Can't a princess ascend the throne?

Chapter 364 Dividing the spoils
"We're rich! We're really rich!"

"Can't you keep your voice down? It hurts my ears."

"What's a sore ear? Do you even know how many horses are in this horse farm?"

"How many?"

"More than thirteen thousand horses!"

"hiss--"

These days, horses are a rare commodity, and among the most expensive livestock. They serve not only as transport vehicles but also as supplies for battle. An army, especially a cavalry unit, equipped with horses—even a single nag—is the envy of other armies, because they are ridiculously expensive.

Jiu Que still remembered the value of horses he had learned when he went out on patrol before. An old horse that had been discarded by the army could be sold for 30 taels of silver.

Because horses are so valuable, high-ranking officials, nobles, and wealthy merchants are willing to spend lavishly to buy a fine horse to show off. Among the horses of the surrounding countries, those bred by the steppe people are the most outstanding. Their unique geographical location and natural environment are ideal for horse growth. Therefore, the price of steppe horses has always been high. Unexpectedly, they now not only have steppe horses, but so many! Isn't this making them rich?!

They can already imagine the envious, jealous, and resentful looks they'll receive from their comrades when they return with these grassland horses.

They're amazing, hahaha...

Of course, we owe all of this success to Lord Ying's guidance!
Everyone happily told Jiu Que about their harvest, and Jiu Que was also very happy, smiling as she took all the best horses from the entire horse farm into her possession.

It was getting late, so everyone decided to stay overnight at the horse ranch. The next day, after resting, they would head back with their spoils. Surprisingly, the wild horse leader had quite a network of connections; besides this large ranch, he had found two other smaller ones, collecting nearly eight thousand horses in total. That's over twenty thousand in total, right?

Any more and they wouldn't be able to carry them all back, so Jiu Que stopped there and led the group back with all the horses. On the way back, they didn't encounter any steppe Manchus blocking their path. Most of the steppe soldiers had already been captured, and the rest had long since fled deep into the grasslands and disappeared. Now, the only thing stopping them was the sheer number of horses—a heavy yet sweet burden—that was difficult to manage.

As they marched back to the northern frontier in a grand procession, the soldiers stationed on the northern frontier pass saw a huge cloud of dust in the distance and assumed that the nomadic tribes had returned. They were extremely nervous. One of the generals, after taking a look through a monocular telescope, suddenly turned red with excitement and looked as if he was about to faint!
Those around them were still somewhat confused. Even if the steppe armies were to return, it wouldn't be that terrifying for them, would it?

Gradually, the dark-skinned group drew closer, and more and more people gasped in astonishment. My God! That vast, ant-like procession heading towards the Northern Frontier Pass—was it a herd of horses? How could there be so many horses? Although they had captured quite a few before, those captured warhorses were deeply ingrained in their bond with their soldiers, and many were unruly and difficult to control. Forced by circumstances, they had no choice but to slaughter them for the soldiers' meals. These steppe horses were indeed fine, but their temperaments were too fierce; they simply couldn't handle them. But what were they seeing now? Over 2 horses were being driven towards the Northern Frontier Pass.

"Two hundred, five hundred, one thousand..."

A general in charge of logistics couldn't help but mutter to himself, which puzzled those around him.

"Are you checking the number of these horses?"

"No, I'm checking how much they're worth. Do you know how much a fine steppe horse like this, which hasn't yet found a master and has a gentle temperament, can sell for?"

"Huh? One hundred taels?"

"Too few! The wealthy and powerful in the country are willing to spend a fortune to buy a single outstanding steppe horse! And even then, there's no market for them. Do you know what this herd of horses means to us?" "It means we'll have many horses?"

"Foolish! Utterly foolish! This means we'll have more money than we can spend! We'll never go hungry or cold again!"

"Oh……"

So that's how it is. He thought there were so many horses that he'd surely get one, but it seems there's no chance now.

But where did Lady Ying find so many fine horses? Did she really find the horse ranches of the grassland people? Would those grassland royalty be so kind as to give her the exact location? It seems highly unlikely!
This was the second time that Jiuque had returned to the Northern Frontier Pass amidst cheers from the crowd. However, this time was different from the previous ones. The generals and soldiers in the army were even more excited. They looked at the grassland horses as if they were seeing a peerless beauty, their eyes filled with tender affection.

Even Lin Chongshan couldn't help but be the first to greet them. Surprisingly, her first glance wasn't given to Jiu Que, but to the grassland horses.

These horses are so adorable! Look at their eyes, ears, noses, and hooves—each one is more outstanding than the last. Lin Chongshan has been on the frontier for so long, and she has never seen so many fine horses gathered together. This wonderful thing happened so suddenly that she was a little giddy with joy.

"Aunt Lin..."

"Nine Gates! You found all of these? Strange, would Sachi really be so kind as to tell you the correct location? Could there be a trap involved?"

"Don't worry, Aunt Lin. I found the location of the horse farm by chance. I have to thank a friend for this."

"Oh? What kind of friend?"

Lin Chongshan was somewhat curious, but when she saw the exceptionally magnificent mare leader, who even looked down on her with arrogance, she couldn't help but gasp.

This horse...

It is no less magnificent than the Ferghana horse bestowed upon it by His Majesty.

At this moment, Lin Chongshan had a guess about the grassland horses that had been brought back. Could it be that the leader of these wild horses had led Jiu Que to the location of the grassland horse ranch? If that were the case, Sachi would probably be furious if he knew. He never expected that the location of the horse ranch, which he had been so careful to conceal and even prepared to fight to the death for, would be discovered in this way.

Upon receiving a positive reply, Lin Chongshan was overjoyed. She didn't even bother to select horses; instead, she sent someone to deliver the good news to Saqi Khan.

Sachi, who was already on the verge of death, was so shocked by the news that he vomited black blood. However, thanks to Xie Mingchen's superb medical skills, he couldn't die even if he wanted to. He could only wait, feeling extremely frustrated, to be sent to the capital.

And then came the exciting job allocation meeting.

Ying Jiuque decided to allocate two-thirds of the grassland horses to the Northern Frontier Army. After all, it would be unreasonable to give away none of these horses to the imperial court.