Chao Tian, who watched over the racecourse day and night, began speaking with confidence and ease the moment the conversation turned to his specialty. "Compared with those disadvantages, horses also have very pronounced advantages. In terms of speed, they far surpass oxen."
Lu Xiong asked skeptically, "Are you saying that once horse-plowing is introduced, farmers will also get to experience galloping on horseback during the slack season?"
"Ha ha ha!" Chao Tian laughed at Lu Xiong's remark. "That wouldn't be impossible. They might even enter the horse races at the racecourse during the slack season and compete for a place!"
He paused, then said seriously, "Speed is a horse's strength. A horse can do three or even four times as much work in a day as an ox. For farmers, finishing the plowing quickly is naturally a good thing."
"The six domestic animals are horses, oxen, sheep, pigs, dogs, and chickens, with horses heading the list. The West Garden has an Ox House, a Sheep House, a Pigsty, a Dog House, and a Poultry House, but no Horse House."
"And in place of a Horse House, there is a racecourse larger than the entire West Garden. Why is that?"
"Simply because horses are the most important and have a wide range of uses. They can carry loads, be ridden, and pull things."
Lu Xiong asked skeptically, "That's true enough, but does having so many uses mean they can replace old oxen in plowing the fields?"
Chao Tian nodded. "Of course. But we can't look at horse-plowing alone. We have to consider several aspects together."
"Consider several aspects together?"
"Besides introducing horse-plowing, His Majesty also intends to compel farmers to perform military service."
"Yes, I was just worrying about military service earlier. What, does military service have something to do with