Top-notch Little Horseman

After thinking for a moment, Ye Chen went to Luo Kai and handed him the reins of his warhorse.

"This..." Luo Kai looked at the reins in his hand with a puzzled expression.

"It would be impolite not to reciprocate. This is the best warhorse in my Desolate Dust Pass. Please give it to the General on my behalf," Ye Chen said sincerely.

"This is the best gift I can offer; I hope the General won't find it offensive."

Luo Kai nodded slightly, tightened his grip on the reins, and said, "Very well, I will definitely pass it on to the General."

He raised an eyebrow at Ye Chen and said, "Brother Ye, have a safe journey, until we meet again!"

"Until we meet again!" Ye Chen mounted the warhorse given to him by the General and headed to the Third Horse Camp with Chen Baiquan.

The setting sun shone on the dirt road outside the gate of the Third Horse Camp Post Station, turning the withered grass at the base of the wall a dark red.

The gate of the Third Horse Camp was wide open, and Uncle Lao Gen was squatting at the entrance counting a basket of hay.

He saw Ye Chen riding over, paused for a moment, then suddenly stood up, knocking over his hay basket and scattering hay all over the ground.

"Brother Ye Chen is back!"

He shouted towards the horse camp, his voice so loud it seemed impossible for it to come from his hunched body.

The sound was like a stone thrown into a pond, and the horse camp immediately became lively.

Upon hearing this, the horse herders in the horse camp rushed out and surrounded the courtyard gate.

They stared wide-eyed at the warhorse Ye Chen was riding.

It has a tall head and long legs, a chestnut-red coat, and snow-white hooves. It is half a head taller than the best horse in the horse camp.

A young horseman tried to reach out and touch the horse's neck, but the horse snorted, startling him so much that he quickly withdrew his hand, which drew laughter from the other horsemen nearby.

"This horse, was it brought back from the border army camp?"

"What do you know? These are warhorses from the battlefield, genuine Ili horses, ten times better than the warhorses of our Right Guard!"

Although they were both warhorses, the warhorses of the Right Guard could not compare with those of the border army camp, let alone the private horses of General Yunheqiao.

After returning to the Right Guard Post, Chen Baiquan naturally wouldn't go directly to the Third Horse Camp. He still needed to report to the Right Guard Post Commander-in-Chief about the border army camp.

"What are you all doing gathered here!" Just then, a dignified voice came from behind.

"Let's go! What are we doing all together? Don't we have anything to do?"

Hong Chengye strode out of the barracks, grabbed Ye Chen's hand, and pulled him back into the barracks.

A stable boy ran over, took the reins from Ye Chen, and led the warhorse to the stable to feed it hay and water.

The other horsemen didn't follow inside; they just stood in the courtyard, whispering among themselves, their eyes following Ye Chen's retreating figure as he disappeared at the camp gate, their gazes filled with envy and awe.

Hong Chengye closed the door, poured a large bowl of tea and handed it over, his face beaming with undisguised joy.

"Brother Ye Chen, you've really given the Third Cavalry Battalion Commander a lot of face!"

"Tell me quickly, brother, about your work managing horses in the border army camp."

Ye Chen took the teacup, took a sip, and gave a general account of what had happened in the border army camp.

He spoke very briefly, but Hong Chengye's eyes grew brighter and brighter as he listened.

"The Livestock Chief!" Hong Chengye looked at Ye Chen in shock and said, "I worked in the Third Horse Camp for almost fifty years before I finally made it to the position of Chief Herdsman."

"You've...done so well that you're practically at my level now!"

He patted Ye Chen on the shoulder, his smile fading, and lowered his voice, saying, "Liang Kun is already in the Beiping Prefecture prison. Prefect Zhu has reviewed the petition and accounts and approved his execution in the autumn."

Ye Chen put down his teacup without showing much emotion. Liang Kun's matter had already been settled on that day at Huangchen Pass.

He was more concerned about something else now, and lowered his voice slightly as he said, "Chief Hong, General Chen has arranged for me to take up a temporary post in the Livestock Division, but I don't need to go to the yamen to work. I will be stationed at Huangchen Pass most of the time."

"I want to fix Huangchen Pass properly, but there are more and more refugees in Anyuan County. If I don't have some means to protect myself, I won't be able to sleep soundly."

"I have an idea. If it weren't for those brothers fighting desperately against the bandits, Huangchen Pass would probably have already been breached, and we wouldn't have been able to wait for the cavalry to come to our rescue."

"Therefore, I want to incorporate them into the Third Horse Battalion, as garrison soldiers of Huangchen Pass."

"This matter... incorporating it into the Third Cavalry Battalion is no problem, but... the garrison soldiers... I'm afraid I don't have the authority to do so," Hong Chengye said somewhat awkwardly.

"That's no problem. The governor has given me real power. You just need to make the arrangements..." Ye Chen told him about his plan to farm and grow crops in Huangchen Pass.

"You, you want to grow crops?" Hong Chengye looked incredulous. Giving up a promising future to go and farm?

Seeing Ye Chen's determined expression, Hong Chengye didn't say anything more.

"Okay! I'll make the arrangements tomorrow and make sure they all have the appropriate status."

"That way they're legitimate horse herders, and nobody can say anything about it."

"From now on, you will be stationed at Desolate Dust Pass. I'm entrusting Desolate Dust Pass entirely to you. However... it will be very difficult. Have you really thought this through?"

"Yes. I will hold this line of defense for Great Qin!" Ye Chen paused for a moment, then continued, "In the future... if you can't stay at the Right Guard Post, you can bring your brothers to Desolate Dust Pass!"

"Alright. Brother Ye, I'm now the herdsman of the Third Horse Camp. Just tell me what you need at Desolate Dust Pass!"

"I've got it. I'll definitely need your help sometime in the future!"

......

After leaving the Right Guard Post, Ye Chen was eager to return home.

He's been gone for several days now, I wonder how things are going at Huangchen Pass!

Two hours later, riding at full speed, the walls of Huangchen Pass appeared as a grayish-yellow outline in the twilight.

When Ye Chen approached, he saw that the courtyard wall was higher than before, and the crenellations had all been repaired.

The courtyard gate has also been replaced with a new one. The door panel fits perfectly into the door frame, and it makes a dull and heavy sound when pushed open.

Upon hearing the door open, Monkey was the first to rush out of the side room, clutching a freshly sharpened knife in his hand. The blade was wet, indicating that he had only been sharpening it halfway when he heard the noise and ran out.

He ran up to Ye Chen, looked him up and down, and said with a happy smile, "Captain, you're finally back! Have all the sick horses been cured?"

Ye Chen handed the reins to the monkey and said, "This is the border army camp. This is the warhorse that General Yunheqiao gave me. Take it and feed it well."

The monkey was stunned when it saw the warhorse with its four snow-white hooves. It rubbed its eyes hard with the back of its hand, as if it couldn't believe it was real.

Liang Biao and the others also ran out of the side room. When they saw Ye Chen return, they were all pleasantly surprised. The happiest of all was naturally Qin Mengyao.

"Nothing much has happened at Huangchen Pass these past few days! The courtyard wall has been raised, and the gate panels have been installed. Most of the wasteland on the east side has been turned over; we'll see how to handle the rest when Brother Ye returns," Liang Biao said as he approached Ye Chen.

"We'll talk about this later!" Ye Chen waved his hand and said, "Call everyone to the compound; I have two important matters to discuss!"