I became a prince in a martial arts world.

"Um?"

Wang Yu looked at Sun Lian, then at Sun Xiang, feeling that the subject of his words was reversed.

Sun Lian continued, "It's Manager Li Xiu. I personally saw outsiders come to him, and a couple of days later he would secretly bring them dozens of horses."

Once, I went to his room pretending to be playful and saw him making notes in a book, which he had hidden under his bed. I suspected it was his ledger for smuggling horses.

"Oh, right, Manager Zhao just collected money from those outsiders yesterday. As usual, the horses will be delivered to them tomorrow night, right outside the east gate of the horse farm."

Sun Xiang, who was not far away, heard it clearly and said incredulously, "Why didn't you tell me?"

Sun Lian snorted, "You were sent to the horse farm by the prince. Everyone there is toasting you and calling you brother. And you can't keep a secret. Let me tell you, what if you expose yourself?"

Sun Xiang's face stiffened. Although he was embarrassed by his daughter's criticism, he had to admit that she was right.

Several months ago, Sun Xiang and Sun Lian were sent to the Zhenxi Horse Farm.

Everyone knows that the father and daughter were rescued by Wang Yu, who personally ordered them to be sent to the horse farm. No one knows if Wang Yu will suddenly decide to pay attention to them again, so he treats Sun Xiang and his daughter very well.

Later, Sun Xiang also demonstrated his exceptional skills in judging, raising, and even treating horses, earning him the respect of the people at the horse farm, who would often invite him for drinks.

Even after Sun Lian tidied herself up, many people assumed she was the prince's concubine, and thus became even kinder to the father and daughter, showing no remorse for Sun Lian's occasional overstepping of boundaries.

Sun Xiang was honest and simple, and because he was deliberately kept in the dark, he did not notice the corrupt practices of the horse farm manager. However, the other party did not expect that Sun Lian, who was only ten years old, was already precocious and had a keen mind. She saw everything and even found out where he hid the account book.

After hearing Sun Lian's description, Wang Yu asked with a surprised smile, "You're really amazing! How did you come up with all this?"

Sun Lian blinked. "What's so difficult about that?"

Sun Xiang hurriedly reported, "Your Highness, I am a rough man and do not understand human relationships, but my daughter is sensible at a young age."

Wang Yu recalled that when he saw the father and daughter that day, Sun Xiang was whipped without saying a word, while Sun Lian went up and explained the cause and effect of the matter in just a few words.

Not only was he precocious, but he was also intelligent. Wang Yu asked, "Have you been to school? Can you read?"

Sun Lian shook her head and said, "I can't read."

Wang Yu asked again, "Do you want to study and learn to read?"

Sun Lian's eyes lit up. "I want to!"

"That's good." Wang Yu nodded. "I know about it. Just pretend you don't know anything and continue as usual."

After dismissing Sun Xiang and Sun Lian, Wang Yu called Zhao Yingjie in and told him what had just happened.

"That bastard surnamed Li! He actually stole from his own comrades!" Zhao Yingjie roared in anger. "Last year, I heard from Commandant Zhao that the Iron Eagle Cavalry's mounts hadn't been as good as before. Turns out, that Li guy bought all the good horses!"

"I'm going to his room to find the account books right now. If it's true, I'll chop him up with a knife!"

Zhao Yingjie was genuinely angry. He had spent a lot of effort selling twenty horses to generate revenue, but the stable manager had secretly pocketed the money.

Moreover, as the number one strategic force in the world, cavalry relies on its mounts as the most basic element. How can cavalry fight if their mounts are of poor quality?

Your act of stealing and selling fine horses is nothing short of betraying your own army!

Wang Yu learned from Zhao Yingjie that the grooms were paid quite well, and that they would receive kickbacks for selling sick or old horses, which was even higher than the income of elite soldiers.

"According to Sun Lian, Li Xiu and his men were selling good horses, and they were all carrying weapons, so they were not ordinary merchants, but more like martial arts practitioners."

Wang Yu said to Zhao Yingjie, "They are going to make the deal tomorrow night. Take my order and tell Zhao Shan to go to Lingwu Pass and bring back a troop of cavalry. They will ambush the east gate of the horse farm tomorrow night."

Logically speaking, the royal guards are more suitable than elite cavalry for dealing with martial arts practitioners, since cavalry are better suited for charging into battle, while the royal guards are all skilled in martial arts.

But the situation is different now. Zhenxi Horse Ranch is located in the northern grassland of Qing'an Prefecture. It is surrounded by only some small hills with few trees. It is not a town or a complex mountain forest, but rather suitable for soldiers to form ranks.

"Alright!" Zhao Yingjie took Wang Yu's written order and went to find Zhao Shan.

……

The next morning, Li Xiu, the manager of the horse farm, led Wang Yu and the others to the stables to select horses.

Li Xiu had a thick beard and looked like a very forthright man. He carried a horsewhip in one hand and had a leather bag at his waist, which faintly smelled of alcohol.

"This row of stables is full of four- or five-year-old male horses. They have fiery tempers, but they are fast and have great stamina. They are all top-notch horses!" Li Xiu introduced.

In the stable, some horses were quiet, some paced impatiently, and others looked curiously at the crowd, seemingly puzzled as to why there were suddenly so many two-legged creatures today.

Li Xiu pointed to the opposite side, "The stables over there are full of docile mares."

Wang Yu nodded, instructing Zhao Yingjie to call Gongsun Yi and the others to look at the horses. He then called Sun Xiang to his side, pointed to the horse he had ridden, and asked, "What do you think of my horse?"

Sun Xiang glanced at it and honestly shook his head, "Although it is a good horse, it is over fifteen years old. It will only get worse year by year and will definitely not be as good as these fine steeds."

Li Xiu hurriedly came over and said, "In recent years, the best horses from the horse farm have been sent to the Iron Eagle Cavalry and various armies. The Prince's Palace has indeed not selected new horses from the horse farm for a long time. In a few days, I will personally select twenty good horses and send them to the Prince's Palace."

Wang Yu waved his hand and said lazily, "You're kind enough, but just have Prime Minister Sun pick out twenty horses for me, and I'll take them back today."

Li Xiu glanced at Prime Minister Sun with a hint of jealousy and a barely perceptible trace of disgust in his eyes, then laughed heartily, "Prime Minister Sun's horse-breeding skills are superb; Your Highness has excellent taste!"

Seeing that Wang Yu trusted him, Sun Xiang was also invigorated and picked out a horse for Wang Yu.

"This horse, the Snowy Black Steed, has four white hooves and its body is as black as ink. It can run a hundred miles without panting, and its endurance is excellent."

"This one, the Azure Cloud Steed, looks unremarkable and rarely exerts its strength, but when it runs at full speed, it is extremely fast."

"This one is like a whirlwind, strong and hot-tempered."

"This one is a golden steed, gentle in temperament, but the best at short-distance racing."

Wang Yu was almost overwhelmed by the choices. He had seen horses before in his previous life, but as an ordinary person, he had only ever seen dwarf horses used for carrying people in scenic areas. How could he have ever seen such a shiny, spirited horse?

Wang Yu waved his hand dismissively, "I'll take them all!"

Li Xiu's eyes twitched, and he immediately directed the people in the horse farm to bring out the horses and form a horse team, preparing to accompany Wang Yu and the others back to the Prince's Mansion.

Sun Xiang quickly selected twenty horses, and Gongsun Yi also selected twenty horses. However, he did not intend to take these horses away now, but to store them at the Zhenxi Horse Ranch and take them with him when he returned from the Western Regions.

"Boom!"

The group left the horse farm, and Li Xiu's face darkened. A deputy steward leaned closer and asked, "The Snow-Treading Black Steed and the Golden Steed that Lord Yang had his eye on have both been taken away. What should we do?"

"The prince himself came to the horse farm to take them away, what can we do?" Li Xiu glanced at him and snorted, "Use Black Cloud Steed and Yellow Sand to make do."

"That money..."

"I'll talk to him myself!"

……

Moonlit night, the wind howls.

A cavalry caravan arrived at the east gate of the horse farm in the dark, and a few faint cries of eagles echoed in the night.

"Squeak—"

The east gate of the horse farm was opened, and a group of people led out fifty horses. The two sides stopped a few feet apart. One of them was carrying a lantern, which illuminated the figure of the leader, who was none other than Li Xiu, the manager of the horse farm.

The opposing cavalry also lit several torches, and then two men dismounted and came forward to inspect the goods, holding torches in hand.

The two men walked through the herd of horses, then returned to the leader of the pack and whispered to each other. The leader then asked, "Where are the two horses I was eyeing the other day, Snowy Black Steed and Golden Steed?"

Li Xiu stepped forward and hurriedly explained, "Last night my lord brought friends..."

Before the words were even finished, dozens of torches suddenly lit up the surroundings, and a clear voice asked with a smile, "The 'Snow-Treading Black Steed' and 'Golden Steed' you mentioned, are these the two?"

"Clang—"

A series of sword-drawing sounds rang out, and the cavalry leader shouted, "Who?"

Upon hearing this voice, Li Xiu felt his mind go blank for a moment, then all his strength seemed to drain away. He staggered before managing to steady himself, and said in a trembling voice, "Your Highness?"

The torches completely illuminated the area outside the East Gate, and also the horse team that had come in the dark.

The cavalry consisted of twelve men, most of whom carried sabers, but two others had different weapons: a burly man held a spiked club upside down, while the cavalry leader brandished a tiger-head hook.

The cavalrymen also saw the people holding torches; they were cavalrymen in full armor, carrying saddle-mounted spears and bows!

Hundreds of arrows were already nocked.

The expressions on the faces of the cavalrymen changed drastically. Their leader hurriedly said, "Wait a minute, I have something to say!"

Wang Yu waved his hand and said calmly, "Release the arrows."

"Whoosh—whoosh—whoosh—"

"Charge out!"

The leader of the cavalry shouted, pulled on the reins, and spurred his horse. It seemed like a charge, but he actually ducked down, hid under the horse's belly, then dismounted and sped along the ground towards the crowd in the riding arena.

The burly man stood guard behind the cavalry leader, his spiked club impenetrable, blocking all incoming arrows.

"Ahhh..."

A volley of arrows rained down, and apart from the cavalry leader and the burly man, half of the remaining ten men were killed, and the other half were all wounded.

At this moment, the leader of the cavalry had already arrived behind Li Xiu, and helped Li Xiu, who was almost collapsing to the ground, to his feet. Then, he moved around and hid behind Li Xiu, holding the tiger-head hook in his hand to his throat.

"May I ask if it is the Prince of Zhenxi who has come in person? I am Yang Chengwu from Feima Fortress, here to present news from beyond the Great Wall to the Prince of Zhenxi!"