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Chapter 566: Ripping off the Northern Kingdom (III)

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

The manager of the treasure house was hesitant. How many times would one get to see horses of such superb quality in one’s life?

However, when he thought of how expensive a Ferghana horse was, costing 500,000 to 600,000 strings of coins, he was dissuaded and shook his head vehemently.

It is too expensive; I can’t afford it.

“It’s not that I don’t want to buy it. It’s just that the price... It’s too expensive. It’s not worthwhile for me to buy it, not worthwhile indeed,” said the manager.

Seeing how stingy the manager was, the head of the firm felt contempt for him but was also somewhat amused.

He thought, some people can at most be considered as big butter-and-egg men despite having become rich. They lack foresight and sense, and they are obviously incapable of looking at the big picture. Is a Ferghana horse that costs 500,000 to 600,000 strings of coin really very expensive? Judging from the price, it is indeed very expensive, but how about you consider the value of the Ferghana horse as a stallion of high quality?

Any horse ranch that obtains such a high-quality Ferghana horse can breed countless war horses of fine quality. The monetary value created after a few years will far exceed the price paid. The fact that the war horses in the northern kingdom are so well sought after is definitely related to their persistence in improving the horses’ bloodline. The combat effectiveness of the northern kingdom has increased so rapidly because of the large number of high-quality war horses.

Therefore, in the opinion of the head of the commercial firm, the manager of the treasure house was really short-sighted and couldn’t be entrusted with important tasks. Having arrived at such a conclusion, the head of the commercial firm grew even less wary of the manager.

Feeling happy, he blurted out, “I see that you really like fine horses. I actually have a few cross-bred Ferghana horses. Although their bloodline is less pure than the purebreds of Shalan, they have also been carefully cultivated for two generations. The quality is really good; do you want to check them out? But let me make it clear beforehand, if you want to buy from me, you can only buy one. The good-quality horses are all registered, if too many of them are missing, it will not be easy to me to come up with an explanation.”

The manager of the treasure house was surprised. He is going to illegally sell a good horse to me? Of course I must agree to such a good thing!

The territory of the northern kingdom was vast and the kingdom produced plenty of high-quality horses. The royal court oversaw the horse ranches very strictly.

However, there are always people who were willing to take risks for the sake of profit. White, which Liu She gave to Jiang Pengji, was a smuggled horse. It was originally going to be presented to the king of the northern kingdom as a gift, but the lower-ranked officials intercepted the gift and White was smuggled out and sold. The horse they presented to the king was slightly inferior.

At the moment, the situation was tense, so good horses could not be bought or sold at their owners’ discretion. As for the horses that could be bought or sold privately, something fishy was obviously going on. For example, the owner of the ranch might secretly retain horses for himself by reporting some newly born calves as being stillborn or having died in infancy. They would then be raised in private and sold at a high price.

The manager of the treasure house went to look at the horses the head of the firm mentioned. They were all still pretty young but one could already see how great they would turn out to be in the future.

He swallowed nervously, looking infatuated with the horses. Compared to the somewhat lean-looking Ferghana horses with a narrow head, long neck, thin skin, and fine hair, the manager was fonder of the cross-breeds between the Ferghana horse and the local breed of the northern kingdom. It had the qualities of the Ferghana horse, namely high strength, fast speed, and strong endurance. It also had the advantages of the local breed, namely high volatility, the ability to bear heavy loads, a light gait, and a sturdy and muscular body shape. Which man wouldn’t like it after taking a good look?

The Ferghana horses of Shalan were great all round, except for one shortcoming, which was that they seemed too lean. However, after crossbreeding them with local horses for two generations, the horses of the improved bloodline could be considered as true godly horses!

The head of the commercial firm was very satisfied with the manager’s apparent infatuation. He said in a slightly proud tone, “Are you satisfied with what you have seen?”

The manager nodded fervently as if he was pounding garlic with his head, and toadied to the other man. “Satisfied, satisfied, I can’t be more satisfied. All my life, I have never seen such a beautiful horse. I really must thank you this time round, otherwise how would I have the blessing to admire such godly horses.”

The head of the commercial firm was very satisfied and he said, “If you like, just pick any one. We have known each other for quite some time, I’ll give you the best price possible.”

The manager of the treasure house didn’t really know much about horses, but he knew that had the horses not been of good quality they would not have been valued by the head of the firm.

Therefore, he need not worry about the quality of the horse. He need only pick the one that looked the most handsome.

Yes, he had an obsession with beauty!

The horses had hair of very pure colors. With a single glance, the manager took a fancy to the large, pure white horse amid the group of brown, brown-red, brown-yellow, and pure black horses. It had no hair of any other color, its figure was soft and well-rounded, and its gait was well-paced and deft. It was a beauty amid horses!

“What a pretty little girl, I’ll take this one.” The manager lifted his hand and touched the large horse’s mane. The horse snorted, but did not show any sign of rejection as it had a very docile temperament.

The head of the commercial firm fell into a strange silence. “It is a male.”

The manager of the treasure house was silent. “...” Male?

He was surprised and asked, “Has the horse been gelded?”

The head of the commercial firm replied, “The horse has yet to be gelded...”

Geld was just a fancy term for castrate. Male war horses were all gelded, known as the so-called “gelding”, such a male horse would have a more docile temperament and would be easier to tame. Moreover, they would not go in rut. After all, anything could happen on the battlefield. If the male horse was to go into rut, who could tame it?

The horses used for riding were all gelded. Each horse ranch would keep the male horses of the best quality as stallions to cultivate high-quality offspring.

The manager’s expression turned even stranger, and he couldn’t help but exchange a look with the horse.

How is the temper of a stallion that has not been gelded so good?

The horse seemed to be grinning and laughing at him for lacking common knowledge.

The head of the commercial firm said straightforwardly, “The horse has not been gelded and its temperament is unstable, so it’s not easy to tame. Do you want to choose another one instead?”

The manager shook his head and said, “I like the color white and it is the only white horse here. Furthermore, it is so beautiful in white, so I’ll take it!”

Sure, as long as you like it... The head of the firm thought.

The manager left with the big white horse and the amount payable was directly deducted from the smuggled Colored Glass of the Heavenly Palace.

At the end of September, a good rain descended after a long drought, and the dry lands in the north were finally nourished by rain.

The day it rained, Dian Yan, albeit being the tough guy he was, ecstatically rushed into the government office to report the good news. “My Lord — My Lord — It is raining; God has finally given us rain!”

Jiang Pengji lifted her eyes, put down the pen and ink in her hands, got up, picked up the coat beside her, and draped it over herself.

“It is raining, so what? Why are you so surprised?” Despite saying so, Jiang Pengji was still smiling lightly.

In the era she was in at the moment, the people’s livelihood depended on the weather. Back in her original era, cloud seeding could be conducted, but here it couldn’t be done.

Seeing that it was getting closer and closer to the harvest in the autumn, yet the weather showed no sign of improvement, and the dug-out drains were gradually drying up, the people were getting restless. Jiang Pengji was having difficulties coming up with ways to appease the people but she did not expect God to give her so much face that it began to rain without any sign.

It began as a drizzle at first, then the raindrops became bean-sized, and they splattered as they fell. The people of Fengyi County were ecstatic, and each family moved out pots and pans to collect the water.

The farmers who had been worried about their fields were even happier. They immediately rushed into the rain, shouting and laughing loudly.

In her rain cape of straw, Jiang Pengji stood on the city walls, watching the people reveling in the city, and she couldn’t help but smile warmly.