Chapter 14 New Year's Eve: Horse, Horse to Success

Since ancient times, China has always thought that the dragon and the horse are always integrated. When talking about the dragon, it must be related to the horse, and it is said that the horse cannot be separated from the dragon.In ancient times, the predecessors sublimated and deified the horse with substance and the dragon with no substance, and gave Ma Xi a good name, calling it "Tianma"? "Zhou Li" clearly stated: "A horse above eight feet is a dragon." There is even a saying in Zhan Shu that "a dragon and a horse can prosper easily". There is a famous saying of the old ancestors, "open the Tian'an horse, and the Qiyi people will be the dragon".Tang Sanzang subdued the evil dragon and turned into a white dragon horse, defying danger and difficulties to fulfill his great wish to obtain the scriptures from thousands of miles of Guanshan.Xue Rengui rode a god horse to conquer Goryeo, and his squadron crossed the sea to eliminate the rebel generals and secure the country.In the Southern Song Dynasty, when the mud horse crossed Kangwang, the Song Dynasty was in a peaceful situation.These are the facts of the dragon and the horse.

In the Tang Dynasty, there was a famous horse named Jiuhuaqiu. Every time the horses neighed, the horses raised their ears and their bodies were covered with nine patterns, which was given to Guo Ziyi, the official official of Dingguo Anbang.Zhu Wen of the Five Dynasties had a good horse with a black body and no stray hairs. It was named "Yizhangwu".Zhu Wenzhen loves him very much, and in the end, under the circumstances of a good horse and a good general, he finally gave it to the favorite general Kou Yanqing.From this we can see that in order to keep the people under control, the ancient monarchs would often award famous horses to their ministers to show their holiness and meritorious service.

"Zhou Li" records: "The emperor's chariot drives six horses." "Hanshu" says: "Six flying under the steps." Tang Taizong's Zhaoling Liujun not only personally made "Saluzi" in the early years of Zhenguan. "Weak Fist", "White Hoofed Crow", "Telepi", "Qing Zou" and "Shi Fachi" wrote a "Six Horses Praise", which was written by Ouyang Xun in eight minutes, and it was included in the imperial edict of Long Yu Shangbin And he never forgot to ask Qiu Xinggong to lay stones in Zhaoling, Jiujie Mountain, Shaanxi, which fully proved how much the emperors of the previous dynasty cherished and valued famous horses and good horses.

Sichuan in the southwest of China, Xinjiang and Qinghai in the northwest are all places where famous horses are produced, but famous horse breeders add the word "small" to Sichuan horses, calling them Xiaochuan horses.Because Sichuan horses and Ili horses in Xinjiang are indeed different in size: one has an exquisite body, with bendable hoofs and legs, and can climb mountains and mountains without difficulty;It is a pity that the output of Sichuan horses is not much, and the acquired training and breeding lack of water, so the fecundity is declining day by day.Coupled with the rise of the Anti-Japanese War, the Southwest Highway was successively developed, and the military and civilian supplies were gradually replaced by trucks. Chuanma gradually became a hero without a role.But Xinjiang is different. The arable area of ​​Xinjiang is only 30% and the water source is short. Not to mention that the livestock industry has been unable to develop, but the horses are able to reproduce and grow stronger due to the right time and place.

Ili in Xinjiang Province is the region with the best breed of horses. When buying horses in Xinjiang, everyone pays attention to buying Ili horses.Although Yili horses are not as tall as Western horses, they can run 300 miles at a stretch. Compared with Western horses, they can only run 150 miles, and their endurance is twice as long.Therefore, when Yang Dingxin (Zengxin) presided over the Xinjiang Provincial Government, the Russians used mules and horses to carry local products to sell, and they always wanted to sell the mules and horses on the return trip.Those Russian foreign horses look majestic and handsome, fat and big, but the Xinjiang compatriots, except for the horses of the Cossack cavalry, have never dismissed those foreign horses that are not fancy.Let’s not talk about the poor stamina of Yanma, especially in the grasslands of Xinjiang, there is a weed called Drunken Horse Grass. When the local horse herders let the horses go green, the horses know which one is Drunken Horse Grass, and they know how to avoid it.But Russian horses are not the same, not only do not avoid, but also love to eat. Once the horse eats drunk horse grass, the whole body becomes weak and exhausted.Please think of a group of horses, how many nerve-wracking horses are there on the endless sandy grassland!

Horse traders from all over China either went to Xinjiang or Qinghai to buy horses.The area of ​​Qinghai Province is almost 720,000 square kilometers. Although the number of horses is slightly smaller than that of Xinjiang, the horse market is relatively concentrated.There are only two or three ranches in Haiyuan County, each of which often has about 30,000 horses for sale.When grazing in the pasture, tens of thousands of horses are galloping, and the dust is soaring every now and then, covering the sky with great momentum, just like an earthquake. Those who sell mules and horses in the northern part of the mainland are called "horse dealers". They went to Qinghai, Xinjiang and even Mongolia to buy horses in groups, and then rushed to sell them everywhere.Back then, when the transportation was underdeveloped, the roads were not repaired, and before there were no trucks, the transportation of goods and long-distance treks all depended on mules and horses for transportation.Therefore, although the business of selling horses is hard work, it can make a lot of money, and it was considered a big business back then.Horse dealers buy horses in Qinghai, Xinjiang, when the cold spring thaws.The well-capitalized Malaysian horse dealers pay attention to the horses regardless of the size of the horses, and the size of the horses. There are three hundred and five hundred one horses, and the largest ones are eight hundred to one thousand horses.After the transaction is completed, although there is no need to place one horse at a time, the exact number of horses in a ditch is only a difference of ten or eight horses.Before the horse is sold, it is first stated whether the buyer drives it himself or the seller clears the ditch for delivery. The price difference between the two is about one-fifth or one-sixth of the total price.

It is said that expert horse dealers first go to the ditch to look for horses, and look for which horse in the ditch can be the top horse (that is, the top horse that can lead the horse herd).As long as you look for the top horse and drive it out of the ditch first, the rest of the horses will file up obediently, and none will be lost or missing.If you don't have enough experience in buying horses, you may mistake the top horses and regard ordinary colts as top horses. As soon as they come out of the ditch, these wild horses will roar and explode in a herd and run around wildly.Wait until the masters wave their long whips to surround the rebellious and bad horses. If there are too many lost horses, this batch of business will not be profitable.Therefore, horse dealers who are less skilled and not very sure about the horses, can't bear such a heavy relationship, and simply agree to deliver outside the ditch. Although the price is higher, there is no danger of the horses getting lost.It is said that horse dealers also have secrets when they go to the ditch to match horses.During the bitter winter, the horses huddled together in the ditch to shelter from the wind. The frost and snow froze, and the decayed grass died down. Bingru grass drinks snow, although it is hungry and thirsty all winter, it still looks proud compared to ordinary horses. It is listed as a top horse, and the horses are naturally overwhelmed.

Jin Shuren succeeded Yang Zengxin to preside over the Xinjiang provincial government. One of his personal attendants was a master horse hunter. He once got a streaky horse (a horse with black and white fur) with fast feet, which was dedicated to the Jin family and was appreciated.I don't remember this person's surname after many years, but I only remember that Mrs. Jin called him "Qiyin" in person. Later, I checked "Pei Wenyun Fu" and found out that "Qiyin" in Spanish means horse. There is a kind of business between Yunnan and Guizhou called horse money, which raises a large number of mules and horses, and specializes in transporting goods on behalf of customers. The rules of the gang are very strict, and there are more taboos. Some actions are very similar to the behavior of the escort bureaus in the early years.The mileage they run within three days is called short distance, and the distance over three days is called long distance.In the early days of the Anti-Japanese War, when the means of transportation were in short supply, the Yunnan-Burma Highway and the Sichuan-Guizhou Provincial Highway also relied on hordes of one or two hundred horses to support the army and feed the people.Before the caravan set off on the road, the leader of the caravan (they call him the pot master, or the leader of the gang) selects an old horse that can be popular, has a long-term responsibility, and knows the way to lead the team. They call it the "head mule". .If there are more than one hundred horses in the brigade, a deputy is also called "two mules".Before setting off, the first mule and the second mule were tied with red and green colored bridles, a bright mirror was hung on the forehead and a luan bell was hung on the neck, and the golden light illuminated the field.If it is a long-distance trade of one hundred animals, at least twenty or thirty men must be hired to take care of them thoroughly.Not to mention anything else, there are a lot of clothes, tents, and cooking utensils for twenty or thirty people. Xiaoxing sleeps overnight, saddles the horses and loads the pack before departure. The guys are really busy for a while.

There are many taboos in caravan speaking, which is a phenomenon that any gang has. "Soup" should be called "caihua", "bowl" should be called "lotus", "chopsticks" should be called "pole", "firewood" should be called "Mingzi", and "sleep" should be called "renyao".If anyone commits a taboo, the owner of the goods will have to pay for another meal, and ask all the helpers to make a tooth sacrifice; Everyone is careful, and no one dares to break the prohibition carelessly.The author's close friends Wang Tongyin and Tongyi Kunzhong served in the transportation department of a certain military unit during the Anti-Japanese War, and they often dealt with caravans.The first time they escorted the army, the caravan gave them a small manual for the first time, which contained about twenty taboos.Seventeen days into the journey, the two violated taboos four times. It is not enough to pay for all the meals on this trip!

The ancestor Wen Zhengong loved famous horses and horses the most. His old man had a pair of Dawan's famous "Chrysanthemum Green", with strong muscles and strong bones, which were outstanding.When other vehicles pass the Jinaoyushuo Bridge, the three gates of Beihai in Beiping, because the bridge foundation is long and towering, those who follow the vehicle must pull up and down.Only the convertible driven by this pair of Ju Huaqing didn't need to be pulled up or pulled down.At that time, the German legation also had a pair of brown horses, and the minister and his wife also liked to go shopping in an open carriage. Sometimes the two cars met on Wenjin Street, and our car went straight up and down, but their car couldn't do it.Therefore, Deshi and his wife admired the pair of chrysanthemums in Shejian very much.Later, Liang Zeng, the chief steward of Xunbeile Zaixun, opened a Tianfu carriage shop outside the entrance of Damucang Hutong in Xidan Pailou. He specially ordered a wedding carriage, with silver decorations and colored burdens, carved with nine colors of clouds, and the door opened and closed from the front. Up and down grand and dignified.So at that time, people who paid attention to their weddings were willing to rent Tianfu's new-style limousines. Manager Liang often borrowed this pair of chrysanthemums from the dormitory to fill the scene.After the death of the great uncle, the pair of chrysanthemums and greens escorted the coffin to the cemetery of the Walnut Garden in the west of Beijing for burial. The two famous horses, without drinking or eating, were both ruined and martyred within a few days.Senior Ma Qichang in Tongcheng wrote an article "Flying Horse", which aroused the friendship between scholars and celebrities at the time and the ancestors in the same year. For example, Chen Baochen, Li Shengyi, Huang Tifang, Baozhupo, Liang Dingfen praised it with poems, prose and documentary.It is a pity that all the poems and essays collected into volumes have been lost.

After the success of the Northern Expedition, the author lived on New Chongqing Road in Shanghai, close to Mahuo Road. From the balcony of his apartment, he could use a telescope to watch the lively horse racing in the racetrack.Although the author doesn't like to buy betting tickets, I am quite interested in watching horse races.There are many stables along Mahuo Road. Whenever the morning light is twilight or the sun is setting over the mountains, groups of grooms will take the horses out for a walk.At this time, the sacks are light and the bridle is relaxed, and the attitudes of people and horses are relaxed and idle.If you can chat with some grooms while walking, you can hear a lot of common sense about horse breeding from the grooms.According to them: there are many shady scenes in the racecourse, there are so many stories about ghosts and ghosts, and there is no end to it. During the race, they scramble to give way first, and the horsemen use all kinds of strange tricks.Let’s not talk about people, let’s take a horse as an example. If it is a famous horse that is expected to win the championship in this competition, the groom who waits on the horse will have to sleep, eat and walk with him in the first two weeks to see and take care of his horse.Of course, you must be very careful when adding water and feeding. You should add a meal of fresh carrots every day. Eating carrots for horses is like eating ginseng for people. It not only increases endurance, but also improves speed.But be careful not to be fed apples by others. Horses love apples. If someone feeds them apples before the race, it will be poisoned.When I get off the horse during the race, I immediately lose all strength, and I can only watch the other horses gallop away.There are even some unscrupulous jockeys who secretly inject morphine into their own horses before the race, secretly inject sedatives into other people's horses, or add steel needles to the horse's whip for short stabs.However, if such matters are found out by the Jockey Club, not only will the jockey be banned from racing, but if the situation is serious, the Jockey Club will even be permanently removed from the race.Although the punishment is so heavy, there are still some people who try their own methods, hoping to get away with it. If the horse owner’s horse is pregnant and gives birth to the groom in the Shanghai race hall, the excess mare’s milk will be sold to the regular groom, which is regarded as extra money for the groom.The horse milk sellers in Shanghai don't call out, but tie a copper bell around the horse's neck, and when the bell jingles, the horse will come to Shi Shi.Mare's milk is slightly sour in the mouth, and it is not as good as cow's milk. However, Zang Boyong, Cao Ziqing, and Xia Yintang, famous Western doctors in Shanghai at that time, must have advised the patient to drink more mare's milk when they encountered a patient with gout in the lower extremities.Most people think the mare's milk is sour and difficult to swallow. Xia Yintang told the patient that if you put a few fried pine nuts in the mare's milk, it will not be sour and have a faint milky aroma. In the 22nd year of the Republic of China, the author was working in Wuhan. On the early morning of New Year’s Day, several famous ticket holders from the Pinghan Railway Bureau, He Yousan, Fei Hailou, Zhang Xiaoshan, and Nan Tiesheng, all came down to the house to pay New Year’s greetings. They took the author to Zhongshan Park to welcome the Spring Festival. square.Unexpectedly, as soon as I entered the park, I met Liao Jun from the Stamp, Tobacco, Alcoholic and Excise Bureau. He was dressed as a jockey, and he seemed to be about to participate in a horse race.After inquiring, it turned out that Liao Jun had recently joined the jockeys' association and specially selected an auspicious day for New Year's Day to officially end his maiden race.Without my consent, he gave me ten betting tickets from him. Although I love to watch horse races, I have never bought betting tickets in Pingjin, Wuhan, or Shanghai.This time, due to sympathy, I had to buy it for twenty yuan.Unexpectedly, Liao Jun actually came out on top this time, because he is a newcomer and doesn't know much about the new horse, so he was an upset, and one ticket can get a bonus of more than 60 yuan.At the beginning of the new year's day, blessings come from heaven, and unexpected fortunes come in. Naturally, I want to invite everyone to come with me, so I had a sumptuous spring feast in Dajichun, Hankou. Fei Hailou specializes in clowns, and he is always the most humorous. He said that your friend is too mean. If I had known this beforehand, if I had given a message in advance, we would each buy ten or eight. Wouldn't everyone be happy? Yet?Although Fei Jun's words are a joke, but the author did get some enlightenment.Generally, horse fans talk about horse classics, riding skills, venues, and mileage, and they all speak clearly and logically. In fact, as long as human factors are mixed in, everything should not be discussed. Many painters in ancient and modern times like to paint horses. Han Wu in the Tang Xuanzong era is the oldest famous horse painter.In addition, the horses painted by Lin Fengmian, Liu Haisu, and the modern Ye Zuibai all have a sense of imaginative and transcendentalism. According to the records in ancient Chinese books, the general Zhang Fei of the Han Dynasty had a horse named "Yu Zhui", also known as "Leopard Moon Crow". , are all famous horses with fast feet, strong endurance, strong and tall.But in the Shetland region of the Orkney Islands of Scotland, one of the smallest horses is produced, only forty inches in height. The mane and tail hairs are particularly soft and thick.In the past, in addition to carrying goods, the islanders used this kind of horse as a fighting horse.Because the breed of this kind of horse is not strong, the local people gradually know how to cherish this kind of pony, and most of them are sold to zoos as pets and horses for children to ride.Now there are two such ponies at the Citihill Zoo in Qishan, Kaohsiung County. They say they were imported from Denmark and they call them "miniature horses", but they are actually British Shetland horses.Chinese people have been paying attention to tall horses from ancient times to the present. I think friends who love horses must feel novel and interesting after seeing this pocket-sized pony! There is a saying: "A horse is strong and auspicious." Confucius said: "A horse is not called its strength, but its virtue." They are all symbols of auspiciousness.In the fifth day of the year, self-help and God help, and everyone is united. If you succeed, it should be in the Year of the Horse.