Top-notch Little Horseman

Ye Chen was a squad leader in the horse camp, and a squad leader who was bullied.

He had only nine henchmen under his command; such men were impossible to manipulate and were of no use whatsoever.

He worked diligently at the household registration office for several years. As a lowly soldier, if nothing unexpected happened, he would have spent his life cutting hay in the horse-drawn carriage area. He wouldn't have starved to death, but he would never have made a name for himself.

What puzzled Qian Wansan was that he was at most a poor scholar, so how did he suddenly become so bold as to dare to sell military supplies such as hay?

Moreover, how come he's so good at fighting? Even the guards I trained couldn't suppress him.

There are too many questions surrounding Ye Chen, but as long as he's not anyone's henchman, this deal can be done.

Born into a chaotic era, Qian Wansan saw things very clearly. The overthrow of the Qin Empire was only a matter of time, and if he wanted to survive, he had to have his own private army.

Although there is no curfew in Beiping, it is not easy to leave the city after dark, but this is not a problem for the Qian family.

The convoy that went to collect hay quickly returned to the Qian residence, and Qian Wansan was very satisfied with the quality of the hay.

Qian Wansan returned to his two-story pavilion and ordered Yan Luo to bring the person over.

He returned to the tea table and started boiling water.

"I'm sure Mr. Qian has already inspected the goods. If you're satisfied, let's discuss the next steps," Ye Chen said, sitting down opposite Qian Wansan and looking up at him.

"The goods are good, this business is viable." Qian Wansan smiled and nodded, pouring Ye Chen a cup of tea.

"Since I started my business, I've always been able to do business with both small and large profits. I can give you the deposit money, but if you dare to cheat me, I will make you spit out what you've already swallowed."

His tone was cold, with a hint of threat.

"Hehe, Mr. Qian, don't try to scare me. Mr. Qian has connections everywhere, while I'm just a nobody."

"A pawn like me can't possibly cause any trouble in your hands."

"Moreover, there is a long future ahead, and our cooperation will go far beyond this. Although we are small in number, we have many opportunities to cooperate with merchants."

"Currently, it's just pasture, but as long as we cooperate well, we can also buy and sell fertilizer, timber, and so on in the future."

Qian Wansan was taken aback upon hearing this. This temptation was great for him, but even if Ye Chen was somewhat extraordinary, he was still just a lowly horseman.

How could he possibly have that much power?

Qian Wansan naturally didn't believe it.

After Qian Wansan paid the money, Ye Chen walked out of the Qian residence with 350 taels of silver in his hand, feeling quite pleased with himself.

After leaving the Qian residence, Smoker was still in a daze.

The deal was done just like that, and he got 350 taels of silver just like that?

Wow, that's awesome!

That much silver is enough to buy the lives of a small team of them.

"Captain, how did you know that Qian Wansan would agree... and just give us 350 taels of silver like that?" Smoker finally couldn't help but ask his question.

"These are chaotic times, and cavalry is the strongest type of soldier. Do you know what a top tycoon like Qian Wansan wants most?" Ye Chen smiled lightly, turned his head and glanced at the smoker before asking.

"What?" the smoker asked without thinking.

"Private army. To survive in this chaotic world, one must have a powerful private army. What he wants most is naturally his own cavalry."

Ye Chen's lips curled slightly, revealing a very handsome smile.

"For him, pasture was not about earning a little money, but about his war reserves."

"With the excellent pasture we provide, he can quickly train his cavalry, and he certainly won't let this opportunity pass him by."

"For a wealthy man like him, a few hundred taels of silver, a few thousand taels of silver, or even tens of thousands of taels of silver are not considered a lot of money."

"Now that he wants to sleep, and I'm handing him a pillow, how could he possibly refuse?"

After hearing Ye Chen's words, Smoker was stunned and felt a sense of admiration for Ye Chen.

This captain is truly both intelligent and brave!

"I've served under so many generals, and there are quite a few who are both brave and resourceful, but someone as brave and intelligent as the captain is truly the first."

"Living in this chaotic world, as long as we can survive, we have to dare to dream and fight. Maybe we can even carve out a world for ourselves!" Ye Chen looked up at the night sky. It was already completely dark. If he didn't go back tonight, Yao Yao would probably worry herself to death.

We still need to go back as soon as possible.

Tomorrow, Liang Kun will definitely bring people to cause trouble, so we need to make some preparations.

Forget it, making money is the only thing that matters right now.

"Let's go, now that we have money, it's time to spend it!"

Ye Chen walked forward, now that he had 350 taels of silver on him, he wondered how he should spend it.

Ye Chen and the Tobacco Ghost left Beiping City and soon arrived at Yanmen Pass, the Thousand Household Office.

There was a foundry at the Yanmen Pass Thousand-Household Garrison.

The weapons, armor, and even shoes and socks of the soldiers in the garrison were all distributed by the Ministry of War of the imperial court.

During the height of the Qin Empire, the equipment it produced made its fierce generals invincible.

But by the late Qin Dynasty, let alone good equipment, even receiving wages on time and in full every month had become a luxury.

The poor quality of the border troops' equipment is simply beyond description.

Only the private guards of the generals were relatively well-equipped; the regular soldiers in the garrisons below them wore only strips of cloth armor, lacking any steel plates.

Those long knives were rusty, and their shoes and socks had exposed soles.

When the garrison soldiers went to the battlefield, they were almost all cannon fodder, at most bullying peasant uprising peasants.

If the garrison soldiers didn't want to die and disliked their poor equipment, they would have no choice but to go to the foundry and forge the equipment they needed.

As long as the money is right, I can build you Ironclad Pagodas, Tiger Crouching Cannons, and two-meter-long broadswords.

Of course, the main thing is that you have money, enough money.

Those soldiers charging on the front lines, if they didn't want to die, had to earn merits to earn rewards, and then exchange those rewards for equipment to save their lives.

This creates a vicious cycle where the more enemies you kill, the less money you have, and the less money you have, the more enemies you have to kill.

Now that Ye Chen has money, he naturally has to consider his brothers and must have the ability to protect himself.

The household had a large, independent courtyard with a two-story brick and tile pavilion in front and several supply warehouses around it, but it was far away from the officers' and soldiers' barracks.

The foundry's backyard had eight metallurgical furnaces and artisan workshops, where the constant clanging and banging would surely get you cursed if it were near the barracks.

It was already dark, so dark you couldn't see your hand in front of your face.

When Ye Chen arrived, he could hear clanging sounds; they were clearly forging equipment.

A minor official in charge of attracting business sat on the doorstep yawning, completely uninterested in his job.

He clearly hadn't expected business to come knocking at this time.

When he saw Ye Chen and Smoker approaching and recognized their horseman uniforms, he frowned slightly.

"Horse herders? Go away, go play somewhere else. The foundry is not a place for you!"