The Great Qin Empire---Qin Li

"Pavilion Master, three thousand coins, no more!"

"Otherwise, this horse is obviously worth six or seven thousand coins, how can I give less than you?"

In Huyang Pavilion, Heifu and Ju were bargaining in a unique way. The seller Ju kept lowering the price, while the buyer Heifu kept raising the price...

It turned out that Ju came to visit just now and said that Heifu had saved his daughter's life, but he had no other way to repay him. He had a pretty good horse at home, but he was too old to ride it, so he hoped that Heifu would accept it.

Heifu refused Ju's kindness without even thinking about it.

He said seriously, "Let's not talk about my duty to help you find your daughter. Qin law does not allow officials to accept bribes privately. If you accept one penny, you will be tattooed and sentenced to life imprisonment! This horse is worth at least several thousand coins. You gave me the horse as a gift, which not only does not benefit me, but harms me."

In Qin, bribery of one copper coin would result in tattooing on the face and hard labor. This was the most severe period in history to combat corruption, comparable to the Ming Taizu period. Although there were trustworthy people around him, Hei Fu did not want to test the law. It was not worth it to ruin his future for the sake of a little benefit.

This made Ju anxious, and he hurriedly said that he was not bribing, but repaying a favor.

"The law does not distinguish between repaying a favor and bribing."

As Hei Fu spoke, he looked at the horse, and saw that the horse was red, with smooth hair and no damage. The horseshoes were of the same shape, and the shoulder height was about the same as Heifu's. The eyes were bright and lively. The horse had a bit in its mouth and the reins were hanging down. There was only a "saddle" on its back to cushion its buttocks, no saddle, and no stirrups...

Ju said that he worked in the cattle and horse garden in the village, and he usually took care of these livestock. Sure enough, the horses he raised were also very strong. Although Heifu didn't know how to judge horses, Li Xian next to him knew a little. After walking around the horse, he said to Heifu that this was indeed a good horse.

Heifu couldn't help but have a thought. The time before the Qin-Chu war was getting shorter and shorter. Not only did he have to practice swordsmanship and archery, but he might also have to learn to ride and drive. These were all necessary skills for Qin military officials. Moreover, with horses as a means of transportation, the time to go to the county town or go home could be shortened by half, and he didn't have to wait for a ride on the roadside every time he took a day off.

When Ju was upset because his gift of the horse was not accepted, Heifu suddenly said, why not buy the horse yourself!

So, there was this scene of the two bargaining.

"Six thousand six hundred coins, no less, if less, I will take advantage of you by showing favor."

After some hesitation, Heifu set the price. He received more than five thousand coins as a reward last time, plus some savings, it was just enough.

So he called Ju, took the money and the horse, and went with him to the township, and asked the officials of the township to witness. The two signed a deed, each keeping half, and then the transaction was legally completed.

The township officials were amazed by this, because although the Qin State stipulated that officials could not accept favors, Heifu and Ju had no official relationship at the moment, and if it was called a private gift, it would not be subject to legal sanctions. However, Heifu said sternly: "If I accept the horse, I will lose my salary, and I will not be able to ride the horse; if I do not accept the salary, I will have the horse for life. I am not a man of integrity, but I am afraid of the law and the salary and dare not take it..."

After saying this, Heifu bowed and led the horse away under the pointing and gesturing of the people in the township market.

Ju held the heavy copper coins and looked at Heifu's back as he walked away. He felt mixed emotions and could only bow down to thank him.

On the other hand, Heifu, who left the market, stared at the horse that already belonged to him.

The horse was a little shy. After Ju left, it snorted a little uneasily and looked at the black man in front of it with a scrutinizing look. At this time, Heifu suddenly remembered a question.

"I can't ride a horse!"

He was not the kind of noble family bastard who was gifted with extraordinary talents and could ride a horse and shoot a fierce bow to kill a bear right after crossing over. He also didn't dare to ride alone on the winding and bumpy path. It would be funny if he fell and broke his neck.

So Heifu could only lead the horse and walk slowly back to Huyang Pavilion...

...

After that day, Ju told everyone in the village that Heifu was an honest and righteous man. And Heifu's words "If you accept the horse and lose the salary, you will not be able to ride a horse; if you don't accept the salary, you will have a horse for life" were also spread by the mouths of the village officials and spread to the county town, which washed away the image of Heifu as a "cruel official" left by the last case.

With the three virtues of righteousness, courage and honesty, and repeatedly solving cases to keep the place safe, in the eyes of the people of Anlu County, Heifu was almost a perfect Qin official.

How could such a person be relegated to a small pavilion chief? Some people have begun to speak up for Heifu.

Heifu was not aware of the change in his reputation. He spent the whole month of May learning how to ride a horse.

Horses were very important in ancient China. Because of their great use in war and transportation, they were called the first of the "six domestic animals" very early. At first, horses were only used for driving. At the end of the Spring and Autumn Period, people gradually began to ride single horses. When King Wuling of Zhao adopted the Hu clothing and riding and shooting, the trend of riding horses became popular throughout the north...

Nanjun is a place with a network of rivers and lakes, and ships are used more than horses. However, the government still raises a lot of horses in the pastures. There are two large horse ranches in Anlu County. There are also many private horses. Generally speaking, people with a title above "Zan Niao" basically have horses, because the original meaning of "Zan Niao" is the group of horses on the body, so this title is also called "Zou Ma", which means that you can bring your own horse to the battlefield.

Although Heifu is only a small upper class, he can still afford this horse. He had received more than 20,000 yuan in bonuses. After deducting the money he used to buy cattle and horses for his family, he still had several thousand left, which was enough to feed the horses with beans and fodder every day. Heifu did not dare to embezzle beans and fodder from the pavilion. In Qin, not only was bribery not allowed, but public grain was also not allowed to be used for private purposes. This behavior was like using a public card to refuel a private car in later generations. Once discovered, it would be charged with theft.

Since the case in Blind Mountain Village, perhaps because of their reputation as the "Five People of Huyang Pavilion", all the villages in the Pavilion Department were honest and even the idle people disappeared. So in June, the official duties suddenly became idle.

Heifu had plenty of time. After feeding the horse, he rode it outside for a stroll.

There were no saddles, only saddles, and no stirrups, so riding a horse was not easy. Fortunately, Li Xian in the pavilion was the only one who knew how to ride a horse, and he taught Hei Fu a lot of tips.

"When you control a horse, it may not obey you. Don't be afraid at this time. The more afraid you are, the worse it will be to ride it. This animal is very smart. It can sense whether you can ride a horse or not, and whether you are afraid of it or not. If it knows that you can't ride a horse and are afraid of it, it will not take you seriously and will not listen to orders at all."

"Don't be afraid of falling off the horse. If you fall off accidentally, if it's not serious, you should get back on the horse as soon as possible."

Hei Fu also learned from him that in those movies about horses, horses are gentle, kind, and human, and as long as people are gentle to them, they will definitely be gentle to people. This is only suitable for veterans, not for beginners.

The truth is that horses are very proud animals. When you are a newcomer on a horse, most of the horses will behave as if they don't take you seriously. If you want to run, it won't run. If you want to go left, it will turn right. If you want to move forward, it will lower its head to eat grass.

At this time, what Heifu had to do was to be strict and decisive with the horse and make it obey him. Riding a horse is a process of taming, letting the horse know who is the master and letting it execute your will without hesitation. So at the beginning, you have to be strict with the horse. If you want to move forward, you must drive it forward. If you want to stop, you must stop. If it doesn't obey, control it with the reins and slowly cultivate its obedience to people.

After the horse understood who the real master was and began to obey, Heifu also spent more than a month with it, feeding it and training it every day, and gradually developed a tacit understanding. At the beginning, I only dared to walk slowly, but gradually I could trot, and even clamp my legs tightly around the horse's belly to let it run freely...

One day in early July, the autumn harvest was approaching, and Heifu was riding on the road to the township. Anlu County had a good year this year. After the fall, there was more rain, and the millet and rice in the field began to slowly change color, from lush to golden. When the autumn wind blew, the yellow crops rose and fell, and a fragrance of rice mixed with hot air hit my nose. From afar, you can see that the fields are full of people, doing the last work before the autumn harvest.

When Heifu was about to reach the township, he turned a corner and prepared to follow the path through a village to the park several miles away. There were hundreds of acres of grassland, which was a good place to practice horsemanship.

The labor force had all gone to work in the fields, so there were few people in the village. Although this place did not belong to Heifu's jurisdiction, Heifu still subconsciously looked around on horseback to see if there were any idle people in the village. This was the occupational disease of the pavilion chief.

Just as he was about to walk out of the village, he suddenly heard a scream of fear from the side.

"Murder!"

The horse was startled by the shout, and suddenly raised its front legs and neighed, almost throwing Heifu off!