Ask the mountains and rivers

Chapter 212 Warhorses (Part Two)

How composed and elegant these words are!

Steward Shi, fiddling with the abacus, was dazzlingly handsome!

Pei Qinghe looked at Shi Yan with a smile.

Shi Yan was also looking at Pei Qinghe.

Zhao Hai, who was standing to the side, shook off the goosebumps that covered his skin, and quietly walked away, taking all the irrelevant people in the stable with him.

Shi Yan's hand reached out, and Pei Qinghe chuckled softly, taking Shi Yan's hand in hers. Pei Qinghe had practiced martial arts for many years, and her palms were calloused. Shi Yan's hands, on the other hand, were smooth, as he only used an abacus.

The two stood side by side, their fingers intertwined, their heads resting together.

Pei Qinghe recounted the events that had occurred in Beiping County: "...The list of wealthy households you compiled for me that day proved quite useful. I used the assassin incident to kill several wealthy households and confiscate a large amount of money and grain. After that, everything went much more smoothly."

Shi Yan said in a low voice, "The Yu family dared to collude with the Liaoxi Army and carry out assassination. Killing only him would be too lenient for the Yu family."

Pei Qinghe said, "Killing a few is enough. The Pei family army is going to take over Beiping County, so it is not appropriate to kill indiscriminately."

“You’ve been gone for months,” Shi Yan sighed. “If I had known, I would have gone with you.”

Since he came to Peijia Village, he has spent almost every day with her, and this is the first time they have been separated for so long.

Pei Qinghe chuckled softly, "I miss you too. But Pei Family Village can't do without you right now."

“Pei Family Village is the main base and the foundation of the Pei Family Army. Tens of thousands of people in the village need to eat and drink every day. Every month, a large number of various supplies need to be purchased, and military pay also needs to be allocated. You have to take care of everything.”

“If I leave, my second sister-in-law will stay behind. But you absolutely cannot leave.”

Shi Yan chuckled softly: "The fact that the general is coaxing me like this shows that I am indeed important."

Their eyes met and locked, their hearts churning like a boiling lake.

Pei Qinghe's face flushed slightly, while Shi Yan's face turned even redder, his voice a little hoarse: "Don't look at me like that. What will the general do if I sneak into his room tonight?"

Pei Qinghe chuckled: "Pei Yan knocked you out with one punch, what else could you do?"

At this moment, mentioning the spoilsport Pei Yan instantly dispelled most of the romantic feelings in Shi Yan's heart: "It's one thing for her to follow you during the day, but she also stays with you at night. I want to see what she'll do when Yang Huai comes into the family..."

"what are you guys saying?"

Pei Yan's loud, rough voice rang out.

Pei Qinghe quickly let go, and Shi Yan sighed with resentment, reluctantly taking a few steps away. Sure enough, the next moment, Pei Yan squeezed in and openly pushed him aside.

"Cousin Qinghe, I've been looking for you everywhere."

Pei Qinghe smiled and said, "I came to the stables to check on the warhorses and have Steward Shi calculate the cost of raising them. Your arrival is just in time; go and call Fang Datou and Master Zhan over."

Pei Yan said "Oh," and turned to leave.

Shi Yan smiled helplessly and approached again. After a few words of conversation, Fang Datou and Zhan Dongjia arrived.

After sleeping for a day and a night, they had finally caught their breath. Pei Qinghe smiled at Zhan Fei and said, "This trip brought back more than 800 fine horses. Master Zhan has made a great contribution to the Pei family army." Zhan Fei's former arrogance had been worn down by the harsh reality, and he humbly replied, "The general has taken in the Zhan family and supported their comeback. It is my duty to risk my life for the general."

Then, they began to talk about all the big and small things that had happened throughout the year.

The two horse-buying teams parted ways as soon as they crossed the border. The grasslands were vast and expansive, and the herders lived nomadic lives, moving with the flow of water and pasture. There were also horse bandits who appeared and disappeared like the wind.

After traveling for only a few days, they encountered a band of fierce bandits. If it weren't for Fang Datou's elite battalion accompanying them, the Zhan family's horse-buying team would have been wiped out on the spot.

“That battle was indeed dangerous.” Fang Datou couldn’t help but interject: “There weren’t many bandits, only a little over a hundred. However, they were skilled horsemen and moved like the wind. If they couldn’t beat us, they would run away. They followed us for more than half a month. In the end, it was Zhan Dongjia who devised a plan to lure the bandits into an ambush and kill them.”

"We lost a lot of men, and since we couldn't take the bodies with us, we had to bury them on the spot."

There are always deaths in war. Fang Datou, who was used to life and death, sighed and continued, "After that, we were extra careful. When we saw large tribes, we would go around them and instead seek out small tribes with dozens or hundreds of people."

Zhan Fei chimed in, "Tea and cotton are both extremely popular on the grasslands. A tea cake can be exchanged for a horse. A foot of coarse cotton cloth can also be exchanged for a horse."

"We exchanged all the tea and cotton cloth we brought for horses. On the way back, we were extra careful. Luckily, we didn't encounter any more horse bandits."

"We did encounter a large tribe of several hundred people. The chief of this tribe had dealt with the Zhan family before and was quite friendly. Hearing that we had tea and cloth, he specially arranged a date with us to exchange horses next year."

This is the advantage of Zhanjia.

The Zhan family's smuggling salt caravan had secretly crossed the border several times, speaking the Xiongnu language and familiar with the terrain beyond the Great Wall. Following the trade routes they had traveled, they avoided many large tribes. They also had many long-time customers with whom they had previously conducted business. While others might buy horses but still not be able to leave the grasslands, the Zhan family not only managed to buy horses but also brought their warhorses out of the grasslands.

Pei Qinghe's eyes shone brightly as she smiled and said, "You and your men should rest well first, and set off after the New Year."

He then turned to Shi Yan and said, "Calculate the market price and how much silver these eight hundred-plus warhorses are worth, and give them to Master Zhan at a profit of 70%."

This was all agreed upon beforehand.

Shi Yan nodded in agreement: "I'll go back and deliver the silver to Master Zhan in three days at most."

Zhan Fei did not refuse and bowed to thank the general.

Going beyond the Great Wall to buy horses was a business fraught with danger. Many people died along the way; seven of the Zhan family's nephews and nieces perished, and one of his sons also died. As for the other group, there's still no news, and it's unknown how many have returned alive.

Pei Qinghe then asked Fang Datou, "A lot of people have died along the way. Have you recorded them all on the list?"

Fang Datou hummed in agreement and took out a booklet from his pocket. Each battalion commander carried such a booklet, containing the names of all the men in his battalion. The names of those who had died in battle were crossed out with charcoal.

Pei Qinghe took the booklet and flipped through it. These soldiers were all recruited and trained by her personally. Familiar names were marked with charcoal pencil marks one by one. One by one, vibrant lives fell silently like shooting stars.

War is so cruel.

Pei Qinghe sighed silently and closed the booklet: "All those who died in battle will receive compensation; if they have families, it will be given to their families."

“Your battalion only has forty-eight men left. Take advantage of this time to make up the remaining one hundred. Next spring, you will lead another battalion to accompany Master Zhan to buy horses.”

Fang Datou was well aware of the importance of warhorses to an army, and solemnly agreed.

(End of this chapter)