo Xian still felt that he could promote Zhang Anshi and others if there was a chance.

He was not talking about cultivating retainers or power, but simply recommending talented people to the court.

Besides, Huo Qubing was very powerful at that time, so the emperor would not have any suspicion, and even encouraged him to take some of Wei Qing's old subordinates away.

What is Huo Xian now? At most, he is just a Zhao Anguo, and the others are just some relations left by Huo Qubing.

He was alone and weak. Compared with Huo Qubing, Huo Xian was not worth mentioning at all. If he promoted a few people, the emperor would be happy. If he promoted a few people with outstanding abilities, the emperor would only praise them.

Huo Xian considered it extremely important to breed excellent horses at the horse farm. As a cavalry commander, he should find the most reliable partners for his cavalrymen.

Cultivating some talents for the court is also what Huo Xian should do. After all, he is the Grand Marshal, and issues such as the construction of the army must be taken seriously, and outstanding talents also need to be continuously cultivated.

Only in this way will we not have to worry about the embarrassment of having no generals in the court in the future!
(End of this chapter)