Chapter 30: Equine Matters

At noon in Jinyang, the air was pleasant.
By a roadside food stall, a man straddled a horizontal wooden bench with a swaggering posture, holding a bowl of mutton soup in one hand and a sesame flatbread in the other, eating with immense relish.
He mumbled indistinctly, "Old Su, Old Zhang, don't just stand there. Eat up, my treat."
"Understood!"
The two men sitting opposite him were overwhelmed by the unexpected favor. They sat even straighter, daring only to rest half of their buttocks on the edge of the bench, sipping the meat broth in small, cautious sips while occasionally stealing glances at the man over the rims of their bowls.
It felt like a dream...
The dignified Governor of Bingzhou, the great figure who had shattered Mingshe with a hundred horsemen, was actually treating two mere merchants—ah, scribes—to a meal in person.
At another wooden table, Xu Huang was also leisurely blowing on his mutton soup.
His splitting battle-axe stood beside the table, accompanied by a battered gong. A slightly long rope was tied around his waist, extending all the way to Liu Fu Luo, who was bound like a traditional Chinese rice dumpling. Two strings of brass bells were attached to the rope, chiming merrily, so there was no fear of this Xiongnu Chanyu running away.
As for Liu Fu Luo, his situation was far more pathetic.
Though both had been tethered, his treatment was worlds apart from Jia Xu’s past experience. Before him sat only a sesame flatbread of uncertain age, so hard it could chip a tooth. There was no one to break it into pieces and feed it to him; if he wanted to eat, he had to crane his neck and reach for it himself.
Just then, dozens of horse-drawn carriages laden with grain rumbled slowly down the imperial highway, escorted by hundreds of private soldiers from various aristocratic clans, cutting a very impressive figure.
Chen Cong merely glanced at them before withdrawing his gaze.
Completely unlike Cao Cao’s workaholic approach to governance, Chen Cong had zero interest in knowing how much grain Chen Qun had actually "borrowed" from the Qi County Wang clan, nor did he care to keep track of how much grain was stored in the Governor's Mansion.
Responsibilities were delegated to individuals: if administrative affairs lagged, he would drag his eldest nephew over and curse him out; if military matters grew lax, he would summon Cao Chun and berate him fiercely.
Anyway, in all of Bingzhou, he held the highest authority.
Moreover, both Chen Qun and Cao Cao belonged to Chen Cong's interest-sharing faction, so there was no fear of them slacking off.
Of course, Chen Cong was not entirely idle; he still maintained a firm grip on the overarching direction...
"Ahem, since the two gentlemen are now scribes, this business of horse trading..."
The two men hurriedly put down their soup bowls, stood up together, and cupped their hands in a salute, vowing eagerly, "Naturally, we shall abandon the lowly trade of merchants, acquire extensive land estates to settle down in Jinyang, and wholeheartedly serve our lord."
"There is no need for that!" Chen Cong said sharply, refusing the offer.
Putting aside the fact that Chen Cong's true goal was the supply chains behind the two men, what benefit would he gain if he really let them acquire vast tracts of land?
These two were wealthy merchants, and now that they held official titles, if they engaged in massive land annexation, they wouldn't even have to pay taxes.
If Jinyang gained two more powerful aristocratic clans, what good would it bring other than exacerbating the hardships of the common people?
"How about this? First, take me to see the horse-trading operations, shall you?"
The two men exchanged glances, hesitating for a moment. "The horse market is chaotic and foul-smelling; we fear it might offend the lord."
"Psh! What are you talking about? I started out in the military ranks and frequented stables year-round. How could there be any offense?"
"As the lord commands."
Chen Cong finished the last bite of his flatbread and drained his mutton soup. Without calling the vendor, he slapped a handful of bronze coins onto the table, stood up, and walked away.
The two men scrambled to their feet and hurried forward to lead the way.
Xu Huang wiped the soup stains from his mouth, secured his giant axe, picked up the battered gong from beside the table, and pulled Liu Fu Luo along, striking the gong as he walked.
"The Xiongnu Chanyu is parading through the streets!~"
The surrounding commoners froze for a fraction of a second, turned their heads in unison, and then swarmed inward with lightning speed.
"Hah! I knew he looked familiar earlier! It really is the Governor!"
"Is that the Xiongnu Chanyu? Save me a spot, I'm going back to pick up some clods of dirt."
"Long live the Governor!"
The food stall vendor rushed out upon hearing the commotion and only then realized that the man who had just eaten there was the Governor. Catching sight of the handful of Wuzhu coins on the table, he was so mortified he slapped himself twice across the face.
Then, abandoning his stall, he ran after the parade, shouting along with the crowd, "Long live the Governor!"
Chen Cong smiled all the way, waving to acknowledge the surrounding citizens.
Liu Fu Luo was not nearly as fortunate. He was pelted with stones, clods of dirt, and balls of dung the entire route.
Yet for a Xiongnu Chanyu who had seen "grand scenes," being pelted was nothing—it was merely a bit stinking.
Fortunately, the rope was long enough that Xu Huang, who was beating the gong in front, remained uninjured.
The bustling commotion lasted all the way to the horse market by the city wall.
Only after Xu Huang stepped forward and repeatedly promised that the Xiongnu Chanyu would be paraded every day at noon did the crowds reluctantly disperse.
In truth, watching the Xiongnu Chanyu was merely secondary; their real purpose was to bring their children close to bask in the Governor's heroic aura.
...
The horse market remained much the same as before, almost devoid of customers.
Depending on their value, the horses were penned in different stables.
Common packhorses need hardly be mentioned; hundreds of them shared a massive stable, brushing against grazing companions with the slightest movement.
Warhorses of relatively better quality were kept three or five to a stable, with dedicated grooms to brush their coats, fetch water, and feed them grain.
As for the finest steeds—the Ferghana horses and blood-sweat mares—each was kept in a private stable, attended by three grooms who served them like pampered lords of wealthy estates. Yet each of the Flying Bear troopers was allocated four such horses!
It was practically a crime...
The horse brokers swarmed forward the moment they saw Su Shuang and Zhang Shiping enter.
"Why have you two gentlemen come in person today?"
Su Shuang was about to speak when he saw Chen Cong shake his head, so he raised a hand to wave the brokers away.
He introduced the situation himself, "Reporting to the lord, the two of us are only responsible for purchasing horses and transporting them to various regions; the actual sales are entrusted to local brokers. During our recent trip north, we acquired a batch of fine horses from the Xianbei people, intending to sell them nearby. Who would have expected business in the borderlands of Jinyang to be so desolate that after lingering for over a month, we've only managed to sell a hundred packhorses."
Chen Cong asked doubtfully, "Do the Xianbei people sell packhorses as well?"
"They resemble packhorses, but they are ordinary warhorses, mostly obtained in trade from the border residents." Su Shuang led Chen Cong to the high-end stables located in the innermost section and introduced, "When we trade with the barbarians, we only acquire fine steeds like these. Take this pure white one, for instance; if transported to Youbeiping, it could fetch a profit of over twenty gold coins."
Chen Cong understood.
King Chu loved slender waists, and all the women in his palace starved to death.
Gongsun of Beiping had a passionate obsession with white horses, driving up the market value of white thousand-li horses accordingly...
This fit the profit-seeking nature of merchants quite well.
Fortunately, the Flying Bear troops were not picky about color; any horse would do as long as it could be ridden. If they were like the White Horse Yicong, Chen Cong would have to go begging on the streets the next day.
A profit of twenty gold coins meant the actual transaction price was around twenty-five gold coins per horse. With fifteen hundred Flying Bear troopers requiring six thousand horses, the warhorses alone would cost one hundred and fifty thousand gold coins!
"Then how do you usually trade with the barbarians?"
Su Shuang replied, "We do not have direct contact with the barbarians. Instead, we contact brokers among the barbarians in the borderlands, who gather the prized steeds of the barbarian territory and convert them into grain, salt, and refined iron before conducting the transaction. For this instance, the trading ground was chosen outside Yanmen Pass."
"Doesn't anyone resort to banditry or double-crossing?"
Su Shuang shook his heads. "The barbarians who engage in brokerage are mostly major tribal nobility, so naturally, no one dares to provoke them. As for people like us, we also lavish heavy bribes on the local commandery governors beforehand. After all these years, things have remained peaceful."
Chen Cong felt somewhat disappointed.
If Su and Zhang had ventured deep into barbarian territory to trade horses, he could have turned the horse trade into a zero-cost venture.
But with middlemen taking a cut, getting things for free wouldn't be so easy...
Then.
How could one acquire goods without paying...