Chapter 432: The Tale of the Horse

"Th-th-this..."

"Quick, quickly go catch it and bring it back, continue the race, you trash, a bunch of trash!"

Shama Zhuoyi was about to vomit blood.

It had already finished the seventh lap! It was about to win, and this was the result?

In fact, he did not know that this requirement of ten laps was intentional on Liu Zheng's part. At the very beginning, he had seen that this Horse King was a young stallion and had not been gelded—in many cases, military horses need to be gelded. This is to avoid any accidents during war due to animal instincts.

But perhaps this horse was too precious to the people of the Southern Barbarians, having been imported to serve as a stud. Naturally, they were reluctant to geld it.

One must know that the drive to mate, among animal instincts, ranks firmly in second place, right after the drive to eat.

An ordinary stallion, after smelling the scent of a mare in ovulation, will immediately enter a state of estrus itself. So why did Liu Zheng choose to do this at the seventh lap?

Because at this time, the Horse King's strenuous exercise would bring his male hormones and adrenaline to a peak.

At this most excited, most heated moment, how could he resist after smelling the scent of a mare?

Never mind that it was a borrowed horse; even the horse's own master would likely be unable to control it at this moment.

Just so happens...

The Liangzhou Army, this time, the logistics department stationed at Daliang Mountain specifically for raising War Horses, had brought a few studs along... Oh, how convenient that they ran into each other.

While the entire crowd was dumbfounded.

At this moment, those racehorses that had fallen behind by several laps finally appeared in people's field of vision!

People who had already given up hope regained it at this moment and continued to compete frantically.

The eighth lap...

The ninth lap...

The tenth lap.

At this time, the stability, endurance, and aptitude for mountain roads of the Dian Horse ridden by Huobu Zhuoli were fully brought into play.

And so.

Everyone in the crowd, with their ears listening to the sounds of pleasure from the Horse King and the "coquettish" sounds of the mare in the small grove, watched with their own eyes as Huobu Zhuoli's Dian Horse was the first to cross the finish line!

The Horse King is truly something...

It had been such a long time and it still wasn't finished; several people ran over, but no matter how hard they pulled, they simply couldn't separate them. Until it was over on this side, it still hadn't returned to the racetrack...

"Pfft..."

Shama Zhuoyi finally couldn't hold it in anymore; dizzy with rage, a mouthful of old blood sprayed out.

"Bastard, bastard! Damn mare, where did this mare come from!"

However.

At this moment, the cheers of the entire crowd had already drowned out his exasperation and his roars.

Small-trouser-leg!

Won!

The Inuo people won! All the Small-trouser-leg people cried with joy; how many years had it been, this was the first time! What should be done at this moment? Thank the Son of the Black Dragon!

It was the blessing of the Black Dragon Divine Power!

Whether it was strength or luck, it was all the arrangement of the gods!

Besides, isn't luck also a part of strength?

Son of the Black Dragon, the whole crowd shouted again.

The Big-trouser-leg and Middle-trouser-leg tribesmen were also stunned at this moment. This was clearly a guaranteed win, how could it be overturned? Could it really be the Son of the Black Dragon? From yesterday to today, everything was too bizarre.

"I, I, I..."

Shama Zhuoyi was finally helped up by others.

At this moment, that black horse and a white horse walked out of the woods affectionately, as if having been a "man" for the first time in their lives. The Horse King still neighed towards the sky, triumphant, having completely forgotten about his race and the Warrior who had been thrown from his back and had long since fainted...

"What, Headman Shama, are you unable to accept a loss?"

Liu Zheng chuckled, not forgetting to twist the knife.

"You, you, you..."

Shama Zhuoyi really wanted to curse.

Where did this damn mare come from! And it was a Dayuan Treasure Horse! Besides this Liangzhou Army, could there be anyone else? This damn Governor Liu, this damn Governor Liu!

Kill him!

I want to kill him!

"Headman, Headman, hold back, hold back..."

Others pulled at him fiercely.

Shama Zhuoyi looked at Liu Zheng's smiling face and spat: "Fine, lost is lost, so what? Continue! Continue, let it continue for me!"

Lost.

For so many years, this was the first time their Middle-trouser-leg had lost in a horse racing event.

"Ahahaha, the Lord really has a Method!"

Huobu Quli was feeling incredibly proud at this moment. For so many years, this was the first time they had taken the top spot!

Qin Zhangfeng, standing to the side, still didn't quite understand and asked: "Young Master, this is, this is, what is this all for? Even if that Horse King was attracted away, I still can't figure out how this Dian Horse managed to win the race."

The others also looked over with curiosity.

The Dian Horse... that was the only Dian Horse, the Dian Horse that no one was optimistic about at the start.

Liu Zheng smiled: "What of the Dayuan Horse, what of the Sichuan Horse, and what of the Dian Horse? The most suitable one is the good horse! The Dian Horse was born in the Southern Barbarians, and hasn't the Southern Barbarian land made the Dian Horse what it is? The Dian Horse is suited for mountain roads, endures hardship, and in Daliang Mountain, it is a steed that can travel a thousand miles."

"The Liangshan People, however, seek afar and ignore what is near; that is truly unwise!"

"The Dayuan Horse, while tall, is not suited for mountain roads; it has power but is short-lived, and is not enough for long journeys!"

He looked around the circle and said indifferently: "Only when there are judges of horses are there horses that can gallop a thousand li. Horses that can gallop a thousand li are common, but judges of horses are not. Therefore, even if there are famous horses, they are merely humiliated at the hands of slaves, dying side-by-side in the stables, never known for their ability to gallop a thousand li."

A horse that can gallop a thousand li may consume a whole picul of grain in one meal. Those who feed the horse do not know it has the ability to gallop a thousand li and feed it accordingly. Thus, even though this horse has the ability to gallop a thousand li, it is not fed enough, its strength is insufficient, and its beauty and talent are not revealed; it cannot even be equal to an ordinary horse, so how can one expect it to gallop a thousand li?

To whip it without following the proper way, to feed it without exhausting its potential, to hear it neigh without understanding its meaning, and then to hold a whip and stand before it, saying: 'There are no horses in the world!'

Alas! Is it truly that there are no horses? It is truly that they do not know horses!"

"Good!"

Pei Yanran listened, her eyes shining.

The bystanders were also completely bewildered.

Great talent!

What is great talent!

This is what great talent is!

A single "Discourse on Horses" brought enlightenment to everyone.

So, their local Dian Horse could also produce a horse that can gallop a thousand li? The quality of a horse depends entirely on the environment, as well as how it is fed and how it is trained?

What is suitable is what makes a horse that can gallop a thousand li! A good horse that is fed and trained with heart is not necessarily inferior to a horse that has amazing natural talent but has had its potential buried!

Today.

The result of this horse race was exactly that.

The Dian Horse under Huobu Zhuoli had been raised by him since it was small and trained with care, so he and the horse could become one, with their hearts and minds in harmony; that he won was within expectations.

This "Discourse on Horses," though speaking of horses, was actually speaking of people.

Although the people of Liangshan did not have a high level of education, many of them understood.

Their Liangshan could also produce horses that can gallop a thousand li, and could also produce people of talent!

"My Lord's instruction is correct!"

Huobu Quli praised sincerely.

"Son of the Black Dragon!"

"Lord Long Yan!"

"Son of the Black Dragon!"

"Lord Long Yan!"

The entire venue followed and boiled over once again.

Shama Zhuoyi and Naibao Rize exchanged a glance.

The situation was not quite right...