Tang Dynasty: Father, if you don't rebel, I will!

Datong, formerly known as Hedong Road, was certainly not a very suitable place for raising warhorses.

However, the Tang Dynasty has now eliminated the Eastern Turks and won over the Turkic people, and the large-scale cultivation of alfalfa has provided Datong with a good breeding environment.

As they passed through Baideng Mountain, a refreshing, open-air atmosphere inevitably filled their nostrils with the appearance of the lush green grasslands that stretched as far as the eye could see.

Li Shimin couldn't help but take a deep breath.

"This is the first time I've been here in all these years. Back when I led the army, this was still the territory of that old scoundrel Jieli... The vast sky meets the blue sea, and the cattle and sheep are like clouds."

Oh my! His Majesty the Zhenguan Emperor even composed a poem on the spot.

Li Chengqian suppressed a laugh, his riding whip pointing towards a distant area where tall flags were raised and the surrounding area was surrounded by fences.

It was a horse farm built at the foot of a large grassy slope.

Following the direction Li Chengqian's whip pointed, everyone focused their gaze and then could feel the rushing sensation of the ground beneath their feet from afar.

"Rumble, rumble..."

That was the sound of large herds of warhorses galloping.

Li Xiaogong and Li Daozong instinctively spurred their warhorses to their sides, arriving beside Li Shimin and Li Chengqian.

But the next moment.

At the top of the flagpole, which stood tall and fluttered in the wind like a whip pointing straight to the sky, and in the direction of the high grassy slope, suddenly galloped out one after another of magnificent warhorses.

The horse's mane was flying, and it seemed to have just returned from a baptism in the nearby river; one could still faintly see a glistening sheen of water on its body...

"This, this warhorse..."

Li Shimin, the General of Heavenly Strategy, was a man who loved horses.

Or rather, just as men of later generations all love cars, men of this era all love horses.

Before Li Chengqian could say anything, Li Shimin suddenly cracked his whip.

"drive!"

Shifaqi, one of the six steeds of Zhaoling in later generations, galloped off in an instant.

Li Chengqian also hurriedly urged his white-hoofed steed to catch up instantly.

Approaching the horse ranch, which could be described as occupying a vast grassland and low hills, one could already see the Imperial Guards and Tang soldiers waiting there.

Clearly having been notified beforehand, they made no attempt to stop Li Shimin and his entourage from rushing into the horse farm.

Li Shimin's eyes were filled with excitement and exhilaration.

As he got closer to the herd of warhorses, he could see them more and more clearly.

"Fine horses, fine horses! These... these are all top-quality warhorses!"

Generally speaking, the warhorses mentioned by people in ancient times were mostly male horses, especially castrated male horses, which were more controllable in temperament and had greater endurance and physique.

But when Li Shimin looked at the mares, who made up almost half of the herd, and saw that they were all so plump, strong, and magnificent, he couldn't stop smiling.

He was riding a horse named Shifachi, following the herd of horses.

People nearby could clearly hear exclamations of "Good horse, good horse!" from the sound of the galloping horses.

"Your Highness, where did you obtain these warhorses? They seem to be of quite exceptional breed."

Li Daozong stared wide-eyed in surprise.

Li Chengqian smiled faintly.

"Heh, further north of Zhenbei Road, the Embroidered Uniform Guards have searched several times, and it seems there's only this one group..."

Mongolian horses actually existed during this period, but they did not constitute a large-scale industry. The main warhorses of the Tang Dynasty were the traditional Central Plains horses and the Wusun horses introduced during the Han Dynasty.

The Turks were equipped with Turkic horses, which were stronger than Mongolian horses and better suited for cavalry head-on combat.

"These horses are named Mongolian horses. They are better suited for long-distance raids than Turkic horses, and are easier to raise and breed than Qinghai horses. With the addition of Mongolian horses, our Tang cavalry will be able to raid even farther places in the future."

Upon hearing this ambitious and daring prince speak, Li Daozong and Li Xiaogong exchanged a glance.

obviously.

His Highness is preparing for war again.

And judging by this grand display... who knows how far the Tang Dynasty's flag will be planted from its homeland next time.

"Your humble servant An Chi greets His Majesty the Emperor and His Highness the Crown Prince!"

A man dressed in Tang Dynasty official robes, but with the typical appearance of a Turk, strode out from the horse farm.

He was followed by a dozen or so men who were clearly the horse farm's managers.

Upon seeing Li Chengqian and Li Shimin, he seemed so excited that he tripped over a ditch in the grass and slid down to his knees in front of Li Chengqian.

Peng Chi's face instantly turned red.

Anchi was the name he adopted after his tribal surname was Sinicized. After all, he had now passed the examination and become a registered official in Chang'an, the capital of the Tang Dynasty.

Turkic names can be retained, but Sinicized names should also be included.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty..."

Having finally met the esteemed Crown Prince and His Majesty the Emperor, Peng Chi had made such a fool of himself that he instantly forgot all the Chinese he had prepared.

He just stared blankly up at Crown Prince Li Chengqian, who seemed to merge with the sun atop his warhorse.

Fortunately, the Tang official assigned to him by Jiuyuan City in Zhenbei Road reacted quickly and stepped forward to bow.

"Your humble servant Shi Ce greets Your Highness the Crown Prince. This is Peng Chi, the head of the royal horse farm at Baideng Mountain. He is of Turkic ethnicity and his Han name is An Chi."

Upon hearing this, Li Chengqian nodded slightly.

"Haha, you're all better now. Since you're in charge here now, you should be more composed..."

Peng Chi blushed, but quickly bowed and, with Shi Ce's help, got up.

He looked at Crown Prince Li Chengqian, who was a hundred times more dazzling than when he had defeated Jieli and Tuli at Yanmen Pass, and his eyes were filled with fervor and excitement.

"Your Highness, I saw you with my own eyes back then at Yanmen Pass... I even chased after those bastards Jieli and Tuli with you!"

"Oh? You're a member of the Turkic Wolf Riders?" Li Chengqian couldn't help but show surprise, but then he frowned.

"Why did you quit being a proper Turkic wolf cavalryman and come to raise horses? Is someone in the army making things difficult for you?"

Although he hadn't said much yet, Li Chengqian's colder tone made Peng Chi's tense heart even more excited and fiery. He knew that if he was really being harassed, the Crown Prince would definitely seek justice for him today.

He quickly waved his hands repeatedly.

"No, no, Your Highness, I did receive military merit, and then I heard from Jiuyuan City that the court needed someone who knew how to raise horses and manage horse farms, so the general in the army recommended me."

He glanced cautiously at Crown Prince Li Chengqian, and then offered an explanation.

"In the ninth year of the Wude era, I was the leader of a small to medium-sized tribe on the grasslands. I was good at managing people and raising horses."

Li Chengqian nodded in realization, then couldn't help but laugh.

"No wonder you speak so haltingly, 'Your subject, your subject,' you are so incoherent."

He pointed to his father, the emperor, who was still not far away, watching the six thousand Mongolian horses intently.

He then gave instructions to Peng Chi.

"These warhorses are very important to our Great Tang Dynasty. Since you are in charge of the Baideng Mountain Horse Ranch, the maintenance and breeding of these warhorses will be entrusted to you from now on."

"These are not only my most cherished possessions, but also gifts I want to give to my father. You'd better take good care of them."

Upon hearing this, Peng Chi immediately straightened his chest and raised his head.

It felt as if I had returned to the days when I was among the Turkic wolf riders.

"Your humble servant... I obey!"

After looking at it for a long time, Emperor Taizong of Tang, having finally set his sights on the Horse King, excitedly threw his horse, Shifachi, aside and leaped onto the Horse King's back.

The horse king instantly flew into a rage and began to struggle.

What he received in return was the lewd laughter of Emperor Taizong of Tang, who was forcing himself on Li Er.

"Hahahaha! Good horse, good horse, today I will make you obediently ride me! Keep moving, keep moving, hahahaha, the more you struggle, the more I like it!"

Li Chengqian, Li Daozong, and Li Xiaogong: "..."

Not far away, Shifaqi, one of the six abandoned steeds of Zhaoling, snorted in dissatisfaction.

It seems to be a scathing critique of a certain scumbag surnamed Li who started a relationship and then abandoned the woman.

Before long, the horse king, who had tried everything to get rid of Li Shimin, the freak, finally gave in and, panting, was driven by Li Shimin to stand before Li Chengqian and the others.

"Hahaha, brilliant! How about my horse-taming skills? Back then, your white-hoofed steed was also tamed by me in the same way..."

Emperor Taizong laughed wildly and started boasting.

Li Chengqian didn't mind his rambling, and smiled as he cupped his hands in admiration: "Father is so brave, I admire you. Such a fine horse should rightfully be driven by Father."

As he spoke, he rummaged in his pocket for a while and took out a folded imperial edict.

"Does Father Emperor still remember this?"

Li Shimin was puzzled and took the imperial edict, unfolding it.

The imperial edict that caught my eye looked somewhat familiar, and then I noticed the date.

Around October of the ninth year of the Wude era.

"When I set off for Taiyuan to implement the new policies, although I had the Six Guards of the Eastern Palace under my command, I had very few warhorses. Before I left, I asked Your Majesty for permission to borrow some horses..."

Li Shimin immediately remembered, but rolled his eyes in annoyance.

"Hmph, I would never dare to forget this matter!"

With Li Xiaogong and Li Daozong present, Li Er was too embarrassed to mention that he had once run naked through the palace and gotten into a fight with his son, ending up with both of them bruised and battered.

Li Chengqian smiled slightly and pointed to the herd of Mongolian horses behind Li Shimin.

“After that day, Father Emperor never asked me to return the borrowed warhorse. I know it was because Father Emperor cared about me, but... since I said it was a loan, I must return it!”

"These are the warhorses that your son returns to Father Emperor. Are you satisfied, Father Emperor?"

Li Shimin was taken aback, then his eyes reddened slightly. He took a deep breath to suppress the complex and incomprehensible emotions in his heart, and let out a disdainful sneer.

"You promised me double the amount every six months, and I gave you three thousand warhorses back then. Five years have passed now. Tsk... Oh well, what can I do? I'm the father, after all. Fortunately, I didn't lose out on this deal."

With an air of arrogance, Li Shimin casually tossed the imperial edict back to Li Chengqian, and then spurred his horse to gallop around the horse farm.

Despite the lack of saddle, stirrups, and other horse equipment, there wasn't even a rein.

But Li Shimin still rode on that galloping warhorse, as if he were glued to the back of the black whirlwind, as if he had become one with it, and could still perform difficult equestrian maneuvers.

"Tsk tsk tsk, what a tsundere!"

Li Chengqian smiled and shook his head.

Li Daozong and the others could only pretend not to hear, and after hesitating for a long time, they finally came over.

"Your Highness, judging from what you and His Majesty are saying, are we preparing for war again?"

Li Chengqian smiled slightly, shook his head, and then uttered a surprising statement.

"No rush, let's wait until my father has assembled an expeditionary cavalry army of 300,000..."

Three or three hundred thousand?!

Expeditionary cavalry?

Both Li Daozong and the other man gasped in shock.

While cavalry and expeditionary cavalry are similar, the number of horses required is actually many times greater...