Lord: Start with a book of Water Margin

Chapter 24 Cockfighting lackeys
  Let's say that because this man saw Zhao Zhen paying money readily, in order to earn an extra commission, he mentioned another place to go - the cockfighting ring! When Zhao Zhen heard this, he immediately became interested.

Do you know why?

"Liezi" records that "Ji Zhuzi raised fighting cocks for King Xuan of Zhou". Therefore, from the emperor down to the common people, there are many cockfighting and lackeys. It's not that he doesn't do his job properly and he is good at martial arts.

There is a cockfighting platform behind Wenting Mountain in Chengwu County. The county annals record: In the third year of King Xuan of Zhou Dynasty, Duke Huan of Qi used the Song Beibei Xinghui to gather the princes to attack the Song Dynasty. superior.

The trend of hunting cockfighting and lackeys was prevalent. Zhao Zhen thought to himself: He knew very little about Gao Hu. However, since this man was a direct descendant of the royal family, he could not say that he was enthusiastic about hunting with cockfighting lackeys. To say he was familiar with him would not be an overstatement. This inspired me to buy a fighting cock.

Cockfighting, also known as cockfighting, cockfighting, and military cockfighting, is known for its good fighting skills. When two males meet to fight for food or mates, they will risk their lives and fight until the last breath.

The purpose of raising fighting cocks is to watch them fight and admire their bravery.

Zan said: The blood is split and the sound is lost. The pecks are very hungry and discouraged. Why are you so anxious and frightened? The following is sincere and skillful.

Zhao Zhen has been busy becoming a professional. Although he has never participated in cockfighting, he is no stranger to cockfighting. The quality of cockfighting depends on its fighting spirit and fighting skills, and the rules of fighting vary from place to place.

Take the Gao Kingdom's fighting cocks as an example. Cockfighters often say: "The color of the coat is based on the appearance, and the size of the nest is based on the inside."

The so-called coat color should be green, red, purple and soap, and the body should be tall and burly, with a strong constitution. The body should be long, shaped like an ostrich, with a beak like an eagle's beak; the chest should be strong and the feathers should be shallow. It is better to have big eyes, thick neck, and wide spacing between toes.

The so-called nest share refers to the blood relationship of fighting cocks. The choice of fighting cocks is mainly based on strong fighting spirit, especially those who still have fighting spirit until the end of the fight.

One type attaches great importance to the blood purity of gamecocks. Through inbreeding, a high-purity family of fine gamecocks is selected and the offspring are all good gamecocks. There is another type of offspring produced by mating fighting cocks from different families. Such chickens have strong physiques, high fighting skills, and fast fighting skills, but the fighting nature of the offspring is unpredictable.

Besides, there are four types of fighting skills in cockfighting: those who hold their heads high when fighting and have a good fighting posture are called high head and big bites; those whose fighting posture is slightly worse are called flat head and body fighting; and those who run in circles after a few blows Fighting style; and those who hit all four directions, that is, have various fighting skills, this is the best. It doesn’t matter how you fight, as long as you are good at fighting two types and have heavy legs, you will be considered a first-class gamecock.

The key to winning a cockfight is accurate, heavy and fast kicks. The accuracy is whether it can hit the opponent's head; the emphasis is the strength of the kick; the speed is the number of consecutive kicks in a short period of time.

This is similar to the competition between soldiers, but it has the same effect but different approaches.

Cockfighting requires daily training, which is similar to that of the military. If you practice in peacetime, you will not be timid in war. For those who are good at training gamecocks, their training methods can be summarized into fourteen techniques, namely: chasing, sliding, turning, jumping, pushing, pulling, hitting, copying, rubbing, weighing, holding, kneading, twisting, and disturbing.

There is a poem that praises: "It's hard to understand things, but I don't let my eyes slack off when I'm angry. I wake up once I spray it, and I keep working hard."

Zhao Zhen followed Ya Ren into a yard. The peak season of cockfighting had just passed and it was the time to breed new cockfighting cocks. From time to time, "clucking" sounds could be heard in the yard.

Gao Kingdom usually holds cockfighting competitions from April to May and September to October, when the cockfighting cocks are in estrus and are most aggressive. The Yaren said: "Master Ji, I have a customer buying chickens. Please come out and greet me quickly."

After speaking, he said to Zhao Zhen in a low voice: "This is a descendant of Ji Zhuzi. This family has never sold fighting cocks before. "Zhuangzi Dasheng" says: Ji Zhuzi raised fighting cocks for the king. On the tenth day, he asked: 'Chickens' Is it already?' He said: 'Not yet, Fang is arrogant and arrogant.' He asked again on the tenth day. He said: 'You still respond to the scene.' He asked again on the tenth day. He said: 'Not yet. He still looks sick and is full of energy.' ' He asked again on the tenth day. He said: 'How many years have it passed? Although the rooster crows, it has not changed. It looks like a wooden rooster, and its virtue is complete. If a different rooster does not dare to respond, it will run away.'

It's just that in recent years, there has been no chicken cage, and even if there is a cage, there is no chicken. It costs a lot to raise chickens, and the family has fallen into decline. Ji Dalang wants to revitalize the family business and needs to re-select a batch of fighting cocks. Previously, he had to sell a batch of fighting cocks. "

While he was talking, a man with a height of 7 feet 45, thirty-five or six years old, a black beard with his mouth covered, came out of the room and shouted to the tooth man: "Song Laosan, are you sure you can succeed this time?"

"Ji Dalang, don't complain. It's not because I don't welcome guests. You also need to know that in recent years, the top six chickens: the first cage, the second cage, the third cage, the fourth cage, the fifth cage, and the knot cage. It comes from your family. You sell it more expensively than others, so of course you have to give me some mercy on the price today. My guest is Zhao Erlang. My family is a big farmer. Buying some chickens from you is like pulling out all the hairs on your head."

After hearing this, Ji Dalang said: "My chicken has been passed down from my ancestors for many generations. It has pure blood. However, the descendants are unworthy. They have not learned the ancestral skills and their training is poor. However, this chicken is excellent." Because I want to breed a new batch of gamecocks and lack some money, I have to sell some chickens. Guests, please see, here are the color gamecocks green, red, purple and soap, the medium color gamecocks leather, gray, reed catkins and persimmon yellow. Seed, there is no color chicken.”

As Ji Dalang spoke, he introduced: "My family's ancestral blue fighting cock is the top color among fighting cocks. It is covered with green feathers that sparkle under the sunlight, emitting a sheen like indigo. It also has a flower tail, a white tail clip, and a white neck. There is also very little white, and no other colors are allowed; the undercoat is snow-white. The black and white are bright and dazzling, giving people a clear and bright feeling." As he said this, he took out a fighting cock and displayed it.

"There are four categories of green chickens: the first is the large flower-tailed green chicken, the second is the small flower-tailed green chicken, the third is the white sand-tailed green chicken, and the fourth is the green-red chicken. If the green chicken has any other color, it is all inferior quality."

Zhao Zhen asked: "Are there any alien species?"

Ji Dalang smiled awkwardly: "I haven't seen him for many years. The white spots on his head are called "snowflake top". The whole body is pure black without any stray hairs, which is called "black velvet". It is worth a hundred dollars."

"How much is an adult chicken worth? How much is a baby chicken?" Zhao Zhen asked.

"1500 Wen for an adult chicken and 50 Wen for a chicken." He said and glanced at Song Sanlang, the tooth man.

Song Sanlang said: "The market price of fighting cocks is consistent, and Dalang's green chickens are considered first-class. The regular five is also a bit more expensive. How about buying an adult chicken and getting four cubs as a gift?"

Zhao Zhen nodded, and Ji Dalang hurriedly agreed.

Zhao Zhen selected ten adult chickens, both male and female, and forty chickens, all of which were installed. Zhao Zhen looked at them one by one and selected those with strong strength, agility and firm will. I was about to count the money when I turned around and saw a white fighting cock.

But see: The whole body is as white as jade, crystal clear as snow, and there is not a speck of color on the body. The legs are like jade pillars, like jade pillars holding up a white cloud. White beak, white feathers, white legs, white claws, red crown.

He immediately said: "This chicken looks good, I want it." It was settled in one shot.

(End of this chapter)