Ask the mountains and rivers

Chapter 337 The Horse Farm (Part 1)

"General, I have selected the location for the horse ranch."

After working tirelessly for half a month, Zhan Fei came to report to Pei Qinghe in high spirits: "It's in Quanzhou County. There's plenty of open space there, and the terrain and climate are suitable."

The commanderies of Guangning, Liaoxi, Beiping, and Fanyang each have garrisons, but the main base of the Pei family army is in Yan Commandery. The horse farm will definitely be located in Yan Commandery.

Quanzhou County is quite close to Changping County; a fast horse can reach it in half a day. Quanzhou County was also the first to surrender to Pei Qinghe. Magistrate Ji cherished the people, was diligent in his work, and was a capable and benevolent official. To build a new horse ranch, manpower was needed, and even more so, the cooperation of the county government.

It is indeed appropriate to locate the horse farm in Quanzhou.

"Master Zhan, you've gone to great lengths," Pei Qinghe said gently. "This general will go and see for myself before making a decision."

Zhan Fei relaxed his brows and repeatedly agreed.

The general is going to Quanzhou County in person; the matter is already half done.

Pei Qinghe was about to travel, and everyone wanted to go with him. Even Lü Erlang, who came later, shamelessly begged, "General, I have five hundred cavalrymen and I also have experience in raising horses. Please take me with you, General. I might come in handy."

He even made a point of mentioning that he had brought five hundred cavalrymen, showing no shortage of cunning.

Pei Qinghe smiled and agreed.

Meng Bing naturally wanted to go as well. His eight hundred cavalrymen were far more powerful than the cavalry of the Fanyang army. When it came to training cavalry, Meng Bing was the real expert.

Besides the two of them, Pei Yan was also definitely going. And if Pei Yan went, Yang Huai would have to go too.

Pei Qinghe also brought Shi Yan along. Building a horse ranch requires a large plot of land, timber, a large quantity of grass seeds, and a large amount of grain; in short, it costs money. Budgeting, accounting, and preparing money and supplies are naturally the responsibilities of Steward Shi.

Pei Qinghe selected two hundred cavalrymen to accompany him. The entire group rode horses and set off in the morning, arriving in Quanzhou County before dark.

Magistrate Ji had already received the news and led officials and commoners to welcome them outside the city gate. The Pei family army had been stationed in Quanzhou County for several years, and Gu Lian had gone to Beiping Prefecture, where Jiang Huiniang was now in charge.

Looking at the Pei banner fluttering in the wind, and at the imposing General Pei, Jiang Huiniang felt a surge of pride and honor. The days of suffering at the hands of bandits in Black Bear Village years ago were long gone. From the moment they entered Pei Family Village, they had begun a completely new life.

"Greetings, General!" Jiang Huiniang, suppressing her excitement and joy, bowed and greeted him.

Pei Qinghe smiled and said, "It's been a year since we last met!"

"One year, one month, and three days." Jiang Huiniang remembered it very clearly: "When the general leads his troops into battle in the future, I will follow him and fight alongside him."

Never afraid, and delighted at the prospect of battle, these are the true elites of the Pei family army.

Pei Qinghe raised an eyebrow and smiled: "Don't worry, there will be plenty of time to fight in the future."

Having received the general's promise, Jiang Huiniang happily retreated.

Magistrate Ji clasped his hands in a fist and bowed deeply: "General, you led your troops to a great victory over the Xiongnu barbarians, driving them back to the grasslands. Thanks to your protection, the people are able to live in peace and prosperity. On behalf of the people, I thank you, General."

Pei Qinghe smiled and reached out to help Magistrate Ji up: "The Pei family army is supported by the people, so it is only right that they fight for the people. I came to Quanzhou this time to set up a horse farm to raise warhorses. I will have to trouble Magistrate Ji with many things in the future."

Without hesitation, Magistrate Ji replied, "General, please give your orders, and I will do my utmost to fulfill them."

Zhan Fei thought to himself, "As expected, it still takes the general to take action." That day, when he came to Quanzhou County, he spoke with Magistrate Ji about opening a horse farm. Magistrate Ji frowned, looking troubled, and listed a series of difficulties. Such as the horse farm would occupy a large amount of fertile land, leaving the people with no livelihood, and so on, without giving a straight answer.

Now that the general has arrived, Magistrate Ji has stopped complaining about any difficulties and has only been able to say "yes, yes, yes, yes, do it, do it" all the time.

Looking at the people, they were even more overjoyed and excited, their faces filled with fervor, as if they had seen a god, their hearts and eyes filled with their General Pei.

After settling in at the county government office for the night, Pei Qinghe rode out of the city early the next morning to personally visit the horse farm site selected by Zhan Fei.

"General, this open space is about 500 mu," Zhan Fei said. "If we acquire some more land, we can build a 1,000-mu horse ranch, enough to raise two or three thousand horses."

Meng Bing chimed in, "Since we're building a horse ranch, let's make it even bigger. The warhorses produced can not only supply the Pei family army here, but also be sent to Pei Yun and Li Chi. Don't the Guangning and Fanyang armies need warhorses?"

Lu Erlang interjected, "General Meng, we have already changed the Pei family army's flag; there is no Fanyang army anymore."

Everyone laughed together.

Lu Erlang said in a serious tone, "I did not mean to embarrass General Meng. Changing the military flag is no trivial matter. Our Lu family is wholeheartedly devoted to the general and is taking this matter very seriously."

Meng Bing chuckled and immediately corrected himself: "I misspoke, I'm sorry, Brother Lü."

It's common for the army to be divided into factions. The military officers were not very convinced of each other's merits, and only Pei Qinghe was able to keep the others in check.

Pei Qinghe glanced over discreetly. Seeing that things were going well, Lü Erlang stopped talking.

“Magistrate Ji, you heard what General Meng just said.” Pei Qinghe smiled at Magistrate Ji: “This is also my idea. If we’re going to build a horse farm, let’s build a big one. In the future, we can continuously raise the best warhorses. If the Pei family army has warhorses, it will have cavalry, and it will be able to fight the Xiongnu barbarians.”

Infantry alone can only provide defense. To fight the Xiongnu barbarians, cavalry is needed.

This is such a simple principle that it doesn't need much explanation; even Magistrate Ji understands it.

Magistrate Ji took a deep breath, cupped his hands, and replied, "Yes, Your Majesty. I will return to the county office immediately and find all the land registers for this area. I will personally go and speak with the people."

Pei Qinghe said, "We can't let the people suffer losses. We'll pay them silver per mu of land at the market price, and then compensate the people who gave up their fertile land with some wasteland."

With money, things become much easier. Magistrate Ji's expression suddenly relaxed: "General, you are generous and magnanimous, always thinking of the people. On behalf of the people, I thank you, General."

……

After returning to the county office, Magistrate Ji immediately gathered all his men, brought the land registers, and assigned each person a dozen or so households according to the numbers on the registers. He then went door-to-door to explain the situation to the people.

"You must tell the people that the land was not requisitioned, but purchased by the general with silver." Magistrate Ji repeatedly instructed, "The purchased land should be converted into grass seedlings to raise warhorses. With cavalry, the Pei family army can fight the Xiongnu barbarians. Only then can everyone live in peace."

"Go now, and get this done by tomorrow night."

Each person received a land register and went to find the household head listed in the register.

Magistrate Ji led the way, first visiting a household and patiently explaining the situation in detail.

As soon as the general mentioned buying the land with silver, the farmer nodded repeatedly: "Yes, yes, I'll put my fingerprint on it right away."

(End of this chapter)