The prince is more stable

Chapter 666 Killing the Official and Seizing the Horse

As summer approaches, the weather gradually becomes hot. The wind blowing across Hebei seems to have been scorched by the sun, and it feels stuffy and hot when it blows on your face.

The Zhuozhou Livestock Bureau was located north of Zhuozhou City. It was a department responsible for raising livestock, so it was impossible for it to be located in the city. It was about twenty miles away from Zhuozhou City. As it was a branch of the Livestock Commissioner's Office, the Livestock Bureau was usually only guarded by one forest ranger and a few minor officials and servants.

In its early years, the Liao Dynasty's animal husbandry industry was actually very developed, and it was directly related to the country's fortune and the strength of its army.

Later, as the country's strength declined, many aspects of life also fell into decline.

The same was true of the Liao Dynasty's Bureau of Pastures. The six major Bureaus of Pastures across the country had long since become defunct in name only. Many Bureaus of Pastures secretly sold cattle, sheep and warhorses to enrich themselves. Historical records officially state that "the private sales of cattle and sheep by the various Bureaus of Pastures increased daily, and hunting was no longer sufficient."

Of course, if a person lacks ambition, being an official in the herdsman's office is a lucrative job.

With the Liao dynasty existing in name only, few Liao officials paid any attention to it anymore. The herdsmen ate and drank every day and never worried about money. Whenever they needed money, they would sell a few cattle, sheep and warhorses, report a false account, and put the money into their own pockets.

From a work perspective, this is practically a dream job; office workers wouldn't even dare to dream of it.

Zheng Conghuan, a clerk at the Zhuozhou Pasture, was one such example.

Indeed, the herdsman Linya, who made things difficult for the Wang Chong brothers and intercepted the Ferghana horse, was a Han Chinese official of the Liao Dynasty.

Zheng Conghuan is in a good mood today, or rather, he has been in a good mood for the past few days.

A few days ago, he miraculously discovered a Ferghana horse from a passing caravan; it was like a windfall.

In this era of declining livestock industry, the price of horses fluctuates, but the price of a single Akhal-Teke horse can be astronomical.

As for the specific price, it can only be measured in gold, starting at a minimum of five hundred taels of gold, and it wouldn't be surprising to sell it for a thousand taels of gold if a suitable buyer is found.

These past few days, Zheng Conghuan has been busy looking for buyers everywhere. Until yesterday, he made contact with a wealthy household in Zhuozhou City. This wealthy household was quite interested in Akhal-Teke horses. Zheng Conghuan arranged to come to the horse farm today to see the horses, and if they were suitable, the deal could be made today.

Zheng Conghuan was overjoyed. He was about to receive a huge sum of money, which he had secretly robbed without the government's knowledge. The money would go straight into his pocket.

After finishing this task, Zheng Conghuan suddenly had the idea of ​​resigning from his official post and returning to his hometown.

He has made enough money over the years to buy hundreds of acres of fertile land in his hometown, become a wealthy landlord, and pass the land under his name down as a family heirloom. His descendants for the next five generations are unlikely to be poor.

The more Zheng Conghuan thought about it, the more comfortable he felt. He couldn't help but hum a strange tune, which he couldn't even remember learning from which brothel drum in Zhuozhou City.

As Zheng Conghuan lay half-reclined in the shade of a tree in the simple courtyard of the ranch, humming a tune, he casually picked up a piece of pastry from the small table next to him, took a bite, and put it back on the small plate.

A few crumbs of pastry fell onto the small table. Zheng Conghuan glanced at them casually, but before he could look away, he saw the crumbs on the small table suddenly begin to tremble irregularly.

The tiny crumbs resembled haphazardly dancing ants, leaping and twirling freely on the small table.

Zheng Conghuan stared wide-eyed in astonishment at the crumbs on the table, completely bewildered.

Then more strange things happened. He felt the ground shaking beneath his feet, like an earthquake. He felt the frequency of the earth shaking very rhythmically.

Zheng Conghuan was taken aback and blurted out, "What's going on?"

No sooner had he finished speaking than a constable from the herdsmen's quarters tumbled in, looking panicked, and said, "Reporting to Zheng Linya, it's terrible! The Song army! The Song cavalry is here!"

Zheng Conghuan gasped, exclaiming, "The Song army has come to Zhuozhou? Are they going to attack the city?"

"No, they didn't attack the city. Thousands of Song cavalry came straight for our Qunmu Fortress!"

Zheng Conghuan's expression changed several times, but he suddenly sneered: "You fool, you're overthinking it. What is there for the Song army to care about in our small pasture? Why would they bother to travel hundreds of miles to raid us?"

“The Song army must be passing through this area. Tell your men not to panic and not to take up arms to resist. The affairs of the court and the state are none of our business.”

"Have everyone from the grazing area come out and kneel down to welcome the Song army as they pass by. Behave yourselves and don't cause trouble for yourselves. The Song army has always been ruthless in killing us Liao people."

As he spoke, Zheng Conghuan straightened his official robes and hurriedly ran out.

The number of officials, clerks, and servants in the herdsmen's office was no more than ten.

At this moment, more than ten people knelt on both knees in perfect posture outside the courtyard of the herdsmen's quarters, waiting numbly for the arrival of the Song army's iron cavalry.

Zheng Conghuan knelt on the ground, feeling the increasingly rapid tremors in his knees. The sound of horses' hooves echoed in the distance, pounding against his heart.

Before even seeing the Song army's iron cavalry, Zheng Conghuan already felt a deep sense of helplessness, as if a mountain was pressing down on him.

All the officials and servants of the herdsmen were pale and knelt upright and properly by the roadside, showing no shame for losing their will to resist.

That's a mountain! How can mortals resist it?

Just like a butterfly that can't fly across the ocean, no one has the heart to blame it...

At this moment, Zheng Conghuan only hoped that the Song army would pass by the grazing camp as soon as possible, and that they would completely ignore him, treating the grazing camp and himself as a non-existent and transparent fart.

However, as the sound of hooves drew closer, Zheng Conghuan was distressed to find that the rhythm of the hooves was getting slower and slower.

In other words, the Song army actually planned to stop after arriving at Qunmu.

Zheng Conghuan's heart suddenly raced. "Ancestors, why have you stopped? This is the herdsman's place, a place for raising cattle, sheep and warhorses. There are no supplies for humans here!" After a long while, Zheng Conghuan cautiously looked up and saw a dark mass of heads outside the herdsman's place, the clanging of armor plates, and the impatient snorting of warhorses.

Thousands of soldiers, clad in armor and mounted on warhorses, stood in neat formation, all eyes fixed on him silently.

The leader was dressed in fish-scale armor and wore a winged helmet. Behind him was a general's flag with a large "折" (zhé) character embroidered in regular script.

Banners fluttered and rustled in the wind. No one spoke or moved. Thousands of soldiers stood silently in place, but Zheng Conghuan felt a chilling aura of killing intent wash over him, as if an invisible hand was forcefully gripping his throat, forcing him to stop breathing.

Zheng Conghuan trembled and cowered from the bottom of his heart, his face even more ashen than a dead man's.

Is this the renowned Song army cavalry? Just by looking at their neat military appearance and strict discipline, Zheng Conghuan realized that the Song army was indeed very different from those of previous years.

This is a truly iron-blooded and valiant army that can make even the souls of the enemy tremble with fear.

Zheng Conghuan became increasingly afraid to speak, and his knees, which were kneeling on the ground, trembled uncontrollably.

He didn't know what had happened, why this fierce Song army had stopped at his small herdsman's place, or what his fate would be.

He could only do his utmost to show his submission to the Song army, making them believe that he was harmless and had absolutely no intention of resisting.

After a long while, the Song general in front of the flag dismounted and, with the sound of armor plates clashing, walked step by step to Zheng Conghuan. Then he squatted down, pinched Zheng Conghuan's chin, and made him level with his own eyes.

"Is this the Zhuozhou Pasture?" Zhe Keshi asked in an icy tone.

Zheng Conghuan trembled and said, "Yes."

"Who are you? What is your official position?" Zhe Keshi asked calmly.

“My name is Zheng Conghuan, and I hold the official position of Forest Guard of the Imperial Pasture.”

Zhe Keshi laughed. Today's errand went too smoothly; he found the person in charge immediately.

His expression softened, and Zhe Keshi seemed afraid of frightening the person in question, his tone becoming much gentler.

"I heard that a few days ago you intercepted a Ferghana horse. Is that true?"

Zheng Conghuan's heart sank. He finally realized what had happened, and his expression immediately turned utterly desperate.

This Song army was indeed heading towards Qunmu, or more precisely, towards him.

Who would have thought that the precious Akhal-Teke horse had such a powerful backing? It didn't say anything when we intercepted it!

Had Zheng Conghuan known this would happen, would he have dared to intercept it if he had been too lazy to live?
This is outrageous!

Taking a deep breath, Zheng Conghuan forced a smile, not daring to hide anything: "I intercepted a Ferghana horse at the last minute. I have no other intentions. I plan to keep it at the ranch for a few days to admire before returning it to you. I have absolutely no intention of forcibly taking it. Please do not misunderstand, General."

Zhe Keshi smiled, her tone becoming even gentler, almost sweet.

"Now, tell me, where is that Akhal-Teke horse?"

Zheng Conghuan immediately replied, "It is in the stables of the pasture. The precious horse is very valuable and I dare not neglect it. I have kept it in a separate stable and have been feeding it the finest hay and beans for the past few days. I have not mistreated it in the slightest. Please see this clearly, General."

Zhe Keshi hummed in agreement and turned to gesture to his subordinate.

The subordinate understood and immediately rushed into the stables of the ranch. A moment later, he returned and reported, "General Zhe, there is indeed a brown Akhal-Teke horse in the stable. It seems to be unharmed."

Zhe Keshi breathed a sigh of relief.

The mission of this trip is to bring back this Akhal-Teke horse, which was chosen as the mount by His Highness the Prince. If it is abused and mistreated by the herdsmen, Zhe Keshi will have no face to see Zhao Xiaoqian.

"Lead the horse out carefully, don't hurt it, not a single hair is allowed to fall. Treat it like your ancestor," Zhe Keshi instructed.

Only when the Akhal-Teke horse was brought out and Zhe Keshi saw the legendary steed with his own eyes did he feel relieved.

The rest was much easier. The Akhal-Teke horses were extremely valuable, but the lives of the people in the Liao Kingdom's pastures were worth less than grass.

"Leave this Lin Ya surnamed Zheng behind, and give the rest of you a quick death," Zhe Keshi ordered.

No sooner had the words been spoken than screams rose and fell. In the blink of an eye, more than ten officials and servants of the herdsmen were all killed by the Song army with a single blow, lying dead in pools of blood.

Zheng Conghuan was deathly pale, trembling uncontrollably. He banged his head heavily on the ground, pleading pitifully, "General, spare my life! It's all a misunderstanding! I'm willing to serve the Song Dynasty and atone for my sins by performing meritorious service for them..."

Zhe Keshi laughed heartily, glanced at him contemptuously, and said, "Do you know why I spared your life?"

Zheng Conghuan trembled like a leaf, kneeling on the ground, not daring to reply.

Zhe Keshi's smile gradually turned cold, and he said indifferently, "My Prince has ordered that you, this so-called Lin Ya, should not die too easily. I'll have you torn to pieces..."

"How dare you covet my Prince's prized horse! You have some nerve! Even your Liao emperor is wary of my prince. What kind of person are you to dare steal the prized horse that my prince is eyeing!"

"Men, first sever his limbs, then shave off his skin and flesh, and finally chop off his head and hang it on the flagpole of the ranch. Then burn this damn ranch to the ground!"

(End of this chapter)