Chapter 210 Horse Hunting
Three days later, Old Lady He arrived in Bian Jing, accompanied by her grandson He Hongwen.

The Sheng family is unusually lively today.

Not only did Old Lady He come with her grandson to visit, but Mrs. Wu also arrived early in the morning as promised.

Hualan also went there.

But Yang Wenyuan doesn't have the time for that.

Yang Wenyuan was going to the Houfu Horse Farm outside the city today, and he was also going to call Wang Ruofu's nephew, Wang Ye, who was about to take the military examination.

Yang Wenyuan had arranged for him to settle down in the East City Military Department a long time ago. While having something to do, he was also preparing for the military examination.

As for Sheng Changwu, who had been clamoring to take part in the military examination, after being scolded by his father Sheng Wei, he used his connections to go to the Wucheng Bingmasi in disgrace.

However, they did not look for Yang Wenyuan. Instead, the Sheng family knew a coach in the military department and sent Changwu to him.

It is now early to late March.

In just ten days, the military examination will begin.

If we really talk about it, the selection for the military subject had actually begun long ago, and the so-called military subject examination was actually the provincial military examination, which was equivalent to the imperial examination.

This military examination is urgent.

There should have been a four-level examination system consisting of the provincial examination, the prefectural examination, the provincial examination, and the palace examination. The first two had already been held in various parts of the Great Zhou Dynasty at the discretion of the government offices of various routes and districts.

However, due to the national conditions of the Great Zhou, there were few responses and the levels were uneven.

Therefore, there was a policy of "selecting filial and honest people" for the military examination - if a person of high moral character and prestige recommended the candidate, the candidate could directly participate in the Bian Jing provincial examination.

Wang Ye relied on the relationship with Pingyang Marquis Mansion and was recommended by his immediate superior, the commander-in-chief of the Dongcheng Bingmasi, to directly apply for the Bian Jing provincial examination.

In fact, Wang Ye could have passed the exam directly based on his own level, but if he did that, he would have to go back to his hometown to take the martial arts exam, which was a waste of time, so he followed the Yang family's path.

Although Wang Ye was born rough, he was also very considerate. He did not take advantage of his relationship with Hua Lan to act in an overbearing manner or visit her often. On the contrary, in the past year or so, apart from normal visits, he seldom visited her on his own initiative.

Today he came to Pingyang Marquis Mansion, and it was Yang Wenyuan who took the initiative to call him over.

This year's provincial military examination tests three subjects: archery on horseback, archery on foot, and military strategies and books.

After all, he is Hualan's relative from her mother's side. Moreover, Yang Wenyuan also wants Wang Ye to work for him in the future, so naturally he has to provide some benefits and conveniences at this time.

Yang Wenyuan couldn't help with the last two items, but he could still help with horse shooting.

Although horses were provided to candidates during the military provincial examination, the horses that could be taken out for people to ride were all poor horses selected by the herdsmen. Horseback archery not only tested your archery skills, but also your riding skills. If you accidentally encountered a horse with poor appearance or a stubborn temper, the result would be unpredictable...

Once you fall off the horse, you will not be allowed to take part in the subsequent assessments.

Therefore, a horse that suits your personality is particularly important, and candidates are encouraged to bring their own horses to the exam.

Of course, Wang Ye’s family was wealthy, so he certainly had enough money to buy a horse, but there were many things that money alone could not solve.

The horses used for trading outside are no match for the treasures in the Marquis' Mansion.

Houfu Horse Farm.

Yang Wenyuan led Changwu to check the horses one by one in the stable. The manager of the stable accompanied them and introduced the condition of the horses.

All the horses that can enter the horse trough in the marquis's mansion are, without exception, rare and precious horses that are rarely seen in the outside world.

There is no martial artist who doesn't love horses.

These "beauties" standing before him for selection made Wang Ye dazzled and tears of envy flowed from the corners of his mouth.

“Go up there and try it yourself.” Seeing that Wang Ye had not tried the horse for a long time, Yang Wenyuan knew that Wang Ye might feel uncomfortable with him being there, so he immediately walked away considerately and asked the steward to take Wang Yan to try the horse.

Yang Wenyuan walked to the side, where Gu Tingye, dressed in a tight suit, was standing.

Gu Tingye has been bored these days.

If it were any other time, Gu Tingye would definitely go to Guangyuntai and other places to have fun, but things are different now. He is now waiting for his examination results to come out so that he can go to Yu's house to propose marriage. Naturally, it is not appropriate for him to go to Qinlou Chuguan and other places.

As soon as he heard that Yang Wenyuan was coming to the horse farm, Gu Tingye immediately followed him, wanting to go hunting in the royal hunting ground next door with Yang Wenyuan.

The current emperor is old and does not like to go out, so the royal hunting has not been held for a long time, which has led to the gradual increase in the number of wild animals in the hunting grounds.

It is not a solution to let it remain abandoned like this, and the current emperor is kind, so every spring and autumn, the royal hunting ground will be open for a short time, and entry is available with a certificate.

This kind of certificate is naturally not difficult for Gu Tingye. He can easily obtain it by showing his identity badge.

Seeing Wang Ye's excited look, Yang Wenyuan guessed that he would have to try for a long time.

There was nothing else to do, so Yang Wenyuan readily agreed.

After briefly explaining things to Wang Ye, Yang Wenyuan led Gu Tingye to another small horse farm nearby. Although it was called a small horse farm, its area was actually not much different from the large one, except that the number of horses there was less than one-tenth of the number here.

There is a difference between a good horse and a bad horse, and naturally there is a difference between a precious horse and an ordinary good horse.

Although the horses in the big horse farm just now are much better than the inferior horses outside, they are nothing to the sons of nobles and can be obtained with a little effort.

But the small horse farm that Yang Wenyuan led Gu Tingye to now was the exclusive horse farm for the direct descendants of the Yang family. The horses in it were all real precious horses bred by the Yang family for generations. Basically, every generation had to purchase them from the Western Regions, or use other means to obtain Dayuan horses and Mongolian horses for breeding.

The offspring cultivated among them.

Those with excellent quality would be kept in the small horse farm and served by one person and one horse, or one person and two horses. The ordinary ones would be sent to the large horse farm and left for the personal guards to use.

Up to now, there are only about ten horses in the pony farm that can be used as war horses, and three of them are two or three years old.

Although Yang Wenyuan wanted to promote Wang Ye and had a liking for him, he was reluctant to give him such a precious horse now. Yang Wenyuan also understood the principle of repaying kindness with resentment.

The two entered the pony farm.

Yang Wenyuan immediately heard a familiar horse neighing.

Looking up, I could immediately see a tall, pale horse galloping towards me from a distance.

The eyes are big and bright, the ears are small and nimble, the limbs are strong, the head and neck are held high, the black and white hooves trample the mud and splash, and the green horse mane flutters in the air.

It happened almost in an instant.

The horse was close to Yang Wenyuan in the blink of an eye.

As if to show its anger at not having seen its master for a long time, the horse slowed down when it reached the owner.

"Eh~!"

The horse, which was about ten feet long and eight feet tall, raised its head and its two front hooves high, almost half-standing in front of Yang Wenyuan. After hanging in the air for a moment, it moved its hind hooves slightly and moved its body to the side. The horse's hooves fell to the ground with a muffled sound.

"Okay, Qingzhui, I know I haven't seen you for a long time, but I'm busy!" Yang Wenyuan could clearly see the dissatisfaction and grievance towards himself in Qingzhui's eyes as big as copper bells, so he hurried to comfort him.

"Hmph!" Qingzhui exhaled a heavy breath of white air from his nostrils, then turned around, facing Yang Wenyuan with his butt, and whipped Yang Wenyuan's bun with his ponytail, immediately messing up Yang Wenyuan's hair. "Your horse is very intelligent!" Gu Tingye said with surprise.

He is the legitimate son of the Ningyuan Marquisate. He has seen all kinds of precious horses since he was a child, but none of them are as agile as Yang Wenyuan's gray-blue horse.

'Is it because we haven't seen each other for several months?'

Gu Tingye has already begun to secretly wonder whether he should keep some distance from his mount.

He had heard Yang Wenyuan say "distance creates beauty" before, but he had scoffed at it before. But now, seeing Qingzhui's spiritual performance, he was immediately moved.

Yang Wenyuan straightened his messy hair and brushed off his trouser legs that were splashed with mud. There was no anger on his face, but rather a bit of happiness.

'It's angry because it has me in its heart and cares about me.'

For the first time, Yang Wenyuan felt that the dog-licking quotes were so timely.

"It must be because I haven't seen you for a long time. I'm a little angry."

Yang Wenyuan stroked the horse's head gently and asked Gu Tingye:

"Besides, you have good horses at home, so why are you so envious?"

Gu Tingye glanced at the Qingzhui horse in front of him, and then looked at several ponies jumping around happily in the distance, his eyes full of envy:
"My family is not as arrogant as yours. We only have horses for normal use. Unlike your family, we have people who run around everywhere."

Yang Wenyuan paused for a moment while stroking the horse's head, then nodded.

What Gu Tingye said is true.

Raising horses is a very expensive job, and breeding BMWs is even more important. Only noble families can afford it.

Although the Ningyuan Marquis Mansion, like the Pingyang Marquis Mansion, is a noble family that has been prosperous since the founding of the Great Zhou Dynasty.

However, there were not many direct descendants in each generation of the Pingyang Marquis's Mansion, making it difficult for the property to flow out, and not much money could be distributed through division of the family or dowry.

But the Ningyuan Marquis Mansion is different.

There are many people in their family in every generation.

In Gu Yankai's generation, there were four direct male descendants, and many more concubines.

As for Gu Tingye's generation, although it was slightly better, there were also three legitimate sons, although they were not born to the same mother...

There was also the deficit from previous years. Although Gu Tingye’s mother’s dowry made up for it, Ningyuan Marquis’ Mansion was probably still in trouble.

There are also the fourth and fifth rooms sucking blood from me...

The Ningyuan Marquis Mansion really has no money left.

Gu Tingye is quite wealthy, but it is okay for him to give some small amounts of money on a daily basis, but anything else is simply impossible.

Of course, Gu Yankai certainly wouldn't be able to bring himself to use the Bai family's money again.

"Alright, alright, go pick one quickly, and let's go hunting early."

Speaking of which, Yang Wenyuan hasn't gone hunting for almost a year, and he was feeling a little itchy.

"Okay, okay, why are you rushing me? I need to take a good look!"

After Gu Tingye finished speaking, he looked around for a while and finally chose a yellow horse with yellow fur and white.

After choosing the mount, Yang Wenyuan asked his own and Gu Tingye's personal guards to go to the big horse farm to choose a mount. Then he jumped on the horse and galloped to the royal hunting ground next to it.

Soon, the group arrived at the entrance of the royal hunting ground.

There are special guards to protect the hunting grounds to prevent people from poaching or cutting down trees for firewood.

Faced with more than a dozen riders rushing towards them in a cloud of dust, the leading guard simply glanced at the credentials that Gu Tingye had produced, then opened the door and allowed Yang Wenyuan and the others to go straight in.

At this time, the lingering charm of spring still remains, and the royal hunting grounds are covered with green grass and lush trees.

Yang Wenyuan and Gu Tingye first went to the hunting platform in the center of the hunting ground.

The hunting platform is the center of the hunting ground, and is often used as the emperor's base camp when he goes hunting. In order to facilitate hunting for dignitaries, the managers of the hunting ground intentionally control the prey around the hunting platform.

The hunting platform is located beside a gurgling stream.

The original camping poles were mostly eroded by moss, and there was no trace of being trampled on the grass.

Obviously, hunting has been going on here for a long time.

Neither Yang Wenyuan nor Gu Tingye showed any surprise.

After all, given the national conditions of the Great Zhou, there were very few people skilled in archery and horse riding. Even the children of noble families mostly learned riding skills in order to play polo. There was no one who would take the trouble to learn archery.

With military preparations in disuse, naturally few people go hunting anymore.

"It seems that we are the first group to come hunting today." The followers scattered to look for traces of prey. Yang Wenyuan adjusted the bow and arrow on the spot and joked.

Gu Tingye also replied humorously:
“Maybe this is the last batch this year.”

Yang Wenyuan shrugged:

"Maybe."

Perhaps the game keepers were diligent in their duties, or perhaps there had not been a large-scale hunt for a long time, resulting in more animals. Soon the followers located the tracks of an elk and a cheetah.

Yang Wenyuan and Gu Tingye looked at each other, then stood up and followed the guards into the dense forest.

After walking only a hundred steps, Yang Wenyuan saw an elk drinking water with its head down in front of a small puddle not far away. It would occasionally look up to be alert and was very vigilant.

And just to its side, there was a cheetah downwind, sneaking silently with its head down.

Yang Wenyuan and Gu Tingye are also in the downwind position.

Seeing that a mantis stalks a cicada, while the oriole is waiting behind, Yang Wenyuan also began to get excited and asked Gu Tingye in a low voice:
"As soon as that leopard pounces, we'll hunt it?"

Gu Tingye nodded silently.

Both of them were hunting, so they would definitely not be satisfied with just catching a leopard and an elk. So if they wanted not to scare away the sensitive wild animals nearby, they had to try to minimize the noise. Only when the leopard pounced on its prey was it most focused and no longer sensitive to the surrounding things.

"Then who shoots the leopard?" Yang Wenyuan asked again.

According to common sense, it would definitely be more rewarding to shoot a leopard, but the situation was different at this time, because both they and the leopard were at the downwind position. If the leopard started to pounce on the elk, it would definitely cover a large area of ​​the elk's body. If the archer wanted to kill it with one shot, it would be a test of his skills.

"Let me do it."

Gu Tingye felt that since he had used Yang Wenyuan's horse today, he should be more humble.

(End of this chapter)